The recording that switched the light on a work you thought you did not like much

[Parry1912]

I am afraid I find Reich's music to be unlistenable .

+1

[Petrushka]

Schumann's Second Symphony. I always enjoyed the others but I simply didn't react to this one. Then by chance I stumbled on Ansermet and the Suisse Romande and everything fell into place.
I don't quite understand why, as I doubt if this version would be very high on critical lists, but thank you Ernest!

I had a similar experience with the Schumann 2nd. The recording that made it click for me was Claudio Abbado's with the Orchestra Mozart, a thrilling disc that was enough to make the 2nd my favourite of the four after languishing in the dark for so many years.

[MrGongGong]

I am afraid I find Reich's music to be unlistenable .

My granny has new wallpaper

[MrGongGong]

I responded decidedly negatively to the original Kronos recording of Different Trains. The interaction of the samples and the string body of the Lyon recording just seemed to meld in such a way that I finally warmed to the work. I have since found the recording by the Smith Quartet to similarly work for me, but the Kronos recording I continue to find something of a turn off.

I have heard the Smiths play it a couple of times live and do think they work with the recorded parts in a more integrated way than the Kronos

[Beef Oven!]

I am afraid I find Reich's music to be unlistenable .

No, it can be listened to, your findings are wrong - maybe the way you listen to music is wrong?




.

[Beef Oven!]

I responded decidedly negatively to the original Kronos recording of Different Trains. The interaction of the samples and the string body of the Lyon recording just seemed to meld in such a way that I finally warmed to the work. I have since found the recording by the Smith Quartet to similarly work for me, but the Kronos recording I continue to find something of a turn off.

Whenever you post like this, I end up ditching my go-to recording and going with your recommendation!!

e.g. Messiaen’s "Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum". I was very happy for years with the DG Boulez Cleveland performance until you posted about the Boulez "Groupe Instrumental à Percussion de Strasbourg” performance.

I’m very happy with the Kronos that I’ve loved for years. Hope I don’t have to get a new CD

[Bryn]

Whenever you post like this, I end up ditching my go-to recording and going with your recommendation!!

e.g. Messiaen’s "Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum". I was very happy for years with the DG Boulez Cleveland performance until you posted about the Boulez "Groupe Instrumental à Percussion de Strasbourg” performance.

I’m very happy with the Kronos that I’ve loved for years. Hope I don’t have to get a new CD

Don't be too quick. The string orchestra version did the trick for me but you got on with the original string quartet version from the start. I have issues with the Kronos Quartet going back to a performance I attended of theirs some decades ago at St. John's Smith Square where they included that dire version of Purple Haze of theirs as an encore. Then there's their failure to perform the full score of Feldman's SQ2, despite his having written it for them. O.k., I know Feldman produced the shortened version for the premier due to time constraints on the live broadcast but none of the subsequent several performances by the Kronos Quartet used the full score. If you relate well to the Kronos Quartet performance of Reich's Different Trains you might as well stick with it. I know some find the very idea of a string orchestral version to be entirely unacceptable.