Tír Na HiFi

Very lovely Lark Ascending on this album.

Jose Echenique wrote:

This is the last installment in Koopman´s complete survey of Buxtehude´s oeuvre. Words can´t say what exquisite performances these are, and the works themselves: heavenly. I think I´m going to cry when this is finally over, which should be soon.

You have been extolling the virtues of this set for a long time now Pepe! I also hate when something good like that comes to an end; one misses the anticipation of the next installment and the excitement of hearing the new CD for the first time and wondering if it will be as least as good as the last one!

More Kraus and Concerto Koln....

In memorium....

fergus wrote:In memorium....

Oh yes, Brüggen belongs to that extraordinary generation of pioneers that included Harnoncourt and Leonhardt.
I can´t remember when I first heard a recording of Frans Brüggen but it must have been in my early teens since my brother had all his recordings, but I remember very well which recording made me realize what a superb recorder player he was: Corelli´s La Follia played on the recorder with Gustav Leonhardt at the cembalo, it even was the very first recording of La Follia that I heard.

Jose Echenique wrote:
Oh yes, Brüggen belongs to that extraordinary generation of pioneers that included Harnoncourt and Leonhardt.
I can´t remember when I first heard a recording of Frans Brüggen but it must have been in my early teens since my brother had all his recordings, but I remember very well which recording made me realize what a superb recorder player he was: Corelli´s La Follia played on the recorder with Gustav Leonhardt at the cembalo, it even was the very first recording of La Follia that I heard.

He was indeed one of the Towering Greats and will be sadly missed. However, what a legacy the man has left!

I have not played any Tchaikovsky in quite a while so I have remedied that this afternoon....

A really wonderful and thoughtfully programmed recital juxtaposing the piano music of Liszt and Messiaen. The shadow of Debussy hangs heavy over this music.  You can really hear in Liszt one of Debussy's primary influences and in Messiaen just one of the many important 20th century composers he would later inspire.

I bought this 2 LP box set recently and I took it because it cost so very little money. Normally I would not buy music of this genre that was recorded/performed in 1951. However I like the voice of Kathleen Ferrier and that clinched the decision.





I know and understand that the performance/recording is of its time but I find the treatment of the music rather difficult to deal with; the heavily coloured orchestral and choral textures and the oftentimes ponderously slow tempi are the prime detractors for me. This was the very type of performance which turned me away from the music of JS Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and others when I was a young man. Thankfully we had the arrival of the likes of Leonhardt, Harnoncourt, Leppard and Gardiner etc. who saved the day for me!

Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto....