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My Essential Classical Albums.


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18 minutes ago, rando said:

Winter in the lowlands.

Low-lands.. high;)lands.. it's all so relative..

 

19 minutes ago, rando said:

instead 'playing indoor sports' like collecting new music.  

I'm afraid I'm addicted to this sport. It's better than some other addictions.

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21 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

Unfortunately I will have to leave my main system for at least some weeks. Just my old Sony headphones and the desktop. Hope I will survive this situation somehow. Thanks once more to everybody for their contribution. I'm not finished with classical - quite the opposite. I promise :)

I'll tell you one way you can more than survive the situation- Unless you already have a DAC connected to your desktop, I strongly recommend an Audioquest Dragonfly Black or Red. I'm shocked at how it makes my laptop sound, not only with tiny computer speakers/subwoofer, but with my laptop connected to my main system in particular. I can hear loads of detail, from guitar strings squeaking and chairs creaking to musicians breathing. The Dragonflies are designed to work with iPhones and Androids as well, and many people report huge improvements in sound. By the way, the Dragonfly's maximum resolution is 96/24.

 

Good luck in your move!

 
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21 minutes ago, highEnd said:

I'll tell you one way you can more than survive the situation- Unless you already have a DAC connected to your desktop, I strongly recommend an Audioquest Dragonfly Black or Red. I'm shocked at how it makes my laptop sound, not only with tiny computer speakers/subwoofer, but with my laptop connected to my main system in particular. I can hear loads of detail, from guitar strings squeaking and chairs creaking to musicians breathing. The Dragonflies are designed to work with iPhones and Androids as well, and many people report huge improvements in sound. By the way, the Dragonfly's maximum resolution is 96/24.

 

Good luck in your move!

 

+1 on the Dragonfly Red. An amazing piece of work that little thing. A Macbook, Audirvana with Qobuz Sublime, the new DF Red, and my equally new Beyer T90s, and I have audiophile pleasures wherever I go. And indeed, the DF even feeds of a smartphone.

 

Enjoy Amsterdam! Great city!

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Here is a great recording of Piazzola: Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.  I originally came to know this piece via an online Symphonycast recording of Nadja Salerno-Sonnengberg performing with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.  I listened to it dozens of times!  The archive is now sadly inactive.....it was an illuminating performance.  Sonnenberg is a superb violinist which gets little attention.  Give this recording a try.

 

t61050162-b396619040_s400.jpg

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Ok, I'm in the Netherlands. Quite tired after the journey. Do not even feel like listening to the music. Did I write about the desktop, errr.. it's actually a laptop.

On 16.09.2017 at 8:33 PM, highEnd said:

I strongly recommend an Audioquest Dragonfly Black or Red.

Yeah, I know it's quite good. Even a cheap sound card makes my (quite prehistoric) headphones sound better than while using the in-built one. But I'm not a headphone guy - I use them mostly to listen to the music on my phone and for quick checks on my laptop so I'm not very determined to invest any money in this area. I can hear much more using my loudspeakers and I do all the 'serious' listening in this way.

 

On 16.09.2017 at 8:56 PM, Musicophile said:

Enjoy Amsterdam! Great city!

I agree in 200% - absolutely my favorite one! I hope I will, thanks. I also hope for some good classical live music enjoyment before my main system arrives here.

 

7 hours ago, tdimler said:

Give this recording a try.

 

t61050162-b396619040_s400.jpg

Thanks, I certainly will.

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Bit of a paradigm shift towards larger quarry.  My interest in finding a good box set or two has been piqued.  Certainly not of the 800 discs with film and audio interviews of everyone who's visited their attendant museum or birthplace variety.  

 

An example would be the wholly unexpected enjoyment I found listening to "NOVA Sinfonik in der DDR" last Winter on a bleak set of days.  As raw and concrete asphyxiated a vision one could summon through music brimming with hope of a reunited and free German people.  Which I might listen to once or twice, ever, yet never forget.

 

Informal collections never slickly packaged in glossy boxes are equally welcome. 

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Arkiv Music is offering a new release of Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9 with Bruno Weil and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. A historically informed cycle recorded over a decade or so and only ~$25.

 

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/listPage.jsp?list_id=4881

 

1506022718_91y2b9mhvytl__sl1500_.jpg

 

PS: Excuse my rant but this "JUST" came out today and when I looked for an image to post, my search revealed that someone has ripped the entire cycle and made available in a free torrent.

I think this "file-sharing" theft  has gotten better but this infuriates me.

Rant over, signing out...
 

Primary System: HTPC (Win 10, 64) > Synology DS212j > JRiver MC 22 > Uptone Audio Regen Amber > Schiit Bifrost Uber 4490 > Marantz SR7010 with Marantz UD5005 > Aperion Intimus 6Bs (LR) + Intimus 5C + 4 Intimus 4BPs (Surround) + 2 Bravus 12s - Display: Samsung 55" KS9000 - Headphones: AKG Q701.

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2 hours ago, BacHolz said:

Arkiv Music is offering a new release of Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9 with Bruno Weil and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. A historically informed cycle recorded over a decade or so and only ~$25.

 

 

 

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/listPage.jsp?list_id=4881

 

1506022718_91y2b9mhvytl__sl1500_.jpg

 

PS: Excuse my rant but this "JUST" came out today and when I looked for an image to post, my search revealed that someone has ripped the entire cycle and made available in a free torrent.

I think this "file-sharing" theft  has gotten better but this infuriates me.

Rant over, signing out...
 

Just thought I'd mention that this is available for streaming at Tidal, and for download at Qobuz for 30 Euro, if you don't want the discs. 

Main listening (small home office):

Main setup: Surge protector +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Isolation>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments.

Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three .

Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup.
Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. 

All absolute statements about audio are false :)

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10 hours ago, firedog said:

Just thought I'd mention that this is available for streaming at Tidal, and for download at Qobuz for 30 Euro, if you don't want the discs. 

 

Thanks for sharing this. I missed that as I prefer to rip my own CDs  and have the liner notes, etc. My downloads are usually for hi-res purchases and I rarely stream.

Again, thanks for the info...

Primary System: HTPC (Win 10, 64) > Synology DS212j > JRiver MC 22 > Uptone Audio Regen Amber > Schiit Bifrost Uber 4490 > Marantz SR7010 with Marantz UD5005 > Aperion Intimus 6Bs (LR) + Intimus 5C + 4 Intimus 4BPs (Surround) + 2 Bravus 12s - Display: Samsung 55" KS9000 - Headphones: AKG Q701.

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There are so many nice Beethoven recordings. I really like Gilels (was a present from my late mother-in-law, is has a quite an emotional value). My other default choice is Kempff. For some reason I prefer Kempf above my other sets (Gulda, Brendel, Barenboim, Kovacevich). Must say I like Uchida in the late sonata's. Spoiled for choice, I am afraid.

 

Now listening to the Allman Brothers ... 

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On 9/10/2017 at 5:11 AM, sphinxsix said:

20120708005.jpg

 

Hmm... to be honest I know very little about Zen, but it sounds very strange that mind of the beginner is the same as the enlightened mind (No Mind?).

 

I probably have Zen MInd, Beginner's Mind on a book shelf at home somewhere. Will look it up when I have a chance. Chapter 1 of Takuan Soho's Unfettered Mind probably deals with this subject much more directly and explicitly. If I recall, beginner's mind and no mind are similar but not the same. They are similar in the sense of the beginning and ending of a musical scale. So they are like octaves. But they are not the same pitch. And there are like 11 semi-tones between them :)

 

On 9/10/2017 at 5:40 PM, sphinxsix said:

That's the basic assumption of Zen Buddhism too.

 

So what's the sound of one hand clapping? :)

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On 9/5/2017 at 2:48 PM, highEnd said:

Magnificat, Linn Records:

Tallis: Spem in alium
http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-thomas-tallis-spem-in-alium.aspx
High Resolution (96/24 in my case)

 

What's your impression of the SQ of this album? I have it but hadn't listened to it for quite a while. If I recall the album as a whole is great except for the title track Spem in Alium. I have multiple recordings of Spem in alium and it's twin brother Alessandro Striggio's Missa Ecco so beato giorno. Never has any luck with any of them. When things got complicated, they would always turn into a mush of harsh noises. These pieces might be beyond the currently available recording technology to capture. Comments?

 

On 9/6/2017 at 6:13 PM, sphinxsix said:

I'm very impressed with all of them but in particular with da Palestrina (never heard his music before)

 

I thought "da Palestrina" is the group that performs in the album. The music here is Elizabethan. The composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was Italian and worked mostly in Rome. He probably wouldn't be composing English music.

 

And speaking of Elizabethan music, I had a chance to listen to Honey from the Hive at Ocellia's Montreal headquarters. Samuel played that for me to show off a pair of newly finished Quaero Silver Signature monoblock amps. He picked the album for a reason, to put it mildly. Highly recommended!

 

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7 hours ago, accwai said:

Hmm... to be honest I know very little about Zen, but it sounds very strange that mind of the beginner is the same as the enlightened mind

I admit that I know very little about Zen too. My understanding is that the beginner's mind is mind emptied of concepts, preconceived ideas etc. I read the book quite long ago - for the first time when I was 17-18 I believe but I've never forgotten what is probably most popular quotation from this book:  "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."

 

7 hours ago, accwai said:

If I recall, beginner's mind and no mind are similar but not the same. They are similar in the sense of the beginning and ending of a musical scale. So they are like octaves. But they are not the same pitch. And there are like 11 semi-tones between them :)

I don't know much about 'no' or 'enlightened' mind (unfortunately) but I just love this analogy.

7 hours ago, accwai said:

So what's the sound of one hand clapping? :)

You tell me! ;)

 

7 hours ago, accwai said:

I thought "da Palestrina" is the group that performs in the album. The music here is Elizabethan. The composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was Italian and worked mostly in Rome. He probably wouldn't be composing English music.

Are you sure we're talking the same album.?

http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-giovanni-pierluigi-da-palestrina-hdcd.aspx

From Linn site: ' An exuberant performance of Da Palestrina's cycle of motets by the virtuosic choir Magnificat. '

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13 hours ago, accwai said:

 

What's your impression of the SQ of this album? I have it but hadn't listened to it for quite a while. If I recall the album as a whole is great except for the title track Spem in Alium. I have multiple recordings of Spem in alium and it's twin brother Alessandro Striggio's Missa Ecco so beato giorno. Never has any luck with any of them. When things got complicated, they would always turn into a mush of harsh noises. These pieces might be beyond the currently available recording technology to capture. Comments?

 

I'll have to listen to Spem in alium again when I get the chance. I don't remember any problems with the sound quality on the Linn recording.

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13 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

I admit that I know very little about Zen too. My understanding is that the beginner's mind is mind emptied of concepts, preconceived ideas etc. I read the book quite long ago - for the first time when I was 17-18 I believe but I've never forgotten what is probably most popular quotation from this book:  "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." [...]

 

From the perspective of technique vs discipline, the beginner's mind is not weigh down by technique while the expert's mind is. On the other hand, the beginner's mind doesn't have a lot of technique to start with. So it's less capable. This distinction is particularly important in live and death situations, for example in Chapter 1 of the Soho book, which mainly applies Zen Buddhism to the art of sword. And once the expert's mind is disciplined by No Mind, there is no reason to believe that possibilities wouldn't arise.

 

In my very humble opinion, this mind vs no mind things sound almost like tranquility vs insight meditation state. Soho's book doesn't refer to this directly, but this might be a useful angle to look at the subject from a the meditative experience perspective.

 

13 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

[...] I don't know much about 'no' or 'enlightened' mind (unfortunately) but I just love this analogy.

 

Chapter 1 of the Soho book defines all the terms and goes through all the related topics in a lot of depth. It's only 20 pages and well worth the read. But Chapters 2 and 3 are seriously hardcore. Not for the faint of heart...

 

13 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

[...] You tell me! ;)

 

One can let out a loud "HA!" without interval as per the book. But I suppose one can also examine the emptiness of "sound" "one hand" "clap" and the perceiver, if one is the thinking kind. But in the end, the journey to solve a koan is probably more important than the answer in the end. So what's the answer in your case? Please tell me x-D

 

13 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

[...] Are you sure we're talking the same album.?

http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-giovanni-pierluigi-da-palestrina-hdcd.aspx

From Linn site: ' An exuberant performance of Da Palestrina's cycle of motets by the virtuosic choir Magnificat. '

 

I misread. My mistake. Sorry. Recommendation for Honey from the Hive stands though.

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On 9/10/2017 at 10:55 AM, AnotherSpin said:

 

It may sound strange for convenient understanding, but all spiritual systems tell the same at the core. I could suggest you some reading on this, even though the truth is beyond written texts. Try Sri Ramana Maharshi's 'Who Am I'. It is very short and freely available online.

 

 

IMG_5449.jpg

 

A Great Being. Reading done early in my life brought me to the works of Meher Baba and that has been my focus for over 40 years...


"Don't Believe Everything You Think"

System

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@accwai I haven't read Soho book. I know quite many Zen and Tibetan texts and books though. In recent years I got in particular interested in Dzogchen. I can recomennd eg these two books:

 

350x535_self_perfected.jpg  51hdr7U-3FL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

 

But books are books, words are words and although both are worthwile in a way, IMHO nothing can replace direct contact with a true Master, face to face.

 

And BTW life in the Netherlands is just great (well..I actually knew it before moving here). The only disatvantages being fast changing weather (it rains sometimes a couple of times a day and meanwhile you've got sunshine) and the monotony of flat landscape - the highest point of the country being Vaalserberg - 322m..(I actually sold my mountain bike to a friend before coming here) Oh, I almost forgot - the Dutch speak quite weird sounding language I don't understand. Fortunately they all speak English too.

 

I think that although I'm quite busy right now I'm slowly getting ready for the next chapters of my classical adventure. I hope for your further cooperation guys.

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