Now playing: Adolphe Adam - Giselle - Wiener Philharmoniker, Karajan - recorded 1961 Love the Halloween cover art!
On the turntable: Zubin Mehta, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Strauss – Don Quixote London Records – CS6849
On the turntable: Prokofiev, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Ormandy – Symphony No. 4 Odyssey – Y 32226
Now playing: Anton Webern - Passacaglia; Alban Berg - Lyric Suite / 3 Pieces for Orchestra; Arnold Schoenberg - Variations for Orchestra - BPO, Karajan - recorded 1972-1974
On the turntable: Another in this series. My latest thrift store haul included four in this series, all in pristine condition, for $0.50 each. Andrés Segovia – The Legendary Andrés Segovia In An All-Bach Program MCA Classics – MCA 42068
Now playing this new arrival: Strauss Don Quixote, Op. 35 Lorne Munroe, cello William Lincer, viola New York Phil. Bernstein
Now playing: Elliott Carter - String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 - Juilliard SQ - recorded 1990-1991 These string quartets are very, very good. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. CD1 from this set:
On the turntable: Rachmaninov, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn – Symphonic Dances = Sinfonische Tänze / Isle Of The Dead = Toteninsel / Vocalise ∙ Aleko Angel Records – AM-34741
Well I intended to dip into this some hours ago and am still going, the singers, though good, are not my favourite but the overall performance is great. Le Troyens from this set.
Well after I think five hours of Les Troyens it's now La Damnation de Faust. Just over two hours sounds cool.
I did a quick comparison when the Dudamel came out. The Tilson-Thomas set is great and has more than just the symphonies obviously, which is a big deal. Tilson-Thomas's symphonies are very well played and recorded and are pretty essential in my opinion. I prefer the Dudamel recordings though, for a more robust sound and excellent performances. I don't think you'd be disappointed having both. There's a difference in the placement of instruments mic/mix/engineering-wise on the Dudamel that I found a bit more pleasing than the Tilson-Thomas.