WAYLTL - October 2012

[Oscar]

Played earlier for the third time a recent acquisition, this fantastic CD of works by Nadia Boulanger's younger sister:

• Boulanger, L. « Du fond de l’abîme », etc. [EMI France CDM 7 64281 2, digital remastering ℗ 1992. From L'Esprit français CD reissue series — price of this OOP disc worth it just for Psalm 130, Boulanger died in March 1918, aged 24]

• Psaume 130 « Du fond de l’abîme », pour contralto, ténor, chœurs et orchestre (1910/17)
• Psaume 24, pour chœurs, cuivres, orgue, harpes et timbales (1916)
• Psaume 129, pour baryton, chœurs et orchestre (1916)
• Vieille prière bouddhique, pour ténor, chœurs et orchestre (1917)
• Pie Jesu, pour voix, orgue, quatuor à corde et harpe (1922)

℗ 1959 and copyright owned by Everest Records. Recorded at Salle Pleyel, Paris, 1958. Producer: unknown. Balance engineer: unknown.

• Pièces pour violon et piano - Nocturne (1911)
• Pièces pour violon et piano - Cortège (1914)
• Pièces pour violon et piano - D’un matin de printemps (1918)

℗ 1968 and copyright owned by EMI France. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, December 27, 1967. Producer: Ronald Kinloch Anderson. Balance engineer: Neville Boyling.

[Art]

John Adams - Naive And Sentimental Music
This is on a Nonesuch disc from 2002.
I really like this piece. Especially the second movement with the
guitar parts. The whole disc is exhilarating.

[Gerard]

Oscar <oscaredwar...@gmail.com> typed:
>
> •� Boulanger, L. « Du fond de l’abîme », etc.

Oh.

I listened to: Tchaikovsky Symphony #1, LSO, Gergiev.
(#2 and #3 are also on this LSO Live twofer)

It's good; it's not bad.
That's it.

I'm not going to recommend this.

[Oscar]

On Tuesday, October 2, 2012 1:36:02 AM, Gerard wrote:
>
> I listened to: Tchaikovsky Symphony #1, LSO, Gergiev.
> (#2 and #3 are also on this LSO Live twofer)
>
> It's good; it's not bad.
>
> That's it.
>
> I'm not going to recommend this.

In other words, it's typically Gergevian — although a few are really _bad_ viz. his first Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (Philips 1993), and a few are fair to middling.

[The Historian]

What is objectionable about his R and J?

[Gerard]

Oscar <oscaredwar...@gmail.com> typed:

> On Tuesday, October 2, 2012 1:36:02 AM, Gerard wrote:
> >
> > I listened to: Tchaikovsky Symphony #1, LSO, Gergiev.
> > (#2 and #3 are also on this LSO Live twofer)
> >
> > It's good; it's not bad.
> >
> > That's it.
> >
> > I'm not going to recommend this.
>

> In other words, it's typically Gergevian � although a few are really

> _bad_ viz. his first Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (Philips 1993), and a
> few are fair to middling.

His first Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet is not really bad. It is uninspired,
relatively, compared to other recordings.

[Bob Harper]

On 10/2/12 5:45 AM, Gerard wrote:
> Oscar<oscaredwar...@gmail.com> typed:
>> On Tuesday, October 2, 2012 1:36:02 AM, Gerard wrote:
>>>
>>> I listened to: Tchaikovsky Symphony #1, LSO, Gergiev.
>>> (#2 and #3 are also on this LSO Live twofer)
>>>
>>> It's good; it's not bad.
>>>
>>> That's it.
>>>
>>> I'm not going to recommend this.
>>

>> In other words, it's typically Gergevian — although a few are really

>> _bad_ viz. his first Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (Philips 1993), and a
>> few are fair to middling.
>
> His first Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet is not really bad. It is uninspired,
> relatively, compared to other recordings.
>

That seems to be a distinction without much of a difference. In either
case, it sounds like a recording one could miss without really missing
anything. That's been my general experience with the few Gergiev
recordings (and one live performance) I've heard.

Bob Harper

[Gerard]

Bob Harper <bob.h...@comcast.net> typed:

> On 10/2/12 5:45 AM, Gerard wrote:
> > Oscar<oscaredwar...@gmail.com> typed:
> > > On Tuesday, October 2, 2012 1:36:02 AM, Gerard wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I listened to: Tchaikovsky Symphony #1, LSO, Gergiev.
> > > > (#2 and #3 are also on this LSO Live twofer)
> > > >
> > > > It's good; it's not bad.
> > > >
> > > > That's it.
> > > >
> > > > I'm not going to recommend this.
> > >

> > > In other words, it's typically Gergevian � although a few are

> > > really _bad_ viz. his first Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (Philips
> > > 1993), and a few are fair to middling.
> >
> > His first Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet is not really bad. It is
> > uninspired, relatively, compared to other recordings.
> >
> That seems to be a distinction without much of a difference.

There's a lot of difference between bad and relatively uninspired.

> In either
> case, it sounds like a recording one could miss without really missing
> anything.

That's my impression about this set.

> That's been my general experience with the few Gergiev
> recordings (and one live performance) I've heard.

Not mine.
But with a few exceptions.

[jrsnfld]

On Oct 2, 7:25 am, Bob Harper <bob.har...@comcast.net> wrote:
> On 10/2/12 5:45 AM, Gerard wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

> > Oscar<oscaredwardwilliam...@gmail.com>  typed:

We've been over this topic before and each time I am surprised by
people's reaction to both Gergiev and to that Prokofiev recording in
particular.

In concert, Gergiev can produce thrilling results. Gergiev's not big
on refinement, but the Mariinsky orchestra plays with a distinctive
beauty for him and can, at its best, deliver voluptuousness, color
(within its own kind of restricted, but darkly seductive spectrum) and
very well judged balance to go with natural, lively phrasing. And
Gergiev delivers performances that are shaped distinctively and
clearly and don't lose momentum. I've heard them a handful of times
and each concert was memorably satisfying, one or two of them being
about as good as I'll ever hear.

Maybe tours bring out Gergiev's best, maybe he's inconsistent or
routine, or maybe he's weak with other orchestras (not my experience
with his broadcasts).

Also...that first R&J (of which I have only the excerpts disc, FWIW,
but that's at least half of the complete recording) has all the
qualities that make Gergiev great, even if it is hampered by muddy
acoutics. I don't care so much that other R&J recordings might be more
detailed, more flashy, or more danceable, or whatever. By dint of well
conceived musicality, Gergiev and his orchestra more than succeed with
the pathos of the music, and that's special enough.

--Jeff

[Matthew Silverstein]

A couple of recent-ish HIP recordings of Bach sonatas for violin and
harpsichord: one featuring Christophe Rousset and a violinist I can't
recall, and the other feature Chiara Bianchini and a harpsichordist I can't
recall.

Rousset is terrific, but his recording is spoiled by the amateurish playing
of the forgettable violinist. I couldn't do much more than sample a few
tracks. The Bianchini is miles better, and I was almost certain I would
keep it -- until, that is, I compared it to Biondi/Alessandrini,
Carmignola/Marcon, and Mullova/Dantone. If I hadn't heard these, I'd be
happy with the Bianchini. I have heard them, though, and so Bianchini goes
into the cull pile as well.

I'd provide more details, but I'm already on my second cocktail, and
frankly I can't be bothered.

Matty

[mandryka]

I've been listening with great pleasure to some old B minor mass
records, one from Leonhardt, and the other from Harnoncourt - the
second recording he made in 1986. I was extremely impressed by the
prayerful quality of the Leonhardt. This is what I'm looking for most
right now from Bach's choral music.

And I've been listening to lots of live Pollini records, including his
competition recital in 1960 and a recital he gave in the 1980 with op
109. I love his way with the mazurkas in the 1960s recording, and it's
interesting to compare his op48/1 there with the DG. That reinforced
my view that the DG nocturnes is a major landmark, a summit.

And the Op 109. Well I haven't heard a better one from anyone.

[The Historian]

On Oct 2, 11:49 am, jrsnfld <jrsn...@aol.com> wrote:

> Also...that first R&J (of which I have only the excerpts disc, FWIW,
> but that's at least half of the complete recording) has all the
> qualities that make Gergiev great, even if it is hampered by muddy
> acoutics. I don't care so much that other R&J recordings might be more
> detailed, more flashy, or more danceable, or whatever. By dint of well
> conceived musicality, Gergiev and his orchestra more than succeed with
> the pathos of the music, and that's special enough.
>
> --Jeff

Well said.

Meanwhile, I'm listening today to an odd Beethoven symphony set by the
Bezdin Ensemble, a Russian-based chamber orchestra led by composer
Adina Spires. The CDs and FLAC files are for sale from the Magnatune
website, or you can buy somewhat lower bitrate files at Amazon for
next to nothing. The Bezdin Ensemble recorded these in a church or
hall that would have the producers at Nimbus crying for joy- oy, -oy, -
oy......these have to be the most resonant Beethoven recordings since
the Hanover Band recorded their cycle a quarter century ago. I often
liked the Nimbus hall sound, so I don't mind the echo here as much as
some people would. That said, the reverb makes a mess of the final
movement of the 7th. As for the performances, they are spirited
without being rushed sounding, but the slow movements tend to drag.
Spire's Eroica funeral march is more funeral than march, for instance.
The playing is at times sloppier than I'd expect - the winds in the
slow movement of the 4th sound a little out of tune, but the bassoon
redeems himself by his brief passage in the same symphony's last
movement, played at a whirlwind tempo.

BTW, is Adina Spires the first woman to conduct on recordings all the
Beethoven symphonies? I'd have thought Naxos would have given Marin
Alsop the opportunity.

[Oscar]

On Tuesday, October 2, 2012 5:35:35 AM, The Historian wrote:
>
> What is objectionable about his R and J?

Sonics are lacking, performance is blah. I know it is important to listen to a recording on its own merits, and I think I do a decent job of clearing my head and focusing on the recording at hand, but this one, the sound and the performance, I couldn't help but want to hear Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra. Just the sound of the strings, let alone the interpretation, brass, etc. Have you heard Gergiev's recent SACD recording with the LSO? How is it?

[Oscar]

• Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90, Tragic Overture, Op. 81 - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Herbert von Karajan [London CS 6249 LP ℗ 1962 w/ 2G/2G matrices]

Gramophone review, September 1962 edition:

<<BRAHMS. Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90. Tragic Overture, Op. 81. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan. Decca MET231 : 0 SET231 (12 in., 32s. 5d. plus 9s. 6d. P.T.).

Symphony No. 3 — Selected comparisons:

Philh., Klemperer (6/58) 33CX1536: (7/61) : 0 SAX2351

Columbia SO, Walter (2/61) Q ABL3343 : 0 SABL183

Berlin PO, Kempe (8/61) 0 ALP1824 : 0 ASD406

If you want a recommended stereo recording of this symphony, you will find the Tragic Overture as a fill-up on both Walter's and Kempe's, as well as on this new one from Karajan. At first I thought I was going to be able to hail Karajan's performance of this wonderful overture as a really great one. A fine, broad tempo (most conductors take it too quickly for my liking), the Vienna Philharmonic playing with marvellous energy and passion — I was bowled over, until, that is, I got to the middle section, that remarkable, desolate piece of music that so expresses one aspect of tragedy. Karajan quickens his speed by a good deal (despite Brahms's precise direction, repeated at the end of the section, that the pulse shall be the same) and gets the orchestra, believe it or not, to play it as a jolly, lilting dance. I have never heard a more perverse performance of this musicand 'performance' is the word.

In a decidedly cautious mood, then, I turn to the symphony (which, luckily, I heard first and was therefore unbiased by what I later came across). It is a good performance if you don't mind such exaggerations as Brahms's merely poco sostenuto in both first and last movements being turned into assai. But there is plenty of energy and passion elsewhere and fine playing always. There are one or two moments of unsatisfactory balance from the wind, where an expressive solo passage is too reticent. The third movement seems to me to want more animation. It is always a difficult movement to decide about, for Brahms clearly didn't want it taken too quickly, yet it must have at least some contrast to the preceding Andante movement. Here, apart from one big romantic passage, it seems played rather dully. The characteristic momentum of a Brahms finale is too often lost, most of all at the muted viola tune and onwards, where the whole passage is played down, apparently in order to make the utmost effect at the moment and the greater effect later on, by contrast.

Walter and Kempe give finer performances than this, and Klemperer who, you can imagine, is utterly different from any of them, makes a good contrasting choice for one's library. His fill-up is the Academic Festival Overture. The sound is not so graceful as the others. T.H.>>

[Edward Cowan]

Friday evening, October 5:

SIBELIUS: Violin concerto. Heifetz; Stokowski, Phila. Orch.
SIBELIUS: Symphony no. 2 (Stokowski, Phila. Orch.) Both from the Phila.
Orch. centenary album.

The violin concerto was (once) perhaps the most famous previously
unpublished Phila. Orch. recording. I hope it gets more hearings now.
Heifetz apparently rejected it for publication, because the microphone
was not always focused upon his own playing. The balance between the
violin and the orchestra seems "normal" to me, and I'm glad to be able
to hear this performance. The Sibelius 2nd symphony, recorded live in
the Academy of Music and in stereo, is a brillian performance,
brilliantly recorded. The two works, I find, do have too much similarity
in "mood" and they do not really make an interesting pair for concert
programming. It was, however, interesting to compare the sound from the
CDs as heard via my CD player and also as heard via my BD player. The
latter machine seemed to produce more sheer sound, more bass, and more
definition for these recordings, and for that I'm grateful. I used to
hear this orchestra on a weekly basis over three seasons (1966/68,
1970/71), and the Sym. no. 2 really sounds like the Phila. Orch. in the
Academy of Music's "dead" acoustic, bringing to mind many of my most
memorable experiences with hearing that orchestra.

I hope to hear many older recordings through my BD player. Perhaps this
device will bring forth something "extra" that I have missed before. I
should imagine that more recent recordings will also sound more
impressive than before. (NOTE: I undertook this experiment after reading
several messages in this ng about the sound of recordings heard from a
BD player.) --E.A.C.


--
hrabanus

[Oscar]

On Saturday, October 6, 2012 4:26:14 AM, Edward Cowan wrote:
>
> SIBELIUS: Symphony no. 2 (Stokowski, Phila. Orch.) Both from the Phila.
> Orch. centenary album.
>
> The violin concerto was (once) perhaps the most famous previously
> unpublished Phila. Orch. recording. I hope it gets more hearings now.
> Heifetz apparently rejected it for publication, because the microphone
> was not always focused upon his own playing.

That would be something to hear. Hopefully, it will be reissued.

[Oscar]

• Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: Early Recordings, Vol. 3 (1939-1942) [Naxos Historical 8.111396 © ℗ 2012, Producer and Audio Restoration Engineer: Ward Marston, Special thanks: Neil Kuerz, Donald Manildi, and Angelo Scottini — only studio recordings of these two warhorses]

-Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 - w/ Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala / Antonio Pedrotti, recorded in Milan, September 4, 1942

-Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 - w/ Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala / Alceo Galliera, recorded in Milan, September 2, 1942

-Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Op. 43 No. 5 'Erotik' (Erotic), recorded in Milan, September 6, 1942
-Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Op. 47 No. 5 'Melancholi' (Melancholy), recorded in Milan, December 1939/January 1940
-Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Op. 68 No. 5 'Bådnlåt' (At the Cradle), recorded in Milan, December 1939/January 1940

-Debussy: Images, Book I No. 1 'Reflets dans l'eau' (Reflections in the water), recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, October 27, 1948

[O]

Van Cliburn - Chopin Piano sonatas; Liszt Mephisto Waltz - I don't know
why it took me so long to find/listen to this disc, as it has a
personal connection to me - I took my parents to see him in the 1970's
and my father (who certainly was no classical music fan) always
remembered him playing the Chopin 2nd sonata (the funeral march
movement) which so moved him he wanted it played at his funeral (and it
was). Even on the disc, Cliburn really has a feel for this sonata, not
so much the paired 3rd sonata, though.

Sibelius: Symphony #2 - Karajan. I have a Sibelius block. I think
it's connected to my Tchaikovsky dislike. Could not get into this
music. I listened to it again because I was about to hear the piece in
concert. Still don't like either version.

Artie Shaw - Stardust, All the things you are, Begin the Beguine,
Frenesi. Went on an Artie Shaw binge on Spotify after re-reading Mark
Steyne's obituary of him.

Tanglewood 75 - I bought the download subscription and downloaded it
all and have just started going through it, with Otello. It is pretty
amazing playing and recording. Nice to hear William Pierce again, too.

-Owen

[Oscar]

On Saturday, October 6, 2012 12:34:22 PM, O wrote:
>
> Artie Shaw - Stardust, All the things you are, Begin the Beguine,
> Frenesi. Went on an Artie Shaw binge on Spotify after re-reading Mark
> Steyne's obituary of him.

Great boxed set on Bluebird/RCA/BMG from about 11 years ago. Played it many, many times over. Regrettably, it's OOP now http://tiny.cc/sk1rlw

[Ray Hall]

O wrote:
>
> Van Cliburn - Chopin Piano sonatas; Liszt Mephisto Waltz - I don't know
> why it took me so long to find/listen to this disc, as it has a
> personal connection to me - I took my parents to see him in the 1970's
> and my father (who certainly was no classical music fan) always
> remembered him playing the Chopin 2nd sonata (the funeral march
> movement) which so moved him he wanted it played at his funeral (and it
> was). Even on the disc, Cliburn really has a feel for this sonata, not
> so much the paired 3rd sonata, though.
>
> Sibelius: Symphony #2 - Karajan. I have a Sibelius block. I think
> it's connected to my Tchaikovsky dislike. Could not get into this
> music. I listened to it again because I was about to hear the piece in
> concert. Still don't like either version.

There is a huge difference between No.2 and No.4. How do you like the
later Sibelius?

> Artie Shaw - Stardust, All the things you are, Begin the Beguine,
> Frenesi. Went on an Artie Shaw binge on Spotify after re-reading Mark
> Steyne's obituary of him.

He was supposed to be a bit of a barsteward by all accounts I have read.

I have been listening to Harnoncourt's Haydn Paris symphonies. A bit too
punchy and gruff, but at least I admire these symphonies more than
previously. What does that tell ya?

On a Miles Davis kick, and I am a fully recanted Davis apostle now.

The trumpet solo on the opening track of the CD Ascenseur pour
l'Echafaud (Lift to the Scaffold) is truly awesome. This music was
written for the filmtrack of the same title.

Ray Hall, Taree

[O]

In article <k4qpb9$6uc$1...@speranza.aioe.org>, Ray Hall

<raymon...@bigpond.com> wrote:

> O wrote:
> >
> > Van Cliburn - Chopin Piano sonatas; Liszt Mephisto Waltz - I don't know
> > why it took me so long to find/listen to this disc, as it has a
> > personal connection to me - I took my parents to see him in the 1970's
> > and my father (who certainly was no classical music fan) always
> > remembered him playing the Chopin 2nd sonata (the funeral march
> > movement) which so moved him he wanted it played at his funeral (and it
> > was). Even on the disc, Cliburn really has a feel for this sonata, not
> > so much the paired 3rd sonata, though.
> >
> > Sibelius: Symphony #2 - Karajan. I have a Sibelius block. I think
> > it's connected to my Tchaikovsky dislike. Could not get into this
> > music. I listened to it again because I was about to hear the piece in
> > concert. Still don't like either version.
>
> There is a huge difference between No.2 and No.4. How do you like the
> later Sibelius?

The Sibelius I've heard so far hasn't drawn me to sample No 4 yet.
Maybe I'll be daring and try.

>
>
> > Artie Shaw - Stardust, All the things you are, Begin the Beguine,
> > Frenesi. Went on an Artie Shaw binge on Spotify after re-reading Mark
> > Steyne's obituary of him.
>
> He was supposed to be a bit of a barsteward by all accounts I have read.

Check out Steyn's obituary of Shaw free at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/03/ex-husband-of-love-g
oddesses/303748/

I think the Atlantic and Harper's are the only two magazines worth
reading.

-Owen

[Bob Harper]

On 10/6/12 7:44 PM, O wrote:
> In article<k4qpb9$6uc$1...@speranza.aioe.org>, Ray Hall
> <raymon...@bigpond.com> wrote:
>
>> O wrote:
>>>
>>> Van Cliburn - Chopin Piano sonatas; Liszt Mephisto Waltz - I don't know
>>> why it took me so long to find/listen to this disc, as it has a
>>> personal connection to me - I took my parents to see him in the 1970's
>>> and my father (who certainly was no classical music fan) always
>>> remembered him playing the Chopin 2nd sonata (the funeral march
>>> movement) which so moved him he wanted it played at his funeral (and it
>>> was). Even on the disc, Cliburn really has a feel for this sonata, not
>>> so much the paired 3rd sonata, though.
>>>
>>> Sibelius: Symphony #2 - Karajan. I have a Sibelius block. I think
>>> it's connected to my Tchaikovsky dislike. Could not get into this
>>> music. I listened to it again because I was about to hear the piece in
>>> concert. Still don't like either version.
>>
>> There is a huge difference between No.2 and No.4. How do you like the
>> later Sibelius?
>
> The Sibelius I've heard so far hasn't drawn me to sample No 4 yet.
> Maybe I'll be daring and try.
>

That's unfortunate. 34's a tough nut, but a great masterpiece. Perhaps
#7 and Tapiola will be the way in for you. Neither is very
Tchaikovsky-like, to put it mildly.

Whose symphonies do you like?

Bob Harper

[Bob Harper]

#4, of course. D----d shift key :)

Bob Harper

[The Historian]

On Oct 6, 3:34 pm, O <ow...@denofinequityx.com> wrote:

>
> Tanglewood 75 - I bought the download subscription and downloaded it
> all and have just started going through it, with Otello.  It is pretty
> amazing playing and recording.  Nice to hear William Pierce again, too.
>
> -Owen

I agree with you about the Otello. Pretty amazing performance and
recording.

The past day I've been listening to live and studio recordings by Soni
Ventorum Wind Quintet, available free from their website:

http://soniventorum.com/soniventorum_archives.html

Two live performances stand out: the Rimsky-Korsakov Quintet, and the
Glinka Trio. The latter is a 2010 recording with Jon Kimura-Parker, a
pianist who doesn't record enough.

[jrsnfld]

Thanks for reminding me about these uploads; they're one of my
favorite groups. It looks like their online offerings have greatly
expanded since I last visited the page. Just two weeks ago I bought
their Francaix CD.

--Jeff

[jrsnfld]

On Oct 6, 12:34 pm, O <ow...@denofinequityx.com> wrote:

> Tanglewood 75 - I bought the download subscription and downloaded it
> all and have just started going through it, with Otello.  It is pretty
> amazing playing and recording.  Nice to hear William Pierce again, too.

I spent much of my summer with these broadcasts...the Otello was
great, as you say. There were very few disappointments in the series.

--Jeff

[The Historian]

The Glinka is new; previously the site hosted a Trio with S. Chaappie
as pianist. I can't say Kimura-Parker is an improvement, but its nice
to have both recordings.

[The Historian]

Moving on, more chamber music.... two more recordings of the Rimsky
Quintet. This one:

http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Quintets-By-Rubinstein-Rimsky-Korsakov/dp/B000QZY258/ref=sr_shvl_album_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1349631880&sr=301-4

And this one:

http://klassichaus.us/Garage-Sale-Classics.php

GSC018 (MONO) - Rimsky-Korsakov: Quintet in B-flat, Op. 20 - Jésus
Maria Sanromá, piano; Members of the Boston Woodwind Quintet -
Janácek: Capriccio - Leonid Hambro, piano; The Boston Brass Ensemble/
James Pappoutsakis, flute/piccolo/Erin Simon, conductor

Blumental, and the Soni Ventorum, have better sound, but the Sanroma/
Boston recording is a better performance. More chamber music from
Klassichaus's budget series:

GSC021 (STEREO) - Medtner: Piano Quintet in C; Piano Sonata in C
minor, Op. 25 No. 1; Acht Stimmungsbilder, Op. 1 - New London Quintet/
Malcolm Binns, piano

My first experience with the Medtner Quintet; a decade ago we had a
young pianist posting to RMCR who was a huge Medtner fan. While
Sonarrat no longer posts here, I hope he's still enjoying this work. I
know I am.

[Oscar]

• Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Overture, Op. 21, & Incidental Music, Op. 61* (excerpts) • Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 'Italian' - Barbara Sukowa* (narrator), Sylvia McNair* (s), Angelika Kirschschlager* (mezzo); Women of the Ernst-Senff Chorus* (chorus master: Sigurd Brauns), Berlin Philharmonic / Claudio Abbado [Esoteric ESSS 90066 hybrid SACD ℗ © 1996, Remastering carried out on January 27 & 28, 2012, at JVC Mastering Center, Yokohama, Reissue producer: Motoaki Ohmachi, Mastering engineer: Kazuie Sugimoto, Recording live at the Berlin Philharmonie, December 31, 1995, Producer: Pauline Heister, Recording engineer: Ulrich Schneider, Technician: Olaf Schmeizer, Tape editor: Johannes Müller]

[wade]

I bought this also, but havent been able to download everything yet.

[wade]

just realized i missed the cutoff dates to download the Bernstein items as was mentioned at the bottom of the download page. Since the list now omits those two items, I dont even know what I missed hearing.

[Oscar]

• Pasatieri (Thomas): Letter to Warsaw (2003) - Jane Eaglen (S), Mina Miller (pf), Music of Remembrance / Gerard Schwarz [Naxos 8.559219 ℗ © 2004, Executive producer and recording engineer: Albert G. Swanson, Recording in the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA, December 10 & 11, 2003 — remarkable song cycle of six poems by poet/cabaret artist, Pola Braun, who wrote the pieces in the Warsaw Ghetto and Majdanek concentration camp, where she died in 1943, separated by instrumental sections, the words tell a story and 'opens a window to the emotional window of all women trapped in the web of Holocaust tragedy.]

This work will be performed next weekend, Saturday, October 20, 2012, at 2:00pm inside the Seattle Art Museum, led the same personnel as on this recording: conductor Gerard Schwarz, joined by soprano Jane Eaglen. Admission is free.

[Oscar]

• Larsson (Lars-Erik): Förklädd Gud (A God in Disguise), lyric suite for mixed chorus, soloists and orchestra, Op. 24* (1940), Pastoral Suite, Op. 19 (1937/38), Lyric Fantasy, for orchestra, Op. 58 (1966) - Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra / Ulf Björlin [EMI Sweden 479080 2 ℗ 1968, 1974* © 1993, second CD reissue, no technical credits listed]

[Dufus]

>On Oct 1, 8:39 pm, Oscar <oscaredwardwilliam...@gmail.com> wrote:


Alun Hoddinott's first 10 pianos sonatas, 2-cd set on Nimbus,Martin
Jones , pianist, recorded in the prescence of the composer. Much
closer to Berg,Kirchner than Boulez, thank goodness, I did enjoy Nos.
1,5,6,8 ( the others repetitive ) , worth re-hearings.

Will now turn to the Lyrita cd of Daniel Jones' Symphonies 6,9, and
Jaarvi's Prokofieff 2nd Symphony.

[SPAM- @xs4all.nl HvT]

Irini Mejoueva playing Medtner on a few Denon CDs. It's among the best
Medtner I've heard - and far more easy to listen to than Milne's. Mejoueva
has a great technique, a wonderful tone, and knows how to find the few
melodies hidden in Medtner's scores and how to make many of them sound as
interesting as Rachmaninov's.

What once seemed impossible, I might become a Medtner afficionado ...
although his quintet is still a closed book for me in spite of Shukov's
excellent pianism (with thanks to Steve Emerson!).

Henk

[Dufus]

>On Oct 18, 2:26 pm, "HvT" <hvtuijl- SPAM- @xs4all.nl> wrote:

> Irini Mejoueva playing Medtner on a few Denon CDs.\

I'm wondering if Tozer is close to Mejoueva ?

[laraine]

I've been out of town recently, and
encountered some classical-pop crossover
worthy of mention:

A recording of Chopin's Raindrop Prelude
done on what I thought was a steel
drum, but it might have been a marimba,
along with backup bass instruments.
Rhythm/meter changed slightly.

A recording of someone playing part of
the Grieg piano concerto with great
technical facility and many long dramatic
pauses... it must have been Lang Lang, or
an awfully good imitator. The perfect
piece for him! If any piece was ever dramatic,
with a touch of pop and folk, this is it.
One he should record --or did he do so in
1993? I see this in amazon, but am not sure
if it is him --only 11 years old, unlikely:

http://www.amazon.com/Grieg-Piano-Concerto-Peer-Suites/dp/B00008FIQB/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_t_3

I think when one goes in a pop direction,
one loses some of the angst, but can gain
something of the sunny and grandiose.
I wouldn't want everyone to go New Age
on these pieces though!

Heard some university students play in a
quartet doing light classical and other
kinds of popular pieces. I have to say
that a Chopin waltz or Brahms Hungarian
Dance in quartet can sound quite good.

Almost made it to a student Chopin piano
concert, but caught a bad cold that day.

C.

[Al Eisner]

On Thu, 18 Oct 2012, Oscar wrote:
[...]

A couple of CD's I obtained after being inspired by concert performances:

1) Violin/piano works by Schulhoff, Enescu and Bartók

I mentioned a year ago having heard Schulhoff's second violin sonata in
concert (Daniel Hope/Jeffrey Kahane). Around the same time I also
heard his first string quartet, but felt that of the two the sonata was
the work worth pursuing. I picked up the Warner CD with Gidon Kremer
and Oleg Maisenberg, and listened some time ago to the Schulhoff:
just about as compelling as I had recalled from the concert. But I
only recently listened to the remainder of the CD. I found Enescu's
"Impressions of Childhood" (my first encounter with it) to be a
wonderful work, varied and sometimes (especially toward the end)
impassioned; I of course cannot say how definitive this performance is.
I was a bit hesitant about Kremer in Bartók's second violin sonata,
having heard his Hungaroton performances of the two sonatas, which
I somehow felt didn't bring out the overall line or architecture of
the works -- at least to the level I needed. But I found this
performance on Warner to be a compelling one, no complaints. (I
suppose I should now go back and relisten to the Hungaroton, to see
if my opinion has changed.) Overall, a worthwhile CD.

2) Shostakovich string quartets

Last year I heard the Pacifica Quartet perform Shostakovich's quartet
#3 in concert. I was impressed enough that when I leared they had
begun a cycle, I obtained the first two-CD volume. (The cycle is
on Cedille, and includes a sampling of quartets by contemporary
compatirots.) I've just listened to the first CD, with quartets
#5 and 6. (The other CD has 7 and 8, plus a quartet by Miaskovsky.)
I first learned most of the Dsch quartets by listening and relistening
to the complete Borodin Quartet set on Melodiya, and #5 became one
om my favorites. It remains so in the Pacifica's version,. They
may not be as emotional as the Borodin, but they give a serious
performance, energetic or intense as needed, and fully convincing.
I also found #6 (a "sweeter", less progressive (?) work) to be
effectively done -- this recording gave me a stronger impression of the
work than I'd had previously. The Pacifica is of course technically
secure; all in all, these are to me the most effective modern-sound
performances of these quartets I've heard. Without having even
heard the second CD, I've ordered volume 2 of the series (#1-4
plus a Prokofiev quartet). As a bonus, by the way, Volume I is
graced by William Hussey's detailed and lucid notes, a model of
their sort. Recommended.
--

Al Eisner

[Edward Cowan]

I recently listened to one mvt. each from six recordings of Smetana's
"Ma Vlast":

1. "Vysehrad" (Cz.PO, Talich, rec. 1941) Biddulph 44718 30492
2. "Vltava" (Moldau) (Cz.PO, Talich, rec. ca. 1952) Supraphon 11 1896 -
2 001
3. "Sarka" (Chicago SO, Kubelík) Mercury Living Presence 434 379-2
4. "From Bohemia's Meadows and Forests" (VPO, Kubelík, London Weekend
Classics 421 167-2
5. Tábor (Chicago SO, Kubelík) DG Galleria 429 183-2
6. Blaník (Cz.PO, Kubelík) Recorded live, 1991, Supraphon 11 1208-2

All heard via my BD player (Pioneer "Elite" BDP-09FD).
The early Talich recording, made (apparently) in Prague likely by German
recording engineers, sounds rather good, but the 78rpm surfaces are much
in evidence. The later Talich recording, made for LP, has "modern" mono
sound. The performance is a classic. The four Kubelík recordings all
have relatively modern sound, but the London stereo disk offers little
stereophonic perspective. Both the DG and the Supraphon Kubelík
recordings have really wide-range stereo sound, and the result is very
impressive indeed. I don't know how many of these items are still
available, but they are all very interesting as historical documents.
The Chicago recording, done in monophonic sound, has the usual Mercury
audio characteristics, and the dynamic range is very impressive.
--E.A.C.

Also using my BD player, I ventured to listen to a couple of excerpts
from the Solti recording of Wagner's Ring cycle. In the recording of
"Götterdämmerung," the wide sound and the stereo production offer much
sonic "space" and the placing of the soloists is precise. Alas, it seems
that the recording medium still diminishes the apparent size and impact
of big voices, such as that of soprano Birgit Nilsson. I heard her live
on several occasions, and I have heard no recording, not even this one,
that accurately reproduces the actual size and impact of her singing. --
E.A.C.


--
hrabanus

[Matthew B. Tepper]

oldger...@nospam.com (Edward Cowan) appears to have caused the following
letters to be typed in news:1ksb5pp.ut4zgb1tkesjqN%oldger...@nospam.com:

> 2. "Vltava" (Moldau) (Cz.PO, Talich, rec. ca. 1952) Supraphon 11 1896 -
> 2 001

June-July 1954, I think.

--
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.

[Sol L. Siegel]

"Matthew B. Tepper" <oy�@earthlink.net> wrote in
news:XnsA0F3A71A25B...@216.196.97.131:

> oldger...@nospam.com (Edward Cowan) appears to have caused the

> following letters to be typed...:

>
>> 2. "Vltava" (Moldau) (Cz.PO, Talich, rec. ca. 1952) Supraphon 11 1896
>> - 2 001
>
> June-July 1954, I think.

That's what the back cover of my copy says.

- Sol L. Siegel, Philadelphia, PA USA

[wade]

On Sunday, October 21, 2012 10:04:50 PM UTC-7, Sol L. Siegel wrote:
> "Matthew B. Tepper" <oyþ@earthlink.net> wrote in

Listening to Tchaikovsky Hamlet from the new Schuricht collection. Recording quality great for a 1952 live performance (my reading of the recording data in the downloadable PDF that came with the set from 7 Digital)

[Edward Cowan]

My thanks to all for the date correction. --E.A.C.

Sol L. Siegel <vod...@aol.com> wrote:

> "Matthew B. Tepper" <oyfl@earthlink.net> wrote in

--
hrabanus

[markm...@gmail.com]

I think the Cliburn CD of Chopin sonatas is one of his best recordings. I like the 3rd sonata recoding even more than the 2nd, with a poised, magisterial approach that is a welcome antidote to the brusque, bangy take on this piece one sometimes hears.

And if I may suggest one more Sibelius 2 to you before your mind is forever closed on the piece: get the 1970 Tokyo performance with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra, available through the Cleveland Orchestra store. It has all the customary precision and balance one expects from Szell, but you will also hear a passion and sweep not often typical of late-Szell studio recordings. In decent, live-concert stereo documenting his next-to-last concert before he was sidelined by the cancer that killed him, it is for me one of the most exciting recordings I have heard of anything.

Mark

[O]

In article <ab04efd3-9f54-4297...@googlegroups.com>,

<markm...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> I think the Cliburn CD of Chopin sonatas is one of his best recordings. I
> like the 3rd sonata recoding even more than the 2nd, with a poised,
> magisterial approach that is a welcome antidote to the brusque, bangy take on
> this piece one sometimes hears.

The third is very different from what one normally hears, and maybe
that's why I discounted it. I'm sure I'll listen to it again and
re-assess.

>
> And if I may suggest one more Sibelius 2 to you before your mind is forever
> closed on the piece: get the 1970 Tokyo performance with George Szell and the
> Cleveland Orchestra, available through the Cleveland Orchestra store. It has
> all the customary precision and balance one expects from Szell, but you will
> also hear a passion and sweep not often typical of late-Szell studio
> recordings. In decent, live-concert stereo documenting his next-to-last concert before he was sidelined by the cancer that killed him, it is for me one of the most exciting recordings I have heard of anything.

I've lived long enough to never 'forever close' my mind on anything --
I've been wrong far too often. Thanks for the suggestions.

-Owen

[laraine]

Just found Andreas Staier playing the
Haydn Piano Concerto in D on fortepiano

with Freiburger Barockorchester,
Gottfried von der Goltz (conductor)

The orchestra knows just how to
blend in...

1st and 2nd mov't:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAStZ8AvOWw

3rd mov't:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzMuKSBWJuc&feature=watch_response

C.

[Oscar]

Gluck: Armide, tragic opera in five acts (libretto: Philippe Quinault after Torquato Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata) - Sally Burgess (Mezzo-S), Linda Finnie (Mezzo-S), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (T), Raimund Herincx (B), Felicity Palmer (S), et al., The Richard Hickox Singers, The City of London Sinfonia / Richard Hickox [EMI His Master's Voice SLS 1077513 3LP boxed set ℗ © 1983, Producer: John Mordler, Balance engineer: Neville Boyling, Recorded at Christ Church, Spitalfields, London, on June 1, 3, 5 and 8, 1982, following four stage performances given at the 6th annual Festival of Music at Christ Church Spitalfields — fantastic version of Gluck's fourth Paris opera, the only one I have actually — how's Minkowski?]

[Oscar]

• Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 • The Year 1812,
festival overture in E-flat major, Op. 49 - Vienna Philharmonic
Orchestra / Christoph von Dohnányi [Decca 425 792-2 ℗ © 1991,
Producer: Christopher Raeburn, Engineers: Stanley Goodall, John
Pellowe, Tape editor: Simon Bertram, Recording location: Wiener
Konzerthaus, Vienna, December 1988 — well-paced and surprisingly
exciting version of this symphony, Dohnányi recorded the Sixth with
Cleveland a few years previously, but never the Fifth so far as I can
tell]

[Lena]

On Oct 25, 12:45 am, Oscar <oscaredwardwilliam...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Gluck: Armide, tragic opera in five acts [...]

Keeping with the opera thing and also wishing it were still October
(or any time before the current surfeit of excessively operatic
generals) --

I've been listening to Hector Parra's Hypermusic Prologue, a sort of
an opera about classical vs. not physics. Since I'm lazy, I'll quote.

http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/december-2009/gallery-hypermusic-prologue

"The two characters, a soprano and a baritone, live on the same stage
and interact day to day. But the soprano is searching for change and
depth, and longs to explore higher dimensions. The baritone is
satisfied with a static world, where he remains while his companion
finally breaks through. To save the relationship, he must also make
the leap and follow her."

"The baritone's half of the stage, a static world of concrete objects
and pale colors, is ruled by classical physics. On the other half, the
soprano journeys through vibrant colors, warping shapes, and twisting
scenery."

(But in a totally unstylish gray suit. My operatic comment: I would
have expected far better fashion sense from such a forward-thinking
opera scientist. A swan suit by a Franco-Flemish designer, at the
very least.)

"At times, Parra's score is a collection of disjointed noises. It is
rarely melodic, and segments often stop before any kind of
recognizable song structure develops. The percussionist uses odd
instruments such as broken glass in a crystal container, wood
scratching on a chalkboard, and a makeshift instrument that sounds
like a furiously scribbling pen."

Which means that I like it. I'll certainly take this, although I
might like it even better if it were odd instruments minus the
flighty soprano physicist and the stodgy, grumpy baritone physicist.
(It's a baritone physicist, of course he's stodgy, gruff, and
unimaginative -- what do you excect? :) I won't get into tenors right
now. :) )

The music is not as unmanageable or disjointed as the quoted paragraph
might say. With odd instruments and interesting timbres, Parra
manages to be more than interesting (which would already be good
enough for me). He uses the timbres to evoke both an unmistakeable,
familiar extramusical idea and to construct the discarded beginnings
of a sort of a Classical phrase structure. And the phrases are quite
clear in the beginning: they start with the sounds of a scratchy pen,
and each phrase ends with the crumpling of paper, as if throwing away
ideas (which is an idea more than familiar, actually). (How could
this be hard to get?)

In any case, I found this entire opera enjoyable. It's on spifity, in
case don't want to commit to any dimension involving material
possessions.

Lena

PS. I just noticed that David G. wrote about this opera in May (sorry,
this was during one of my many absences). Anyway, I think I agree
with him, both about the descriptions and the opinions. For
instance:

> In the opera, the soprano, a composer and scientist, imagines
> experiencing other dimensions beyond the four we’re accustomed to,
> thereby alienating the skeptical, mystified, and all too passionate
> baritone, who is in love with her. The soprano’s sounds are digitally
> modified in real time and space, surrounding the baritone, whose
> singing is not transformed.

> As for the quality of the text itself, it
> strikes me as naïve—although by no means too naïve to serve the
> composer.

Yeah -- the libretto (written by the physicist Lisa Randall) isn't all
that multidimensional. Actually, it's pretty mundane. :) Otoh, maybe
poetry is not quite her main metier. That she wrote an opera libretto
is good in itself.

[SPAM- @xs4all.nl HvT]

Since Miguel mentioned Irina Mejoueva I've been listening to some of her
CDs.

1. Medtner The Night Wind sonata Op. 25/2 and 6 Skazki Op. 51.
2. Medtner Op. 20/1, Op. 26, Op. 34/2, Op. 14/2, Op. 25/1, Op. 38/2,3,6 and
Op. 39/3
3. Medtner Op. 1, Op. 11/1, Op. 9/2, Op. 42/2,3 and Op. 39
4. Medtner Op. 11/2, Op. 31, Op. 27 and Op. 59/2
5. Medtner Skazki Op. 51, Mendelssohn Characteristic Pieces Op. 7, Chopin
Rondo Op. 16 and Scherzo Op. 20
6. Mendelssohn Rondo Capriccioso, Fantasie in F-sharp minor, Scherzo and
capriccio in F-sharp minor, P&F in E minor, Song without words Op. 19/1, Op.
67/5, Op. 30/6 and the Variations sérieuses
7. Medtner The night Wind sonata Op. 25/2 , Scriabin Preludes Op. 74,
Scriabin Sonata # 10, Poèmes Op. 69, Lourie Formen in der Luft, Prokofiev
Sarcasmes Op. 17, and Roslavets 5 Preludes/2,4,5 - all live performances
8. Medtner Skazki Op. 26, Sonata Op. 11/1, Canzona serenata Op. 38/6,
Schumann Arabeske and Kreisleriana, and Chopin Nocturne Op. 15/2 and
Barcarolle - all live performances

Mejoueva is IMHO the most interesting interpreter of Medtner by far.
Melodies, inner voices, Poulencian humour, folk music are all there and
never washed over by the enormous amount of notes Medtner often seems to
need. Her playing is crystal clear without any loss of warmth in her tone.
The duplications (of for example Op. 51) let us hear that she continually
renews her concept of a piece.
All these qualities are also present in her Mendelssohn. She's no Horowitz
in the Variations and no Chamayou in the P&F but is as interesting in these
pieces in her own way.

It surprises me that I don't like her Schumann (too deliberate) nor her
Chopin (too much Field). Her interpretations of Scriabin, Lourie, Prokofiev
and Roslavets miss are above all too restrained (and therefore miss the
point). BTW, the same goes for her Liszt and Rachamninov on YT.
I cannot understand why someone can excel in Medtner and Mendelssohn and not
in the other composers mentioned here. What do Medtner and Mendelssohn have
in common?

Henk

[Steve Emerson]

In article <50a7d9b2$0$6856$e4fe...@news2.news.xs4all.nl>,

"HvT" <hvtuijl- SPAM- @xs4all.nl> wrote:

The 'M'? As in 'minor'? (smiley) I'm glad to have further information
on Mejoueva and her Medtner (ah, there's another one). Since you mention
four all-Medtner discs as well as others where he features -- can you
and Miguel suggest a starting place?

thx,
SE.

[SPAM- @xs4all.nl HvT]

Miguel's advice to buy her Op. 25/2 and Op. 51 was an excellent starting
place for me ... The CD with Op. 21 has the most interesting repertoire with
only one sonata (Op. 25/1) and a number of Tales and Forgotten melodies.
However, the sound is less good than those starting with Op. 1 and Op. 11/2.

Henk

[Dufus]

>On Nov 17, 12:38 pm, "HvT" <hvtuijl- SPAM- @xs4all.nl> wrote:
>. What do Medtner and Mendelssohn have
> in common?
>

In some works, the story-telling, perhaps ?

[SPAM- @xs4all.nl HvT]

The Kreisleriana are stories too. In spite of Steve's tactfully placed
question mark he did hit the nail right on the head: Medtner and Mendelssohm
are both minor composers. The caveats of Mejoueva's teachers are probably
still haunting her whenever she performs the competition repertoire.

Henk