New releases

[Bryn]

The Jacobs Da Ponte Trilogy has just been delivered, and very handsome it looks. Three triple-disc digipaks plus a CDROM of the libretti and a 200-page booklet in French, Engish and German, all house in a heavy card slip-case. Not sure when I will get to spin any of them though. Maybe I will make a start this afternoon.

[pastoralguy]

Bear in mind the cheaper one I ordered was from MDT (Englishpostbox). It was dispatched within minutes of ordering. It's quite likely to be delivered tomorrow.

In my experience, Englishpostbox are extremely good. Very often, orders have arrived the following day.

[Bryn]

In my experience, Englishpostbox are extremely good. Very often, orders have arrived the following day.

I'm just sorry I failed to check the MDT site before ordering. They have it at the same price if ordered direct, and I would rather they had got more of the profit.

[Dave2002]

Mine was left outside the back door this morning. I'll probably keep it to give as a Christmas present.

[Richard Barrett]

My selection of this week's new releases on Qobuz:

Morton Subotnick edition volume 4 - compete piano works (Mode). Not sure about this but I've always loved some of his electronic pieces (Touch and Sidewinder in particular) so I imagine there's something good to be found here.

JS Bach - Die Kunst der Fuge; Bob van Asperen on harpsichord (Aeolus). BvA is one of my favourite harpsichordists and he's playing one of my favourite instruments, the original 1741 Zell. Will this be sufficient to reverse my preference in recent years to hear the KdF in ensemble arrangements? On the basis of the first two fugues, maybe.

Ballet royal de la nuit; Ensemble Correspondances (Harmonia Mundi). I'm not sure what this is all about yet, but I think it's late 17th century music in the vein of Lully.

[Alison]

In my experience, Englishpostbox are extremely good. Very often, orders have arrived the following day.

Totally agree.

[cloughie]

Totally agree.

Me too!

[BBMmk2]

There’s certainly been a veritable supply of very good recordings recently. Some I’ve already played!

[gurnemanz]

Yes, must admit, I am tempted by that Jacobs set...

Just gave in ... Current offer seems to be ending in a couple of weeks.

[richardfinegold]

I’ve been listening to the Bychkov/Czech PO Tchaikovsky Pathetique and really enjoying it. It’s rather dry eyed compared to Currentzis, well played, spectacularly recorded, and seemingly puts Tchaikovsky’s case over without undue italicizing over hankering after cheap effects.

[cloughie]

I’ve been listening to the Bychkov/Czech PO Tchaikovsky Pathetique and really enjoying it. It’s rather dry eyed compared to Currentzis, well played, spectacularly recorded, and seemingly puts Tchaikovsky’s case over without undue italicizing over hankering after cheap effects.

How does it compare to Kletzki?

[richardfinegold]

How does it compare to Kletzki?

Never heard Kletzki? Was that also with the Czech PO? I have a Beethoven cycle with those forces

[cloughie]

Never heard Kletzki? Was that also with the Czech PO? I have a Beethoven cycle with those forces

Philharmonia on EMI. On an HMV Concert Classics LP and was on CD CFP but I fear currently out of the catalogue. Very highly rated in its day and still is by me!

[richardfinegold]

Philharmonia on EMI. On an HMV Concert Classics LP and was on CD CFP but I fear currently out of the catalogue. Very highly rated in its day and still is by me!

Solti/Chicago was my go to for years, but I’ve soured on it—a bit to much “cheap thrills”—Furtwangler is superb as a historical choice. The Honeck is very good, but I had downloaded it as a DSD and some of the 1s and 0s must have gone missing on the Information Superhighway as mine download has a few garbled passages and I haven’t attempted a reboot.
Anyway the Bychkov is very satisfying, a dry eyed Russian approach that lets the Music make it’s own points without hysteria

[pastoralguy]

How does it compare to Kletzki?

Kletzki was my first Lp of the Pathetique on CfP which I bought in 1977 and played it to distraction! I came across the CD in a charity shop recently and it was like meeting an old friend after many years. (Iirc, there's a clunk from the percussion section in the 3rd movement that was somewhat muffled on my CfP disc played on my ALBA stereo but is as clear as bell on the cd when played through my Quad/Magnepam combo!)

A superb performance!