Tír Na HiFi

And following another recommendation in my recent thread....

Enjoy it, Fergus, it's a wonderful performance of a somewhat undervalued work, an extraordinary cry for individual liberty in the face of oppression that never fails to move me to tears.  It's also a wonderful testament to the indomitable spirit of Claudio Abbado who set down reference performance after reference performance in the years following his recovery from stomach cancer, for which we as music lovers should be eternally grateful.  He seemed to be obsessed with achieving the utmost transparency and clarity in his recordings during these last years, a process of continual refinement where the very essence of the composer's intentions were beautifully realised.

mcq wrote:Enjoy it, Fergus, it's a wonderful performance of a somewhat undervalued work, an extraordinary cry for individual liberty in the face of oppression that never fails to move me to tears.  It's also a wonderful testament to the indomitable spirit of Claudio Abbado who set down reference performance after reference performance in the years following his recovery from stomach cancer, for which we as music lovers should be eternally grateful.  He seemed to be obsessed with achieving the utmost transparency and clarity in his recordings during these last years, a process of continual refinement where the very essence of the composer's intentions were beautifully realised.

Thank you for that Paul. I am looking forward to hearing it and indeed the Harnoncourt as well; as you rightly say, a bit of an undervalued work.

mcq wrote:Enjoy it, Fergus, it's a wonderful performance of a somewhat undervalued work, an extraordinary cry for individual liberty in the face of oppression that never fails to move me to tears.  It's also a wonderful testament to the indomitable spirit of Claudio Abbado who set down reference performance after reference performance in the years following his recovery from stomach cancer, for which we as music lovers should be eternally grateful.  He seemed to be obsessed with achieving the utmost transparency and clarity in his recordings during these last years, a process of continual refinement where the very essence of the composer's intentions were beautifully realised.

Beautifully said Paul, copied in agreement with your sentiments. We have lost a truly great musician.

Decision made on the Sinopoli Schumann cycle....





....and I am looking forward to eventually hearing this set.

I have come across the name Georges Onslow from time to time but I have never herard any of his music. That is about to change with this purchase....

To add to my Irish collection....

Well I have tried to supplement my meagre Mozart collection of symphonic recordings for some time now. I had considered getting the Harnocourt first 25 symphony set (but it is not complete so I haven't). I have listened to excerpts of the the Adam Fischer & Danish National Chamber Orchestra complete cycle but have yet to be convinced by it. I checked out the Pinnock and Böhm box sets but wasn't convinced by either of them. Böhm is marvellous in the later works but not in the earlier recordings, not for now anyway.

I know that some do not like this set and there are others who adore it. Well, I will soon find out for myself now:

Seán wrote:Well I have tried to supplement my meagre Mozart collection of symphonic recordings for some time now. I had considered getting the Harnocourt first 25 symphony set (but it is not complete so I haven't). I have listened to excerpts of the the Adam Fischer & Danish National Chamber Orchestra complete cycle but have yet to be convinced by it. I checked out the Pinnock and Böhm box sets but wasn't convinced by either of them. Böhm is marvellous in the later works but not in the earlier recordings, not for now anyway.

I know that some do not like this set and there are others who adore it. Well, I will soon find out for myself now:

Brave move Seán! I will be interested to read your reactions to this cycle.

More Onslow, this time String Quintets....