Worst classical CD of 2009
DC
Paul Potts: "Passione" [Sony] (Amazon.com:
http://xrl.us/Potts )
The conjunction of let's-find-talent-"Idol"-style reality
shows and crossover, Il Divo-style "pop-era" has yielded
"Britain's Got Talent" winner Potts, whose sophomore album
included an unlistenable rendition of Puccini's "E lucevan
le stelle."
graham
"DC" <rema...@reece.net.au> wrote in message
news:GPYZM2R24016...@reece.net.au...
Graham
Matthew�B.�Tepper
typed in news:GPYZM2R24016...@reece.net.au:
Hooray for Midgette (whom I have criticized in the past for what I took to be
her na�vet�) not merely for recognizing this, but for stating it publicly.
Down with mockera!
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
Read about "Proty" here: http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers
Kerrison
> DC <remai...@reece.net.au> appears to have caused the following letters to be
> typed innews:GPYZM2R24016...@reece.net.au:
>
> > Washington Post
>
> > Paul Potts: "Passione" [Sony] (Amazon.com:
> >http://xrl.us/Potts)
>
> > The conjunction of let's-find-talent-"Idol"-style reality shows and
> > crossover, Il Divo-style "pop-era" has yielded "Britain's Got Talent"
> > winner Potts, whose sophomore album included an unlistenable rendition of
> > Puccini's "E lucevan le stelle."
>
> >http://xrl.us/2009BestWorst
>
> Hooray for Midgette (whom I have criticized in the past for what I took to be
> Down with mockera!
>
> --
> Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
> Read about "Proty" here:http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
> To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
> Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers
According to Edward Seckerson's review in the new Gramophone, it's
Harnoncourt's recording of Porgy and Bess: "What on earth would
Gershwin's reaction have been to the presence of the Arnold Schoenberg
Choir? ... It seems to me not just unnacceptable but slightly
offensive to use a white chorus ... it's embarrassing." Jonathan
Lemalu's voice (he's Porgy) "is troubled by a disfiguring vibrato" and
with Roberta Alexander as Maria "you need the text to follow the
words." Other singers "don't quite nail the intonation" or are "poorly
tuned and uncharismatic." In short "a disappointment." ... Well, I
don't see this one selling like hot cakes, even over Christmas.
Randy Lane
Since there are hoards of just plain BAD classical releases, perhaps
the better subject for this thread is along the lines "What is the
most disappointing classical release of the year". Didn't fullfill
expectations given artists involved, hyped to be bigger than it was,
etc.
I'll chime in and say I expected much more coverage of previously
unrecorded and extremly under-recorded Haydn in 2009 with the 200th
anniversary of his death.
Brilliant classics did not meet their original goal to have a complete
edition out. Most of the reissues were of items previously released on
CD and very little of the still unmined LP-era goodies have made it to
commercial releases (such as the Symphony recordings of Leslie Jones,
Maerzendorfer and Solomons). And many of teh "new" items offered are
sub standard (Brilliant's quartets, the Sony Russel-Davies
Symphonies).
And I have to rank the Russel-Davies Symphony set as my top-ranking
JUNK OF THE YEAR item!. The conductor disappoints, the availability is
poor, and the technical production stinks (channels swapped, gaps in
playback, poor edits). Sony, sell Sony-Classical to someone who really
CARES about getting it right.
Ray Hall
> On Dec 20, 8:27 am, DC <remai...@reece.net.au> wrote:
>> Washington Post
>>
>> Paul Potts: "Passione" [Sony] (Amazon.com:http://xrl.us/Potts)
>>
>> The conjunction of let's-find-talent-"Idol"-style reality
>> shows and crossover, Il Divo-style "pop-era" has yielded
>> "Britain's Got Talent" winner Potts, whose sophomore album
>> included an unlistenable rendition of Puccini's "E lucevan
>> le stelle."
>>
>> http://xrl.us/2009BestWorst
>
> Since there are hoards of just plain BAD classical releases, perhaps
> the better subject for this thread is along the lines "What is the
> most disappointing classical release of the year". Didn't fullfill
> expectations given artists involved, hyped to be bigger than it was,
> etc.
Bingo.
> I'll chime in and say I expected much more coverage of previously
> unrecorded and extremly under-recorded Haydn in 2009 with the 200th
> anniversary of his death.
Agree with that, but then Haydn is pretty well served.
> And I have to rank the Russel-Davies Symphony set as my top-ranking
> JUNK OF THE YEAR item!. The conductor disappoints, the availability is
> poor, and the technical production stinks (channels swapped, gaps in
> playback, poor edits).
Thanks for the reminder, not that I was going to spring for it anyway.
Ray Hall, Taree
Johan van Veen
'The Lute is a Song'
Edin Karamazov, Renee Fleming, Andreas Scholl, Sting, Kaliopi
L'Oiseau Lyre - 478 1077
No competition in this department. It is one of the most disgusting
discs I have ever heard, and Karamazov is a joke.
--
Johan van Veen
e-mail: jvv...@ziggo.nl (remove [nospam])
website: www.musica-dei-donum.org
weblog: musicadeidonum.web-log.nl
number_six
>
> - Show quoted text -
I have not heard the Harnoncourt Porgy -- I have the Houston Grand
Opera recording, like it very much and am not in need of another --
but whatever the merits and demerits of the actual performances, part
of Seckerson's argument is invidious. Were I his editor, I'd not have
accepted it in that form.
Dave Cook
> sub standard (Brilliant's quartets, the Sony Russel-Davies
> Symphonies).
Were the Buchberger's quartets really "sub standard"? I haven't heard
these, but I hadn't gleaned that from any of the reviews, mixed as
they were.
Dave Cook
The Historian
Interesting. Someone once reviewed one of those "Broadway with opera
singers" productions from the 1980s and joked about a future recording
of Annie Get Your Gun with von Karajan leading the Berlin PO and St.
Hedwig Cathedral Choir, Janowitz and Fischer-Dieskau headlining. This
Harnoncourt recording comes close to that.
The Historian
Interesting. One of the few reviewers at Amazon who seems to know
classical music praised the performance:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R36F21QQCNDNGI/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
The Historian
> DC schreef:
>
> > Washington Post
>
> > Paul Potts: "Passione" [Sony] (Amazon.com:
> >http://xrl.us/Potts)
>
> > The conjunction of let's-find-talent-"Idol"-style reality
> > shows and crossover, Il Divo-style "pop-era" has yielded
> > "Britain's Got Talent" winner Potts, whose sophomore album
> > included an unlistenable rendition of Puccini's "E lucevan
> > le stelle."
>
> >http://xrl.us/2009BestWorst
>
> 'The Lute is a Song'
> Edin Karamazov, Renee Fleming, Andreas Scholl, Sting, Kaliopi
> L'Oiseau Lyre - 478 1077
>
> No competition in this department. It is one of the most disgusting
> discs I have ever heard, and Karamazov is a joke.
But he was the one redeeming feature on the 'Sting Murders Dowland'
disc.
Matthew�B.�Tepper
following letters to be typed in news:bb02e80a-1cba-4fb2-87cf-1aae7a124b51@
19g2000vbq.googlegroups.com:
> Interesting. Someone once reviewed one of those "Broadway with opera
> singers" productions from the 1980s and joked about a future recording
> of Annie Get Your Gun with von Karajan leading the Berlin PO and St.
> Hedwig Cathedral Choir, Janowitz and Fischer-Dieskau headlining. This
> Harnoncourt recording comes close to that.
Well, it would have been Berlin Plays Berlin, at that.
Matthew�B.�Tepper
following letters to be typed in news:f0de6e87-f4a5-46f3-8bc5-
f3d8cc...@s31g2000yqs.googlegroups.com:
> According to Edward Seckerson's review in the new Gramophone, it's
> Harnoncourt's recording of Porgy and Bess: "What on earth would Gershwin's
> reaction have been to the presence of the Arnold Schoenberg Choir?"
He might have said, "Imagine that, a choir named after my tennis partner!"
Matthew�B.�Tepper
following letters to be typed in news:hgmao7$6b1$2...@news.eternal-
september.org:
> 'The Lute is a Song'
> Edin Karamazov, Renee Fleming, Andreas Scholl, Sting, Kaliopi
> L'Oiseau Lyre - 478 1077
>
> No competition in this department. It is one of the most disgusting
> discs I have ever heard, and Karamazov is a joke.
The Dowland CD he did with Sting ought to have prepared you. I heard a few
tracks of that trainwreck at the late Virgin Megastore once, and rated it a
solid 900 milliboltons.
Johannes Roehl
I do not think they are substandard (have only heard bits and pieces),
but they are not a revelation (were they supposed to be one?) and not
necessary if one already has decent recordings of the music.
Some listeners expressed disappointment with the ongoin Auryn series,
but again, the expectations might have been to high. (The Auryn achieve
certainly a high standard as far as sound and playing goes.)
The best cheap Haydn boxes that came out earlier than 2009 are IMO the
piano trios from Brilliant (with van Oort etc.) and the sonatas with
Schornsheim.
Altogether I think that Haydn is by now rather well-served, at least as
far as the major cycles go. Of course there are still several symphonies
(and also quartets etc.) where one would like to have more choices (e.g.
quartets before op.20, also maybe op.64 and 54/55).
Johannes
Bob Harper
release of the Juilliard recording? And did they do any other Haydn
beyond what's on Testament?
Bob Harper
Dave Cook
> Speaking of Op. 54, when oh when is there going to be an official
> release of the Juilliard recording? And did they do any other Haydn
> beyond what's on Testament?
They was an Op. 20 box.
Dave Cook
Johannes Roehl
> Johannes Roehl wrote:
>> Dave Cook schrieb:
>>> On 2009-12-20, Randy Lane <randy...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> sub standard (Brilliant's quartets, the Sony Russel-Davies
>>>> Symphonies).
>>>
>>> Were the Buchberger's quartets really "sub standard"? I haven't heard
>>> these, but I hadn't gleaned that from any of the reviews, mixed as
>>> they were.
>>
>> I do not think they are substandard (have only heard bits and pieces),
>> but they are not a revelation (were they supposed to be one?) and not
>> necessary if one already has decent recordings of the music.
>>
>> Some listeners expressed disappointment with the ongoin Auryn series,
>> but again, the expectations might have been to high. (The Auryn
>> achieve certainly a high standard as far as sound and playing goes.)
>>
>> The best cheap Haydn boxes that came out earlier than 2009 are IMO the
>> piano trios from Brilliant (with van Oort etc.) and the sonatas with
>> Schornsheim.
>>
>> Altogether I think that Haydn is by now rather well-served, at least
>> as far as the major cycles go. Of course there are still several
>> symphonies (and also quartets etc.) where one would like to have more
>> choices (e.g. quartets before op.20, also maybe op.64 and 54/55).
> Speaking of Op. 54, when oh when is there going to be an official
> release of the Juilliard recording? And did they do any other Haydn
> beyond what's on Testament?
I have not heard any of the Juilliard's Haydn. But besides op.54 they
did a complete op.20 as well as several late quartets from op.74 and 77.
Hardly anything is/was on CD.
Johannes
Russ (not Martha)
> On 2009-12-21, Bob Harper <bob.har...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> > Speaking of Op. 54, when oh when is there going to be an official
> > release of the Juilliard recording? And did they do any other Haydn
> > beyond what's on Testament?
>
> They was an Op. 20 box.
>
> Dave Cook
Remastered to CD by one of them rascally Sea Cap'ns, matey.
Ruas (not Martha)
Bob Harper
> Bob Harper schrieb:
(snip)
>> Speaking of Op. 54, when oh when is there going to be an official
>> release of the Juilliard recording? And did they do any other Haydn
>> beyond what's on Testament?
>
> I have not heard any of the Juilliard's Haydn. But besides op.54 they
> did a complete op.20 as well as several late quartets from op.74 and 77.
> Hardly anything is/was on CD.
>
> Johannes
'real':) Juilliard, the one with Claus Adam as cellist. Opp. 74/1 and
77/1 are on Testament. Are there any others from that lineup beyond Op.
54? I know of none, though it would be wonderful to be wrong.
Bob Harper
laraine
That does seem like a tricky and controverial
question, c.f., Patrick Stewart playing Shakespeare's
Othello in an all-black cast.
C.
Sol L. Siegel
> Kerrison <kerrison1...@yahoo.co.uk> appears to have caused the
> following letters to be typed..:
>
>> According to Edward Seckerson's review in the new Gramophone, it's
>> Harnoncourt's recording of Porgy and Bess: "What on earth would
>> Gershwin's reaction have been to the presence of the Arnold
>> Schoenberg Choir?"
>
> He might have said, "Imagine that, a choir named after my tennis
> partner!"
Schoenberg actually complained that his son Ronald was better known at his
tennis club than he was - as a tennis player!
(As of about a year ago, Ronald, a retired judge, was still living in his
father's house in Brentwood.)
--
- Sol L. Siegel, Philadelphia, PA USA
Matthew�B.�Tepper
letters to be typed in news:Xns9CE8DCABC5E...@130.133.4.11:
And Ronald's brother Lawrence was one of the math teachers at my high
school. His tag line in my yearbook is, "I know this is boring for you..."
Johan van Veen
> Johan van Veen <"jvveen[nospam]"@ziggo.nl> appears to have caused the
> following letters to be typed in news:hgmao7$6b1$2...@news.eternal-
> september.org:
>
>> 'The Lute is a Song'
>> Edin Karamazov, Renee Fleming, Andreas Scholl, Sting, Kaliopi
>> L'Oiseau Lyre - 478 1077
>>
>> No competition in this department. It is one of the most disgusting
>> discs I have ever heard, and Karamazov is a joke.
>
> The Dowland CD he did with Sting ought to have prepared you. I heard a few
> tracks of that trainwreck at the late Virgin Megastore once, and rated it a
> solid 900 milliboltons.
>
I didn't purchase it; I had to review it, so here was no escape.
The hardest thing was to take this disc seriously. That's why I wrote
that Karamazov is a joke. I can't believe anyone takes him seriously as
a player of classical music.
Johan van Veen
But on this disc his lute playing is awful. The worst is his attempt to
play Bach's Toccata and figue in d minor. He just kills the piece.
Matthew�B.�Tepper
following letters to be typed in
> Matthew B. Tepper schreef:
>> Johan van Veen <"jvveen[nospam]"@ziggo.nl> appears to have caused the
>> following letters to be typed in news:hgmao7$6b1$2...@news.eternal-
>> september.org:
>>
>>> 'The Lute is a Song'
>>> Edin Karamazov, Renee Fleming, Andreas Scholl, Sting, Kaliopi
>>> L'Oiseau Lyre - 478 1077
>>>
>>> No competition in this department. It is one of the most disgusting
>>> discs I have ever heard, and Karamazov is a joke.
>>
>> The Dowland CD he did with Sting ought to have prepared you. I heard a
>> few tracks of that trainwreck at the late Virgin Megastore once, and
>> rated it a solid 900 milliboltons.
>
> I didn't purchase it; I had to review it, so here was no escape.
> The hardest thing was to take this disc seriously. That's why I wrote
> that Karamazov is a joke. I can't believe anyone takes him seriously as
> a player of classical music.
He should stick to juggling. And I am sorry that you had to endure that.
ex-neo-con
> Washington Post
>
> Paul Potts: "Passione" [Sony] (Amazon.com:http://xrl.us/Potts)
>
> The conjunction of let's-find-talent-"Idol"-style reality
> shows and crossover, Il Divo-style "pop-era" has yielded
> "Britain's Got Talent" winner Potts, whose sophomore album
> included an unlistenable rendition of Puccini's "E lucevan
> le stelle."
>
> http://xrl.us/2009BestWorst
I dunno about you, but you'd think someone with a name whose sound so
closely resembles that of the Cambodian butcher Pol Pot would have the
good sense to change it before appearing in public. I've not heard the
recording, but, on stupidity grounds alone, I know I'll pass.
ex-neo-con
Matthew�B.�Tepper
letters to be typed in news:dd29b34c-3119-4980-b184-
f7ca63...@r1g2000vbp.googlegroups.com:
Remember "Hill Street Blues"? One of the occasional recurring characters
was a low-rent stand-up comedian named Vic Hitler, Jr. For some reason, he
had a bit of difficulty getting work.