What are you listening to?

[jaybee]

needless to say, even on my desktop setup it sounds fantastic. hm at their best!

[Jose Echenique]

Fortepianist expert Arthur Schooderwoerd has just moved to the Accent label and it seems he´s starting a new Mozart Piano Concertos cycle. He recorded a few years ago a startling but absorbing Beethoven Piano Concertos cycle (remember them Fergus?) where he played them not only in fortepianos but with the original number of musicians that Beethoven used, often only a couple of violins, 1 viola, 1 cello, double bass and winds.
Here he does the same for Mozart, making these concertos almost chamber music.
The results are startling too, but often revealing.

I do indeed remember those versions of the Beethoven Piano Concertos by Schooderwoerd Pepe and they were very different! That looks like a very intriguing series of the Mozart Piano Concertos and perhaps Schooderwoerd's approach might be more suitable to Mozart's music?

It works in a different way in Mozart, but as in the Beethoven concertos the approach offers revealing results. Schooderwoerd is no Krystian Zimerman of course, but he knows the fortepiano and relishes in what was DIFFERENT about it, and doesn´t try to make it sound like a modern piano. The Ensemble Cristofori, as in the Beethoven concertos play splendidly.

[DonKC]

One of the more enjoyable "classic" Beethoven cycles:

Symphony # 7, 8 and 4

Cluytens, Berlin Philharmonic EMI

[Seán]

One of the more enjoyable "classic" Beethoven cycles:

Symphony # 7, 8 and 4

Cluytens, Berlin Philharmonic EMI

Well, it's definitely one of my favourite cycles.

[fergus]

It works in a different way in Mozart, but as in the Beethoven concertos the approach offers revealing results. Schooderwoerd is no Krystian Zimerman of course, but he knows the fortepiano and relishes in what was DIFFERENT about it, and doesn´t try to make it sound like a modern piano. The Ensemble Cristofori, as in the Beethoven concertos play splendidly.

Thank you for that Pepe.

[DonKC]

One of the more enjoyable "classic" Beethoven cycles:

Symphony # 7, 8 and 4

Cluytens, Berlin Philharmonic EMI

Well, it's definitely one of my favourite cycles.

Seán: it was your advocacy of it that led me to purchasing the set a couple of years ago. Thanks!

[Jared]

moving on to some more piano music...





it's funny, but even the piano music sounds Dvorakian!

[fergus]

and I think that is a wonderful study of von Karajan.

[DonKC]

Some new Naxos recordings of Villa-Lobos Symphonies.

Symphony # 6 (On the Outline of the Mountains of Brazil)
Symphony # 7

São Paulo SO Issac Karabtchevsky

Naxos 8.573151

The 6th derives much of its melodic line from the composer superimposing topographical maps of Brazil over music paper. It is much more interesting, melodic and memorable than it sounds.

This is part of a new Villa-Lobos symphony cycle it appears, 3 and 4 have just came out as well.

[fergus]