What are you listening two?

[fergus]

Corelli: Concerti Grossi Op. 6, Ensemble 415/Chiara Banchini....





Wonderful!!

[Jose Echenique]

Oh monsieur Lesne, how we miss you!!!

[Seán]

It´s a superb recording Fergus, and buying the recording will not only afford you a lot of pleasure but will help to support Les Arts Florissants, one of the most noble and important musical projects of the last 30 years. It´s frightening that in these difficult times when idiots, morons and Lady Gaga lovers run the major companies, orchestras like the Concertgebouw, the LSO and the Chicago Symphony, and groups like the Monteverdi Choir and now Les Arts Florissants have had to create their own labels in order to preserve their performances for posterity. Many people think that any recording makes money, far from it, especially in difficult, non-commercial repertoire, and a 3 hour Handel oratorio is as far from "commercial" as you get, it was NOT commercial in Handel´s time, when he had to struggle to make ends meet, and it´s not commercial in our own time, but the important thing is that this is very great music that not only entertain us, but makes us better. That´s why we have to support it.

Oh don't get me started Pepe, we are supposed to be an intelligent species sadly there is very little evidence of it in the behaviour you refer to.

[Jose Echenique]

It´s a superb recording Fergus, and buying the recording will not only afford you a lot of pleasure but will help to support Les Arts Florissants, one of the most noble and important musical projects of the last 30 years. It´s frightening that in these difficult times when idiots, morons and Lady Gaga lovers run the major companies, orchestras like the Concertgebouw, the LSO and the Chicago Symphony, and groups like the Monteverdi Choir and now Les Arts Florissants have had to create their own labels in order to preserve their performances for posterity. Many people think that any recording makes money, far from it, especially in difficult, non-commercial repertoire, and a 3 hour Handel oratorio is as far from "commercial" as you get, it was NOT commercial in Handel´s time, when he had to struggle to make ends meet, and it´s not commercial in our own time, but the important thing is that this is very great music that not only entertain us, but makes us better. That´s why we have to support it.

Oh don't get me started Pepe, we are supposed to be an intelligent species sadly there is very little evidence of it in the behaviour you refer to.

Intelligence, taste, knowledge, culture are rare commodities these days Seán.
May the good Lord deliver us from Justin Bieber, Amen.

[fergus]

It´s a superb recording Fergus, and buying the recording will not only afford you a lot of pleasure but will help to support Les Arts Florissants, one of the most noble and important musical projects of the last 30 years. It´s frightening that in these difficult times when idiots, morons and Lady Gaga lovers run the major companies, orchestras like the Concertgebouw, the LSO and the Chicago Symphony, and groups like the Monteverdi Choir and now Les Arts Florissants have had to create their own labels in order to preserve their performances for posterity. Many people think that any recording makes money, far from it, especially in difficult, non-commercial repertoire, and a 3 hour Handel oratorio is as far from "commercial" as you get, it was NOT commercial in Handel´s time, when he had to struggle to make ends meet, and it´s not commercial in our own time, but the important thing is that this is very great music that not only entertain us, but makes us better. That´s why we have to support it.

Oh don't get me started Pepe, we are supposed to be an intelligent species sadly there is very little evidence of it in the behaviour you refer to.

Intelligence, taste, knowledge, culture are rare commodities these days Seán.
May the good Lord deliver us from Justin Bieber, Amen.

Is this the Grumpy Old Man Corner LOL?!?!

[Seán]

Oh don't get me started Pepe, we are supposed to be an intelligent species sadly there is very little evidence of it in the behaviour you refer to.

Intelligence, taste, knowledge, culture are rare commodities these days Seán.
May the good Lord deliver us from Justin Bieber, Amen.

Is this the Grumpy Old Man Corner LOL?!?!

Excuse me sir, I am more than happy to join any group with our dear Pepe however, if it's all the same to you, I would prefer to call it the Grumpy Young Man's (GYM's) rather than the Grumpy Old Man's (GOM's) corner. LOL

[Jose Echenique]

Our grumpiness is amply justified dear Fergus. When I was a teen in the 70´s I could escape the Rolling Stones, ABBA, Janis Joplin, etc. because Classical Music was readily available everywhere: it could be seen on TV, record stores were well stocked with it, and of course there were plenty of recordings with distinguished artists like Plácido Domingo, Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Maurizio Pollini etc.
When Leonard Bernstein came to conduct our Mexico City Philharmonic in 1975, the event was widely covered by the press and the TV, coverage now they only afford to a little untalented Canadian boy called Justin Bieber.
Classical Music audiences are growing old because now it´s more expensive to go to the opera and concerts than before (subsidy cuts of course). My nephew Gabriel is now in NY and wanted to see Rigoletto at the MET. The ticket was $350.00 (courtesy of uncle Pepe), but way too expensive for a 24 year old who is still studying.
And the major labels virtually stopped making recordings. Verdi and Wagner year and only a handful of independently produced recordings like the Chicago Symphony/Muti Otello and the Mariinsky Die Walküre.
Yes, we are grumpy and mad as hell.

[fergus]

Excuse me sir, I am more than happy to join any group with our dear Pepe however, if it's all the same to you, I would prefer to call it the Grumpy Young Man's (GYM's) rather than the Grumpy Old Man's (GOM's) corner. LOL

What did Groucho say? Something like I would not join any club that would have me as a member!!!

[fergus]

Anyway, from the ridiculous to the sublime; Victoria - Missa O magnum mysterium....

[Jose Echenique]

For a cold, windy morning, some superb pianism by Krystian Zimerman.