Tír Na HiFi

This was quite different from the Masses that I usually listen to and it was a bit of a challenge for me but I ultimately prevailed and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was quite a powerful performance!

Gustav Mahler
Symphony no. 5
Philadelphia Orchestra
Frank Kaderabek - Trumpet Mason Jones - Horn
James Levine - conducting.

Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev
Symphony No. 1
Russian State Symphony Orchestra
Igor Golovschin - conducting.

fergus wrote:

This was quite different from the Masses that I usually listen to and it was a bit of a challenge for me but I ultimately prevailed and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was quite a powerful performance!

I haven't heard the Tilson Thomas version but the Mackerras version (pictured below) on Chandos is indispensable. Nobody conducts Janacek with as much authority as Mackerras. Highly recommended and the coupling - Kodaly's Psalmus Hungaricus - is also excellent.



You should also look out for the recordings of Grechanimov's Passion Week and Lili Boulanger's Faust et Helene and Psaume 130 - both of which are available on Chandos. This is extremely satisfying music from two rather undervalued composers.

mcq wrote:

fergus wrote:

I haven't heard the Tilson Thomas version but the Mackerras version (pictured below) on Chandos is indispensable. Nobody conducts Janacek with as much authority as Mackerras. Highly recommended and the coupling - Kodaly's Psalmus Hungaricus - is also excellent.

Thank you for that Paul. I like Mackerras very much and interestingly, I notice that his version is the "Original Version" which, to be honest as I do not really know this work means nothing to me but which nonetheless also always attracts me in a recording.

Sometimes one spends very little on a CD or collection of CDs and one is struck by the fact that they contain truly marvellous music. This box set is just one example and it's available at a giveway price on Amazon.com. It's no surprise that the set is on the Membran label I suppose, it is really something special, highly recommended:



This is the fourth CD

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet 15

Anton Dvorak
String Quartet 12

Maurice Ravel
String Quartet

Quartetto Italiano

I forgot to mention that it is also available in Tower Records for about €14.

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 1 & 2
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Claudio Abbado - conducting.

This evening I listened to the first two symphonies in this box set and I was hugely impressed with what I heard. Abbado's detailed interpretations and the BPO's sumptuous delivery make this music a real treat, the level of detail is really impressive and the DG engineers capture it beautifully, I feel. I am looking forward to exploring the rest of this set.

Why did it take me so long to get it?

I often listen to Boydell's Violin Concerto as I really like it but the rest of the music on this disc is also pretty good as well!