Tír Na HiFi

DaveF wrote:

Dave, are these Haydn's Harpsichord Concertos (usually Nos 3,4 & 11), played on the organ?

Jared wrote:

DaveF wrote: On the other hand the mere mention of Rattle will send Sean into an uncontrollable rage. ;-)

well if that is indeed the case, then our dear Sean has spent too much time mixing with the wrong company... I'm sure we're all grown up and independent minded enough to come to our own conclusions over which interpretations we like and don't like, by any particular conductor.

Anyone who knows me knows that I do hold very strong opinions and am not easily influenced by others, sometimes my views do cause upset too, which is never my intention.
When I started buying Mahler CDs I bought several recordings by SSRattle with the BPO and returned all but two: the Mahler 10 with the BPO and the Mahler 2 with the CBSO, and to be honest I am not particularly fond of either of them. I don't buy any recordings by the great man now so perhaps he is blazing a trail that I am not aware of, who knows? I do have a few recordings of his, but they do not interest me greatly. He obvioulsy does have a great talent because he is conducting the BPO and he sells CDs alas I don't hear it.

My faourite conductors are Reiner; Solti; Kubelik; Abbado; Harnoncourt; Levine & Chailly to mention but a few.

Jared wrote:

Seán wrote:

Jared wrote:^^ I have to say, there appears to be a Fritz Reiner fan club developing on this forum...

Well, I'll join. I love his work, everything I've heard, Reiner was an extraordinary conductor. The Reiner/CSO Bartok CD mentioned earlier by Dave is truly magnificent. To my mind Reiner could do no wrong.

it's quite priceless when you find a conductor whose work resonates with you emotionally..

Yeah, Kubleik and Abbado come very close there too. And Solti, particularly in Mahler.

Seán wrote:

Jared wrote:
it's quite priceless when you find a conductor whose work resonates with you emotionally..

Yeah, Kubleik and Abbado come very close there too. And Solti, particularly in Mahler.

On Kubelik, we can agree Sean. He is an indispensable conductor for me.

R. Strauss - Don Juan (Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, RCA)



I had this disc in the player for the DQ thread and couldn't resist playing this gem through. Reiner seems to have the CSO in the palm of his hand, as well as an affinity with Strauss that is thrilling at times.

For me too.

It´s a rare and marvelous thing to have 2 options for this magnificent Zelenka Mass. The Bernius recording is about 10 years old and unfortunately (I believe) unavailable at present. The Czech recording is just out and it´s equally good. The Czechs have improved enormously their period instrument standards in the past few years, and now can compete as equals with the best groups of Western Europe.
The Missa Omnium Sanctorum is a very great masterpiece, and should be investigated.

Jose Echenique wrote:

It´s a rare and marvelous thing to have 2 options for this magnificent Zelenka Mass. The Bernius recording is about 10 years old and unfortunately (I believe) unavailable at present. The Czech recording is just out and it´s equally good. The Czechs have improved enormously their period instrument standards in the past few years, and now can compete as equals with the best groups of Western Europe.
The Missa Omnium Sanctorum is a very great masterpiece, and should be investigated.

I got the Czech one recently and have been enjoying it very much. Ensemble Inegal have several Zelenka records on Nibiru: I have a few and they're all excellent.

I've recently also been enjoying Sepolcri (early sacred works by Zelenka) in the wonderful "Music from Eighteenth-Century Prague" series on Supraphon



and the Missa Votiva



another Zelenka recording conducted by Václav Luks, this time on Zig-Zag Territoires (the last one I got was on Accent).

Dvorak - Symphony No.7 (Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Warner Classics)

Brahms - Piano Concerto No.1 (Clifford Curzon/George Szell, London Symphony Orchestra, Decca)