Essential Classics - The Continuing Debate

[Master Jacques]

A propos of nothing in particular the playing of the Vienna Philharmonic and Prêtre just now in Nicolai’s Merry Wives Of Windsor overture was so exquisite I couldn’t stop smiling.

Snap! Who'd have thought that this particular conductor could take the direct line to Nicolai's lovely overture so perfectly? It was terrific!

[Ein Heldenleben]

Snap! Who'd have thought that this particular conductor could take the direct line to Nicolai's lovely overture so perfectly? It was terrific!

Also enjoying the Paterson Joseph Shakespeare snippets who is reading them very well for radio.
He has massively raised the cultural tone …

[Master Jacques]

Also enjoying the Paterson Joseph Shakespeare snippets who is reading them very well for radio.
He has massively raised the cultural tone …

Yes, he was very good indeed - more impressive (for me) than Sinead Cusack, who's taken over for the afternoon stint. Too much of the actresses, actressy (but that's a personal opinion).

I had the great pleasure of seeing her father giving his Chauvelin in The Elusive Pimpernel at BFI last Saturday - I'd never caught this almost forgotten 1950s Powell and Pressburger epic before. Relevant in a sense, because Cyril Cusack plays the Machiavellian villain as a sort of homage to Olivier's Richard III. Marvellously so.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yes, he was very good indeed - more impressive (for me) than Sinead Cusack, who's taken over for the afternoon stint. Too much of the actresses, actressy (but that's a personal opinion).

I had the great pleasure of seeing her father giving his Chauvelin in The Elusive Pimpernel at BFI last Saturday - I'd never caught this almost forgotten 1950s Powell and Pressburger epic before. Relevant in a sense, because Cyril Cusack plays the Machiavellian villain as a sort of homage to Olivier's Richard III. Marvellously so.

He has got a beautiful voice and impeccable diction . Other actors (especially those in TV dramas) please note.
Actresses talking about themselves …who would credit it?

PS She did Macbeth ( Tomorrow etc ) v well. Though I couldn’t resist joining in giving it the full Olivier obvs…

[Nick Armstrong]

Snap! Who'd have thought that this particular conductor could take the direct line to Nicolai's lovely overture so perfectly? It was terrific!

Agreed, gorgeous music-making - remembering clearly the pleasure of hearing him conduct the 2010 New Year’s Concert removed the surprise element to his affinity with this music

Presumably the performance was taken from that concert - I just dipped into EC to hear: there was applause but no mention of the concert in the intro/outro… (To add a negative note, hearing Georgia Mann’s presentation reminded me why I never listen to this programme: quite apart from anything else, she quite evidently thought the composer’s name was - first name, surname - “Nicolai Otto”… )

[Ein Heldenleben]

They’ve just played this in the song of the day slot. I’ve never heard Lisitsian before . What a beautiful voice with a wonderful plaintive core in the heart of it .There’s only sketchy info on him in Wiki . He didn’t sing much in the West just a solitary perf at the Met . Any other recording recommendations welcome !

Yeletsky's Aria: I Love You - Pavel Lisitsian With The Orchestra Of The Bolshoi Theatre Conducted By Alexander Melik-Pashaev

[JasonPalmer]

Excellent choice of music this morning, i did breakfast, bath,housework to it, georgie mann sure can pick em.

[JasonPalmer]

Another superb edition this morning with the fabulous georgina mann.

[eighthobstruction]

....Very taken with a sequence of works #22/#23/#24 this morning [28.11.23] starting with an orchestral version of Franz Schubert
Im Abendrot D.799 with a marvellous male singer who's name I did not catch (i was driving).....

....Ed: Benjamin Appl ....so good I'm sure you will have heard about it (https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/...chubert-lieder)

[oddoneout]

Another superb edition this morning with the fabulous georgina mann.

Georgia not Georgie or Georgina. Think "Georgia on my mind"?

[cria]

Appl is wonderful - he sings a glorious Winterreise acted out in snowy Alpine conditions. The film is on iPlayer for a couple more months.

[AuntDaisy]

Appl is wonderful - he sings a glorious Winterreise acted out in snowy Alpine conditions. The film is on iPlayer for a couple more months.

Thanks cria, I'd missed that.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0012twd

[oddoneout]

Appl is wonderful - he sings a glorious Winterreise acted out in snowy Alpine conditions. The film is on iPlayer for a couple more months.

Oh I saw that - magical. Although there were some continuity gaps, possibly related to the subject of the song being performed or the timing of the filming in relation to snow melt etc which occasionally jarred a little. One of those occasions where TV justifies its existence I thought.

https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2022/09/winter-journey

Long article here. I didn't realise James Baillieu comes from South Africa. He hadn't encountered snow or its effect on the landscape until he was in his 20s, which made Winterreise more of a challenge, in his mind.

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/winterreise-always-gives-just-tiny-hints-and-it-opens-your-imagination-benjamin-appl-and-james-baillieu-interview

[eighthobstruction]

....A wonderful voice no doubt about it....but what struck me was the orchestral setting....so often this piece is just with piano...

[smittims]

The best televised Winterreise I saw was the Channel 4 one with Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake. Just enough staging, not too much.