The Classical Music Recommendation Thread

[Tom Guernsey 3,450]

2 hours ago, Glóin the Dark said:

 

Yeah, I might prefer some non-Boulez performance for many of the other symphonies, but if I had to pick just one complete cycle then the Boulez collection would be an easy choice. I've never liked the Bernstein approach...

I have to admit that I don't rush back to my Bernstein Mahler recordings despite his lauded status as a Mahlerian. I don't dislike them but I guess I do prefer a more precise style of conducting.

 

35 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

As I said, the third is more an expansive progression of minimalism (where Bruckner's proto-Glass style originates) mixed with extensive Wagner quotes. And both those aspects are rather broken (or in the case of the Wagner quotes, almost completely removed) in the revision, which is the usual version (especially when we're talking older recordings; the original version wasn't recorded until 1983). If you're looking for his religioso stuff in the symphonies, I'd suggest looking into the 4th (especially the coda) and the 7th - those being also his most popular (and I guess most accessible) works.

I'm going through my Tintner conducted Bruckner collection so will have a listen out for these various things.

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

4 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I'm going through my Tintner conducted Bruckner collection so will have a listen out for these various things.

Tintner does a proper Bruckner 3. (Of course, he selected the original versions of several of the other symphonies as well, which in the case of several of them definitely wouldn't be my preferred choice)

 

Re the "religioso" thing, I forgot to mention that there's a very brief snippet in the 3rd that perhaps slightly qualifies (though much less so than that from the other symphonies I've mentioned), but stands out more for another reason: A little horn figure in the finale that always reminds me of Kamen's Tristar fanfare.

 

(There's also a moment in there that my aunt thought he'd stolen from Dvorak's 9th symphony, before I told her that Bruckner wrote it first)

[Dave Reebo 8]

[Tom Guernsey 3,450]

3 hours ago, Dave Reebo said:

I have the Gielen set of Mahler symphonies (and very fine it is too) although annoyingly the boxed set misses the original couplings, which include some quite interesting choices. I mean, I'm usually happy to listen to a Mahler symphony on its own, but I think the couplings were likely to have been chosen with thought.

 

I love that Dvorak album though, Honeck seems to be one of those "every recording he does is great" type conductors (but perhaps that's just me) and the Janacek coupling is great too. Indeed, that's another case where the somewhat mainstream work is coupled with something less well known and makes for some interesting programming.

[Chen G. 5,448]

On 22/08/2024 at 10:11 PM, Marian Schedenig said:

But Wagner generally doesn't sound like Bruckner

 

The massed brass sound of Lohengrin sometimes reminds me of Bruckner. I've heard it said, maybe a little unfairly, that the prelude to act three of Meistersinger sounds like "all the best things about all the Bruckner symphonies combined."

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

Happy 200th!

[LiterallyIconic 1,528]

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[Will 2,380]

Adrian Sutton's new Violin Concerto is beautiful and brimming with energy:

 

 

[Loert 3,049]

 

[Tom Guernsey 3,450]

On 09/11/2024 at 1:04 AM, Will said:

Adrian Sutton's new Violin Concerto is beautiful and brimming with energy:

 

 

Agreed, and a lovely album all round. The suite from his score to the original stage version of War Horse is excellent - and if JW hadn't scored the film, I'd have said it was a shame he didn't get to score the film. I wonder if he would have been given the opportunity had someone other than Spielberg made it. Highly recommended.

[Chen G. 5,448]

Another Parsifal of unbelievable depth of feeling and musicality, both from Rattle at the stern and Robert Lloyd, who is beyond poetic as the old knight Gurnemanz. Glorious.

 

 

[Loert 3,049]

This piece sums up the weather we've been having in the UK so far:

 

 

[The Score Cleaner 8,486]

Listening to Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82: I. Tempo molto moderato by Sibelius, sounds like something from a 50's Disney film, like Swiss Family Robinson or Treasure Island

[karelm 3,236]

20 hours ago, Loert said:

This piece sums up the weather we've been having in the UK so far:

 

 

 

I listened to that same piece two days ago.  What the hell??  

[Jurassic Shark 15,566]

I listened to it a few years ago!

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Funnily enough, at the aforementioned Christmas concert, there was a choral and orchestral work by a local composer (who sadly died earlier in the year) which mixed elements of the nativity story with other aspects of Christmas (including a delightful movement about carol singing with a surprisingly great children's choir). I doubt it'll ever get heard beyond Guernsey, but as a slightly longer form festive work, it was really wonderful.

 

I do know what you mean though... I'm not religious either, but I'm a sucker for a Christmas carol, carol services and the like. Most secular Christmas songs are very sugary and a little goes a long way. Fortunately, we're not lacking in religious Christmas music in a myriad of styles. I recently gave Vaughan Williams' Hodie a spin (mostly as the same album had his Fantasia On Christmas Carols which was also performed that the above concert) and liked it very much. Surprisingly rousing. Well worth a listen. I feel I should listen to Bach's Christmas Cantatas but... I haven't. Yet. I guess they aren't very festive to the extent that they sound like every other Bach cantata (and I don't mean that in a derogatory way). I would also recommend Lutosławski's 20 Polish Christmas Carols - there's an excellent recording on Naxos. From memory, it's entirely Christmas carols I've never heard of, but it's a lovely work for a slightly off the beaten track selection of Christmas music.

 

OK, maybe getting a touch off topic...

 

 

Taking @Tom Guernsey's post over here where we might continue discussing it on topic.

 

Would that RVW album be this one?

 

Because that has been "my" version for the past 10+ years or so, until I picked up the Hickox version of the Fantasia earlier this year and played it for the first time a couple of weeks ago:

 

And what a difference - not that surprising, given that Willcocks was working with 60s choirs vs. Hickox's 90s ones.

 

Since hearing this, I've been thinking that I should probably also look for a newer recording of Hodie.

[Jurassic Shark 15,566]

1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Willcocks was working with 60 choirs

 

He was quite experienced!

 

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

Fixed.

[Tom Guernsey 3,450]

6 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

 

Taking @Tom Guernsey's post over here where we might continue discussing it on topic.

 

Would that RVW album be this one?

 

Because that has been "my" version for the past 10+ years or so, until I picked up the Hickox version of the Fantasia earlier this year and played it for the first time a couple of weeks ago:

I have the version on Naxos, with the same pairing. I might have to check out the Chandos version though as I enjoyed their RVW symphony cycle.

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

Apparently there's a Chandos album that pairs this with Hodie, just like those others. There's another one that pairs it with the Sea Symphony (I have that paired with the Wasps overture). Mine is paired with On Christmas Night and The First Nowell, which are also lovely (didn't know them before).

 

The Hickox RVWs are all good (that I know). You have to really crank up the volume to hear them though.

[Sylvan 29]

14 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

 

Taking @Tom Guernsey's post over here where we might continue discussing it on topic.

 

Would that RVW album be this one?

 

Because that has been "my" version for the past 10+ years or so, until I picked up the Hickox version of the Fantasia earlier this year and played it for the first time a couple of weeks ago:

 

And what a difference - not that surprising, given that Willcocks was working with 60s choirs vs. Hickox's 90s ones.

 

Since hearing this, I've been thinking that I should probably also look for a newer recording of Hodie.

I highly recommend Hickox’s 1990 EMI release with the London Symphony Orchestra. It’s also paired with the Fantasia on Christmas Carols. The orchestra, choir and soloists all give stellar performances.

 

 

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 12,155]

@Sylvan, I love your avatar!

That is a "fuck off" avatar.

[Sylvan 29]

4 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

@Sylvan, I love your avatar!

That is a "fuck off" avatar.

@Naïve Old Fart Aw, thanks! That’s Henry and Baloo 

 

https://www.instagram.com/henrythecoloradodog/?hl=en

[Henry Janislaus Feigensand 587]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DA5enRINuAv/?igsh=MWdwMWhiazYxaWpvZg==

 

This is hilarious. Couldn‘t find any more clips or information. Wondering whether it was meant to be serious or just a fun rehearsal.

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

Perhaps a way to go easy on the brass players for stuff they're already familiar with anyway?

[Naïve Old Fart 12,155]

Sitting in my a/v room, this morning (far too cold and icy to venture anywhere), I listened to BBC Radio 4's DESERT ISLAND DISCS.

This week, it was Mark-Anthony Turnage (he's a Gooner! ).

He chose some really good stuff, ranging from Bach, to Miles, to Stevie Wonder, to John Scofield, and Stravinsky.

Anyhoo... he mentioned that he was a protégé of Oliver Knussen. 

Is anyone familiar with either Turnage or Knussen? Recommendations?

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

Who the fuck are the Knudsens?

[Naïve Old Fart 12,155]

Oliver Knussen.

 

 

 

 

21 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Who the fuck are the Knudsens?

They're a bit like the Kardashians, but less interesting.

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

17 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Oliver Knussen

 

Yes, I've heard of him (though I've not heard anything by him). But that wouldn't justify not quoting Lebowski.

[Glóin the Dark 1,644]

I have this Knussen CD. Used to like it a lot but I must have forgotten about it at some point, and I don’t think I’ve listened to it for perhaps two decades. I just found it languishing in the bottom drawer of the CD cabinet. The Music for a Puppet Court is a pleasant introduction.

 

I also have the CD with his opera Where the Wild Things Are, which I remember being fond of too (at least for an opera).

 

 

 

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

Is anyone here familiar with Wigglesworth's Shostakovich cycle?

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/die-15-sinfonien/hnum/10572256?lang=en

 

By all accounts I can find, it's supposed to be very good, with excellent sound, and my favourite symphony, the 11th, seems to be frequently singled out as maybe the best performance and recording of the work.

[Tom Guernsey 3,450]

7 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Is anyone here familiar with Wigglesworth's Shostakovich cycle?

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/die-15-sinfonien/hnum/10572256?lang=en

 

By all accounts I can find, it's supposed to be very good, with excellent sound, and my favourite symphony, the 11th, seems to be frequently singled out as maybe the best performance and recording of the work.

I have 5, 6, 7 and 10, but may have others on my computer (I’m away and so am going by what is on my phone!) and find them all to be terrific performances and BIS’s sound is excellent too of course. If I don’t have 11 then it looks I’ll have to check it out.

 

I don’t love all of Shostakovich’s symphonies so have largely stopped getting complete sets as a default but will have to grab some of the others of those ones I do enjoy from this series!

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

I've always picked out just individual symphonies for repeated listening, mostly from the Barshai cycle I have on CD, but I've always meant to give the whole lot another try, and check out another version of the 11th, so this box currently on sale at JPC is quite tempting.

[Tom Guernsey 3,450]

7 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I've always picked out just individual symphonies for repeated listening, mostly from the Barshai cycle I have on CD, but I've always meant to give the whole lot another try, and check out another version of the 11th, so this box currently on sale at JPC is quite tempting.

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I picked up them individually at random in second hand cd shops (5, 6 and 10 comes as a two disc set and contains three of my favourites so it was an instant buy) but will probably get most of the rest as and when. Look forward to your thoughts if you do take the plunge.

 

The Barshai set was the first complete set I go for about 9 pence in Superdrug during a mad couple of years a couple of decades ago when they randomly stocked Brilliant Classics box sets for ridiculously little money. I also have the complete Rostropovich and most of the Petrenko set on Naxos. I feel like I have another complete set but I can’t actually recall offhand. I don’t know if it might be cheaper to get a drug habit than a CD buying one…

[Glóin the Dark 1,644]

2 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

...my favourite symphony, the 11th...

Mine too (of Shostakovich), but I haven’t heard Wigglesworth.

[Jurassic Shark 15,566]

2 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Is anyone here familiar with Wigglesworth's Shostakovich cycle?

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/die-15-sinfonien/hnum/10572256?lang=en

 

By all accounts I can find, it's supposed to be very good, with excellent sound, and my favourite symphony, the 11th, seems to be frequently singled out as maybe the best performance and recording of the work.

 

Dunno, I find his surname kinda weird.

 

2 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I don’t know if it might be cheaper to get a drug habit than a CD buying one…

 

Why chose when you can get both in the same store?

 

2 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

The Barshai set was the first complete set I go for about 9 pence in Superdrug

[karelm 3,236]

On 16/02/2025 at 8:19 AM, Marian Schedenig said:

Is anyone here familiar with Wigglesworth's Shostakovich cycle?

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/die-15-sinfonien/hnum/10572256?lang=en

 

By all accounts I can find, it's supposed to be very good, with excellent sound, and my favourite symphony, the 11th, seems to be frequently singled out as maybe the best performance and recording of the work.

 

I heard him conduct Mahler 10 and Shostakovich 7 live.  These are a mixed bag.  Some of them have a dynamic range way too low (I think it was No. 5 or 7, can't remember), some tend to be quite slow but all have good recording quality, just rare that one set will have the best of everything.  I still think Haitink and Barshai are superior performances, interpretations, and sonics.  Petrenko is a quite good modern set.  The thing about Shostakovich recordings is no one set is the best because there are many different ways to judge it.   This set is not authentic.  For that, seek Kondrashin or Rozhdestvensky.  They'll be more intense and manic, less polished.  If you are looking for interpretation, my favorites are the 1980's cycles like Haitink, Sanderling, Barshai.  If you are looking for innovative, seek the new sets like Michael Sanderling (son of Kurt Sanderling).  Ultimately the finest are a mix of all of these so might not be the greatest in any one category.

 

On 16/02/2025 at 11:08 AM, Jurassic Shark said:

Dunno, I find his surname kinda weird.

 

Yeah, sort of sounds like a character in Harry Potter.  Like Professor Wigglesworth.

[Jurassic Shark 15,566]

13 minutes ago, karelm said:

Yeah, sort of sounds like a character in Harry Potter.  Like Professor Wigglesworth.

 

Spoiler alert:

 

Spoiler

I purchased it anyway!

 

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Spoiler alert:

 

  Hide contents

I purchased it anyway!

 

Yes.

[Jurassic Shark 15,566]

I like the immediate sound and scrappy playing. 

[karelm 3,236]

10 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

Spoiler alert:

 

  Hide contents

I purchased it anyway!

 

 

It's not bad, just not the greatest.  No single cycle can be, he's such a rich, dynamic, and complex composer.  I loved his son's Maxim's recordings with the LSO on the now defunct Collins label, but he also recorded some of the symphonies with the USSR symphony in the early 1970's which I find more authentic (his dad personally involved) and more recently Prague and each version is very different but there is an air of authenticity in those recordings though they are still flawed in other ways.   I'm currently listening to two very good series of Sibelius symphonies (Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Klaus Makaela are modern and highly accomplished cycles) but don't quite feel authentic.  As if they are only referencing the music notes but not the feel.  For reference, we see this in interpreters of John Williams.  Zubin Mehta and Charles Gerhardt (and perhaps Dudamel) were excellent at making his music sound like a symphonic poem but didn't have the right feel for the score.  It worked great for what it was, such as someone who had never seen the films and only had the music to rely on.  The same could be said for Mahler and Shostakovich.  Bernstein lived through what Mahler lived through.  Cosmopolitan Jew who was primarily known as a conductor in his life but was also a uniquely inspired composer.  You have to understand what the composer means, not just what they say.  This points towards dissidents of an oppressive regime who are also pragmatic and patriotic ergo but with careful ears and personal interpretations: Bernstein, Barshai, Sanderling, Haitink.

[Jurassic Shark 15,566]

I find Gerhardt's TESB to sound 100% Star Wars-y, but I'm probably biased as it was my first SW recording. 

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

7 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I find Gerhardt's TESB to sound 100% Star Wars-y, but I'm probably biased as it was my first SW recording. 

 

I find Gerhardt's SW and ROTJ to be perfectly SW-y (and his CE3K is untouchable), but I still can't stand his ESB.

[Jurassic Shark 15,566]

Why?

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

Odd interpretation, bad sound. Some overly dirty playing as far as I remember (it's been a while); while Gerhardt's NPO recordings are surely not without performance flaws, they don't have a "dirty" aspect to me. And I don't think it's intentional (or fitting) on ESB, or at least not the way I hear it on the Gerhardt album (all the Hoth battle stuff certainly also has a dirty touch on the original Williams recording, but with Gerhardt, from what I recall, it seems either excessive or appears in the wrong cues).

[Jurassic Shark 15,566]

IMO, TESB is better performed than RotJ, and better sounding that SW (if we don't count the Dutton remaster of the latter).

 

13 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Odd interpretation

 

The tempi are good, so I can't see what's odd.

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

13 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

IMO, TESB is better performed than RotJ, and better sounding that SW (if we don't count the Dutton remaster of the latter).

 

The balance is totally off on ESB. It sounds like it was recorded from behind the orchestra, or with the brass positioned in front of the strings. I always find it irritating right from the first few notes.

[Jurassic Shark 15,566]

I've never thought about that.

[Jurassic Shark 15,566]

Check out these two great concertos by Canadian composer Marjan Mozetich. Sublime.

 

 

[Marian Schedenig 10,838]

A recommendation and an observation at the same time: