HutchFan

Such a great album, from start to finish. Just discovered this a few days ago -- a lied by Johannes Brahms, "Der Tod, das ist die kühle Nacht," performed by Margaret Price and James Lockhart. It's incredibly beautiful and melancholy music, like only Brahms can do it: Brahms set the music to a poem by Heinrich Heine. An English translation:

Brahms: Symphony No. 4 / London Philharmonic Orchestra What an electric performance! It may be my imagination, but it seems to me that Jochum's personality comes SHINING THROUGH in his work as a conductor -- and the two qualities that strike me most forcefully are his sense of humanism and his sense of the sacred. Better still, while hearing him conduct this music, you realize (sense? remember? hope?) that those two things are really one thing. That is great artistry.

Chopin: 24 Préludes, Op. 28 / Géza Anda (DG) Immaculate.

Beethoven: Triple Concerto; Brahms: Double Concerto / Ferenc Fricsay, RSO Berlin (DG) - Triple Cto soloists: Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Géza Anda, Pierre Fournier - Double Cto soloists: Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Janos Starker

I've been on an Art Song/Lied kick for the last few days, so I decided to order these two Elly Ameling CDs: The Early Recordings, Vols. 3 & 4 (RCA, originally released on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi) Vol. 3 features lieder by Brahms & Schumann, and Vol. 4 has lieder by Schubert & (more from) Schumann. I'm particularly looking forward to hearing the Brahms.

Grieg & Schumann: Piano Concertos / Dmitri Alexeev, Yuri Temirkanov, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (EMI)

Brahms: Lieder / Bernarda Fink, Roger Vignoles (Harmonia Mundi)

Liszt: Sonata in B Minor/ Ivo Pogorelich (DG) As usual with Pogorelich, his interpretation is "far off the beaten path." Liszt: Années de pèlerinage - Première année: Suisse / Lazar Berman from Berman's The Deutsche Grammophon Recordings box I admire Pogorelich's Liszt. But I love Berman's.

Carlo Maria Giulini - Great Conductors of the 20th Century Pulled this out so I could hear Giulini's Beethoven 7 with the Chicago SO. It's a superb rendition.

Ballades, Op. 10; Rhapsodies, Op. 79, and other short works

Yes, the ABQ is tremendous. I'm JEALOUS that you get to see/hear them in person frequently. I think their Beethoven is even better than than their Schubert!

Schubert: Lieder / Janet Baker, Gerald Moore, Geoffrey Parsons (EMI)

Brahms: String Quintets, Op. 88 & Op. 111 / Brandis Quartett, Brett Dean (Brilliant Classics, originally released on Nimbus)

Prompted by LP's transcription disc above: Bach-Busoni: Piano Transcriptions / Peter Rösel (Berlin Classics)

Brahms: Symphony No. 2; Tragic Overture / Stokowski, National PO (Columbia) This record was made in 1977, the last year of Stokowski's life. Something interesting to consider: Stokowski was born in 1882. Brahms died in 1897. So Stokowski was already 15 years old (!) when Brahms died. I suppose that doesn't give Stokowski any special authority when it comes to Brahms. (This isn't even my "first choice" for this work.) Even so, that kind of direct link with the past does seem like something special -- especially when it occurred as recently* as 1977. *In 1977, I was nine years old. I suppose the fact that I was alive in 1977 is the only reason that I can refer to something that occurred in 1977 as "recent." It probably doesn't seem all that recent to someone who was born in the 80s or 90s, much less the new millennia. Oh well. Like Einstein said, time is relative.

Richard Goode Plays Brahms (Nonesuch) - Eight Piano Pieces, Op. 76 - Seven Fantasies, Op. 116 - Four Piano Pieces, Op. 119

Absolutely! My "gateway" into Bruckner's Fourth was Klemperer's recording in a Time-Life LP set called The Opulent Era. That's still a special record for me. I've also enjoyed Skrowaczewski's recording with the Hallé and Jochum's earlier recording on DG with the Berlin PO. This morning, I've been listening to Mahler's Fourth with James Levine, the Chicago SO, and Judith Blegen: Beautiful! For me, the M4 is the highlight of this set.

Eugen Jochum - ICON (Warner Classics) Disc 12 - Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 / Dresden Staatskapelle

While doing some big cleaning projects in the kitchen earlier today: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 6 "Pastoral" & 2; Symphonies Nos. 7 & 1 / Janos Ferencsik, Hungarian PO (Laserlight) Excellent recordings -- despite the bargain-basement price. Originally released on Hungaroton, IIRC. Now back to lieder. Spinning this LP: Hans Hotter - Great German Songs: Schubert, Schumann, Strauss (Seraphim)

Dvořák: The Water Goblin; My Home; The Noonday Witch; The Hussite / Istvan Kertesz, London SO (London)

Interesting. Never heard this before. Sounds great. Thanks for the heads-up!

Not exactly "obscure" -- but Stanley Turrentine's Salt Song is a favorite of mine. Lots of other excellent records on that list too.

Hans Hotter - Great German Songs - Album 2: Brahms, Wolf, Loewe (Seraphim) One LP side consists of lieder by Brahms (despite what the mislabeled cover says). Hotter's singing is extraordinary.

Now listening to Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Nos. 16, 17 "Tempest," and 24, as performed by Wilhelm Kempff, from this set:

Now back to Schubert: Schubert: A Program of Piano Music and Songs / Elly Ameling (sop), Jörg Demus (p) (RCA Victrola) Gorgeous singing.