Album of the Evening

[sphinxsix]

[Hugo9000]

Camille Saint-Saëns

Ernest Chausson

Piano Quartets

Schubert Ensemble

 

 

The Chausson is particularly gorgeous, the second movement is rapturously lyrical.  I keep repeating that track haha!  I'll probably repeat it a few more times before the night is over.  Such a shame he died so young (44) in a tragic bicycle crash.  Wonderful performances.  

 

[Hugo9000]

Ernst von Dohnànyi

Piano Concerti Nos 1 & 2

Howard Shelley

Mattias Bamert/BBC Philharmonic

 

[WAM]

A beautiful album (in more than one way, it's a gorgeous release).

 

[Hugo9000]

Alexander Glazunov

Symphonies Nos 1 & 5

Neeme Järvi/Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

 

 

I think the only Orfeo CDs in my collection are the full set of Glazunov symphonies conducted by Neeme Järvi.  The sound quality is really beautiful, at least on my Sennheiser HD 58X headphones which I'm listening with right now.  Of all the truly prolific conductors (with regard to recordings, not necessarily live performances), I think Järvi's work is most consistently to my taste, and while I sometimes prefer other conductors' interpretations, his never feel "wrong" to me.

[Hugo9000]

My favorite symphony!  I own over 30 recordings of this, and have heard all of the others that I'm aware of at least once through the years, except a few I didn't bother with due to the extreme nature of the butchering cuts made to the score.  I want this symphony complete, which means none of those cuts used for ages are permitted, but it must also include the exposition repeat in the first movement as noted in the score.  That rules out many recordings from the top place in my heart right there.  I also demand that there be no drum whack added to the end of the second movement.  That rules out many more recordings!  After decades of seeking the ultimate recording of this beloved masterpiece, my savior, Lan Shui, finally appeared, aided by BIS and their incredible engineering, and the magnificent playing of an orchestra I'd never even heard of until buying this recording, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.  The recording, incidentally, was made in celebration of the orchestra's 30th anniversary!  Pure, unrelenting ecstasy!

 

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov

Symphony No. 2

Lan Shui/Singapore Symphony Orchestra

 

on Hybrid SACD:

 

 

 

I cannot possibly begin to express my gratitude to this man for the gift of his musicianship and passion!  His recordings of the other two symphonies by Rachmaninov are also unsurpassed for me.  Also his complete cycle of the Beethoven symphonies.  And his Debussy.  And his recordings with Gil Shaham (my favorite violinist)!

[biosailor]

[Musicophile]

To this day, I still don’t “get” Sibelius’ symphonies.

 

Maybe this highly praised beginning of a new cycle will help me get there:

 

 

16/44 streaming from Qobuz

[AnotherSpin]

11 minutes ago, Musicophile said:

To this day, I still don’t “get” Sibelius’ symphonies.

 

Maybe this highly praised beginning of a new cycle will help me get there:

 

 

16/44 streaming from Qobuz

 

I like some old Karajan recordings of S. symphonies for EMI.

[Musicophile]

27 minutes ago, AnotherSpin said:

 

I like some old Karajan recordings of S. symphonies for EMI.

The interpretation of Rouvali really is quite impressive, I really like his energy. So it will eventually boil down to the music itself. I’ll give it more spins in the future and am looking forward to his future recordings of this cycle.

 

That said I’m happy to give Herbie a try as well. His EMI period was generally so much better than his late DG follies. 

[AnotherSpin]

3 minutes ago, Musicophile said:

The interpretation of Rouvali really is quite impressive, I really like his energy. So it will eventually boil down to the music itself. I’ll give it more spins in the future and am looking forward to his future recordings of this cycle.

 

That said I’m happy to give Herbie a try as well. His EMI period was generally so much better than his late DG follies. 

 

Well, Karajan had a no-no ticket to my personal Valhalla of great conductors for decades, but times change and I learned to appreciate his artistry now, also some of his DG recordings, even very late. His final Brahms cycle for example.

[Musicophile]

17 minutes ago, AnotherSpin said:

 

Well, Karajan had a no-no ticket to my personal Valhalla of great conductors for decades, but times change and I learned to appreciate his artistry now, also some of his DG recordings, even very late. His final Brahms cycle for example.

I must admit the only late Karajan I can stand is Bruckner, where his style of “just too much and a bit too polished” actually works.  His late Brahms cycle isn’t my cup of tea.

[austinpop]

1 hour ago, Musicophile said:

To this day, I still don’t “get” Sibelius’ symphonies.

 

Fascinating how we each have our preferences! I don't "get" a lot of composers myself, but Sibelius appealed to me from the get-go.

 

My favorite is Vänskä’s cycle on BIS.

[Musicophile]

4 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

Fascinating how we each have our preferences! I don't "get" a lot of composers myself, but Sibelius appealed to me from the get-go.

 

My favorite is Vänskä’s cycle on BIS.

I tried many versions, including Vänskä, and more recently Paavo Järvi‘s cycle. But the new Rouvali recording is really quite special. 

[AnotherSpin]

53 minutes ago, Musicophile said:

I must admit the only late Karajan I can stand is Bruckner, where his style of “just too much and a bit too polished” actually works.  His late Brahms cycle isn’t my cup of tea.

 

It might be his self-indulgence and narcissism started work for me in some manner. I will not select his Brahms, Wagner or Bruckner as the only ones, still they differentiate nicely in comparison with other established interpretations.

[Hugo9000]

26 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

Fascinating how we each have our preferences! I don't "get" a lot of composers myself, but Sibelius appealed to me from the get-go.

 

My favorite is Vänskä’s cycle on BIS.

Ah, but which one?  He has two cycles on BIS.   I have both, and I suppose I slightly prefer the second set overall, with the Minnesota Orchestra.  The earlier set was with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.  There is another BIS set with Lahti, but that one is conducted by Okko Kamu.  I have that as well.  Also on BIS, the earlier of two sets by Neeme Järvi, which he followed with another set on DG (both with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra).

 

Lots of double sets out there haha!  I also have two of the three complete sets by Paavo Berglund.  I probably would have bought his third set as well, but I couldn't locate it on CD when I last checked for it.

[slartybartfast]

A first tonight.  Enjoying a recommendation from my 11year old daughter. Giving the woofers a heck of a work out - Billie Eilish

[WAM]

4 hours ago, Musicophile said:

To this day, I still don’t “get” Sibelius’ symphonies.

 

You are not the only one.. I have this set in my library, but I just do not "get" this music,  although I try to like it. Violon concert/Kavakos is nice, very nice, by the way.

 

[sphinxsix]

The 5th. So powerful! SACD

[austinpop]

6 hours ago, Musicophile said:

I tried many versions, including Vänskä, and more recently Paavo Järvi‘s cycle. But the new Rouvali recording is really quite special. 

 

5 hours ago, Hugo9000 said:

Ah, but which one?  He has two cycles on BIS.   I have both, and I suppose I slightly prefer the second set overall, with the Minnesota Orchestra.  The earlier set was with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.  There is another BIS set with Lahti, but that one is conducted by Okko Kamu.  I have that as well.  Also on BIS, the earlier of two sets by Neeme Järvi, which he followed with another set on DG (both with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra).

 

Lots of double sets out there haha!  I also have two of the three complete sets by Paavo Berglund.  I probably would have bought his third set as well, but I couldn't locate it on CD when I last checked for it.

 

The second, or latest, cycle. The earlier one with Lahti - not so much.

 

I did sample the Rouvali a while back when I saw it on Qobuz, but will go back and give it a deeper listen.

[Musicophile]

1 hour ago, austinpop said:

 

 

The second, or latest, cycle. The earlier one with Lahti - not so much.

 

I did sample the Rouvali a while back when I saw it on Qobuz, but will go back and give it a deeper listen.

Would be interested in your feedback on Rouvali. Obviously I have limited expertise on the symphonies. 

[Musicophile]

5 hours ago, WAM said:

 

You are not the only one.. I have this set in my library, but I just do not "get" this music,  although I try to like it. Violon concert/Kavakos is nice, very nice, by the way.

 

Agree, the Kavakos is very good. But here’s  a version I like even better:

 

https://musicophilesblog.com/2015/06/24/vilde-frangs-amazing-version-of-sibelius-violin-concerto/

 

Interestingly enough, I find the violin concerto to be much more accessible than the symphonies. 

[Hugo9000]

BIS's original standalone release (single disc, before being included as part of that excellent boxed set pictured in WAM's post) of the Sibelius violin concerto played by Kavakos includes the original version of the concerto as well as the familiar revised one, which made it much more interesting for me.

 

In the revised version, competition is rather stiff, since the field is led by what I consider Jascha Heifetz's finest recording, in excellent dynamic sound on the Living Stereo Hybrid SACD release.  Other great interpretations include Christian Ferras on CD with Karajan, and on video with a young Zubin Mehta (I have the DVD), Gil Shaham, and I also like Viktoria Mullova's recording.  It was her first CD, coupled with the Tchaikovsky violin concerto.  A fitting first recording, as she had won both the International Tchaikovsky Competition (violin category, obviously lol) and the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition!  She defected from the Soviet Union shortly after--I still remember how exciting the news was at the time!  I guess defections are mostly forgotten now.

[Musicophile]

Only few weeks until Easter, so my music listening gets seasonal again:

 

 

See my review here: https://musicophilesblog.com/2019/03/31/buxtehude-membra-jesu-nostri-by-philippe-pierlots-ricercar-consort-just-beautiful/

[sphinxsix]

On 3/30/2019 at 11:36 AM, biosailor said:

How is SQ of these remasters?