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Any lovers of Shostakovich's preludes and fugues? They have been a favorite of mine since high school. Anyway, I recently discovered a modern performance by David Jalbert of the number 7, which could be even better than my previous favorite performances (Scherbakov, Ashkenazy). http://youtu.be/UgEGAC1XvW8 So gorgeous. It was always my dream to be able to play this one, but I never could get it down. Does anyone know of any other modern performances of these pieces?
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Mar 14, 2013 07:07
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Thanks guys, never heard of Melnikov, but I just listened to some clips on YouTube and very impressed with his interpretation of these pieces... I may have to pick up the disc. I have heard the Jarrett performances as well, but they never made a big impression on me.
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Mar 15, 2013 20:24
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david crosby posted:Since we're talking quartets, does anyone have an opinion on who does the best Shostakovich cycle? I've heard the Emerson, (some of) the Borodin, and the cycle the Pacifica is in the middle of, and I prefer the Emerson. I know the Beethoven Quartet premiered almost all of his quartets, anyone know if their readings are good or what? The Borodin quartet have recorded them (with varying completeness) several times. This complete set is truly fantastic. But the world of Shostakovich complete sets is an embarrassment of riches and everyone has their favorite. Check out Mandelring and Danel for great performances with great sound. The connoisseurs seem to go back to Borodin, Beethoven (great but bad sound quality), or Taneyev (amazing but expensive and I have only had a chance to hear some of them). A review of the Taneyev: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2005/June05/Shostakovich_Quartets_AMC20551.htm
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Aug 15, 2013 23:28
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david crosby posted:I've listened to the Taneyev's full recording of the Myaskovsky cycle, and I thought they were pretty good, but the engineering was real bad. Some reviewer on Amazon said it sounded like they were recorded in a barn. Never heard Taneyev's quartets myself. Have you heard Heitor Villa Lobos'? He wrote quite a few and many are fantastic. I am also quite into Karl Amadeus Hartmann and he wrote a couple of excellent quartets: http://youtu.be/xu9k3SSTf9U How about Berg's Lyric Suite or Webern's Op 28? Beethoven is probably my favorite quartet composer as well. Edit: that Ginastera quartet movement was great! Gonna have to check out some more. 80k fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Aug 16, 2013 |
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Aug 16, 2013 06:22
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david crosby posted:Love that Hartmann quartet! That's exactly what I'm looking for. Lots of drama, interesting rhythms, lyricism, good understanding of the string quartet idiom, etc. His life story is pretty interesting, too. I'm really surprised his music isn't championed more. If his symphonies get as good as that quartet they should be performed often just on the quality of the music itself, but since he was such a strong anti-fascist German actually living in Germany during the war, his music could obviously have lots of appeal for extra-musical reasons. Yea, I am really amazed he is not recognized more. I could not tell from your post whether you haven't heard his symphonies or you have but thought his quartets were better? In any case, I think he is one of the greatest symphonists. I actually discovered his 6th as a coupling on a Bruckner CD and quickly became a huge fan of his work and his story. http://youtu.be/rUJAp9sNooE http://youtu.be/pWm7GHRvKdo http://youtu.be/N5AmqY5OSX8 Edit:also have you heard Willem Pijper's quartets? http://youtu.be/aZ4NphUlPHU 80k fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Aug 16, 2013 |
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Aug 16, 2013 17:14
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david crosby posted:I hadn't heard his symphonies, but I really liked what you've posted. The Sixth is very nice, I thought the ending was one of the most exciting I've heard in a long time. Some of his writing and textures sounds very contemporary. There were passages in the symphonia that sounded like something Kaija Saariaho would write. Just listened to the Britten quartet you linked to. Pretty good! I will need to listen to the others. If you like the Pijper, check out the rest. All his quartets only add up to about a disk worth of music... I have the Schoenberg Quartet performing the entire series and they are wonderful performances. His darker and more sinister style really comes out in his next few quartets. As for Hartmann, Ferdinand Leitner has conducted a couple fantastic performances. The German label Wergo released a box set that is worth hunting down that has Kubelik and a few other conductors doing the entire cycle and they are all very good. Yea, his music is really exciting. He has an amazing ability to continuously build tension.
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Aug 22, 2013 02:35
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Mahler posted:I really, really like a lot of his work (an obvious statement). Symphony 5 is really strong. First movement of 7 is sooooo good. Symphony no. 9 is so dense and rewarding... It's not that DLvdE stands head and shoulders above the rest, but for me, at this one point in time, it's the most emotionally charged and satisfying to listen to (especially the specific recording I mentioned). I'd find it really hard to try and objectively 'rank' the symphonies from best to worst. At the moment, however, DLvdE is my go-to Mahler fix. This is my non-answer to your question. I am with you on this. DLvdE is the piece I own the most recordings of, somewhere around a dozen, and one I have seen in concert three times, including an amazing chamber version. My favorite recording is easily Kubelik's with Kmentt and Baker as soloists, available on Audite. I also really like Peter Schreier as the male soloist, with a great recording conducted by Kurt Sanderling.
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May 28, 2014 03:30
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Yea, might as well check out the rest of Mahler's works. 3rd and 7th come to mind to check out first, but they all have great brass except the 4th. Shostakovich 1, 5, 7 come to mind. Bruckner 4, 7, 8. Also check out Hindemith, Sibelius, Rimsky-Korsakov.
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May 29, 2015 17:17
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Honj Steak posted:That's quite harsh, at least Alban Berg is often discarded too early. He didn't write much (his work style was extremely slow and careful), but he used the new composing techniques highly imaginatively I wholeheartedly agree with Berg. I absolutely love his music. His Violin Concerto and Lyric Suite are certainly worth exploring.
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May 29, 2015 17:20
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krampster2 posted:Arise, wake up from the dead once more oh classical thread. Check out the rest of Beethoven's piano sonatas if you haven't. If you like No. 32, his late sonatas 28-32 are all great, with 31 being my favorite. Pollini and Richter both have made great recordings of these. Check out Richter's performance of Schumann's piano concerto. Great choice on Brahm's Violin Sonata 2... it is a favorite and I have performed it before... both the violin and piano parts are incredible. Have you listened to Brahms Violin Sonata No's 1 and 3? They are also great, esp 1. Also have you heard Brahms's Piano Concerto 2? For other violin works, try - Sibelius' Violin Concerto - Berg's Violin Concerto. - You might also check out Schubert's song cycles. Like the Brahm's Violin Sonata 2, I really find Schubert wonderful in that the piano accompaniments are just as interesting as the lead (in this case voice)... try Winterreise and Die Schone Mullerin. Obvious other rec's if you like Mahler, try his other symphonies (try 1, 3, 5, 9, and Das Lied Von der Erde), but also check out - Bruckner (4, 7, and 8). - Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances - Shostakovich (5 and 10 to start with). You also might want to explore more chamber work: - Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13, Op 130 - Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8. - Bartok's String Quartets - Brahm's Clarinet Quintet - Schubert's Trout Piano Quintet 80k fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Jun 13, 2015 |
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Jun 13, 2015 17:43
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krampster2 posted:Holy crap I just listened to Shostakovich's 5th symphony and it is so amazing. I don't think I've heard music I've loved this much on first listen before. Everyone stop what you are doing and watch this concert right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FF4HyB77hQ That's awesome! If you enjoyed that performance (Bernstein 1979), check out Bernstein's 1959 recording that he did 20 years earlier... a very different interpretation. Be sure to check out his 10th, 8th, and 4th as well his string quartets.
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Jul 26, 2015 16:13
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Mederlock posted:I listened to the 1973(according to Spotify) recording which from the first few bars sounds identical to the YouTube one on the spotify pc app, and this piece is loving amazing. Bernstein's 1959 recording of Shostakovich's 5th was first released by Sony in 1973. Spotify (as well as any database that identifies CD's) have the publishing date and not the recording date. If you really compare the end of the last movement, you should hear a substantial difference. Compare the 1959 recording finale, which should be the same as the "1973 release" on Spotify. Compared to the 1979 that krampster posted, notice how much more affirming it sounds in 1959... yet in 1979, after Testimony was published (Shostakovich's memoirs, where he admitted the end of the 5th was a kind of forced rejoicing), Bernstein's interpretation was much darker... there is a paranoia throughout the entire symphony, and the end is just brutal, imo.
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Jul 27, 2015 05:06
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krampster2 posted:Does anyone else find classical music to be a little too quiet sometimes? Don't get me wrong I fully understand the importance of a diminuendo, if everything's a crescendo then nothing is and all that. Although I just don't get the reason for sections that can go on for minutes sometimes where the whole orchestra plays pianississimo or something; what's the point of music if I can't hear it? I have the CD of Bernstein's 7th with the CSO and I think it is an amazing recording. But you do have to endure some serious volume in order to hear the quiet parts.
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Aug 8, 2015 08:01
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Eifert Posting posted:I'm not really a classic music guy but after reading a book on the Siege of Leningrad I listened to Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 a few times and really liked it. Is there a consensus best performance/recording of it? I don't mind paying, obviously. The Bernstein/Chicago Symphony Orchestra is probably the most often-mentioned favorite/best performance of the 7th... it is paired with the 1st on a 2CD set. Kondrashin and Gergiev and Ancerl are worth checking out as well.
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Dec 30, 2015 06:17
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Franchescanado posted:This is wonderful, and I really appreciate you taking the time to find and post these. Be sure to check out his 3 Violin Sonatas. They are my favorite of his works: https://open.spotify.com/album/7etZIPm1cV4m4C062kJsGr
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Oct 14, 2016 04:50
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Tiresias2 posted:Like, rivaling Beethoven and Mozart good or just good? I really like his stuff, and I definitely would put him up there, but I'm just an amateur listener. Pretty darn close. His final years of life were so incredibly productive that he would potentially have reached Bach/Beethoven/Mozart levels of greatness/popularity (not even sure if that means anything) if he lived longer. His chamber, songs, and piano sonatas are his best works, imo, and it took the musical world a long time to realize how great they were.
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Mar 6, 2018 17:57
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Doc Fission posted:I don't have a background in music - can't even read sheet music - but piano compositions have really been comforting to me during quarantine. I've been listening to Rachmaninoff's piano sonatas a lot. Does anyone have any recommendation for piano compositions? Solo Piano music is my favorite classical music to listen to. If you like Rachmaninoff's piano sonatas, definitely try his piano concertos 2 & 3. Also, try Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues for more good Russian modern music. Look for a good recording of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (the original solo Piano, not the orchestral rearrangement)... I can recommend Mikhail Pletnev's and Sviatoslav Richter's Sofia Recital. For Romantic and other later period stuff, I love Ravel's piano works. Generally 2 CD's worth will cover the repertoire, and plenty of pianists have done great recordings. I particularly like Casadesus and Bavouzet. And Chopin, of course, is a must-listen. Try his Nocturnes, Preludes, Etudes, Polonaises. For Baroque, try Bach. His French Suites, English Suites, 6 Partitas, Well Tempered Clavier, Inventions & Sinfonias are all awesome. Glenn Gould's recordings are a great place to start. For Classical period, I absolutely love Mozart's Piano Sonatas. So many of them will be familiar to you already. As a whole, they are probably the piano music I listen to the most. Lots of great entire cycles to choose from, though my current favorite set is Alicia De Larrocha's. Mozart has a lot of wonderful Piano Concertos too. Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, too:
Brahms' Piano Sonatas are great. My absolute favorite Brahms' work is actually his Sonatas for Piano and Violin. Breaks the "solo piano" theme, but as a pianist myself, I appreciate these piano pieces just as much as anything. Schubert has some great piano sonatas, but I tend to appreciate his piano music when accompanied with his Lieder songs (Die Schone Mullerin, Winterreise), if you enjoy some German classical vocal work. My favorite solo piano Schubert are in the Sviatoslav Richter collections (which also includes amazing Chopin, Lizst, Beethoven, Mussorgsky, and more). These are some of the ones that come immediate to mind.
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May 22, 2020 21:41
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OneSizeFitsAll posted:This is indeed great. I have it complement/complete the wonderful Gilels *almost* complete set, which has a lot of my favourite renditions. I love Richter for Beethoven too, though there are unsurprisingly a lot of wonderful interpreters of Beethoven's 32 sonatas. Richter is my favorite for Beethoven, as well. His recordings are so scattered throughout different collections, and often out of print, that it's hard to recommend them. My favorite of his is the late Beethoven sonatas he did in the Historic Russian Archives - Sviatoslav Richter in Concert 5CD set. Out of print now, and I know those recordings are available elsewhere. I just can't get enough of those last few sonatas he did... I always go back to Richter, Pollini, and the Guller. The Youra Guller recording is available on Youtube. The CD, coupled with No. 32 is worth hunting down. 80k fucked around with this message at 01:32 on May 23, 2020 |
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May 23, 2020 01:30
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algebra testes posted:Piano Sonatas. I'm digging Schubert and Beethoven. Brahms' is usually known for his other piano works, but he has 3 excellent piano sonatas. I like his sonatas for piano and violin even more. Rachmaninoff's piano sonatas are incredible... plenty of great recordings out there. Mozart's are among my favorites. I own more complete collections of Mozart's piano sonatas than anyone else. Prokofiev also has some awesome piano sonatas. His 6/7/8 are referred to as his war sonatas and are all excellent.
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May 2, 2021 18:35
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Feels Villeneuve posted:The hammers in Gielen's 6th knocked poo poo off the top of my speakers lol Gielen's Mahler is awesome. The first movement of the 3rd might be the best I've ever heard (though, the remaining movements are not my favorite). Chailly's cycle might be my overall favorite.
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Aug 15, 2021 17:08
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Cephas posted:Been on a Ravel kick lately. I'm completely in love with Pavane for a Dead Princess. A lot of his pieces have both an orchestral and a piano arrangement, and it's interesting to compare them. Something about the fullness of the orchestra really softens the sadness of the Pavane. The violin plucking and rhythm of the bassline feel reassuring over the sound of the lonesome horn, and the harp is so gentle and spine-tingling when it sneaks in. It's such a melancholic piece, but the harmony of the orchestra makes it sound really beautiful and stately. By comparison, the piano arrangement is just heartbreakingly lonely. The harp's piece, which sounds so lovely and enchanting in the orchestra, on piano sounds like opening the door to your childhood home and finding it desolate and bare. Ravel's solo piano arrangement of Pavane is so heartbreaking, that I have a really hard time listening to it, especially now that I have a daughter. I've literally walked out of a store in which it was on because I was not in the mood to fall into an emotional stupor. That said, it truly is one of my favorite pieces to listen to and to play on the piano, and it's amazing what great music can make one feel.
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Nov 15, 2021 04:49
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Honj Steak posted:Mozart is an interesting challenge to musicians because it only sounds good if it seems easy and natural to the listener, but its actually often really difficult to play with very demanding articulation and phrasing. The beauty is often in small structures and details, bird song and cheeky contrasts. Beethoven is often much more „massive“ in comparison. This is so true. As someone who plays the piano, I played Mozart my entire life and found it easy as a child, but as an adult, it frustrates me to no end. Last year, I made a vow to not play Mozart anymore, but just last month started playing it again (starting picking up K281). I would way rather learn and play a Beethoven sonata than a Mozart one, yet listeners always think the Beethoven is so much more impressive.
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Feb 25, 2023 22:34
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BWV posted:There is a new recording of Mahler 2 by Semyon Bychkov and Czech Philharmonic. It feels very fresh and he really exaggerates the tempo changes. It's also wonderfully mixed, maybe even especially for headphone listening. It's a piece I used to listen to constantly and so I was pretty amazed by some of the choices he made. The last movement doesn't have the drama of the Bernstein recording but I think the first movement is the best version I've ever heard. Maybe I will go back to it this week and jot down some more notes but definitely worth checking out. Listening right now. I can't resist a solid Mahler 2 recommendation, and halfway through the 1st movement, this is pretty awesome! This is a great recording, but what the heck happened to the recording at 8:46 of the second movement?? Big volume jump for a few seconds. I almost want to fix the recording with some audio editor. 80k fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Apr 16, 2023 |
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Apr 15, 2023 21:44
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