BaL 26.05.12/25.02.23 - Messiaen: Turangalila Symphony

[Alison]

There were some good specifics but not much overview in this BaL.

What, for example, did we really learn about the Previn ?

[HighlandDougie]

I think everyone is being a bit hard on poor Mr Thurlow. Egregious interjections of Lutoslawski and references to the LAPO aside (I wondered if DG were about to issue a new download in their Concerts series), it held my attention. It can't be an easy work to review in such a short space of time - do you then try and mention (almost) everyone, albeit briefly in some cases? Or do you commit the heinous crime (cf. Britten's Violin Concerto and Ida Haendel) of not mentioning certain versions at all? I'm quite tempted by the approach that says (to use a fine Scottish expression), "these are a pile of mince", then naming and discarding them (I have the Previn, for instance, but is it really all that wonderful?). Anyway, I appear to have all his short listed versions plus several more and if I'm on my own and allowed to turn up the volume it's the Nagano which I'd choose. And the ondes martenot is clearly audible.

[pastoralguy]

[QUOTE Or do you commit the heinous crime (cf. Britten's Violin Concerto and Ida Haendel) of not mentioning certain versions at all? [/QUOTE]

A bad, BAD business!!

[BBMmk2]

There were some good specifics but not much overview in this BaL.

What, for example, did we really learn about the Previn ?

IMO, I think that the Previn is one of the most balanced recordings available. I have it(I do'nt know if the couplings are the same still), with Poulenc's Concert Champetre and Organ Concerto. hatcouplings! I rememebr buying thye vynl version of the Poulenc vivdly!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have it (I do'nt know if the couplings are the same still) with Poulenc's Concert Champetre and Organ Concerto.

Me, too. Formerly I had the Previn Turangalila on a pair of Casettes; nowadays it's squeezed onto a single CD.

[Bryn]

If you want to get the best out of the Previn recording, there is this, which I do not in the least regret purchasing (admittedly at around a third of the current asking price) to supplement the 2 CD set which indeed had the Poulenc concertos as 'fill-ups':



In addition to the DVD Audio side (Stereo and 4 channel surround), there is a DVD Video side, playable in a standard DVD player:

Side A: DVD-Video-compatible Dolby Digital AC3-encoded 4.0 Surround Sound & 24-bit linear PCM Stereo
Side B: DVD-Audio-compatible MLP-encoded 24-bit 4.0 Surround Sound & Stereo

[Dave2002]

It's rather expensive now - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Messiaen-Tur...8183104&sr=8-4 I think I got it for only a few pounds, when some SACDs and Audio DVDs seemed to be going cheap.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

In addition to the DVD Audio side (Stereo and 4 channel surround), there is a DVD Video side, playable in a standard DVD player:

Erm, this might seem a stupid question (not that that's ever deterred me before) but is the DVDVideo "just" the Audio recording (with blank screen) or a recording of the TV performance that Previn & the LSO gave in the late '70s?


Ooh, look! Flying Pigs!

[Nick Armstrong]

Erm, this might seem a stupid question (not that that's ever deterred me before) but is the DVDVideo "just" the Audio recording (with blank screen) or a recording of the TV performance that Previn & the LSO gave in the late '70s?


Ooh, look! Flying Pigs!

Seems a good question to me! The reference to DVDAudio also puzzles me. What do you see when you are listening?

[visualnickmos]

I haven't heard the BaL yet - but did Chailly with the Royal Concertgebouw get a mention? It is the only version I have, and I find it more than satisfactory - very dynamic, actually...

[Nick Armstrong]

I haven't heard the BaL yet - but did Chailly with the Royal Concertgebouw get a mention? It is the only version I have, and I find it more than satisfactory - very dynamic, actually...

Me too... It's one of 3 I own, with Rattle and Chung, and it's my favourite.

The Chailly does well... just pipped on the line by...

You'll have to listen, won't you

[Bryn]

Erm, this might seem a stupid question (not that that's ever deterred me before) but is the DVDVideo "just" the Audio recording (with blank screen) or a recording of the TV performance that Previn & the LSO gave in the late '70s?


Ooh, look! Flying Pigs!

DVD Audio (or DVD-Audio if you insist) refers to the DVD-Audio standard, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD-Audio , (remember, DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc). It requires a DVD Audio player to recover the (high definition) audio information from the DVD Audio layer. It can carry both 2 channel stereo and surround at high resolution. When it comes to surround, it can carry both LPCM and the lossless Meridian codec. DVD Video is the standard used by your bog standard DVD player. It can play back Linear Pulse Code Modulated (LPCM) 2 channel stereo at up to 96kHz sample rate and 24 bit quantization (though the Turangalila disc is restricted to 48kHz sampling), but is restricted to the lossy formats Dolby Digital and DTS when it comes to surround sound.

There is no 'moving picture' video in the disc concerned.

Oh, and there is/was an SACD version of the Chailly, though I did not much like the surround perspective when I gave it a spin. I recall Chailly's version came in for a fair bit of stick at the time of its release. I loved it (in 2 channel stereo), but for me, the Nagano pips it at the post. I have a ridiculous number of recordings of the work, including the majority of commercial issues on optical disc formats, and many, many recordings taken from radio broadcasts. I rather like it.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

DVD Audio refers to the DVD Audio standard. It requires a DVD Audio player to recover the (high definition) audio information from the DVD Audio layer. It can carry both 2 channel stereo and surround at high resolution. When it comes to surround, it can carry both LPCM and the lossless Meridian codec. DVD Video is the standard used by your bog standard DVD player. It can play back Linear Pulse Code Modulated (LPCM) 2 channel stereo at up to 96kHz sample rate and 24 bit quantization (though the Turangalila disc is restricted to 48kHz sampling), but is restricted to the lossy formats Dolby Digital and DTS when it comes to surround sound.

There is no 'moving picture' video in the disc concerned.

Thanks for this, Bryn: I've had the col legno Lost Cloud CD&DVDAudio double of Sciarrino's La Bocca, I Piedi, Il Suono for 104 Saxophones since 2004 and I've wondered what the DVD was there for! (I'd expected a film of the performance - not unreasonably given the forces required to perform the work. )

[Bryn]

For those with whom the Rattle recording finds favour (I have tried, I really have), there is a very slightly higher definition audio of the 'bonus' on one of the Leaving Home DVDs. It also has the advantage of being on a single disc. I should mention that I thought the performance he most recently directed at the Proms was all-together superior.

[Bryn]

Thanks for this, Bryn: I've had the col legno Lost Cloud CD&DVDAudio double of Sciarrino's La Bocca, I Piedi, Il Suono for 104 Saxophones since 2004 and I've wondered what the DVD was there for! (I'd expected a film of the performance - not unreasonably given the forces required to perform the work. )

I think the DVD-A standard is now effectively obsolete, eclipsed by Blu-ray.