The Classical Music Guide Forums

rogch

Isn't it strange that Claudio Abbado has not recorded Das Lied von der Erde? The man has made so many Mahler recordings that you almost need to be a librarian to know all of them and tell them apart. I am sure he could hand-pick any orchestra and soloists he would like. And hand-picking is exactly w...

rogch

For me there is only one Das Lied von der Erde: Singers Violeta Urmana and Michael Schade with Pierre Boulez and the Vienna Phiharnonic. Yes, i have heard many of the legendary names: Klemperer, Haitink, Bernstein (on DVD) and Kubelik. Kubelik is the only one who comes close actually (on Audite). Bu...

rogch

We don't hear much about the Rattle VPO set, but I've found it has a lot to offer. Then you are a very rare item, rumor had it that he did have a fan, somewhere, now we know who that person is... :wink: Well, the set isn't bad. But it is not the perfection we expect from this orchestra, i guess "in...

rogch

90% of people who hate Wagner have no idea what they are talking about. The ignorance about his works and theories is depressing when we think about his importance in the history of music and culture.

By the way: Martin Luther was a rabid anti-semite and people seldom hold that against him.

rogch

Monteux and the London SO has long been a favourtie of mine. And Anima Eterna with Jos van Immerseel on period instruments is exceptional as well.

rogch

Last week i had the pleasure of hearing the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in its own concert hall with Pierre Boulez as conductor. On the program was Boulez' own ...explosante fixe... (it is actually spelled that way) and a concert version of Stravinsky's opera The nightingale. There has been a lot ...

rogch

I enjoy the seccond symphony more and more. I suspect it has not reached its full potential on disc yet, even though Wand, Chailly, Giulini, Karajan and Tintner have all made good recordings of it. These recordings are very different from each other but i still like all of them. So this must be an e...

rogch

Lorin Maazel made a splendid recording with the Berlin PO many years ago. I belive it is now only available as part of the "complete early Berlin recordings" boxed set. For a modern recording, Paavo Berglund and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe are brilliant in all symphonies, including the third. I ...

rogch

For me, it is either Schönberg or Xenakis. Very difficult to choose between the two, they are very different. Perhaps Schönberg had a more diverse production, but i have heard more of his works than Xenakis'.

rogch

I actually saw a performance of Wagner's Flying Dutchman in Bergen conducted by Andrew Litton, it was two year ago. I was very impressed with his conducting. Both the orchestra and the singers (not the most famous in the world) exceeded all expectations. The Bergen PO and Litton are currently record...

rogch

Bernd Glemser on Naxos is very good. Actually he is so good that i have not been in a rush to buy other recordings even though i am a big Prokofiev fan. Glemser doesn't record too often, but when he records something it is usually worth listening too. He has made some good Schumann recordings as well.

rogch

The Aimard/Harnoncourt set is absolutely brilliant from start to finnish.

rogch

This is sad news indeed. I wish all the best for both of you and hope your wife will have a full recovery.

rogch

Interesting that twice as many people (at this exact moment) select Brahms over Brahms's mentor, Schumann . So, it seems to be generally felt that Brahms took music to another (higher) level. I totally disagree. Brahms' symphonies may be a little better, but Schumann is better in just about everyth...

rogch

I really liked this set the first time i heard it, but i have somehow lost my interest. I suspect i am not the only one. A couple of years ago i read and heard about this set everywhere and individual recordings were often used as reference recordings. That does not seem to be the case anymore. I ag...

rogch

I have no idea how it sounded in their lifetime it does not really interest me. But period intrument ensembles often sound spectacular. I would not like them to replace modern orchestras, not at all. But now we have both. In older recordings the access to baroque music is very limited and modern rec...

rogch

I believe Toscanini said that Pierre Monteux had the best stick technique in the world. Richard Strauss was also impressive, great results with small gestures. His personal authority perhahps helped as well... And speaking of small gestures, surely we must mention Pierre Boulez? He seems to always g...

rogch

Does anybody prefer Reiner and Szell to Jacobs and Herreweghe in baroque music? I suspect not many people do. The drastic improvement in baroque performances al least deserves to be mentioned in this discussion.

rogch

The people behind the Met ring don't have all their ideas from Wagner either, even if they like to think so themselves. Plenty of flaws there. The giants are not very big, Mime and Alberich just look ridiculous, Loge looks like a reptile of some sort and "Walhalla" hardly looks like a castle at all....

rogch

I have to respectfully disagree. The Boulez/Cherau ring is for me the ring to have. I have seen the Met ring too. It was actually the first one i saw and i really enjoyed it. But when i saw the Boulez/Cherau ring i thought it was in a class of its own. Afterwords i have seen the Barenboim/Kupfer rin...

rogch

With the risk of sounding boring: I like both. If i had to choose, it would had to be modern recordings though. Just think about baroque music. Most of the benchmark baroque recordings are not very old. And all the great chamber ensembles. I believe i have heard most of the best orchestras and many ...

rogch

I am really saddended to hear about Corlyss' health problems. I did not know about it until now, i haven't visited the forum very often lately. I also wish her a speedy recovery and i am glad to hear that she is doing quite well. In the meantime, i am one of many people who will miss her in this for...

rogch

I don't think Cherau totally demythologizes Wagner. Many people say he does, perhaps even himself. But Siegmund, Sieglinde and Siegfried appear very much like mythological figures. Sieglinde looks like a mythological figure trapped in a modern world, which makes a lot of sence if you ask me. Notice ...

rogch

The stage production of The Copenhagen Ring is just dreadfull. The overall aproach is so far removed from the work that it totally overshadows some of the qualities of the production. And i don't say this because i don't like original productions in general. I often like them very much (including Si...

rogch

The Naxos recording with Dame Edna Everage as narrator is very funny. It makes the story sound a little ironic at times, but i suspect that was Prokofiev's intention.

rogch

If 20th century "atonal" music is bad, a number of conductors must have misunderstood many works, they have all concucted many of them: Claudio Abbado, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Eugene Ormandy, Lorin Maazel, Simon Rattle, Serge Koussevitzky, Valery Gergiev, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (loves both Berg and Bartok)...

rogch

And let us not forget the trio for piano, flute and horn, a brilliant piece which is very rarely performed. Hyperion has released a box set with all of Brahms's chamber works. It is a very good set, but it looks like it is much more expensive in the US than in Europe. If the shipping is affordable, ...

rogch

The story about the brothers Wieland and Wolfgang Wagner and "new Bayreuth" is a remarkable one. The festival's reputation after World war 2 was damaged to say the least because of their association with the Nazi regime. Winifred was obviously the leading nazi of the family, while the roles her sons...

rogch

It is hard to imagine a better recording of this work than Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

rogch

For something completely different, check out Arthur Schoonderwoerd with the Christofori Ensemble on Alpha. Their purist "authentic" approach can be a little boring to read about, but they play with as much passion and virtuosity as anybody else. This is perhaps a kind of recording you love or hate,...

rogch

His most famous symphonies (apart from "the farewell") are the Paris Symphonies and the London Symphonies. But the symphonies between them (88-92) are excellent as well. They are well played on a double CD with the Berlin Phiharmonic and Simon Rattle. On period instruments, Sigiswald Kuijken's box s...

rogch

I like Böhm very much in the late symphonies. In the earliest symphonies i think the strings are too dominant and the performances are a little stiff. It's easy to forgive that, these were pioneer recordings. And every Mozart symphony isn't a masterpiece, you can live with so-so performances of some...

rogch

Absolutely, and i don't have all the volumes yet. They want to record every single sonata, not just the mature ones. It probably will take some time before i have all 8 volumes... Labels like Channel classics are more expensive than the bigger labels who have a large back-catalogue. But sometimes "t...

rogch

This is the kind of recording that sounds just right and at the same time very different. It really made me wonder what interpreters of lieder have been doing all these years. Many reviewers have praised Padmore's singing, and rightly so. But this is not the sort of "brilliance" we normally hear in ...

rogch

Rachel Podger and Gary Cooper's recordings of Mozart's violin sonatas are essential. I have only played them on a SACD-player, but i believe they will be most satisfying on regular CD-players as well (they are hybrid discs like most SACDs). The interpretations are so fresh, for me they were almost a...

rogch

I would say Claudio Abbado. It stretches from Pergolesi to Stockhausen. He has recently recorded his second Stabat Mater (by Pergolesi), this time on period instruments. Not long ago he recorded Mozart with the same orhcestra. Not long ago he recorded an acclaimed The magic flute, this time with his...

rogch

Pierre Monteux was an outstanding conductor, he might very well have been the best. He pioneered the music of Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky and his recordings of these composeres are still popular. But he was also flawless in the Austrian and German reportoire, his recordings of Haydn, Beethoven and...

rogch

Not all of Lang Langs recordings are "noisy populism". His recordings of Chopin's piano concertos with Zubin Mehta are very good. It must be Mehtas best recording in years too.

rogch

Wagner was not always a nice guy, far from it. But he was not always a monster either. He was a complex personality to say the least. His articles and books leave a very mixed impression. On one hand he was an individualist to the extreme, he said or did exactly what he wanted no matter what other p...

rogch

My main point was that there are too many Shostakovich recordings. What the orchestras play instead is less important, "just about anything" would be my answer to that. I agree that Prokofiev's symphonies are quite well represented on disc. But i would definitely welcome more recordings, there are s...

rogch

A couple of weeks ago i bought "Lorin Maazel, the complete early Berlin recordings" (Deutsche Grammophon). I have listened to all the discs now and i can definitely recommend this set. As expected, the orchestral sound is detailed and transparent. And in most works there is no lack of energy (Maazel...

rogch

Definetely Shostakovich. At least these days. A few years ago many people thought his works lacked depth. We don't hear much of that now. There is a ridiculous number of new Shostakovich recordings, of his symphonies in particular. Why on earth don't they record Prokofiev instead?

rogch

It is interesting that Fischer has recorded some of the symphonies again, this time on the label Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm (MDG). I don't know how many of the symphonies he plans to record on that label. Thomas Fey plans to record an entire cycle though. I love many of these recordings, ...

rogch

Charles Dutoit is a terrific Prokofiev conductor. His versions of symphonies 1 and 5 with the Montreal SO are both among the best i have heard. But to my knowledge he has not recorded the second. I hope he will record more Prokofiev as chief conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. I have not yet he...

rogch

A couple of years ago Audite released two Bruckner recordings with Karl Böhm and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the 7th an 8th. Both are stunning interpretations, even better than Böhm's own from Vienna. They are among the best recordings i have heard of both works. Excellent sound too.

rogch

Paavo Berglund's cycle with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe on Ondine is absolutely brilliant. The textures are lighter than in some other recordings, but the tempos are moderate. I like this combination, the music becomes very transparent. The standard of this orchestra is generally very high, and ...

rogch

Berezovsky has made a number of recordings, i don't know if all of them are still available. My general impression is that he gets good reviews, but not the same publicity as some other star pianists. I haven't heard too many of his recordings, but i have planned to check out some of them. Among his...

rogch

I absolutely agree with Lance. First of all we have a huge number of legendary recordings available, often at a very good price. And we also get plenty of brilliant new recordings from labels like Harmonia Mundi, BIS, Channel Classics and Hyperion just to name a few (Harmonia Mundi and Hyperion alre...

rogch

Well, the last time I checked I was alive

Thank you for your kind words Corlyss, I appreciate it!

rogch

Thank you for the welcome! I don't know what happened, i am sure it was just a technical problem. The "send new password"-function did not work, but it worked now. And my old profile is still intact, i did not have to make a new one. I am sure plenty of people have asked you this, but what do you th...

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