I listened to the 5th last night. If I thought the 7th was faster, whoa! Im not sure what the typical duration is, but Gardiner gets it done in half an hour, which actually really pleases my sensibilities (as much I respect the work. I don’t have great patience. Though Bach is my favorite, I never got into perhaps his greatest works, the masses and passions, because, man, they are long). Anyways, it seems no’s 1, 3, & 5 are all recorded live, which I much prefer, even with a couple of fleeting, but strange sounding moments. I really dig the recording! Its easier to, or at least will be easier (with repeated listenings), to understand the work as a whole; just more comprehensible it seems with the tempi on steroids. Recording is top-notch in my opinion.
I'll have to look into some recordings of Dolphy. I've never gotten really deep into the jazz area. A major shortcoming on my end since I am a saxophonist by trade
Lot's of classical listening through college.
Have you played or heard of Christian Lauba's Neuf Etudes for alto sax? (How's your circular breathing?) I've got a copy of the score that I can mail out to you, if you would like. Just ask. Really cool stuff!
I am, or at least formerly was, guitarist and violinist, never any winds or brass. Before the serious classical-only years, I've tried my hand at a number of different musics and instruments, jazz violin, jazz piano, vocals, both South Indian and Renaissance, but nothing I ever achieved a great level with, so ... I haven't played anything at all in quite a while now. My friend called last night and wants me to play violin in an old-timey band, first rehearsal this Friday night. I agreed, even if I don't even know if the dust mites have eaten all of the horsehair off my bows already! (quite a while since case has been opened. Ok, I can't help myself... Joke: How are lawyers and violinists the same? Everyone is happiest when the case is closed!)... Never played old-timey music, but he says all the songs but one are going to be in G, so whatever... I am actually much more excited to sing harmonies! I think we will be five: dobro, stand-up bass, violin, vocalist, and percussionist. All but one have graduate degrees in music; should be good! Its been well over a year since I’ve played anything at all…
One of the reasons for the enormous expenditures, both temporal and financial, into my first quality audio rig, was also as an artificial reinvestment to rediscover some of the soul that I miss (“used up inspiration” could be more accurate) from my earlier years. Hasn't got me back to playing yet, but I still love it, so what the heck!
Try “Out to Lunch” by Dolphy. Its the only disc I've owned that had him as the headliner. Well, he might have been the headliner with Waldron/Little/Davis/Blackwell, Live at the Five Spot. He's played with many a favorite jazz musician, including my favorite of all time, Mingus. (I love Blues and Roots, but alas, no Dolphy. Also, since you understandably seem to despise out of tune playing, I have to say that there are a few ensemble moments that could be considered to be horridly out of whack, at least for the very intentioned classical ear, but the counterpoint, textures, innovation, and spirit should make the pill easy to swallow. SQ is not so hot, sorry). Do you know how Eric died so young? Unbelievably tragic, the circumstances, you can blame the usher. How do you like Steve Lacy? I'm not a huge fan of soprano sax, but I find Lacy to be extremely good. I've got him with another of my very favorites, in duo with Mal Waldron, playing all Monk and Duke tunes, Sempre Amore.
Since we are right on 9/11, I highly recommend the San Francisco/Thomas recording of Mahler 6. It was recorded live September 12-15, 2001. Some seriously intense parts. (It's also a SACD hybrid). The emotional impact of the recording is second to none.
The whole Mahler series that has been put out has been getting tons of accolades. It's available at the
Ok, twist my arm, ow, ow, ow, Im buying that too. Screw it, Im just gonna order a bunch of your recs sooner than anticipated, because Im going to want them anyways.
I think there has to be a very profound connection between "audiophile" sites and what is listened to. Classical recordings are always recorded better than anything out there because the listeners demand it. In general, modern rock listeners want intensity through volume. Distortion isn't nearly thought of as a problem as it should be....
"For classical music, it's a whole different ball game," Feidner responds, pointing out that the genre is a niche that often has quite different priorities from the broader music market. He cites a survey the company did at the end of last year that confirmed what they already suspected: Classical music consumers are concerned about sound quality and thus loath to purchase music in compressed formats like MP3. They also want to have liner notes and vocal texts, and prefer hard copies to electronic formats like PDFs.
Well, they got me pegged!
You also might be interested in this about the Monterey Jazz Festival creating it's own recording label and releasing never-before-released concerts from the festival. I'll be keeping my eyes on this one...
You're right, I am interested in the Monterey stuff. I see Dave Holland is mentioned first in this year’s line-up. I was fortunate enough to be in a very small audience for a masterclass of his at the Thelonious Monk Institute. Small complaint: jazz musicians never do teach a whole lot in their masterclasses. Well, at least their stories are extremely entertaining. His story is of a ludicrous evolution of his career, mostly to *blame* on a crazy Miles Davis event. (I did give a warning earlier that I am chock full of anecdotes, but Im sparing the Dolphy and Holland ones for now).
Shostakovich 1 & 7 - Bernstein/CSO. It's not as clear as others, but it is an incredible performance of the two pieces.
Tempted as I am on the Bernstein/CSO, Im going to wait on great AND clear. Keep searching, dammit! I AM DISAPPOINTED IN YOU!
I forgot to add these bad boys earlier:
Pictures at an Exhibition
#1 Pictures at an Exhibition - Giulini
#2 Pictures at an Exhibition - Jarvi
I watched a videotape of Solti talking about this work, it was quite good. Has there ever been as good of an orchestrator since the days of Ravel?
Time to get my first Kodaly recording ever.
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique - SFSO/Thomas - A spectacular recording.
Time to get my first Berlioz recording... maybe
There's a CSO/Abbado recording of this that is just blatantly brass during the last movement. Pretty wild, but an awesome recording. I'll try and find the exact edition I have. I located one on Arkiv, but the label is different.
*fingers tapping*
I love just listening to Ma Vlast when I've got nothing to do.
Let go of my wallet already!
Jk. Ok, waaaay out of left field, have you heard of Uri Caine? While also an accomplished jazz musician, he has done some *renditions* (for complete lack of a better word) of works by Mahler, Wagner, Schumann, etc. There is a track on the Goldberg Variations that totally had me r.o.t.f.l.m.a.o. Just thinking about the track is good enough for me to start laffing…
Lastly, not very good sq at all, rather poor, but if you like solo piano, I highly recommend Alicia de Larrocha playing Albeniz, particularly Iberia. Imo, one of my best musical discoveries in the last decade. Wonderful harmonies, rhythms, and virtuousity that makes Chopin look like a walk in the park. I have the score of this as well. Not within the 4 books of Iberia, however, his first work La Vega sounds like Keith Jarrett on massive steroids. His last work, Azulejos is a real gem. I do love solo piano!
