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stefanher

I think that to say today's orchestras are "better" is simplifying things. What has undoubtedly & pleasantly happened is that the standard of what once would have been considered second rate orchestras has improved beyond belief. But it is impossible for any current orchestra to be "better" than Sze...

stefanher

Very reasonable collection. You state the 7th is your favourite & I must admit I find much to admire in the first 4 movements. How have you made sense of the Finale? I can't- it's a bit like the end of the Meistersinger to me. And I must have heard 10 or more recordings of this work though not MTT's.

stefanher

Ted Quanrud wrote:Hi Lance --

Don't forget Sveshnikov's recording of the Rachmaninov Vespers. Despite its age andd recording quality, it sweeps the competition aside.

Sveshnikov has been called the Russian Robert Shaw; calling Shaw the American Sveshnikov may be more appropriate

Hear Hear!!

stefanher

I think I marginally prefer the first cycle. From memory amongst other things it's an analogue recording (personal bias setting in) & is just a bit fresher than the later one. Having said that Abbado would possibly be a safe recommendation for me for these symphonies to a newcomer but would never re...

stefanher

Let's stir things up. As a concertgoer- not necessarily an orchestral musician- which conductor(s) have you seen with the best technique? Obviously to some this will be the biggest showmen & to others it will be those who get the most with the minimal of effort. As a greater fan of the latter I can ...

stefanher

I'll confine myself to singers- great voices, maybe not perfect technique but able to bring out elements of a character that others are unable to. So we have Maria Callas, Beverley Sills, Hans Hotter, Jon Vickers, Tito Gobbi & Sherrill Milnes (on occasions). I'm sure there are numerous others. I was...

stefanher

The above was very popular in the UK in the 1970's & was probably as responsible as Rattle for the rather brief period when the CBSO was the No 2 in the country. After leaving Birmingham he seems to have gone to Australia & then disappeared. Does anybody know any more or can anyone fill me in on the...

stefanher

Yes I have this cycle. Personally I always found Sinopoli a slightly infuriating conductor- one minute you can marvel at his genius only for him then to do something outright vulgar. When on form as in hois Schubert Unfinished I find him wonderful. I'd rank this relatively highly as a complete set b...

stefanher

I'll make no bones of the fact that I probably find renaissance polyphony more difficult to listen to than many atonal & "random noise" composers. However I keep on trying. This work is next in my schedule of "trying to appreciate". I have the Tallis Scholars recording- I want 1 or 2 others for comp...

stefanher

I understand Janis is platying again. Has anyone heard him? The critical reception for his new Chopin disc was very muted.

stefanher

If he only conducted for money, he must have been very poor. Only 5 performances per year.

Why? He must have commanded at least $20k per appearance. His personal take from the New Years Day concert in Vienna was estimated at over $100k.

stefanher

Well if LA can appoint Dudamel who is to stop Philadelphia appointing whoever they wish? Hopefully one day the Daniel Hardings & Ivan Volkovs of this world will get their just deserts. Thankfully for Philadelphia Jurowski will be availble in 2015...if he's still interested. It will be interesting to...

stefanher

Rosbaud was not Jewish but was accused of being so by certain politicians & musical rivals for their own reasons. His championing of avant-garde works in Nazi Germany probably didn't help his cause. However does anybody know how the conductor Victor de Sabata thrived not only in Fascist Italy but in...

stefanher

If ever there was a case of somebody riding on their parents' backs it applied with Carlos Kleiber. At least he knew he wasn't as talented as his father. Witness the Covent Garden Wozzeck disaster where they were expected to find the scores his father originally notated... I have to admit his Freisc...

stefanher

I am asking this because I know many professional orchestral musicians subscribe to this forum. Why is it that say Kent Nagano failed in Manchester or Franz Weiser-Most in London when they are doing very well where they are currently placed? Is there a reason? Or is it totally hypothetical like aski...

stefanher

Just how good IS this work? To me the first movement sounds like a virtuoso violinist improvising over an endless sequence of ascending & descending triads & the last an overblown retake of "Hora Staccato". The middle movement has one or two moments when you think the music will finally soar but nev...

stefanher

I can only say what I've picked up from gossip & journalism. Muti would for many years only refer to Abbado as "his predecessor" at La Scala; he was very miffed when Abbado went to Berlin instead of himself as even if Abbado failed there the orchestra would not be too happy about appointing another ...

stefanher

Having just listened to Rachmaninov's 2nd sonata for the umpteenth time & still not "getting it" I wonder just how many times it is reasonable to listen to certain works hoping & expecting to like or at least admire them before drawing ultimate conclusions. I have struggled for ages similarly with n...

stefanher

I have never understood public taste. Why has Franck's D minor symphony dropped from its immediate post WWII popularity to now being something of a rarity in the concert hall? Why was Mahler's music ignored for so many years after his death? Neither explains the current incredible popularity of the ...

stefanher

Where can you now "borrow" recordings in the uk? There used to be something called public libraries but they have moved their budget to computers & the latest best sellers. I couldn't even get a copy of Pickwick Papers from my local.

stefanher

Thanks all for your feelings. However I posted this to find out if anyone knew of this particular recording. Stereo recordings were just coming becoming the norm 1958- was this an aborted studio recording or how else did it come to exist? The BBC didn't broadcast stereo until well into the 60's.

stefanher

He also recorded Idamante for Davis in the days when one dared to cast a tenor in that role. Burrows also had a busy recording career0 he did Maria Stuarda with Sills & I'm fairly sure also sang Hoffman opposite her. (I don't have that recording).

stefanher

In my very amateurish way I decided I didn't know Zandonai's work well enough & added a recording with Ligabue, Protti & Picchi to my 3 extant version (Kabaivanska, Gencer & Caniglia) to compare in detail. The Ligabue is a 1958 Rome recording conducted by Sanzogno. To my amazement the sound is not o...

stefanher

Burrows was one of a number of very good Welsh lyric tenors around at that time- others include Ryland Davies. Burrows perhaps tarnished his classical image by hosting a BBC TV classical pops series- however by today's standards teven that would be considered too highbrow for the main channels.

stefanher

I am rather intrigued that although in Europe Leonard Slatkin has a fairly high profile he never seems to have held a really major conducting post in the USA. Does he have a poor "local" reputation or is he not considered "brash" enough to attract the vast amounts of money that US orchestras seem to...

stefanher

Yes & their techniques are similar as well.

stefanher

Not that long ago I compared in detail the 16 or so Titans I have including nearly all the ones you list. "Best?"- one not on your list- Bruno Walter!

stefanher

Solomon for me although I confess the Uchida is very good- I'm not normally a fan of hers.

How good is Elly Ney? As is well known she was a certain dictator's favourite pianist which didn't help her later career. If we can put this aside did she stand with the many listed above?i

stefanher

A welcome trend in my opinion in recent years is the increasing number of conductors who are separating their first & second violin sections antiphonally as was once the norm. I am intrigued though if anyone knows what the original seating for string quartets was. Is it as is current or did the two ...

stefanher

What an amazing thread this is. So there is someone in the world who dislikes Jon Vickers singing? As for Mario Lanza- something I'm increasingly finding when listening to the tenors of that generation is wondering what would be said about "second raters" like Prandelli. Poggi. Picchi & their ilk if...

stefanher

I too welcome this series. Can I pose a nasty question though for US readers? British labels like Chandos & Hyperion do the lesser known British composers like Rubbra & Bantock proud; Similarly BIS for Scandanavians & CPO for Germans. Why as far as I can tell do none of the US labels do the same for...

stefanher

Can anybody even guess at Lorin Maazel's reasons for taking over in Munich after the NYPO? Surely he's made enough money by now & it's hardly an upward move? Or is he possibly one of those people who would never dream of taking life easier & guest conducting only ?

stefanher

The Vickers recording is a live concert from 1967 of a song recital including a number of rarities such as Dvorak folk songs. It was issued on a Canadian label that also reissued his Winterreise. As to what it is like- I think I'm going to use a quote about his Tristan- for once you actually think t...

stefanher

Has NOBODY else heard the Vickers or Bernac versions? I am familiar with many but by no means all of the above & these two stand like an Everst above them.

stefanher

Must say I love this work- it's with the 1812 the best piece of "bad" music there is. But let's not forget that Oriental themes were used much earlier- even by Mozart!

stefanher

No,a conductor's job is not to be "nice". Toscanini was a tyrant. The muscians feared him greatly. I've heard this story about the members of the NBS symphony orchestra; when their children would misbehave,they threatened them with the wrath of Toscanini. In the age of such all-powerful maestros as...

stefanher

Interesting that nobody has mentioned the power of the orchestras nowadays. In Toscanini's day what he said ruled. Now we have the situation where the tail is wagging the dog .... A conductor's job now is to be "nice" not to lead.

Right???

stefanher

Interesting that you don't include the much lauded Suzuki set. But as with most things that Solomon did- & contrary to much opinion I think of these as piano & cello sonatas- that set is incomparable.

stefanher

I managed to work my way through about 12 "Dichterliebe" recently. Top tenor- Jon Vickers & also top interpretation by about a light year. "Live" performance & difficult to source. Top baritone for me was Pierre Bernac- again by a long way. Fischer- Deskau, Holzmair etc were all very safe by compari...

stefanher

Is there anywhere anybody knows that compares the transfer to disc of various "unofficial" pressings? An example is that recently I decided to get the Karajan 1952 Tristan on disc having got fed up with the ancient cassette transfer I had. The recording is available on at least 4 or 5 labels varying...

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