Instruments you struggle with

[Barbirollians]

I have come to the conclusion that I really do not warm to the sound of a harpsichord . I have Rousset's excellent recording of the Goldberg Variations and I admire it but I don't love it unlike the piano recordings I have .

As a continuo instrument even in Fifth Brandenburg fine - but as a solo instrument no .

Any instrument that you dislike the sound of - and I don't mean things like a washboard .

And any recommendations of great harpsichord discs that might convert a sceptic ?

[MickyD]

I can think of many...this one is a particular vintage favourite:



The instrument I really cannot bear is the harmonica!

[VodkaDilc]

As soon as I saw the title of this thread, my first thought was………….harpsichord.

I couldn't agree more with everything Barbirollians has written. I have a clear memory, probably from at least forty years ago, of passing St Michael at the North Gate in Oxford when there was some sort of Christmas collection outside. Half a dozen or so collectors were shaking their wooden boxes with coins in them and seemed to have found themselves shaking rhythmically in unison. The sounds of a distinctively strident harpsichord continuo part immediately came to mind. That day still comes back to me when I hear the instrument.

[pastoralguy]

Instruments I struggle with...!

Well, the violin for over 40 years...

[MickyD]

Can I seduce you harpsichord haters with this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf4G8DVbUME

[VodkaDilc]

Can I seduce you harpsichord haters with this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf4G8DVbUME

I'm afraid I found myself thinking how good that might sound on the piano. Sorry, MickyD, I really am beyond all hope of redemption.

[MrGongGong]

Bill has the answer ?

[pastoralguy]

Bill has the answer ?

[Stanfordian]

Fortepiano!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Fortepiano!

That tops my list; even the name annoys me.

But the saxophone and the drum kit follow close behind.

[Barbirollians]

That tops my list; even the name annoys me.

But the saxophone and the drum kit follow close behind.

As for the harpsichord I partly blame Dinu Lipatti . His recording of Bach's Partita No1 made me love Bach on the piano .

When I heard it on Record Review I came to the clear view with Gorecki's Harpsichord Concerto that it could be used as an instrument of torture .

[EdgeleyRob]

I'm struggling with the piano currently.
Them there you tube videos of 3,4 and 5 year olds playing Bach's Easy Preludes are annoying
Back OT not even RVW can make the Harmonica sound good.
Can't listen to an Accordion for too long,or a Hurdy Gurdy.

[zola]

I struggle with trumpet or horn in a concerto or chamber context. No problem as part of the brass section in an orchestral setting, even when playing a solo !

[visualnickmos]

I struggle with trumpet or horn in a concerto or chamber context. No problem as part of the brass section in an orchestral setting, even when playing a solo !

I could have written that!

I took a long time to hear the horn in a positive light - but sometimes it can sound just too strident. It really does depend on who the player is.....

Alan Civil, David Pyatt - I like very much as well as Radovan Vlatkovic - in the Mozarts.

[Barbirollians]

[QUOTE=visualnickmos;630095]I could have written that!

I took a long time to hear the horn in a positive light - but sometimes it can sound just too strident. It really does depend on who the player is.....

Alan Civil, David Pyatt - I like very much as well as Radovan Vlatkovic - in the Mozarts.[/QUOTE

Not Dennis Brain ?