Tír Na HiFi

fergus wrote:Beethoven – Missa Solemnis [Gardiner]....



This is another powerful rendition of the Missa Solmenis and it has the advantage over the Klemperer version in that the four soloists are superior (to my ear).

I agree. Much as I love Klemperer's version (his version of Brahms's German Requiem is similarly excellent), I prefer Gardiner in the transparency and clarity of the musical textures, and the superior soloists. However, I slightly favour Philippe Herreweghe on Harmonia Mundi which surpasses Gardiner in its freshness and overall spiritual intensity. My favourite version on modern instruments is an outstanding version by Karajan with the BPO recorded at the Salzburg Festival in 1979. Currently, it's only available on a DG DVD but it's quite overwhelming in its emotional impact and Karajan himself looks suitably moved at the work's conclusion. (Similarly, he also leads a fantastic version of Verdi's Requiem, recorded in 1967 at La Scala, with Luciano Pavarotti, Nikolai Ghiaurov and Leontyne Price among the soloists, and available on a DG DVD. I don't believe it's on CD, but it's one of the great versions, in my opinion.)

Interesting comments above mcq and the Herreweghe version is duly noted!
The Missa Solemnis is indeed a powerful work and can be truly inspirational....especially if one can crank up the volume a bit!

JSB – Cantata BWV147 for the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary....

fergus wrote:JSB – Cantata BWV147 for the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary....

But, but, but, today is Monday!

Any day is a Bach day lad!!!

This year I have been posting the relevant Cantata that JSB wrote for each specific liturgical feast.

Giulini: The Chicago Recordings. Stravinsky: Petrushka. Lots of new perspective on the piece in which Stravinsky became Stravinsky.



Glass: String Qt 5. Kronos Qt. Twenty years ago I used to listen to Glass a lot. Then I lost interest somewhat. I pulled this out this evening and found it quite moving.



Rzewski: Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues, played by the composer. To me this brings to life the ecstatic experience of working hard in a noisy factory and find a tune come to life out of the rhythms of the noise and inhabit you completely. The wonder is that he expresses the beauty of this moment without letting go of the dreadfulness of the working conditions. Terrifying as well as ecstatic. The song on which it's based is, appropriately enough about terrible working conditions.



After that, some Lava!

Ciaran wrote:

Giulini: The Chicago Recordings.

I love that set. The Giulini/CSO Titan is one of my favourite recordngs of this work and the Beethoven Seven is very good too.

Snap with Ciaran....




....more simple, melodious and accessible music from Glass. I like his music I must say.

Some of my favourite Schubert tonight. First off is his chamber masterpiece, the Octet in F major, as played by The Gaudier Ensemble on Hyperion. Beautifully refined playing which does full justice to one of the most perfectly realised compositions in chamber repertoire. (I really must pick up Viktoria Mullova's version with her hand-picked ensemble on Onyx as well.)

Next up are his two final piano sonatas, D959 and D960, as played by Alfred Brendel on Philips (these are the recently released live versions - from 1999 and 1997 - in the fantastic Artist's Choice box which constitute Brendel's final thoughts on these masterpieces). These performances are very, very special. This music is some of the most difficult to interpret in the solo piano repertoire - we're talking difficulty on the magnitude of Beethoven's mighty Hammerklavier here - and a truly successful performance must be imbued with a real spiritual depth. These aren't show-off virtuosic displays of instrumental talent, but, rather, deeply-felt meditations of the highest artistic merit which demand absolute immersion on the part of the performer in order to achieve the desired - transcendental - effect.

Incidentally, if there's one performance that - in my opinion - secures Sviatoslav Richter's position as the greatest pianist of the 20th century, it is his stunning, otherworldly performance of D960 (recorded live in Salzburg in 1972). He takes it very slow but perfectly catches the emotional weight and spiritual nuances that are buried deep inside this music. This is a live recording originally released on Olympia but currently available very inexpensively on Alto. It never fails to take my breath away. There is a famous story about Glenn Gould visting Moscow in 1955 and attending a Richter recital where this sonata was played. Now, Gould was no great fan of Richter before this recital but the performance of D960 entranced him and marked him indelibly for life. As much as I love Kempff and Brendel in Schubert, Richter gets closer to the music's spiritual core than anybody else.

Here it is. Truly desert island material for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SdGrAXetDQ (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ejjypnJ ... 1&index=38 (Part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh96aLwi ... 1&index=39 (Part 3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EGIbFAF ... re=related (Part 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-Ryx-Jb ... re=related (Part 5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qobIA6KB ... re=related (Part 6)

mcq wrote:Some of my favourite Schubert tonight. First off is his chamber masterpiece, the Octet in F major, ... I really must pick up Viktoria Mullova's version with her hand-picked ensemble on Onyx as well.)

That does sound tasty... I have Michael Collins and friends on Wigmore Hall Live and the Vienna Octet (late '50s?), both of which I like, but Icould be tempted into another!

mcq wrote:Next up are his two final piano sonatas, D959 and D960, as played by Alfred Brendel on Philips.

I've tried often with Brendel, and I want to like his playing as I find him a very insightful commentator on music on TV and in print, but I generally remain rather unmoved. Of course the Schubert late piano sonatas are a tough listen, wonderful though they are. I actually pulled out my LPs of Pollini playing them a few weeks ago, which was a great pleaure.

mcq wrote:I As much as I love Kempff and Brendel in Schubert, Richter gets closer to the music's spiritual core than anybody else.

I've been listening to more and more Richter lately: I've been getting all the Debussy and Prokofiev I can find and Schubert is next on the list! I find that Richter is somehow utterly individual and yet also very right.