[SunTanScanMan]

   Good question I think!
 
I was not terribly impresses by the 90`s set.I`ve tried a few times but it hasn`t clicked for me.
Due to my awe of their Bartok recordings I really had high expectations for it.

I've heard their Bartok. But I've not yet explored much of Bartok yet so.. I enjoy his piano concertos.
 
I guess they can sound a bit too polished and polite? My first Beethoven's string quartet set was theirs so they became imprinted as my reference. Probably explains why I generally find their other recordings agreeable e.g. their Schubert and Dvořák.

 

[perhapss]

  I've heard their Bartok. But I've not yet explored much of Bartok yet so.. I enjoy his piano concertos.
 
I guess they can sound a bit too polished and polite? My first Beethoven's string quartet set was theirs so they became imprinted as my reference. Probably explains why I generally find their other recordings agreeable e.g. their Schubert and Dvořák.

 
I`ve always enjoyed the Tokyo quartet but their Bartok is DEEP IMO.
Regarding polite and polished I think searing is a more appropriate description.

And wonderfully detailed in timbre etc...
 
I think part of the thing with their earlier Beethoven is I love many others and I just haven`t got over my bias

.

 

[calaf]

I do not own the old Tokyo Beethoven set but I have listened to excerpts on spotify and I thought it was edgy and precise. Kind of like their first Bartok cycle. What worked wonderfully with Bartok may not be as successful with Beethoven, particularly in the early and middle quartets. The new cycle is very different: the early quartets might as well have been played by Vegh Quartet, and the Razumovsky are on their way to replace Quartetto Italiano as my favourite. I am still working my way through the boxset, and have not heard enough of the late quartets to have an opinion about the new cycle. The SQ of the recording is a big plus, as it adds so much to the emotional impact of the performance.

 

[perhapss]

  ...... Kind of like their first Bartok cycle. 

I am referring to their 1981 cycle on DG.
Is their another?
 
I`ll definitely check out their new Beethoven set eventually....

 

[calaf]

the 1981 is the first cycle with DG and Harada as first violin

 
and this is the second cycle with Peter Oundian (sp?) as first violin

 
The first is my favourite Bartok cycle, the second... isn't

 

[perhapss]

  the 1981 is the first cycle with DG and Harada as first violin

 
and this is the second cycle with Peter Oundian (sp?) as first violin

 
The first is my favourite Bartok cycle, the second... isn't

So their isn`t "another" 

.
Sorry my rather weak sarcasm was missed previously.

 

[LugBug1]

Got interested in this composer a couple of years back and have recently got listening to some of his ensemble works. His Caprichos are well worth checking out if you like Bartok, Janacek, Rodrigo and Villa Lobos. He is maybe a bit more modern sounding and a bit more, erm... Spanish (like Rodrigo) An inventive composer that is influenced by the avant garde but never lets it consume his style.  His large scale works are what got me first interested, but I would recommend these chamber works first. Very accessible, interesting and soaked in european folk music. Naxos have quite a large back catalogue of this great modern composer and well done again to them. Imagine a classical world without Naxos :/  
 

 

[perhapss]

  Got interested in this composer a couple of years back and have recently got listening to some of his ensemble works. His Caprichos are well worth checking out if you like Bartok, Janacek, Rodrigo and Villa Lobos. He is maybe a bit more modern sounding and a bit more, erm... Spanish (like Rodrigo) An inventive composer that is influenced by the avant garde but never lets it consume his style.  His large scale works are what got me first interested, but I would recommend these chamber works first. Very accessible, interesting and soaked in european folk music. Naxos have quite a large back catalogue of this great modern composer and well done again to them. Imagine a classical world without Naxos :/  
 

He`s written a lot of wonderful guitar music.
For example, I found his concerto for 4 guitars very interesting.

 

[uchihaitachi]

 
My favourite modern day violinist... Her albums are beautifully mastered as well. Plus she plays the Viola in this album 

 

[LugBug1]

^^Yup mine too  

 

[icebear]

Positive, +1 
I saw her live at Zankel Hall on Feb.10th, in a duo with Itamar Golan, piano with a Ravel (Zigane) / Prokofiev (op.35bis & op.80)
 
Here the NY Times review of the concert :
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/arts/music/review-janine-jansen-and-itamar-golan-balance-power-and-nuance-at-zankel-hall.html?_r=0
 

Janine Jansen and Itamar Golan performing on Tuesday at Zankel Hall.
Credit Richard Termine for The New York Times

 

[uchihaitachi]

  Positive, +1 
I saw her live at Zankel Hall on Feb.10th, in a duo with Itamar Golan, piano with a Ravel (Zigane) / Prokofiev (op.35bis & op.80)
 
Here the NY Times review of the concert :
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/arts/music/review-janine-jansen-and-itamar-golan-balance-power-and-nuance-at-zankel-hall.html?_r=0
 

Janine Jansen and Itamar Golan performing on Tuesday at Zankel Hall.
Credit Richard Termine for The New York Times

One of the very few instrumentalists, who play with complete abandon without compromising technical perfection.... 

 

[SunTanScanMan]

 
interesting stuff

Love these videos talking about the music theory thanks! You appreciate the composition more knowing more about its structure.
Do any of you guys listen with scores in front of you? I have the Egmont and Brandenburg scores, but my music notation literacy is basic/non-existent so I can't keep up and just get lost.
It's definitely a skill I'm envious of. Something to pursue perhaps for the future...

 

[uchihaitachi]

 
Love these videos talking about the music theory thanks! You appreciate the composition more knowing more about its structure.
Do any of you guys listen with scores in front of you? I have the Egmont and Brandenburg scores, but my music notation literacy is basic/non-existent so I can't keep up and just get lost.
It's definitely a skill I'm envious of. Something to pursue perhaps for the future...

You should check out the Schumann piano concerto, it's structured around the Clara motif (for is wife).
 
The Brahms 4th symphony which (imo is even more refined that Beethoven symphonies), is spun around simple descending thirds....
The Liszt piano sonata also, that simple motif at the start, and well, it goes nuts
 
 

 
The first five minutes, he describes how variation 18 comes about from the original Paganini theme

 

[RRod]

 
Love these videos talking about the music theory thanks! You appreciate the composition more knowing more about its structure.
Do any of you guys listen with scores in front of you? I have the Egmont and Brandenburg scores, but my music notation literacy is basic/non-existent so I can't keep up and just get lost.
It's definitely a skill I'm envious of. Something to pursue perhaps for the future...

 
I do pretty often when I get a new score (latest was the set of Mahler's orchestral songs). It's easy enough to learn basic music notation, then a book on orchestration can help with the ins-and-outs of notation of particular instruments. Score layout is pretty standard, so you'll get quick with that just with practice. After that you really have to get into deep learning: hearing pitches just by sight, on-the-fly transposition, spotting temporary key changes, etc. That level I never got to, though any music major will have to develop such skills. The story is that students of Nadia Boulanger's had to be able to condense orchestral scores on the spot while playing on the piano, and I don't doubt they were able to do it.
 
Sometimes I do the right thing and remind myself to buy the latest score for a piece before I buy my 3rd recording of it, but often not ^_^ Also, score editions can sometimes vary substantially, so for some pieces like, say, any symphony by Bruckner, you really have to want to get a specific edition.