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ContrapunctusIX

this set is a far cry from Chailly's earlier ultra slow and soupy cycle with the CGB. If you enjoy Brahms in the Reiner/Toscanini mold, give this set a try.

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John F wrote:The Busch String Quartet:

Beautiful, and in decent sound no less! Thanks, John.

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my favorite fugue (yeah, it's Bach, how boring and unoriginal) gMq44NLoVPc As you probably know, that's also taken from a cantata (no.29), as is much of the B minor Mass. However, my favorite choral fugue, the one I consider to be the greatest choral fugue ever written, is the not borrowed first Ky...

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Among the newest, the Leipzig Quartet is also very good. I'm familiar with this recording. It's beautiful, but so fast! No need to rush through something this gorgeous...why not linger just a little while longer? Another commendable recent performance is the Prazak quartet, which also has the benef...

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The first time I heard that movement, I thought that it could not possibly have been composed in the musical milieu of two hundred years ago. In fact, it could not possibly have been composed at all. But there it is. he was writing in Lydian mode either several centuries before it was fashionable (...

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my favorite fugue (yeah, it's Bach, how boring and unoriginal)

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I can't get enough of this work, I am currently listening to the Talich Quartet play it. Written following his recovery from an intestinal illness that very nearly killed him, this meditative thanksgiving to the Divinity for his life is in my opinion one of the most sublime musical utterances ever c...

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Has anyone found a complete list of what's included in this set? The closest I've seen is on jpc.de (and bigshot's post), but it only lists the newly remastered material. Unless there are some rare gems in here, I'd have a hard time justifying spending that much for what amounts to new remasterings ...

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Finale of Bartok's CFO:

skip to 3:52.

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Higher read speeds do not necessarily mean lower quality. Digital rips are either accurate or they aren't, and usually inaccurate rips are the result of damaged disks, not the quality of the ripping software. And I've found that different disk drives will make more of a difference with damaged disk...

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In regards to ripping software: you aren't likely to find a better program in terms of rip accuracy than Exact Audio Copy, which also features a Gracenote & AccurateRip plugin and can be easily configured to rip to FLAC. It also allows you to limit read speed, as higher rates will reduce the overall...

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Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 "Romantic"
Vienna Philharmonic & Karl Bohm
Decca

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jbuck919 wrote:
Schubert's late sonatas did not always enjoy high favor.

yes, and during his own time Bach was considered an average composer and held in lower esteem than Telemann. What's your point?

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I can't believe this is even a debate. Schubert, especially late Schubert, is undeniably great, regardless of the genre for which he wrote OR one's personal opinions.

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Brahms: Symphony No. 4; Haydn-Variations; Alt-Rhapsodie
Royal Concertgebouw Orch & Eduard van Beinum
Aafje Heynis (Alt-Rhapsodie)
Universal Japan

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Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 Chicago Symphony Orch & Fritz Reiner JVC Japan http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6156KW0AQ3L._SL500_AA300_.jpg Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 Chicago Symphony Orch & Fritz Reiner Emil Gilels, piano JVC Japan http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51usJ6jkeCL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

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The first three works I came to really like would make a good symphony program: Haydn's Military Symphony, the Overture and Venusberg Music from Wagner's Tannhauser, and Stravinsky's Firebird--the complete ballet, not the suite. I first became aware of being aware of classical music (it was always ...

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that's a shame Lance. Sorry to hear this.

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You bring back very fond memories! I, too, have wandered those stores you mention near Harvard Square. I think Tower went out first, then HMV. I also remember being in London and visiting the purple HMV-signed stores. Same with NYC ... Music Masters, Chambers Record Corp., Sam Goody (when Sam Goody...

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The HMV Store in near Harvard in Cambridge closed along time ago. It's too bad - Boston had some great stores -the Big Tower Store at Mass Ave/Newbury, and the Harvard Square stores....all long gone I remember those stores well, back when I was in school I would hop on the T from Davis Sq. a few st...

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Likely about 80 physical discs, 50 classical and 30 rock. Probably another 100 or so digital FLAC downloads, the physical medium just isn't very important to me anymore.

On a side note, Lance may have a problem

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Chalkperson wrote:you trust Theory and Meter Readings, I trust my ears...

Well said, Chalkie. What I learned from this thread is that not all ears are created equal...

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And of course, there have been many carefully conducted double blind test of cables that have shown that if properly constructed, there is absolutely no difference between cables. Radio Shack wires score the same as much more expensive ones. So, I have a question, you are obviously so impressed wit...

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For those interested in the technical reasons why high sampling rates can actually sound worse than a normal CD, here is a pretty comprehensive and clearly written article... http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html This theoretical treatise makes one crucial mistake, assuming that stu...

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My guess is that all this will become moot very soon as faster internet and larger hard drives and faster processors arrive on the scene: we'll all end up using .wav files in the very near future anyway....... the only problem with raw WAV files is the inability to add tags which are transferable f...

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MP3 320 is different than MP3 LAME 320. Try LAME. It really pays to keep up to date with technology. It changes so fast, what might have been true three years ago isn't true now. It also helps to understand how digital audio works, for instance fundamental principles like the Nyquist Theory. I can'...

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Two points: all MP3s I used in my analysis were MP3 320. Also, I'm doing my listening via a digital media player hooked up to my AVR, which has Burr-Brown DACs that can handle PCM up to 24/192 in quality. I won't address the rest of your response, as everything you mentioned is highly debated. Let's...

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By the way, you mentioned 24 bit downloads... The main difference between 16 bit and 24 bit is dynamic range. The resolution at normal listening levels is identical. The additional information in 24 bit is all down below -60dB, which is great if you're mixing and need to pull up a detail without pu...

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did they play just the AAC files? If no comparison was done, then yes the speakers may have sounded great but without a reference point why does this information matter?. I've compared high bitrate AAC to The original CD in a line level matched direct comparison and there was no audible difference....

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One of the best manufacturers of high end loudspeakers did a demonstration for a group of audiophile magazine reviewers. It was organized to introduce a new line of speakers that cost almost $100,000 for a pair. The reviewers listened and unanimously declared them the best speakers they had ever he...

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I am EXTREMELY picky about sound quality. I did a direct A/B switchable, line level matched comparison between an original CD and an AAC 256 VBR file I made in iTunes using both my best headphones and my full speaker system. They sounded identical. Those who say compressed audio sounds bad are just...

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Beethoven: Symphonies 4 & 5 New York Philharmonic & Bruno Walter United Archives http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41tSRaap-uL._SL500_AA300_.jpg I'm not overly familiar with this label having only heard a few of their CDs, but they've done an excellent job with these recordings, which were made ...

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If you are hunting for HIP Beethoven (and judging by the OP you are) I can't help you, but if you are looking for something more traditional, I'd recommend investigating: Cluytens/BPO- If you don't already have this, it should be the first set you look at. It's also a bargain. Konwitschny/LGO (Berli...

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A big loss for jazz and music in general, no doubt. His experiments in time with the Brubeck Quartet will always hold a place in my heart, not just Time Out , but Time Further Out , Time in Outer Space and Time Changes . His fusion of jazz with traditional western European classical elements was not...

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Brahms: Symphony No. 1
London Symphony Orchestra & Jascha Horenstein
Chesky

Schubert: String Quartet No. 15
Leipzig Quartet
MD&G

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For those that missed this set of the complete Beethoven string quartets when it was released on the now-defunct Calliope label, here's your chance to pick up these fine performances! List price looks to be around $60.00 for the 7-disc set, which isn't cheap by any means but still much more reasonab...

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great reissue with the Beethoven and Brahms concerto cycles he performed with Szell. These are a must for the superior remastered sound quality, especially for the Beethoven cycle which had never been remastered until now.

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Debussy, Ravel: String Quartets Ysaye Quartet Decca http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61MjsaAMe0L._SL500_AA300_.jpg at maestrob's suggestion I picked up this CD on the cheap from amazon.com. As maestrob noted, the performances are exemplary. maestro hit the nail on the head in referring to them ...

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Recently picked up the Brilliant Classics box with the string quartets and am enjoying them immensely :D that's the Cuarteto Latinoamericano set right? Lovely music in the neoclassical vein, a far cry from his Bachianas but still highly enjoyable 20th century chamber music, and beautifully played a...

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Mahler: Symphony No. 7 Berlin Philharmonic & Claudio Abbado DGG http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RE%2BxVO9aL._SL500_AA300_.jpg Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 Royal Concertgebouw & Eugen Jochum Tahra http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61ELb6HA4KL._AA300_.jpg Stravinsky: The Firebird; Petrushka Ph...

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Franck: String Quartet; Violin Sonata; Piano Quintet Ysaye Quartet (Quintet, Quartet) Pascal Roge, piano (Sonata, Quintet) Guillame Sutre, violin (Sonata) Ysaye Records http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41GnJiVIzDL._SL500_AA300_.jpg These are polished, vital performances of Franck's greatest cha...

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Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta; Piano Concertos 1, 2 & 3 Budapest Festival Orchestra & Ivan Fischer Zoltan Kocsis, piano Philips http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51H3VFnAx8L._SL500_AA300_.jpg Beethoven: Symphony No. 7; Emperor Concerto Pittsburgh Symphony & William Steinberg Ru...

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Hindemith: Sonata for 2 Pianos; Sonata for Piano 4 Hands
Kalle & Piret Randalu
MD&G

Dvorak: Syms 8 & 9
Budapest Festival Orchestra & Ivan Fischer
Philips

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Of his 3 cycles my favourite is the one with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, which doesn´t sound "chamber" at all. The COE cycle is admirable, and that cycle is certainly the best-played of the 3 Berglund cycles. However I find the somewhat smaller orchestra detracts from some of the "big" moments...

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A website poster raves about the whole cycle, especially the 7th. The 4th was the standout for you. How did you find the 5th? Cheers Martin Berglund's conception of the Seventh is outstanding, but I'm less convinced in the execution. The Bournemouth ensemble hits a few rough patches at critical jun...

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ouch, I wish I'd waited! I paid an arm an a leg buying the Toshiba EMI discs from amazon.co.jp.

It's a nice set, more romantically inclined than his later sets w/ Helsinki or the COE, although not as well played. I can recommend it for a particularly excellent Fourth symphony.

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that's a tough question, during the baroque era it was often difficult to Telemann from a woman...

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thanks! i saw that one too actually (and it's also on itunes). same question: is this the studio recording? if yes, i'll buy it. florian it is indeed the studio performance. p.s.: what are your other favourites of this one, contrapunctus? As far as stereo recordings go, off the top of my head: Rich...

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Reiner time!

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Chicago Sym & Fritz Reiner
RCA

Dvorak: New World Symphony
Chicago Sym & Fritz Reiner
RCA

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