Listenin' to Classical Music and Conversation

There are few pianists that evoke such emotional depth as Argerich, yet do it so effortlessly ...
For the same reason I've always enjoyed the Ashkenazy set of the three concertos.

 

Thank you.

 

From my relatively talentless point of view, I'd think anyone of any age would be able to hold their head high having written this music.

 

At that age, I was reading comic books and discovering girls. Not that those are bad things.

 

Never listened much to classical music seriously until around the mid-eighties when I decided it was time to start. I was familiar with a lot of pieces but not knowledgable about the best versions, etc. So once I decided on what I wanted, I would consult the Penguin Guide To Classical Music for their recommendation and buy that version. I hadn't bought many over the last few years, but have recently started again. My latest purchases are for Light Classical music which I remember from my youth listening to the Light Programme in the fifties. In fact my No. 1 choice for Classic FM's Hall Of Fame is Elizabethan Serenade by Ronald Binge - a perfectly sublime 3m23s.

 

So THIS is where everyone went! I thought the other classical thread seemed unusually quiet over the weekend.
Good concept, Bluemooze.
I'll have to go back and catch up on the previous posts...

 

Welcome! I'm glad you found it.

 

It's a shame Scott doesn't post here anymore. He had strong opinions, many of which I didn't agree with but usually interesting. His posts about Yuja Wang were always interesting.

 

Just listened to it on YouTube - very nice. Couldn't help but wonder if Mr. Binge was a source of inspiration for Bert Kaempfert?

 

Maybe we'll hear from Scott again if Yuja releases a new album.

 

Getting back to classical & vinyl after concentrating recently on my jazz CDs. 2 LP-set issued 5/59. Recorded in Victoria Hall, Geneva, 10/58. Producer: James Walker. Engineer: Roy Wallace.

 

Have you ever heard this Scriabin/Ashkenazy disc? I'm listening to it now.
"Scriabin - Le Poeme de l'extase*/Piano Concerto/Prometheus" performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (and the Cleveland Orchestra*) led by Lorin Maazel on London.

I've been considering ordering the Ashkenazy 50 CD Decca box set. Are you able to recommend it?

 

I've got some London opera box sets from that time period and the sound quality is outstanding.

 

The Ashkenazy 50 Years on Decca box is really a mixed bag, some good performances and some lesser ones. His interpretations of works by later composers like Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Shostakovich are often better liked than his Beethoven and Mozart, which are uneven. Contents:
CD 1 Rachmaninov 3 (Fistoulari) & 2 (Kondrashin)
CD 2 Tchaikovsky 1 & Schumann
CD 3 Mozart: Sonata for 2 pianos + Schumann + Beethoven: Quintett, op.16
CD 4 Chopin: 4 Ballades (1964) + Concerto 2
CD 5 Mozart: Concerti K246 & 271 (Kertész) + Sonata K576
CD 6 Chopin: 4 Scherzi & Barcarolle (1967) + Schumann: Fantasie (1965)
CD 7 Prokofiev: Sonatas 7 & 8 + Liszt: Mephisto Waltz 1
CD 8 Franck: Violin Sonata + Brahms: Horn Trio (Perlman, Tuckwell)
CD 9 Rachmaninov 1 & 4 + Rhapsody (Previn)
CD 10 Scriabin: Prometheus & Concerto + Poème de l’extase
CD 11 Chopin: Etudes, opp.10 & 25
CD 12 Mozart: Concerti for 2 & 3 pianos (Barenboim, T’song) + K466 (Schmidt-Isserstedt)
CD 13 Beethoven 3 & 4 (Solti)
CD 14 Prokofiev 2 & 3
CD 15 Beethoven: “Spring” & “Kreutzer” Sonatas (Perlman)
CD 16 Rachmaninov: Suites + Symphonic Dances (Previn)
CD 17 Rachmaninov: Preludes
CD 18 Shostakovich: Michelangelo Sonnets (Shirley-Quirk) + Piano Quintet
CD 19 Scriabin: Sonatas 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10 + short pieces
CD 20 Mussorgsky Prokofiev /Rachmaninov Songs (Söderström)
CD 21 Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony + Francesca da Rimini
CD 22 Rachmaninov: Sonata 2 + Etudes-tableaux opp.33 & 39
CD 23 Tchaikovsky 4 + Violin Concerto (Belkin)
CD 24 Mozart Concerti K453 & 467
CD 25 Beethoven: Sonatas 1, 6-8 & 20
CD 26 Sibelius 2 + Finlandia, Tapiola & Luonnotar
CD 27 Tchaikovsky 6 + Romeo & Juliet
CD 28 Beethoven: “Hammerklavier” (1981) & “Waldstein” Sonatas
CD 29 Beethoven 5 & 7
CD 30 Bartók 1 & 2 + Sonata for 2 pianos
CD 31 Brahms 1 (Haitink) + Cello Sonata 1 (Harrell)
CD 32 Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit (1982) & Valses nobles + Trio
CD 33 Mussorgsky Pictures (piano original + Ashkenazy orchestration)
CD 34 Brahms 2m(Haitink) + Cello Sonata 2 (Harrell)
CD 35 Rachmaninov Symphony 1 + Symphonic Dances
CD 36 Rachmaninov Symphony 3 + The Bells
CD 37 Beethoven 1 & 2 (Mehta)
CD 38 & 39 Prokofiev: Cinderella
CD 40 Schumann: Arabeske + Papillons + Etudes symphoniques (1984)
CD 41 R. Strauss: Don Quixote (Harrell) + Also sprach Zarathustra
CD 42 Prokofiev: Symphonies 5 & 1 + Dreams + Autumnal
CD 43 Beethoven “Emperor” + Choral Fantasy (Cleveland)
CD 44 Shostakovich: Piano Concerto 2 (Ortiz) & Violin Concerto 1 (Belkin)
CD 45 Brahms: Piano Quintet + Clarinet Trio (Cleveland)
CD 46 Mendelssohn: Symphonies 1 & 5
CD 47 Shostakovich 7 “Leningrad” Symphony
CD 48 & 49 Shostakovich: 24 Preludes & Fugues
CD 50 Beethoven: “Diabelli” Variations + Sonata 28

 

Thank you.

 

Now listening to "Franck - Piano Quintet/Liszt - Harmonies poetiques et religieuses & Ave Maria" performed by Sviatoslav Richter and the Borodin String Quartet (Franck) on Philips.

 

Yes, I miss his posts too although we never seemed to agree about anything....

 

Please refresh my memory and tell me which Scott you are referring to. By the way, as was discussed on CMC a few times, there are more members missing in action, like @Robin L and @jukes

 

So, I've already got:

• Beethoven sonatas box
• Chopin box
• Beethoven piano concertos box
• and a bunch of other individual CDs and records

Am I good?

 

His Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Shostakovich are generally not bad.

 

CD 25 from the Marriner Argo Years box, although this one was originally released on ASV.

 

The next superstar pianist. Yuja Wang.

 

Thanks. His last post was made on December 29, 2015.

 

I have this one. Quite good as I remember.