Classical currently spinning thread

[Telecine]

Boots

Some reasonable reviews of the CD-based versions are available here.

Another recommendation here.

Edited August 22, 2010 by Telecine

[Boots-n-All]

Hi Boots, "World Record Club" was the Naxos of the 70's and 80's. Plenty of recordings, and very cheap - but not necessarily the best performance or best recording. Well perhaps that is not a very good comparison, because modern Naxos is really quite good. I have heard some real crackers on Naxos - for some of the more obscure pieces, the definitive recordings are on Naxos.

Hi Keith,

I bought a lot of stuff from the World Record Club in the 70's. A lot of it was actually very good and on a par with the best available (my copy of Pagganni's 4th violin concerto comes to mind). But a lot was rather ordinary and in a similar way I get the same feeling for the Naxos label (my copy of their Carmen Ballet Suite, by Schchedrin, is mind blowing).

I used to have on line access to almost the entire Naxos catalogue, via Emusic, but they recently closed me off saying that they couldn't sell into Australia.

Any more suggestions?

Boots.

[handy steel]

Playing tonight.

Riccardo Muti - Carmina Burama. (I'm not really a classical fan, but I love this piece).

LP

[ATTACH=CONFIG]22786[/ATTACH]

[Jake]

It's not often I spin classical, but I thought it time I gave my system a work out from the finer side of the musical spectrum.

From the Franklin Mint Collection

Record 35:

Side A: Bach / Britten / English Chamber Orchestra

Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in g Major, BWV 1048

Side B: Bach / Britten / English Chamber Orchestra

Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050

[raptor]

I'm having my first listen to this new album El Encuentro

[ATTACH]22983[/ATTACH]

A live recording of bandoneon, cello, saxophone and 24 piece string orchestra on ECM. Emotional Argentinian compositions by Dino Saluzzi described in the cd booklet as a 4 part sinfonia concertante.

I bought this because Saluzzi & Lechner's Ojos Negros was my favourite album of 2007.

[jkn]

Hello

Yesterday I was listening Shostakovich Symphony No:13 “Babi Yar”

Conducted by Dmitrij Kitajenko SACD

I think that this is very complex piece of music nevertheless it seams to be very enjoyable and easy to absorb at the same time if that make sense.?

Anyway great piece of music

[Keith_W]

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Edited July 20, 2011 by Keith_W

[Jake]

Keith, I so often read such descriptive renderings of a conductor's performance, and it always leaves me wondering just how much of the end result is down to the conductor and how much is down to say the lead violinist or other key players. I'm sure this really is a topic for a new thread, but I am curious as to how a conductor can really control the whole affair to such a finite degree. It seems to reduce the musicians to mere instruments, which of course may actually be the case.

Cheers,

Jake

[Keith_W]

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Edited July 20, 2011 by Keith_W

[Boots-n-All]

I have this disc. It is truly superb - great recording, great performance. Kitajenko seems to eschew the breakneck speed that many interpreters seem to favour. He also eschews the overt mania that many others (e.g. Gergiev) bring to the piece. But that does not mean he is boring - far from it. He conducts with great clarity and insight, and allowing the sound to become ragged when it needs to be.

I have written elsewhere that clarity of sound is not only the recording engineer's responsibility - the conductor and orchestra have a lot to do with it as well. If the bowing is not uniform, the sound of the string section will be muddied up. If the wind section is too timid, it will be lost in the orchestral maelstorm. If cellists are not assertive enough, they can easily get lost. If the conductor fails to take note of any of this - the result will be muddy sound.

The Kitajenko recording is an excellent example of clear conducting, clear playing, and clear recording. You can listen so deep into the recording that you can hear black spaces between notes with some of the instruments. Needless to say, instrumental timbre and dynamics are perfectly preserved. This is THE Shostakovich symphony collection to get.

Hi Keith,

This 12 SACD collection has caught my attention - unfortunately I can't seem to find it locally - any suggestions?

I prefer to buy local if I can - however I have seen it on a German site for less than 45 Euros inc postage

& will go that way if I have to.

Boots.

PS - I picked up a cd of the Manfred conducted by Rostopovic - better than my LP but still doesn't win me - guess I just don't like the Manfred.

[Keith_W]

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Edited July 20, 2011 by Keith_W

[Boots-n-All]

What do you mean by "local", Boots? If you are in Melbourne - try Thomas' Music. That's where I bought my copy from.

In Sydney - Fish Music should probably have it.

Thanks Keith,

Neither shop has it listed in their on-line catalogue, so I've asked my local pusher to try to source it for me at a reasonable price - if he can't I'll order it from Germany.

Boots.

[DaveMS]

Picked up some Strauss (Richard that is. No waltzing allowed) with Leopold Stokowski conducting the Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York (evidently a pseudonym for the NYPO) on original Everest vinyl for a few dollars today. Till Eulenspiegel, Salome: Dance of the Seven Veils and Don Juan.

The record has some surface noise audible in the quiet bits but being Strauss, they are few and far between

Great music in that bombastic, turn of the century kind of way.

[Hergest]

As it's a glorious sunday morning i've got the Complete Sacred Choral Music 7 lp boxset by Vivaldi on. It's on Phillips, John Alldis Choir and the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Vittorio Negri. Beautiful recording and pressing and often a real workout for the cartridge with masses of sopranos all giving it their full voice. I can't manage all 14 sides in one sitting so i have a couple of lps a week.

I haven't a religious bone in my body but my word there's some beautiful music written for all the deities out there.

[Boots-n-All]

As it's a glorious sunday morning i've got the Complete Sacred Choral Music 7 lp boxset by Vivaldi on. It's on Phillips, John Alldis Choir and the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Vittorio Negri. Beautiful recording and pressing and often a real workout for the cartridge with masses of sopranos all giving it their full voice. I can't manage all 14 sides in one sitting so i have a couple of lps a week.

I haven't a religious bone in my body but my word there's some beautiful music written for all the deities out there.

Hi there,

As a "fundamentalist atheist", to use my wife's description, I couldn't agree with you more. However, I'm finding my doses of "Sacred Choral Music" on SACD rather than vinyl, my LSO's Messiah & Linn Records' Matthew Passion, come to mind.

I discovered SACD's before my vinyl "resurrection" &, so far, when it comes to large choral work, I'm more inclined to look for an SACD, but for a piano concerto say, I'll look in my vinyl collection - currently thrashing Tchaikovsky's 2nd Piano Concerto (Emil Gilels - New Philharmonia with Lorin Maazel).

Boots.

Boots.

[hired goon]

G'day,

Fauré: Melodies -- found this 5LP box in the local thrift store for US$1. Basically Gabriele Fauré's complete collection of chanson (or leider, if yer Deutsche) sung by Gerald Souzay and Elly Ameling, with piano accompaniment. Souzay is a wonderful baritone IMHO, although I only have one LP featuring his voice, and Ameling is a wonderful soprano. And the texts are by (amongst others) Victor Hugo and Charles Baudelaire, so when I spotted this I knew it would be interesting. And it is ... starting from simple melodies and progressively getting more adventurous. The condition is so-so, but the music shines through well enough. There's a 4CD version of this but it seems to be out of print and quite expensive. Apparently there's a collection of Fauré chanson on Hyperion but I've not heard it. However I dunno if it would be as exquisite as this collection.

--Geoff

Edited September 16, 2010 by hired goon

[Hergest]

Beethoven's 7th symphony. I've played this over the years out of a boxset by the Bavarian Radio Orchestra but for some reason the recording is focused on the left all the time which makes listening, especially in the study, quite an odd experience. Last week though i bought a Von Karajan and the Berlin Phil recording, a 1978 pressing on Deutsche Gramaphon of a 1962 recording. My word it's excellent. The extraordinarily boisterous 4th and final movement nearly had me leaping out of my chair.

[DaveMS]

I love the 7th too, especially the last movement. Must get a Beethoven Symphony set on vinyl. Any recommendations?

Currently listening to Holst: The Planets. Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic on a reissued Decca vinyl. Stirring stuff.

[Hergest]

I love the 7th too, especially the last movement. Must get a Beethoven Symphony set on vinyl. Any recommendations?

Currently listening to Holst: The Planets. Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic on a reissued Decca vinyl. Stirring stuff.

Yep, i've got that Decca reissue, it's a good 'un.

I've only got the 2 copies of the 7th. The one i was listening to last night sounded excellent to me which was the Deutche Gramaphon Resonance label 2535 306. According to the notes on the sleeve it's a top quality performance. The other copy is the one with the odd off balance sound level which is one lp from a Deutche Gramaphon boxset of Beethoven's Symphonies 1-9 plus a few overtures which is by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. The 7th is the only crook recording amongst the lot

[DaveMS]

Thanks for the tips Hergest.

Tonight it's some Shostakovich piano preludes & fugues played by the rather scary looking Ms Nikolaeva. Beautiful playing and such sad but soothing music.

On CD

[hired goon]

G'day,

Tonight it's some Shostakovich piano preludes & fugues played by the rather scary looking Ms Nikolaeva. Beautiful playing and such sad but soothing music.

On CD

I've got this CD ... in fact I ended up getting it twice because I "lost" my original copy. I've had other recordings of the same work but I always gravitated back to this one. Sublime music, and performance. I also have Nikolaeva's recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations and Die Kunst der Fugue. The Goldbergs are a little stodgy but I do enjoy her Kunst.

--Geoff

[Keith_W]

The Goldbergs are a little stodgy but I do enjoy her Kunst.

What you do with her in your bedroom is totally not suitable for retelling on SNA!!

(Pervert! Go for someone your own age next time!)

[DaveMS]

The Shostakovich is the only recording of hers that I own so I haven't had a chance to get into her Kunst. (cue Benny Hill music)

[Orpheus]

G'day,

I've got this CD ... in fact I ended up getting it twice because I "lost" my original copy. I've had other recordings of the same work but I always gravitated back to this one. Sublime music, and performance. I also have Nikolaeva's recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations and Die Kunst der Fugue. The Goldbergs are a little stodgy but I do enjoy her Kunst.

--Geoff

I'm going to ignore the opportunities here, and simply say that both her recordings of the Shostokovich preludes and fugues are first rate, and the recording of the art of the fugue is even a level above that, being sublime.

[DaveMS]

Thank you Orpheus for raising the tone of the most civilized thread on SNA. I apologize for my part in briefly dragging it into the gutter :-)

Ms Tatiana deserves our respect and admiration for her sublime playing.