The Classical Music Guide Forums

CharmNewton

I'm reminded that a couple of years ago I listened to Kempff's stereo Beethoven cycle over a roughly 5-week period and found it disappointing. I didn't have the feeling he had many of these sonatas really in his fingers, although that wasn't true for the really famous and popular ones and perhaps by...

CharmNewton

In case you may have missed this set earlier, it looks to have been reissued, at least for the U.S. market. Amazon.com is offering it again for $178.15 in the U.S.

John

CharmNewton

Gould lucked out with getting a chance to record Grofe's opus in stereo, as his friend Felix Slatkin's version from 1955 was done in excellent mono sound and sold very well, I believe on the Capitol label. I have the Slatkin recording and play it periodically. Slatkin was a gifted conductor as well...

CharmNewton

It appears that the Biddulph catalog was obtained by Musical Concepts a few years ago and they have reissued some titles. I recently purchased the Pablo Casals Vintage Collection, a 5-CD set (LAB 5059). It contains Ward Marston's transfers of early Casals recordings that appeared on Biddulph a numbe...

CharmNewton

Reiner recognized that she had superior talent as a conductor.....but he also knew that orchestral opportunities for women on the podium were slim to none at that time [late 50s]...he encouraged her to train his chorus....which she did with great success... Reiner was known to be a tough customer, ...

CharmNewton

Thanks, John! I've ordered it from jpc.de and just got informed that it had been shipped already. Len_Z You're welcome. I was concerned I made things sound a bit too complicated. The Euro, Japanese Yen and the Korean Won have been dropping like rocks in value in recent months. It wasn't too long ag...

CharmNewton

She was hired by Fritz Reiner in 1957 to build and train the chorus. Perhaps the biography will discuss that job interview. Under her leadership, the CSO Chorus became an outstanding ensemble and sang with both clarity and power (I instantly fell in love with the choruses of Wagner's Flying Dutchman...

CharmNewton

Thanks a lot, maestrob! You might also take a look at Amazon.de or JPC in Germany. Both are offering the set for €199.99. The subtraction of the V.A.T. (about 16%) usually should cover the cost of shipping (and then some), but the N.Y. taxes will likely be added back in. Currently the Euro is tradi...

CharmNewton

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91NtnOTaZXL._SX425_.jpg Buried in a Haydn search was this gem, due out on July 22nd. 11 CDs. I thought Ormandy recorded more than this in Minneapolis--the orchestra's contract made them available for 40 hours/week for rehearsal and recording (which is why we have...

CharmNewton

She made two recordings of the cycle that appeared on London/Decca, first in analog (c. 1972-1973, CSA 2235) and a later digital recording (October and December 1986, produced by Paul Myers, 417 88-2LH2). The earlier recording was re-issued on a Double Decca set which looks to still be in print. I h...

CharmNewton

That's a brilliant post, John. Many thanks for adding to my knowledge. FWIW, the 1967 recording I have was only recently ( about 10-12 years ago) issued by Melodiya as part of their complete Kondrashin set of Shostakovich symphonies as pictured above, so I trust that date. It is certainly a studio ...

CharmNewton

As the Soviets recorded everything they broadcast, I believed that a recording of the World Premiere performance had to exist. Wikipedia lists it as issued on CD, published by Melodiya/Aulos. Whether that means it was issued separately on both Melodiya and Aulos or was part of the 10-CD Shostakovich...

CharmNewton

The Fourth is probably my favorite Shostakovich symphony. There are quite a number of excellent recordings. The Petrenko is very good (I have not heard the Gergiev). I am trying to find the Slatkin on RCA with the St. Louis Symphony, which has become quite expensive on Amazon (Slatkin, all of whose...

CharmNewton

Agree. That CD is a prize possession in the RCA box of Ozawa's Chicago Symphony recordings. As much as I rail against 12-tone in general, Ozawa's recording of the Schoenberg Piano Concerto in the same box with Peter Serkin was the recording that persuaded me to like that work at last. Ozawa/Serkin ...

CharmNewton

Totally agree with this. RCA's team of engineers in Chicago really knew how to capture Chicago's uniquely vibrant sound in that era, and did so no matter who was conducting: Reiner, Martinon or Ozawa. The remastering from the original 3-track 30 ips 1/2-inch magnetic tapes in all three sets is wort...

CharmNewton

Thanks for your input, John. Interestingly, Mitchell was evidently inspired by Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts to record a series of LPs for RCA aimed at grade school kids called Adventures in Music (See below). https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51xyuKJUDDL._AC_UY327_QL65_.jpg Spotify...

CharmNewton

Just got around finally to hearing that Mitchell Shostakovich V. It's the most accesible performance of it I've ever heard, and there's a songful directness to most of it. Mitchell always gies for the big tunes, and he allows the woodwinds to be heard. But I wonder how much of it is really artifici...

CharmNewton

That RCA release has an overlong gap between the 3rd and 4th movements which was fixed in the Martinon Complete Chicago Symphony Recordings box. That is also where the side break was on the LP. I love the unanimity and color of the brasses. Chords are tight and you can hear every note, well centered...

CharmNewton

Neil, I grew up with Howard Mitchell's recording of Shostakovich V, and still consider it to be very fine. I've never seen it released on a legit CD though, so I've never heard all of it. Why? Well, the record was so warped that I couldn't play the outer grooves, so I had to skip the first 10-12 mi...

CharmNewton

The Friedrich Gulda set arrived today. What a lovely collection to peruse. I agree. It is a lovely collection. I've listened to most of the recordings. I find Gulda captivating. From the beauty of the tone he produces, the ease and naturalness of his playing, the detail and joy he projects. I sense...

CharmNewton

For those who might wish to recreate Mr. Buchbinder's programs, the booklet lists the sonatas as they appeared on the original concert programs. After the title, you'll see the CD that contains that sonata. The contents of each disc are listed in order on the back of the box. This cycle is also avai...

CharmNewton

maestrob wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 23, 2021 9:03 am
Good news!

Amazon has moved up the delivery date on my Cziffra box order to this coming weekend.

Should I hold my breath??

Wondering if Cziffra collection arrived and if you have had the chance to crack it open and do some listening. Hopefully, it's not in the still waiting stage.

John

CharmNewton

John, I vaguely remember those red-label Melodiya-Angel LPs from those years (I've still got a few), but I never bought the Richter WTC after reading the reviews. Instead I've lived with the remarkable RCA set and enjoyed it ever since it was issued. The bad sound of the Melodiya/Angel set is surpr...

CharmNewton

I think I've got all the WTC sets that Richter did, including this one. This includes Innsbruck (1973), Salzburg (1970) which is the RCA set and also the one mentioned in the original post. All are excellent and it's a pity that Moscow is BkI only. Was there a BkII that was never recorded or is mis...

CharmNewton

Many thanks for posting this. 18,000 operas on video. Wow is all I can say. I'm a Franco Corelli fan. He could be a force, but was just as capable of sensitive and poetic singing as well. His voice is instantly recognizable. Am also looking to Cavalleria Rusticana with Rudolf Schock and Anneliese Ro...

CharmNewton

Rach3 wrote: ↑
Fri Nov 05, 2021 10:39 am
A more “ muscular” opening movement for the Schumann Op.17 “Fantasy” , but works, as does the rest of his reading, live 1983:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEkQMymyAM0

This is the most beautiful performance of this work I've ever heard.

John

CharmNewton

Seems like we've heard this song before with the labels missing their target date or having insufficient supply to meet initial global demand. Perhaps they could consider pressing CDs in the U.S. once again.

Wasn't the problem near the end of last year as well?

John

CharmNewton

Kudos to Rach3, maestrob, jserraglio and Holden Fourth for finding and sharing links to so many of Nelson Freire's performances through the decades.

John

CharmNewton

I discovered his art when I took a chance in my student days and purchased his Columbia recording of two B minor sonatas--Chopin and Liszt. I knew the Chopin from Robert Casadesus' recording of a few years earlier but not the Liszt. Mr. Freire's recording started my love affair with the latter. I sa...

CharmNewton

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/712xhm2E5kS._SX425_.jpg In case you missed this the first time around, Warner will be reissuing this wonderful collection in November in honor of the Georges Cziffra's centennial. Of course, it will have some previously unissued items--a studio recital recorded i...

CharmNewton

I wasn't familiar with Mr. Lugansky's playing, but was impressed with the clarity and directness of his playing and his calm mastery at the keyboard. No extraneous movements and an easily produced expressiveness. I watched his videos of Beethoven's Sonata No. 30, Op. 109 and Debussy's Suite Bergamas...

CharmNewton

I enjoyed the sonata and hope you have great success with it. I believe it is a major addition to the piano repertoire.

Ms Kislitsyna is amazing.

John

CharmNewton

For the "record," both Amazon & Presto have the CD right now for those who might be interested. I have ordered a copy from Presto, or at least it's on my list for this month's order. Kremer's playing and tone are extraordinary in all selections. He really earned that prize, IMHO. The CD with the El...

CharmNewton

John, thanks very much for the alert on this. I'm sure it will disappear quickly, and will order it Friday when I get a chance. 3 copies are already gone since last night! Even visiting the sites of the major labels doesn't always tell you what may be coming in the near future. So I periodically do...

CharmNewton

Sony has just released a tribute to Marian Anderson, and it arrived a few minutes ago. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71Mkq7oTAFS._SX425_.jpg Packaging is deluxe, consisting of a 11" x 11" hardbound book totaling 228 pages, beautifully printed with many photographs from throughout ...

CharmNewton

Not familiar enough with the music to say whether that's a tradition or not, but thanks for pointing that out. Too many worthy performances by now that are better recorded, but I'd be interested in finding a copy of this somewhere and will do a search later on. I do wonder what happened to make Kre...

CharmNewton

Thanks for pointing out the availability via Spotify. Listing the Fantasie without a double-check was a brain cramp on me. I didn't know Schumann had written a Fantasie for Violin and Piano and just assumed Schubert. John No worries, John! I do recommend the 1967 recording that you posted. Kremer p...

CharmNewton

Reading some of the posts on this thread is a trip down Memory Lane.

John

CharmNewton

Thanks for this John, I didn't know that he played the Elgar, such a shame that he didn't re-record it later. I'll have to listen today. Thanks for this conversation, Gentlemen! Spotify has the complete CD pictured above, which also includes the Chausson Poeme, but they also claim to have Schumann'...

CharmNewton

Doing a bit of digging in search of recordings from the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition, a performance of the Elgar Violin Concerto from 1967 was issued back in 2017. In 1967, this concerto was probably hardly ever performed outside of Great Britain and available recordings might have been limite...

CharmNewton

These recordings would have been on Melodiya at that time. Latvia was part of the Soviet Union and was not independent, and, under that regime, the only record companies operating were state-controlled: Melodiya and possibly Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga. Any attempt to start an independent label or to rec...

CharmNewton

I hadn't realized that Kremer had made so many recordings for Eurodisc (I assume in co-production with Melodiya), most of which do not appear to have been issued on CD in the West (although Denon in Japan issued several of them about 15 years ago, all no longer in print but used copies appear availa...

CharmNewton

The box certainly showcases Kremer's eclectic repertoire. He's also a very imaginative interpreter and highly regarded by his peers, many of who he performs with at festivals etc. I have many of the more unusual recordings so I may give this a miss unless it's priced competitively. I would, however...

CharmNewton

Been doing just fine lo these past twenty years with my second pair of Koss Pro4 AA's. Might have to fork over for a third set, though, as my cord's got a short in it and I can't solder. That was the original pair of Koss's I bought years ago. So, just remember that if they ever break, Koss will re...

CharmNewton

I discovered Mr. Haas through a Philips CD that contained Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and the Piano Concerto in F major, both works that I always enjoy hearing. After that I bought a 6-CD set on the MD&G label of recordings made for German Radio in the late 1960s and early 1970s (lots of Beethoven, ...

CharmNewton

I couldn't remember hearing any of Ms. Biret's recordings, but it turns out I have three of her Naxos CDs (two of which are music of Brahms and the other containing the three sonatas of Pierre Boulez--I must have been feeling adventurous on that trip to Rose Records :-) ). I listened to the Brahms d...

CharmNewton

The flood of great music coming our way demonstrates for me that we surely live in a Golden Age of Music. Not only do we have many, many great performers in today's generation, but we can eagerly hear the many great artists from the past 120 years, much of it in very fine sound. Great operas & conc...

CharmNewton

I've listened to many of the recordings in this collection and there is much to enjoy as the performances are lively. What was a surprise was the scrappy playing of the Vienna Philharmonic. They play with spirit if not tight togetherness. The string sections sound small as well, the violins in parti...

CharmNewton

Radio 4 in the Netherlands published an obituary and tribute to Mr. Andriessen linked below: https://www.nporadio4.nl/podium/nieuws/8427-componist-louis-andriessen-82-overleden I listened a bit to Stijl last night, but had to get to bed and will revisit the piece this week-end. I enjoyed what I hear...

CharmNewton

I came across this review of the second of the two concerts shared by Zubin Mehta and Seiji Ozawa in honor of the 30th Anniversary of the opening of Suntory Hall. I've posted the link below. https://bachtrack.com/review-ozawa-mehta-vienna-philharmonic-suntory-hall-tokyo-october-2016 When I first wat...

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