Classical Corner Classical Music Corner (thread #39)

I just listened to "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" last week. She certainly photographs well.

 

...and sings not too bad either.

 

Tonight's lullabye

Shostakovich
Cello Concertos Nos.1 & 2;
Satires
Mstislav Rostropovich/Galina Vishnevskaya/Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra/David Oistrakh (conductor)
Yedang/Classical Treasures CT-10037

(Review here.)

 

Now finishing up now with 40-41. Krips's Mozart is truly a delight!

Interesting, it's on almost all of my Richter Melodiya CDs, even from different time periods.

 

I alway break up when I hear that chap vocally accompanying Ms Florence Foster Jenkins in in one Gounod Faust item, as he calls out "Margariti..A!...Margarit..ARH!". It is side splitting mirth.

 

You have peaked my interest with this Mravinsky!
What do you recommend of his that is well recorded?

 

Ahhhhh what the hell....I dropped the hammer on this one for $5.48 shipped ULN.

Live recording 1978 figured it'd be a cheap intro to Mravinsky.
Also #2 for the Melodiya label for my collection.

 

I wonder if that guy ever smiled

 

Pressed on finest used floor tiles from Bulgarian train station

The DGG Tchaikovsky 4,5, & 6 are well recorded. I understand that there were two different recordings, mono and stereo, with the Leningrad Philharmonic.



Awesome performances.

I still have this speedmetal performance of Glinka's Russlan and Ludmilla Overture on the original Meloydia LP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMvOLepoBO8

 

An ill wind that nobody blows good

I wonder how many oboe players he shipped off to Siberia.



Makes Toscanini look like a wuss.

 

Hello Bruckner fans:

This was my first LP of Bruckner's Ninth, somewhere around 1970, another $2 budget reissue from back in the day:



This is what the original, European, LP looks like.



Somehow, my memories of this performance were all but obliterated by Furtwängler's famous wartime recording. I returned to the Schuricht/VPO recording thanks to this recently reissued SACD set:




Let's get the bad out of the way real fast. The packaging is nice, but you'll want to get a pair of jewel cases to go along with this purchase—the sleeves for the CDs are designed to scratch the discs. That's no deal breaker for me, but you have been warned.

Otherwise, this is a necessary component of any Bruckner collection. This version of the Vienna Philharmonic is the orchestra of the Solti/Culshaw Ring Cycle, in progress around the time this recording was caught on tape. The orchestra sounds glorious, captured close up, with real edges on the brass sounds and the acoustic halo of the Großer Saal der Musikverein well captured. There's audible hiss, but it's unobtrusive—you may find yourself pulling the level down once you reach the climaxes—this transfer is crankable, but things really get loud. The redbook layer is close enough in SQ to the DSD layer as to make it recommendable to both CD and SACD collectors, another example of the importance of good mastering. If there's noise reduction here, it isn't obvious.

There's a ferocity of emotion in Furtwängler's performance, but the Schuricht recording has a unique ferocity of sound. It's one of the great Bruckner performances and the recording, if not quite up to 'Shaded Dog" standards, is more than up to the task at hand. I can hardly wait to hear Carl Schuricht's take on the apocalyptic 8th symphony.

 

Jim, you can't go really wrong with too many (if not most) of his recordings playing-wise. Just open his credits on AllMusic.com or any other comprehensive site and choose what you want, then there's a chance that that recording will be quite good if not great (of course, you need to find the CD too). The man was obviously a control freak, and when it works it really works.

As for the sound quality, the aforementioned Debussy/Bartok/Stravinsky has a pretty immediate and gripping live sound (of course, plus some audience noises).

And, of course, the DG twofer pictured below (I have the Originals remaster, as well as an old Melodiya vinyl of the Sixth played to death in my childhood) belongs to EVERY serious collection. As has been mentioned a zillion times on a zillion planets in every corner of every classical galaxy, it's the best ever rendition of the Sixth (but other two symphonies are close contenders too). The sound is good for the era.





Note of caution: there's also his earlier mono take on the Fifth and Sixth, I probably have this mono Sixth too (not sure if it's the same recording since it's on a different label), it's very good too and probably could effortlessly make it to the Top 10 of the best Sixths ever (near its top, not bottom). But if you want more refined execution and better sonics, go for the stereo.

EDIT: Robin beat me!

 

Re Schuricht Bruckner 9

Excellent review, I agree with everything. The performance SMOKES!!

 

I probably have his much earlier mono recordings of these pieces. Love the Weber in particular.

 

Thanks for the review, Robin, especially since I was going to ask about this very disc. It's the only SACD from this new series which intrigued me enough to part with my hard-collected pennies these days.

 

For lack of a better word, +1

 

A few thoughts on Bach's Goldberg Variations as I've recently twice been listening to and really enjoying a live performance on CD by Freddie Kempff (unfortunately not commercially available as it came as a freebie with BBC Music Magazine).

A female musical acquaintance of mine attended a performance by the same pianist in London two years ago. He did the entire work with all the repeats in the second half - regrettably I missed the concert, but by most other accounts it was magical, but unbelievably she thought it was one of the most boring concerts she'd ever heard. Well, while I can imagine most of my fellow CMC regulars being shocked by such a philistine attitude, I can sort of see where she was coming from - this work, although I never considered it boring (even when first hearing it played on the harpischord, which isn't exactly my favourite instrument) is definitely an acquired taste, complex and tough to absorb in one sitting. But now, many listens and more than 15 years after my first hearing, I can't get enough of it.

What makes this work so great? Well, in its 75-80 minutes it's an encyclopedia of all that represents the best of Bach (his work in general as well as his keyboard music) and 18th century Baroque music with, like the rest of Bach's extremely wide-ranging music, all its different styles and dance-forms (whether French, Italian or German), and of course his mastery of all kinds of counterpoint, within the supposed constraints of the variation form that posed no limits to Bach's incredible creativity. Every third variation apart from the final Quodlibet explores different aspects of canonical writing at increasing intervals, the kind of challenge Bach so often clearly enjoyed setting himself. But in most cases it's not simply a straight transposition - the theme is inverted, mirrored, turned upside down, freely modulated all while never losing sight of the harmonic contours of the original Aria - this is one of countless examples of Bach achieving the seemingly impossible. But these variations aren't simply intellectual exercises designed to please Bach himself and academicians; on a purely musical level, the beautifully serene theme is one of Bach's best melodies but with just the right level of sophistication to engender a set of variations of this scope, and the depth of emotion is just as vast as in any of his major works, be it the passions, Mass in B minor, the WTC, the best of the Cantatas, concertos etc, from the blissful tranquillity of No.13, the humour of 23, the aching and intense tragedy of the famous "Black Pearl" and in the faster numbers, the virtuosity and athleticism which is just as thrilling as anything in the organ works and Brandenburg concertos. All of this adds up to one of the most spiritually uplifting and deeply rewarding works in the entire keyboard literature.

But unfortunately I don't actually have any studio recordings of the Goldberg Variations - I'm not a great Glenn Gould fan, so which others would you recommend? As alluded to above, I'd like one played on the piano that has the right balance between impeccable technique, articulation, poetry and emotion, one that really lets rip on the more virtuosic variations but not at the expense of profound reflection in the slower ones, and ideally has all the repeats. That would be my dream Goldberg - thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

I have that set, but I haven't paid enough attention to it. To be honest, I've gone a year without playing a Beethoven symphony (intentionally). I'm trying to focus on other parts of my collection and expand it through MOG and otherwise.

 

There is no doubt that Mravinsky was among the best conductors of the 20th c. leading one of the most accomplished orchestras in the world, the Leningrand Philharmonic Orchestra, which now goes by the name Saint Petersburg Philharmonic.

His discography is intimidating and impressive (site has not been updated since 1998)

http://www32.ocn.ne.jp/~yemravinsky/introd.htm

I would suggest to start with Tchaikovsky, the DG set is incredible but might not be to everybody's taste so that would be a good test If you 're going to like his style or not. One of Mravinsky's characteristics is the frequent fluctuation of the tempo and dynamics, but sometimes this approach can appear as a rather loose reading of the musical text.

After Tchaikovsky, I would go to Shostakovich's Symphonies. I personally prefer Kondrashin by a small margin like Shostakovich himself, still, Mravinsky's Shostakovich is among the best.

One last thing, there are tons of live recordings with Mravinsky out there, not all good and not all decently recorded. Before purchasing something with Mravinsky's name on the cover It's better to look around for reviews and more info.

 

I've gone through so many recordings of the Goldbergs, it's pretty much a blur. I'd place Wilhelm Kempff's version at or near the top among piano versions. Lots of color, drawing out lines inaudible in other recordings and displaying Kempff's usual qualities of tone and restraint. Perahia's version is sonically one of the best versions, particularly in the now hard to find SACD. Few quirks in his playing but lots of subtlety. If you like harpsichord there's many options. My favorite was the third studio recording by Gustav Leonhardt. I think it was for SEON. I also like Scott Ross' version for Virgin.

Others will doubtless offer up their favorites.

 

OK - after reading so much I just placed an order for the Bohm Mozart and Mravinsky Tchaikovsky (stereo - I already own the mono).

 

I will second the Kempff, add the first Gould and the Tureck on VAI (there are a few, so I will post an image):




You can read this great survey of the Goldbergs on piano as well: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/NonVocal/Klavier-Goldberg-Part1.htm

Here's his summary:

 

I hear you, I too haven't taken a Beethoven symphony from my shelves for quite a long time (probably except for the Ninth). But if life will force me to leave only one recording per symphony this box set is the one to stay. I love that fluid and transparent nature of the 5th in this set, still it's a true 5th and it hardly lacks any power. Also, it's quite brisk but not forced or rushed at all, it's a truly refreshing take.

BTW, out of curiosity, try to compare the two stereo layers of this SACD (if you have a SACD spinner). It should surprise you.

 

WOW, George who's your avatar? Enquiring minds want to know.