The Classical Music Guide Forums

In trying to select recordings for a forthcoming radio tribute to the late conductor Andrew Davis , I want to include something operatic and seeing what I have available was his Columbia/Sony recording [45650] of the Final Scene with soprano Eva Marton and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Aside from ...

THE IDEA IS TO SELL CDs! The little label below tells why ... I use the quotation marks above since the little label on the jewel case plainly identifies the disc as a "Benchmark Recording." I have some LSO (London Symphony Orchestra's own CD label) and recently added another of Beethoven's Symphon...

In this case, the interest was not in Welser-Möst, but in soprano Measha Brueggergosman and her participation in the final movement. Otherwise, given the number of "9ths" that I have access to, I probably would not have shown any interest in this particular version. I used the quotation marks for no...

I'm curious about the Kevin Oldham concerto. In 1994, RCA Victor [61979, released, in their 'Catalyst" series] a CD called "Memento Bittersweet," of which there is the world premiere recording of Kevin Oldham's Piano Concerto , Op. 14 [25'38"[ with the Kansas City Symphony conducted by William McGla...

I know, I know ... I get on a binge about things, and relistening to recordings excites the mind to want to say more about it. Royer offers amazing harpsichord compositions. Listening to a Brilliant CD [94479] of Royer's (an Italian who wrote great French music), performed by Spanish harpsichordist ...

You people are wonderfully incredible and amazing! Love it all.

Sometimes, suddenly one wants a brain to be imbued with the music of Francis Poulenc . The "style" of Poulenc's music is certainly individual and immediately identifiable. So, it was his Cello Sonata , started in 1940 and apparently completed in 1948 with the assistance of celebrated French cellist,...

Got quite a few things with Martucci but not the works on this disc. Hey, even Martha Argerich played a Martucci work in Lugano in 2012! There are some other interesting works on ASV, Divine Art, Naxos, but in reality, Mr. Martucci seems to be "sidelined" in comparison to other composers of the same...

William Steinberg's Command recordings of the Brahms four symphonies are out. I'm thinking hard on what my benchmark recording might be of the Brahms Third Symphony. There are so many - of all Brahms' symphonies. Just thinking about it, my mind immediately wanders to the recordings by Bruno Walter a...

I cannot believe my first post above was made 15 years ago! Where did that time go? Amazing that you were able to come back to this and contribute yet more. I still consider Ian Hobson a top-notch pianist though I don't see much coming from his Zephyr label these days.

That Cziffra EMI recordings box is incredible. It sold so well that Warner had to do a reprint of that set (amending it with one or two other items)! Having that and any of Cziffra's Hungaroton recordings - or him on any of numerous labels (live material) - and you've got a treasure-trove of one of ...

Where's our opera lovers? Maybe you don't like Freischütz?

Very interesting. And what do you think will be the outcome?

Hmm, I'm not familiar Le pas d'acier Suite [The Steel Step], Op. 41b piece, except for one recording I have with Igor Markevitch conducting on EMI. I'll give your link a listen. Melnikov, of course, is another good reason to look in for the concerto!

You can get the Beethoven piano concertos 0, 2, and 6 on an Oehms CD [1710], which is the world premiere recording with Sophie Mayuko Vetter, pianist/fortepianist with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra led by Peter Ruzicka. It was released in 2019. OF INTEREST: Pianist Sophie-Mayuko Vetter presents the...

I have not followed the career of Austrian-born Franz Welser-Mõst (b. 1960) very much in my collecting career. With about a baker's dozen of his titles on Sony, EMI and DGG labels, in most cases it was because of his collaborations . Recently tough, I acquired his Beethoven Ninth Symphony [DGG 0009...

I love sopranos of any range, but coloratura sopranos hold a very special place for yours truly. This one has been around for a while singing for great opera houses everywhere. Born in Utah (1980), Erin Morley . This is my first exposure to her art. I saw new release on the Orchid Classics Label [10...

Well, I know that 1784 concerto first movement has been recorded and am checking it out. The 1815 one, I'll see what I can find. I've got another collector friend checking with me on all this too. Hopefully will get some good info for you! Lance: I don't know about that earlier (1784) concerto which...

Yes, Beethoven's Violin Concerto has been performed (and recorded) a number of times for the piano. The actual No. 6 concerto was in progress and obviously never completed. It dug into my memory and vaguely recall that I have a recording or two of this concerto but cannot immediately locate it. I wi...

A while back I did some writing on Mahler's Kindertotenlieder . That and the Songs of a Wayfarer of his song cycles rate highest for me. Then there is his 1908/09 Das Lied von der Erde (Song of the Earth), written for Tenor, Contralto (or Baritone) with a full symphony orchestra. For me, the orchest...

I have a deep fondness for the music of Carl Maria von Weber ... anything he wrote, This includes his operas. While I don't "collect" operas like I might piano concertos, I nonetheless have at least two versions of his operas. In the case of Freischütz , I have three. I am wondering what recommendat...

Yes, I know Michael and his family. Michael will definitely have a career! He's a wonderful young pianist. Am so pleased Michael is under the tutelage of Efrem Briskin. If/should you see Michael, please give him my kindest regards. Lance, Efrem is the principal teacher (for 10 years!) of Michael Dav...

That was lovely to hear. I know not of Briskin, but obviously he maintained his pianistic art. Too bad he didn't get into the competition. Sokolov as gone on to have a brilliant career and this should have happened for Mr. Briskin.

For what's it's worth, the FRICSAY Verdi Requiem was issued on CD, the first time, DGG [439 684, 2 CDs), and then it was reissued in Volume 2 of the big Fricsay Edition DGG [479 4641]. It has been again reissued in a huge new Fricsay boxed set combining the two original box editions and adding some ...

Indeed, the one at Amazon is the Discover label issue, distributed by Koch. Generally, when available, that either the CNR or Discover issue garners a pretty good price. If you like Babayan, this is the time to get it! This is amazing. I have this CD which I managed to get after hearing Babayan in S...

Aha! You caught me! You are 100% correct, and I've changed it in my original post. Thank you for being on your toes! For some reason I get Levit and Trifonov mixed up. (Must be old[er] age.) And the big surprise was the DGG "Rachmaninoff for Two," album with Igor Levit, which I find to be one of the...

Well, it's one of those think you might take a chance on and then are hugely surprised and pleased you didn't get a "bummer." When one hears, especially "live" playing like occurs here, you get a real feel for the musicality of a person's innerbeing. I am trying to be more careful with mega-boxes, b...

You are right-on, Sir! That's a fabulous performance of the Fauré Quintet . I don't believe Testament ever issued that on CD; it should have been. It was originally an A. Charlin LP [CL-12]. It's getting a very high price for the LP, around $75 with shipping. Thyssens-Valentin's four Fauré CDs on T...

The tribute to your mother was beautiful and heartfelt. You and I are both so fortunate to have parents that provided and imparted the really 'good things in life' to us an early age. Indeed, in the sunset of our lives made all the richer for what happened years ago. Sviatoslav Richter, an antholog...

I fully understand about "room." But, I am weak-minded sometimes, and impulsive about music. This set arrived Sunday via Prime (reasonably priced) and I am in awe of what I have extracted thus far. Lars Vogt was more a pianist and artist than I ever knew totally. After hearing the Tchaikovsky Piano ...

When one collects by ARTISTS , there is bound be multiple performances in your collections. In looking back at what has been accumulated, one scratches one's head! This also applies to compositions as well. Among the "Masses/Requiems" - among my two personal favorites are those by Verdi and Brahms. ...

Among the pianists with whom I have developed a fascination with lately is Sergei Babayan . Apparently the great Martha Argerich thought enough of him to include him in her Lugano recitals. And the big surprise was the DGG "Rachmaninoff for Two," album with Daniil Trifonov {corrected}, which I find ...

I'm curious. Approximately, how far is it from your home to the Sydney Opera House in therms of miles? This is one place I hope to see one day, indeed I would love see all you great people of Australia. I'm less than three hours away from the Big Apple [New York City] but these days rarely go. No da...

ROBY LAKATOS & ENSEMBLE Yeah - I get into some of this "other" music - some of it is great stuff. Around 2012, Avanti Classics issued a two-CD set called "La Passion." The Hungarian, Roby Lakatos, born in 1965, is what we might call a super-virtuoso violinist of the music he plays. His group has a ...

Curzon - great for the ears. Wonderful work of Herr Schumann as well.

Belle wrote: ↑
Sun May 12, 2024 1:38 am
Clifford Curzon, 1968, Schumann's Kinderszenen. Strength and tenderness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdms6u7fXF8

While I have a lot of Telemann on disc, I don't think I have the complete Tafelmusik on CD (maybe on LP). You're right: it takes a big time commitment to hear the whole thing. While I enjoy "table music," I'd have to be at the table for a long time and would be as long as there was enough great food...

Believe-it-or-not, I have two recordings of the Glazunov Saxophone Concerto on CD. I can't remember the last time I heard it. One is on the Olympia label [165] with Lev Mikhailov playing the sax, which I bought in Ithaca, NY in 2001 . The other is a Glazunov Edition on EMI/Warner [56514], an 8-CD se...

The late pianist, Lars Vogt , who died in 2022 not quite 52, was a well known pianist, having performed and recorded prolifically for EMI/Warner, Ars Production, Ondine, and Berlin Classics. I didn't get too many of his recordings, just a few EMIs of solo performances and mostly chamber music on EMI...

I, too, have had the András Schiff disc since 2010 of his 15 Scarlatti sonatas [Decca 475 7729], though I haven't heard it in a long time and I can't recall the impression he made on me. Sometimes Schiff is really "on" - and I don't mind music being "romanticised" as long as it leaves a deep musical...

I should have mentioned Dubravka Tomsic . I do have that recording of 13 sonatas on the Pilz label [160106]. Artur Rubinstein had high opinions of Tomsic enough for me to go after almost 25 of her recordings over many years. One doesn't hear much about her these days, which is too bad as she was a t...

Can definitely understand your preference for D. Scarlatti on the harpsichord. I have plenty of that, too, with artists such Landowska (on her big Pleyel instrument), Baumont, Leonardt, Ruzickova and a few others though I have not concentrated on Scarlatti on the harpsichord as much as for the piano...

Your thoughts on the Carnegie Hall recital were about the same as mine for her new DGG "The Vienna Recital." I was disappointed as well outside of the more contemporary repertoire. Concert-goers are just wild about Yuga!

Listening recently to Sergei Babayan 's 1995 Pro Piano recording [224506] produced by Ricard de la Rosa, owner of Pro Piano in New York City who provides the Hamburg Steinway piano to artists who record for the label. de la Rosa has a reputation for providing pianos that are maintained to the highes...

Gary Bertini is a conductor's name most of us probably know. He was born in Israel as Shloyme Golergant . He has worked with many orchestras in the US, Israel, and Europe in general over the years. I have about ten or so CD recordings where his name appears, mostly in collaborations with people suc...

Having listened to the Dichterliebe today, while, as beautiful as the playing by both artists was, I missed the voice . The cello takes the vocal line of the cycle and here the cellist displays the subtleties of the vocal line superbly well. The cello can be made to not only sing, but to cry as well...

It was hard to believe that Australia would have these conditions in their far-removed areas. For a few moments while reading your post, I put myself in their position. What would it be like, where I live (for anyone lives what e deem a normal or close-to-normal life), if no one could get in for a v...

Could not concur with you more regarding Emanuel Ax ... who produced three Sony recordings of Haydn's sonatas giving us Nos. 58, 38, 60, 33, 32, 47, 53, 59, 29, 31, 34, 35, and 39 recorded in the early 2000s. Agreed, he plays them more in the Romantic-period vein. Marc-André Hamelin 's three volumes...

Wish I could view this. I'm a big fan of Anthony Hopkins! Remarkable actor.

I certainly hope administrators will wake up and give Marin Alsop the chance she is seeking. The Met is a big step to even more. She has done wonders for Baltimore, and the recording industry. Get her while you can is the way I see it.

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