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RebLem

It surprises me how many serious-minded violinists have played and recorded Paganini concertos, which to my ears are trivial and silly. Grumiaux recorded two of them, no. 1 as well; others include Yehudi Menuhin, Henryk Szering and Leonid Kogan. I guess the impulse to show off was too strong for th...

RebLem

I thought you might be interested in what John's friends on FB said about him when I posted the announcement. Some of the people there are also posters here. I am not the only one.

https://www.facebook.com/john.brosseau.75

RebLem

On Saturday, 12 JAN 2019, I listened to 2 CDs. 　　 1. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957): |Tr. 1-3. Symphony 5 in E Flat Major, Op. 82 (30'24) |Tr. 4-7. Symphony 6 in D Minor, Op. 104 (28'53)--Paavo Berglund, cond., Helsinki Philharmonic Orch. Rec. Helsinki Culture Hall, 18-19 DEC 1986 (#5), MAY, 1986 (#6)...

RebLem

I just saw this a few minutes ago. I am shocked beyond words that I, born in 1942, have survived him. I also announced his death on his FB page, and referenced this thread for the benefit of his other FB friends who are not members of CMG.

RebLem

I think barney alluded to the reason I think Bernstein was so popular in 2018--it was the centenary of his birth. I don't think he deserves a place in the top 10, or even the top 20, but perhaps does belong in the top 50. Just off the top of my head, I think my top 20 composers are, more or less chr...

RebLem

Until the 1970s, the sound culture was easily transmitted as most members studied with a Philharmonic player at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna before joining the orchestra. But in recent years, recruitment has become less and less local. The presence of family dynasties has also...

RebLem

I don't know whether your community is representative of Arkansas or not, but I recall way back in the '60's when I was in college talking with a young instructor at my college (Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, MO) who said he had taught in a small, dying town in Arkansas for 5 years. He left ...

RebLem

On New Years Day, 2019, I listened to 2 CDs. 　　 1. CD 5 of a 5 CD SONY set "Robert Casadesus plays Mozart." |Tr. 1-3. Concerto for two pianos & orchestra in E Flat Major, K. 365 (316a) (23'07)--Robert & Gaby Casadesus, duo pianists, Eugene Ormandy, cond., The Philadelphia Orch.--rec. Manhattan Ce...

RebLem

On New Years Eve, 2018, I listened to 5 CDs, and wrote about them in a WORDPAD document, as is my regular practice. I spent hours writing it, and then, I went over all of it to copy it, so I could post it, first on my FB page and then on the two classical music sites where I post all my listening ...

RebLem

"Both Louis C.K. and Mr. Gatti returned to public engagements only months after facing allegations, she added: “The question is when is the penance long enough?” Although Louis C.K. lost his own TV show, he is still listed as the producer of Pamela Adlon's show BETTER THINGS, one of my favorites, a...

RebLem

On Sunday, 30 DEC 2018, I listened to 5 CDs: 1) Tahra 188, CD 4 of 5 in a set titled "Hommage a Hermann Scherchen", featuring performances led by said conductor. |Tr. 1. Hector Berlioz (1803-69): Les Troyens a Carthage: Ballet from Act 1 (8'37)--Paris Conservatory Orch., May, 1952. |Tr. 2. Giuseppe...

RebLem

We have choral groups of gay men all over the place, but I know of no lesbian choirs. Have I missed something, or is it true? If it is, and you can figure out why, I think we will be closer to answering the question in the first post in this thread.

RebLem

I have recently gone through 956 new possible subscribers to CMG. it is unfortunate that the overwhelming number of them, in checking their ISPs, are fake, or are those who want to sell a trip to Hawaii or elsewhere or some "spectacular" product they are offering. I have been keen to keep these out...

RebLem

I have the Paul Lewis set of the piano sonatas. It is good, but far from best. OTOH, I have never been as enamoured of Artur Schnabel as most other classical music lovers. My pick for the sonatas, if you're having only one set, is Annie Fischer's.

RebLem

I think the list is filled mostly with mediocrities. I agree with a few--Klemperer in Fidelio and the Missa Solemnis, Szell in the Pastoral, and Carlos Kleiber in the 5th & 7th.

RebLem

Only four Christian religious traditions go beyond mere hymn singing and have fostered more complex music in longer forms: 1) Catholicism, 2) Eastern Orthodoxy, especially Russian Orthodoxy, 3) Lutheranism, and 4) Anglicanism. I have often disagreed with Belle here, especially her cultish and nearly...

RebLem

On Wednesday, December 19, 2018, I only had time to listen to 1--count them, 1 CD. And it was a short one, too, only 33'47 long-- 　 Mussorgsky-Stokowski: Tr. 1-8. Pictures at an Exhibition (27'11) |Tr. 9. Debussy: La Cathedrale engloutie (The Submerged Cathedral) (Preludes, Book 1: #10 of 12, orch...

RebLem

Gary Graffman recorded all three Tchaikovsky piano concerti.

RebLem

On Sunday, 16 DEC 2018, I listened to the following: 　 1) CD 4 of a 6 CD Chandos set of the complete orchestral works of Frank Bridge (1879-1941). Tr. 1. Rebus, H 191 (1940), Overture for orchestra (10'44) |Tr. 2. Ovation (Concerto elegiaco), H. 180 (1929-30) for solo cello & orchestra (29'17) |Tr...

RebLem

On Saturday, December 15, 2018, I listened to the following: 　 1) CD 7 of 10 containing the complete works of Arcangelo Corelli (1655-1715): Sonatas for vioin and cello with cembalo, Op. 5, #s 1-6 (Rome, 1700) (63'34)--Brilliant Classics. Remy Baudet, violin, Jaap ter Linden, cello, Mike Fentross,...

RebLem

On Friday, 14 DEC 2018, I listened to the following: 　 1. Tahra 187, CD 3 of a set of 5. Hermann Scherchen, cond. a) J.S. Bach: Prelude & Fugue in E Flat Major (17'56)--Orchester des Hessischen Rundfunks, 2 FEB 1960. b) Arnold Schoenberg: Symphonie de Chambre 1, Op. 9 (20'51), Orchestre de la Radi...

RebLem

I agree that Dorati is an underrated conductor--one of my favorites is his Bartok Bluebeard's Castle. I like Dorati's Haydn, too, but my favorite Haydn symphony recordings are the partial set by Sigiswald Kuijken and the La Letite Bande Orchestra. He recorded Symphonies 26, 52, 53, and 82-104 + the ...

RebLem

I saw it, too, and he has an inspiring story, including a number of good, ordinary people who just refused to give up on him.

RebLem

I already bought the symphonies, this offering is just abusive. I'm not going to fall for it.

RebLem

Here's my baker's dozen: Handel, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Dvorak, Verdi, Strauss, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich. Six more to make it 20: Schubert, Berlioz, Wagner, Puccini, Britten, and Copland.

RebLem

If you want books that describe composers, their styles, and some of their major compositions, in my opinion you can't beat two books by David Ewen: The Complete Book of Classical Music, and The World of Twentieth Century Music.

RebLem

On Sunday, November 2, 2018, I listened to two CDs. 　 1. Frank Bridge (1879-1941): CD 3 of 6 in a set titled "Bridge Orchestral Works." |Tr. 1. Coronation March, H97 (1911) (6'19) (world premiere recording) |Tr. 2. Summer, H 116 (1915) (10'42) |Tr. 3. Phantasm for piano and orchestra, H 182 (1931)...

RebLem

I am waiting for someone to publish a 2 volume set--one with all the original works, and the other with all the adaptations, piano reductions, paraphrases, and other derivative works. I am really only interested in the former.

RebLem

And also why perch, which used to be a common fish, is no longer available anywhere. Are they extinct? Completely fished out?

RebLem

One of my favorite Strauss issues is a Virgin Classics twofer which includes a performance of the Oboe Concerto by the redoubtable Ray Still along with The Academy of London conducted by Richard Stamp, which occupies the first 24'19" of CD 2. On CD 1 is the same ensemble and conductor in nine songs ...

RebLem

Alicia de Larrocha's cycle of the Mozart piano sonatas are among my favorites.

I own the following sets, listed alphabetically: Eschenbach, Gieseking, Kraus, Larrocha, Uchida, and Wurtz.
I like Gieseking best for structure, Larrocha best for details and ornamentation and phrasing.

RebLem

Today, 20 October 2018, is the 76th anniversary of the death of Frederick August Stock, who was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1905 until his death on this date in 1942, five days before my own birth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Stock

RebLem

I remember him from his many appearances on the Jack Paar show. Len Yes, believe it or not, I have some of those that were released on a DVD set of the best of Jack Paar. Levant was a real character, and a fine musician, but he made such a spectacle of himself that the concert-going public never to...

RebLem

For one thing, perhaps they could make CD or DVD recordings of their operas. The Grant Park Orchestra, which is regularly recorded by Cedille Records in Chicago, is, I understand, a summer orchestra consisting largely of Lyric Opera musicians. Perhaps they could record Lyric Opera productions, too, ...

RebLem

My concerns are with that family's safety, particularly those 2 girls who are very likely to be subjected to bullying at school. Just dreadful. I know about these things because of my son's high level political job. Apparently, you are unconcerned for Dr. Ford's safety, who is living in hiding, hav...

RebLem

The only one I recognize is Rev. William Barber II, a major contemporary civil rights leader in North Carolina, and founder of the "Moral Mondays" movement. They have engaged in all sorts of civil rights activities centered around opposing racially motivated gerrymandering and purging of voter lists...

RebLem

Maybe so, but he still bailed out of the Thirteenth Symphony, and that apparently caused a substantial break in relations between Shostakovich and Mravinsky. I think that probably had more to do with political cowardice that anti-Semitism. After all, Mravinsky was one of the few Soviet artists who ...

RebLem

Watch out with respect to earlier Soviet recordings of the Thirteenth Symphony. Because of government pressures, the text in the first movement ("Babi Yar") was changed to soften the emphasis on anti-Semitism after the original premiere. Quite so, but Shostakovich authorized both versions, and his ...

RebLem

I have individual symphonies by Shostakovich. I note a number of complete recordings of the symphonies have been issued. The symphonies are not a top priority for me, but if one was looking to get a complete set, what's the recommendation? I recommend the Oleg Caetani set if you're only going to ha...

RebLem

I have a four CD Philips box of the Beethoven Violin Sonatas by Oistrakh and Oborin. 486 406-2, recorded in Paris 1962. https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Violin-Sonatas-4-CDs/dp/B0015RZMR8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538627337&sr=8-1&keywords=Beethoven+violin+sonatas%2C+Oistrakh%2C+Oborin&dpID=51wGyF1bj...

RebLem

I love the Babi Yar symphony just as you do, Barney, and your review was one of the strongest and most poetic I have read. KUDOS for that. But I do not share your slighting of the Prokofiev Sinfonietta. You should know that that work is more popular in Chicago than in many places because Dieter Kobe...

RebLem

Here's an excellent, and not at all eccentric, to my ears, at any rate, recording of the Dvorak New World Symphony with the Munich Phil from 1991.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9RT2nHD6CQ

RebLem

Yiddish in an opera about the Spanish Inquisition? I could see Ladino, but Yiddish? Really? Yiddish is the language of Ashkenazy Jews. Ladino is the language of Sephardic Jews.

RebLem

I doubt that Trump has any problem sleeping at all. The problem he has is staying awake. (I would not be surprised if it were eventually discovered that he was on pills prescribed by physicians he pays off not to tattle on him.) He always sniffles in his speeches like someone who is snorting someth...

RebLem

A few random thoughts. Most movie scores, I agree. But some exceptions manifest themselves to me, including any films where the music was composed by George Gershwin, Sergei Prokofiev, or Miklos Rozsa. Also, the film Scott of the Antarctic, whose music was composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and fro...

RebLem

Reb, you said: "Oh, oh! I checked at Amazon, and found this Australian Eloquence CD is now available there. Its coupled with the Tragic Overture. If you don't have it, jump on it! Its far better than Bohm's very good remake of all 4 with the VPO, and all three customer reviews give it 5 stars, as I...

RebLem

I bought many an item from Buywell, especially the Australian Universal Eloquence CDs. Now those CDs have become more available through England and other gateways. I used to correspond with the original owner of Buywell who ultimately sold it off to someone else. It has been awhile since I've dealt...

RebLem

I bought many an item from Buywell, especially the Australian Universal Eloquence CDs. Now those CDs have become more available through England and other gateways. I used to correspond with the original owner of Buywell who ultimately sold it off to someone else. It has been awhile since I've dealt...

RebLem

I get the same thing, and I'm in Australia. I wonder if their domain name lapsed and they failed to renew, and the Canadian firm bought it? Pure speculation. Or they may indeed have gone under. Ohhhh, I hope not! Let me know if you find out any more information. Perhaps it has just been renamed? I ...

RebLem

I can't access Buywell Australia anymore. I Google Buywell, and it still shows up, but I enter it as an address and it shows me a new Canadian site for health care products. Is it still in operation? Have they gone dark outside Australia?

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