Reappraising the recording of the Bach sonatas that Mullova and Dantone did for Onyx. I think it’s a good performance, but not a very intense one: a few movements are allowed to wander, Dantone (on harpsichord and organ) follows Mullova and doesn’t contribute much by himself, and Mullova plays with wide dynamic range, almost ‘mumbling’ at times and adding some affect such as stopping notes early in faster passages, adding hesitations in the slower ones, and emphases just before the recurrence of themes. If you like your Bach warm and welcome, this is an ideal recording, but there is soul-like quality in this music that I think other musicians are more tuned into, including Mullova herself in her earlier recording with Canino, which is sparse and serious and remains unique.
I’ve been thinking of getting the DG Original Source (Abbado) of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth…and then I play the DG Mravinskij/Leningrad…and think I may be better diverting the funds to one of Bowie’s favourite works (which I don’t have) - Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration, also part of the OS series (Karajan)
Or…buy both. Tempting, but…expensive.
So, anyone heard Abbado in comparison to Mrav
or the DG first release of the Karajan Strauss vs the OS? @JosquinDesPrez?
I haven’t received anything in the latest batch yet. None of the new titles are available to order from anywhere in the U.S. I ended up ordering them from Amazon UK and Presto Classical but nothing has shipped to me yet.
I will bet that Abbado Tchaikovsky will be sonically spectacular, but the performance won’t match Mravinsky (I don’t anything does…that seems to be THE benchmark for Tchaikovsky 4-5-6.)
Stevie, I have been searching for those Leningrad PO/Mravinsky LPs of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies for years. Can you remember where you bought that one? Is the LP still a DG issue, or is it on a specialist label such as Speakers Corner?
I’m hoping that DG will see sense and reissue them soon, perhaps in their rather exciting new The Original Source series.
They’re streets ahead of any other Tchaikovsky symphony performances that I know of (although Lovro von Matacic also made fantastic early-Sixties recordings with the Czech Philharmonic).
I have found Discogs impossible to order through in the past, so I don’t even bother with them now.
There is zero chance the Mravinsky Tchaikovsky recordings will reappear in DG’s Original Source Series. They were recorded in the early 60s and DG only used four-track 1/2" tape for recordings in the 70s.
I would think that this has been mentioned before but by chance I turned on Radio 3 Choral Evensong this afternoon. Initially, I said to my wife - oh it is just a church service but the live sound broadcast was mesmorizing. The acoustic of Croydon Minster; the choir, the spoken voices, instruments and especially the organ were just superb. The BBC engineers do a great job. Of course my Nat01 helps!
It has taken me a while to warm to this record. Levit plays the partita’s so clean and correct, I initially felt they were a bit bland and missing personality. But that’s not really the case - he is certainly a subtle operator but there is an overarching tension to each partita, and as he works towards the sixth partita, the performances slowly grow more intense. I don’t know whether the decision to swap the 3rd and 4th partita was a practical choice or whether it fits this journey, but as a set this really works.
I have Ashkenazy lined up next, and then plan on a comparison of the sixth partita between Levit, Hewitt I, Hewitt II, Ashkenazy, and if I have time Fray and Kempf (who haven’t recorded the entire set). Plus Perahia if I can find a good deal (didn’t really like his English suites).
I regard Choral Evensong as one of R3’s sonic highlights and it showcases BBC sound engineering at its considerable best. I think it’s a great shame that the Beeb didn’t roll out its FLAC transmissions to all its live broadcasts, but sadly that ship has long since sailed.
On CD, today at charity shop. The Stephen Kovacevich is commanding and impressive Beethoven and adds to my earlier purchases from this cycle. Some of the sound is a tad brittle but getting used to this I think. I have the EMI rather than the later Warner issue pictured. The Korngold was a bit of a punt. I’ve not heard these piano miniatures before but like his Violin Concerto and Symphony.
The important 4th in Rouvali’s slowly progressing Sibelius cycle. I grew up with Levine’s recording of this work, which remains the bleakest version I know, the 3rd movement slow to the point of formlessness and hugely impressive. Rouvali takes a more modernist approach, slightly faster and giving more attention to figures in the upper string and brass, not too fussed with maintaining a single tension arch, and like Levine he emphasizes the bass lines (aided by a detailed but slightly dark recording). The final notes are as unsettling as any.
The Wood Nymph, is a surprisingly effective follow-up.
