Dilettanteque Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Tess Lark - Fantasy A nice way to start the day. As others in here will understand. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwbasement Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 One of my favorite records. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 (edited) In mid 2018 I started searching for a new recording of the Hammerklavier sonata in digital format. Why digital - because my main opportunity to listen to music was in the car on the way to and from work (until Covid-19). I have many recordings of Beethoven sonatas on vinyl - the complete Arrau Philips and a handful of Brendel (Philips), Gilels (DGG), Richter, etc. And on CD I have the ABC recordings of Gerard WIllems on the Stuart piano which sound wonderful in strong performances. None of the Hammerklavier recordings quite satisfied me. I trawled through snippets of many Hammerklavier recordings on Presto and made a spreadsheet of the tempos chosen by about 20 different performers whose recordings made it past my first cut. I also read the postings by someone named Todd (some other website - not Stereonet) who seemed to know all of the recordings ever made. In the end, I took his advice and listened to and then purchased the complete 1950's recordings by Kempff, which are excellent - speedy, witty and distinctive. Todd also loves Schnabel and Annie Fischer, but the surface noise from those ancient recordings is too distracting for me. During that exploration in 2018 I discovered the Brautigam performance on BIS and purchased that as a download. Here was a fortepiano that had a recorded sound that I could approach. Over the next few months those performances became my favourites, especially Les Adiuex and the Hammerklavier. Recently I purchased the entire set of his recordings on BIS, but this single disc is the one that got me hooked and is still on frequent rotation. Here is why I like his recordings so much. 1. the fortepiano gives me a new concept of how Beethoven intended the sonatas to sound. The modern Steinway is a mile away from that world of sound. Kempff's 1950 recordings are maybe half way between. 2. Brautigam's bravura piano playing is exciting. I see a glimpse of how Beethoven might have presented his new works when he performed the premiere. LvB was a great pianist and a great performer. Try the last movement of Brautigam's Les Adieux as an example. 3. similar to Kempff, the tempos of the faster movements are faster than many other performers. Beethoven wrote metronome markings on many of his scores and they are FAST. Some authors and musicologists have said that his metronome must have been faulty. They forget that LvB was a showman and did not have to contend with the resonance of the Steinway. 4. i especially like the way that the midrange figurations and melodies are present in Brautigam's performances. The music occurs as contrapuntal. 5. The recorded sound of the fortepiano is lovely - much better than many other recordings of the fortepiano by other performers. Beethoven's piano sonatas are his greatest legacy - for me they are ahead of his string quartets and symphonies. I do recommend that you try out some of Brautigam's recordings to expand the scope of what might have been intended. Edited March 29, 2020 by tonyg typos 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Here is a recording that I have been playing a lot recently. The piano trios are performed by Julius Katchen, Josef Suk and Janos Starker - three great solo performers who often performed chamber music together. The trio opus 8 is my favorite. I never understood how Brahms could write such great music so early in his career until I read that Brahms totally re-wrote the music many years later. The technical skill and teamwork of these performers is at the highest level. The Decca sound is very good and worth turning up one notch more than chamber music volume so that you are in the room instead of the hall. Classic performances. The second 'cello sonata is also a great performance. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Julius Katchen - Brahms: Works for Solo Piano Katchen on.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
att23 Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Enjoying Brahms: 5 Sonatas for violin & piano - vol.2 Played by Ulf Wallin on violin and Roland Pontinen piano It also comes in new eco packaging from BIS. So the sacd comes in thick cardboard bi-fold like those Mofi releases. I don’t like it nor hate it. It saves space for sure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Igor Levit - Beethoven: Late Piano Sonatas 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Tashi - Messiaen: Quartet For The End Of Time 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtexcnndrm99 Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Keep coming back to this one - UK Decca, Beethoven, Ashkenazy & CSO 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 (edited) Borodin Quartet - Shostakovich String Quartets (2018 version) Their version of the 8th is quite growing on me! Edited April 2, 2020 by Dilettanteque 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzdog@groovemasters Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 (edited) On 29/03/2020 at 8:45 PM, tonyg said: In mid 2018 I started searching for a new recording of the Hammerklavier sonata in digital format. Why digital - because my main opportunity to listen to music was in the car on the way to and from work (until Covid-19). I have many recordings of Beethoven sonatas on vinyl - the complete Arrau Philips and a handful of Brendel (Philips), Gilels (DGG), Richter, etc. And on CD I have the ABC recordings of Gerard WIllems on the Stuart piano which sound wonderful in strong performances. None of the Hammerklavier recordings quite satisfied me. I trawled through snippets of many Hammerklavier recordings on Presto and made a spreadsheet of the tempos chosen by about 20 different performers whose recordings made it past my first cut. I also read the postings by someone named Todd (some other website - not Stereonet) who seemed to know all of the recordings ever made. In the end, I took his advice and listened to and then purchased the complete 1950's recordings by Kempff, which are excellent - speedy, witty and distinctive. Todd also loves Schnabel and Annie Fischer, but the surface noise from those ancient recordings is too distracting for me. During that exploration in 2018 I discovered the Brautigam performance on BIS and purchased that as a download. Here was a fortepiano that had a recorded sound that I could approach. Over the next few months those performances became my favourites, especially Les Adiuex and the Hammerklavier. Recently I purchased the entire set of his recordings on BIS, but this single disc is the one that got me hooked and is still on frequent rotation. Here is why I like his recordings so much. 1. the fortepiano gives me a new concept of how Beethoven intended the sonatas to sound. The modern Steinway is a mile away from that world of sound. Kempff's 1950 recordings are maybe half way between. 2. Brautigam's bravura piano playing is exciting. I see a glimpse of how Beethoven might have presented his new works when he performed the premiere. LvB was a great pianist and a great performer. Try the last movement of Brautigam's Les Adieux as an example. 3. similar to Kempff, the tempos of the faster movements are faster than many other performers. Beethoven wrote metronome markings on many of his scores and they are FAST. Some authors and musicologists have said that his metronome must have been faulty. They forget that LvB was a showman and did not have to contend with the resonance of the Steinway. 4. i especially like the way that the midrange figurations and melodies are present in Brautigam's performances. The music occurs as contrapuntal. 5. The recorded sound of the fortepiano is lovely - much better than many other recordings of the fortepiano by other performers. Beethoven's piano sonatas are his greatest legacy - for me they are ahead of his string quartets and symphonies. I do recommend that you try out some of Brautigam's recordings to expand the scope of what might have been intended. Hi Tonyg, Thanks for your overview of LvB's sonatas. When I get some time & a new computer, i wil ask for your thoughts on his concertos, ok i just did! Also I have a number if recordings of moonlight & pathetique, some posted on this thread previously, including I think, a Kempff 1950s recording. I like the Claudio Arrau version . Regards Gary. Edited April 2, 2020 by jazzdog@groovemasters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steffen Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 (edited) On 29/03/2020 at 9:45 PM, tonyg said: In mid 2018 I started searching for a new recording of the Hammerklavier sonata in digital format. On the topic of Beethoven on fortepiano, you might enjoy this one, too: Excellently recorded and played on a Mathias Müller fortepiano, circa 1810. I'm a fan of historically informed and authentic instrument performances myself. The "historically informed" part being even more important than the "authentic instrument" one, although the two usually go hand in hand. You've probably seen this excellent and entertaining lecture by Malcom Bilson on how the notes don't quite mean today what they used to some 200 years ago, and how reading old scores takes some skill and dedication: Edited April 2, 2020 by Steffen tpyos 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Henryk Szeryng, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink - Bartok: Violin Concerto No. 2 and Rhapsody No. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MachineMastering Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Goyvaerts Trio - Part: Stabat Mater & Moody: Simeron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Borodin Quartet - Shostakovich String Quartet No.15 I had to return to the 15th. This started yesterday (when I was in the marathon of these works) coincidentally when I checked on how the world was going (https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus-data). The opening movement's solemnity was striking in these times. Just had to hear his concluding quartet again. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtexcnndrm99 Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 Cleaned this afternoon. First play through sounding quite pleasing. On 29/03/2020 at 10:45 AM, dwbasement said: One of my favorite records. Ooh I need a copy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtexcnndrm99 Posted April 3, 2020 Share Posted April 3, 2020 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwbasement Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 Nyffenegger - Tschaikowsky and Saint-Saens 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwbasement Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 Argerich and Rostropovich 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
att23 Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 On 02/04/2020 at 10:25 PM, Steffen said: On the topic of Beethoven on fortepiano, you might enjoy this one, too: Excellently recorded and played on a Mathias Müller fortepiano, circa 1810. I'm a fan of historically informed and authentic instrument performances myself. The "historically informed" part being even more important than the "authentic instrument" one, although the two usually go hand in hand. You've probably seen this excellent and entertaining lecture by Malcom Bilson on how the notes don't quite mean today what they used to some 200 years ago, and how reading old scores takes some skill and dedication: Thank you for the alert to Andreas Staier's recordings. I listened to some snippets on prestomusic.com and like them a lot. I also checked his recording of the Diabelli variations. - Tony 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 Melodie Zhao -- interesting young pianist. She recorded the Beethoven sonatas at age 19 and they are very good ( I have only listed to samples.) What else has she recorded recently I wondered and I found this awesome clip on YouTube. The piano sound is excellent - worth listening to with good headphones (or home theatre?). www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJpkoATOGiE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwbasement Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 Kempff and Menuhin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dilettanteque Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 Ronald Brautigam - Beethoven: Piano Sonatas 26, 27 & 29 Excellent suggestion.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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