The Classical Music Guide Forums

maestrob

Fascinating publicity, Len, thanks. I'm glad that Gerstein is getting the attention, and that Komitas is also receiving his due. I must also admit that I had never heard of that composer either.

maestrob

Have to tell you, this new DGG "Rachmaninoff for Two" is overpowering. Had had a chance to audition both discs. These two pianists work together superbly, a perfect match for performers. For Rachmaninoffians, this must surely be a must-have release. Sure thing! My copy just arrived. Thanks for the ...

maestrob

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71lVa-vLynL._AC_UY327_FMwebp_QL65_.jpg Haochin Zhang's 2022 youtube video (posted earlier) was obviously the inspiration behind this recording. Here we have Zhang's trademark virtuosity, yet he never sacrifices the poetic element in Liszt harmonic writing. This m...

maestrob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AkoZTThzRs

A rare treat! Enjoy!

maestrob

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/29/world/americas/cuba-economy-communism-capitalism.html?unlocked_article_code=1.oE0.3bgx.oNcBIkbfWiZ-&smid=url-share Could Cuba go the way of Vietnam? Free article above. Cuba’s Communist revolution took aim at private businesses, making them largely illegal. Today,...

maestrob

Goodness, Lance, lots of wonderful material in that list. I've got some catching up to do!

My go to version of the Kindertotenlieder would be Christa Ludwig/HvK, with a very close second from Dame Janet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7tBocjEYnc

maestrob

Lance, the golden age of recognizing conductors by their style is long past, at least for me. Growing up, I was happy to follow Stokowski & Toscanini, for example, as they both had distinctive sounds when leading an orchestra. Ormandy and Solti also had a more subtle uniqueness to their concerts and...

maestrob

Yes, I've just picked up a sampler called 'The Reiner Sound' simply because they're recordings I didn't have. It's all from the 1950s in remarkably good sound and, of course, marvellous performances. RCA really did get the jump on their competition by recording in stereo beginning in 1954. Some glo...

maestrob

Thursday’s Supreme Court hearing was memorable for its discussion of coups, assassinations and internments — but very little about the former president’s conduct. By Adam Liptak Reporting from Washington April 26, 2024 Updated 12:01 p.m. ET Before the Supreme Court heard arguments on Thursday on fo...

maestrob

The tire maker vowed to ensure that none of its workers would struggle to make ends meet. By Liz Alderman Liz Alderman, who writes about economic and inequality trends in Europe, reported from Paris. April 26, 2024 Updated 11:00 a.m. ET When the French tire maker Michelin closed its factories durin...

maestrob

Yunchan Lim takes on the Beethoven PC # 4 Nov.15,2023 with Munich Phil.,Myung-Whun Chung conductor, Nov.15,2023 in Munich, and he handles the challenges quite well.I especially liked the first mov. cadenza and final mov., but a fine performance throughout belying his age. What message did Chung giv...

maestrob

When Rogelio Villarreal bought rose-gold earrings for a price that the luxury retailer said was a mistake, he looked to a Mexican consumer protection law. By Emily Schmall April 26, 2024, 9:03 a.m. ET Rogelio Villarreal knew nothing about the French jeweler Cartier, he said, when an ad popped up on...

maestrob

Reminiscent of college campuses in the late sixties early seventies. The more disgraced war-monger old-farts like Greg Abbott and Mike Johnson try to quash student protests, the more there will be for them to deal with, like playing Whack-A-Mole. Yes, and imagine what the Dem convention in Chicago ...

maestrob

With missiles, submarines and alliances, the Biden administration has built a presence in the region to rein in Beijing’s expansionist goals. Extensive article here with graphics. Long but rewarding read: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/04/26/us/politics/us-china-military-bases-weapons.htm...

maestrob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlaAxF00a4k

George Szell was a master with Dvorak's late symphonies. Here he is live in 1966 with his Cleveland Orchestra in a performance that was recorded around the time of his well-known commercial recording released on Epic's yellow label.

Enjoy!

maestrob

Vaclav Neumann conducts Czech Philharmonic and Dvorak's Symphony 7. A wonderful work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkVFq1I7sik I grew up with George Szell's inspired readings of Dvorak's final three symphonies. Neumann actually recorded the cycle twice, first in analog stereo and then in digital...

maestrob

jserraglio wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 25, 2024 11:06 am

maestrob wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 25, 2024 10:44 am
Can it be that the adults in the room have finally found a spine?
Yes, but it’s not their spine they found, it’s their Johnson.

maestrob

Can it be that the adults in the room have finally found a spine?

maestrob

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81kfQ83ylqL._SX425_.jpg Katharine Dain's new album has finally brought this great recitalist to my attention. She floats, she soars, in the longest lines possible, injecting her sensitive and profound style into early XXth century songs by Lili Boulanger, Bacewic...

maestrob

April 23, 2024 By John McWhorter Opinion Writer Last Thursday, in the music humanities class I teach at Columbia University, two students were giving an in-class presentation on the composer John Cage. His most famous piece is “4'33",” which directs us to listen in silence to surrounding noise for e...

maestrob

Manufacturers like BYD, Tesla and Li Auto are cutting prices to move their electric cars. For gasoline-powered vehicles, the surplus of factories is even worse. By Keith Bradsher Reporting from Chongqing, China April 23, 2024 On the outskirts of Chongqing, western China’s largest city, sits a huge ...

maestrob

April 24, 2024, 5:02 a.m. ET By Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann Ms. Murray and Mr. Weissmann are co-authors of “The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents With Commentary.” The Supreme Court’s decision to hear oral arguments in Donald Trump’s immunity-appeal case on Thursday may appe...

maestrob

How do you police such a deal if it is made exclusive? I should think this would create enormous ill-will for Costco.

Keep things as they are.

maestrob

Excellent analysis, Barney. Thanks for posting. Joe Biden has made an enormous contribution to maintaining the world order, in spite of opposition from Republicans here. The facts speak for themselves. As for paying for it all, well, $100 billion compared to an economy of $26 trillion is surely a sm...

maestrob

Congratulations, Mark! I'm marking our calendar now. Barring foul weather, we'll be there.

maestrob

Cristina Ortiz (1950 - ) is featured in this piece, part of a 2 record set of the complete works of Mendelssohn for piano and orchestra. As in her previous appearances on this channel, she plays beautifully. The Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart under Moshe Atzmon also provides an excellent performa...

maestrob

Goodness, Lance, when DO you find the time to listen to all those? :wink: I also love Mendelssohn's piano music, especially his concertos, but have only two recordings, Perahia & Cristina Ortiz. Believe it or not, I love the sparkly in Ortiz's playing: she seems to have downloaded Mendelssohn's spir...

maestrob

These are indeed old favorites. Toscanini did perform a Brahms cycle with the Philharmonia Orchestra in the summer of 1952. For some strange reason they were marketed for decades on pirate labels and eagerly sought after by yours truly. I picked up a set of CDs in the early 1990s, and have loved the...

maestrob

Don't 'tremble'; enjoy every single minute, especially with music. It's our motto for every single day and and it works a treat. New intellectual pursuits, music and great films and lots of fabulous books. The occasional trip thrown in for good measure and after that a few decent friends who are st...

maestrob

Rach3 wrote: ↑
Sun Apr 21, 2024 5:19 pm
Kondrashin’s 1961 recording with Moscow Phil. fine,too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FYItK8JS4Q

Yes,I grew up with that one on blue label Melodiya LPS. Now I have it as part of his complete cycle issued on cds briefly about 15 years ago.

maestrob

An interesting new find with pianist Severin von Eckardstein . His extraordinary realization of the epic Sonata " Ballada" , Op.27 by Nikolai Medtner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Df-0z0EtHA&list=PL_qnZP9dy-CY5MV2TCwRRBkhIyfweU6uu&index=29 (Mov.1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI5fArOtV34 (Mo...

maestrob

Drug parcels kept showing up on beaches along Australia’s shoreline. Now, the police say they found the man behind the botched shipment. By Yan Zhuang April 18, 2024 It started with one package, plastic-wrapped and barnacle-encrusted, discovered on a secluded beach in New South Wales, Australia, on...

maestrob

I have many of his recordings. Very fine. R. I. P.

maestrob

A searing performance recorded by the BBC live in concert in London in 1960. Excellent stereo sound. Not to be missed. Mravinsky's best recorded performance by far. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GK2NPgHzK0 "Symphony No 8" op.65 by Dmitri Shostakovich I. Adagio - Allegro non troppo - Adagio II. Al...

maestrob

Novo Nordisk’s factories work nonstop turning out Ozempic and Wegovy, its blockbuster weight-loss drugs, but the Danish company has far bigger ambitions. Read full article here with no paywall: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/20/business/ozempic-novo-nordisk-wegovy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.l00....

maestrob

Febnyc wrote: ↑
Thu Apr 18, 2024 1:41 pm
Yes, indeed. So much lovely music of Bowen's has made it to CD. Thanks for the reminder.

(But, your first link appears to be off the subject. )

Quite right!

Please see the corrected post above with Ridout's live performance from Wigmore Hall.

maestrob

Bernard Hermann's "The Planets" I do not own. How does his compare with so many others? Ones I have including Karajan [2] (I thought excellent), Bernstein, Stokowski, various ones with Boult, one conducted by Holst, Levine, Mehta, C. Davis, Steinberg, Sargent, Maazel, Ormandy, Barbirolli (live exce...

maestrob

April 18, 2024 By David Brooks Opinion Columnist Hilary Cass is the kind of hero the world needs today. She has entered one of the most toxic debates in our culture: how the medical community should respond to the growing numbers of young people who seek gender transition through medical treatments,...

maestrob

Restaurants here in the Big Apple have indeed slowed down considerably due to huge price increases since the pandemic. We used to go out to dinner at a favorite neighborhood haunt for about $110 or a bit more in 2020 several times a month. While that place closed down and never reopened when the pan...

maestrob

A long read, but well worth the effort. Kristof makes a compelling argument for his POV. FREE at the link below.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/opin ... =url-share

maestrob

Sonata No. 1, Op. 18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uuIgByoZSI York Bowen (1884-1961) contributed several works for Viola, notably 2 sonatas and a Concerto, all dedicated to english violist Lionel Tertis (1876-1975) known as “father of the viola” and revolutionized viola playing as we know it toda...

maestrob

Indeed, these are wonderful songs - and fortunately there are quite a good number of recordings out. I favor those with Kiri Te Kanawa (Decca), Victoria de los Angeles (EMI/Warner), Veronique Gens (Naxos), Arlene Auger (Virgin), Kate Royal (EMI), Jill Gomez (EMI), Frederica von Stade (Sony or Orfeo...

maestrob

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51XaLXLuSpL._SX425_.jpg This rarity by Claudio Abbado and the Boston Symphony Orchestra was recorded by DGG in 1974. I say rarity because it is now only available as a used CD on Amazon, even though it is deservedly graced with a perfect 5-star rating there, and ...

maestrob

97,217 views Apr 3, 2014 Chants d'Auvergne: 1st series (1923-30): I. La pastoura als camps 00:00 II. Baïlèro 02:48 III. L'aio de rotso 08:02 IV. Ound'onoren gorda? 11:07 V. Obal, din lou limouzi 13:41 Canteloube, Joseph (1879-1957) -composer Véronique Gens -soprano Jean-Claude Casadesus -conductor L...

maestrob

May I recommend this recital CD that includes the Biblical Songs by the great Czech soprano Gabriela Benackova? Rudolf Firkusny is the pianist, so who could ask for a more authentic team of great artists?

maestrob

david johnson wrote: ↑
Wed Apr 17, 2024 6:49 am
Thanks, guys. I just could not remember.

Hi, David.

It should be noted also that Markevitch recorded an outstanding Beethoven cycle in the mid-1950s with the Lamoruex orchestra, almost complete (minus the Fourth).

maestrob

Feral cats take a heavy toll on the world’s wildlife, especially Down Under. The solution? Smarter traps, sharpshooters, survival camp for prey species, and the “Felixer.” Read the full article with many photos free at the link below: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/16/science/australia-wildlife-ca...

maestrob

I bought his Sibelius cycle on a reviewer's recommendation, but found it disappointing, frankly. Haven't kept up with him. There's only so much room on my shelves, eh?

maestrob

Totally agree here, Lance! Podles was a force of nature! We saw her in her MET debut paired with Marilyn Horne in Handel's "Rinaldo," a lovely farce. She was a fine partner for Horne, and she blew my mind with her stunningly accurate coloratura just when I was studying vocal technique and had become...

maestrob

I look forward to reading this whenever my March issue of Gramophone arrives.

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