Record Review: non-BaL discs reviewed, etc.

[pastoralguy]

I'll be interested to hear about Rattle's new Beethoven Symphony Cycle. I wasn't at all impressed by his Vienna version.

Yes. Me too.

Having the great Stephen Johnson review this new box set is a huge bonus.

Mind you, at £70 it's a lot of geld!

[Barbirollians]

Yes. Me too.

Having the great Stephen Johnson review this new box set is a huge bonus.

Mind you, at £70 it's a lot of geld!

RO liked it in Gramophone . I find SJ over the top in his presentation and his characterisations of HVK and Furtwangler's approaches to Beethoven at the start of this item were close to caricature .

[Bryn]

Yes. Me too.

Having the great Stephen Johnson review this new box set is a huge bonus.

Mind you, at £70 it's a lot of geld!

Total cost for me (direct from Berliner Phil) was €75.50 including p&p (i.e. a little over £59). Well worth every penny for what you get, so long as you can play the Blu-rays. I think I made it clear in an earlier post elsewhere on this Forum, that I share Caliban's distaste for the Vienna set. No wonder it is now a Warner bargain basement box.

[pastoralguy]

Total cost for me (direct from Berliner Phil) was €75.50 including p&p (i.e. a little over £59). Well worth every penny for what you get, so long as you can play the Blu-rays.

I bought the Sibelius cycle as a souvenir of my trip to London to hear 5, 6 & 7 and it was absolutely worth it. Our blu-Ray player is rigged up to the hi-fi but the sounds not ideal. Mind you, it was a £65 machine!

Must speak nicely to Mrs. PG!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

RO liked it in Gramophone . I find SJ over the top in his presentation and his characterisations of HVK and Furtwangler's approaches to Beethoven at the start of this item were close to caricature .

For SJ, his comments on Karajan were adulatory in comparison to how he's (mis)represented him in the past. And I thought his comments on the Rattle set well balanced between enthusiasm and slight disappointment that the performances didn't "drive the bus over the cliff"; both of which I shared. (Perhaps Sir Simes couldn't help thinking that it was a very expensive bus - not realizing that, when you do have the courage to go over the cliff - the bus flies!)


The Beethoven Symphonies as Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang?!

[Dave2002]

I'll be interested to hear about Rattle's new Beethoven Symphony Cycle. I wasn't at all impressed by his Vienna version.

I liked the comment from Rattle "Sometimes Beethoven simply wants you to drive the bus over the cliff!" Unfortunately, I got the feeling from the review that Rattle is too good a bus driver to be able to do that.

It did sound as though the Pastoral has some lovely interchanges, but the rest ....

I was intrigued by the comment about a performance by Harnoncourt which Simon Johnson said was "bonkers" - but maybe that's the one I'd rather hear.
I don't know that one, though so can't really comment further at this stage.

I might have to listen to this Record Review again - maybe make an mp3 for the car so I'll get more familiar with it.

Sadly, back to Harnoncourt again, it doesn't sound as though he was driving a bus over the cliff either in his last recording of Missa Solemnis. Maybe I just like things a lot wilder.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Total cost for me (direct from Berliner Phil) was €75.50 including p&p (i.e. a little over £59).

I noticed the set at around that price in McAlister's in Edinburgh last week.

[Dave2002]

Sadly, back to Harnoncourt again, it doesn't sound as though he was driving a bus over the cliff either in his last recording of Missa Solemnis. Maybe I just like things a lot wilder.

PS: by the end of the Gloria it did sound as though Harnoncourt was on fire - that's more like it.

[Barbirollians]

PS: by the end of the Gloria it did sound as though Harnoncourt was on fire - that's more like it.

I think Harnoncourt's studio recording of the Missa Solemnis is one of his best records . Not sure whether I need this one as well .

[Nick Armstrong]

Total cost for me (direct from Berliner Phil) was €75.50 including p&p (i.e. a little over £59). Well worth every penny for what you get, so long as you can play the Blu-rays. I think I made it clear in an earlier post elsewhere on this Forum, that I share Caliban's distaste for the Vienna set. No wonder it is now a Warner bargain basement box.

Not sure I've ever expressed a view (hope not - I haven't listened to it! ... did you mean Alpie - as per #585?)... but I listened intently to the Stephen Johnson survey this morning and was pretty impressed by the extracts we heard. I like the idea of No 9 being cumulative, and having singers in tune (and not heading for an Italian Job-style conclusion!), and the slow movement sounded pretty marvellous.

[Bryn]

... (hope not - I haven't listened to it! ... did you mean Alpie - as per #585?)

Indeed. Apologies to both.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I listened intently to the Stephen Johnson survey this morning and was pretty impressed by the extracts we heard. I like the idea of No 9 being cumulative, and having singers in tune (and not heading for an Italian Job-style conclusion!), and the slow movement sounded pretty marvellous.

I agree - not so enthused that I'm going to buy the set (£60 might be a good price for a brand new set of recordings, but still beyond my budget), but I liked most of what I heard from the new set very much. ("Most" - the two women solo singers were rather screechy-wobbly; especially compared with the lovely singing from the choir and solo singers of the male persuasion.)

[Nick Armstrong]

the two women solo singers were rather screechy-wobbly; especially compared with the lovely singing from the choir and solo singers of the male persuasion.

Alas yes. I was trying to overlook it!

Shan't be buying the hard-copy set (have no wish to see Sir Simon on the videos for one thing; his facial expressions are something else I try to 'overlook' with my mind's eye when listening to his recordings!). However I shall try and investigate HQ downloads when they are available separately (which doesn't appear to be the case at the moment).

[peterthekeys]

Too much British music - er - what???

I've heard it all now. A comment from Tom McKinney on this morning's programme (before some admittedly very interesting comments on, and extracts of, contemporary European music) - that there is too much programming of British music.

(On the other hand, if he means that there is too much focus on Macmillan and Ades, I'd agree with him wholeheartedly!)

[teamsaint]

I've heard it all now. A comment from Tom McKinney on this morning's programme (before some admittedly very interesting comments on, and extracts of, contemporary European music) - that there is too much programming of British music.

(On the other hand, if he means that there is too much focus on Macmillan and Ades, I'd agree with him wholeheartedly!)

I took it to mean that of the contemporary music that gets programmed in concert halls, too big a proportion is British.

I particularly enjoyed the extract from the Eotvos percussion work " Speaking Drums", and have that lined up on Spotify for after the footer.

Or possibly during the footer,depending on the commentators.