I think that today I will find my ageing (but perfectly good, I hope) LP of Carlos Kleiber conducting the Vienna PO in Beethoven’s Seventh, play it, then play DGG’s brand new ‘Original Source’ remixed LP for comparison.
I wouldn’t be so sure - I’ve always found pigs to be quite sensitive!
More intelligent then dogs according to some experiment I read years ago…you can play hide and seek with pigs apparently, dogs didn’t seem to get the concept.
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My wife plays hide and seek with our Rottweiler all the time. It’s a hoot. He loves it.
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If you like Pollini in these works, do give Rahman El Bacha a listen. Similarly textually precise, not as clearheaded in his direction but approaching the burnished tone of Claudio Arrau. I love it, best Chopin record in a long time.
Cheers
EJ
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I keep going back to this on BBC iplayer. Amazing performance- agree re. full of joy and fun.
Emil Gilels and Maurizio Pollini have always been a class apart for me,
Sviatoslav Richter should be in the same league, but he had a tendency to make his recordings in less-than-ideal circumstances, so there are some real duds out there. He didn’t help himself by flitting from one record company to the next to make recordings. I’m sure that he would have achieved much more, if he had had an exclusive contract with one good record label.
Schubert’s impromptus in surprisingly somewhat superficial performances.
Cheers
EJ
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The instrument must take some of the blame for that, surely?
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I find fortepiano performance mostly interesting historically and usually boring musically. I have the complete Beethoven sonatas on fortepiano played by Malcolm Binns. The last time I put it on to play, I pretty quickly switched to a different performance on piano.
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Interesting that the instrument that compositions were written for (by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn etc) is not the preference for some (many?) modern listeners.
I shall listen to more pianoforte performances - quite liked the few I’ve heard. A little like hearing Classic Era music played by of-the-time sized orchestras, rather than the behemoths of today.
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A mixed bag for me. I much prefer Mozart and Haydn on modern pianos but I’ve heard some Schubert on fortepiano and it was great !!
Andras Schiff recorded two fantastic Schubert recitals for ECM a few years ago, on fortepiano.
Cheers
EJ
ECM have some very interesting releases.
I thoroughly recommend ‘Officium’, on which the saxophonist Jan Garbarek improvises sublime melodies around the Hillliard Ensemble singing plainchant.
And their LPs are lovely things to have and hold - usually simple, monochrome designs.
I dont know BIS classical records, but interestingly Apple have just bought them
BIS Records was founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. The label focuses on a range of classical music, with particular focus on works that are not well represented by existing recordings. It is an award-winning name in the world of classical music, acclaimed for its vast catalog and impressive audio quality. The label celebrates its 50th anniversary this week.
Martin
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Every BIS LP I’ve had has been a goodie.
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I may be wrong (I often am!), but I don’t think that the BIS label has a ‘vast’ catalogue of releases.
Their records do have a reputation for quality performances and recordings.
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BIS is a specialist and highly regarded label in the classical world, known for its many superb recordings. It has a prestigious complete Sibelius edition, a superb Beethoven Symphonies cycle by Osmo Vanska and the Minnesota Orchestra, and an almost complete Mahler symphony cycle from the same artists. The label also champions much modern Scandinavian music.
Apple recently acquired the Primephonic label which has a rosta of fine artists and recordings and a streaming service.
It seems Apple is now moving hard on the classical music sector having recently set up its specialist streaming service. Be interesting to see how this all pans out.
RIP BIS
Great label. Sad to see it go.
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Yes, indeed. Any business is rarely as good when it is taken over by a large player. I fear BIS may go the same way - end of an era?