Д.Д.

I guess for Tzadik if you are Jewish - you're radical, and if you are radical - you're Jewish.

For Butcher, for a start, try "Fixations" "Optic" and "News from the Shed" on Emanem (can order directly from them), or some of the titles on Clean Feed. This is really just scratching the surface. Butcher, I think, is one of the most creative minds in music today. Butcher is probably not jazz - at least he would definitely resist being classified as a jazz musician. He is great, although his later works seem to get somewhat stale. His best one (of 30 I have - and this is probably less than half of his output), IMHO is the old solo Invisible Ear (long OOP, but recently reissued on Butcher's own imprint) as well as Polwechsel discs.

The only jazz musician I've been listening to with any frequency for the last year or so is Sonny Rollins.

that looks like it could be a good read. but this: "My name is Raven. I brought you a present," this stranger announced, handing to Zappa a transparent bag, apparently filled with blood, before pointing a revolver at his chest. Calmly, Zappa cajoled and manipulated Raven into walking with him, and numerous spectators, including Zappa's 24-year-old English secretary, to a nearby lake. He then persuaded everyone present to start throwing things into the water, including Raven, who threw in his gun. ... thats's kinda odd. are you all aware of this story? i've read barry miles's biography and i don't recall this being mentioned. an insanely spectacular event like this, that happens to one of the most celebrated and famous american musicians of the 20th century, with "many spectators" present, seems like it would be mentioned in that excellent biography. it seems it would also become a well-known tale. if you all could, lemme know if i just happened to miss this story for some reason or if this insane story is just out now for the first time... This was mentioned in Zappa's own Real Frank Zappa Book. thanks "organissimo member w/ symbol thingie i can't type." while i haven't read that "autobiography," i've heard it's not very reliable. and since that seems to be the only other source, i'm still skeptical. What's the point for Butcher to repeat imaginary stories already mentioned elsewhere (and already known by nearly everybody who would ever read her book)? No novelty factor, won't help her sell the book. Her mentioning this story at all actually corroborates its credence, in my opinion. And the anecdote does not seem out of ordinary to me. Have you seen the movie about John Lennon's recording of "Imagine" with footage of a drugged deranged fan walking into his estate?

that looks like it could be a good read. but this: "My name is Raven. I brought you a present," this stranger announced, handing to Zappa a transparent bag, apparently filled with blood, before pointing a revolver at his chest. Calmly, Zappa cajoled and manipulated Raven into walking with him, and numerous spectators, including Zappa's 24-year-old English secretary, to a nearby lake. He then persuaded everyone present to start throwing things into the water, including Raven, who threw in his gun. ... thats's kinda odd. are you all aware of this story? i've read barry miles's biography and i don't recall this being mentioned. an insanely spectacular event like this, that happens to one of the most celebrated and famous american musicians of the 20th century, with "many spectators" present, seems like it would be mentioned in that excellent biography. it seems it would also become a well-known tale. if you all could, lemme know if i just happened to miss this story for some reason or if this insane story is just out now for the first time... This was mentioned in Zappa's own Real Frank Zappa Book.

Got this one (through Ms Zylberajch herself) - it is excellent. First time I hear pianoforte, I think - very interesting.

Sony has released a few 10-CD boxes from the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi catalog (Andreas Staier Edition, Italian Baroque Music Edition, etc.). They are pretty cheap at amazon.de: http://www.amazon.de...+sony&x=16&y=18 and amazon.com

Not exactly a bargain, but a good deal nonetheless: DG just reissued Berio's "Sequenzas" recorded by the members of Ensemble Intercontemporain and it's available for €9 (it's a double CD) at European amazons: http://www.amazon.es/Berio-Sequenzas-Luciano/dp/B00507ZQLQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321889789&sr=8-1

So there was a little snag in terms of the Giulini in Chicago (DG), but Amazon replaced a copy that was lost in the mail. Both are quite nice, but in terms of the performances I am far more interested in the recordings with Chicago (than LA). The repertoire is a bit more adventurous at least relatively so. In the Chicago box, you have Dvorak Symponies 8 and 9, Schubert Symphonies 4, 8, and 9, Prokofiev #1 and Mahler #9. In the LA box, you have Beethoven #3, 5 and 6, Brahms Symphonies 1 and 2, Schumann #3 and Tchaikovsky #6. All pretty much mainstream canon, but the Chicago contents still grab me a bit more. The Chicago set can be now bought from amazon.co.uk for £8: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004TNZVEY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE !

Courtesy of the good people at les bons plans classique: Frescobaldi - Complete Works for Keyboard (12CDs) - $10 at amazon.com

I particularly enjoy his trio stuff (with Randy Peterson on drums and Ed Schuller ob bass) - there are three CDs on Leo. In addition to music being outstanding, they are also really well produced (by Maneri himself).

Sounds like a recommendation. Will get it, thanks.

United Archive just released the Budapest Quartet recordings from early 50s: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beethoven-Complete-Quartets-Budapest-Quartet/dp/B005HO1W7O/ref=sr_1_7?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1318115391&sr=1-7 Anyone can recommend this set?

Cafe Zimmerman Bach recordings on Alpha - 6CD set for €21 at amazon.de.

This one looks to have gone OOP already.

Sony 60-CD Baroque Masterpieces box got cheaper: €37 at amazon.es I have this box for quite some time now, and can highly recommend it.

The track list available at the Decca website: http://www.deccaclassics.com/cat/single?PRODUCT_NR=4782826

Thank you, Д.Д. Just ordered. This is a fantastic set at fantastic value. Any one of these disks if purchased separately would normally cost you more. Just got my copy, looking forward to listening to it. The packaging is minimal - just the track list. Listened to the Rameu (solo harpsichord) CD - it's outstanding. The works are beautiful, and the performance is fantastic, and I think I never heard harpsichord sounding this good on record.

I have L'Incoranzione di Poppea on Brilliant (it's 4-CDs). I liked it, but I have nothing to compare with. The recording quality is excellent, the instrumentalists I liked a lot (this is a small chamber group on period instruments), but some of the vocalists are merely mediocre. Please note that the whole thing is very very slow. My assumption is this is not the best performance out there. There is a budget 7-CD Monteverdi madrigals box just released on EMI (Consort of Musickle / Anthony Rooley, originallly on Virgin): http://www.amazon.de/Madrigali-Rooley/dp/B005AAVFH2/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1317029549&sr=1-2 Lorin Maazel - Great Recordings (30 CDs) - EMI - €50 at amazon.de

Thank you, Д.Д. Just ordered. This is a fantastic set at fantastic value. Any one of these disks if purchased separately would normally cost you more. Just got my copy, looking forward to listening to it. The packaging is minimal - just the track list.

You mean Russian Legends: Legendary Russian Soloists, I guess: http://www.amazon.fr/L%C3%A9gendaires-Solistes-Russes-Si%C3%A8cle-Coffret/dp/B000T2ONOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316676204&sr=8-1 It's a good box. I mean, I didn't care for 1/3 of what I heard in it (Shafran, Rostropovich, big part of Kremer), but other stuff is fantastic (Tretiakov, Gilels, Richter) so I found it still a good value. And I am only 1/2 through. What is worht mentionning is htat the sound quality is surprisingly good, although no-noised perhaps.

Not a super-mega bargain, but a good deal nonetheless as long as you like the late Renaissance vocal music: Tomas Luis de Victoria - Sacred Works (10CDs) (Archiv) - £31 at amazon.co.uk

Got this one and it is absolutely fantastic! The sound is beautiful - very warm (well, for a harpsichord) and with good surprisingly full bass. My old Leonhardt Goldbergs will not get much action anymore, I guess.

Zig Zag label 5CD set (Mozart, Bononcini, Rebel, Monteverdi, Rameau) for £10 at amazon.co.uk

I have one CD from this set - Utopia Triumphans - and I found it nearly unlistenable due to muddy recording quality (recorded in a church in a very "distant" manner - and these are large choirs), with hissing sounds that vocalists make when they hit the consonants overpowering the music (but this is a common problem I have with early choral music, in live settings in particular - I would rather have them singing in vowels only ).