What recording can you always tell who is playing ?

[Wolfram]

I can usually identify Jascha Heifetz, Yehudi Menuhin, Ida Haendel and Igor Oistrakh.

You can usually identify Heifetz without even listening to the recording; if the timing is 5 minutes shorter than everybody else then it’s probably Heifetz.

[Ein Heldenleben]

You can usually identify Heifetz without even listening to the recording; if the timing is 5 minutes shorter than everybody else then it’s probably Heifetz.

Or the core of his tone which is absolutely unmistakable . I honestly think I could spot him from just a G major scale .

[silvestrione]

Or the core of his tone which is absolutely unmistakable . I honestly think I could spot him from just a G major scale .

There have been a lot of replies like that. How many of us have put it to the test? I think this is harder than you imagine (e.g., piano tone), though often age of recording and repertoire give a big helping hand. One definite one is Gould in Bach, though.

[Ein Heldenleben]

There have been a lot of replies like that. How many of us have put it to the test? I think this is harder than you imagine (e.g., piano tone), though often age of recording and repertoire give a big helping hand. One definite one is Gould in Bach, though.

For clarification I could obviously not spot a pianist from g major scale . This comment applies to the violinist Heifetz who had a very distinctive tone and restrained vibrato. He also had a refreshing habitat of playing in tune.

[akiralx]

I can tell Anne-Sophie Mutter, particularly in the last 20 years, owing to the slightly febrile tone/phrasing.

[edashtav]

For clarification I could obviously not spot a pianist from g major scale . This comment applies to the violinist Heifetz who had a very distinctive tone and restrained vibrato. He also had a refreshing habit of playing in tune.

Yes, indeed. I
I’ve just bought a Lyrita issue capturing the first british performance / broadcast of a British string concerto by its foreign dedicatee. The performance had character and interest but ‘hit and miss’ tuning from the distinguished soloist forced me to turn to a solid but ‘in tune’ performance by a Welsh player.

[Barbirollians]

Ida Haendel in Sibelius . Listened to today . I had pulled out something entirely different to play and put the CD in the machine without looking . This is not Brahms 4 - but I knew immediately who it was despite having rather too many Sibelius concerto recordings. Obviously, had to listen to the whole thing.

[smittims]

I don't think I could identify Ida Haendel immediately, though I'm glad she had an 'Indian Summer' on EMI. I can usually tell Menuhin, and Jaques Thibaud, and ,turnig to cellists, I identified Raphael Wallfisch from a few phrases the the other day: he has a unique tone and style .

[Bella Kemp]

Mravinsky and the Leningrad Philharmonic

[LMcD]

Leonard Bernstein's Enigma Variations - especially 'Nimrod'.

[MickyD]

Surely Nikolaus Harnoncourt...he might please or infuriate with what he does but there's no mistaking him!

[Bella Kemp]

Klemperer's Beethoven. And Furtwanglers' ditto.

[vinteuil]

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Pierre Hantaï

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[Bella Kemp]

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W
Pierre Hantaï

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Splendid - but this one floored me. I think my examples were relatively low hanging fruit, but I'd be stumped with M. Hantai. What aspects of his performances distinguish him from all others?

[Keraulophone]

Organists are quite hard to identify, partly because of the very different instruments they play. However, Simon Preston's brilliant articulation, rapid speeds and fastidiousness in Bach is usually identifiable.

As for Oxbridge choirs, King's under Willcocks, New College under Higginbottom and Christ Church under Preston had very distinctive characteristics. I hesitate to add St John's under Guest because more recently the choir under Nethsingha closely approached the sound of his mentor.