T.D.

Very exciting today, and surprising as well. Schlecks had been very timid (almost comically so), but Andy threw down big-time on the last 2 climbs. I was shocked that he managed to expand his lead on the big descent, after the prior two days' downhill follies. Voeckler amazed by hanging in there, but between Alpe d'Huez and the ITT, I don't believe he can survive (would love to see it, though!). Evans still looks like the favorite, since I think he can easily take back 1+ minute in the ITT. The Schleck bros. will have to attack again tomorrow, so there should be more fireworks. Contador and Sanchez both showed that this year's Giro d'Italia was too tough to attempt a Giro-TDF double.

I just ordered one CD of Maria Tipo playing Scarlatti, and one of Clara Haskil playing Mozart Schubert and Scarlatti, both on piano. Will pass on opinions, maybe not for a few weeks (Berkshire isn't real fast). The Zacharias set isn't available cheaply, except used from European Amazon sellers, and I'm not sure about shipping to USA. I listened to Pogorelich samples (granted that's not totally reliable) and wasn't blown away, though I do want to hear him eventually. [Added] Berkshire made their fastest-ever delivery, faster than Amazon (I live just over 100 mi. away, but delivery can be up to 4 weeks). So far have been listening to the Haskil CD of Scarlatti and Schubert on Archipel: Excellent! Sound quality is not good, but is less bothersome on the Scarlatti sonatas than on D.960 (which has much greater dynamic range, more distortion). Have removed the big (17-CD) Haskil box from consideration: if I order any EMI mega-box it'll be David Oistrakh (a lot less duplication of music I already have on recording). Can't yet comment on Maria Tipo, though I enjoy the Bach I've listened to so far.

Thanks, I was being a little sarcastic. Read those Amazon reviews, and also researched on r.m.c.r. (Google Groups archives). Tipo's often been recommended to me over the years (with the "idiosyncratic" proviso), but I never got around to her recordings. I listened to the Amazon samples and was very impressed by her Goldbergs. I also threw a disc of Tipo's Scarlatti (and one of Haskil's Mozart/Scarlatti) in the order.

I'm about to order a 5-CD set of Maria Tipo playing Bach from Berkshire Record Outlet. This will probably get me bashed by the cognoscenti , but I listen to a lot of Bach on piano and don't mind mixing in some "eccentric" interpretations...

I'm not a Naxos enthusiast (so shoot me... ), but Konstantin Scherbakov's Naxos recording of Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues was excellent, so I'd expect his volume to merit hearing.

All the best, Tom! :party:

Thanks. I have a CD with Hantai's Goldberg Variations, so would be inclined to look there for harpsichord. Have been enjoying lots of Zacharias's EMI recordings: Mozart sonatas (excellent), Mozart piano cti (very good, perhaps a touch "middle of the road", which I don't mind) and Schubert sonatas (excellent as far as I can tell, though I'm still getting used to Schubert). He's my first inclination; I'm only hesitating for reasons of "diversification"... Interesting re. Haskil. I'm already considering her set for the CDs with Grumiaux playing Beethoven and Mozart violin sonatas (I already own one of the two Mozart discs), but the 17 disc volume has so far scared me away.

Can anyone recommend recordings of D. Scarlatti keyboard sonatas? I'd prefer piano recordings, but would consider harpsichord. Interested in a few discs, not in mega "complete" collections. I know there are quite a few excellent recordings out there, currently have about a half CD performed by Michelangeli. My "no-brainer" instinct is to start with Horowitz; also considering Zacharias, Tipo, more ABM; not sure Pletnev would be my cup of tea. Thanks.

Utter bullshit. Taxpayer winds up paying for ambulances and medical care for the helmetless crashers. Typical neocon garbage.

Well, having closed the Drury era, the Ranger$ went out and spent lavishly on Brad Richards. Something tells me that deal will also come to an early and regrettable end... Have to agree on Jagr, $3.3 million seems a lot, and I don't expect much out of him. Looking at the big free-agent signings, many commentators are talking about such things as "insanity" and "irrational exuberance". Maybe the Red Wings didn't do so badly by staying quiet.

Here's a weird item (What? Weirdness in the chess sphere? Who woulda thunk it?) Legendary chess program Rybka DQ'd, banned for source code plagiarism

It is a steal, and Oistrakh is one of the greats, so there's nothing unrefined about it! I think these EMI mega-sets are exceptional bargains, but the problem for me is that they include wide selections of repertoire. At my (lowbrow) level of classical erudition/listening, I fear this could result in CDs that I seldom/never listen to due to duplication.

After reading this thread, I bought another thrift-shop changer for a spare. Marantz CC-65 5-disc model w. remote for $30, works perfectly.

RIP. One of the few celebrities I've encountered in person. Years ago (1990s), while walking on 57th St. between 7th Ave. and Broadway (en route to the old Coliseum Books in NYC), I noticed that seemingly everybody passing me in the opposite direction (I mean dozens of people, it was kind of amazing) was crowing "That was Peter Falk!" When I reached B'way and was waiting for the light to change, I saw that Peter Falk had been walking a few feet in front of me. He looked tanned and pretty good, though a tad older than he appeared on TV at the time. I moved on and didn't say anything. Not much of an anecdote, but it illustrates something about the nature of celebrity...

Dude, you called it above re. "Ilyadelphia"...

Thanks. I didn't doubt your assertions, and I've seen talk of the glove weakness all over sports websites. It just seems extremely weird to me that a world-class goaltender (or at least marginally world-class; he did play a critical Olympic gold-medal match, although he went into the tourney as Canada's backup) would have a fairly glaring flaw in that area.

I no longer have TV, so didn't see any of the games, but all this talk of Luongo's weakness high on the glove side is very puzzling, even paradoxical... I played hockey until age 40 (granted, at rec. league level), and we of course didn't have scouting books, but glove side high was always the very last place I'd think of shooting, on any goaltender. Kids of my generation grew up playing a lot of sports (including of course baseball), and a decent glove hand was pretty much a given. I'd almost go so far as to say that a goalie with a subpar glove must be lacking some of the basic hand-eye coordination required to be a good keeper.

Excellent point on the DVD players. I have one and find that it plays great (other system uses DAC and thrift-shop changer transport). Very few CD players are now being manufactured, unless you want to go for "high-end audiophile"-type CD players (not my bag), so if you want to buy new, DVD is the way to go (IMO of course).

Hey, maybe Bozo-like Islander "GM" Mike Milbury (possibly the worst sports executive I've ever seen) was onto something when he made the oft-ridiculed trade (self-fleecing) of Luongo from the Island! Tougher to defend the Chara trade (and some others), though...

Cleaning disc is worth a try. I play cleaning discs every month or two, as a precautionary measure. In my experience, skipping due to dirt on the lens (cleanable) is much more sporadic than what you're describing. I suspect "the laser is shot" (this has happened to me a few times over the years), and that the player is history. I concur with the previous poster who advocated disposable/commodity-like CD players. An alternative is to use a DAC and employ a disposable/commodity-like player as a transport. Thrift shops (Goodwill, etc.) can be good sources...

Could it possibly be anyone other than Luongo? I'd be amazed if he didn't start G7. If the dude could play in the Oly finals, seems you've gotta stick with him here.

I've run across quite a few bargain sets from EMI France, which I imagine would be very cheap in Europe. They have distinctive covers, for example (this one is $15 and change in USA for 8 CDs, though I suspect it'd meet with Clem's disapproval)

In the middle of this long Q/A session with GM Levon Aronian, there's the following interesting jazz-related passage: bebop тorway: - Comparing your chess style with jazz, who would you be? I guess Magnus Carlsen is somewhat like Thelonius Monk – simple but yet very complex! (CiT) I’ll respond using too many words, but please bear in mind the mitigating circumstance that I’ve got a maniacal affection for jazz. Given that Thelonius had fame and recognition only among his colleagues, while the critics had difficulty understanding his ideas, he’s probably better reflected in the chess world by Michael Adams, while Magnus himself is more likely Tony Williams – a prodigy and trendsetter. It’s a difficult task for me to compare myself to anyone. My natural modesty means it’s hard for me to name Joe Henderson or Booker Little. So as not to disappoint you, I’ll give a short list of other comparisons. Let’s start with one close to my heart. Vassily Ivanchuk, in my opinion, is Ornette Coleman – that same universality and great influence on other players. Bent Larsen is somehow similar to Roland Kirk. A great melodist (positional player), whose play was extravagant. Vasily Smyslov could very well be represented by Grant Green. A harmonious manner of play and wonderful technique. I associate Tigran Petrosian with Warne Marsh. A unique style of play which, it seemed, was too calm and dull, while in reality it was deep and cunning.

A couple of days ago, I lobbed in a low eBay bid, not expecting to win, but wound up with a nice box for $12.99 shipped: "Beethoven: Les Concertos", 4 French EMI CDs of Beethoven piano/violin ctos (and triple cto and Romances for violin) with Gilels and Oistrakh (Oborin on the Triple Cto and Milstein on the Romances)... Can't find a picture link that'll post. (BTW, the long-time r.m.c.r. stalwart Simon Roberts seems to be auctioning off a lot of good recordings these days.)

Wow. Chess? Interesting! Too bad I no longer live in the NYC area. Hope everyone has a great time.