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Bigshot

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  2. Classical music bargains

    in Classical Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Bigshot

    I'd say listening to interpretations will give you a deeper appreciation of listening to interpretations.

    Absolutely. The performer is half the show. The music is the other half. Staying with one recording forever would be like only wanting to see one performance of Hamlet.

    You get the impression here that listening to music is all about owning great stacks of recordings by approved and validated celebrity maestros. Commentary rarely amounts to more than name-checking the famous names.

    That's because most people on internet forums haven't gotten to the point where they are ready to explore various interpretations. They're still getting familiar with the basic layout of the work itself.

    I agree however that a lot of modern performers are pretty much interchangeable, but that isn't the sort of thing we're talking about with big boxes of Heifetz, Horowitz, Rubinstein, Reiner or Toscanini.

  3. Classical music bargains

    in Classical Discussion

    Posted

    I just find the marketing angle interesting. How do you sell Beethoven to someone who has Beethoven? Well, you knock up a box and tell them they've not really heard Beethoven unless they've heard Schumfeldicker's Beethoven.

    I can think of two reasons... First of all, Beethoven's music lends itself to a variety of interpretations. The music has considerable opportunity for depth and nuance. Secondly, back catalog conductors are more likely to have quite different approaches. A Toscanini box isn't going to sound anything like a Stokowski box, even if they contain the same program.

    When you're first starting out in classical music, it's good to get a lay of the land by spreading out wide and sampling a variety of as many different composers and works as possible. Once you've spent a couple of decades doing that, you can start digging deeper and listen to interpretative variety.

  4. Classical music bargains

    in Classical Discussion

    Posted

    A lot of these box sets go beyond the standard repertoire. A current example is the new Bernstein box. There are going to be a LOT of American and Latin American works that barely saw the light of cd. Quite a few of the EMI sets (Melos, Sargent, etc) deal with non standard material.

    The Hanson recordings on Mercury too.

  5. Classical music bargains

    in Classical Discussion

    Posted

    This isn't to imply criticism of anyone just learning those works, period, but the idea that these giant boxes are a way to achieve greater understanding of music and cultural history is, for the most part, wishful thinking.

    A broader frame of reference is ALWAYS a good thing. I would much rather know a little bit about a lot than a lot about very little.

    Can't bring up the link, but there is a second Bernstein Sony box. A whopping 80 discs of

    Concertos and Orchestral Works. You can preorder at amazon.co.uk (approx$" $100 shipped)

    Oh man. That's a buy. Ordered. The first Bernstein box was terrific.

  6. Classical music bargains

    in Classical Discussion

    Posted

    I have no interest in "proper" performances. I want *vital* performances. Sometimes vital performances are proper, sometimes not. I've heard performances, both romanticized and HIP that I like. I used to think I just liked the old timers. But I have softened, largely because of the box sets I've gotten of HIPish period music. My only objection to buying another baroque box is that they take up so many disks with the "regular suspects"... Brandenbergs, Four Seasons, etc. I can have fifteen different Mahler or Beethoven Symphony performances and enjoy them all for different reasons, but I don't find that to be as much the case with Baroque music. After three sets of Brandenbergs, there isn't as much point picking up another any more.

  7. Classical music bargains

    in Classical Discussion

    Posted

    I rip CDs at my computer in the background while I work, and then transfer the files to my media server. The server streams music all over the house 24/7, so all I have to do is turn on the stereo and my collection is playing. I hear everything eventually. Right now my classical library is about 150 days worth of music.

  14. Classical music bargains

    in Classical Discussion

    Posted

    Both the Mercury Living Presence sets are great. But they have a bit of midcentury classical music that isn't as fashionable with the kids today.

    My strategy on preorders is to get an order in quick and see how it goes. I can always cancel before the delivery date.

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