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Help required re classical LPs

RickyC6

RickyC6

Infuriate the frog-men
In amongst a bunch of vinyl I've bought are 2 classical box sets in near mint condition. Just wondering where they 'sit' in the world of classical LPs etc (I know nothing whatsoever about this stuff - so please feel free to take the piss!) i.e. are they 'Sgt Pepper or 'Pelican West'?! My wife likes a bit of classical now and again e.g. 'Relaxing Classics' compilations etc - so could these be a next step for her towards the proper stuff?

Mozart - Die Zauberflote - Karajan - Deutshe Grammophon (3LP - 2471001)
An Evening With The Boston Symphony Orchestra - Deutshe Grammophon (4LP - 2721034)

Thanks for an info........

Rich
 
Deutsch Grammofon (sp?) is a well respected label. Karajan a well respected conductor. Die Zauberflote, is I think, The Magic Flute, a well known piece, except to me!. I'm a classiscal fan, but can claim very little knowledge. Why don't you listen to them yourself? A bit of classical can be very satisfying once you get into it.
 
Mullardman - listening to it?! Outrageous! I might like it and then think what would happen - centuries worth of new music to get into when I can't even keep up with the stuff I know I like from the last half of the 20th Century!

Seriously - will have to get 'er indoors to give them a spin as she's got some time off before Xmas......just a very scary subject to get into.....

Rich
 
Originally posted by RickyC6
just a very scary subject to get into.....

Rich
Click to expand...

No it's not. That's just a smoke screen put about by musical snobs. " By jove Claude, the implied erotico- fulminatory desolation of his glissando is quayte remarkable". Cobblers.. If I like the tunes and they pull at my emotions, it's good music. As far as I'm concerned, all good music has the much discussed 'prat', combined with a building and subsequent release of tension or expectation. Bit like a joke and a punch lline really. Simple as that.

Personally, I like Elgar, Dvorak, Mozart, Vaughan Williams and bits n pieces by loads of others. I like concerti, like the Elgar and Dvorak Cello, the Mozart piano and the Crusell and Weber Clarinets. I also like operatic arias, but probably couldn't listen to a whole opera. Gigli (long dead) had a fantastic gentle tenor voice, not a bit like the 'belt it out' style of Pavarotti. Bit like comparing James Taylor and Bob Dylan.

Go on..... dip yer toe in!

Col

PS, I listen to proper music as well..... I'm not a wierdo!
 
Originally posted by Mullardman
" By jove Claude, the implied erotico- fulminatory desolation of his glissando is quayte remarkable".
Click to expand...

LOL!! Thanks Mullardman - bit of perspective there is appreciated.

Rich
 
Mullardman said:
Deutsch Grammofon (sp?) is a well respected label. Karajan a well respected conductor. Die Zauberflote, is I think, The Magic Flute, a well known piece, except to me!. I'm a classiscal fan, but can claim very little knowledge. Why don't you listen to them yourself? A bit of classical can be very satisfying once you get into it.
Click to expand...

I agree as Mullardman has said, give them a listen, but Die Zauberflote is an opera & is far from typical of classical music. I have a lot of opera but only 3 Mozart &, like other composers, there is a lot of talking between the music - in fact with Zauberflote you have to get to the end of the acts before you get uninterrupted music. Operas are meant to be watched as well as listened to & Mozart is not a good starting point - Verdi by far the best for the beginner (& also good for the more experienced). I would bet that you prefer the Evening with The Boston Symphony Orchestra even though I have no idea what is on it. Classical music covers such a wide range it is difficult to know where to start, but if you fancy a go, try Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" which is actually a ballet but also a superb piece of music in its own right - & I would also bet there are bits in it which you recognise but you did not know were classical music pieces.
 
FWIW I think Mozart, and Die Zauberflöte in particular, is a great starting point for opera. There is a lot of "uninterrupted music" right at the beginning. Overture and first arias. If you don't want the recitatives and other slow bits, get one of the numerous Best Of compilations that cut out the less interesting bits and serve up the choice tunes from a given opera on one single LP.
 
I have had a soft spot for the Magic Flute ever since I took part in a school production around 1970!! The story line is a bit like a pantomime with goodies, baddies and good fairies. There is an undercurrent of Masonic ritual. But most important it has some wonderful tunes.
 
RickyC6 said:
In amongst a bunch of vinyl I've bought are 2 classical box sets in near mint condition. Just wondering where they 'sit' in the world of classical LPs etc (I know nothing whatsoever about this stuff - so please feel free to take the piss!) i.e. are they 'Sgt Pepper or 'Pelican West'?! My wife likes a bit of classical now and again e.g. 'Relaxing Classics' compilations etc - so could these be a next step for her towards the proper stuff?

Mozart - Die Zauberflote - Karajan - Deutshe Grammophon (3LP - 2471001)
An Evening With The Boston Symphony Orchestra - Deutshe Grammophon (4LP - 2721034)

Thanks for an info........

Rich
Click to expand...
That Zauberflote is regarded as one of the good ones, by me at least. The only Karajan recording I have that I consider a failure is the Planets he did in about 1981. It's a dog, largely down to dreadful balance engineering and a terrible bum note at the end of the "in your face" organ run in the second last movement. His 1960s Decca rendition is much better. In my case, and this is essentially how my classical collection was grown from scratch in the 70s, if it was on the DGG or EMI label and Karajan's name was on it, I bought it. Didn't regret a one (except that Planets).
 
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