Your Latest CD/DVD/Download Purchase

[Stanfordian]

My last bunch of new;y released CD's was the wonderfully re-mastered 1942 Berlin performance of Beethoven's Symphony No.9 from the Berlin Philharmonic/Furtwangler from Pristine Audio; Rattle's Tchaikovsky 'The Nutcracker' with the Berlin Philharmonic on EMI; the premeire recording of Oskar Fried's 'Die Auswanderer' etc from the Berlin RSO/Foremny on Capriccio; Herbert Howell's Choral Music from the Rodolfus Choir on Signum; Holst's 'The Planets' from the London Philharmonic Orchestra/Vladimir Jurowski on LPO; Beethoven's String Quartets 6, 13 & Große Fuge from the Artemis Quartet on Virgin Classcis and the Henschel Quartet's 'Merry Christmas - Traditional and New Christmas Music on Neos. I also have just obtained second hand and was mightily impressed by the 1968 recording of Orff's 'Carmina Burana' from Eugen Jochum and the Schöneberg Boys' Choir, Berlin Deutsche Oper Chorus with Gundula Janowitz & Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau on DG.

[Petrushka]

It's gone a bit quiet on the CD buying front just lately in preperation for a Christmas splurge! I have tucked away £100 worth of CD's which are not to be opened until Christmas morning and I'm keeping you all in suspense as to what they are!

Recent purchases include Jurowski's very fine Planets with the LPO and Karl Bohm's 1970's VPO Beethoven cycle on the Eloquence label.

[knodge41]

My latest 2 CDs purchased are:
Amy Beach: "Gaelic" Symphony and Piano Concerto, on Naxos.
I had to buy this CD after getting round to hearing my recording of 'Composer of the Week', made when Beach was featured earler this year.

Pietro Gaetano Boni: Sonatas for Cello and B.C. Op. 1
Like Beach, another composer who is new to me, this time introduced to me by my Italian brother-in-law who is one of the performers.
These are wonderful early Cello Sonatas, published in Rome about 1717, very Corelli-like in style and well performed on original instruments.
There is a YouTube sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc4irSPvZDA/

[french frank]

Pietro Gaetano Boni: Sonatas for Cello and B.C. Op. 1

Nice ...

[Ferretfancy]

Oh dear! I'm trying to slow down! Still I did get the latest Suzuki Bach Cantatas disc ( Vol. 47)
My other fascinating buy is the second set of stereo issues from 1956 by the LPO and Boult, all four Schumann symphonies, and the complete Berlioz Overtures.
These are the remaining issues from a series of sessions at Walthamstow, the Walton, Britten, Respighi and Elgar set appeared earlier.
Boult knew Clara Schumann's pupil Fanny Davies, and studied the symphonies with her, playing them as piano duets, so he had some claim on them.
I wouldn't say that they would be my first choice, but the early stereo has been nicely remastered for this First Hand release. The Berlioz Overtures go well, not quite up there with Colin Davis, but we can't have everything!

[Bryn]

Rather a lot, lately, but primus inter pares must be the two recent Hudderfield Contemorary Records CD featuring the Elision Ensemble, HCR02 and HCR03:

[johnb]

Oh, hellfire and damnation!

I'm so very tempted by the Suzuki Bach Cantata series.

Please, someone lock my credit card away.

[3rd Viennese School]

My last purchase was Richard Barratt's Negatives. Or Ellison. It's called one of those things. That was back in August ( Remember my "Death of a shop "Thread when they closed down the Royal Festival Hall classical CD Shop!)

Aint played it yet. Only mananged to get Schnittke symphony no.4 played.

Still. It WILL be played! Everytime Richard Barratt was on Hear and Now either the signal would go on my personal radio or I would fall over on the way home from the pub.
Hence why I bought the CD!
3Vs

[johnb]

Of course, Richard Barrett used to be a regular contributor to the old R3 MB before the 2007 upheaval!

[Bryn]

Still a contributor to r3ok.com, but you will have to work out what name he is using there for yourself. ;)

[johnb]

I assume it isn't Veronika!

[vinteuil]

johnb - I know what you mean... but I succumbed when I found the amazingly cheap BIS offer ( "10 CDs for the price of 3" ) on the suzuki Bach in the recent ten-CD boxes (four boxes currently available). How can you NOT, at that price?? ....

[Bryn]

You assume correctly, john, but no further clues. ;)

[johnb]

vinteuil,

That is the very same offer that I have finally succumbed to (still available at Presto and Amazon - ~£40 a box). Its worrying - recently I've been buying CDs as though there's no tomorrow. A form of retail therapy, I suppose!

I also picked up the Collard/Maazel Ravel Piano Concertos for £2.75+pp (new), the Wellesz Symphonies (both from the Amazon Marketplace), the raved about Tennstedt Mahler 2, and the Elias Quartet's Britten CD.

[Pianorak]

Quote Originally Posted by johnb View Post
. . . Cherkassky: Nimbus boxed set (it was at a bargain price, so I couldn't resist it). . .

I'll be very interested to see what you make of the Nimbus recordings. A lot has been made of the unhurried and long takes at the Wyastone Leys recording studios, but I find the acoustic ambience rather unsympathetic.
Cherkassky's “Complete HMV stereo recordings” on First Hand Records (FHR04) are a revelation, especially the Chopin Nocturne Op. 7/3.
“Shura Cherkassky” by Elizabeth Carr, who knew him from 1976 until his death, is a well-researched biography .

johnb: stop buying and sit down and listen to what you've bought!