WAYLTL?

[J. R. Robinson]

Kimmo Hakola: Chamber Concerto (2002)
Present Music [Innova]

This is a half-hour work in five movements for flute, oboe/English
horn, clarinet, trumpet, piano, string quartet and a few other
instruments. The first movement has a kinetic energy and animated
character that is very reminiscent of John Adam's Chamber Symphony.
The short second movement features some incisive, Rite of Spring-
like string playing set against insistent tribal drumming, and it
has a primitive, ritual atmosphere -- it could have been the
accompanying music to one of Captain Kirk's one-on-one, Good vs.
Evil battles with a Klingon warrior on some primitive planet. The
long third movement features English horn and trumpet taking turns
quietly ruminating over watery, nocturnal emissions led by piano
and vibraphone; the mood is somewhat reminiscent of Copland's
<Quiet City>. The fourth movement is a collage of short, brusque,
percussive phrases from all sources, and it has a sort of jazz noir
feel to it. The fifth movement favors the winds and has a
continuous, but not quite relentless, motion to it; it reminds me
of some of the "serious" music that Peter Schickele wrote for
movies in the '60s. On the whole, it's varied and complex enough
to keep it interesting, it has plenty of energy, it has a good
balance of tunes and rhythmic-based music, and it has a sort of
retro feel to it, as if it were composed in late '50s or early '60s
America. Good performance and recorded sound.

The other two works on the disc, Jerome Kitze's <Haunted America>
and Michael Torke's <Song of Isaiah>, are as lame and uninteresting
as anything I've heard in years.

J. R. Robinson
Denver, Colorado

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

I decided to listen to my two latest-purchased recordings of George Crumb's
"Black Angels" back-to-back. First, my imprint recording, by the Concord
String Quartet on VoxBox; now, the new recording on Bridge by the Miró
Quartet. Both are excellent, but the Mirós have better sound.

--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
War is Peace. ** Freedom is Slavery. ** It's all Napster's fault!

[David M. Cook]

In article <Xns947DED40A37...@207.217.77.201>, Matthew B. Tepper
wrote:

> I decided to listen to my two latest-purchased recordings of George Crumb's
> "Black Angels" back-to-back. First, my imprint recording, by the Concord
> String Quartet on VoxBox; now, the new recording on Bridge by the Miró
> Quartet. Both are excellent, but the Mirós have better sound.

How does Kronos compare (I'm not a big fan of that group.)

Dave Cook

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

"David M. Cook" <dave...@nowhere.net> appears to have caused the
following letters to be typed in
news:slrnc1erqd....@localhost.localdomain:

They did a brilliant, exciting performance of it nearly 30 years ago at
(what was then) Veteran's Auditorium in San Francisco. Their recording, on
the other hand, is deadpan and cold. Unfortunately, they are a BRAND NAME
recording for a FAMOUS LABEL, so most people will likely come to the piece
for the first time through their recording. The couplings aren't too good,
either; Shostakovich 8th likewise deadpan, Charles Ives' "They Are There!"
is the composer's own recording cluttered up with the Kronos' noodling, a
piece by Istvan Marta called "Doom. A Sigh" is the single most tedious work
I have ever heard....

I'll wait to pass judgement on the Miró Quartet until I've heard the other
Crumb work with which it's coupled.

[Paul Ilechko]

Matthew B. Tepper wrote:
> I decided to listen to my two latest-purchased recordings of George Crumb's
> "Black Angels" back-to-back. First, my imprint recording, by the Concord
> String Quartet on VoxBox; now, the new recording on Bridge by the Miró
> Quartet. Both are excellent, but the Mirós have better sound.
>

I just bought this too (the Bridge version). It's very interesting, and
is a nice follow-on to the Lera Auerbach Preludes for Piano and Violin
(for those of you who aren't familiar, imagine a cross between
Shostakovich and Part circa Tabula Rasa) which I bought at the same
time. Otherwise been listening to lots of Bach solo piano works. I wish
Gould's Goldberg was even remotely as good as his Partitas. (Of course,
I've only got the '55 - is the later one any better?)

[Van Eyes]

"David M. Cook" <dave...@nowhere.net> wrote in message
news:slrnc1erqd....@localhost.localdomain

I'm not a big fan either. Haven't heard the others...I thought Stanislas
SQ outshone them on Black Angel (good coupling, excellent sound, on ogam
label)...

http://www.ensemble-stanislas.com/servlet/ShowInfoSR?M=S42SFK6KFR11RF

Regards

--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

[Simon Roberts]

It's been a good week - superlative performances of Beethoven Op. 18 by the
Takacs Qt, of Op. 18/1 and 59/1 by the Hagen Qt, Barenboim's new set of the
Schumann symphonies, and the completed Kovacevich Beethoven sonatas (finished
off with remarkable performances of Op. 2).

Simon

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

Simon Roberts <sd...@comcast.net> appears to have caused the following
letters to be typed in news:bv8o3...@drn.newsguy.com:

I've had two Shostakovich boxes sitting around for years -- Haitink in the
symphonies, and the Fitzwilliam String Quartet playing, well, you know.
The idea came to me of listening to them all in numeric order, alternating
symphonies with quartets. I've just finished listening to the Symphony #6
and String Quartet #6, for example.

This pattern has led to some relief, obviously, by following the junky
Symphonies ## 2 and 3 with the rather less lightweight quartets with the
same numbers. I'm sure the #12s will compare similarly; that quartet is,
in fact, my special favorite. Both #8s are intense, wartime works; and the
concluding works of each cycle are both enigmatic in their own ways.

Has anybody else listened to these Shostakovich works in this fashion?

[Sol L. Siegel]

"Matthew燘. Tepper" oy兀earthlink.net writes:

>I've had two Shostakovich boxes sitting around for years -- Haitink
>in the symphonies, and the Fitzwilliam String Quartet playing,
>well, you know. The idea came to me of listening to them all in
>numeric order, alternating symphonies with quartets.

>This pattern has led to some relief, obviously, by following the

>junky Symphonies ## 2 and 3 with the rather less lightweight

>quartets with the same numbers. [...] Both #8s are intense,

>wartime works; and the concluding works of each cycle are both
>enigmatic in their own ways.

Interesting idea. Those consecutive 8s would be too much
intensity for me. (Both performances are superb, BTW.) SQ8,
though, isn't actually a wartime work (though that long-held
violin note is supposed to evoke an air-raid siren), but a sort
of musical autobiography ca. 1960. One of the commentators
in Elizabeth Wilson's "Shostakovich: A Life Remembered" (I
don't recall which one and the book isn't at hand, and of
course the account has to be taken with a grain of salt) went
so far as to claim that is was intended as a last work, with DDS
contemplating suicide.

-Sol Siegel, Philadelphia, PA
--------------------
"I really liked it. Even the music was good." - Yogi Berra, after seeing
"Tosca"
--------------------
(Remove "exitspam" from the end of my e-mail address to respond.)

[Raymond Hall]

"J. R. Robinson" <jr5...@NOSPAMoperamail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns947DE673B6F7...@129.250.170.85...

| Kimmo Hakola: Chamber Concerto (2002)
| Present Music [Innova]
|
| This is a half-hour work in five movements for flute, oboe/English
| horn, clarinet, trumpet, piano, string quartet and a few other
| instruments. The first movement has a kinetic energy and animated

| <interesting post snipped for brevity .....>

A bit Bachy for me, followed by some Americana.

Got out Bach's Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 from a Brilliant Box, and done by
Martin Flämig and Dresden forces. Very good indeed, with Arleen Augér,
Annelies Burmeister, Peter Schreier and Theo Adam. In so many of the
Passions, Oratorios, and especially the Cantatas, there are so many
wonderful orchestral sections, most which put the Brandenburgs in the shade.
The Sinfonia for example which opens the 2nd Christmas Day (Kantate am
zweiten Weihnachstag). Beautiful.

Another delightful section is the tenor Aria which follows quite soon
afterwards, (Frohe Hirten, eilt), and the double bass accompaniment.
Reminded me of a jazz combo with a solid swinging bass player, and surely
Bach was the first jazzer?

At any rate I thoroughly enjoyed Martin Flämig's reading. I could be tempted
by another BWV 248 any day of the week.

Rorem's three symphonies (Serebrier/Bournemouth SO). Lovely works, and
followed by the conductor's own music on Naxos, including his Symphony No.3
(knocked up in a week), and several earlier pieces (Serebrier/Toulouse
National Chamber Orchestra).

Amazing fellow this José Serebrier. Is there anything he can't do? He is
supposed to be a technical recording whiz also. Amazing to me that he hasn't
acquired a very senior tenure with one of the Big 50, but I should imagine
that a more free-lancing situation suits Serebrier better. Either way, he
appears as one of those 'genius' types. He balances an orchestra like no
other, and he is never frantic in pace.

And he looks disturbingly like Tom Jones in photos too.

Regards,

# http://www.users.bigpond.com/hallraylily/index.html
See You Tamara (Ozzy Osbourne)

Ray, Taree, NSW

[J. R. Robinson]

Hindemith conducts Hindemith
w/BPO [DG]

CD 1: Concerto for Orchestra; Konzertmusik; Symphony "Mathis der
Maler"
CD 2: Symphonic Dances; Theme and Variations "The Four
Temperaments"
CD 3: <Symphonic Metamorphosis . . . Weber>; Overture "Amor und
Psyche"; Symphony "Die Harmonie der Weil"

This recently released "Original Masters" set collects all of
Hindemith's BPO recordings for DG, which were made in the mid '50s.
On the whole, I very much like Hindemith's phrasing and sense of
balance and proportion, but his relatively elastic conducting leads
to some less-than-taut structures and relaxation of internal
tensions. You'd never, as an extreme example, mistake Hindemith's
recording of <Symphonic Metamorphosis> for Szell's. Still, I like
his phrasing so much that I can't help but like the performances.
I don't think that any individual recording here will become my
favorite for its respective work, but these performance make
distinctive alternatives to my favorites and I'm happy to have
them.

The BPO play well, and the recorded sound is good mid '50s DG mono
-- a bit light on the bottom and a bit opaque overall, but it's
inoffensive and very listenable. I've never heard the LPs or other
CD incarnations for comparison.

[Dan Koren]

Paco de Lucia.

Awesome!

dk

[Alan Cooper]

I've been listening to the 2CD set recently advertised here by Denis
Plutalov, with the following three works featured:

Rachmaninov. Symphony no. 1, Kurt Sanderling cond. Leningrad
Philharmonic, rec. live in Moscow, December 18, 1957.

Shostakovich, Violin Concerto no. 1
Mikhail Waiman, violin; otherwise same as above

Shostakovich, String Quartet no. 8 live performance by the Beethoven
Quartet, rec. Moscow, 1960

There are some charming fillers as well, and I won't spoil the
surprise for anyone who is thinking or purchasing the disks from
Denis.

The Waiman / Sanderling Shostakovich Concerto alone is worth the price
of admission. All I know about Waiman is that he teaches (taught?) at
the Leningrad Conservatoire, and once recorded the Tchaikovsky
Concerto with Rozhdestvensky. On the evidence of this performance, he
was a fantastic violinist. The date makes it a contemporary of
Oistrakh's pioneering recordings, and it yields nothing to them in
terms of mastery or intensity. Indeed, in the last movement Waiman
might even surpass Oistrakh and Kogan. It's amazing to think that a
performer of this caliber could have vanished with hardly a trace (at
least in the West). The sound is reasonably clear mono with a fair
amount of tape hiss, and there is a sudden increase in recording level
at the beginning of the second movement. But there is nothing to
impede enjoyment of a stellar performance. I often feel about this
work the way I feel about the Nielsen Symphonies: although they have
entered the repertoire and now receive frequent performances, some of
the earliest recordings remain unmatched.

There's less to say about the 8th Quartet, because the Beethoven
Quartet's authority in this music is no secret. The performance is
stunning; the only one I know that is its equal is the early Borodin
Quartet recording that was issued in the US on STS LP.

I haven't listened to the Rachmaninov Symphony yet, but if memory
serves, I believe that I once owned a recording by these performers on
LP on the MK label, apparently pressed on recycled shell casings, to
judge by the surface quality. It was worth the 99 cents or so that I
spent on it, and it was my first encounter with the work.

AC

[A. Brain]

"Raymond Hall" <raytoby...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
news:bv97u0$pl7iu$1...@ID-101911.news.uni-berlin.de...

> Got out Bach's Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 from a Brilliant Box, and
done by
> Martin Flämig and Dresden forces. Very good indeed, with Arleen Augér,
> Annelies Burmeister, Peter Schreier and Theo Adam. In so many of the
> Passions, Oratorios, and especially the Cantatas, there are so many
> wonderful orchestral sections, most which put the Brandenburgs in the
shade.
> The Sinfonia for example which opens the 2nd Christmas Day (Kantate am
> zweiten Weihnachstag). Beautiful.
>
> Another delightful section is the tenor Aria which follows quite soon
> afterwards, (Frohe Hirten, eilt), and the double bass accompaniment.
> Reminded me of a jazz combo with a solid swinging bass player, and
surely
> Bach was the first jazzer?
>
> At any rate I thoroughly enjoyed Martin Flämig's reading. I could be
tempted
> by another BWV 248 any day of the week.

I have the Harnoncourt and Ledger recordings, both excellent.

There is a new recording of the work that was reviewed extremely
favorably in BBC mag--can't recall who does it, but it has lavish
accompanying documentation. Not available in my local store.

What else is in that Brilliant box?

[re Serebrier]

> And he looks disturbingly like Tom Jones in photos too.

Yikes, that is disturbing.

I am listening to the Haydn "Sturm und Drang" symphonies
in the set by Pinnock.
--
A. Brain

Remove NOSPAM for email.

[Raab Himself]

"Simon Roberts" <sd...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:bv8o3...@drn.newsguy.com...

>
> It's been a good week - superlative performances of Beethoven Op. 18 by
the
> Takacs Qt, of Op. 18/1 and 59/1 by the Hagen Qt, Barenboim's new set of
the

> Schumann symphonies, ...

I just ordered the Barenboim Schumann set from Amazon after reading the rave
review on Classics Today. It's nice to see that you apparently concur that
it is a good set.

Raab

[Alain Dagher]

Dan Koren wrote:

> Paco de Lucia.
>
> Awesome!
>
>
>

You're right about that. I once drove around Andalusia with a bunch of
his recordings. A great example of musical synaesthesia.

And I'm going to see the man himself next month.

ad

[Raymond Hall]

"A. Brain" <abr...@NOSPAMatt.net> wrote in message
news:U3XRb.11073$Lq7....@newssvr22.news.prodigy.com...

| "Raymond Hall" <raytoby...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
| news:bv97u0$pl7iu$1...@ID-101911.news.uni-berlin.de...
| > Got out Bach's Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 from a Brilliant Box, and
| done by
| > Martin Flämig and Dresden forces. Very good indeed, with Arleen Augér,
| > Annelies Burmeister, Peter Schreier and Theo Adam. In so many of the
| > Passions, Oratorios, and especially the Cantatas, there are so many
| > wonderful orchestral sections, most which put the Brandenburgs in the
| shade.
| > The Sinfonia for example which opens the 2nd Christmas Day (Kantate am
| > zweiten Weihnachstag). Beautiful.
| >
| > Another delightful section is the tenor Aria which follows quite soon
| > afterwards, (Frohe Hirten, eilt), and the double bass accompaniment.
| > Reminded me of a jazz combo with a solid swinging bass player, and
| surely
| > Bach was the first jazzer?
| >
| > At any rate I thoroughly enjoyed Martin Flämig's reading. I could be
| tempted
| > by another BWV 248 any day of the week.
|
| I have the Harnoncourt and Ledger recordings, both excellent.
|
| There is a new recording of the work that was reviewed extremely
| favorably in BBC mag--can't recall who does it, but it has lavish
| accompanying documentation. Not available in my local store.
|
| What else is in that Brilliant box?

Three of the CDs (slipcase of 8 CDs) contain the Weihnachtsoratorium. The
other CDs contain the Himmelfahrts-Oratorium, Magnificat BWV 243, and
several other choral works with Leusink, Netherlands Bach Collegium, and a
multitude of Chorales by Christophers and Nicol Matt variously.

An enjoyable collection all round.

| [re Serebrier]
| > And he looks disturbingly like Tom Jones in photos too.
|
| Yikes, that is disturbing.

It is.
<g>

[Sol L. Siegel]

The Yedang of Richter in Stravinsky's Movements, Bartok PC2
and Hindemith Kammermusik 2. Terrific stuff in decent sound.
I hadn't heard the Stravinsky before: not bad for serialism. ;>)

Bruggen's Haydn Paris set, something to lift the spirits in
this gawdawful weather.

Handley's VW4 - not as fiery as I usually prefer, but the final
fugue, taken at a deliberate tempo, manages to make the music
both clear and alive.

Britten's Illuminations with Ainsley/Cleobury and Lott/Thomson.
Britten may have preferred a soprano, but Ainsley/Cleobury
makes Lott/Thomson sound pretty foursquare by comparison.

Coming up: the Thomson Baxes.

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

vod...@aol.comexitspam (Sol L. Siegel) appears to have caused the following
letters to be typed in news:20040128215322...@mb-m10.aol.com:

> The Yedang of Richter in Stravinsky's Movements, Bartok PC2
> and Hindemith Kammermusik 2. Terrific stuff in decent sound.
> I hadn't heard the Stravinsky before: not bad for serialism. ;>)
>
> Bruggen's Haydn Paris set, something to lift the spirits in
> this gawdawful weather.
>
> Handley's VW4 - not as fiery as I usually prefer, but the final
> fugue, taken at a deliberate tempo, manages to make the music
> both clear and alive.
>
> Britten's Illuminations with Ainsley/Cleobury and Lott/Thomson.
> Britten may have preferred a soprano, but Ainsley/Cleobury
> makes Lott/Thomson sound pretty foursquare by comparison.
>
> Coming up: the Thomson Baxes.

How about Handley's Baxes?

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

vod...@aol.comexitspam (Sol L. Siegel) appears to have caused the following
letters to be typed in news:20040128154852...@mb-m22.aol.com:

> "Matthew燘. Tepper" oy兀earthlink.net writes:
>
>> I've had two Shostakovich boxes sitting around for years -- Haitink
>> in the symphonies, and the Fitzwilliam String Quartet playing,
>> well, you know. The idea came to me of listening to them all in
>> numeric order, alternating symphonies with quartets.
>
>> This pattern has led to some relief, obviously, by following the
>> junky Symphonies ## 2 and 3 with the rather less lightweight
>> quartets with the same numbers. [...] Both #8s are intense,
>> wartime works; and the concluding works of each cycle are both
>> enigmatic in their own ways.
>
> Interesting idea. Those consecutive 8s would be too much intensity for
> me. (Both performances are superb, BTW.) SQ8, though, isn't actually a
> wartime work (though that long-held violin note is supposed to evoke an
> air-raid siren), but a sort of musical autobiography ca. 1960. One of
> the commentators in Elizabeth Wilson's "Shostakovich: A Life Remembered"
> (I don't recall which one and the book isn't at hand, and of course the
> account has to be taken with a grain of salt) went so far as to claim
> that is was intended as a last work, with DDS contemplating suicide.

You're right, of course; but perhaps the SQ #8 is *evocative* of the war,
particularly with regard to the quotation from the Piano Trio #2.

[Dan Koren]

"Henk van Tuijl" <hvt...@xs4all.nl> wrote in message
news:4018dd38$1$327$e4fe...@news.xs4all.nl...
>
> These days I am listening to Nat's Beethoven.
>
> Sometime ago there was a poster who linked
> Nat's interpretations to Riesler's - and who
> spoke about a second Beethoven tradition
> (the other one started with Schnabel).
>
> Schnabel and Nat are certainly different but
> whether it is true that they represent two
> completely different traditions ...
>
> I'll have to start comparing each of the
> sonatas as soon as I can find the time.
>

I would suggest doing one sonata per week
-- if you have time -- and one recording
per day.

When I was a lot younger channel A of Kol
Israel (classical) did just that, and it
was quite enlightening. The 6 performers
were Schnabel, Backhaus, Kempff(DG), Nat,
Barenboim(EMI) and Claude Frank.

dk

[David M. Cook]

I've been on a CD gluttony binge for a couple weeks, so this only scratches
the surface:

The Beecham and Rodzinski Great Conductor sets, particularly for Beecham's
Antar (very good mono sound) and Rodzinski's Rach Symphony 2 (good sound for
1945 (Carnegie Hall)). Annoyingly the Rodzinski set duplicates nearly half
of EMI's previous "Artist Profile" set.

Ligeti chamber music on Sony. I was particularly interested in his Horn
Trio, and I've not been disappointed. He makes very good use of this
unusual combination.

Martucci Symphony No. 2 on ASV. Got this at BRO out of curiosity. Now I'm
kicking myself that I didn't get the whole Martucci orchestral music while
they had it. This is a wonderful work, with soaring brass in the first
movement that remind me of Sibelius or Nielsen. Great playing and
recording, too.

Elgar Cello Concerto: Tortelier/Groves. I don't care for the church
acoustic here, but Tortelier is very good. I think he was in his 70s when
he recorded this.

Some Stokowski discs from Cala: Phase 4 recordings of the Enigma Variations,
Brahms Symphony 1 (really impressed with this), Scheherazade (an old friend
sounding much better (less distortion) than the Jubilee issue), and an older
Boris "synthesis".

Dave Cook

[Henk van Tuijl]

"Dan Koren" <dank...@yahoo.com> schreef in bericht
news:4018e11c$1...@news.meer.net...

An excellent suggestion - many thanks!!

I once saw a series on German TV (black &
white) with a very young Pollini
(impressive), Eschenbach (with hair),
Brendel, Barenboim and Arrau (looking as
if he had a very difficult technique
compared with the others).

I think I will try Schnabel-Frank-Backhaus
and Nat-Pommier-Heidsieck.

Henk

[Sol L. Siegel]

"Matthew燘. Tepper" oy兀earthlink.net writes:

>> Coming up: the Thomson Baxes.
>
>How about Handley's Baxes?
>

Berkshire wasn't selling Handley's set for $9.95.

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

"David M. Cook" <dave...@nowhere.net> appears to have caused the

following letters to be typed in

news:slrnc1htn8....@localhost.localdomain:

> The Beecham and Rodzinski Great Conductor sets, particularly for
> Beecham's Antar (very good mono sound) and Rodzinski's Rach Symphony 2
> (good sound for 1945 (Carnegie Hall)). Annoyingly the Rodzinski set
> duplicates nearly half of EMI's previous "Artist Profile" set.

Did Rodzinski's "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (with the Chicago Symphony) ever
make it to CD? I know that Stock's did, on Biddulph.

> Martucci Symphony No. 2 on ASV. Got this at BRO out of curiosity. Now
> I'm kicking myself that I didn't get the whole Martucci orchestral music
> while they had it. This is a wonderful work, with soaring brass in the
> first movement that remind me of Sibelius or Nielsen. Great playing and
> recording, too.

Then there's a Toscanini box on Danté/Lys, occasionally available from
Berkshire, that you must have. I find the music perfectly enjoyable while
it's going on, but as soon as a work end it evaporates from my memory.

> Some Stokowski discs from Cala: Phase 4 recordings of the Enigma
> Variations, Brahms Symphony 1 (really impressed with this), Scheherazade
> (an old friend sounding much better (less distortion) than the Jubilee
> issue), and an older Boris "synthesis".

I haven't heard Stoki's Phase-4 Scheherazade since the LP days, but I've
long loved that Brahms 1st and "Enigma," and Cala's masterings are quite
good. In fact, I've enjoyed all of the Stoki Edition CDs I've got so far.

[Alain Dagher]

I've been listening to some of the 100 new CDs I bought in the last
couple of months.

Some highlights for now:

JS Bach A Musical Offering, Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall (Alia Vox)

This is incredibly good. Like Savall's recordings of the Art of the
Fugue, Brandenburgs, Gamba sonatas (with Koopman) and the bits of the
solo suites he's recorded, it has everything: technique, a mix of
Northern piety and Southern sensuality, unmatched recorded sound. Jordi
is to Bach what Furtwangler was to Brahms - a revelation. Someone needs
to convince him to record the solo suites and some of the choral work
(the SMP or Mass in B minor would be nice for a start). But then he this
might take time away from a Beethoven symphony cycle, and also from his
stellar recordings of unknown music.

---

Ostinato Hesperion XXI Jordi Savall

A series of short "ostinatos" by renaissance and baroque composers. Very
good of course and completely enjoyable, but this is taking time away
from that SMP project I'd like Savall to tackle. It is similar to the La
Folia project of a few years ago. If someone wants a Savall record with
many small pieces from different composers the one to get would be Music
for Charles V.

---

Tubin Symphonies 3 and 8, Swedish RSO, Neeme Jarvi

I was in a Nordic mood when I bought it. Definitely good music.

---

Sibelius Complete Symphonies - Lahti SO, Vanska

I already had 6,7. This is a great cycle. I agree that the big ones (2
and 5) are the least successful. 4, 6, and 7 are as good as it gets.
Since I still have Herbie in 2 and 5 everything's fine.

---

Miles Davis The complete Prestige recordings.
Miles Davis Quintet The complete Columbia Studio sessions 1965-68

Nothing needs to be said about these. These are my two favourite Miles
Davis periods.

---

In the non classical field I've also enjoyed:

Paolo Conte - Reveries (Another one for Val's Valentine list)

Bebel Gilberto - Tanto Tempo

Bill Frisell - "The Intercontinentals", "Blues Dream", "With Dave
Holland and Elvin Jones",...

---

[Roland van Gaalen]

A exciting historical recording of Sibelius's Fifth Symphony:
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Paul van Kempen 1943. In the same set (Tahra
514-515): Haydn Symphony No. 104 "London", Schubert Symphony No. 9 "The
Great".
--
Roland van Gaalen
Amsterdam

E-mail: R.P.vanGaalenATchello.nl (replace AT by @)

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

Roland van Gaalen wrote:

> A exciting historical recording of Sibelius's Fifth Symphony:
> Concertgebouw Orchestra, Paul van Kempen 1943. In the same set (Tahra
> 514-515): Haydn Symphony No. 104 "London", Schubert Symphony No. 9 "The
> Great".

Shostakovich's Earth-shattering Tenth Symphony -- Constantin Silvestri
conducting the Romanian Radio Orchestra in a properly demented
performance. I don't think I've ever heard a Romanian orchestra play
like this before. It's more intense than Stokowski's rightly famous
ChicagoSO version.

regards,
SG

[A. Brain]

<sam6...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:szZSb.5480$F23....@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...

> Shostakovich's Earth-shattering Tenth Symphony -- Constantin Silvestri
> conducting the Romanian Radio Orchestra in a properly demented
> performance. I don't think I've ever heard a Romanian orchestra play
> like this before. It's more intense than Stokowski's rightly famous
> ChicagoSO version.

"Properly demented" meaning what exactly?

Hmmm, not to display total ignorance of
matters Romanian--I once sued one of
their state companies that was making
tractors that were sold here and had
to research a lot about how these
companies worked-- but how many
first-rate Romanian orchestras are there
and how does music there since
the fall of Ceaeucescu?

Who's written the definitive study of
classical music in the former Eastern
Europe since the exit of the Russians?
Finances, programming, returning artists,
etc.

Tonight's listening session for me consisted
of Mozart piano concerto K. 414
(Serkin/Schneider), followed
by Dvorak's wonderful and underrated 5th
symphony (Jansons/Oslo).

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

A. Brain wrote:

> "Properly demented" meaning what exactly?

Do you know Shostakovich's Tenth? That is music that only a talented
madman could pull off at the highest level. . .

> how many
> first-rate Romanian orchestras are there

None. It asks for titanic efforts from a conductor of great patience and
immense talent to make truly remarkable orchestral music in Romania.

> and how does music there since

> the fall of Ceaeucescu.

Not great. It wasn't precisely thriving before, either. Talented
individuals, but hardly any "national exaltation" regarding classical
music values to speak of.

> Who's written the definitive study of
> classical music in the former Eastern
> Europe since the exit of the Russians?
> Finances, programming, returning artists,
> etc.

Nobody.

regards,
SG

[A. Brain]

<sam6...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:672Tb.5944$F23....@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...

>
>
> A. Brain wrote:
>
>
> > "Properly demented" meaning what exactly?
>
> Do you know Shostakovich's Tenth? That is music that only a talented
> madman could pull off at the highest level.

I don't know it well. I think I have two recordings, Ormandy and
Mravinsky. Which one
is likelier to be mad? Surely Mravinsky. Can't seem to find it just
now. I do recall it
being rather intense.

>
> > how many
> > first-rate Romanian orchestras are there
>
> None. It asks for titanic efforts from a conductor of great patience
and
> immense talent to make truly remarkable orchestral music in Romania.
>
> > and how does music there since
> > the fall of Ceaeucescu.
>
> Not great. It wasn't precisely thriving before, either. Talented
> individuals, but hardly any "national exaltation" regarding classical
> music values to speak of.
>
> > Who's written the definitive study of
> > classical music in the former Eastern
> > Europe since the exit of the Russians?
> > Finances, programming, returning artists,
> > etc.
>
> Nobody.

Seems like a worthy project to me. Probably
would require a separate study just on the DDR
and Czechoslovakia. Hungary always was a special
case, and probably things did not change much.

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

A. Brain wrote:

>>>"Properly demented" meaning what exactly?
>>
>>Do you know Shostakovich's Tenth? That is music that only a talented
>>madman could pull off at the highest level.
>
>
> I don't know it well. I think I have two recordings, Ormandy and
> Mravinsky. Which one
> is likelier to be mad? Surely Mravinsky. Can't seem to find it just
> now. I do recall it being rather intense.

I'd guess Mravinsky too. Didn't hear Ormandy's though, so I may be
wrong. Where's David Hurwitz when you need him? In a Chicago S. O. box
there is a quite amazing live Tenth with Stokowski in hot form and
Chicago brass at its best. That's why I was the first to be shocked
facing the fact that Silvestri's live version with the Romanian Radio
orchestra fared so well in comparison with my Stokowski reference, given
the huge discrepancy in what regards the quality of the orchestras qua
orchestras [average professional level to be expected from each]. But
the work itself is one of Shosty's best, I think (I confess freely I
know around half of Shosty's symphonies only)-: . . . well, more things
left to do before dying!).

>>>Who's written the definitive study of
>>>classical music in the former Eastern
>>>Europe since the exit of the Russians?
>>>Finances, programming, returning artists,
>>>etc.
>>
>>Nobody.
>
>
> Seems like a worthy project to me. Probably
> would require a separate study just on the DDR
> and Czechoslovakia. Hungary always was a special
> case, and probably things did not change much.

Sadly I cannot claim a true expertise on the matters we are talking
about -- little to offer here other than disparate, incomplete knowledge
and anecdotal recollections.

regards,
SG

[J. R. Robinson]

Charles Ives: Orchestral [Set] No. 2; <The Unanswered Question>
Morton Gould/CSO [RCA]

Gould and the CSO gave the premiere performance of Orchestral Set
No. 2 in 1967 and then made this premiere recording later that year.
Their performance is marked by abrupt transitions and stark
contrasts, making it seem craggier and more brazen than others I've
heard -- and it is the better for it as far as I'm concerned. I wish
this team would have recorded the Fourth Symphony.

The concentration of the ppp strings ("The Silence of the Druids --
who Know, See and Hear Nothing") is unflagging throughout the
performance of <The Unanswered Question>, and the trumpet's question,
which is asked seven times in all, and the flutes' futile hunt for
the invisible answer are wonderfully characterized by the responsible
members of CSO.

These are my favorite recordings of both works.

[David7Gable]

>Gould and the CSO gave the premiere performance of Orchestral Set
>No. 2 in 1967 and then made this premiere recording later that year.
>Their performance is marked by abrupt transitions and stark
>contrasts, making it seem craggier and more brazen than others I've
>heard -- and it is the better for it as far as I'm concerned. I wish
>this team would have recorded the Fourth Symphony

I could not be in more total agreement. And what a remarkable piece that Set
is!

-david gable

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

"J. R. Robinson" <jr5...@NOSPAMoperamail.com> appears to have caused the
following letters to be typed in news:Xns948298E3EFE09jroperamailcom@
129.250.170.83:

I lean toward Bernstein's old New York recording for the "Question," but I
certainly agree with you on the Orchestral Set #2. These Gould recordings,
along with the Robert Browning Overture and the Symphony #1, were to have
been released as RCA Gold Seal 09026-61402-2, but the BMG idiots cancelled
it (promo copies are known to exist in some collections, ahem). Of course,
the collection *was* issued on Navigator series and was sold in Canada and
the UK. Evidently BMG thinks Chicago is located in one of those countries.
Guh-hyilk!

[Sol L. Siegel]

sam6...@earthlink.net writes:

>>>Do you know Shostakovich's Tenth? That is music that only a
>>>talented madman could pull off at the highest level.
>>
>>
>> I don't know it well. I think I have two recordings, Ormandy and
>> Mravinsky. Which one is likelier to be mad? Surely Mravinsky.
>

>I'd guess Mravinsky too. Didn't hear Ormandy's though, so I
>may be wrong.

Ormandy was perhaps the least likely of top-level conductors -
with the possible exception of Haitink - to do anything "mad."
His 10th only justifies its place in the catalog because (a) it's
a competent presentation of the music at a reasonable price
and (b) you have to buy it to get his great 4th. I have problems
with all three of the Mravinsky 10ths I've owned, but he still
comes closer to the heart of the music than most others.

[Raymond Hall]

"Sol L. Siegel" <vod...@aol.comexitspam> wrote in message
news:20040202000838...@mb-m19.aol.com...

| sam6...@earthlink.net writes:
|
| >>>Do you know Shostakovich's Tenth? That is music that only a
| >>>talented madman could pull off at the highest level.
| >>
| >>
| >> I don't know it well. I think I have two recordings, Ormandy and
| >> Mravinsky. Which one is likelier to be mad? Surely Mravinsky.
| >
| >I'd guess Mravinsky too. Didn't hear Ormandy's though, so I
| >may be wrong.
|
| Ormandy was perhaps the least likely of top-level conductors -
| with the possible exception of Haitink - to do anything "mad."
| His 10th only justifies its place in the catalog because (a) it's
| a competent presentation of the music at a reasonable price
| and (b) you have to buy it to get his great 4th. I have problems
| with all three of the Mravinsky 10ths I've owned, but he still
| comes closer to the heart of the music than most others.

The 10th isn't anywhere near a 'mad' symphony either. A depiction of Stalin
in one movement, the horror of Stalin, a great deal of personal intensity is
portrayed by this symphony. One of Shosty's finest symphonies because it
leaves quite an impression, at least on me.

This is the symphony in which Shosty inroduced his DSCH theme, (D, Eflat, C,
B) and which is used from the slow movement on in this work and others, and
which supposedly 'triumphantly' closes the symphony on timpani in the last
few bars. Apparently Shosty used the DSCH motto whenever he wanted his
'will' to be portrayed, but much is still to be learnt I think.

Haitink does a great first movement, Skro/Hallé is well recorded, Ormandy is
OK (but one thinks of Ormandy's 4th and 15th first), and I haven't had time
to assess Barshai yet. Can't remember Mravinsky, but Kondrashin did a good
8th and from memory a 10th as well?

One recording I haven't yet heard is HvK's DSCH 10th, and I suppose I should
really look for a copy? Yes, I will, now that I think of it. It gets good
reviews generally. Anyone else on the HvK DSCH 10th?

[J. R. Robinson]

I've been listening to the various Eduardo Mata/Simón Bolivar SO
recordings of music by Julián Orbón (1925-1991), a Spanish-born
Cuban composer who "achieved in his works a remarkable blend of
European and Latin American elements, of archaic gestures and
modern procedures, thus creating an integrated yet highly personal
language, richly enhanced by its diverse influences." [Stolen from
liner notes.] The "archaic gestures" stem from his great interest
in the Catholic liturgy, especially Gregorian chant, and the
"diverse influences" include Falla, Copland, Villa-Lobos and
others. The Copland influence comes from studying with the
American at Tanglewood in 1946.

His works are colorfully and inventively orchestrated, have plenty
of good themes and tunes, and are expertly crafted -- he is very
Falla-like in many respects. Common to every Orbón composition
I've heard is an inborn religious component. Sometimes its
presence is felt throughout the work, but more often it lies in
wait and then pounces on you when you least expect it -- like a
Moonie at the airport. It many times appears as a solemn medieval-
or Renaissance-sounding theme in the strings.

My favorite Julián Orbón works:

Concerto Grosso for String Quartet and Orchestra -- This is a
diverse work that occasionally sounds like a cross between
Copland's <Appalachian Spring> and Tippett's <Fantasia concertante
on a theme by Corelli>. There are a couple of quiet, prayerful
passages when the string quartet produces a beautiful organ-like
sonority -- not original, I know, but I'm always a sucker for such
passages.

<Himnus ad Galli Cantum> and <Tres cantigas del rey> -- Extremely
beautiful medieval-like songs for soprano and small instrumental
ensemble. Falla's Concerto for Harpsichord occasionally springs to
mind.

String Quartet -- An early but inspired work with a strong folk
influence. Very tightly wrought.

<Tres versiones sinfónicas> -- A colorful, rhythmically vigorous
work in three contrasting sections: "Pavana" is a sweeping,
panoramic piece that could be mistaken for a Western film score.
"Organum-Conductus" is a noble set of melismatic variations on a
proud, pulsing theme. The short concluding "Xylophone" is an Afro-
Cuban rhythmfest.

The String Quartet is available on Elan with quartets of other
Latin American composers performed, appropriately enough, by
Cuarteto Latinoamericano -- a very compelling ensemble. The other
works are available in excellent recordings by Eduardo Mata (a
student of Orbón) and the Simón Bolivar SO of Venezuela on the
Dorian label, but they are spread across three discs coupled with
works of other composers. The good news is that those other works
are also worth having.

Naxos has recently released (in Europe) an all-Orbón disc as part
of their Spanish Classics series, but I was not won over by the
performances as heard via a low-quality Internet transmission. It
is perhaps unfair to judge the performances under such poor
conditions, but I'll do it anyway: the performances sound rather
slow and cautious, lacking the vim and vigor of those on Dorian.
The Naxos disc does contain one work that I don't have a recording
of, so I'll probably buy the disc when it's released in the US in a
few weeks and report back. With any luck, the performances will be
more compelling when heard in CD-quality sound.

J. R. Robinson
Denver, Colorado

PS -- If you've heard the folk song "Guantanamera," you've already
heard some of Orbón's handiwork; he and Pete Seeger adapted and
arranged the traditional music and the lyrics based on a poem by
José Marti.

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

Sol L. Siegel wrote:

>>>>Do you know Shostakovich's Tenth? That is music that only a
>>>>talented madman could pull off at the highest level.
>>>
>>>
>>>I don't know it well. I think I have two recordings, Ormandy and
>>>Mravinsky. Which one is likelier to be mad? Surely Mravinsky.
>>
>>I'd guess Mravinsky too. Didn't hear Ormandy's though, so I
>>may be wrong.
>
>
> Ormandy was perhaps the least likely of top-level conductors -
> with the possible exception of Haitink - to do anything "mad."

I know what you mean. I am glad you had no comprehension problems in
understanding what was meant with "mad" ( :.

> His 10th only justifies its place in the catalog because (a) it's
> a competent presentation of the music at a reasonable price
> and (b) you have to buy it to get his great 4th. I have problems
> with all three of the Mravinsky 10ths I've owned, but he still
> comes closer to the heart of the music than most others.

What do you think of Stokowski's CSO version? Too "beautiful" in places
where Mravinsky is all darkness?

regards,
SG

[J. R. Robinson]

Matthew B. Tepper wrote:

> I lean toward Bernstein's old New York recording for the
> "Question," but I certainly agree with you on the Orchestral Set
> #2. These Gould recordings, along with the Robert Browning
> Overture and the Symphony #1, were to have been released as RCA
> Gold Seal 09026-61402-2, but the BMG idiots cancelled it (promo
> copies are known to exist in some collections, ahem). Of
> course, the collection *was* issued on Navigator series and was
> sold in Canada and the UK. Evidently BMG thinks Chicago is
> located in one of those countries. Guh-hyilk!

That Bernstein recording of <The Unanswered Question> always seems
to be coupled with recordings I already have, so it has managed to
fall through my buying cracks over the years.

* * *

Walter Piston: Symphony No. 4
Roy Harris: Symphony No. 7
William Schuman: Symphony No. 6
Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra [CBS/Albany]

These are my favorite Ormandy/Philadelphia recordings, and this is
one of the great CDs of American music to be had. The unrelievedly
grim and tense Schuman Sixth is a particular favorite of mine --
perhaps my favorite American symphony.

Joseph Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 6, 7 & 8
Freiburger Barockorchester [HM]

These are refined, characterful performances that just happen to be
HIP. The Freiburgers are fond of long, clean, smoothly arching
phrasing and adopt some uncommonly slow tempos at times, mostly in
the slow movements, but they manage to sustain the music over the
longer spans that result. I'm not necessarily convinced that the
music gains from being drawn out as such -- the affected movements
sometimes strike me as sounding too squeaky clean and unbusy -- but
the Freiburgers execute everything so well that it seems almost
churlish to complain. The faster movements, especially the
Finales, are vigorous and exiting.

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

J. R. Robinson wrote:
[snipped]

Mr. Robinson, you are listening to an indecent amount of music daily.
Unless you come up really quickly with some kinda incoherent political
rant, in which the lightest epithets thrown at your opponents are "you
MF imbecile SOB", I shall have to finally lose my faith in the unity of
the human race.

regards,
SG (:

[Roland van Gaalen]

Fritz Wunderlich, various songs by R Strauss (Staendchen, Morgen,
Zueignung).... very very nice, but Tauber was much much better.

Ref Philips 420 852-2 Beethoven / An die ferne Geliebte; Haydn / 6 Scottish
and Irish songs; and R Strauss

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

Roland van Gaalen wrote:

> Fritz Wunderlich, various songs by R Strauss (Staendchen, Morgen,
> Zueignung).... very very nice, but Tauber was much much better.
>
> Ref Philips 420 852-2 Beethoven / An die ferne Geliebte; Haydn / 6 Scottish
> and Irish songs; and R Strauss

Strictly vocally speaking (endowment at birth) Wunderlich was probably
the luckier one. After all, in Tauber's youth there were people of
profession who doubted Tauber should/could become a singer at all! When
it came to what a singer was doing *with* his voice and *for* the music,
Tauber was unbeatable. Speaking of Tauber, have you got all his R.
Strauss recordings? There is that early (192x) group on Naxos which I
know you have, there are two items (if memory serves, on 78 with two R
Strauss sides) recorded in 1946 (rather [too] late within Tauber's vocal
evolution) and then there is the "middle", supreme performances from the
'30s. If you haven't got the latter two groups, they are immaculately
transferred on a single Tauber Preiser CD, which I'd recommend highly.

An inevitable question to the Tauber-converted: did you ever hear Leo
Slezak's R. Strauss recordings?

regards,
SG

[Matthew B. Tepper]

"J. R. Robinson" <jr5...@NOSPAMoperamail.com> appears to have caused the
following letters to be typed in

news:Xns9483823C616B...@129.250.170.96:

> Walter Piston: Symphony No. 4
> Roy Harris: Symphony No. 7
> William Schuman: Symphony No. 6
> Eugene Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra [CBS/Albany]
>
> These are my favorite Ormandy/Philadelphia recordings, and this is one of
> the great CDs of American music to be had. The unrelievedly grim and
> tense Schuman Sixth is a particular favorite of mine -- perhaps my
> favorite American symphony.

Albany did a really nice job with the remastering; and we should be
grateful that they issued something the copyright owners didn't care about
and wouldn't bother with.

--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion

War is Peace. ** Freedom is Slavery. ** It's all Napster's Fault!

[J. R. Robinson]

Samir wrote:

I prefer to post incoherent musical rants to political newsgroups.

Sincerely, ... Oops! I mean ... In your face, you multilingual SOB!
Go pontificate in someone else's mother tongue, why doncha?!

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

J. R. Robinson wrote:

> I prefer to post incoherent musical rants to political newsgroups.
>
> Sincerely, ... Oops! I mean ... In your face, you multilingual SOB!
> Go pontificate in someone else's mother tongue, why doncha?!

Which reminds me(-: . . . I've been listening to Glass' Music in Fifths.
There is a passage there -- the most inspired, arguably -- which reminds
one strongly of a certain Hanon exercise, which many piano-hammering
youths have wasted their tender and better years slaving upon. Except
that the Hanon exercise displayed a more pleasurably hummable tune, but
let's not make an issue out of that.

Am I the first serious researcher to have pointed out this elevated line
of affinity? Not asking for credit, mind you, just trying to avoid
historical misunderstanding or undeliberate plagiarism.

regards,
SG

[Richard Schultz]

In article <rSHTb.9785$F23....@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net>, sam6...@earthlink.net wrote:

: Which reminds me(-: . . . I've been listening to Glass' Music in Fifths.

: There is a passage there -- the most inspired, arguably -- which reminds
: one strongly of a certain Hanon exercise, which many piano-hammering
: youths have wasted their tender and better years slaving upon. Except
: that the Hanon exercise displayed a more pleasurably hummable tune, but
: let's not make an issue out of that.
:
: Am I the first serious researcher to have pointed out this elevated line
: of affinity? Not asking for credit, mind you, just trying to avoid
: historical misunderstanding or undeliberate plagiarism.

Glass stole it all from PDQ Bach's "Einstein on the Fritz." That is to
say, Schickele has you beat by over a decade, although in this case, it
was a Bach prelude, not a Hanon exercise.

-----
Richard Schultz sch...@mail.biu.ac.il
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
It's a bird, it's a plane -- no, it's Mozart. . .

[J. R. Robinson]

Modest Mussorgsky: <Pictures at an Exhibition>
Benno Moiseiwitsch [Naxos] (rec. 1945)

Moiseiwitsch paints a fundamentally different picture of <Pictures>
than does Richter in his rightly famous 1958 Sofia recital.
Richter's fingers work together in a cumulative and supportive way,
like members of a two-handed orchestra under the baton of Richter's
despotic brain, to produce a wholly unified, single-minded account
of symphonic breadth and power. Moiseiwitsch's fingers work
together in the way members of a fine chamber ensemble work
together -- coordinated and complementary, yes, but with a sense of
interplay, of challenge and response, along the way. This is not
to say that Moiseiwitsch ignores the inherent symphonic qualities
of the music (or that Richter ignores the music's finer points),
but he is content to allude to and imply the orchestra rather than
become it -- unlike Richter, who is an orchestra unto himself in
this work.

On the whole, I still favor Richter, particularly in the final
three pictures: "Catacombs" benefits greatly from his superior
concentration, better balancing of lines, and more even fingerwork,
and "The Hut on Fowls Legs" and "Great Gate of Kiev" are simply
more naturally suited to his sweeping, full-orchestra treatment.
But Moiseiwitsch provides a most interesting alternative. The
highlight of his performance for me is "Samuel Goldenberg and
Schmuyle," wherein Moiseiwitsch brings a tension and dark
uneasiness to the left-hand/right-hand relationship that I'd not
picked up on before.

(I know that this is a fanciful and not particularly helpful
characterization even by my fanciful and not particularly helpful
standards, but that's how I happen to hear the performance.)

Moiseiwitsch's performance fascinates me, both for being so totally
different from my long-held conception of <Pictures> (which
undoubtedly formed from 20 or so years of listening to Richter) and
for being so successful in that totally different way. I find few
things more fascinating than hearing a performance that confounds
my expectations and preconceptions and manages to strike a chord in
me despite myself.

[Roland van Gaalen]

<sam6...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:DByTb.9044$F23....@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...

All I have is the two Naxos recordings, for the time being.

My problem is that when I hear a song like Zueignung (say song #k=1,...,K),
which I happen to have multiple recordings of (Theo Adam, Hans Hotter,
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Fritz Wunderlich, Richard Tauber; say recording
#n[k]=1,...,N[k]), I must listen to all those recordings, and N[k] appears
to be increasing at a much faster rate than k).

I have a similar problem with the Winterreise: when I get to the Lindenbaum,
I cannot go on, and I must listen the Lindenbaum again, by Hans Hottter,
Peter Anders, Richard Tauber, .... . Why not? After all, Life is short, and
who cares if it resembles a broken record as long as the music on that
broken record is good. Come to think of it, I think I need many more
recordings of this piece. Could this be an empirical approach to the halting
problem?

As a matter of fact, it took me about a decade to reach the end of the Magic
Mountain, and at that point I felt confident that I understood at least
_something_: Thomas Mann liked the Lindenbaum, too.

[Simon Roberts]

The fairly recent Kalichstein/Laredo/Robinson set of the complete Beethoven
piano trios, lovely performances that manage to be lively but not aggressive,
beautifully played (though occasionally the cellist's intonation seems slightly
off) and flawlessly recorded. Occasionally I would prefer a bit more fire, but
these work well on their own terms and the slow movements are impressively done
(Op. 1/2/ii is magical). I found their Archduke a bit disappointing, but I
can't remember when I last heard a recording of that work where that wasn't the
case. A nice foil for the rather more bracing Op. 1 1/3 recently released by
the Gryphon Trio.

Simon

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

Roland van Gaalen wrote:

> All I have is the two Naxos recordings, for the time being.
> My problem is that when I hear a song like Zueignung (say song #k=1,...,K),
> which I happen to have multiple recordings of (Theo Adam, Hans Hotter,
> Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Fritz Wunderlich, Richard Tauber; say recording
> #n[k]=1,...,N[k]), I must listen to all those recordings, and N[k] appears
> to be increasing at a much faster rate than k).
>
> I have a similar problem with the Winterreise: when I get to the Lindenbaum,
> I cannot go on, and I must listen the Lindenbaum again, by Hans Hottter,
> Peter Anders, Richard Tauber, .... . Why not? After all, Life is short, and
> who cares if it resembles a broken record as long as the music on that
> broken record is good. Come to think of it, I think I need many more
> recordings of this piece. Could this be an empirical approach to the halting
> problem?

Ask Mr Peters, with his 279 versions of Der Winterreise ( :

Anyway, in case you were interested, one of the reasons I say Slezak's
Strauss [and other] lieder deserve being explored is that, in my
opinion, Tauber was influenced by and learned a lot from the older
Slezak. Well, Tauber owed his beautiful and solid technique, to a great
extent, to his teacher, Carl Beines (whose rather innocuous Serenade I
think is included on one of the Naxos CDs -- it was Tauber's first
recording, in 1919), but I think Tauber may have had, among his
*musical* models, Leo Slezak. Tauber's technique was in fact better than
Slezak's -- who displayed a powerful Heldentenor voice as well as a
highly contrasting soft head register, but also exposed occasional pitch
insecurity/excessive tremolando in the high range, as well as noticeable
discontinuities in the transition between different types of vocal
emission. . . flaws Tauber never had. In other words, Slezak's
recordings (whether the technically safer early items included in a
Pearl 2CD-album or the technically more insecure but emotionally most
touching later electricals in another, Preiser 2CD-album) are more
uneven than Tauber at his best. On the other hand, they may be uneven,
but what songs or even sections of songs Slezak is doing at HIS best
sound to my ears extraordinarily beautiful. In places, Slezak seems to
"out-Tauber Tauber", so to speak, in sheer sweetness of mezza-voce
demi-teintes and in magic of phrasing. The same goes for Schumann's
gorgeously economical and inspired Mondnacht -- an "easy" lied from the
perspective of the singer's range and [lack of] "jumps" requirement. It
is is all in the *tone*. . . hearing Slezak after Tauber is like
watching Garbo after Dietrich (-:.

FWIW, the Slezak-Preiser set I am praising [#89023] contains the
following items:

CD1

SCHUBERT:

Standchen (the Rellstab one)
Der Musensohn
Ungeduld
Die Post
Der Lindenbaum
Du bist die Ruh'
Der Jungling and der Quelle
Litanei
Im Abendrot
Wohin?
Am Meer
Nacht und Traume
An die Musik

SCHUMANN

Mondnacht
Der Nussbaum

BRAHMS

Standchen
Feldeinsamkeit

WOLF

Verschwiegene Liebe
Verborgenheit

R. STRAUSS

Zueignung
Freundliche Vision
Ich trage meine Minne
Traum durch die Dammerung
Morgen !
Standchen

CD II

Loewe

Tom der Reimer
Der Lenz

Wagner

Lohengrin: In fernem Land
Mein lieber Schwan

Tannhauser: Ich horte Harfenschlag

Der Meistersinger: Am stillen Herd
Morgenlich leuchtend

Halevy

Es lastet...

Leoncavallo
Jetzt spielen (Vesti la giubba)

Verdi--Othello (Jeder Knabe...)

(all recorded in 1928 and 1929)

regards,
SG

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

J. R. Robinson wrote:

> Modest Mussorgsky: <Pictures at an Exhibition>
> Benno Moiseiwitsch [Naxos] (rec. 1945)

[review I very much liked snipped]

With apologies for self-quoting, here's what I wrote about the same
performance/CD about one year ago:

< < < < I know of few exercises in
interpretive comparisons to be as rewarding, as stimulating and
illuminating as comparing this recording with Richter's famous Sofia
performance. Both are in the same league, still, more distant
[on piano] interpretations of this piece are not conceivable.

Richter's rightly famous version -- strongly influenced in my opinion by
the example of Golovanov's orchestral version and also my favorite among
all Richter's recordings I've heard -- is, not to expatiate too much
over it, all about titanic power, huge ringing bells, competing
orchestras blending their sounds in a quadriphonic, statuary
magnificence dominated by brass and percussion, otherworldly noises apt
to raise the dead from the grave, within a palette that seems to
combine, in a masterfully vivid if vulgar stridence, yellow, green, dark
blue, red, and black.

Moiseiwitsch privileges melos and wind instruments over rhythm and
trumpets, plays piano and pianissimo most of the time, his impressive
(while not as loud as Richter's) climactic fortissimi are still innerly
shaped with hidden diminuendi, as opposed to Richter's "plain strong
landscapes". The orchestral suggestiveness, every bit as impressive as
Richter's, comes from clever voicing and multi-layering articulation
rather than from raw power. The imagery seems to be projected on the
inner roll of the musician's affective memory rather than on Richter's
panoramic garden screen. With Moiseiwitsch the excitement is there,
intact, but resides in a sense of proportion defining the category of
monumental better than sheer massiveness would do it. > > > >

[end old post]

In the meantime I could listen to two other Moiseiwitsch versions of the
same music: a later, ~1960 studio version (better recorded but not
necessarily better played than, nor very different from the 1945
version) as well as a late live version published by Pearl in a precious
2 CD - set. The latter one would, I dare say, surprise you. Not
technically immaculate or anything, but *very* powerful -- not as subtle
as the 1945 studio version of course. . . in the live one you hear the
"slavic soul" put on the sleeve, or whatever mixed metaphor one can
think of. . . and you hear grand bells which ring, if not as loud, as
powerful as Richter's.

Coda: if you remember that remarkable Russian pianist, Sviatoslav Levin
-- a modest, soft-spoken man who contributed for a while to rmcr -- his
conception of the "Pictures" seemed to me to be the closest to
Moiseiwitsch's studio version among recent versions, in terms of
painting rather than brushing, suggesting rather then commanding. The
things used to be online at
http://www.amblerfilms.com/music/andre_pictures_64.wma
but I don't seem to be able to download it anymore.

regards,
SG

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

Beethoven "Emperor" Concerto, Cor de Groot and Mengelberg/Concertgebouw from
1942. Really weird stuff going on in the last movement, with LOUD pedal
notes on the dominant from the horns. Mengy does some odd tempo fluctuations
in his typical fashion. Otherwise, orchestra play like king.

--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion

War is Peace. ** Freedom is Slavery. ** It's all Napster's fault!

[J. R. Robinson]

Samir wrote:

> J. R. Robinson wrote:
>
>> Modest Mussorgsky: <Pictures at an Exhibition>
>> Benno Moiseiwitsch [Naxos] (rec. 1945)
>
> [review I very much liked snipped]
>
> With apologies for self-quoting, here's what I wrote about the
> same performance/CD about one year ago:
>

> [old post snipped]

>
> In the meantime I could listen to two other Moiseiwitsch
> versions of the same music: a later, ~1960 studio version
> (better recorded but not necessarily better played than, nor
> very different from the 1945 version) as well as a late live
> version published by Pearl in a precious 2 CD - set. The latter
> one would, I dare say, surprise you. Not technically immaculate
> or anything, but *very* powerful -- not as subtle as the 1945
> studio version of course. . . in the live one you hear the
> "slavic soul" put on the sleeve, or whatever mixed metaphor one
> can think of. . . and you hear grand bells which ring, if not as
> loud, as powerful as Richter's.
>
> Coda: if you remember that remarkable Russian pianist,
> Sviatoslav Levin -- a modest, soft-spoken man who contributed
> for a while to rmcr -- his conception of the "Pictures" seemed
> to me to be the closest to Moiseiwitsch's studio version among
> recent versions, in terms of painting rather than brushing,
> suggesting rather then commanding. The things used to be online
> at http://www.amblerfilms.com/music/andre_pictures_64.wma
> but I don't seem to be able to download it anymore.
>
> regards,
> SG

I'm afraid that my previous post is Glass's <Music in Fifths> to your
more pleasurably hummable Hanon exercise. It's been a while, but I
believe it was your old post that prompted me to buy the Naxos disc
in the first place. I also have the two volumes of Moiseiwitsch's
Chopin on APR, but I'm less enthusiastic about those in general,
finding the performances too... too... smoothly negotiated, shall we
say, for my taste. (I'm listening to the Preludes as I type.)

I'm actually happy enough promenading back and forth between
Richter's <Pictures> and Moiseiwitsch's and am not in the market for
another at the moment (I have a few other recordings of it lying
around the house, as well), but I'll see if I can find an Internet
audio clip of Moiseiwitsch's live performance on Pearl -- there's
something intrinsically intriguing about live recordings of dead
pianists, isn't there?

I don't remember Sviatoslav Levin posting here, but the name does
seem familiar somehow. I'll listen to his clip as well -- provided I
can find it, of course.

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

J. R. Robinson (no Ewing, thank God) wrote:

> I'm afraid that my previous post is Glass's <Music in Fifths> to your
> more pleasurably hummable Hanon exercise.

Don't play modest, now ( :. I just wanted to point out to a certain
similitude of reaction. You are the one who writes better, the genuinely
stellar Hanon of the Western musical canon.

> I don't remember Sviatoslav Levin posting here, but the name does
> seem familiar somehow.

He called himself "Andre".

> I'll listen to his clip as well -- provided I
> can find it, of course.

I am being told by another Rusophile rmcr-ster that the link is actually
working.

regards,
SG

[Ulvi Yurtsever]

Brahms violin concerto, Krebbers/Mengelberg

Ulvi

[A. Brain]

"Ulvi Yurtsever" <a@b.c> wrote in message
news:Xns9485C4...@216.168.3.44...
>
> Brahms violin concerto, Krebbers/Mengelberg

Another. lesser-known violin concerto, also
vetted by Joachim. Dvorak's, highly underrated
and underplayed. This particular recording by
the also underrated and overlooked Christian
Tetzlaff.

--
A. Brain

Remove NOSPAM for email.

[Paul Ilechko]

J. R. Robinson wrote:

> I'm actually happy enough promenading back and forth between
> Richter's <Pictures> and Moiseiwitsch's and am not in the market for
> another at the moment (I have a few other recordings of it lying
> around the house, as well), but I'll see if I can find an Internet
> audio clip of Moiseiwitsch's live performance on Pearl -- there's
> something intrinsically intriguing about live recordings of dead
> pianists, isn't there?

What about Pogorelich ?

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

"A. Brain" <abr...@NOSPAMatt.net> appears to have caused the following
letters to be typed in news:LS2Ub.18778$vq3.6370
@newssvr24.news.prodigy.com:

> "Ulvi Yurtsever" <a@b.c> wrote in message
> news:Xns9485C4...@216.168.3.44...
>>
>> Brahms violin concerto, Krebbers/Mengelberg
>
> Another. lesser-known violin concerto, also vetted by Joachim.
> Dvorak's, highly underrated and underplayed. This particular recording
> by the also underrated and overlooked Christian Tetzlaff.

Definitely an underrated concerto. I did a mini-listenathon of this work
maybe a year or so, comparing versions by Stern, Martzy, Peinemann, and
Prihoda. There was much good to be found in each, though the Prihoda
showed him in less-than-his-best estate.

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

Matthew B. Tepper wrote:

>>>Brahms violin concerto, Krebbers/Mengelberg
>>
>>Another. lesser-known violin concerto, also vetted by Joachim.
>>Dvorak's, highly underrated and underplayed. This particular recording
>>by the also underrated and overlooked Christian Tetzlaff.

Never heard of this violinist. Dates, brief outlook?

> Definitely an underrated concerto.

Come on, now. Less known than the cello one, yes. Underrated? Not sure.
It's performed now and then and it has a good number of wonderful
versions in the catalogue. I am very fond of the piece, too.

> I did a mini-listenathon of this work
> maybe a year or so, comparing versions by Stern, Martzy, Peinemann, and
> Prihoda. There was much good to be found in each, though the Prihoda
> showed him in less-than-his-best estate.

There are at least two Prihodas that I know of -- a WWII Berlin version
and a 195-something Prague version. Possibly there's even more. If you
like the concerto, the Neuss-Mengelberg version has something special,
too. Not perfect (live version -- note the timpani getting lost in the
finale) but they "sing out" the music beautifully.

regards,
SG

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

Bartok -- Sonata for two pianos and percussion

Kocsis and Ranki [pianists], Cser and Racz [percussionists]

Exciting stuff -- great music, representative of how Bartok could look
both forward and backward. (Remark the diminished forth cell in the
Assai lento introduction "f# e# a" -- reminding one of the beginning of
Franck's symphony. . . not that what comes afterwards sounds much like
Franck, even if that motif will still be heard in the Allegro molto.)
Written so well that four men sound like two grand orchestras, blending
at times, antiphonal at others.

Among the more obvious felicities of texture, remark how in the
beginning of the finale, the pianos alternating plain C Major chords
provide a background for a xylophone theme "counterdotted" by timpani.

The performance, live (Hungaroton) is very good, acute, well balanced. I
could reiterate my complaints that, as usual, there is more sheer
*beauty* and elegance (aside energy) to Bartok's music than comes
through here, but vot's the use, as Martha Stewart used to say when she
noticed that the bed sheets didn't match the pillow's cover?

regards,
SG

[A. Brain]

<sam6...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:dreUb.13239$uM2....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...

> >>Another. lesser-known violin concerto, also vetted by Joachim.
> >>Dvorak's, highly underrated and underplayed. This particular
recording
> >>by the also underrated and overlooked Christian Tetzlaff.
>
> Never heard of this violinist. Dates, brief outlook?

Tetzlaff is German, late thirties, but looks younger.
Having said that, he is a bit of a Shostakovich look-alike'
especially on the cover of the Dvorak CD.
He should ditch the wire-rimmed glasses.
He has recorded Bach sons/pttas, Mozart concertos, and Haydn
concertos. I've heard good things about the Bach,
but they seem to be OOP.

I heard him play the Mendelssohn cto
live a couple of years ago, and it was really excellent.
Very sensual and polished.

[Alan Cooper]

At the recommendation of posters here, I ordered a couple of
recordings of music by Benjamin Lees, and they happened to arrive
yesterday. First I listened to Disk One of Vox's American Concertos
set, which includes the Lees Violin Concerto along with Viola Concerto
by Robert Starer and a Cello Concerto by Meyer Kupferman. I enjoyed
all three works, especially the Kupferman, which is wild and eclectic.
The Lees Concerto was pleasant, especialy the middle movement, but a
lot of the writing seemed formulaic to me. The performance could be
improved upon, but at least one gets to hear the work.

Then I went on to the Lees 4th Symphony on Naxos. This seemed to me
to be altogether more inspired than the Violin Concerto, although I
also may have been affected by the superior quality of both the
performance and the recorded sound. There is some gorgeous writing
for solo violin, and that part was taken superbly by James Buswell.
The work also features settings of some moving poems by Nelly Sachs,
and those, too are very effective and well performed. Overall, the
work makes a strong musical impression, even without regard to the
extra-musical associations.

Encouraged by these two works, I do intend to seek out more recordings
of Lees' compositions.

AC

[Simon Roberts]

In article <u_nUb.1056$BY...@newssvr23.news.prodigy.com>, A. Brain says...

>
><sam6...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>news:dreUb.13239$uM2....@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>> >>Another. lesser-known violin concerto, also vetted by Joachim.
>> >>Dvorak's, highly underrated and underplayed. This particular
>recording
>> >>by the also underrated and overlooked Christian Tetzlaff.
>>
>> Never heard of this violinist. Dates, brief outlook?
>
>Tetzlaff is German, late thirties, but looks younger.
>Having said that, he is a bit of a Shostakovich look-alike'
>especially on the cover of the Dvorak CD.
>He should ditch the wire-rimmed glasses.
>He has recorded Bach sons/pttas, Mozart concertos, and Haydn
>concertos. I've heard good things about the Bach,
>but they seem to be OOP.

I would be amazed if Samir liked any of them, with their rather cool, even
chaste, probably HIP-influenced manner.

Simon

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

Alan Cooper <amco...@nospamoptonline.net> appears to have caused the
following letters to be typed in news:nig420t7ciqot9tdl8rn85r68gp01t5j12@
4ax.com:

There was a Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra once on an RCA LP,
coupled with some arid symphony by Roger Sessions. I loved the concerto
and thought it was a terrific piece. The conductor was Igor Buketoff, but
I can't recall the identity of the quartet right now.

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

Simon Roberts wrote:

> In article <u_nUb.1056$BY...@newssvr23.news.prodigy.com>, A. Brain says...

>>>Never heard of this violinist. Dates, brief outlook?

>>
>>Tetzlaff is German, late thirties, but looks younger.
>>Having said that, he is a bit of a Shostakovich look-alike'
>>especially on the cover of the Dvorak CD.
>>He should ditch the wire-rimmed glasses.
>>He has recorded Bach sons/pttas, Mozart concertos, and Haydn
>>concertos. I've heard good things about the Bach,
>>but they seem to be OOP.
>
>
> I would be amazed if Samir liked any of them, with their rather cool, even
> chaste, probably HIP-influenced manner.

Not to mention that, asking about the "outlook", I've been given more
info than I was looking for. . . ( :

regards,
SG

[Raymond Hall]

"Alan Cooper" <amco...@nospamoptonline.net> wrote in message
news:nig420t7ciqot9tdl...@4ax.com...

|
| Then I went on to the Lees 4th Symphony on Naxos. This seemed to me
| to be altogether more inspired than the Violin Concerto, although I

Absolutely agree about Lees 4th symphony (Memorial Candles) by Kuchar/Nat SO
Ukraine/Wheeler/Buswell. Listened to it several days ago, and it is a very
powerful work indeed. Quite stunningly good.

Perhaps Naxos (or somebody) might give us some more of this composer's works
to hear.

Regards,

# http://www.users.bigpond.com/hallraylily/index.html
See You Tamara (Ozzy Osbourne)

Ray, Taree, NSW

[Henk van Tuijl]

Heidsieck's Faure Nocturnes ... With
many thanks to RMCR for the tip.

Henk

[REG]

A two disc set of keyboard works by Carl Nielson... the aural equivalent of
loose scrambled eggs, I'm afraid.

"Henk van Tuijl" <hvt...@xs4all.nl> wrote in message
news:4026c35d$0$139$e4fe...@news.xs4all.nl...

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

Richard wrote:

> A two disc set of keyboard works by Carl Nielson... the aural equivalent of
> loose scrambled eggs, I'm afraid.

No tossed salads?

regards,
SG

[Lawrence Chalmers]

Ginastera: 'Panambi' and 'Estancia' the 'complete' versions on a Conifer
cd. Very
enjoyable and a moment here and there so evocative of de Falla.
Yesterday and the day before it was the Symphonies and ballets of
Gerhard on Montaigne/Auvidis. I know it isn't necessarily a regional
thing, but I love the ample use of piano as a percussive and musical
color in these works.

[Simon Roberts]

The second installment of Mustonen's Bach/Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues, every
bit as good as the first, interestingly conceived and superbly played.

Simon

[J. R. Robinson]

Puccini: <Tosca>
Callas, Di Stefano, Gobbi, etc.
De Sabata/Orchestra e Choro del Teatro alla Scala, Milano [Naxos]

This new Naxos transfer (from LPs) sounds substantially different
than the 1986 EMI transfer to CD (presumably from the master tapes)
that I'm used to. [I've not heard the three subsequent EMI CD re-
issues of this recording.] The Naxos transfer has a much warmer
and fuller overall sound, with significantly different
equalization. The orchestra gains a good deal of fullness, weight
and presence and is better balanced with the voices -- the voices
sound overly prominent and slightly detached from the orchestra in
the EMI transfer. Voices are slightly fuller in the Naxos
transfer, and even though they seem less prominent relative to the
orchestra, they sound more "present" and naturally presented than
in the EMI. My only complaint is that the frequencies
corresponding to the lower range of bass and baritone voices seem
to have gotten a slight but undue boost, making their voices sound
just a touch thicker and chestier at times than I think they ought
to sound.

On the whole, listening to the Naxos transfer reminds me of
listening to the LPs on a good stereo system -- I listened to the
original LPs on a good stereo system last fall, in fact. I recall
the LPs having a slightly more extended and open high end, but that
was on a nicer stereo system than the one I've been listening to
the Naxos CDs on. I can't speak to the controversial speed and
pitch issue with any authority, as I didn't notice a difference
between the 1986 EMI set and the new Naxos set in that regard.
Sadly, I don't have anything even approaching perfect pitch, so
that means very little.

[Andy Evans]

Just connected up my HiFi after two months off for refurbishment of the flat.
I'm absolutely bopping about to Steely Dan Live in America. Can't keep still.
Now that's something classical music doesn't quite do. And of course Jazz can -
listening to Monty Alexander Live in the car I almost jumped through the window
with the groove.

=== Andy Evans ===
Visit our Website:- http://www.artsandmedia.com
Audio, music and health pages and interesting links.

[Simon Roberts]

In article <20040210154052...@mb-m29.aol.com>, Andy Evans says...

>
>Just connected up my HiFi after two months off for refurbishment of the flat.
>I'm absolutely bopping about to Steely Dan Live in America. Can't keep still.
>Now that's something classical music doesn't quite do.

Try MAK's Brandenburg 6/i....

Simon

[J. R. Robinson]

Arthur Foote: Suite in E
Harl McDonald: <San Juan Capistrano>
Aaron Copland: <El salón México>
Roy Harris: Symphony 1933 (No. 1); Symphony No. 3
Serge Koussevitzky/BSO [Pearl]

Theses are far and away my favorites recordings of all these works.
The ripe, intoxicated account of <El salón México> makes others
sound as if they're being played by a bunch of teetotaling
tourists, and the Harris Third Symphony has never sounded so
sweeping and confident and bold. The rarely performed Symphony
1933 (a.k.a. Symphony No. 1) is one of the better -- or, at least,
more interesting to me -- Harris symphonies that is not the Third
Symphony, and it is treated to a vigorous live Carnegie Hall
performance; the sound quality is not too good, however. The Foote
and McDonald works are played for all they're worth and with much
more vigor and charm than I've heard in other recordings. The
Foote Suite of 1908 (the only work presented not from the '30s) is
nice enough on the ears, sounding like a cross between Grieg's
<Holberg Suite> and Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings much of the
time, and then a fugue is stuck on at the end. McDonald's <San
Juan Capistrano>, subtitled "Two Evening Pictures," is a pair of
Spanish/Mexican post cards in music: "The Mission" being church-y
and nocturnal, with tolling bells in the background and a prayful
climax in the middle, and "Fiesta" being very, well, festive -- in
a second-rate Falla sort of way.

[sam6...@earthlink.net]

J. R. Robinson wrote:

> Arthur Foote: Suite in E
> Harl McDonald: <San Juan Capistrano>
> Aaron Copland: <El salón México>
> Roy Harris: Symphony 1933 (No. 1); Symphony No. 3
> Serge Koussevitzky/BSO [Pearl]
>
> Theses are far and away my favorites recordings of all these works.
> The ripe, intoxicated account of <El salón México> makes others
> sound as if they're being played by a bunch of teetotaling

> tourists [. . .]

It is my favorite too. I find it rather instructive to note how
Koussevitzky obtains more effect with little rubato than other
interpreters (say, some younger protégé of his) who shall remain
nameless (-:, who use an exaggerated amount and manner of rubato. And
the Boston SO wind soloists' humorously & refinedly folksy solos are
highly enjoyable.

regards,
SG

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

"J. R. Robinson" <jr5...@NOSPAMoperamail.com> appears to have caused the
following letters to be typed in news:Xns948C8CC2C1194jroperamailcom@
129.250.170.84:

> Arthur Foote: Suite in E
> Harl McDonald: <San Juan Capistrano>
> Aaron Copland: <El salón México>
> Roy Harris: Symphony 1933 (No. 1); Symphony No. 3
> Serge Koussevitzky/BSO [Pearl]
>

> These are far and away my favorites recordings of all these works.

[snip for space]

Indeed, this is a fine CD to recommend to somebody who wonders why some of
us praise Koussevitzky so highly. It shows him at darn near his best in
unusual repertoire. Or is it so unusual, since he championed American
music so well?

(A question comes to mind -- did he perform any music by Canadians?)

[J. R. Robinson]

Matthew B. Tepper wrote:

> J. R. Robinson wrote:
>
>> Arthur Foote: Suite in E
>> Harl McDonald: <San Juan Capistrano>
>> Aaron Copland: <El salón México>
>> Roy Harris: Symphony 1933 (No. 1); Symphony No. 3
>> Serge Koussevitzky/BSO [Pearl]
>>
>> These are far and away my favorites recordings of all these
>> works.
>
> [snip for space]
>
> Indeed, this is a fine CD to recommend to somebody who wonders
> why some of us praise Koussevitzky so highly. It shows him at
> darn near his best in unusual repertoire. Or is it so unusual,
> since he championed American music so well?

Yes, it's tough to beat Koussevitzy in American music. Perhaps his
greatest achievement was in making a recording of Copland's
<Lincoln Portrait> (the one with Melvyn Douglas) that I'm actually
able to listen to all the way through. No one, but no one, could
raise schlock to greater heights than Koussevitzky.

[J. R. Robinson]

Samir wrote:

You are right to cite the contributions of the BSO wind soloists --
it would be hard to imagine more colorful and characterful solos.
I'd be curious to hear the work performed by a really gnarly
Mexican orchestra. I once attended a concert in Tijuana in which a
good many members of the orchestra smoked cigars during the
performance. My date swore she saw smoke coming out of one of the
trumpets, but I wasn't wearing my glasses and couldn't make it out
for sure. At intermission, the entire orchestra hopped off the
stage, scurried up the aisle, ran across the street, and piled into
a bar. What followed the intermission was by no small measure the
worst performance of <La Mer> I've ever heard, but it was far from
being the least interesting.

[Anti Nonsens]

I don't agree.

Cheryl Studer is an asshole and mini-John is a psychopath.

[Matthew燘. Tepper]

"J. R. Robinson" <jr5...@NOSPAMoperamail.com> appears to have caused the

following letters to be typed in news:Xns948CEE0D4D017jroperamailcom@
129.250.170.85:

Last night I was asked for a recommendation of "Lincoln Portrait." This is
for a friend who is not a collector, and who will probably warm to modern
sound rather than a historical. Suggestions?

[J. R. Robinson]

Matthew B. Tepper wrote:

> J. R. Robinson wrote:

>
>> Matthew B. Tepper wrote:
>>
>>> Indeed, this is a fine CD to recommend to somebody who wonders
>>> why some of us praise Koussevitzky so highly. It shows him at
>>> darn near his best in unusual repertoire. Or is it so
>>> unusual, since he championed American music so well?
>>
>> Yes, it's tough to beat Koussevitzy in American music. Perhaps
>> his greatest achievement was in making a recording of Copland's
>> <Lincoln Portrait> (the one with Melvyn Douglas) that I'm
>> actually able to listen to all the way through. No one, but no
>> one, could raise schlock to greater heights than Koussevitzky.
>
> Last night I was asked for a recommendation of "Lincoln
> Portrait." This is for a friend who is not a collector, and who
> will probably warm to modern sound rather than a historical.
> Suggestions?

I recently heard about half of the André Kostelanetz/NYPO recording
with Carl Sandburg and thought they did a bang-up job in a way that
is quite different from the Koussevitzky/BSO/Douglas performance --
but it was hardly in modern sound, and, as I say, I only heard half
of it. I mention it because it has been recently released on an
interesting two-CD Sony set, <A Copland Celebration, vol. 2>, which
includes an intriguing collection of players performing chamber
works and songs. I recall the Sextet with, I think, the Julliard
Quartet, the Piano Quartet, Oscar Levant playing some music from
<Billy the Kid>, and Paul Warfield singing some songs ... I forget
the rest, but it struck me as one of the more interesting Copland
collections available. It was cheap, too. I'll no doubt talk
myself into buying it in one of my many moments of weakness.

[J. R. Robinson]

J. R. Robinson wrote:

Oops, that's "Juilliard," not "Julliard."

[Matthew Silverstein]

Kaplan's recent Mahler 2 with the Vienna Philharmonic. Excellent performance
overall, though I'm not sure it quite scales the heights of Mahlerian
ecstasy reached by my favorites recordings. In many ways it does improve on
Kaplan's earlier recording, which I quite like. (In a few other ways,
however, it does not--notably the percussion playing and the too-distant and
out-of-sync offstage orchestral effects in the finale.)

One especially lovely moment on the new recording is Nadja Michael's
gorgeous performance of the fourth movement. (Kaplan and the orchestra are
superb here as well. The brass chorale that opens the movement is very
poorly balanced and played on Kaplan's LSO recording. Here it's perfect.)
Michael remains beautifully hushed throughout the song, and she nails the
pianissimo octave leaps (on "Himmel," for example) better than anyone (at
least that I can remember--I have only 5 other recordings here with me). In
his ClassicsToday review, Dave Hurwitz complains about Michael's "wobbly and
unattractive singing." I find this incomprehensible, especially given his
praise of Natalie Stutzmann's horribly wobbly and unattractive performance
with Ozawa on Sony. In his review of that recording, he claims that
Stutzmann's "earth mother vocal timbre" suits the music "perfectly." Again,
I don't know how "earth mother timbre" is perfectly suited to music that,
according to Mahler, should sound like a child imagining that she is in
heaven. I'd like Michael even more if she used less vibrato, but she's
incomparably superior to Stutzmann (and most others). Anyway, even if the
rest of the new Kaplan recording were terrible, I'd keep it just for
'Urlicht'. (And the rest is far from terrible.)

Matty

[Matthew B. Tepper]

"J. R. Robinson" <jr5...@NOSPAMoperamail.com> appears to have caused the
following letters to be typed in

news:Xns948D76A6C4D9...@129.250.170.84:

Yes, I'm familiar with the "Copland Celebration," very nearly the last
historicals ever issued by Sony. (There was a short-lengthed Leonard Rose
issue after that, almost undoubtedly a pet project for Yo-Yo Ma, and then
all was silence.) That said, I'd like to give her a nice single CD.

> Oops, that's "Juilliard," not "Julliard."

Vous avez raison.

--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion

War is Peace. ** Freedom is Slavery. ** It's all Napster's Fault!

[Richard Schultz]

In article <WiRWb.34086$jv3....@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com>, Matthew Silverstein <msil...@yahoo.com> wrote:
: In his ClassicsToday review, Dave Hurwitz complains about Michael's "wobbly

: and unattractive singing." I find this incomprehensible, especially given his
: praise of Natalie Stutzmann's horribly wobbly and unattractive performance
: with Ozawa on Sony.

You have to realize that Hurwitz knows virtually nothing about vocal music,
as he has admitted, so comments like those should be taken with a grain
of salt. He made a similar criticism of Kathleen Ferrier's singing in
the Walter/Ferrier/Patzak Lied von der Erde, and when Simon Roberts called
him on it, he reacted in his usual fashion. You also have to realize that
this is a guy who gave 10/10 for Yoel Levi's Mahler 2d.

-----
Richard Schultz sch...@mail.biu.ac.il
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
"We cannot see how any of his music can long survive him."
-- From the New York Daily Tribune obituary of Gustav Mahler

[Sol L. Siegel]

"Matthew燘. Tepper" oy兀earthlink.net writes:

>Last night I was asked for a recommendation of "Lincoln Portrait."
>This is for a friend who is not a collector, and who will probably
>warm to modern sound rather than a historical. Suggestions?

I would suggest Henry Fonda with the composer, if for no other
reason is that it's on the same disc as the premier recording of
the original Appalachian Spring. (The Portrait performance is
about as good as any, I suppose.)

-Sol Siegel, Philadelphia, PA
--------------------
"I really liked it. Even the music was good." - Yogi Berra, after seeing
"Tosca"
--------------------
(Remove "exitspam" from the end of my e-mail address to respond.)

[Sol L. Siegel]

>vod...@aol.comexitspam (Sol L. Siegel) wrote:

>"Matthew B. Tepper" oyţ@earthlink.net writes:
>
>>Last night I was asked for a recommendation of "Lincoln Portrait."
>>This is for a friend who is not a collector, and who will probably
>>warm to modern sound rather than a historical. Suggestions?
>
>I would suggest Henry Fonda with the composer, if for no other
>reason is that it's on the same disc as the premier recording of
>the original Appalachian Spring. (The Portrait performance is
>about as good as any, I suppose.)

Whoops: I meant the first studio recording. The actual 1944 LOC
premier was recorded, and was even broadcast once IIRC.
No commerial release that I know of, though.

[Matthew Silverstein]

RS wrote:

> You have to realize that Hurwitz knows virtually nothing about vocal
music,
> as he has admitted, so comments like those should be taken with a grain
> of salt. He made a similar criticism of Kathleen Ferrier's singing in
> the Walter/Ferrier/Patzak Lied von der Erde, and when Simon Roberts called
> him on it, he reacted in his usual fashion. You also have to realize that
> this is a guy who gave 10/10 for Yoel Levi's Mahler 2d.

I think Levi's Mahler 2 is actually very good (especially the last three
movements). His scherzo is easily one of my favorites. Regarding Dave, I
agree with almost all of his Kaplan Mahler 2 review. Our only disagreement
is about the fourth movement.

Matty

[J. R. Robinson]

Dmitri Shostakovich: Festive Overture; 13 dances from ballets
André Kostelanetz & His Orchestra [CBS/Sony]

This music is rife with Shostakovich "humor" and is here played with
unabashed enthusiam by André Kostelanetz & His Orchestra -- the
twisted little Polka from <The Age of Gold> is a particular favorite
of mine. I know of no finer such collection, and the coupled First
Symphony, with Ormandy & Co., is top-drawer, as well.

[Matthew B. Tepper]

"J. R. Robinson" <jr5...@NOSPAMoperamail.com> appears to have caused the
following letters to be typed in

news:Xns948EA5D3149F...@129.250.170.85:

I must say, though, that the Festive Overture, at 4:26, is the fastest in
my collection. All of the others are closer to six minutes.

[Lawrence Chalmers]

I'm now navigating the Hartmann symphonies
(emi single cd issues) and the Telarc 1 & 6.
A little challenging for me so I'm taking them two per day. I'm
wonderinng how the sound is
on the Wergo set (in spite of their being older recordings). The emi
sound seems a bit distant. I have a Leitner 6th on Hannsler that is
better-sounding than Metzmacher. No debate about the Telarc sound...

[Van Eyes]

"Lawrence Chalmers" <law...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:13563-40...@storefull-3297.bay.webtv.net

> I'm now navigating the Hartmann symphonies

> (emi single cd issues) and the Telarc 1 & 6....No debate about the Telarc sound...

I thought it sucked. Narrow soundstage and muddy.

Regards

--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

[Dan Koren]

"REG" <Rich...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:kzzVb.134331$cM1.24...@twister.nyc.rr.com...

>
> A two disc set of keyboard works by
> Carl Nielson... the aural equivalent
> of loose scrambled eggs, I'm afraid.
>

A little jazz can fix that.

dk

[David M. Cook]

In article <13563-40...@storefull-3297.bay.webtv.net>, Lawrence
Chalmers wrote:

The Wergo recordings are only OK, live recordings that lack some presence,
but the sound does not get in the way of enjoyment. Kubelik did 4 & 8 on
gorgeous sounding DG LP. I wonder if any of our resident old salties have a
good copy of this they can burn (don't know if it's out of copyright
control, though). My copy has a difficult to edit out scratch.

Dave Cook

[HenryFogel]

The Pearl disc of arias sung by Robert Merrill, recorded for Victor in 1946.
Wow, what a voice that was -- and wouldn't we kill for anything approximating
it now?
Henry Fogel

[David M. Cook]

I've been working my way thru the Pinnock Sturm und Drang symphonies, and am
enjoying the set immensely. Once one gets used to a'=421, these are
beautiful sounding recordings, particularly as they DDD recordings made in
1989 or so. Everything can be clearly heard, but in a realistic
perspective.

Dave Cook

[A. Brain]

"David M. Cook" <dave...@nowhere.net> wrote in message
news:slrnc2u0av....@localhost.localdomain...

I believe I posted in this very thread about my
having recently picked up this set. Now that I have
heard more of it, my original comment about the
too-prominent harpshichord seems inaccurate,
or, to use that old Watergate term, "inoperative".

--
A. Brain

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