Tír Na HiFi

Hello Darren,
I hope that you are well. Gosh, that is an extraordinary collection to put up for sale on amazon, I hope that it goes well for you. I have looked at the first ten pages and will have a look through the list as and when I get the chance. Best wishes with your endeavours and do please keep in touch.
Seán

Hi Darren,

Very good to hear from you again... pleased you haven't abandoned us, but please don't sell anything off that you might later regret. I do put CDs on ebay, but they nearly always fall into 2 categories; CDs I have repurchased as part of larger box sets, or CDs where I have a number of versions of a piece, and this happens to be my least favourite. I liken my collection to a large bush... I keep pruning back little bits in order that they may grow back stronger and more perfectly formed, to the extent that my collection is now the most precious thing I own.

anyway, I wish you continued happiness....

PS Guys, I am going to Wales for the weekend very shortly, back Sun PM... so I will be off-line till then. Have a great weekend's listening!

After the 2 Furtwängler cycles, probably the most significant Ring, certainly the best sung of all, is Clemens Krauss´ from the 1953 Bayreuther Festspiele. Clemens Krauss´ conducting is very different from both Furtwängler´s and Knappertsbusch´s. Untypical at the time, his tempi are fast and exhilarating. If Furtwängler was hypnotic and transcendental, then Krauss was highly theatrical and vital, different approaches, both valid. But the most remarkable feature is the superlative singing: Hans Hotter and Wolfgang Windgassen never sounded better, and Astrid Varnay as Brünnhilde was just out of this world. All around, there´s no better sung Ring than this.
Clemens Krauss died suddenly on tour in the spring of 1954 here, in my own city, Mexico City. I wonder if it was because of the suffocating heat which I´m suffering at the moment.
Oh, by the way, of all conductors active in the Third Reich he was the most Nazi of all, and yet, the Sieglinde here, Regina Resnik in her soprano days, was Jewish, so go figure.

Jared wrote: PS Guys, I am going to Wales for the weekend very shortly, back Sun PM... so I will be off-line till then. Have a great weekend's listening!

I hope that you have a great weekend Jared. I had many pleasant trips to North Wales in the past including one with my then five year old daughter who would accept nothing less than walking up Snowdon....which she duly did, and back!
My only problem with Wales is our inability to beat their National Rugby team on a regular basis which is further exacerbated by the fact that we consistently beat them at club level!

Jose Echenique wrote:

You have me intrigued with that one Pepe!

I have told you before my friend that you will get no sympathy from anyone here for complaining about heat!!

The wonderful Heinz Holliger playing some very interesting works....

Really enjoyed this discovery in my Decca Sound Box Set:


Might see if it is obtainable on vinyl... ;)

Claus wrote:Really enjoyed this discovery in my Decca Sound Box Set:


Might see if it is obtainable on vinyl... ;)

That Bruch Violin Concerto is a lovely piece indeed Claus and I am delighted that you have discovered it. Because you have enjoyed it you may also find the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto equally rewarding if you are not already aware of it.

Note to Jared: I have just completed my first listen to the following set....





I thought that it was delightful; it was well sung (as expected) and the accompaniment was very sensitive to the singer. It was a real bargain indeed....much obliged!

I would have perhaps five or six Wagner “sampler” records which contain various overtures and preludes to various acts by a particular orchestra/conductor. However today I played this one....



....and other than one by von Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic I found the one above to be most impressive in terms of both intensity and sensitivity to the music. This somewhat surprised me as I would have expected a somewhat bombastic approach throughout from Stokowski. It was a very pleasant listen indeed!