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The classical what are you listening to now ? thread.

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alanbeeb said:
What's the sound quality on that set like? Does it suffer barbican blight?
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It’s the Barbican in spades I’m afraid- polar opposite of the Gewanhaus. Listening on headphones even exaggerates the shut in sound. But..the conducting more than compensates if you are a fan of JEG.
 
There are gems in this set. I already had the bargain single disc of Mendelssohn 3, Schumann piano concerto which raised my curiosity about the full set above. Mendelssohn 5 is magnificent- played like a chamber piece until it reaches the choral in iv. Compromises? Apart from the venue acoustic, these are live performances and that can go either way. Hearing/ seeing JEG live is always an occasion and I’m not sure if what he’s doing live always comes cross on a recording. His live Verdi Requiem is something to behold, yet when you hear him pull the same theatrical tricks on record, it can sound very odd. A safer bet with Mendelssohn on record will always be Mazur and the Gewanhaus.
 
Jussi Bjorling's performance of Nessun Dorma recorded from a live Swedish Radio broadcast of a benefit concert in 1944.

Even allowing for the fairly primitive quality, this has got to be one of the, if not 'the' best recording of the aria.

The final 'Vincero' is stunning!

 
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narabdela said:
Jussi Bjorling's performance of Nessun Dorma recorded from a live Swedish Radio broadcast of a benefit concert in 1944.

Even allowing for the fairly primitive quality, this has got to be one of the, if not 'the' best recording the aria.

The final 'Vincero' is stunning!

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Bjorling- he had a beautifully compact and sincere voice. I have always loved his Manon Lescaut recording with Perla- I think. A felt and communicative performance that’s never been replicated IMO.
 
I’ve spent a very enjoyable week with Albinoni and his op.10 concertos.It’s remarkable how much his compositional skills increased over the years when comparing his op5 and op10. There are some real minor gems here but especially in his slow movements...great depth of emotion with a wonderful bitter sweet sense of yearning and longing.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000006CRQ/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

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I can tell you what I’d like to be listening to. Around 40 years ago, this man directed The English Concert in one of the most significant productions of The Brandenburg Concertos. Linn have him back in the studio and I’d pay big for them to re-record The Brandenburgs with that line up. Linn has moved recording technology on dramatically from the DG Archiv recording made in the early 80s. It was great in its day and I’m sure Linn could produce something remarkable.

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TheDecameron said:
I can tell you what I’d like to be listening to. Around 40 years ago, this man directed The English Concert in one of the most significant productions of The Brandenburg Concertos. Linn have him back in the studio and I’d pay big for them to re-record The Brandenburgs with that line up. Linn has moved recording technology on dramatically from the DG Archiv recording made in the early 80s. It was great in its day and I’m sure Linn could produce something remarkable.
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He recorded them again in 2007.....
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alanbeeb said:
He recorded them again in 2007.....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000XJ1444/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
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I think you’ve just cost me twenty quid there.
I also recently heard Jordi Savall’s too-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035GU9WK/?tag=pinkfishmedia-20
Another beautiful interpretation and not as wayward as I was expecting. I thought he would be even further in the direction of Alessandrini-
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/bach-complete-brandenburg-concertos
The wind playing in the Savall version is very special.
 
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Not often I post here. Mostly my listening is too conservative to surprise. But here is something that is far from way-out, but still un-usual.

JS Bach, Art Of Fugue, recorded for Decca by Karl Munchinger in an arrangement for small orchestra. I am not usually terribly enthusiastic for arrangements, but this music is so abstract that it does not put me off. Rather the reverse. I have Helmut Walcha playing this music on organ, for a different set of ideas, but Munchinger certainly has his head round the demands of the music - in my view at least.

Best wishes from George
 
Mozart string quintets by the Grumiaux. At its best, Mozart's chamber music is astonishing. This is a classic recording. Wonderful.

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Jacob Obrecht, Missa Maria Zart (Peter Phillips, Tallis Scholars)
An extraordinarily epic piece of four-part writing, huge washes of strangely abstract composition. This is pretty much unique. If you don't know it, or if you're not already a fan of late medieval polyphony, please do give it a try.

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I freely admit that the marketing worked. The sight of a pretty young blonde perched on a tree caught my eye, and the core rep or near core rep mixed recital looked nice. An Amazon Add-on price made it a must buy. Ms Gerl and her cohorts play up her prettiness in the booklet, though they repeat some shots, but that's secondary, at best. The disc reveals Ms Gerl to have some real talent. Starting with robust and playful Mendelssohn, moving to ravishing and technically dazzling Liszt, then to uncommonly attractive DSCH, the disc starts strong. Chabrier's Bouree Fantasque ends up a real treat. Gerl's version is different than Kyriakou, Strosser, or Cole. As technically polished as the last two, Gerl ends up playing with greater flexibility and color. It's something of an ear opener. More fine Mendelssohn follows, as does a delightful Debussy L'isle joyeuse. Then comes the Schubert. First is the Liszt transcription of Der Wanderer, which is superbly lyrical. Second is D760. Gerl goes for the large-scale, quasi-symphonic approach. She plays everything without seeming to strain in the least. Her piano sound is just fantastic throughout. Superb sonics. Ms Gerl must record more. This disc is quite the find; it is discs like this that keep me collecting and searching for new artists.

(Also, Bonn born Ms Gerl did a portion of her studying at the University of Fairbanks. This is the second time I've read about Fairbanks and classical music in the past month or so. WTF?)



Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LXUSXWS/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
 
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