Listenin' to Classical Music and Conversation

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by bluemooze, Feb 22, 2017.

  1. ibanez_ax

    ibanez_ax Forum Resident

    CD 9 from this set.

    I wouldn't call this bland although I'm hardly a Bach expert. I think the playing is buoyant and I'm enjoying this very much.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    A question for everybody.

    If I want to buy a guitar, I head off to the local Guitar Center (or whatever music store is nearby).

    But where do classical musicians purchase their instruments? Are there specialized stores that sell this stuff, or is it all personal transactions? Or is it all online now?

    For example, how do I acquire a bass viol? (Bonus question - how would I then go about learning to play it?) Specific answers only please. "Take lessons" doesn't count. :wave:
     
  3. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Spent last night going over the Webern 5 Movements for string quartet and Six Bagatelles from this excellent recording and performance. While I've listened a lot to versions of the Bagatelles, I really never spent as much time with the Five Movements, or it never struck me the way it did in this performance and recording. Had to play it twice back to back. Great stuff.

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    I'm used to HIP performances of Baroque works (Hogwood, Pinnock, Harnoncourt, Gardiner, Koopman, Brüggen, Savall, etc.) and hadn't heard the non-HIP ASMF versions in years; the former sounded definitely more "intense" to me (for want of a better description).
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2017
  5. Byrdsmaniac

    Byrdsmaniac Forum Resident

    I don’t know a thing about it, but here are a couple of starting points.

    https://uptonbass.com/instruments/t...arRZw8CrO2MrwtBKfTYOKSihbL6NvjDM5waAhvI8P8HAQ

    Double Bass Teacher Directory - Jason Heath's Double Bass Blog
     
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  6. Archtop

    Archtop Soft Dead Crimson Cow

    Location:
    Greater Boston, MA
    I'm headed out to brunch with my father, but I'll get back to you on this. There are several music stores and other private businesses in the Boston area that carry hundreds of violins, violas, 'cellos and double basses.

    Should you then be able to acquire a double bass, my response would be the same as that to someone who might ask me how to get to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice. :uhhuh:
     
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  7. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
  8. alankin1

    alankin1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philly
    For brass and woodwind instruments, my wife recommends Dillon Music in Woodbridge, NJ. (She's a trumpet player.) They sell new and used. (I know you asked about stringed instuments, but maybe someone else is interested in brass or woodwinds.)

     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2017
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  9. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Thanks! :edthumbs:
     
  10. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Much appreciated! :tiphat:
     
  11. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Now on the turntable, "Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1" performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy with the Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Bernard Haitink on London.

    [​IMG]
     
  12. ibanez_ax

    ibanez_ax Forum Resident

    I don't mind intense as long as it's not the Karajan Bach heavy handed intense.
     
  13. ssstand

    ssstand Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheverly, MD
    After nearly 40 years, I still enjoy some of the ASMF versions of Baroque recordings--Marriner's were some of my initial recordings of the Brandenburg Concertos, Water Music, and the like. I still think they hold up well. Marriner never used period instruments, but he was one of the leaders of the HIP movement at its beginning.
     
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  14. Apesbrain

    Apesbrain Forum Resident

    Location:
    East Coast, USA
    I'm listening to "Carmina Burana" and thinking that I should have driven up to hang with my kid brother today. He just turned 60. It's just too damn cold. Was in the 70s yesterday; today 30s!
     
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  15. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    I don't think Marriner was one of the leaders of the HIP movement; on the contrary, he was criticized by Hogwood and others "for not striving for an authentic sound":
    Neville Marriner - Wikipedia
    Sir Neville Marriner – obituary
    Hogwood left the ASMF because of it and founded the Academy of Ancient Music.
     
  16. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    Totally agreed, what Karajan did to the Baroque works he recorded was awful.
     
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  17. ssstand

    ssstand Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheverly, MD
    I completely agree that Hogwood clashed with Marriner, but Marriner was at the forefront of the movement to return many Baroque pieces to the repertoire at that movement's beginning. Bach, Handel, et al. sound very different after ASMF than they did in the beginning. I do agree that Hogwood wanted to go further, but Marriner's Bach and Handel is very, very different from that of Karajan, Klemperer, and the like.
     
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  18. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    True, but all that doesn't automatically mean that Marriner was a leader of the HIP movement, which in essence meant that the music should be played as it was supposed to be played back in the time it was composed, using period instruments. Marriner didn't go that far, though I'll admit that he cleaned it up quite a bit with his ASMF compared to the "romantic" playing practice of the day.

    [edited to correct an error]
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2017
  19. Archtop

    Archtop Soft Dead Crimson Cow

    Location:
    Greater Boston, MA
    I can't give you any good recommendations for string instrument dealers in the NY/NJ metro area, but just as examples, here are some dealers in the Boston area:

    Rutman's Violins: Welcome to Rutman's Violins Shop
    Volker Nahrmann: The Nahrmann Bass Shop - Home
    Upton Bass String Instrument Company: https://uptonbass.com/
    Wiessmeyer Violins: Wiessmeyer Violins Home
    Wood and Strings: Wood and Strings

    Some of these are located within walking distance of Symphony Hall, but they really are scattered all around.

    As far as learning the double bass, I know you indicated that "take lessons" doesn't count, but I don't see a viable alternative unless you are already conversant on a related instrument. I had 12 years on electric bass and 15 on guitar when I bought my double bass in 1992 so I was self-taught for the first four years and then spent six years taking lessons with jazz bassist and Berklee Professor Bruce Gertz. If you've never played a fretless instrument before, intonation is the biggest thing along with bowing technique, which is not second nature to me anyway.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2017
  20. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Great advice - thanks. :)
     
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  21. ibanez_ax

    ibanez_ax Forum Resident

    It's been 2 years since I listened to this one. My opinion hasn't changed. Wow. YMMV.

    [​IMG]
     
  22. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Right you are. :D

    What's your preferred mode of listening?

    I mostly listen to CDs and vinyl. Most of my CM collection is on CD. All of my recent CM acquisitions are on CD.

    But, right now, I've got on the turntable, "Victoria - Requiem/Alonso Lobo - Versa est in luctum" performed by The Tallis Scholars on Gimell.

    [​IMG]
     
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  23. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    The double bass has a great advantage. No one expects you to cart it to school. You do need large hands.
     
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  24. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    With respect to opera, a large percentage of performance are devoted to these 5 composers:

    Verdi/ Wagner/ Mozart/ Puccini/ Rossini

    I have those below often in multiple audio performances and DVDs:

    Verdi: Falstaff, Othello
    Wagner: Meistersinger, Tristan, Lohengrin, Hollander, Ring
    Mozart: Don Giovanni, Cosi, Figaro, Clemenza di Tito, Idomeneo, Lucio Silla, Il Re Pastore, Magic Flute
    Puccini: Boheme, Madame Buttefly, Fanciulla del West, La Rondine, Turandot
    Rossini: Barber of Seville, Italiana in Algierie, Count d'Ory, Cenerentola
     
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  25. TokenGesture

    TokenGesture Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I love that record, I have it on CD. Big Tallis Scholars fan. But these days I almost exclusively listen on headphones, either at my desktop DAC/Amp or on the road with a high end Sony Walkman.
     

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