Д.Д.

Man, this sounds horrible. Such a dull, colorless sound. And these Rhodes players seem to have tempo issues, as I hear it. And as far as "rewrite" is concerned, I thought they would at least improvise or something... This is a Decca / Universal release, it will be well distributed, so it will appear on EU amazons soon.

Complete Poulenc on EMI / Warner (20CDs) for eur 30 at amazon.de: http://www.amazon.de/Das-Gesamtwerk-S%C3%A4mtlichewerke-Pretre/dp/B0091JQH76/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395479675&sr=8-1&keywords=poulenc+gesamtwerk

I saw Blaser in duo with drummer Pierre Favre. I found his playing extremely boring - a lot of notes, a lot of repetition, few ideas, shallow sound. I have his solo CD, and it is OK, not great. For me, THE trombonist is Conny Bauer.

Just downloaded this one, it's excellent. http://recordings.fataka.net/products/513486-stonecipher-axel-dorner-mark-sanders-fataka-5

I might go for this Milhaud box.

Thanks, Bev. I doubt I would watch any of these more than once. And I don't even have a TV set. I would rather experience it live, and we are fortunate to have a lot of live opera options here in Vienna.

I don't get Ades. This one could be interesting. First known opera!

Attended the staging of Rameau's Platee yesterday. Great experience (this is the first time I saw opera live - in full, at least). The music is just great. Most of the singing was very good (with the exception of soprano Simone Kermes, who seemed to be struggling with the dynamics and tempos of the baroque singing), basses and choir in particular. The playing by Les Arts Florrisants, Paul Agnew conducting, was fantastic - punchy and energetic. What equally impressed me was acting skills of the singers. I had been expecting not much more than stodgy figures standing most of the time, waving arms occasionally. Not so. The acting was excellent and - this being a comic opera with a lot of sexual references - without going (too much) into platitude. Marcel Beekman as Platee was outstanding (and this is a tough role to play tastefully), bringing some tragicomic elements. On the downside, dancing - of which there was a lot - was inane and looked under-rehearsed. And the director's choice to make this a sort of a satire on the shallow and vain world of high fashion I found unimaginative. If anybody's interested, here is the full cast: http://www.theater-wien.at/index.php/en/programme/production/123466 Checked out YouTube, I wish Mireille Delunsch was singing that soprano part - she is something:

Nice piece, a bit too long for what it is, reminds me of Zappa's "classical" works.

Clara Haskil Edition (Decca) (17 CDs) for eur 21 at amazon.es: http://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B0040IAZVM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=3626&creative=24822&creativeASIN=B0040IAZVM&linkCode=as2&tag=bonsplanscl05-21

Thanks for the tip, will explore this resource.

This one might be interesting for some here: http://potlatch.fr/

I am with Chuck on this one, at least based on Brackeen's Candid release "Six Ate", the only one of hers I've heard.

I have a few Weinberg CDs, and I was not too impressed by the music - I thought it was Shostakovich-lite, with fewer hooks (and I am not that much of a Shostakovich fan to begin with). Soviet authorities "destroyed every copy of Shostakovich's 8th they could find"? I don't think so. It was not performed much till after Stalin's death (typical fate of many a works at the time), but not "destroyed".

Listened to it on Spotify (https://play.spotify.com/album/4SWVa1MvrkRL8JMY9f9IZo) - it's really good.

Prokofiev probably deserves a dedicated thread, let's start one.

Sir Colin Davis RCA Legacy (51 CDs) for GBP 50: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sir-Colin-Davis-Complete-Legacy/dp/B00GWE4NQU?SubscriptionId=AKIAIVGTH525N57WM2NQ&tag=pricenoiauk-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00GWE4NQU

Let me second that. Der Abschied by Ludwig is just devastating.

I am in!

Choral music Sony box set for eur 30 at amazon.de: http://www.amazon.de/Gro%C3%9Fe-Chormusik-Balthasar-Neumann-Chor/dp/B00B5DNDD2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_6 From Monteverdi to Pärt.

Christoph Graupner's harpsichord partitas: https://play.spotify.com/album/3J1D357laZQKfqkq6grluU

I hope this will appear in a more affordable European incarnation at some point.

Complete Messiaen organ works on DG, 6 CDs for eur 24 at amazon.es: http://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B00005UOVM/

Well, you have generous full-track samples - or even full-album streaming - available to check the music out before buying, what do you need the critics for? Musical journalism is a dying breed indeed, and as far as I am concerned, a good riddance.

Well, we have a Renaissance / Baroque festival this week. I already missed some spectacular concerts. But, breaking the tradition, I am actually attending a concert today - La Capilla with the flemish polyphony program.