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WAYLTL - September 2012

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Oscar

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Sep 1, 2012, 6:50:52 PM9/1/12
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Today:

• Janáček, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Works for Cello & Piano - Steven
Isserlis (vlc) & Olli Mustonen (p, Steinway) [RCA Red Seal CD
09026-68437-2 ℗ © 1996, Recorded May 1995 in the Great Hall,
Blackheath Concert Halls, London, Produced by Andrew Keener, Balance
engineer: Mike Hatch (Floating Earth Ltd.), Editors: Andrew Keener,
John H. West, A&R direction: Dolly Williamson — superb on every level,
this is great stuff]

-Janáček: Pohádka (A Tale) (1923 Version)
-Shostakovich: Sonata No. 4 for Cello and Piano, Op. 40
-Prokofiev: Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 119
-Janáček: Pohádka (A Tale) (supplementary version)

Gramophone review, May 1996:

<<Janáček Pohádka (original and revised versions). Shostakovich Sonata
for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op. 40. Prokofiev Sonata for Cello and
Piano in C, Op. 119. Steven Isserlis (vc); 0111 Mustonen (0). RCA
Victor Red Seal 8 CD 09026 68437-2 (70 minutes: DDD).

Selected comparison — coupled as above: Gregor-Smith, Wrigley (ASV)
CDDCA756

Here we have two front-ranking players travelling along different
tracks, Isserlis with his smooth phrasing and voluptuous tone,
Mustonen, a high octane virtuoso with enough interpretative ideas for
two. The 'standard' version of Janaeek's gripping Pohádka starts out
to a sensual brush of tone from Mustonen and guitar-like cello
pizzicatos (plenty of vibrato), but as soon as the con moto takes
flight, Mustonen gallops to the fore and, thereafter, tends to hold
the lead. The second movement features some ravishing cello playing,
though best of all is the dance-like closing Allegro. Isserlis also
programmes a 'supplementary' Suite which includes a ferocious Presto
(a palpable anticipation of Taros Bulba) and an original final
movement, dating from 1912. Either option leaves a strong impression,
though RCA usefully suggest a programming sequence for a five-movement
synthesis (Janáček himself apparently described the three-movement
version as an excerpt from a larger work).

Generally speaking, the partnership is at its most effective wherever
the music toys or teases — in the first minute or so of Shostakovich's
closing Allegro, for example, which is superbly characterized by both
players. The opening Allegro non troppo harbours many perceptive
touches but, again, Mustonen's pianistic protest hogs the limelight,
though Isserlis gets his own back at the beginning of the second
movement. The Prokofiev Sonata works better, probably because its
constantly shifting hues demand a wide array of tonal contrasts. I am
fairly sure that this constant lobbying on behalf of the pianist is
more the result of a genuinely outsize personality than of any
conscious resolve to dominate the proceedings. As I've already
suggested, both players add significantly to our experience of the
music, it's just that they tend to do so individually rather than as a
team.

Their principal rival is a sincerely voiced but cavernously recorded
coupling by Bernard Gregor-Smith with Yolande Wrigley. There, the solo
playing has little of Isserlis's or Mustonen's natural charisma, but
the musical partnership is on a more even keel and there the second
version of Pohcidka gives way to Martini's Variations on a Slovak
folksong. A fascinating but frustrating recital with excellent notes
by Isserlis himself. RC>>

Matthew�B.�Tepper

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Sep 2, 2012, 1:12:34 PM9/2/12
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I'm up to vol. 28 of the Toscanini Edition, first symphonies by Prokofiev and
Shostakovich, with two tableaus from Stravinsky's "Petrushka." It seems
unlikely that I'll be able to finish hearing the whole box before moving from
my present apartment to the bigger one a few miles away, but we'll see.

--
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.

Dufus

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Sep 2, 2012, 1:47:19 PM9/2/12
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>On Sep 1, 5:50 pm, Oscar <oscaredwardwilliam...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Today:

Jules Massenet's Piano Concerto, Marylene Dosse,pianist ( gorgeous
slow mov. and finale ) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jmjYaKfqP0

http://tinyurl.com/9b8tr9s ( the cd at Amazon )

Dufus

mandryka

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Sep 3, 2012, 4:25:44 AM9/3/12
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Kempff playing Brahms Op 118 the West German Radio in Cologne -- and
that got me on to the second the same music recorded for Decca from 7
years earlier, in his Gewat Pianists

What a difference. The G minor Ballade (Op 118/3) is an elephant's
dance for Decca , a pogo dance in the radio recording. He's
consistently more inspired -- with the possible exception of Op 118/6
(which is excellent, but it's excellent for Decca too.) The romanze
(which happens to be one of my most favourite pieces of music in the
world) has a really whimsical free quality which reminds me a bit of
Gieseking and maybe Tiegermann (from memory that, I could be wrong
about them.) Much much less so for Decca. Sound is considerably more
truthful in 1960 than in 1953. He's nearly always significantly
faster in Cologne.

But most interesting is the way his conception of the music seems to
me to have changed as he aged. In 1953 Kempff's late Brahms is quite
a cliché at times. You know, the old guy crying into his beer as he
reflects, autumnally , on years forever gone. Not so at all in 1960,
where he's a much more complicated fellow.


Richter and Eschenbach playing Beethoven's first pico


I'm curious about what people think of Richter/Eschenbach, recorded
nearly 30 years after the one with Munch.

The performance is so challenging, especially in the allegro, that's
it's easy to have a knee jerk reaction and say it's just not very
good. An off day with an unsympathetic conductor. That was my initial
reaction, as George can testify.

But I don't think things are so simple. First, Richter himself was
proud of the performance (p327 of the Notebooks.) Second, the largo
shows he is far from having an off day -- IMO his performance there is
more impressive than with Munch. Same for the astonishing first
movement cadenza. True the third movement is slower than we normally
hear - but historically informed performances sometimes play it even
slower (Schnooderwoerd), so maybe Richter and Eschenbach were on to
something there.

It's the Allegro which is the problem. When you see allegro con brio
you expect more vigour . But repeated listening is convincing me that
there are ideas in that performance, they've thought it through.
They've made it into something extremely dark and serious, which is
maybe not what we're used to in this concerto. But there are some
strikingly serious and deep things in the music, both in the
orchestral intro and in the piano part later on. So maybe that way of
playing it is not without some basis.

It's a performance I find fascinating, difficult and in a way, more
interesting than the ones with Munch and Ancerl and Kondrashin from
the 1960s.

I would say similar things about the Mozart concerto 18 with Barshai,
by the way. And the Mozart 24 with Muti.

Other things that stand out -- the record which Virssaladze made for
Live Classics with Prokofiev 8 and Mozart K475/547 (wonderful).,
Kempff playing Schubert D537 (fun and deep), Russell Scherman playing
D850 (fun but glib), Grinberg's Mendelssohn CD (unbelievably great)
and the record which Tom said invented for the word "appalling." --
Schliessman's Goldbergs.

The Historian

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Sep 3, 2012, 8:07:17 PM9/3/12
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Paul Dessau's orchestration of Mozart's Quintet K. 614. Suitner and
the Berlin State Orchestra on Berlin Classics. The percussion in the
last movement reminds me of Schoenberg's work on the Brahms G minor
Piano Quartet. Suitner and the orchestra sound like they are having a
great time. This work, like Stock's orchestration of the Schubert C
Major Quintet, should be played and recorded more often.

jrsnfld

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Sep 3, 2012, 11:23:36 PM9/3/12
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Listened a couple times today to a beautiful (and exquisitely played)
modern string trio by Hans Holewa (born 1905), with violinist Leon
Spierer, violist Gideon Roehr, and cellist Claude Genetay. The music
is dissonant, seems atonal but not more difficult to listen to than,
say, Bartok quartets (in fact, a lot of this sounds like Bartok).
Another composer to investigate further!

--Jeff

The Historian

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Sep 4, 2012, 12:37:49 PM9/4/12
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Moving on...

Gina Bachauer in the Beethoven 4 and 5 and Brahms 2 piano concertos on
Mercury.

Oscar

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Sep 7, 2012, 2:49:28 AM9/7/12
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On Sep 4, 9:37 am, The Historian wrote:
>
> Moving on...
>
> Gina Bachauer in the Beethoven 4 and 5 and Brahms 2 piano concertos on
> Mercury.

What do you think of those? Bachauer in general?


Now playing:

• Debussy: Ibéria, for orchestra, L. 122/2 • Ravel: Valses nobles et
sentimentales, Alborada del gracioso, for orchestra - Chicago Symphony
Orchestra / Fritz Reiner [RCA Victor LSC-2222 LP ℗ © 1958, shaded dog
with 3S/1S stampers — love this album, but the Alan Yoshida-mastered
XRCD has best sound]

The Historian

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Sep 7, 2012, 7:46:02 AM9/7/12
to
On Sep 7, 2:49 am, Oscar <oscaredwardwilliam...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sep 4, 9:37 am, The Historian wrote:
>
>
>
> > Moving on...
>
> > Gina Bachauer in the Beethoven 4 and 5 and Brahms 2 piano concertos on
> > Mercury.
>
> What do you think of those? Bachauer in general?

Too many pianophiles here to attempt to describe her playing in detail
- TD and Dufus would eat me alive if I did so. I'd say she plays all
three works as big, almost epic in scale, and the engineers help that
image by putting the piano very forward.

The Historian

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Sep 7, 2012, 8:01:43 AM9/7/12
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St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble in Mozart Divertimenti, on three MHS discs
- #7 to 15, K. 205 to 287. Did they record any more? K. 334, perhaps?

Bunch of Haydn symphonies, some commercial releases, some other:

#57 - Max Rudolf, Cincinnati SO
#97 - Bernstein, NYP
#53 - Stokowski, SO; Dorati, Philharmonia Hungarica; Fischer, AHHO
#60 - Brusilow, Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia; Fischer, AHHO;
Martinon, Chicago SO
#61 - Fischer, AHHO

The surprise - no, not #94 - of the lot was Rudolf/Cincinnati - great
"big band" performance in fine stereo sound. The Martinon was also
good but my download was corrupted and missed the final movement. The
best performance was Bernstein in 97 - I generally don't care for
Lenny but his Haydn is very good.

Gerard

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Sep 7, 2012, 10:02:21 AM9/7/12
to
The Historian <neil.the...@gmail.com> typed:
> On Sep 7, 2:49� am, Oscar <oscaredwardwilliam...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Sep 4, 9:37� am, The Historian wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > > Moving on...
> >
> > > Gina Bachauer in the Beethoven 4 and 5 and Brahms 2 piano
> > > concertos on Mercury.
> >
> > What do you think of those? Bachauer in general?
>
> Too many pianophiles here to attempt to describe her playing in detail
> - TD and Dufus would eat me alive if I did so.

Don't fear. Just post at leat 150 youtube-urls (weekly).

The Historian

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Sep 7, 2012, 10:47:52 AM9/7/12
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Finally got an uncorrupted Martinon/CSO of the Haydn #60. The whole
performance is great, and the sound is amazing for a 60s radio
broadcast.

Moving on, I'm listening to Max Rudolf/Cincinnati in the Mozart
Posthorn Serenade, another out of print Decca US title sprung from the
vault by somebody. It and the Haydn I mentioned earlier have sound at
least as good as RCA's for Boston during the early Living Stereo era.
Rudolf's Mozart is big-band, but like Szell's recording with another
Ohio orchestra it's not heavy. Rudolf is gentler, more genial than
Szell, although some of that could be from being better recorded.

I see there are also "sprung" recordings of Rudolf/Cincinnati in Haydn
57/86/102, Mendelssohn and Berwald symphonies, and Bizet's Symphony in
C. Hmm....

whiskynsplash

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Sep 7, 2012, 6:35:22 PM9/7/12
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Listening to the Elgar violin concerto with Nikolaj Znaider and the
Staatskapelle Dresden under Colin Davis. Kreisler gave the first
performance in 1910 and Znaider plays the "Kreisler" Guarnerius del
Gesu of 1741. Highly recommended. Can't understnad why it's being sold
so cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/Elgar-Violin-Concerto-Nikolaj-Znaider/dp/B002W1HBGQ

The Historian

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Sep 8, 2012, 7:52:28 PM9/8/12
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Beecham's take on Mozart's 39th symphony. Like Beecham's late Haydn
recordings, it was far too refined and sedate.

More Martinon airchecks, Chicago SO performances of Haydn 103 and 104.
Very good "big band" Haydn, although the drumroll at the start of 103
struck me as too quiet. The sound was good although very treble-
heavy.

Mozart's PC 21, K. 467, with Artur Rubinstein. The performance was
mentioned in another thread. I'd forgotten how good it was, and I was
glad to refresh my memory.

The Historian

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Sep 11, 2012, 12:53:54 AM9/11/12
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This download of Italian Oboe Concertos:

http://www.amazon.com/Pauline-Oostenrijk-plays-Italian-Concertos/dp/B001ULHYRA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1347338643&s=dmusic&sr=1-4

I enjoyed the 'assembled' Cimarosa concerto the best, followed by the
Fantaisa on British Airs. The other two works I'll need to return to
and determine if the reason they didn't grab me is my failing, or the
composers.

I compared the above recording of the Cimarosa with two mono
recordings - Leon Goosens and Mitch Miller. I narrowly prefer Goosens
over Oostenrijk; despite the excellent sound and her own virtuosity
she sounds slightly bland next to Goosens.

Oscar

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Sep 11, 2012, 3:29:05 AM9/11/12
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• J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations - Grete Sultan (p) [Concord Concerto
CCD-42030 ℗ © 1996, under exclusive license from Labor Records, Inc.,
Recorded in stereo in 1959 by David Hancock at Finch Junior College,
N.Y., performed on a Bösendorfer piano in a single take, Reissue
producer: Henier Stadler, Remastering engineer: Atanas Baynov]

Oscar

unread,
Sep 11, 2012, 4:59:52 AM9/11/12
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Another from over the weekend:

• Braunfels: Die Vögel (The Birds), Op. 30 - singers include Hellen
Kwon, Endrik Wottrich, Michael Kraus, Wolfgang Holzmair, Mattihias
Goerne, et al., Rundfunkchor Berlin (chorus master: Gerd Müller-
Lorenz), Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin / Lothar Zagrosek [Decca
448 679-2 2CD ℗ © 1996, A Co-production with DeutschlandRadio and ROC
GmbH, part of Decca's Entartete Musik series, Producers: Morten
Winding, Michael Woolcock, Recording engineers: Jonathan Stokes, Neil
Hutchinson, Andrew Groves, Recording editor: Nigel Gayler, Recording
location: Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin Darlem, December 1994
— recommended for fans of R. Strauss, Wagner, Humperdinck]

Bruno Walter described The Birds as 'a noble and lovely work':

<<In 1920, I directed one of the most interesting new works to appear
while I was working in Munich, W. Braunfels's The Birds: anyone who
has heard Karl Erb's (Hoffegut's) song of human longing and the
consoling voice of Maria Ivogün's Nightingale, anyone who has been
amused by grotesque scenes in the work and moved by its romantic
elements, will think back in gratitude to this inspired and
intelligent operatic metamorphosis of Aristophanes' comdedy.>>

SPAM- @xs4all.nl HvT

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Sep 11, 2012, 7:29:49 AM9/11/12
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Mendelssohn piano quartets 2 and 3 bij the Bartholdy Piano Quartet
Compared with the piano trios these quartets sound a bit dull. But then, not
everyone can be a Luba Edlina or a Julia Fischer.

Thuille sextet and quintet by Luisi (piano) and the Chantily Quintet and
Gigli Quartet
Never heard of this composer before. However, the music was a very pleasant
surprise. The performing good as it is can be bettered, IMHO.

Chausson Poeme for violin, string quartet and piano, piano trio, an Andante
et Allegro, and Pi�ce
Devoyon (piano) and Hoffman (cello) are well-known to me. I cannot say this
of Graffin (violin), Neidich (clarinet) and the Chilingirian Quartet. The
Gramophone did like the recording, so it seems, and so do I, although I must
admit that I like the compositions better than the performances. But then
again, not everyone can be a Luba Edlina or a Julia Fischer.

Faure, Debussy and Ravel piano trios by the FLorestan trio
These performances are highly praised by Gramophone and Classic CD. I can
understand why although I'm not a fan of the Florestan trio. They are at
their best in Ravel's trio - probably also because it is such great music.

Kabalevsky complete (?) music for piano and orchestra by Korstick and the
NDR RPh/Francis
The fantasy after Schubert D940 and Rhapsody are best forgotten. As to the
concertos, it's remarkable to hear how Kabalevsky's sense of humour
increases with the years. His op. 99 is just fun. Korstick's performance
can best be judged when comparing his interpretation of the second movement
of op. 50 with Stott's. I like Stott's performance a lot. She has a
beautiful tone and her playing is always transparent. It reminds me of the
way I want Bartok's third piano concerto to be played. Korstick is far more
interested in colours, long phrases, tempo changes and in surprising his
audience. Under his hands this slow movement really moves forward, from
moments of sheer fun to quieter ones - and vice versa.

Hmmm. It's obvious that I have a hard time not to be carried away by
Kabalevsky and Korstick ...

Henk



Oscar

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Sep 11, 2012, 7:46:12 AM9/11/12
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On Sep 11, 4:29 am, HvT wrote:
>
> Faure, Debussy and Ravel piano trios by the FLorestan trio
> These performances are highly praised by Gramophone and Classic CD. I can
> understand why although I'm not a fan of the Florestan trio. They are at
> their best in Ravel's trio - probably also because it is such great music.

Yes, a GREAT piece of music, and I too am usually ambivalent about the
Florestan Trio (that is to say, those recordings that I have heard).
Btw, what is your favorite recording of the Ravel Trio?

Johannes Roehl

unread,
Sep 11, 2012, 7:49:49 AM9/11/12
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Am 11.09.2012 13:29, schrieb HvT:
> Mendelssohn piano quartets 2 and 3 bij the Bartholdy Piano Quartet
> Compared with the piano trios these quartets sound a bit dull. But then, not
> everyone can be a Luba Edlina or a Julia Fischer.

As Mendelssohn, Wunderkind or not, was about 13 or so when he wrote the
piano quartets whereas the two trios are mature pieces, this impression
might not be the performer's fault.


SPAM- @xs4all.nl HvT

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Sep 11, 2012, 7:55:26 AM9/11/12
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<g> Johannes, many thanks for your pertinent remark!

Henk


SPAM- @xs4all.nl HvT

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Sep 11, 2012, 8:01:15 AM9/11/12
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It's my first encounter with Ravel's trio (although it didn't sound totally
unfamiliar). What's your favourite Ravel trio? It's a piece I want more
versions of.

Henk


Steve Emerson

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Sep 11, 2012, 11:57:48 PM9/11/12
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In article <504f27eb$1$6862$e4fe...@news2.news.xs4all.nl>,
Henk, if you want more versions, the Borodin Trio's Ravel is actually
one of the best things they did. Kagan/Gutman/Richter on Live Classics
is another that's terrific.

SE.

The Historian

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Sep 12, 2012, 1:11:44 AM9/12/12
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Free download of the Claremont Trio here:

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/music/listen/music_library?filter=composer

Scroll down until you get to Ravel.

SPAM- @xs4all.nl HvT

unread,
Sep 12, 2012, 4:45:17 AM9/12/12
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Steve, many thanks!! I ordered the Borodin Trio and have put Kagan c.s. on
my to-buy list.

Best regards,
Henk


SPAM- @xs4all.nl HvT

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Sep 12, 2012, 4:58:53 AM9/12/12
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Many thanks for the URL! BTW, what an interesting place, the Gardnermuseum.

Henk


David Fox

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Sep 13, 2012, 12:22:01 AM9/13/12
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Znaider has a beautiful tone. I heard him play the piece live. As for
why so cheap....everything is cheap nowadays. Welcome to the post-CD world.

DF

laraine

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Sep 21, 2012, 12:45:36 AM9/21/12
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Midori (2008)-
Bach: Unaccompanied Sonata #2 A min
Bartok: Sonata #1

Pairing of an unaccompanied piece with
one having a lush and complex accompaniment
(Robert McDonald).
Truly fine art.
-------------------------------------

Wendy Sutter plays Philip Glass -
Songs and Poems for solo cello,
and"Tissues," from the film "Naqoyqatsi,"
for cello, piano, and percussion

First heard Sutter play some of this
'romantic' Glass on BBC, wanted to hear
more. The Songs are haunting, the Tissues
lighter, the two sets of pieces quite
contrast each other, all well-played..

Glass on piano & David Cossin
percussion for Tissues.

------------------------------

Kavakos, Enrico Pace (Verbier 2011)
Beethoven Violin Sonatas - #5 Spring
and #4 A min. on BBC
(along with a short Terfel Schubert)

Very fine playing. Subtle but
moving interpretations, so natural
that you can hardly tell how it's
done. #5 particularly fits Kavakos'
style.

-------------------------------

(BBC - Verbier 2011)
Prokofiev: Cinq Melodies
Valery Sokolov (violin)
Nelson Goerner (piano)

Tchaikovsky: The Seasons
Denis Matsuev (piano).

The Seaons - all 12 of them.
All of them sounded very well-
interpreted. Nice concert in
general.

--------------------------------

BBC (Edinburgh Int'l Festival 2012)
European Union Youth Orchestra
Edinburgh Festival Chorus men
Gianandrea Noseda - conductor
Christopher Bell - choirmaster

Debussy: Nocturnes
Busoni: Piano Concerto Opus39

Garrick Ohlsson - piano

Very special concert,
not able to absorb the Busoni
very well, but enjoyed it, was
surprised by the choral part at
the end.

---------------------------------
C.

Dana John Hill

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Sep 21, 2012, 3:19:18 PM9/21/12
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I picked this disc up for $2.00 yesterday, and am quite pleased with
it, since it has a couple pieces that are wholly new to me.
Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra / Kazuyoshi Akiyama

Hindemith: Konzertmusik fu?r Blasorchester, op. 41 (14:33)
Respighi: Huntingtower (7:26)
Holst: Hammer Smith-Prelude and scherzo (13:59)
Albert W. Ketelbey (arr. H. Moss): Rememberance (5:03)
Barber: Commando March (3:20)
Copland: Emblems (11:31)
Penderecki: Pittsburgh Overture (8:26)

KOCD-3037 - 1988. The recordings seem to be from the early 1980s.

Dana John Hill
Gainesville, Florida


Dufus

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Sep 21, 2012, 3:36:50 PM9/21/12
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>On Sep 2, 12:47 pm, Dufus <steveha...@gmail.com> wrote:

Also pianist Benjamin Boren playing the 3 piano sonatas of Aussie Carl
Vine and the "Anna" Preludes, quite impressive, at Amazon,too :

http://www.hbdirect.com/album/2096500-benjamin-boren-plays-carl-vine.html

Matthew�B.�Tepper

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Sep 21, 2012, 3:56:14 PM9/21/12
to
"Dana John Hill" <da...@danajohnhill.com> appears to have caused the
following letters to be typed in news:k3iejm$mhc$1...@usenet.osg.ufl.edu:
That's an interesting program (even though I think Ket�lbey is kitsch).

--
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.

jrsnfld

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Sep 21, 2012, 4:11:06 PM9/21/12
to
That's a great find for $2. The Tokyo Kosei Winds used to be quite
expensive importants at Tower back in the day; now I rarely see them.
Too bad, because Japanese wind ensembles are well worth hearing. In
fact, my favorite performances of the Holst Suites right now are not
my long-time standards, the Fennell recordings made here in the US and
the all-star British recording on ASV led by Dennis Wick, but rather
two Japanese performances found on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73QrV3ZLJ-A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb7WHCzqb2A

Sublime!

--Jeff

Dana John Hill

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Sep 21, 2012, 5:46:20 PM9/21/12
to

"Matthew B. Tepper" <oy�@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:XnsA0D5839AC38...@216.168.3.70...
> "Dana John Hill" <da...@danajohnhill.com> appears to have caused the
> following letters to be typed in news:k3iejm$mhc$1...@usenet.osg.ufl.edu:
>
>> I picked this disc up for $2.00 yesterday, and am quite pleased with
>> it, since it has a couple pieces that are wholly new to me.
>>
>> Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra / Kazuyoshi Akiyama
>>
>> Hindemith: Konzertmusik fu?r Blasorchester, op. 41 (14:33)
>> Respighi: Huntingtower (7:26)
>> Holst: Hammer Smith-Prelude and scherzo (13:59)
>> Albert W. Ketelbey (arr. H. Moss): Rememberance (5:03)
>> Barber: Commando March (3:20)
>> Copland: Emblems (11:31)
>> Penderecki: Pittsburgh Overture (8:26)
>>
>> KOCD-3037 - 1988. The recordings seem to be from the early 1980s.
>
> That's an interesting program (even though I think Ket�lbey is kitsch).
>

The Respighi and Penderecki are new to my collection. The latter is
especially fascinating.

Dana John Hill

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Sep 21, 2012, 5:58:16 PM9/21/12
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"jrsnfld" <jrs...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:4821b52c-4420-4538...@m9g2000yqi.googlegroups.com...

I have heard several of the Kosei discs, and have had favorable impressions,
so when I saw this recording, which I had not heard before, I knew I wanted
it, especially given the price. Of course, I don't understand a word of
what's written in the booklet, but the sound is good, and the performance is
quite good, and the rep is interesting.

Now I'd like to get my hands on the Kosei discs "Suite Francaise" and "Year
of the Dragon".

The Historian

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Sep 21, 2012, 11:22:41 PM9/21/12
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On Sep 12, 4:58 am, "HvT" <hvtuijl- SPAM- @xs4all.nl> wrote:
> The Historian wrote:

> > Free download of the Claremont Trio here:
>
> >http://www.gardnermuseum.org/music/listen/music_library?filter=composer
>
> > Scroll down until you get to Ravel.
>
> Many thanks for the URL! BTW, what an interesting place, the Gardnermuseum.
>
> Henk

Just got back from 8 days of car camping. I brought a lot of music for
the car travel involved, including the following recordings from the
Gardner Museum website:

Dvorak Wind Serenade - Boyd, Gardner CO
Mozart K. 239 - A Far Cry

And performances of the Schubert Quintet in C, Schumann Piano Quintet
and Quartet, and Mozart Sinfornia Concertante K. 364 and Divertimento
K. 334 from the Gardner.

I also took along much of a 40 CD set from Cascade of Mozart works.
The set was once practically being given away on Amazon. While some of
it is junk - Lizzio recordings, for instance - it also has Carmen
Piazzini's set of the Mozart piano concertos and sonatas, and five
discs of Bour conducting Mozart symphonies. Piazzini's recordings are
very good, although her orchestral support at times is a little
scrappy - if I remember correctly the wind playing in the first
movement of concerto 17 caused me to chuckle, the sound was so thin.

For the trip home I listened to Mela Tennebaum's Mozart violin
concertos 4-7, with Richard Kapp leading a Czech chamber orchestra.
Simon Roberts wrote a long post about these recordings a decade ago; I
agree with Sir Simon that Kapp's conducting is a little too square and
reserved for his soloist, but Kapp is streets ahead of other
conductors. I think both conductor and soloist show more flair in the
attributed and 'fake' works in the set. Perhaps because they sound
more like early Romantic concertos than what Mozart was writing in the
1770s, or perhaps because they aren't competing with a hundred other
recordings of them. (Simon Roberts didn't comment on the attributed
works.)

Oscar

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Sep 22, 2012, 1:56:02 AM9/22/12
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On Sep 21, 8:22 pm, The Historian wrote:
>
> Just got back from 8 days of car camping.

That sounds fun. I haven't been camping in years, and I live in
California, the most naturally beautiful state. More's the pity. That
said, I'm in the middle of a fortnight's arts flash. Started a few
days ago with Mark Robson's John Cage recital (opening concert in the
Piano Spheres series) at Zipper Hall @ Colburn School. On the
program:

Cage: Soliloquy
Cage: Opening Dance for Sue Laub
Mark Robson: Ceci n’est pas une Cage (world premiere)
Cage: Jazz Study
Cage: The Seasons
Satie/Cage: Sonnekus (with mezzo-soprano Krisina Driskill)
(mixed in with Satie pieces, including Danses de travers, Nocturne No.
4, Gymnopedie No. 3, Sonneries de la Rose+Croix, Air du Grand Prieur,
etc.)
Cage: Étude Australes (five excerpts)

Then, tonight I took in the wonderful traveling installation, Gustav
Klimt: The Magic of Line, at the Getty Center (ends this Sunday). I
wanted to see the Beethoven Frieze up close and personal, so I did
http://tiny.cc/lxv0kw If you don't go, you don't know.

<<In 1901–2 Klimt worked on a groundbreaking decorative cycle, the
Beethoven Frieze, which was displayed in the Secession building, where
it still is today. It was a painted interpretation of one of the
greatest musical compositions ever written, the final choral movement
of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (1824).>>

Tomorrow, P.T. Anderson's new rave-reviewed film, The Master, at
Arclight Pasadena. And next week, Verdi's rarely-staged early opera,
Il due Foscari, at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. That should do it for a
while. But I really wanna go camping now!

The Historian

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Sep 22, 2012, 8:38:26 AM9/22/12
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On Sep 22, 1:56 am, Oscar <oscaredwardwilliam...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sep 21, 8:22 pm, The Historian wrote:
>
>
>
> > Just got back from 8 days of car camping.
>
> That sounds fun. I haven't been camping in years, and I live in
> California, the most naturally beautiful state. More's the pity....... But I really wanna go camping now!

Tioga and Elk State Forests in PA. Its elk rutting season and
Benezette, PA, is the home to the state's largest herd.

http://paelk.com/pa-elk-bugling-19092009/

Also, the leaves are just beginning to change color, and the weather
is cooler, but not so cold its unpleasant.

Matthew B. Tepper

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Sep 22, 2012, 12:27:21 PM9/22/12
to
Oscar <oscaredwar...@gmail.com> appears to have caused the following
letters to be typed in news:f0ed0433-dbd7-4443-aa85-7f117a8f7cb3
@v9g2000pbu.googlegroups.com:

> Tomorrow, P.T. Anderson's new rave-reviewed film, The Master, at Arclight
> Pasadena. And next week, Verdi's rarely-staged early opera, Il due Foscari,
> at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Hm, that would make (at least) two Verdi operas in which your name makes an
appearance!

> That should do it for a while. But I really wanna go camping now!

laraine

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Sep 22, 2012, 1:51:41 PM9/22/12
to
Well, that got to my eardrums!

We had plenty of hawks and such
in my area last year. In fact, saw
a large, maybe a foot and a half tall,
raptor sitting on a fence near where I
live one day--made me a little nervous,
so I drove around until it had flown
away.

This year the hawks don't seem to be
around, and the squirrels have taken
over.

C.

Art

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Sep 25, 2012, 2:51:59 PM9/25/12
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I've been on a reel to reel kick lately. I recently received Handel
"Water Music"/Berlin/Kubelik and Mahler's "Wunderhorn"/Szell/
Schwarzkopf/Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau on pre-recorded reel tapes.
I've been enjoying these.
I only wish there was more chamber music available on the format.



On 09/01/2012 06:50 PM, Oscar wrote:
> Today:
>
> • Janáček, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Works for Cello & Piano - Steven
> Isserlis (vlc) & Olli Mustonen (p, Steinway) [RCA Red Seal CD
> 09026-68437-2 ℗ © 1996, Recorded May 1995 in the Great Hall,
> Blackheath Concert Halls, London, Produced by Andrew Keener, Balance
> engineer: Mike Hatch (Floating Earth Ltd.), Editors: Andrew Keener,
> John H. West, A&R direction: Dolly Williamson — superb on every level,
> this is great stuff]
>
> -Janáček: Pohádka (A Tale) (1923 Version)
> -Shostakovich: Sonata No. 4 for Cello and Piano, Op. 40
> -Prokofiev: Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 119
> -Janáček: Pohádka (A Tale) (supplementary version)
>
> Gramophone review, May 1996:
>
> <<Janáček Pohádka (original and revised versions). Shostakovich Sonata
> for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op. 40. Prokofiev Sonata for Cello and
> Piano in C, Op. 119. Steven Isserlis (vc); 0111 Mustonen (0). RCA
> Victor Red Seal 8 CD 09026 68437-2 (70 minutes: DDD).
>
> Selected comparison — coupled as above: Gregor-Smith, Wrigley (ASV)
> CDDCA756
>
> Here we have two front-ranking players travelling along different
> tracks, Isserlis with his smooth phrasing and voluptuous tone,
> Mustonen, a high octane virtuoso with enough interpretative ideas for
> two. The 'standard' version of Janaeek's gripping Pohádka starts out
> to a sensual brush of tone from Mustonen and guitar-like cello
> pizzicatos (plenty of vibrato), but as soon as the con moto takes
> flight, Mustonen gallops to the fore and, thereafter, tends to hold
> the lead. The second movement features some ravishing cello playing,
> though best of all is the dance-like closing Allegro. Isserlis also
> programmes a 'supplementary' Suite which includes a ferocious Presto
> (a palpable anticipation of Taros Bulba) and an original final
> movement, dating from 1912. Either option leaves a strong impression,
> though RCA usefully suggest a programming sequence for a five-movement
> synthesis (Janáček himself apparently described the three-movement
> version as an excerpt from a larger work).
>
> Generally speaking, the partnership is at its most effective wherever
> the music toys or teases — in the first minute or so of Shostakovich's
> closing Allegro, for example, which is superbly characterized by both
> players. The opening Allegro non troppo harbours many perceptive
> touches but, again, Mustonen's pianistic protest hogs the limelight,
> though Isserlis gets his own back at the beginning of the second
> movement. The Prokofiev Sonata works better, probably because its
> constantly shifting hues demand a wide array of tonal contrasts. I am
> fairly sure that this constant lobbying on behalf of the pianist is
> more the result of a genuinely outsize personality than of any
> conscious resolve to dominate the proceedings. As I've already
> suggested, both players add significantly to our experience of the
> music, it's just that they tend to do so individually rather than as a
> team.
>
> Their principal rival is a sincerely voiced but cavernously recorded
> coupling by Bernard Gregor-Smith with Yolande Wrigley. There, the solo
> playing has little of Isserlis's or Mustonen's natural charisma, but
> the musical partnership is on a more even keel and there the second
> version of Pohcidka gives way to Martini's Variations on a Slovak
> folksong. A fascinating but frustrating recital with excellent notes
> by Isserlis himself. RC>>
>

Oscar

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Sep 26, 2012, 2:08:20 AM9/26/12
to
• Vainberg: Symphony No. 5 in F minor, Op. 76 • Trumpet Concerto in B-
flat major, Op. 95* - Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra / Kirill
Kondrashin, Algis Zhiuraitis*; Timofei Dokshitser* (tpt) [Russian Disc
RD CD 11 006 ℗ © 1993, no technical credits — Alan C.'s description in
a previous thread of Vainberg's music as 'well-crafted sub-
Shostakovich' is accurate, IMHO, I just can't completely crack the nut
on this composer, although I find the trumpet concerto the superior of
these two works]

Matthew B. Tepper

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Sep 26, 2012, 2:47:05 AM9/26/12
to
Oscar <oscaredwar...@gmail.com> appears to have caused the
following letters to be typed in
news:73380418-ebfa-4ffa...@q7g2000pbj.googlegroups.com:

> • Vainberg: Symphony No. 5 in F minor, Op. 76 • Trumpet Concerto in
> B-flat major, Op. 95* - Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra / Kirill Kondrashin,
> Algis Zhiuraitis*; Timofei Dokshitser* (tpt) [Russian Disc RD CD 11 006
> ℗ © 1993, no technical credits — Alan C.'s description in a previous
> thread of Vainberg's music as 'well-crafted sub-Shostakovich' is accurate,
> IMHO, I just can't completely crack the nut on this composer, although I
> find the trumpet concerto the superior of these two works]

Out of curiosity, did you just buy this at Amoeba?

Oscar

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Sep 26, 2012, 6:05:20 PM9/26/12
to
On Tuesday, September 25, 2012 11:47:05 PM, Matthew B. Tepper wrote:
>
> Out of curiosity, did you just buy this at Amoeba?

Yes.

Also played last night:

• Dvorak: Symphony No. in G major, Op. 88 • Aulis Sallinen: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra* • Lars-Åke Franke-Blom: Music for a Mobile^ - Okku Kamu* (vln); Norrköping Symphony Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst, Sven Gunnar Andrén*, Jorma Panula^ [MAP CD 9134 ℗ © 1988, ADD, Producer: Bertil Östberg/ Malmö Audioproduktion, Dvorak recorded in Berwald Hall, Stockholm, December 7, 1987, Sallinen recorded in Concert Hall, Norrköping, November 29, 1973, Franke-Blom recorded in Concert Hall, Norrköping, April 14, 1978 — this must be Welser-Möst's first recording, he was Principal Conductor of Norrköping starting in 1985 and left for London Philharmonic in 1991]

http://tiny.cc/v1i9kw

Sol L. Siegel

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Sep 27, 2012, 11:40:06 PM9/27/12
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Oscar <oscaredwar...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:73380418-ebfa-4ffa...@q7g2000pbj.googlegroups.com:
Actually one of the better Weinberg (his real name; the "Vainberg" was
the result of a double-transliteration after he fled to the USSR from
the German invasion of Poland) discs. The trumpet concerto is
a real standout IMO. His best symphonies are the Holocaust-themed
6th and the later works for chamber orchestra, though I like this one
as well.

- Sol L. Siegel, Philadelphia, PA USA
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