Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #30)

I first heard Schoenberg through his five orchestral pieces when I was 11 or 12, loved it too. It was through this which I still have on a cassette (there's a newer version on CD but with different artwork):

 

I'm (proudly) weird like that.

 

Now playing this very interesting and much praised CD, which just arrived today for a first listen ...

 

my feelings aren't all that different.actually,i use music like Carter's as background music-i notice certain sound combinations without being distracted by melody (!) i guess what i'm saying is that i find the "different"
sonorities refreshing,but i don't carry anything away with me-nothing to hum,that's for sure.of course,that's also true of lots of more old-fashioned
composers:i enjoy it while it's playing,but carry little of it with me.

 

this LP (Ultragroove UG-7003,1980) has Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien on
side 1 & Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol on side 2.it was recorded
in Boston Symphony Hall on 10/31 & 11/1,1977.producer:Ed Wodenjak.
engineer:Bert Whyte.console design:John Curl.special equipment:John Meyer.
according to White's liner notes,simultaneous direct-to-disc,analog tape &
digital tape recordings were made by Crystal Clear Records.i have the
direct-to-disc LP & a CD made from the digital tape,as was this LP.
what use they made of the analog tape i don't know.both this LP & the CD
have the same short playing time as the direct-to-disc version.according
to the notes,this was Fiedler's only digital recording as well as being the
2nd commercial digital recording session in the U.S.digital recording by Soundstream.this has a price sticker showing reg. $17.98/our price $16.17.

 

A fabulous recording also included in the recent Leonhardt "Jubilee Edition":

 

Found a nice thing the other day, in a bin in Norway.

Hilde Somer has dedicated this Composers Recording issue of two Copland Sonatas and "Vitebsk" to a Norwegian publisher. It had a one-page presentation of her, as well as some cuttings from U.S. newspapers inside it, and her signature on the front.

In addition it sounds excellent. They used very high quality vinyl on this release, and it's near mint. Couldn't have had a better introduction to this music for the first time.
The record was released in 1963, and the dedication is from 1964.

 

Amazing find. It is in good hands now. Congratulations!

 

The Jubilee Edition is a terrific box set.

 

Listening to the new Grimaud Mozart CD this morning. Nothing remarkable, though the aforementioned (and posted) Busoni cadenza is there.

 

Interestingly, I connected first with some of the less colouristic pieces - Schoenberg's piano music by Pollini, Carter's string quartets. I do like Berg's color, though.

While he doesn't fully fit in that category, my initial encounter with post-romantic music was the Bartok string quartets. Certainly Nos. 3 and 4 are pretty challenging.

 

I would not think Grimaud/Mozart is a natural fit.

I actually do not own any albums by her; however, her peformance of the Ravel concerto with the NY Phil in concert is a fond memory.

 

Did that include the middle period (1920s-30s) serial pieces? I find some of that interesting, but I wouldn't want to listen to a CD of nothing but Schoenberg or other Second Viennese School music from that period (I could make an exception if it was all Berg, though).

I find 20th piano music generally more accessible anyway than string quartets or other kinds of chamber music and I've always liked the early pioneering Schoenberg piano pieces (I actually learned the Op.19 pieces for Grade 8 piano while in middle school).

 

I do not know why and how but in the past days I ordered a considerable quaniity of classical discs, so as to fill some gaps and follow some recommendations from you all:

1. EMI France GIANT pianists boxes (after the ones of Meyer, Nat and Cziffra) €63 each:




2. Brendel:



3. Horenstein Mahler 6 (I had the remaining issued by BBC classics and not his one):

 

Not sure if you guys already noticed the current Barnes & Noble 40% off Classical music sale. I started a thread in the respective Marketplace section but thought I'd give you guys a head's up here as well:

As already mentioned in the respective RCA Living Stereo thread, Barnes & Noble has many of these SACD's on sale now at $6 for the single discs and $9.59 for the double discs.

You can also add the following coupon code for 7% off the complete order:

E7E4K8K

They also have many other classical CD's on sale, literally thousands. Among them also some regular redbook CD's of RCA Living Stereo for under $5. Really worth browsing on the website.

Great deals available.

 

I'm pretty certain it's the complete works for solo piano.

http://www.amazon.com/Schoenberg-Piano-Music-Maurizio-Pollini/dp/B000001G8X

 

RiRiIII:

Those first two Brendel CDs are wonderful (haven't heard the rest.)

 

Some great stuff released by the Met today, including on CD a 1952 broadcast of "Carmen" with Rise Stevens and Richard Tucker, Fritz Reiner conducting; and, on the Met Player, a broadcast from exactly one week later of Reiner conducting Astrid Varnay as Elektra. The latter is what I'm about to put on.

Despite the grousing from old-timers about how today's singers can't match those of the golden age, I think as opera fans we may be living in the best of times right now. There are quality performances to be seen and singers of enormous talent, but what's also wonderful is the wealth of recorded performances made available one way or another the past several years.

 

Finally picked up this set, since it was dirt cheap on amazon ($23.62 new for 6CDs.) The seller, Zoverstocks send this big box in a padded bag, so the rear of one of the cases was damaged. Since I already own a ton of Chopin, I wanted to find out how much of these performances I already had. Turns out a lot of it I didn't already have, which I am very happy about. In order to determine what I already had, I did a full inventory of the contents, using a discography and the liner notes, labeling the things that appear elsewhere on CD. For the curious, I will post the info here:

CD 01
01 Berceuse - 1920 – Pearl 9386 and Biddulph Complete Acoustic Victor Rec
02 Chant Polonais - 1923 – Music & Arts CD-615, Biddulph LAB 014~15
03 Op. 10 No. 5 - 1923 - Biddulph Complete Acoustic Victor Rec
04 Op. 25 No. 9 - 1923 - Biddulph Complete Acoustic Victor Rec
05 Op. 25 No. 11 – 1923 – Biddulph Complete Acoustic Victor Rec and Pearl 9386
06 Impromptu 1 – 1922 – Pearl 9386, Biddulph LAB 014~15
07 Impromptu 2 – 1925 – Biddulph LHW 020, Pearl 9386, M&A CD-317 / CD-4871
08 Op. 25 No. 1 – 1925 - Biddulph LHW 020, Pearl 9386, M&A CD-317 / CD-4871
09 Waltz Op. 64/2 – 1925 - Biddulph LHW 020, Pearl 9386
10 Berceuse – 1926 - M&A CD-317, CD-4871, Biddulph LHW 020
11 Ballade - 1926 - Biddulph LHW 020, Pearl 9386, M&A CD-717
12 – 18 Preludes 1926 – Naxos
19 – 22 Sonata 3 – 1931 - M&A CD-717, Biddulph LHW 001


CD 02
01 Prelude Op. 28/12 – 1928 - Only available in this set
02 Nocturne – Op 9/2 – 1929 – Naxos 8.111245, Biddulph LHW 001
03 – 06 Sonata 2 – 1933 - Music & Arts CD-717, Biddulph, Brilliant 99228 / 99230
07 Polonaise no. 6 – 1933 – Naxos, Music & Arts CD-717
08 - 11 4 Ballades – 1933 – Biddulph
12 Fantasie – 1933 - Music & Arts CD-717, Naxos 8.111035
13 Tarantelle – 1933 - Toshiba TOCE-6661~65(5 set) / TOCE-7817


CD 03
01 Barcarolle – 1933 - Toshiba TOCE-6661~65(5 set)
02 -25 Etudes – 1933/34 – Naxos, Philips 456 751-2 (GPOTTC)
26 – 29 Waltzes – 1934 – Naxos, TOCE-11199~203(5 set)


CD 04
01 – 03 Concerto 2 – Barbirolli – 1935 - M&A CD-717, Pearl 9491, Naxos 8.110612
04 Impromptu 3 – 1933 - Naxos 8.111023
05- 18 Waltzes (complete) - 1943 - Sirio 530014, Shinseido SGR-8102


CD 05
01 -24 Preludes – 1943 - Philips 456 754-2(GPOTTC), Shinseido SGR-8104
25 – 36 Etudes Op. 10 – 1942 - Shinseido SGR-8103


CD 06
01 -12 Etudes Op. 25 – 1942 - Shinseido SGR-8103
13 – 14 2 Chants Polonais 1939 – Naxos, Biddulph 020, Pearl 9396, M&A CD-662
15 Nocturne No. 4 Op. 15/1 – 1952 – Naxos
16 Nocturne No. 5 Op. 15/2 – 1949 – Naxos
17 Nocturne No. 7 Op. 27/1 – 1952 – Naxos
18 Nocturne No. 15 Op. 55/1 – 1947 - Naxos
19 Nocturne No. 16 Op. 55/2 – 1947 – Naxos
20 -22 3 Nouvelles Etudes – 1949 – Naxos
23 Prelude – Op. 45 – 1950 - Naxos

 

I bought the box last year. But I also bought the 21-CD Gustav Leonhardt Edition box, as the two sets have few overlaps and complement each other well ...

 

London Stereo Treasury STS 15169,released 6/72.recorded in Decca
West Hampstead Studio No. 3,5/17-18/67.producer:Erik Smith.
engineer:Michael Mailes.originally released 1/69.

 

I'm listening to an Erik Smith-produced record right now, too.

Now playing:

• Verdi: Falstaff, commedia lirica in three acts - Leonard Bernstein / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus (chorus master: Roberto Benaglio) [CBS 1967 2CD, currently OOP, Produced by Erik Smith and recorded by Gordon Perry of Decca at the Sofiensaal, Vienna, in 1966, Remixed by John McClure with Larry Keyes, engineer, CD tracked by Kevin Buotote with Martin Greenblatt, engineer — Bernstein at his operatic finest!]
  
  Sir John Falstaff, a fat knight — Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (bar)
  Mistress Quickly — Regina Resnik (mezzo-sop)
  Alice Ford, Ford's wife — Ilva Ligabue (sop)
  Ford, a wealthy man — Rolando Panerai (bar)
  Nannetta, Ford's daughter — Graziella Sciutti (sop)
  Fenton, one of Nannetta's suitors — Juan Oncina (ten)
  Mistress Meg Page — Hilde Rössel-Majdan (sop)
  Dr. Caius — Gerhard Stolze (ten)
  Bardolfo, a follower of Falstaff — Murray Dickie (ten)
  Pistola, a follower of Falstaff — Erich Kunz (bass)

 

The overlaps is in the works recorded, not on the recordings themselves since there were made for different labels. So, no problem! BTW, the recording of Goldberg Variations in the Jubilee Box is the one made for the DHM label and is Leonhardt's best account IMO.

For you Leonhardt fans and in case you are not aware, one if his latest recordings (apart from the ones made on physical media for "Alpha") was made in 2005 for the russian label EMR, and is available only as download. I played it loud this morning and enjoyed it a lot! It contains works mainly by A. Forqueray. It is his third recording with such works; the previous being for SEN/RCA and for SONY.

1. LA SUPERBE.OU LA FORQUERAY. Francois Couperin (1668-1733)
2. ALLEMANDE. LA LABORDE. Antoine Forqueray
3. LA FORQUERAY. Antoine Forqueray
4. LA COTTIN. Antoine Forqueray
5, LA BELLMONT. Antoine Forqueray
6. LA PORTUGAISE. Antoine Forqueray
7. LA COUPERIN. Antoine Forqueray
8. LA MARELLA. Antoine Forqueray
9. SARABANDE. LA D'AUBONNE. Antoine Forqueray
10. LA BOURNOVILLE. Antoine Forqueray
11. LA SAINSCY. Antoine Forqueray
12. LA BUISSON. CHACONNE. Antoine Forqueray
13. LA MONTIGNI. Antoine Forqueray
14. LA SILVA. Antoine Forqueray
15. LA FORQUERAY. Jacques Duphly (1715-1789)


http://theblues-thatjazz.com/en/cla...-forqueray-the-bliss-and-pain-of-baroque.html

 

I've owned that set. Cortot makes more music [and more mistakes] in Chopin's Etudes than any other player I've heard. Great find George, you're gonna love it.

 

I'd never seen that recording before. At first glance it seems kind of an odd cast. How's Fischer-Dieskau?

By the way, I love how you provide the details of these things, in this case right down to the description of Falstaff as "a fat knight."