What are you listening to?

[fergus]

Beethoven – Symphonies 1 & 2 (Wand)...



These two early symphonies do not normally grab my attention as I usually look forward to No.3 and onwards as the real test of an interpretation of LvB’s work but I must say that No. 1 was a very impressive performance indeed.

[Seán]

Beethoven – Symphonies 1 & 2 (Wand)...

These two early symphonies do not normally grab my attention as I usually look forward to No.3 and onwards as the real test of an interpretation of LvB’s work but I must say that No. 1 was a very impressive performance indeed.

That's interesting. I rarely listen to the First Symphony yet the Second is one of my favourites. I will watch with interest to discover what you make iof the rest of this set. Like Mahler symphonies one can not have too many recordings of Beethoven's symphonic works, I find.

[jaybee]

Mozart's Requiem is a special work indeed Seán. I have three versions of it (including the original issue of the one Dave posted above, which is very good) with at least one more to come. Top of my list, however, is the Gardiner version which is a very powerful and dramatic reading.

Yes, I suppose I always think of Harnoncourt first and then look to other options. I must get another version but it's not my top priority for now.

I just gave it another spin there, and now I remember why I didn't like it....

the rex tremendae... way too staccatto for my taste, especially on the "rex".... it seems to be a hemi-demi-semi quaver for "rex"

i prefer the nice legato "reeeexxxxx"

[fergus]

the rex tremendae... way too staccatto for my taste, especially on the "rex".... it seems to be a hemi-demi-semi quaver for "rex"

i prefer the nice legato "reeeexxxxx"

Could you sing that for us Johnny....just to illustrate the point????

[fergus]

Mahler – Bertini’s M9....



I had put aside the Bertini set for a while but resumed with M9.

I thought that this was a very fine (live) recording and interpretation with the exception of the 3rd movement, Rondo Burlesque; there were episodes here that I feel that he just did not capture as well as others....otherwise, very impressive.

[DaveF]

Mahler – Bertini’s M9....
I had put aside the Bertini set for a while but resumed with M9.

I thought that this was a very fine (live) recording and interpretation with the exception of the 3rd movement, Rondo Burlesque; there were episodes here that I feel that he just did not capture as well as others....otherwise, very impressive.

How would you rank this boxset to others that you own Fergus? If you had to pick a desert island Mahler boxset...???

[fergus]

Mahler – Bertini’s M9....

How would you rank this boxset to others that you own Fergus? If you had to pick a desert island Mahler boxset...???

I actually only own four Mahler box sets Dave....Abbado, Kubelik, Solti and now Bertini. My desert island choice by a long country mile would definitely be Abbado. However, it is, or was when I bought it, expensive and if I was asked to recommend a seriously good inexpensive choice for a newcomer to Mahler I would have recommended Solti in the past....now it would be a toss up between Solti and Bertini and possibly Bertini would get the nod.

[fergus]

Beethoven – Symphonies 1 & 2 (Wand)...

These two early symphonies do not normally grab my attention as I usually look forward to No.3 and onwards as the real test of an interpretation of LvB’s work but I must say that No. 1 was a very impressive performance indeed.

That's interesting. I rarely listen to the First Symphony yet the Second is one of my favourites....

It is not that I don't like those two works Seán....it is just that I do not find anything outstanding in them. For me LvB did not fully break away from the Grand Classical tradition of Haydn until he composed his 3rd symphony where he really put his own mark on the symphony....and he then went on from there.

[fergus]

Early morning listening with Mahler's Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen and Ruckert Lieder under Chailly....

[DaveF]

BMV 530, 528, 527