Tír Na HiFi

bombasticDarren wrote:^^ never straying too far from the beaten track Fergus ;-)

I don't think so Darren....you surprise me sometimes!

simply magnificent....

Stravinsky - Symphony in three movements & Symphonies of wind instruments (Ernest Ansermet, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Decca)

bombasticDarren wrote:Stravinsky - Symphony in three movements & Symphonies of wind instruments (Ernest Ansermet, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Decca)

My introduction to Stravinsky was an Ansermet/L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande LP which crammed The Rite of Spring onto one side and something else (The Fairy's Kiss?) onto the other. The number Ritual Action of the Ancestors was very jazzy, every other performance since has seemed a bit straight. I suspect, however, that they're right and Ansermet is wrong, but I still miss the jazzy rhythm!

Ciaran wrote:

bombasticDarren wrote:Stravinsky - Symphony in three movements & Symphonies of wind instruments (Ernest Ansermet, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Decca)

My introduction to Stravinsky was an Ansermet/L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande LP which crammed The Rite of Spring onto one side and something else (The Fairy's Kiss?) onto the other. The number Ritual Action of the Ancestors was very jazzy, every other performance since has seemed a bit straight. I suspect, however, that they're right and Ansermet is wrong, but I still miss the jazzy rhythm!

I don't know what people think of Ansermet. I have just the one set of recordings by Ansermet and la Suisse Romande and I can't recommend it highly enough, it is available at a great price too:

Fantastic playing and wonderful tone.

markof wrote:

Fantastic playing and wonderful tone.

Just found this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WAMulmL_FI

He relates a great story about Abel playing while too drunk to walk or talk.

Italian Mezzo Daniela Barcellona is best known for her Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti roles, but she is not an infrequent visitor to Baroque music. Her previous disc of Alessandro Scarlatti arias was a success. It was not only the first disc ever dedicated to Alessandro Scarlatti opera arias, but it was an excellent recital in it´s own right. Now Barcellona and the fine ensemble Concerto de´Cavalieri follow suit with another first, an all Pergolesi opera arias recital. Barcellona´s voice is a grand, imposing one, so she wisely avoids the fragile girl roles and rather opts for bravura castrato characters. Both recordings are well planned and executed, and it´s just great to have a truly important voice in this music. In all probability XVIII Century castrati sounded much more like Barcellona than modern day countertenors.

Sibelius - Symphony No.3, No.6 & No.7 (Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Finlandia)

John Taverner and Haydn's mid SQs safely put away for the time being, I will be moving on to an extension of my knowledge of Mendelssohn's repertoire...













some of these have been sat on the shelf for an indecent amount of time, it's good to be able to finally get into them! I will be taking them away with me tomorrow am, as I'm going off to see family in Worcs over a long weekend. I'll be back on Mon evening, in case you have wondered where I have got to!