If the house were burning and you could save only one . . .

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 5:05 pm

Sonnet posed an interesting question in Jacques' center of gravity thread that was just too good not to have its own thread. If the house were buring and you could save only one item from your recordings collection, what would it be? Box sets, LPs, and dvds can be included in the pool, but you still can take only one.

piston · Post by **piston** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 5:10 pm

Daphnis et Chloe, Ravel, Dutoit, MSO.

Unless by "item" you mean box sets of many, many works. In that case, "modernists" might be at a disadvantage over "classicists" and "romantics."

stenka razin · Post by **stenka razin** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 5:11 pm

Wagner-Ring Cycle-Solti-Decca.......The greatest achievement in the history of recorded music.

****++

barney · Post by **barney** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 5:43 pm

stenka razin wrote:Wagner-Ring Cycle-Solti-Decca.......The greatest achievement in the history of recorded music. ****++

Philips Great Pianists, 200-CD collection. The *actual* greatest achievement in the history of recorded music.

Talking of great collections: maybe also the Hyperion complete Schubert lieder, or the Fischer-Dieskau complete lieder for men or...
PS, what does ****++ signify? Is it Net code for something?

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 5:45 pm

piston wrote:Daphnis et Chloe, Ravel, Dutoit, MSO.

Unless by "item" you mean box sets of many, many works. In that case, "modernists" might be at a disadvantage over "classicists" and "romantics."

Your call. Item was kind of indistinct. On second thought, maybe I should amend it to say "from your recordings collection". I guess dvds would satisfy as well as LPs. Some LPs are harder than hen's teeth to find. Everyone can have another go at it if you like.

piston · Post by **piston** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 5:57 pm

Well, I'll take Ravel's complete orchestral works and just before the fire burns my hands, grab his piano music too!

Post by **Lance** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:13 pm

Me? Well, I'd take my RCA Artur Rubinstein Edition, a collection of 92 CDs and built-in book and run with it!

Chalkperson · Post by **Chalkperson** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:24 pm

I'd take the Computer from the Studio which has Four Terrabytes of Internal Storage Space and holds about 12,500 CD's...

If that proves to be against the Rules then Andras Schiff's survey of all Bach's Keyboard Music...if my house is burning down then Shosty's Symphonies may not have the required calming effect that Bach brings to the table...

diegobueno · Post by **diegobueno** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:16 pm

I'm taking all the CDs with performances of my own music, and putting them in one box so I can grab them if the house catches fire.

Other than that, I'd grab the 22 CD Stravinsky conducts Stravinsky box.

Febnyc · Post by **Febnyc** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:38 pm

Jussi Bjoerling and Robert Merrill singing "Au Fond du Temple Saint" from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers.

Ask me again tomorrow...

Ralph · Post by **Ralph** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:51 pm

If it had to be only one it would be a set of Mahler's symphonies (yes, even before Dittersdorf).

Post by **Lance** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:54 pm

Ralph wrote:If it had to be only one it would be a set of Mahler's symphonies (yes, even before Dittersdorf).

No ... REALLY, over Dittersdorf

What happened

ch1525 · Post by **ch1525** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 8:29 pm

I believe in my case, this question would be more appropriate if it were phrased "if the house were flooding...". Stay away Gustav!!!

Auntie Lynn · Post by **Auntie Lynn** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 9:37 pm

Amelita Galli-Curci's recording of Proch's Air and Variations...

Every note is like a golden pearl...

Post by **Lance** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:14 pm

Auntie Lynn wrote:Amelita Galli-Curci's recording of Proch's Air and Variations...

Every note is like a golden pearl...

I am a devoted Galli-Curci fan who now, thankfully, has every recording she ever made. The first time I heard her was sixty years ago when my paternal grandmother cranked up the old Victrola and played "La Capinera" (The Wren). My love for her voice has never diminished. I can well understand why you would choose this. But I'm surprised it wasn't something for the PIANO

I have had the good fortune to visit Galli-Curci's summer home on Belleayre Mountain near Fleischmanns, New York on several occasions, now owned by pianist Idith Meshulam-Korman. Galli-Curci even had a small concert hall built in her home, which she enjoyed for about eight years before moving elsewhere.

Post by **Lance** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:15 pm

Febnyc wrote:Jussi Bjoerling and Robert Merrill singing "Au Fond du Temple Saint" from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers.

Ask me again tomorrow...

Ah - that recording is an absolute winner, Frank! Wonderful choice.

Chalkperson · Post by **Chalkperson** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:54 pm

Febnyc wrote:Jussi Bjoerling and Robert Merrill singing "Au Fond du Temple Saint" from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers.

Ask me again tomorrow...

OK Frank, that probably is the single greatest track of all time, I cannot count the number of times I have played that...

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 11:06 pm

Lance wrote:
Febnyc wrote:Jussi Bjoerling and Robert Merrill singing "Au Fond du Temple Saint" from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers.

Ask me again tomorrow...
Ah - that recording is an absolute winner, Frank! Wonderful choice.

Amen!

anasazi · Post by **anasazi** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 11:32 pm

I figue I can replace about anything else, but I would have to take a CD that was part of a convention I attended in 1993 in L.A. for composer Jerry Goldsmith. Yeah, they show up on eBay, but it just would be the same. Not the greatest music I own, just a sentimental choice.

In other words, I really don't have anything more valuable in my collection?

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 11:41 pm

I wouldn't have time to think about it much, if the house were burning. What I would consider taking with me were discs of my LP collection that I had the very devil of a time replacing or items that never made it to cd. Monteverdi madrigals by the Purcell Consort with the best ever version of Lamento della Ninfa ever. My Harry Shulman recordings that haven't made it to cd ever by my accounting, but which are available from eBay. A recording of masses in honor of Thomas a Becket that never has made it to cd either. A recording of Monteverdi sacred music on DGG Archiv with Nigel Rogers and Paul Esswood that never made it to cd.

ch1525 · Post by **ch1525** » Wed Aug 27, 2008 11:42 pm

Chalkperson wrote:OK Frank, that probably is the single greatest track of all time, I cannot count the number of times I have played that...

Sure you can, Chalkie. Didn't Steve Jobs include a play counter with iTunes?!

bricon · Post by **bricon** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 12:35 am

Corlyss_D wrote:If the house were buring and you could save only one item from your recordings collection, what would it be?

I certainly wouldn’t waste such an opportunity. I’d add gasoline to the inferno and pile up my Debussy collection onto that pyre – a perfect opportunity to rid myself of Pelléas et Mélisande forever.

val · Post by **val** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:07 am

Just a CD: Beethoven's piano Sonata opus 106 by Emil Gilels.

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:31 am

Ach... Such a hard decision!

Schumann: The Complete Symphonies
Christoph von Dohnanyi/Cleveland Orchestra
Decca

lmpower · Post by **lmpower** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:14 pm

I would want to save the Busch Quartet's boxed set of the late Beethoven quartets.

Chalkperson · Post by **Chalkperson** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:37 pm

ch1525 wrote:
Chalkperson wrote:OK Frank, that probably is the single greatest track of all time, I cannot count the number of times I have played that...
Sure you can, Chalkie. Didn't Steve Jobs include a play counter with iTunes?!

I owned that record loooong before i-Tunes existed...I often played it a dozen times in a row, it's that good...

Febnyc · Post by **Febnyc** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:11 pm

Chalkperson wrote:
ch1525 wrote:
Chalkperson wrote:OK Frank, that probably is the single greatest track of all time, I cannot count the number of times I have played that...
Sure you can, Chalkie. Didn't Steve Jobs include a play counter with iTunes?!
I owned that record loooong before i-Tunes existed...I often played it a dozen times in a row, it's that good...

Me, too!

My confidence in the intelligence and exquisite taste of the CMGers has been renewed, once again, by their choice of this duet recording. Ahhh, the luminosity of this crowd!

Brendan · Post by **Brendan** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:41 pm

So 20th C . . .

I'd take my external hard drive and have everything.

slofstra · Post by **slofstra** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:54 pm

If you take this CD of duets, you get not only the Pearl Fishers, but some others, but still I would take -

- over that one. But mainly for sentimental reasons, this would be my first choice:

I've had this set a long time; it cost a fair bit of coin when we had a young family, and has represented many hours of good listening over the years.

I might also grab a 'La Boheme' for similar reasons - Jose Carreras and Ricciarelli; I've had that rendition for a long time. And I would often play the sequence of arias/ duets where Rudolfo and Mimi meet in Act I.

Note these aren't best in class recordings; it's the sentimental value, but they are fine recordings also.

ch1525 · Post by **ch1525** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:36 pm

I'm really going to have to try to hear this Jussi Bjoerling duet soon!!!

Post by **Lance** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:45 pm

ch1525 wrote:I'm really going to have to try to hear this Jussi Bjoerling duet soon!!!

Chad:

Where have you been? I've missed seeing you on board. We are still awaiting the Grieg Piano Sonata! Are you getting any closer to recording it, just for us?

Another thing, please send me your birth date. I'm keeping track now and would like to include you therein!

slofstra · Post by **slofstra** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:47 pm

ch1525 wrote:I'm really going to have to try to hear this Jussi Bjoerling duet soon!!!

It is possible and quite legitimate to not like it. But I do like it. Also, I think the CD I pictured is under $10 at amazon.

Post by **Lance** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 9:52 pm

Henry, the Bjoerling is a must-have! I've enjoyed the LP and then the CD for many a year. It's a classic.

I have many recordings by Kuerti on LP (early American Monitor LPs - bad pressings but great playing) and CD but never got all his recordings of the Schubert sonatas, nor the complete Beethoven piano sonata set (due to coinage, as you say!). I would love to have a copy of it one day. Kuerti is a brilliant pianist. I would beg to differ with you, however, about the Kuerti/Beethoven not being "best in class" recordings. I have a couple of singles of his Beethoven sonatas and thought them to rank right up there with the best of them.

slofstra wrote:{snipped} But mainly for sentimental reasons, this would be my first choice:

I've had this set a long time; it cost a fair bit of coin when we had a young family, and has represented many hours of good listening over the years.

Note these aren't best in class recordings; it's the sentimental value, but they are fine recordings also.

slofstra · Post by **slofstra** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 10:26 pm

Lance wrote:Henry, the Bjoerling is a must-have! I've enjoyed the LP and then the CD for many a year. It's a classic.

I have many recordings by Kuerti on LP (early American Monitor LPs - bad pressings but great playing) and CD but never got all his recordings of the Schubert sonatas, nor the complete Beethoven piano sonata set (due to coinage, as you say!). I would love to have a copy of it one day. Kuerti is a brilliant pianist. I would beg to differ with you, however, about the Kuerti/Beethoven not being "best in class" recordings. I have a couple of singles of his Beethoven sonatas and thought them to rank right up there with the best of them.

slofstra wrote:{snipped} But mainly for sentimental reasons, this would be my first choice:

I've had this set a long time; it cost a fair bit of coin when we had a young family, and has represented many hours of good listening over the years.

Note these aren't best in class recordings; it's the sentimental value, but they are fine recordings also.

There is something about a voice recital with only piano accompaniment that really appeals to me. Schubert's lieder are performed this way, of course, but most opera arias feature full orchestra. In fact, most "voice recital" CDs are just compilations of arias extracted from full opera productions. I do not have many such piano/ voice recital CDs; another fine one by Cecilia Bartoli comes to mind.

About Bjoerling, he has this catch or tear in his voice that is very emotive, but I read somewhere that he often had no clue what he was singing. Of course, in many cases, I have no clue what he's singing either so I suppose it doesn't matter. Have you heard this story?

Harold Tucker · Post by **Harold Tucker** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 11:32 pm

ch1525 wrote:I'm really going to have to try to hear this Jussi Bjoerling duet soon!!!

Wait no longer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdb94HbyRko

jbuck919 · Post by **jbuck919** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 8:40 am

If my house were burning, saving a CD would be the last thing I would think about. They're not all in print or one-for-one replaceable, but none of the ones that I couldn't replace with insurance money means enough for me to save it.

Febnyc · Post by **Febnyc** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 8:53 am

slofstra wrote:

If you take this CD of duets, you get not only the Pearl Fishers, but some others, but still

Yes, it's that track from that CD that I mentioned - and I'd grab it as I ran out of the house.

Re: La Boheme - I would prefer the Bjoerling/De los Angeles/Beecham recording. If I had time, that might be the second save.

slofstra · Post by **slofstra** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 9:27 am

Febnyc wrote:
slofstra wrote:

If you take this CD of duets, you get not only the Pearl Fishers, but some others, but still
Yes, it's that track from that CD that I mentioned - and I'd grab it as I ran out of the house.

Re: La Boheme - I would prefer the Bjoerling/De los Angeles/Beecham recording. If I had time, that might be the second save.

I will look for that version of La Boheme, and thanks for making me aware of it. I have heard somewhere that Pavarotti's is best in class, but I prefer a lighter touch. As I said, I went for sentimental value; I could well believe there are better versions. How is the sound?

Febnyc · Post by **Febnyc** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 11:02 am

Henry:

It's worth your time, believe me. Here's one sample quote from the Amazon site:

A hundred years from now when opera as we know it is but a distant memory, having long ago been replaced by the product of Andrew Lloyd Webber clones, people will wonder why English speaking audiences ever willingly paid money to hear Italian opera. We didn't understand hardly a word of the language. The singing was absolutely at odds with commonly held conventions of how normal people should sing. It was history lesson. And that is what it is becoming. But a few recordings are delaying the inevitable. If anyone can find this recording in the year 2103, that person will know why we listened to lyric Italian opera long after it stopped being written. In this recording, Jussi and Victoria give us absolute life and absolute death. Puccini has Beecham to thank for this timeless legacy.

This is the version I own, from 1990. The oroginal recording is from 1956. I believe there are later, perhaps better-sounding ones. However, the sound on mine is perfectly fine and, as a matter of fact, surprisingly excellent for a 50-year old.

slofstra · Post by **slofstra** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 12:13 pm

Fifties and early Sixties sound is often better than late Sixties-early Seventies sound, to my ear. The early days of multi-tracking gave the proceedings an artificial, too closely miked sound. But some Fifties recordings just suffer from sub-par equipment or environmental control.

That editorial is a bit strange. I don't mean the praise for La Boheme which by your indication is well deserved, I'm sure. It's all the other things they say: I think Puccini will outlast Lloyd-Weber myself.
And opera is very popular - moreso than classical orchestral. Upwardly mobile young professionals and aging yuppies alike see opera as more of an event than a classical music concert. They all sell out around here anyway.

Febnyc · Post by **Febnyc** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 2:25 pm

I posted the review only for its laudatory words about the recording itself. I would like to think that Puccini will outlive Lloyd Weber and I agree that opera is far from a dying art form. The rest of the opinion...who knows????

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 2:56 pm

slofstra wrote:
Febnyc wrote: Re: La Boheme - I would prefer the Bjoerling/De los Angeles/Beecham recording.

I have heard somewhere that Pavarotti's is best in class, but I prefer a lighter touch.

Well, opinions on Pavarotti vary. I saw the movie of La Boheme in the mid-60s when it came out, with Mirella Freni, and I have to say he never impressed me much, even when he was just a workman-like tenor trying to get started in the biz. The Cult of Pavarotti definitely turned me off. The joke running around when he and Domingo were the Callas and Tebaldi of the day was the Domingo was a thinking man's tenor. Domingo never struck me as showoffy as Pavarotti and rarely hogged all the attention in a production. I remember the slightly queasy feeling I had when I heard Pavarotti was going to sing Idomoneo in the Met debut of the opera in the early 80s. With great trepidation I took myself up to NY to see it and I had to admit afterward that he didn't screw it up despite the fact that he was ill-suited to the style. If I were asked who's the greatest tenor I've ever heard, it would be a toss up between Bjorling and Gigli and Schippa. They all three knew what mezzavoce meant and were trained up for smaller opera houses than Invesco Field.

ch1525 · Post by **ch1525** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:22 pm

Harold Tucker wrote:
ch1525 wrote:I'm really going to have to try to hear this Jussi Bjoerling duet soon!!!

Wait no longer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdb94HbyRko

Thanks, Harold! That YouTube comes in handy now and again, eh?!

BWV 1080 · Post by **BWV 1080** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:08 am

I would just grab my 30 gig mp3 player

barney · Post by **barney** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:37 pm

BWV 1080 wrote:I would just grab my 30 gig mp3 player

I'm new to ipods (just got an apple iphone so that I could have an ipod and because work pays for it). Tremendously handy, obviously, but I use mine mostly for philosophy podcasts. For music, it lacks presence.

Obviously they come into their own particularly in case of conflagration.

BWV 1080 · Post by **BWV 1080** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:41 pm

barney wrote:
BWV 1080 wrote:I would just grab my 30 gig mp3 player
I'm new to ipods (just got an apple iphone so that I could have an ipod and because work pays for it). Tremendously handy, obviously, but I use mine mostly for philosophy podcasts. For music, it lacks presence.

Obviously they come into their own particularly in case of conflagration.

I don't know about the ipod, but most of what I download on my Zune is uncompressed .wma files - run a 1/8 to rca cable into my stereo and its CD quality (better actually as there is nothing to get scratched)

And for $15/mo I get unlimited downloads - like basically all the Artur Rubenstein edition for example

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 11:31 pm

barney wrote: I use mine mostly for philosophy podcasts.

You poor thing!

barney · Post by **barney** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 1:29 am

BWV 1080 wrote:
barney wrote:
BWV 1080 wrote:I would just grab my 30 gig mp3 player
I'm new to ipods (just got an apple iphone so that I could have an ipod and because work pays for it). Tremendously handy, obviously, but I use mine mostly for philosophy podcasts. For music, it lacks presence.

Obviously they come into their own particularly in case of conflagration.
I don't know about the ipod, but most of what I download on my Zune is uncompressed .wma files - run a 1/8 to rca cable into my stereo and its CD quality (better actually as there is nothing to get scratched)

And for $15/mo I get unlimited downloads - like basically all the Artur Rubenstein edition for example

You interest me strangely. I WANT the Rubinstein edition. I have a lot, but not enough. To whom do you fork over this cash, and what else do you get, and do you get to keep it for ever?

barney · Post by **barney** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 1:30 am

Corlyss_D wrote:
barney wrote: I use mine mostly for philosophy podcasts.
You poor thing!

Thanks Corlyss. I often feel I simply don't get enough sympathy and TLC. Obviously CMF provides that along with so much else!

BWV 1080 · Post by **BWV 1080** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:38 am

barney wrote:
BWV 1080 wrote:
barney wrote:
BWV 1080 wrote:I would just grab my 30 gig mp3 player
I'm new to ipods (just got an apple iphone so that I could have an ipod and because work pays for it). Tremendously handy, obviously, but I use mine mostly for philosophy podcasts. For music, it lacks presence.

Obviously they come into their own particularly in case of conflagration.
I don't know about the ipod, but most of what I download on my Zune is uncompressed .wma files - run a 1/8 to rca cable into my stereo and its CD quality (better actually as there is nothing to get scratched)

And for $15/mo I get unlimited downloads - like basically all the Artur Rubenstein edition for example
You interest me strangely. I WANT the Rubinstein edition. I have a lot, but not enough. To whom do you fork over this cash, and what else do you get, and do you get to keep it for ever?

you pay the Zune site a subscription fee of $15/mo and you basically rent the music - meaning you cannot burn it to CD and the music expires with the subscription if you let it lapse (but you can re-up and then download it again)

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