As always, Dom, I'll reread your posting here several times! All of the above has gotten only a single quick listen. I need to go back and listen in detail. I am really enjoying Mahler right now, so my line-up on the player is pretty loaded with him. I'll hopefully let you know soon what I thought of Davis doing Mahler - I need to listen to the others enough to get a feel for how others play him. So far that includes Slatkin, Bernstein, and Solti. I did enjoy his conducting the Haydn symphonies, but the symphonies in and of themselves didn't do a whole lot for me. I'm finding myself more at home with the Baroque and Romantic eras, although Mozart has been making a bit of a comeback for me. Beethoven is always at or near the top, particularly his Violin Concerto and string quartets. Fliter was fine in her performance of Chopin, but nothing that stood out. Today I am going to do another listening of Berlioz. I actually was teetering between the Davis and the Gardiner recordings, but went with Davis - there were a lot of recommendations for that recording. However, I do plan on trying out the Gardiner recording as well - you know how much I enjoy pretty much anything by him and Pinnock. I decided to not try to load everything on my MP3 player at once, and instead have gone with higher quality files, and fewer. I focus on types of music. Right now, it is loaded with symphonies and concertos, as well as the newest recordings I have not yet listened to. So all of Mahler is on it, as well as others discussed.
Sounds good to me. I'll be waiting to hear your reviews. I noticed you just mentioned Slatkin. I'm very curious as to your take on that one; I'm a huge fan of Slatkin's work and actually just saw him conducting this weekend.
Maybe it's time for me to revisit Solti. I like a lot of his other recordings (especially his Lohengrin, with Domingo and Norman....not traditional Wagnerians), so why not give him another shot. It will take a lot for someone to better Mehta's 2nd and Walter's 9th, though. As to working in industry, I prefer it to academia. I did go the whole PhD/postdoc route (structural biology), and while I enjoyed my academic postdoc time, this has been a whole new level of intensity. Also, watching projects you're on get to clinical trials and further gives you a great deal of satisfaction, even though I'm in discovery research, and am waaaayyy down the pipeline. There is uncertainity in the business right now, though. People are getting laid off left, right and centre.
Dom - regarding Bohm's Requiem, don't worry. I just got it from the library to evaluate if I want to buy it. I had been on the waiting list, and it finally became available. I screen as much as I can through the library now - I get to hear the whole thing, instead of little 30-second sound clips. That came in, as well as Bohm directing Wagner's entire Ring cycle (14 discs!!!!!). I think it was from a 1967 live performance in Bayreuth. I also got more Rubinstein playing Chopin, Mahler's 5th and 7th symphonies (both by Bernstein), and Walter conducting Mahler's Lied von der Erde. Today is a Bohm day. I'm listening to Rheingold now. I have no idea how long it will take me to get through all 14 discs. Incidentally, I listened again to Mahler's 8th symphony yesterday. Not my favorite. I prefer the 2nd. I need to let it sink in a little more. Oh, and I really enjoy Slatkin's conducting of the 2nd. It was recommended on Classical.net. Can't give you any technical reasons for why I preferred it to the Solti performance of the same, I just do. I haven't heard Bernstein's version of that one (or the Mehta performance that Wabbit enjoys).
I've been on a bit of a Chopin kick these last couple of days, myself I'm not really fond of Horowitz's performances. He always seems to be in too much of a hurry and the feeling is lost. I need to pick up a box set or two... my music collection is sadly devoid of any volumes of the classical persuasion anymore.
So, Dom, once again I bow to your superior knowledge.:whacky084 The Bohm conducting of Requiem is the best I have heard. Gardiner's is better than the von Karajan recording I already had, but seems a bit too light for a Requiem. Bohm's is slower than the others, but then the tempo and the "weight" of it feel right for a Requiem. I'll definitely be adding it to my list of recordings to purchase. I've made it all the way through Das Rheingold, and about halfway through Die Walkure in my journey through Wagner's Ring. It is interesting listening to a live recording. In the quieter places, you can hear various people coughing, etc., and I thought that would be distracting, but it hasn't turned out to be so. Not my favorite opera thus far (or musical drama, as Wagner would have preferred), but I am enjoying hearing more than just the highlights. I do enjoy the through composing a bit more than all the recitatives in earlier operas - at least when listening only. The recitatives are somewhat boring in other operas, especially when it is already in a language I don't speak. I am trying to understand the German in the Ring - it will take me a couple listens. While at the library, I picked up three other recordings to see if I would like them - Willcock's conducting of Haydn's "Lord Nelson Mass" (I already had Trevor Pinnock's recording), Previn's conducting of Debussy's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune, 3 Images, and 3 Nocturnes, and Colin Davis conducting Sibelius' symphonies (vol. 2, with symphonies 3, 6, and 7, along with the D minor Violin Concerto, Finlandia, Tapiola, and The Swan of Tuonela). What can I say, I am addicted.
It is interesting how my progression with classical music goes - I started this convinced that Mozart was the beginning and the end. Now I like so many different composers, from so many different periods, it is hard to keep track of them all. I go through shifts from time to time. For a while, I was obsessed with baroque. Then it was Beethoven. Then it was chamber music. Now it is a couple different things. First of all, I have really been enjoying concertos lately - specifically, violin concertos. I really like Beethoven's, Brahms', Mendelssohn's. I also am obsessed lately with Mahler. I have all of his symphonies except the 3rd and 10th. The 3rd is next on the list to get. I am intrigued by a 1 hour 45 minute symphony. I have also recently discovered Bruckner's symphonies. I love the 4th, and just picked up the 9th, but haven't listened to it yet. Who knows where my next shift will be to. Maybe more modern composers? I picked up Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony, and found it enjoyable. Maybe I will look into Also Sprach Zarathustra.
Due to my really enjoying the playing of Maurizio Pollini, I picked up some other recordings of his - specifically, Chopin's Etudes, 2nd and 3rd Piano Sonatas, and Opp. 33-36 and 38, as well as Debussy's Etudes and Berg's Piano Sonata, and then his recording of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Webern, and Boulez. I love the Chopin, and am learning to appreciate Debussy. However, the Stravinsky, et. al. recording just really does nothing for me. Stravinsky's Petrouchka is not bad, but Prokofiev, Webern, and Boulez just sound like random banging on the piano. I had read that this was a highly recommended recording, so I am inclined to think that I just don't have a taste for these modern composers. I also checked out Rubinstein's 10-disc Chopin collection from the library, and absolutely love it! Wonderful stuff. And Dom, last night I bought Gardiner's recording of Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique, and am in the process of listening to it. I also now have Mahler's 3rd Symphony, conducted by Abbado. I think number 2 is still my favorite of those works.
Sorry to see this thread die, so I'll resurrect it. I have gone whole hog into classical music - too much to list all here. However, I have discovered some wonderful pieces that I'll list here. Mahler - anything, really, but I absolutely love the 2nd symphony. I have several recordings - Rattle with Birmingham, Solti, Slatkin, Klemperer/Bavaria live. Das Lied von der Erde is also wonderful. Beethoven - so much, but his 9th Symphony stands out. For "big" sound, Karajan's '62 recording is incredible. For HIP, I really like Gardiner's recording, but Immerseel has an incredible performance. Elgar's Cello Concerto is a wonderfully beautiful piece - it has beaten out Dvorak for best cello concerto - du Pre with Barbirolli is the recording to own. For piano music, anything by Chopin, or Rachmaninoff for that matter. And Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto is heavenly. Those are my favorite pieces, just off the top of my head.
For something memorable, look for a professional orchestra performing this live. It is worth the price of a good seat. Yes.
Hey, Dom. I don't know if you've followed this thread, but I had some updated comments. A while back you recommended Harnoncourt's recordings of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, and I was highly impressed with them - preferred them to Pinnock's. However, I have been on a huge Bach kick as of late, and have been listening to a great variety, and have found some real jewels. For his keyboard works, I absolutely love Murray Perahia's recordings - especially the Goldberg Variations. Absolutely wonderful. For the Brandenburgs, I stumbled across a couple of recordings that are amazing - both using period instruments, like Harnoncourt. The first is by Alessandrini and the Italian Concerto. This is an incredible recording - very fresh and clean. The other is by Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan. It is almost as impressive, but I think Alessandrini edges Suzuki out, in my eyes. Suzuki also has a great recording of the Orchestral Suites, which I greatly enjoy, but is slightly edged out by Diego Fasolis and I Barocchisti. For the Cello Suites, I had been going back and forth between Fournier and Rostropovich, but I discovered a recording by Steven Isserlis that is very nice, and is currently my preferred recording. In general, Suzuki has some wonderful Bach recordings out - both solo harpsichord recordings, as well as some of Bach's larger works. I love his recording of the Mass in B Minor, and am hoping, when I get some more money in, to obtain his recordings of the Passions. If they are as nice as the Mass, they should be a treat. They are all on BIS, and are all on SACDs, so a little pricier (I don't have a SACD player, so it seems overkill, but they don't offer a normal CD alternative, and the recordings are that good that I paid a little extra). Anyways, thought I would add that. I'm sure you were probably aware of those already, but I thought I would mention it. Also, in the last month, I have discovered the Beethoven symphony cycles by Paavo Jarvi andthe Deutsche Kammerorchester Bremen, as well as Osmo Vanska with the Minnesota Philharmonic - these are both incredible. Great sound, wonderful readings of the symphonies. I had been slipping into a period instrument obsession since hearing the Immerseel/Anima Eterna Beethoven symphony cycle, but these two conductors pulled me away from that.
I love classical music. JS Bach particularly. Musical Offering, St Matthew Passion, Goldberg Variations are favorites of mine. But I'm a big fan of all kinds of classical. I was just listening to Dvorak's New World Symphony yesterday and I love Chopin, Gershwin, Rossini's overtures. I played in the school orchestra as a kid and I've never lost my attraction to the music. Any music. I'm a big jazz and blues fan too. Trad/bluegrass, folk, Alt, even some hip hop. And my kids are always bringing me new stuff that I like.
Hi All, I'm new to this thread and to the forum as well. I am thinking today that my favorite classical work is Mahler's Second Symphony, The Resurrection. My favorite recorded performance of this work remains Zubin Mehta's 1973 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic. It has long been a favorite among audiophiles for it's natural sound, dynamic range and staging imagery. Copies of the original Decca (UK) LP are often sold to collectors for hundreds of dollars, depending on condition. I prefer this performance to the others in my collection because I find the singing so contrite. My personal collection of classical LPs and CDs is rather large and was larger at one time, but I have taken to giving away many records for space considerations. At one time I had nearly 5000 records.
I am not familiar with Solti's interpretations of Mahler. I always found Walter to be the most satisfying. Saturday I had the immense pleasure of attending a performance of the Mahler 2nd by the San Francisco Symphony, under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, at Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan. I found MTT's interpretation to be more vigorous than Walter's but immensely satisfying. The orchestra and U of M Choral Union were well rehearsed and artfully managed even the most challenging passages. It was an evening I will never forget, I assure you. I came home and looked up MTT's recordings and found all of the Mahler was in Hybrid SACD format and at double the cost of the standard CD. Not having the proper equipment to play the SACD I will remain content with my Walter CD of the Mahler 1st and 2nd. I'm a big fan of Prokofiev's work and love the piano concertos. Rachmaninov's piano works have also been favorites since I was a kid. In high school, decades ago, I wore out a LP copy of Cliburn playing a live performance of the Rachmaninov 3rd piano concerto with, I think, the Moscow State Orchestra under Kiril Kondrashin. I had borrowed it from a friend and I had to find the money to replace it and buy a copy of my own.
I envy you, Dexterous. I have not lived close enough to a city with a great orchestra for almost 40 years, and it would be my most memorable experience to hear a spirited performance of the Resurrection... perhaps one day. Solti's Mahler is really an acquired taste, but his version of the 8th with the Chicago is far and away my favorite of this work. I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Solti perform with the CSO at the University of Illinois in 1972; the work performed was the Beethoven 9th, not Mahler. I do have several of the MTT/SFSO Mahler recordings (yes, I have an SACD player), but not the Second. I must say that having the the Walter performance with the Columbia Symphony, there are several 2nds that I prefer. Beyond the Mehta, there's also Bernstein's with the London Symphony and the Stokowski, also with the LSO.
I have a copy of a boxed set that contains Gould's '59 and '81 recordings of the Goldberg and it's amazing to listen to. I also came across a couple recordings recently that give different interpretations. They're transcribed for string trio by Dmitry Sitkovetsky and there are two versions I've heard. One is performed by DmitriSitkovetsky, Gerard Caussé, and Mischa Maisky and the other by Mischa Maisky, Julian Rachlin and Nobuko Imai. My son (who I admit has a better ear than I do) says the first is better but I like them both.
I saw the CSO do Mahler's 4th a few years ago-wow!!! I would absolutely love to see the 2nd or 8th played live. My 8th is by the London Philharmonic, I'll have to check out Solit's. Mahler's 4th with Kathleen Battle is IMHO one of the best things one can feast their ears on. I'm fairly new here and just discovered this thread-shaving and classical music-nice.
