Classical music

[Rick L.]

I need to listen to DSCH 15 more than I do...it's so unique within his symphonies. The Barshai was the first complete DSCH set I bought on disc, then I got the Haitink 2nd.

The Ormandy 15 is freakin' awesome. So is the Barshai, but definitely check out the Ormandy.

[chalkpie]

The Ormandy 15 is freakin' awesome. So is the Barshai, but definitely check out the Ormandy.

Will do.

[timehat]

Someone I met online was posting about his guitar transpcriptions of Schoenberg pieces and it made me want to listen to his Chamber Symphony No. 2. It's an interesting piece, before his serialist work, and not atonal, but certainly pushing tonality into some pretty ambiguous territory. That element of it prompted a pretty robust discussion in the Youtube comments about his choice of key signature. Anyway, I think it's a lovely piece:

[chalkpie]

I really dig both Chamber Symphonies. The Ensemble Modern tears this up.

[StarThrower]

Glad you dig those. The Levine Ring really is one of the best sounding Ring cycles, especially in the orchestra. Vocalists are a bit 'underappreciated' in the Wagnery snobbery corner imo too. Gun to me head - I would probably take the Levine over the Solti, but that's me. You can watch this era on video - available on DVD/BluRay/Met On-Demand Site. There is another Ring cycle by Levine/Met on video from 2012 (Lepage Production) also available on the same shit. Levine has been a bad boy in recent years and I think he is out permanently from The Met.

It's a good alternative to the Solti. His stuff always feels so high strung. It's nice to have a couple different versions of these works. I don't have any Solti for Lohengrin, Tristan, or Parsifal. I love the Karajan Parsifal on DG, and the live '62 Sawallisch Lohengrin. I have Tristan by Karajan, Bohm, and Furtwangler. And I ended up with Bernstein's because the vendor sent me the wrong set.

[dt2]

Probably my favorite work

[StarThrower]

^^^
The Wit performance sounds kinda laid back compared to the conductor's recording on EMI.

[dt2]

Yeah, that's the recording I'm most familiar with actually. The other one just popped up during another search & so I posted it!

[Zeuhlmate]

Martha Argerich !

[chalkpie]

^ I love Martha...she is amazing.

Just ended Tristan overture (Karajan/Berliner)...doesn't get better than this. Why am I tearing up? I guess I must be getting sentimental in my olde age. Or something else is wrong with my head. But man what a piece of music, definitely one of my favorites. The emotions of Humanity distilled into 20 minutes.

[Zeuhlmate]

Another amazing pianoplayer, who unfortunately died young

[Zeuhlmate]

This one made me think of Art Zoyd

[StarThrower]

I love the Solti recording. Never heard the Sawallisch.

I'm loving this Solti Tannhauser. The vendor sent me a beautiful copy in mint condition. It's gotta be one of the most tuneful of all the Wagner operas. Of course the overture is brilliant and the melodies are incorporated throughout the work in the arias and choral sections.

[chalkpie]

I'm loving this Solti Tannhauser. The vendor sent me a beautiful copy in mint condition. It's gotta be one of the most tuneful of all the Wagner operas. Of course the overture is brilliant and the melodies are incorporated throughout the work in the arias and choral sections.

Awesome. I don't own that version but should get it. I have Sinopoli/Philharmonia. Yes, the overture is absolutely blissful.

Because I am obsessed/addicted to The Ring, I've been Spotifying this newer recording with Van Zweden/Hong Kong Philharmonic (which supposed to be the best of the Asian Orchestras), so I just ordered the CD set from Amazon for $50. It's my 5th Ring set. The production and sonics on this thing are unreal, and I've never heard singers so crystal clear as this before in any Ring cycle. Can't wait.

[StarThrower]

What other Rings do you have besides the Solti?

[chalkpie]

What other Rings do you have besides the Solti?

Solti/Vienna (vinyl)
Levine/Met
Janowski/Staatskapelle Dresden
Bohm/Bayreuther Festpiele
Van Zweden/Hong Kong (well, not here yet)

[StarThrower]

Lemme know how that Naxos set sounds on your stereo when you get it.

[chalkpie]

Lemme know how that Naxos set sounds on your stereo when you get it.

Will do. In headphones on streaming its killer, so I hope its gonna knock me out. Das Rheingold seems to be at a lower level overall, but just as good sonically as the others (from what I've heard so far).
Here is a Gotterdammerung review from Classics Today, which gave it a perfect 10/10 on both artistic and sound ratings. I take these reviews with a grain of salt however, but that's good news.

https://www.classicstoday.com/review...ng-ring-cycle/

[Zeuhlmate]

[Zeuhlmate]

[simon moon]

I was not really a fan of sax in a classical context, until I heard this. She makes a believer out of me.

Augusta Read Thomas - Prisms of Light

[Zeuhlmate]

I was not really a fan of sax in a classical context, until I heard this. She makes a believer out of me.

Augusta Read Thomas - Prisms of Light

Ravel has made som quite nice music with saxophones.

[progmatist]

^^ Glazunov's Saxophone Concerto isn't half bad either.

[Zeuhlmate]

Cartoonist breaks down how a whole generation learned classical music from watching old cartoons

https://www.classicfm.com/composers/...ic-bugs-bunny/

[chalkpie]

^ That's cool.

Finally got my Ring set on Naxos. This is now officially the best sounding Ring in my collection. Playing this on my hifi system is a whole other experience.