The Classical Music Guide Forums

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To me, vuvuzela is not even an acceptable noise. Music?

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Rudolf Serkin is remarkable. In fact, he was always deeply inspired when playing Schubert. But my favorite, because of his elegance, classic balance, dynamic, and even a certain tenderness: Clifford Curzon, another pianist who was always at his best in Schubert (his version of the Sonata D. 850 is e...

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RAVEL: Piano Trio, Sonata for violin & cello, Sonata for violin & piano / Trio Dali A recording from 2008, with a great perfection in the details, very clear and with a good sense of the rhythmic contrasts. Perhaps the best version of the Sonata Violin/Cello. In the Trio I still prefer the Beaux-Art...

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ERNST KRENEK: Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae

/ RIAS Kammerchor, Marcus Creed

A very personal work, not without a certain beauty, but almost abstract. It is difficult to me to love a music that seems to avoid any emotion. In special using a text as dramatic as the Lamentations of Jeremiah.

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The libretto and the plot may seem a little absurd and the characters are too unidimensional, because Beethoven is not interested in their psychological singularity. They are more symbols, ethical symbols. In this aspect, Fidelio always reminds me of Moses und Aron. This said, the music is extraordi...

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In both Polonaises opus 26, I like the version of Rubinstein, powerful, with a good sense of the architecture of the works. But I would like, in some moments, more elegance and attention to the details. Regarding the First Polonaise I remember being very impressed by an old recording of Svjatoslav R...

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Bartok or Enescu. Both were not only extraordinary composers but also great men, living according to ethical principles.

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I have two versions:

The Tallis Scholars, my favorite.

The version of the Ensemble Clement Janequin with the Ensemble Organum includes several Gregorian pieces between the movements of the Mass. So their version takes 51'34'' against the 29'25'' of the Tallis Scholars.

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The first time I heard Schönberg's "Moses und Aron" it was in the version conducted by Rosbaud. I don't remember the name of the soloist who performed Moses but I think that Aron was Helmuth Krebs. It was powerful but the sound was not very good. Years later Boulez and Gielen recorded versions with ...

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Uchida recorded a splendid version of Schönberg's piano concerto, with Boulez and the best version of Webern's Variations opus 27 (very superior to Pollini or Rosen).

It was a big surprise to me, since I never liked her interpretations of Mozart.

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Masquerade is a very beautiful opera, in special the 3rd act. I had a version in an LP from Unicorn, directed by Frandsen, and it is the only I ever heard.

I will try to find the DVD you mentioned.

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Listened again last night Schumann's last works. The Variations are not very inspired, seem pale and emotionally empty ... I think that Brahms was right when he showed his opposition to the publication of this work, even if he used one of the themes for his own Variations opus 23. But "Gesange der f...

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BOCCHERINI: 6 String Quartets opus 2 / Alea Ensemble

This music sounds very personal, with moments of remarkable inspiration like the Quartet in C minor. In this period Haydn didn't do better in his first two opus.

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I remember seing Rubinstein playing this Sonata in a concert, with his usual enthusiasm when he played live.

But his recording is not at that level.

My favorite version is the one of Curzon. Perfect articulation, emotion, superb dynamic.

Then, perhaps Arrau, Lupu and Kissin.

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The first version of Karajan may seem too dense and massive in certain moments.But he is powerful and with the best vocal soloists we can imagine (in special Janowitz and Wunderlich). No one played the Chaos the way Karajan did: it is unforgettable.

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RICHARD STRAUSS: Vier letzte Lieder / Gundula Janowitz, BPO, Karajan Janowitz voice is beautiful, the Berlin Philharmonic has also a beautiful color. A version a bit slow that never reaches the intense emotion of Schwarzkopf and Ackermann. But it is better than the version that Karajan recorded year...

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For now, I can only remember one composer: Hugues Dufour. Some of the parts of his masterpiece Les Hivers were composed in 2001. But he is not exactly a young man. Regarding interpreters, the most recent good surprise I had, was the Jerusalem String Quartet. I have also a great hope in the pianists ...

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I only heard Cerquetti in Gioconda. It was an old LP, with Del Monaco, Bastianini, Siepi and Simionato. In fact it was the only complete version of this opera that I ever had. All of them were great, deeply living their characters and with very beautiful voices.

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I think that The Rite of Spring was Stravinsky's supreme achievement. But he composed other masterpieces: Petrushka, Les Noces, L'Histoire du Soldat, the Symphony in three movements, the Symphony of Psalms, the Mass, the Cantata, the ballet Orfeus, Le Chant du Rossignol, Renard, In Memoriam Dylan Th...

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To me, the most remarkable recordings of Kondrashin are the box with Shostakovitch 15 Symphonies (in special the n. 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 & 13) and his recording of Glinka's Russlan and Ludmila with fabulous singers such as Nelepp, Lemeshev, Petrov and Firsova. I also love his recordings of Chopin's Fir...

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It was a big surprise to me, since I never liked much Paavo Jarvi.

But this is a splendid version, perhaps the second best - with those of van Beinum, Jochum and Furtwängler - after the extraordinary interpretation of Karl Böhm with the VPO.

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I never found a version as powerful and well balanced as the one of the Alban Berg Quartet in Schubert's 14th Quartet. The version of the Artis Quartet is very different, almost fragile, but very touching. These are my favorite versions. Regarding Schumann's piano Quintet, Serkin and the Budapest ga...

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The best souvenir I have of Stuart Burrows was his beautiful incarnation of Tamino in the version of the Magic Flute directed by Solti

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Helgoland is Bruckner's last work and in fact very beautiful. But, regarding Bruckner's choral music, I believe he did much better in the Te Deum, The Psalm 150 or the Mass in E minor.

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Yes, Colin Davis with the Boston Orchestra gave a very good version of Sibelius Symphonies, in special the 5th. The 2nd is also good.

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My choice:

Polonaise opus 44

24 Preludes opus 28

Nocturne opus 48/1

Nocturne opus 32/2

First Piano Concerto

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ENESCU: Symphonhie de chambre; Dixtuor / Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne, Foster One of the most essential recordings of Enescu. The Symphonie de chambre, is Enecu's last work and one of his supreme masterpieces. The Dixtuor, composed almost 50 years before the Symphonie de chambre, is a very poeti...

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My favorite is Friedrich Gulda (now on BRILLANT CLASSICS). The perfection of the articulation in the first movement and the sensational sense of the rhythm in the variations of the Arietta. Solomon is very powerful in the first movement but his version of the Arietta suffers from a certain uniformit...

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ENESCU: Octet for strings. Very beautiful.

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My favorite Sonata is the n. 29, opus 106. The Adagio is, to me, the greatest moment of Beethoven. The Fugue of the 4th movement is another extraordinary moment. This Sonata has a perfect architecture and a supreme quality of inspiration. After the opus 106 my favorite Sonatas are the opus 111, 110,...

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PURCELL: "Music for a while" / Alfred Deller, William Christie (1979)

The last recording of Alfred Deller and his best.
No one was able to sing with such emotion and elegance these songs, in special "O Solitude", one of Purcell's greatest inspirations.

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I remember listening to many of her records. Preciosilla with Del Monaco and Tebaldi in "La Forza del Destino", the legendary "Norma" with Callas and Del Monaco, "La Cenerentola" with Cesare Valetti, "Aida" with Tebaldi, Bergonzi and Karajan. She was a great artist, the best Italian mezzo soprano of...

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My favorite versions, even if the diction is not perfect are Souzay/Baldwin and Charles Panzera/Cortot. They are very subtle and with a wonderful sense of the poetry of this work. Fischer Dieskau with Eschenbach is very good, but this version is more artificial than those of the two French barytons....

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SMETANA: The Kiss, opera / Cervinkova, Blachut, Chalabala (1952) The plot is so naif that it makes us smile. But the music is very beautiful. Smetana was already deaf when he composed it. The Kiss is one of Smetana's masterpieces and would deserve to be much more known. A good interpretation of Chal...

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BANCHIERI / STRIGGIO: Comedy Madrigals / Concerto Italiano, Alessandrini I was surprised with the quality of Striggio's Madrigals. The polyphony is superb, and the imititative style suggests the influence of Janequin. I wouldn't say the same regarding the works of Banchieri. The music is poor, only ...

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May I suggest a new interpreter? I was very impressed with this CD.

It is Andrei Korobeinikov and he recorded the Sonatas 4, 5, 8 & 9 and some Poems, including Vers la flamme.
A deep poetic interpretation, with a very beautiful sound.

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To me, this interpretations are (with the Wolf Lieder with Barenboim) the best of Fischer Dieskau. I only see two other barytons at this level: Panzera and Souzay.

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My suggestion:

- Carnaval opus 9 (Nelson Freire)

- Frauenliebe und Leben (Sena Jurinac)

- Kreisleriana (Horowitz)

- Piano Quintet (Serkin, Budapest Quartet)

- First Symphony (Sawallisch)

- Manfred Overture (Furtwängler, Berlin Philharmonic)

- Requiem für Mignon (Bernhard Klee)

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Above all, the piano music. The Images, Preludes, Etudes, Estampes, Pour le piano, Isle Joyeuse, Masques. And En Blanc et Noir. To me, the best works composed for the piano after Beethoven. The chamber music has not the same quality. I think that the string Quartet is a minor work. But the three Son...

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The only version I have of The Liturgy is the one with the Choir of the Bulgarian Radio, directed by Milkov. It is very beautiful.

Regarding the Vespers I believe that the version of Svechnikov is the best.

This two works are, at least in my humble opinion, Rachmaninov's masterpieces.

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I never liked Klemperer in Haydn. I remember listening to one of his last recordings, an LP with the Symphonies 92 & 95. It was really massive, with no dynamic, no nuances. Regarding the Symphony 102, with the sublime Adagio, my favorite version is the one of Jochum with the LPO. But the old version...

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Regarding all the versions I have heard (this is my favorite orchestral work of the 20th century) my preference goes to: Markevitch, Philharmonia. Markevitch, Suisse Romande. And perhaps above all the others, Ancerl with the Czech Philharmonic. But there are other versions that I love: Boulez with C...

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In both quartets I prefer the emotion and the beautiful sound of the Italiano Quartet (PHILIPS).
I also love the version of the Talich Quartet, more lyrical, in special in Debussy.

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BRUCKNER: The nine Symphonies / Te Deum / Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Volkmar Andreae (1953) A very remarkable box, one of the best versions of the symphonies and Te Deum with the first recorded by Jochum (DG). Andreae is very fast, tense and dramatic, with an extraordinary cohesion regarding the str...

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Love his music. Boris Godunov, Khovantchina and the songs.

My favorite Russian composer with Stravinsky.

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GESUALDO DA VENOSA: Tenebrae / Hilliard Ensemble

One of the greatest monuments of music.

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My favorite among Levine's recordings and one of the few that I really love:

BERLIOZ: Romeo et Juliette, with von Otter, Langridge and the Berlin Philharmonic (DG).

Berlioz orchestra never sound so beautiful.

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Chalkperson
the problem with Clementi is that he has no voice of his own, he's just like Spohr in that respect...

Sometimes, Clementi has a voice of his own, and pretty impressive. Listen to the Sonata opus 34/2 played by Andreas Staier and it will be a surprise.

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Regarding the Symphony, I think the best choice would be Bernstein with the NYP (SONY). The ballet Nobilissima Visione is one of Hindemith's greatest masterpieces: the version conducted by Blomstedt with the San Francisco Orchestra (DECCA) is very beautiful and includes the Konzertmusik opus 50 and ...

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fishgrit I need to defend the Lindsays. Overall I think their Beethoven is great. Please find me a better Op 132 Heiliger Dankgesang. Two. The versions of the Italiano Quartet and the Busch Quartet. In fact, I don't think that the 15th Quartet is one of the best among the Lindsays interpretations. ...

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