Album of the Evening

[Bob Stern]

Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge - Pierre-Laurent Aimard

 

There is a documentary film about Aimard working with the Steinway piano tuner to produce a different tone quality for different fugues in preparation for this recording. The tweaks they experiment with are amazing. Have you seen it?

Pianomania (2009) - IMDb

 

At least in the Redbook CD, I think Aimard's efforts were entirely wasted. I cannot hear any difference in timbre between the tracks. I hope it was recorded in 24/96 and that the differences will become audible when DG ultimately releases the 24/96 version.

[Bob Stern]

Scarlatti harpsichord & Elliot Carter flute on eClassical

 

Two items currently offered at discount on eClassical:

 

1. The entire Mirare label is 30% off "this week" (unclear when the week started). I particularly recommend this album of Scarlatti harpsichord sonatas by Hantaï. It's the most dramatic Scarlatti playing I've ever heard, but everything breathes, unlike so many overly forceful or brisk HIP players. The slow movements are expressive, not rushed.

 

eClassical - Scarlatti 3

 

2. Today's 1/2 price special is an album of solo flute by Sharon Bezaly. Most of it is of no interest to me, but I recommend track 5, "Scrivo en Vento" by Elliot Carter. Price is 54 cents. It is very unusual and very interesting, and not at all off-putting as Carter sometimes can be.

 

eClassical - Solo Flute from A to Z - Vol.2

[Bob Stern]

The Amadeus Quartet RIAS recordings of Mozart's quartets and quintets, including the Clarinet Quintet in A major. Simply stunning performances. Pellucid, vintage (1950-57) sound, mono of course, from a Qobuz 16/44.1 download. ... the price is right: 3.59 Euros ($4.86) for 52 tracks!

 

That's an amazing price!

 

FYI, Audite's own website sells a 24/48 FLAC version for €16.50.

audite! - The RIAS Amadeus Quartet Mozart Recordings

 

In their stereo recordings for DG, the first violinist was extremely dominant. Is that equally true in these RIAS recordings?

[Bob Stern]

Bach Partitas for Piano

 

I would add a recommendation of Andras Schiff. For me, more interesting and varied than Perahia.

 

Jud, it's worth getting to know the keyboard partitas because they are among Bach's last and greatest works. (In contrast, the cello suites are relatively early.)

 

Incidentally, until a few years ago, the violin sonatas and partitas were much more often recorded and highly regarded than the cello suites, but now the latter seem to be in vogue. Violin partita 2, especially the famous chaconne, is one of Bach's very best works.

[Bob Stern]

Ecm 2009.

[Bob Stern]

Bach Partitas for Piano

 

I would add a recommendation of Andras Schiff. For me, more interesting and varied than Perahia.

I just listened to Partita 4, and now I reverse my recommendation! Schiff is forceful and energetic, whereas Perahia is slow, relaxed and nuanced. At least in my present mood, I prefer Perahia.

 

Rather than declaring either one "better", I hope this comparison is useful to anyone whose preferences tend one way or the other.

[Bob Stern]

Schumann - Mitsuko Uchida (24/96).

Yes, that's a stupendous performance!

 

Are Qobuz and HDtracks still the only vendors of 24/96 downloads from Universal (DG/Decca/Philips)?

[Bob Stern]

Thanks!

 

The availability of 24/96 is still disappointingly random. Several Mozart piano concerto recordings with Uchida and the Cleveland Orch are on Qobuz and Presto as 16/44 downloads, while HDtracks has only concertos 18 & 19 in 24/96.

[Bob Stern]

I cannot imagine a relaxing version of the Ride of the Valkyries!

[Bob Stern]

Melnikov is the common denominator on these five Hindemith sonatas. All are at least good, some are achingly beautiful, including the one on which Melnikov's accompanist is Faust.

This is a superb introduction to Hindemith. Much more lyrical than typical for him.

 

It's not obvious from the cover photo, but this album has 5 sonatas, each featuring a different solo instrument with piano: trumpet, french horn, trombone, cello & violin. I enjoy the variety.

 

Faust is only on the 10-minute violin sonata. She is fine (I'm not a big fan of hers generally), but there is a sweeter performance of the violin sonata by Frank Peter Zimmerman on BIS. As usual with BIS, you don't have to buy the entire album; you can buy just the 1935 violin sonata (tracks 10 & 11) in 24/96 for $2.

 

eClassical - Hindemith - Works for violin

[Bob Stern]

Musicophile:

 

Your blog says you haven't developed an appreciation for most of the Mahler symphonies except for 1, 4 and part of 5 (which part?) I suggest the next thing to try would be the Adagio of Sym 6, all but the first movement of Sym 3, and the inner movements of Sym 2. If you aren't averse to vocal music, try Das Lied von der Erde (skip the first movement), Part 2 of Sym 8, and the Ruckert songs.

 

As for Ivan Fischer, I only have his Mahler 2, and I find all but the finale quite bland. But my ideal Mahler interpreter is late Bernstein, whom you may find overwrought.

[Bob Stern]

Verdi: Don Carlo (the Italian version). Giulini and a stellar cast. Vivid sound from LPs digitized at 24/96.

 

Yes, that's a great performance!

 

Did you digitize the LPs yourself, or did you buy the 24/96 version?

 

I have the Redbook CD in the 2009 remastering in the EMI "Great Recordings of Century" series, and it sounds distorted in many of the loud parts. Is your copy distorted too? For example, in the Fountainbleu scene, Domingo's aria "Io la vidi é al suo sorriso" about 3m 20s from the beginning of the opera. (I can cite other examples, but this is the easiest to find on an LP lacking tracks like a CD.)

[Bob Stern]

Mendelssohn string quartets

 

I love the Emerson String Quartet set on DG. I often find the Emerson too slick and computer-perfect, but this set is very expressive. I like it even more than the highly regarded, bargain-priced Pacifica String Quartet on Cedille in high-res.

[Bob Stern]

I have the LPs, which I digitized myself. I did not recall any distortion, so I went back and checked, just to make sure. Domingo sounds in full form and not at all distorted. I suspect an artifact of the digital remastering. Sorry about that.

 

Thanks very much for expending the effort to check!

 

Perhaps the master tapes had degraded by the time EMI did their 2009 remastering.

[Bob Stern]

I also share a special attraction to 'Fin-de-Siecle Vienna'. ... Which CD is this? I'm at a loss to identify it...

 

The review on this Amazon page lists the contents. It's a 2005 album with excerpts from numerous works. I don’t know how Brahms got included with that bunch!

 

https://www.amazon.com/Vienne-1900-STRAUSS-SCHOENBERG-BRAHMS/dp/B000BS6YAQ

[Bob Stern]

Guidof, I'm curious how you learned about the Chiara Qt. Seems like an obscure discovery. Did you hear them locally? How does their Bartok compare with other recordings you have?

[Bob Stern]

Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava

 

Their recording of the Rachmaninoff "All Night Vigil" (Vespers) also is superb. (Ondine label 2011)

[Bob Stern]

1 hour ago, Guidof said:

Zelenka: Six Sonatas. Fine performances by Zefiro, an Italian ensemble that showcases period wind instruments.

 

Glad to see Zelenka mentioned, as Baroque composers are popular on this forum but Zelenka seems overlooked.  His music is distinctive because it uses dissonances and modulations that were considered "incorrect" in that era.

[Bob Stern]

34 minutes ago, Guidof said:

Won't dethrone the Guarneri (for the middle quartets):

 

You displayed the Guarneri's 1969 RCA album.  What do you think of their 1986 cycle on Philips?  I waver in my preference, but I think op 127 is a highlight of the Guarneri 1986 cycle.  My favorite Italiano is op 130.

[Bob Stern]

9 hours ago, Hugo9000 said:

In memory of Jessye Norman. 

 

Richard Strauss

Vier letzte Lieder

Orchesterlieder

Jessye Norman

Kurt Masur/Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

 

Perfect tribute.  She was outstanding in everything from Handel to Wagner, but that Strauss album is one of her best.

[Bob Stern]

Jessye Norman:  Favorite selections from NY Times critics:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/arts/music/jessye-norman-greatest-performances.html

[Bob Stern]

Le Nozze di Figaro:

 

A uniformly stellar cast from 1982: Te Kanawa, Popp, von Stade, Thomas Allen, Ramey, Kurt Moll, with Solti conducting.  Listen before you buy to see whether you're bothered by Solti or the early digital sound.  Don’t miss von Stade's Cherubino.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_nozze_di_Figaro_(Georg_Solti_recording)

[Bob Stern]

Solti's Figaro:

 

6 hours ago, Musicophile said:

Thanks again for the recommendation. Playing it now. And it’s indeed very good!

 

You inspired me to listen to it for the first time in a very long time.  The overture is nothing special — perhaps the London Phil at that time could not keep up with Solti's tempo.  However, once the singing began, I found it superb from beginning to end!

[Bob Stern]

2 hours ago, Musicophile said:

Too bad that in the early 80s the HIP influences hadn’t impacted the mainstream yet.

 

My preferences are the opposite of yours.  I love old-fashioned romanticism.  I especially lament the HIP influence on mid to late Romantic music like Schumann and Brahms.

 

For example, I love the Brahms violin sonatas in the flowing style of the Khachatryan siblings.

[Bob Stern]

I consider Brahms 2nd piano concerto Brahms' greatest piece and the greatest piano concerto ever written.

 

My benchmarks from the analog era are Serkin/Szell in the 2nd and Fleisher/Szell in the 1st.  Even if you prefer more modern sound, it would be worthwhile listing to those.