[Bunnyears]

Tyson,

I also just received one of the Andsnes-Bostridge Schubert, and it is mindblowing! I listened to the B flat Major and boy was that different! It's far more dynamic than even the Sokolov, and it's risky with its use of rubato (the first rest almost had me looking to see if I had disconnected the player or the disc had malfunctioned, it was so prolonged), but the way he takes the music and invests it with emotion is wonderful. He makes poor Perahia sound downright bland. If you like interpretations that take risks, then I say run don't walk to get these offerings. I now have the other ones on the way, this one was that good. Heartily recommended.

And, a word about the pairing with the lieder. Bostridge's voice is a very clear tenor. For starters, I had to check because it is easy to confuse it with a contralto! I imagine that voices like his in an earlier day would have landed up with the castrati. It was at first unsettling because I am so accustomed to the baritone of Fischer-Dieskau, but then my ear settled and I just couldn't help but enjoy the ride. I can't imagine why no one has ever paired the sonatas with lieder before (or not to my knowledge), but it is an inspired pairing!

 

[Tyson]

You already know what high esteem I hold Andsnes. Alas, purchases will have to slow down for a while, as I just purchased 2 Breitling watches, and have little/no extra money now

 

[Bunnyears]

I just received the Takasc Quartet doing Beethoven's Late Quartets and have been listening a bit. It is to my ears an almost revolutionary take on them. There is great dynamic play between the ppp's and fff's. Just listening I feel that Beethoven anticipated so much of modern music. It is almost as if the strings are percussion instruments at certain points, and then they start singing again. It certainly has taken my breath away. I don't know how I'll listen to my older recordings. I'm all set to put these on my ipod.

 

[calaf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears I just received the Takasc Quartet doing Beethoven's Late Quartets and have been listening a bit. It is to my ears an almost revolutionary take on them. There is great dynamic play between the ppp's and fff's. Just listening I feel that Beethoven anticipated so much of modern music. It is almost as if the strings are percussion instruments at certain points, and then they start singing again. It certainly has taken my breath away. I don't know how I'll listen to my older recordings.

which older recordings do you refer to? I am curious because I have always thought that Alban Berg Quartet makes Op. 130/133 sound very "XXth century" while some of the mellower Bartok Quartets (e.g. No 6) sound very Beethovenian to me when played by the Takacs

 

[saint.panda]

First of all, this forum provided me with so many good CD recommendations; I'm forever grateful and most of the following CDs were bought following advice given here. These are some of the CDs I bought during the last few weeks:

Beethoven 5/Kleiber: This is an amazing CD and really deserves its excellent reputation. I've never heard the 5th being played with such intensity. I also have a late Karajan and Gielen version of the 5th but neither can hold a candle against Kleiber's interpretation.

Bach Violin Concerto/Hahn : I haven't listened to this CD in depth yet but like it so far; can't really say more at the moment.

Dvorak 8,9/Kubelik: Dvorak 9 is probably my favourite orchestral piece and after reading that this version is an slightly improved one on the Kubelik box set, I just had to get it. I haven't gotten to A/B compare the two versions yet. Thanks to DarkAngel for pointing this out.

Rachmaninoff / Tchaikovsky: piano concertos 3 / 1 - Martha Argerich:

This CD left me utterly speechless. Anybody with the slighest interest in piano virtuosity must have this CD. This is easily the technically most intriguing piece of piano music I ever heard.

Holst - The Planets / Bernstein: Wonderful CD. Jupiter is my favourite piece from it although I really had to sit through the entire Cd to fully appreciate the music in its whole. For instance Venus without the preceding Mars just feels incomplete.

Bach Cello Suites /Fournier: The recording quality is excellent and you can here every single detail such as the bow movements. A rather emotional interpretation of Bach's cello suites, which I like very much.

Mahler 2/Klemperer: I still have to listen to the whole piece at once. It's a bit long

Dvorak Cello Concerto / Fournier: Compared to the high level of the other CDs, this one is only pretty good.

Tchaikosvky 1812 / the infamous Telarc recording: I actually bought this one for testing some headphones but the music is decent. Other than the fake sounding canons, everything's a bit too majestic and overblown perhaps.

Lang Lang Live at the Carnegie Hall: I heard Lang Lang's interpretation of "Liebestraum" on the radio and had to get a copy of it for myself. Overall, there are some very good pieces (Liszt's Liebestraum, Schumann's Träumerei, and a stellar performance of Réminiscences du Don Juan, Mozart) although the Tan Dun ones aren't really my cup of tea.

Carlos Kleiber A Memorial CD: Actually this CD was recommeneded to me by my mother who got the recommendation from her collegue who turned out to be Kleiber's daughter-in-law.
I think this is a great CD (the ASIN is B0002QXRM0) which features Brahms 4, Schubert 8 and some pieces by Wagner. I've never cared for Schubert's songs or Improptus but this orchestral piece was a real surprise and yearns for more Schubert! The Brahms is also strikingly good although I have no reference here.

Next on the to-buy list are Schumann 1-4, Sibelius and Beethoven violin concertos, some Stravinsky/Prokofief ballets and Beethoven string quartets. This place is more deadly to the wallet than the headphone forum.

 

[Bunnyears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calaf which older recordings do you refer to? I am curious because I have always thought that Alban Berg Quartet makes Op. 130/133 sound very "XXth century" while some of the mellower Bartok Quartets (e.g. No 6) sound very Beethovenian to me when played by the Takacs

I have the guarneri quartet and also I think, the Juilliard (it's been years because it's on vinyl). I have just recently ordered the Florestan trio's recording as well (they have done the quartets with a "guest" artist).

Btw, I have a problem with the recording. It seems to skip in certain places. It's going to have to go back to Amazon, so i'll have to wait for another. And yes, a lot of the Beethoven sounds so modern it's scary! I was listening to a Pollini's recording of the Hammerklavier Sonata the other day, and I swear, the rhythms are syncopated! Was Beethoven the musical version of Nostradamus or what?!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by saint.panda Bach Cello Suites /Fournier: The recording quality is excellent and you can here every single detail such as the bow movements. A rather emotional interpretation of Bach's cello suites, which I like very much.

I just got the Anner Bylsma recording of the suites where he plays the Servais Stradivarius, a baroque instrument made on the larger pattern later discarded by the instrument makers. This instrument is now in the Smithsonian, and luckily it is completely intact as Stradivarius constructed it. The recording is without a doubt one of the most extraordinary recordings of the suites that I have every heard (and I have heard many, including the new Jian Wang on DG which is incredibly horrible -- avoid it completely!) I recommend this recording wholeheartedly! For the last suite, he uses a different baroque instrument which is actually strung with 5 strings. The tone of both instruments is amazing, and Bylsma gives a masterful interpretation.

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears I just got the Anner Bylsma recording of the suites where he plays the Servais Stradivarius, a baroque instrument made on the larger pattern later discarded by the instrument makers. This instrument is now in the Smithsonian, and luckily it is completely intact as Stradivarius constructed it. The recording is without a doubt one of the most extraordinary recordings of the suites that I have every heard (and I have heard many, including the new Jian Wang on DG which is incredibly horrible -- avoid it completely!) I recommend this recording wholeheartedly! For the last suite, he uses a different baroque instrument which is actually strung with 5 strings. The tone of both instruments is amazing, and Bylsma gives a masterful interpretation.

Thanks for the recommendation bunnyears. I will try to look into this CD although it's 41€ from Amazon.de and it would take another month before I can get home to pick up the Cd. Hope I can find it somewhere in Zurich.

 

[Bunnyears]

saint.panda,

When I saw the price, I just winced! It is a sad fact, but the classical recordings seem to be growing in cost. Perhaps you can obtain a used copy as it has been available for quite some time. There was a Scarlatti recording that I was interested in, but at $69 for one cd, I just had to say, "enough!" Sometimes, enough is too much.

Edit: I note from your previous post above that you have never cared for Schubert's impromptus or Lieder! I hope that is not true of his sonatas, because there is a new Leif Ove Andsnes recording of his last sonata, the Bflat Major, D. 960 with some of the lieder sung by Ian Bostridge (a tenor rather than a baritone) to his accompaniment that are awesome in their emotion and beauty. If have never enjoyed the lieder, then for you this would be a gamble, but the sonata is so incredible that you will not feel that you have lost anything if you acquire this cd as well. Hopefully, it is not as expensive as the Bach (which, incidentally is a 2 cd offering).

 

[saint.panda]

Bunnyears,
I checked my local CD store today and I was once again reaffirmed that buying CDs in Switzerland is the craziest thing you can do. They would need to order them for me and in exchange only ask for a mere 80CHF, which tranlates to about $60. Must be an excellent profit margin considering the VAT is lower here than in Germany

I forgot to look out for the Schubert Sonata but it's already put on the to-listen list.

 

[00940]

Just got myself Dido and Aeneas from Purcell, by Le Concert d'Astree, directed by Emmanuelle Haim. Listening to it right now, a more than decent performance, a bit too fast perhaps ? I'll judge it on a second listening session.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/cus...g=UTF8&s=music

 

[Bunnyears]

Right now I am looking at some cds of Mozart's late symphonies. In particular I am looking for a really definitive performance of the 40 in G minor. I'm not really sure why this one has me so intrigued at this point, but I just bought the Gunter Wand RCA Red Seal cd with the 39,40 and 41 and also Neville Marriner and George Szell offerings that include the Moz 40. I haven't had a chance to listen yet, but if anyone can recommend a really great Mozart 40 for both sound quality and performance, I would appreciate it.

saint.panda,

I can't believe the prices you are quoting to me! How very unfair to make you pay so much. Are those cds made of gold or something? I am still annoyed that they charge 8.25% sales tax on classical cds here in NYC. I think they should be classified as educational materials with no tax, and the government should subsidize our purchases!

If only.

 

[jamont]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears if anyone can recommend a really great Mozart 40 for both sound quality and performance, I would appreciate it.

Try Benjamin Britten's recording with the ECO (Decca).

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears Right now I am looking at some cds of Mozart's late symphonies. In particular I am looking for a really definitive performance of the 40 in G minor. I'm not really sure why this one has me so intrigued at this point, but I just bought the Gunter Wand RCA Red Seal cd with the 39,40 and 41 and also Neville Marriner and George Szell offerings that include the Moz 40. I haven't had a chance to listen yet, but if anyone can recommend a really great Mozart 40 for both sound quality and performance, I would appreciate it.

There is no definitive performance only different flavors for different tastes, must be 25-50 versions you can buy today, most are very good to excellent.

I have many Mozart sets including a 2CD Harnoncourt/Teledec Ultima Mozart 38-41 symphonies done with COE, live recordings from 1992-94. You can probably find one used, but not my first choice for these.

Marriner is old hand at Mozart and has many options including full symphony set, safe very good middle of the road performances, I have quite a few Marriner Cds but would not be my reference.

The Szell/Sony CD with 35,40,41 is great single CD I also own, very highly recommended and a steal at budget price......old school larger modern orchestra style.

Let me recommend two things for Mozart late symphonies:
1)For small orchestra period performance style get Menuhin/Virgin, either single budget CD or excellent budget 5CD set, his hand picked orchestra Sinfonia Varsovia is superb in this genre, excellent modern Virgin sound..

2)For the old school larger orchestra with modern instruments, but still with great energy and drive get Bernstein/VPO/DG either single CD or 3CD Trio set:

If you search there is Mozart thread that discusses all this in more detail.

 

[Bunnyears]

Jamont,

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[jamont]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears Jamont, Thanks for the suggestion!

You are very welcome. I might add that the Szell, Menuhin, and Bernstein recordings DA suggests are also very fine. To these one might also add Klemperer. But for me, the Britten recording is very special.