David Ayers

Well, this thread didn't really have to do with boxed sets but with ongoing cycles. On reflection I'd have to say that it is clear that Gergiev's interrupted cycle had to be completed (and the Mravinsky series is also set to repeat the ones already recorded for Philips); it is obvious that Naxos can sell a Shostakovich cycle to label enthusiasts and they have the right conductor for it; the Wigglesworth has taken a long time and a change of orchestra, and again that is a label with followers even if the conductor does not have a massive presence. The other 'cycles' I mentioned may not be cycles at all so that remains to be seen. I never mentioned the multi-conductor RNO cycle from Pentatone, that too a long time coming and perhaps still far from completion. The debate about Western vs Eastern Shostakovich dates back to a period when there were fewer recordings and the Kondrashin/Mravinsky vs Haitink contrast seemed more stark. Nostalgia for Soviet orchestras has faded and the new Russian orchestras sound a bit different and are also less remote (they tour, there are many recordings). Add to that the ubiquity of Gergiev and of other Russian conductors, that East-West debate seems a thing of the past. In any case Shostakovich was an international common property from his Fifth onward so the question of authenticity has - I think - been replaced by more straightforward questions of interpretation. For now.

I am always excited to find out about the upcoming seasons of the London orchestras and opera companies, and especially interested to find out what they are doing that is new or notable. I don't know if others follow their local orchestras quite the way I do, so this thread might get no respondents, but what I'd like is to hear about upcoming performances of interest in your neck of the woods (or in mine, come to think about it). I am a real believer in living tradition and live performance and I like to hear how orchestras and opera houses are finding ways to offer interesting things to audiences. So I'll start with a few things I picked out in London next season. First up is the Szymanowski/Brahms series with the LSO conducted by Gergiev. In five concerts he pairs the four Szymanowski symphonies with the four Brahms, plus the respective Requiems, with Szymanowski's violin concertos thrown in. I confess I have only a limited interest in Szymanowski but I like the initiative. Boulez was to have conducted Szymanowski next week also with the LSO but has pulled out and been replaced by Eotvos. I imagine there will be very different approaches on display! Across the water, Salonon will be conducting three Lutoslawski concerts with the Philharmonia. The Lutoslawski works include the Concerto for Orchestra, the Piano Concerto, the Cello Concerto, and several others, paired with Ravel and Debussy. Back at the Barbican the BBC SO is playing Tippett - the four symphonies plus the piano concerto, played over five concerts with five different conductors (including Mark Wigglesworth and Andrew Davies) and various pairings. Finally the Total Immersion days at the Barbican are (1) Knussen (2) Sounds from Japan (Takemitsu plus several others) (3) New from the North (Norgard, Lindberg etc). Going to be good, right?

Buzz buzz Buzz! Book now! Cycle of Beethoven symphonies in five concerts with Boulez pieces in four. bbc/proms/googleityourself

There is a short, sharp Hyperion sale at MDT. Quite a few of the Romantic Piano series are included (not my cup of tea though I have a few) plus things like York Bowen, the acclaimed Byrd, titles by Laurence Power. I don't love this label but some here might be interested. http://www.mdt.co.uk

Gramophone reviewed accounts of the fourth here http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/September%202002/36/820294/DMITRI+SH0sTAK0vIcHs+SYMPHONY+No+4+MAKING 'Not worth a flyer' was the verdict on Slovak. That's harsh. It is balanced forward, as the reviewer says, but that makes it sound ok on the PC ( ). Worth hearing but there have been too many fourths since for this to really hold its place. I like the clarity and occasional force, I don't like the tempi (first movement so sloooow!) and the occasional bad intonation. Strings thin, some good woodwind solos. But too spotlit!

Very great and interesting read. Especially Melvin Gibbs take on Sharrock and Last Exit, Ornette ect. He says he will not say much about Last Exit 'beyond this', and then goes on to talk his head off Obviously he was enjoying the chance to discuss the music. Yes I like the discussion of Last Exit. Interesting fact he mentions in passing, that the musicians were not in the studio at the same time for the Last Exit studio record. It's a great interview and takes you into areas of recent musical history and thinking that aren't often on the radar.

And they seem like such nice people.

Programming in session order is not a great idea. Studio records were made with an album in view. It was always understood that the material *would* be resequenced by the musicians and/or producer. Sessions would often open with a mid-tempo number, often in an easier key, to warm up - though recorded first these numbers are not intended as first thing on the album. When recording, there is no need to worry about key and tempo relationships - these can be projected and finalised at the stage of assembling the album, but are not relevant at the session. Reverting to session order after decades in which the album has become familiar can be simply jarring - there is no argument other than pedantry for resequencing Ballads on the Classic Quartet set, but they did it, and - uh - I don't think anyone has congratulated them on that decision yet... Really it is most true for hard-bop that recorded sequence is irrelevant, since those albums are built to a clear, commodified format which only changes a little over time, and the goal of the session is to create the album, not a document.

Repetition/Repetition Symposium Come and join us!

I don't want to spoil the ending for myself - but was it those guys in the background with guns who did it?

These days I am mainly interested in what is happening now. There is lots of interesting music and lots of ways to hear it! In any case this thread is talking about the music publishing wing of EMI - publishing does well: recorded back-catalogues are another issue entirely. The fact they are cutting staff doesn't sound like more than routine corporate shenanigans - I doubt it has implications for music as such.

It's not that I am negative, exactly, it is the fact of so many *complete* cycles that has me wondering. I too have the Barshai, all of the Gergiev so far, selections from the cycles of Wigglesworth, Petrenko, Haitink, Jansons, Jarvi, and some non-cycle one-offs or mini-series including Karajan, P. Jarvi, Rostropovich/LSO, Mravinsky and likely others. I can obviously not buy ones I don't want (!) but I just wonder who but novices will be rushing to hear e.g. No. 12 in it latest incarnation...

The Boulez Mahler cycle (including orchestral songs) is about to appear at a stupendous price. I followed this from the start so nothing new for me, and maybe Boulez Mahler does not suit the heart-on-sleeve brigade, but these are beautiful recordings, some very remarkable, and at this sort of price... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boulez-Conducts-Mahler-Pierre/dp/B004NO5HLG/ref=pd_sim_m_h__27

In terms of pure music I don't really rate Shostakovich very highly, but I do take an interest in his work, I like to hear it in concert, and I listen to recordings. I'm obviously not alone as there seems to be a keen market for Shostakovich symphonies, with cycles in progress from Gergiev, Wigglesworth, Petrenko, Boreyko, Kreizberg, Raiskin (the last three I'm not sure if they are cycles or not); add to that completed cycles by Barshai, Jansons, Jarvi, Kitaenko, Kofman, Ashkenazy, Haitink, Kondrashin, Rostropovich, Maxim S., Caetani, Slovak, and maybe others. It's all good, but the thing with these symphonies is, first, that there are many you don't really need to have in mutiple versions, and that even the ones you can sort of get on with the recordings don't sound so dissimilar that you need lots of versions. So while I will generally hazard a 4, don't mind another 8, will squeeze in an 11 and can just about come to terms with another 5, 7, or 10, I don't really need another 15, am not bothered about 6 or 9, am happy with my 13s and 14s, regard 2 and 3 as a merely documentary necessity, like 1 but it's no 'Classical' and never wish to hear 12 again. I have a feeling I'm not alone in seeing it this way, and so I wonder who is buying all those cycles, as opposed to cherry-picking, which is what I do?

Destroyed. Here's what Martin said in his monthly email. 'them' is the list of OOP titles Seems Mosaic are not alone in being affected by this kind of occurence.

That means all those OOP titles ain't coming back. Information from Martin's regular email. I guess that means better not to wait on other titles of interest, though the huge majority are in print so it's certainly not panic-stations. Emanem/Psi are great labels, for those who don't know, and produce maaany new titles as well as some essential reissues. Toot toot! (Yeah right - like anyone in the world hasn't already got this on LP...)

http://www.organissi...post__p__116047 So I guess the question now is did the daughters sell FD to someone else or did they relent and lease the rights? Yup. Thanks for clearing it up. Thanks for digging that up. I found this recent post by JLH: So Sony owned the catalogue up to about 2010, the daughters after that and it's now owned by whomever the daughters sold it to.

:party: :party: :party:

There are several sellers on amazon.com and one I know of on amazon.uk who do this stuff. It is not like shopping from a list so you have to know what you want and search for it - BUT shipping and duties might come out better. Can work well for single or small orders.

That's a guuuuud answer.

I have nearly all the LPs and I don't have the CDs. If I sold the LPs I don't think I'd buy the box. Which LPs do you need? Some of it is skippable, according to taste.

They will probably be sold to collectors, don't you think?

Thanks for that! I gather that Waters took over leadership of the band in 1967, so presumably Butler decided to return to NY about that time. I don't have any sense of what he did on his return but if he was playing like that in 1966 (or whenever Rooks' footage was taken) it is hard to imagine him giving up very quickly! Apart from the Willie Bryant, which I might get round to picking through on youtube/spotify, there seems to be little other recorded evidence. He's behind Armstrong in this clip from Paris Blues: