Album of the Evening

[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)

[christopher3393]

GIOVANNI GIROLAMO KAPSPERGER:  INTAVOLATURA DI CHITARONE

JONAS NORDBERG

 

 

 

Qobuz:  https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/intavolatura-di-chitarone-jonas-nordberg/lt1laa4qst64b

 

Booklet:  https://www.chandos.net/chanimages/Booklets/BI2417.pdf

[Musicophile]

12 hours ago, Bob Stern said:

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)

Yes, this one is up there with my favorites, Kleiber (unfortunately very poor SQ) and Levine (some overlap in the cast to Solti).

[rando]

Nothing marks the seasonal transition so well as a symphony for Alpenhorn with an Imperial Chocolate Milk stout.  

 

Après la pluie, le beau temps!

 

 

[Musicophile]

16/44. The CD rip already sounds quite nice. There is also an SACD version of the album. 

[elcorso]

6 hours ago, Musicophile said:

16/44. The CD rip already sounds quite nice. There is also an SACD version of the album. 

 

 

And if you like Brazilian music this one is formidable:

 

 

 

And the Qobuz download:

 

 

Roch

[Hugo9000]

Richard Wagner

Parsifal

Placido Domingo

Jessye Norman

Levine/Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus

 

Some of the late Jessye Norman's most beautiful recorded work, even if Levine's pacing is too slack.  Very nice sound, and the orchestra plays beautifully.

 

[elcorso]

 

 

Roch

[cambridgehank]

 

[austinpop]

 

A really lovely performance and recording of the familiar Schubert Octet, and the unfamiliar (to me) Berwald Septet.

[Musicophile]

GoGo Penguins latest EP is fantastic:

 

 

See my review here: https://musicophilesblog.com/2019/10/05/gogo-penguin-is-back-with-a-beautiful-album-ocean-in-a-drop/

[firedog]

1 hour ago, Musicophile said:

GoGo Penguins latest EP is fantastic:

 

 

See my review here: https://musicophilesblog.com/2019/10/05/gogo-penguin-is-back-with-a-beautiful-album-ocean-in-a-drop/

Thanks. Didn't know this had come out. Like it. Only $3.99 in 24/88 with Qobuz Sublime

[Musicophile]

51 minutes ago, firedog said:

Thanks. Didn't know this had come out. Like it. Only $3.99 in 24/88 with Qobuz Sublime

It only came out yesterday. 

[Daccord]

It's morning, and I'm listening to a single cantata (BWV 123), not an "album". Since ripping all 71 CDs and then organizing everything into works instead of discs I've had a lot of fun listening to a different cantata (in sequence) every morning.

 

[Hugo9000]

George Frideric Handel

Brockes-Passion

Richard Egarr/Academy of Ancient Music

 

Magnificent!  Streaming this while I await my CDs that are on their way from the U.K.  (U.S. release isn't until later this month according to Amazon, but it was released in Europe yesterday.  Presto Classical has it in stock, as does Amazon UK (much better price at Presto).

[biosailor]

[Musicophile]

On 10/4/2019 at 1:50 AM, Bob Stern said:

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)

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

 

 

[WAM]

Branford Marsalis for me this evening:

 

[Melvin]

[AudioDoctor]

Good rocking album. 
 

 

[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!

[Musicophile]

5 hours ago, Bob Stern said:

Solti's Figaro:

 

 

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!

My impression exactly.

 

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

 

And unfortunately the only new recent recordings are Currentzis (over the top) and Nézet-Séguin (a bit meh).

 

I wonder if I should start a kickstarter campaign for the perfect Figaro. Given all the nonsense that gets funded, at least this would be a worthy goal.

[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.

[JanRSmit]

3 hours ago, Musicophile said:

My impression exactly.

 

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

 

And unfortunately the only new recent recordings are Currentzis (over the top) and Nézet-Séguin (a bit meh).

 

I wonder if I should start a kickstarter campaign for the perfect Figaro. Given all the nonsense that gets funded, at least this would be a worthy goal.

HIP influences, what do you mean with that?

[Musicophile]

53 minutes ago, JanRSmit said:

HIP influences, what do you mean with that?

Historically informed performance. This typically results in a lighter style, with smaller ensembles, and less vibrato. 
 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historically_informed_performance

 

This trend started in the 1970s and 80s, driven by Harnoncourt and many others. This has influenced the way even “modern” orchestras and conductors perform today.