What Classical Music Are You Listening To?

[mikeweil]

[HutchFan]

8 hours ago, Referentzhunter said:

What are your thought about this set ? How does it sound on cd ?

 

I love it. Sounds great too.

I am a fan of Rafael Kubelik's conducting in general. 

[Referentzhunter]

40 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

I love it. Sounds great too.

I am a fan of Rafael Kubelik's conducting in general. 

I have some of these works on lp. Some Dgg lp's from a certain era sound strange, no depth, no soundstage, very thin ... this recording/pressing is an example of that phenomenon. EDIT: maybe the best way to descibe it is lifeless.

I bet it sounds better on cd though ...

Edited Saturday at 04:14 PM by Referentzhunter

[HutchFan]

1 hour ago, Referentzhunter said:

I have some of these works on lp. Some Dgg lp's from a certain era sound strange, no depth, no soundstage, very thin ... this recording/pressing is an example of that phenomenon. EDIT: maybe the best way to descibe it is lifeless.

I bet it sounds better on cd though ...

I'm familiar with what you're describing with some DG vinyl. 

I think the CD issue does indeed sound better.

[mikeweil]

[Peter Friedman]

[Peter Friedman]

[HutchFan]

[T.D.]

[T.D.]

Edited yesterday at 01:11 AM by T.D.

[mikeweil]

[Peter Friedman]

[HutchFan]

Disc 18 - Brahms: Symphony No. 1 with the London SO

 

[HutchFan]

Disc 6 - Brahms: Symphony No. 1 with the London PO

It's fun to compare different interpretations of the same work.   

 

[HutchFan]

Next up:

[Chuck Nessa]

[Peter Friedman]

[Peter Friedman]

[Peter Friedman]

[Referentzhunter]

Ts-find

[HutchFan]

24 minutes ago, Referentzhunter said:

Ts-find

DSCH's 12th Symphony is a bit of a pot-boiler -- not one of his best works.  But I think Rozhdestvensky is a wonderful conductor & one of Shostakovich's finest interpreters. 

I'm happy to have Rozh's complete cycle of Shostakovich symphonies:

For me -- along with Kondrashin's cycle -- this is the top of the heap.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by HutchFan

[Referentzhunter]

Ts-find

8 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

DSCH's 12th Symphony is a bit of a pot-boiler -- not one of his best works. 

 

If i am being honest; i have to spend more time with 'Shostakovich's symphonic cycle' because i still haven't a clear picture of it's qualities. From what i remembered i mainly liked parts of symphonies 7,8 (Mravinsky),11. I have to say that i like the first under Barsai also. Maybe i have to listen to the fifth again ? ...

Don't think i like the 13th and some others haven't really stuck with me either.

The guy form the local musicshop liked the 11th a lot.

Do you have a tip ?

[Peter Friedman]

[HutchFan]

34 minutes ago, Referentzhunter said:

Do you have a tip ?

For me, Shostakovich's most compelling symphonies are the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Tenth, Thirteenth, and Fifteenth.  However, I wouldn't focus on the Thirteenth and Fifteenth until you've absorbed the earlier symphonies.  

In terms of conductors, along with Rozhdestvensky and Kondrashin, I would also recommend Barshai & Mravinsky. 

I also enjoy Haitink and Ormandy in DSCH -- even though (at times) their sounds aren't as idiomatic as Russian orchestras under Russian conductors.  That said, for example, Haitink's Eighth is AMAZING.  (I like it even better than Mravinsky's famous version of the 8th.)  And Ormandy's Tenth is outstanding too. (Philadelphia actually has a tradition of performing Russian music, and Ormandy gave the American premieres of several DSCH works.)

I like to think of Shostakovich as Mahler's heir.  They have quite a bit in common, and DSCH loved Mahler's music -- especially Das Lied von der Erde.  Of course, the circumstances of DSCH's life were very different than Mahler's, and understanding the particulars of DSCH's life in the Soviet Union is a critically important part of fully understanding his music.