What are you listening to?

[DaveF]

Symphony No.6



Really looking forward to the arrival of the Rozhdestvensky set now.

[fergus]

Karajan only recorded 2 recitals with singers: the famous Christmas Album with Leontyne Price and the Strauss recital with Anna Tomowa-Sintow. That should tell you something about her standing with the maestro. Ah, he also said she was "much" better than Schwarzkopf. I totally concur.

Am I surprised....absolutely not LOL!!!

[fergus]

This is another lavish product and presentation in every way. The performances from both the singers and musicians are once again wonderful in this assertive but not driven performance.

This was the first recording of a Mozart opera by René Jacobs and I think it´s still his best. First of all he´s blessed with a very good cast, especially the women. Veronique Gens and Bernarda Fink meet all the demands put on them and can stand their ground among the greatest sopranos who have recorded the work. But most important, René Jacobs show that a period performance doesn´t have to be cold, faceless and impersonal. Whereas Simon Rattle conducted his version with strict, unvaried tempi, Jacobs allows himself certain freedoms that pay handsome dividends, like in the "farewell quintet", taken at such a slow tempo that could make Klemperer blush. It works though, because Jacobs understands the whole structure and relates the piece to what comes before and after.
Of course this is only possible because of the stupendous playing of the Concerto Köln, who are at one with Jacobs.
The discography of Cosi Fan Tutte is one of the glories of the gramophone. Last time I counted I had 38 recordings, probably 40 now. The Jacobs is still the best in period instruments.

I agree with everything that you said Pepe except that I was not able to say it in the way that you did. I was a delicious performance.

[fergus]

This "little" 80 minute intermezzo was a subplot to be played in the intermissions of the larger Paisiello opera L´Osteria di Marechiaro. What a pity that OPUS111 didn´t record the main opera too, but we rest content wit this totally delightful Neapolitan divertimento. Of course no one but the Cappella de´Turchini could do justice to this music. To hear these singers in the Neapolitan dialect is a joy in itself. This is a marvelous treat.

One of my favourite mandoline concertos was written by Paisiello....it is the only music that I have by him.

[bombasticDarren]

Mozart - Piano Concerto No.9 Jeunehomme (Mitsuko Uchida/Jeffrey Tate, English Chamber Orchestra, Decca)

[bombasticDarren]

Alas, I don't have much to spin, I will have to fix that.

Sean, all of Karajan's 80's output (and some of his earlier work) has recently been released in this 5CD set at a budget price:



If you own very little on here, then it would certainly be worth the purchase.

Thanks Jared, I am currently mulling over the Kempe or Reiner sets. I don't have any Kempe recordings and I do like the Dresden orchestra so they are ahead by a whisker.

This is an interesting debate. Obviously the ideal compromise is to get both Karajan and Kempe ;-)

But seriously, I would opt for the Kempe set. It's more thorough and Kempe's approach feels more subtle and considered. Dresden play both distinctovely and beautifully as usual; I sometimes feel the BPO are a little too slick in Strauss and there is a touch more to surprise you in the Kempe set.

[fergus]

Mozart - Piano Concerto No.9 Jeunehomme (Mitsuko Uchida/Jeffrey Tate, English Chamber Orchestra, Decca)

I must say that I like the Uchida/Tate combination in Mozart.

[Jose Echenique]

This "little" 80 minute intermezzo was a subplot to be played in the intermissions of the larger Paisiello opera L´Osteria di Marechiaro. What a pity that OPUS111 didn´t record the main opera too, but we rest content wit this totally delightful Neapolitan divertimento. Of course no one but the Cappella de´Turchini could do justice to this music. To hear these singers in the Neapolitan dialect is a joy in itself. This is a marvelous treat.

One of my favourite mandoline concertos was written by Paisiello....it is the only music that I have by him.

But you DO have the Pulcinella Vendicato Fergus...if you know what I mean :-)

[bombasticDarren]

Dvorak - Symphony No.9 From the New World (Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra, LSO Live)

[Seán]

This is another lavish product and presentation in every way. The performances from both the singers and musicians are once again wonderful in this assertive but not driven performance.

This was the first recording of a Mozart opera by René Jacobs and I think it´s still his best. First of all he´s blessed with a very good cast, especially the women. Veronique Gens and Bernarda Fink meet all the demands put on them and can stand their ground among the greatest sopranos who have recorded the work. But most important, René Jacobs show that a period performance doesn´t have to be cold, faceless and impersonal. Whereas Simon Rattle conducted his version with strict, unvaried tempi, Jacobs allows himself certain freedoms that pay handsome dividends, like in the "farewell quintet", taken at such a slow tempo that could make Klemperer blush. It works though, because Jacobs understands the whole structure and relates the piece to what comes before and after.
Of course this is only possible because of the stupendous playing of the Concerto Köln, who are at one with Jacobs.
The discography of Cosi Fan Tutte is one of the glories of the gramophone. Last time I counted I had 38 recordings, probably 40 now. The Jacobs is still the best in period instruments.

I agree with everything that you said Pepe except that I was not able to say it in the way that you did. I was a delicious performance.

Pepe, I have one recording of Cosi Fan Tutte. It is a live perfomance and was recorded in Hungary in October 1992. Do you have a copy of this recording? If you do, what do you make of it? I really like it.

Hubert Claessens, Markus Schafer, Monica Groop, Nancy Argenta, Soile Isokoski, Markus Schäfer, Andreas Glatt
La Petite Bande
Sigiswald Kuijken - conducting.