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moldyoldie

Beethoven:
Quartet in C major, Op. 59 No. 3 "Rasumovsky"
Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131
Alban Berg Quartet
EMI (disc# 6 of 7)
What a fabulous bargain is this box set!

moldyoldie

I've seen Taking Sides twice. The script is slanted and the characters are somewhat two-dimensional, but the subject matter itself makes the film worth seeing. I do think the filmmakers had a good understanding of it, even if certain liberties might have been taken with the actual events depicted fo...

moldyoldie

Favorites for No. 1 : Curzon/Szell/Cleveland O/Decca (lighter and more nimble) Schiff/Solti/Vienna PO/London (more powerful) Barenboim/Barbirolli/New Philharmonia/EMI (most bombastic) Favorites for No. 2 : Gilels/Jochum/Berlin PO/DG (nearly brought tears to my eyes) Cliburn/Reiner/Chicago SO/RCA (d...

moldyoldie

Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2 . . . I have come to love Bartók's Violin Concerto , no matter who performs it. . . . Such is the indomitable genius of this work. I remember when I first heard the concerto several months ago, the first thing that popped into my head was John Coltrane. Silly, I know, ...

moldyoldie

Should I avoid mono recordings? Why/why not? Goodness gracious, NO! Why? Because mono/stereo is a function of prevailing technology, not an artistic one. You'd never hear the likes of Furtwängler and Toscanini! The history of fine musical performance wouldn't exist for you, and you'd be the poorer ...

moldyoldie

Do you have a favorite classical music critic?

No, I'll read anyone and everyone.

moldyoldie

Or...

You can do as I did and work backward from a piece or period you really like to see how it evolved. It's like reading the last chapter of a book and then starting at the beginning, something I've done often.

moldyoldie

An Amazon Listmania: Chamber music of Johannes Brahms

moldyoldie

Another thing about searching on Amazon -- it does NOT forgive misspelling!

moldyoldie

Piano Trios - Trio Fontenay/Teldec or Stern-Rose-Istomin/Sony Piano Quartets - Stern-Laredo-Ma-Ax/Sony Piano Quintet - Guarneri Quartet & Rubinsten/RCA String Quartets - Alban Berg Quartet/Teldec String Quintets - Leipzig String Quartet & Rohde/MDG (Avoid Julliard Quartet & Trampler/Sony budget rel...

moldyoldie

Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2; Rhapsodies for Violin & Orchestra Nos. 1 & 2 Gil Shaham, violin Chicago Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez, cond. Deutsche Grammophon I have come to love Bartók's Violin Concerto , no matter who performs it. It has entered that rarified personal pantheon of works which ...

moldyoldie

(Fade up to flashback...) http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AMPAA47AL._AA240_.jpg Brahms: String Quintet No. 1, Op. 88; String Quintet No. 2, Op. 111 Julliard String Quartet & Walter Trampler, viola Sony Dear Herr Brahms, This CD was my introduction to your chamber music several months ago, ba...

moldyoldie

Bizet: Carmen Suites Nos. 1 & 2 (arranged in dramatic chronological order); L'Arlesienne Suites Nos. 1 & 2 Ulster Orchestra Yan Pascal Tortelier, cond. Chandos The music is a perennial favorite, the performances are very lively and committed, and the beautiful recording is spacious, warm and vivid;...

moldyoldie

On a virgin voyage with... Grieg: String Quartet in G minor, Op.27 Nielsen: Ved en ung Kunstners Baare (At the Bier of a Young Artist), Op. 58 Sibelius: String Quartet in D minor, Op. 56 "Voces Intimae" Emerson String Quartet Deutsche Grammophon The disc won a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performan...

moldyoldie

Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60 Janáček: Rhapsody for Orchestra "Taras Bulba" The Cleveland Orchestra Christoph von Dohnányi, cond. London For what it's worth, this is the only recording of both these works I've ever owned. I suppose one can imagine more Slavic flavor here in the Dvořák N...

moldyoldie

Brahms: Academic Festival Overture Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Leonard Slatkin, cond Brahms: Symphony No. 1 Chicago Symphony Orchestra James Levine, cond. Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn Philadelphia Orchestra Eugene Ormandy, cond RCA This is one of those budget "Basic 100" CDs released b...

moldyoldie

Let me just add that of the four recordings of Mahler No. 5 I've collected over time, Barshai's is the most lucid of the bunch. I wish I had heard his first of all.

moldyoldie

Schubert: Rosamunde Overture (D.644) * Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 Emmy Loose, soprano (in Mahler No. 4 ) Philharmonia Orchestra Royal Philharmonic Orchestra* Paul Kletzki, cond. EMI This is Disc #2 of an EMI Gemini Series two-fer with Disc #1 comprising Mahler...

moldyoldie

Does anyone here recommend the Bernstein 8th and 9th of Schubert? Yes, it was one of my recommendations in my earlier post on page 1, mainly because of the performance/recording/price comparison. Know that it's a more expansive rendition (more drawn out in tempo) than the George Szell version of si...

moldyoldie

Brendan wrote:Damn. The Amazon blurb says it has both trios.

I think by two-fer, Corlyss meant two CDs in a single-width jewelcase for about the price of one.

moldyoldie

Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 Keith Jarrett, piano ECM Inspired by Bach, composed in 1950, and performed with both panache and understanding by noted jazz master Jarrett in a marvelous recording -- love it! I'm a big Keith Jarrett fan. When did he record this? How does it compare to ...

moldyoldie

Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87
Keith Jarrett, piano
ECM
Inspired by Bach, composed in 1950, and performed with both panache and understanding by noted jazz master Jarrett in a marvelous recording -- love it!

moldyoldie

What Schubert pieces/CD's do you recommend? Begin with the chamber works: -String Quintet in C -Piano Quintet in A major "Trout" -String Quartet No. 14 "Death and the Maiden" -Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat A fine bargain is the 3-CD set of Schubert's Late Quartets and Quintet in C performed by the Eme...

moldyoldie

Schubert: String Quintet in C The Lindsays & Douglas Cummings, cello ASV Certainly an expansive, understated, and more-than-somewhat imprecise reading, but I especially love their over seventeen-minute adagio second movement...hushed and ethereal! I feel the same way about the Lindsays Schubert, ex...

moldyoldie

I'll always have a soft spot for Ozawa's first recording of Orff's Carmina Burana , with the BSO on RCA. I like to say that it sounds more a paean to Venus as opposed to Bacchus with Ozawa and the soloists presenting a meltingly beautiful rendering of the usually raucous and rakish music -- totally ...

moldyoldie

My 2¢...introduce yourself to the Brahms symphonies via the lean & mean, relentless, and orchestrally precise performances of George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. Perhaps complement that with the aforementioned Klemperer set, whose impeccable sense of orchestral balance and musical architecture...

moldyoldie

J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1 - 6 The English Concert Trevor Pinnock, cond. Archiv Pinnock and the English Concert manage to imbue these popular pieces with both originality and good taste on period instruments. Other ensembles might throw all caution to the wind in striving for a sort of...

moldyoldie

rogch wrote:....Prokofiev's fifth? ....Does anyone know if Lorin Maazel has recorded it?

Yes, with the Cleveland Orchestra in the late '70s. It's included on this seemingly attractive Prokofiev compilation from DG.

moldyoldie

the superscriptions to the five movements of the Vaughan Williams Sinfonia antartica 'delivered' as part of the performance. Are you serious? Someone actually did that? John Gielgud read these superscriptions on the first recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Sinfonia antartica , which Sir Adrian Bo...

moldyoldie

Might I suggest the music of Camille Saint-Saëns ? It's so derivative of much that came before it, but there's absolutely nothing not to like. I'm not talking about his Carnival of the Animals , but his concertos and symphonies. The most well-worn is probably his Symphony No. 3 , the so-called "Orga...

moldyoldie

The most marvelous doze to music I remember was to Stockhausen's Stimmung.

moldyoldie

Brahms Piano concerto No.2 Performed by Barenboim, great reading, loved his playing. I just ordered that a couple days ago! :) The EMI Gemini two-fer with Barbirolli conducting. Currently listening to... Schubert: String Quintet in C The Lindsays & Douglas Cummings, cello ASV Certainly an expansive...

moldyoldie

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VJV44QEYL._AA240_.jpg http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/411S85BY45L._AA240_.jpg Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor Schubert: Rondo in A for Violin and Strings Nigel Kennedy, violin English Chamber Orchestra Jef...

moldyoldie

Another very fine, though perhaps alternative version of Scheherazade is found in the early '90s Denon release featuring Emmanuel Krivine and the Philharmonia Orchestra . Jean-Jacques Kantorow is the violinist. I played it just two days ago and was thoroughly taken by the understated and dramatic pe...

moldyoldie

Over the weekend, it's been... Ravel: Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano Debussy: Trio in G Fauré: Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello Trio Fontenay Teldec Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1; Piano Trio No. 2 Haydn: Piano Trio, Hob. XV:10 Isaac Stern, violin; Leonard Rose, cello; Eugene Istomin Mozart: Piano Q...

moldyoldie

Mark Preece wrote:I find it interesting that nobody has mentioned anything about Abbado, positive or negative.

I'll take care of that right now. Abbado's first DG recording of Mahler's Ninth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic sent me where I've never been before!

moldyoldie

So far this morning.... Mozart: String Quartet No. 21 in D major, K.575; String Quartet No. 22 in B-flat major, K.589; String Quartet No. 23 in F major, K.590 Alban Berg Quartet Teldec Mozart: String Quintet in D major, K.593; String Quintet in B major, K.614 Talich Quartet and Karel Rehak, viola Ca...

moldyoldie

Saint-Saëns was a man after my own heart, jack of all trades and master of none.

As I've written elsewhere, I'm really enjoying his concertos, which seem to be derivative of most of the major influences at the time...maybe even that popular Irish stage show Lord of the Ants. (Sorry.)

moldyoldie

Chalkperson wrote:....if there is one piece of music I could live without, it would have to be Eine, Kleine, Nachtmusic...

or Rondo Alla Turka...

I feel the same way about The Four Seasons, or anything by Telemann.

moldyoldie

So far this evening, it's been... Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 1; Piano Concerto No. 2; Piano Concerto No. 4 Jean-Philippe Collard, piano Royal Philharmonic Orchestra André Previn, cond. EMI I hesitate to call this "ersatz romantic", but I hear shades of Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, and even a li...

moldyoldie

In the last twenty-four hours... Debussy: La Mer; Nocturnes; Prelude a l'Apres-Midi d'un Faune; Marche Ecossaise; Berceuse Heroique; Musiques pour Le Roi Lear; Jeux; Images for Orchestra; Printemps Orchestre National de l'O.R.T.F. Jean Martinon, cond. EMI (Gemini Series) This has to be one of the gr...

moldyoldie

Taking another chance on period instruments... Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2; String Quintet No. 1; String Quintet No. 2; Octet for Strings Hausmusik London Virgin Veritas This was a top recommendation in the Penguin Guide . For a 2-CD set under $8 new at Amazon, it was worth the risk. I've been...

moldyoldie

This morning... Debussy: La Mer; Nocturnes Philharmonia Orchestra Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. CBS Masterworks This is one very portentous and powerful sea! Of the several recordings I've heard, this is the only one that has the cymbal, probably spotlit miked, almost drown the orchestra during the c...

moldyoldie

On the player right now...

Beethoven: Symphony No. 1; Symphony No.3 "Eroica"
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Herbert von Karajan, cond. ('63)
Deutsche Grammophon

moldyoldie

A fine CBS super-budget disc with: Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 Yo-Yo Ma, cello Orchestre National de France Lorin Maazel, cond. Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 Cecile Licad, piano London Philharmonic Orchestra André Previn, cond. Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3 Cho-Liang Lin, violin Philh...

moldyoldie

Modern academia can't seem to make up its mind as to whether the "Great C Major" Symphony is Schubert's No. 9, No. 8, or No. 7.

In recent years, I've seen it labeled variously as all three; e.g., as No. 8 on Harnoncourt's release.

moldyoldie

TheFlayinDutchmn wrote:Any more suggestions on more jazz-influcenced classical music?

Music from The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) by Kurt Weill

Rhapsody In Blue by George Gershwin (Quintessential!)

moldyoldie

Stravinsky: Petrushka; Symphony in Three Movements London Symphony Orchestra Gennady Rozhdestvensky, cond. Nimbus Being that Petrushka is one of my favorite works, I've compiled several recordings over the years which yield varying degrees of attraction and satisfaction. I can honestly say that Roz...

moldyoldie

With regard to multiple listenings until it clicks because all those people can't be wrong, it has never worked for me, and believe me, I have tried. It might work better for others, but personally, I would always be wary that I was experiencing some adult form of peer pressure if I decided at the ...

moldyoldie

Agreed, great thread topic! :) Liked it less: Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique - I've heard several recordings and it's just never done anything for me outside the famous March to the Scaffold . Liked it much more: Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8 Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 "Romantic" I would heartily agr...

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