I have a very soft spot for Epic and Crossroads Classical recordings, and buy really pristine originals where I can find them, if reasonably priced. The Crossroads budget series from Epic were excellent USA issues of Supraphon recordings from Czechoslovakia, their chamber music and Czech music recordings are especially fine. George Szell happens to be one of my favorite conductors. Superb taste you have. If you make your way through the eastern part of the Volunteer state, maybe we can one day meet up and dig the crates.
I saw a Citroen 2CV Club in the wild last year in Oak Ridge. TN. I got to photograph it, and the owner was super-friendly. Enjoyed getting to see that car. That photo is the desktop background on my Linux Mint installation.
Equally subscribed to Stereo Review for many years. I also subscribed to Audio for many years until it ceased publication.
On Spotify, "Claude Lejeune - Le Printemps" performed by Ensemble Gilles Binchois directed by Dominique Vellard on Evidence.
I am now lucky enough to own a few Lyrita LP discs, mainly Bax. I wish I could find a nice LP copy of this superb recording. With some patience, eventually I might get lucky.
I own the Mercury Golden Imports reissue of this classic Mercury LP. An audiophile's delight. Didn't get it cheap, but paid less than eBay going rate for my copy, scored in Oak Ridge, TN. I am glad to have this in my collection. One of Mercury's finest recordings. Really fine sonics and a performance which has stood the test of time.
I probably like Respighi more than most folks here, but Ancient Airs is a nice contrast to some of his bombast, especially in his Roman Trilogy. But, hey, I like Tchaikovsky, so I like a little bombast every now and then.
Well put, and I am a Tchaikovsky fan as well. Got to have a little bombast in your life, and let your hair down.
The SH Forum bot has just informed me that today is my one-year anniversary here. It's been fun. It's nice to have a place to communicate with people who know so much about a subject that interests me. I've earned a lot, so thanks to you all.
This arrived today. I ordered it without ever hearing any of them, based on a recommendation here and some reviews I read. About to put it into the upstairs CD player to listen in bed. I'll let you know what I think tomorrow.
Listening to "Dufay - Music for St James the Greater" performed by The Binchois Consort conducted by Andrew Kirkman on Hyperion.
On the TT this morning. Stravinsky-Petrushka. USSR Symphony Orchestra conducted by K. Ivanov. Issued by MK. Nice clean LP and great sounding performance.
Another Stravinsky LP this morning. Agon and Canticum Sacrum. Stravinsky conducting the Los Angeles Festival Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Columbia Odyssey issue from 1979.
Just found out that Angela Hewitt has been putting simple living-room smartphone recordings of various (mostly) Bach pieces onto YouTube throughout lockdown. Last weekend we visited my in-laws (under new UK lockdown relaxation rules), and I found myself with a few hours free of exhaustion, work or childcare responsibilities for the first time since Covid arrived. I filled some of this time by dusting off my limited childhood piano skills by trying to learn the Minuet in G Major from the Anna Magdalena Notebook, which these days is attributed to Petzold, and I’ve kept working on it since returning home. I noticed that Hewitt’s lockdown videos include this minuet, which is both an unexpected pleasure (how often do you see a virtuoso play a beginner’s piece?), and a timely lesson in how much you can apply your own phrasing and dynamics to an unannotated text. I sound like clockwork in comparison!
