Speaking of intense - I think this is better than Schnittke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi5QLvBwfFg

Most of my recommendations are pretty old, because I'm pretty old ;) First up - LUSH -- SUPERBLAST! .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uU5DU7P83E I'm not sure anyone's mentioned RIDE yet? It's hard to pick a stand-out track from their EPs and first two albums, so basically at random I will go...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPqXvCiyIj0 I've been listening to completions of Schubert's D.840 sonata (AKA 'Reliquie'). Most are poor (especially in the finale), but this one is fairly convincing (notwithstanding Pludermacher's generally cool approach to Schubert). I think the completion...

Re Schiff's Mozart: I was so horrified by his Schubert (hesitancies piled atop of hesitancies) that I haven't dare try him in anything else. Speaking of Schubert, yesterday I received the Leipziger Streichquartett's big Schubert box (9 CDs, MDG label), so that's what I'll be doing over the next...

What did you think of her Mozart? I found it a bit precious, but her style may be more appropriate to Schubert.

Actually I think even the slowest versions still have the "con moto" quality that qualifies it as allegretto. AFAIK, no-one has actually tried to make it sound like the Symphony 3 funeral march (if they did it would probably be about 20 minutes long!). This IS sort of relevant, as questions of...

The point is that BPM has less to do with "legitimate" interpretation than is often assumed, as historically "tempo" indications were more to do with style of playing than tempo as such. Allegro ≠ fast.

I've been looking into this, and planning on blogging on the subject for a while (just need to finally get it finished), but the meaning of musical directions has changed over the years. Now we seem to take them as a straight indication of speed, but originally they were often more about...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J12zprD7V1k Just comparing track lengths, the old school conducters used to take it slower than the modern norm: Furtwangler, Knappertsbusch, Schmidt-Isserstedt, Klemperer, Beecham, Krips, Jochum, Fricsay, Kurt Sanderling, Bruno Walter.... _

I think I've read that the LSO will be getting a new hall too. That would be nice; they might release a listenable record for a change. I hope Rattle stops trying to make his mark on the Old Masters and broadens his repertoire. I thought late Abbado was a bit overrated. People talked as though...

^ Is that the later, live one? She's done it a couple of times, and I gather that one was the best. EDIT: I'm an idiot - it says "live" right there on the cover (in tiny lettering).

That's a cynical way to put it! As I understand it, composers often reference each other. Apparently Mozart's requiem is full of quotes. (And I was listening to some of Haydn's London symphonies last night - I'm pretty sure Beethoven lifted a few things from there!) Agreed - there is so much...

Listening to Mendelssohn's 2nd piano trio this morning, I couldn't help notice that one of the themes of the first movement seems to be a direct quote from Schumann's piano quintet - the funeral march slow movement. Surely no coincidence? BTW, I'd be happy to hear recommendations for recordings...

It's hard to compare completions because the performance is so important in determining its success. I'll say I was not impressed by Wheeler or Barshai (though his use of percussion was interesting). Rattle/BPO doing Cooke III remains my reference.

These things can change quite a lot over time. Like a lot of people, I started with Romantic orchestral music. Then after a few years it was modern music (from Prokofiev to Schnittke, basically). Now I am all about classical chamber music (defined rather flexibly - a lot of classical orchestral...

As Rattle's hair falls, Dudamel's rises.... Anda was my first and very effective encounter with the Mozart concertos, but when I finally got the complete set I was disappointed by how often he rushed the slow movements, and also the old sound. An exception to this is the slow mvt of the 9th...

Here is an atmospheric photo taken from mid-hall showing what I assume is the French Romantic organ facade. The Art Nouveau design is so striking, I can't help thinking it might distract from the music! http://pertwee.photoshelter.com/image/I0000Xp3wY7NW810 _

I thought the organ had that title....

I like the Bergs (Teldec) - they have a level of refinement I don't think the others have, which is necessary for these late works.

Why is Kenneth Williams on the cover? :D Not a fan of Petrenko myself, but good luck.

Also a shame his 60s Mozart recordings are in such dated sound. I doubt they'll ever be "restored". On Arte Nova or their later cycle on Foghorn? I notice their slow movements got a lot faster. Italiano quartet for the complete set. Berg (on Teldec/Warner NOT EMI) for 14-23. Also...

For modern instruments Seasons, Menuhin is a dark horse. I think his recording with the Camerata Lysy Gstaad is excellent, but no-one bothers to listen to it, because, well, it's Menuhin. (Recorded in the early 80s, thankfully just before age began to cripple his technique.) I have the Newton...

For people who prefer Beethoven I suppose that's a good thing? ;) But for me the archetypal Mozart direction is "grazioso".

^ I'd say every performance is an interpretation, unless you're just listening to a MIDI file.

I think it was a practice lingering from early noise reduction techniques - the treble was boosted when recording, then manually reduced while mastering, thus obtaining a fairly natural sound with less analog hiss. During the 1980s, a lot of analog masters were put on CD without allowing for...