BaL 17.09.16 - Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

[mikealdren]

Interesting programme, well worth listening to but Mahan Esfahani's taste is the polar opposite of mine!

[Thropplenoggin]

10/10. Mahan Esfahani is a compelling broadcaster and the insights came think and fast, with waspish humour.

Karajan's dog sounding like a cow being the highlight for me. A fun and revelatory BaL that has sent me scurrying to hear various new versions.

[Tony Halstead]

Interesting programme, well worth listening to but Mahan Esfahani's taste is the polar opposite of mine!

Me too.
Biondi is too rushed and aggressive.
Standage sounds pretty well ideal, to my ears,

with Chandler as a very close runner-up.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Karajan's dog sounding like a cow being the highlight for me. A fun and revelatory BaL that has sent me scurrying to hear various new versions.

- me, too: and to rediscover some older ones I haven't played in years!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

10/10. Mahan Esfahani is a compelling broadcaster and the insights came think and fast, with waspish humour.

YES!

A sort of musical David Owen Norris

[Thropplenoggin]

- me, too: and to rediscover some older ones I haven't played in years!

I particularly liked the spring by the post-war I Musici. Very lovely spring-like birdsong.

Surprised the period version Beefoven spoke of by Carmignola didn't get a mention (unless I missed it!) as it seems very popular on Amazon.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Karajan's dog sounding like a cow being the highlight for me. A fun and revelatory BaL that has sent me scurrying to hear various new versions.

I knew at this point that the reviewer was one of those supercilious snivelling HIPPster snobs. A pity, because his review was remarkably thorough, considering the vast range of recordings to cover.
Short excerpts were the key to the success of this process.

[Tony Halstead]

I particularly liked the spring by the post-war I Musici. Very lovely spring-like birdsong.

Surprised the period version Beefoven spoke of by Carmignola didn't get a mention (unless I missed it!) as it seems very popular on Amazon.

Carmignola did in fact get an 'approving' mention, quite early on in the programme, but only a very short extract was played.

[Thropplenoggin]

Carmignola did in fact get an 'approving' mention, quite early on in the programme, but only a very short extract was played.

Thanks, Tony. I'll relisten later.

[Thropplenoggin]

I knew at this point that the reviewer was one of those supercilious snivelling HIPPster snobs.

Don't hold back, Alps. Tell us how you really feel. He warmly approved of the I Musici, though, from the 1950s. To be fair, the Karajan sounded awfully dour.

[...] his review was remarkably thorough, considering the vast range of recordings to cover.
Short excerpts were the key to the success of this process.

[Barbirollians]

I enjoyed it but I have always found Nige's 1989 version unbearable as so much fantastic playing is spoiled by all the affectation squeaky stuff between movements . Carmignola played with approval in comparison to Karajan but never mentioned again, surprisingly it seemed Alessandrini never mentioned .

I agree about Biondi I bought it back in 2002 and although exciting on first listening it soon became wearing . I have always loved the Standage and have never noticed intrusive edits . The revelation for me was the La Serenissima and I have ordered that .

[underthecountertenor]

I knew at this point that the reviewer was one of those supercilious snivelling HIPPster snobs.

That's a very unpleasant thing to say. It's also unfair. Esfahani clearly appreciated the qualities of non-HIPP versions, as Thropplenoggin has noted - there were other examples. His concern was for fidelity to the music, regardless of the performance practice used. As to the Karajan remark, he had quoted Vivaldi's direction to the violas in full, in Italian with a careful translation, and it was obvious, as he pointed out, that Karajan had done something completely at odds with it. It was a just criticism, delivered with wit (reminiscent to me of many of the late Rodney Milnes's well-aimed barbs in his much-missed opera BaLs). How does that make Esfahani 'one of those supercilious snivelling HIPPster snobs' (I shudder even to quote it)? I would have expected such a person to have no time at all for N Kennedy. Yet he rated it highly, and gave convincing reasons for doing so, even though many (and probably many HIPPsters) would disagree.

[Beef Oven!]

I knew at this point that the reviewer was one of those supercilious snivelling HIPPster snobs. A pity, because his review was remarkably thorough, considering the vast range of recordings to cover.
Short excerpts were the key to the success of this process.

How dare you speak like that. There really is no excuse (other than ignorance) for being so rude about an excellent, well-balanced presentation - for example, his observations about the Nigel Kennedy disprove your prejudice.

“Supercilious snivelling”? - Shameful post.

[underthecountertenor]

How dare you speak like that. There really is no excuse (other than ignorance) for being so rude about an excellent, well-balanced presentation - for example, his observations about the Nigel Kennedy disprove your prejudice.

“Supercilious snivelling”? - Shameful post.

Glad we agree!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I get it. It's OK for the reviewer to make snide remarks about HvK, but it's not OK for me to challenge it.