you’re right, just listen to it yesterday afternoon.
an absolute must have.
1 Like
Romanesca with Andrew manze worth a mention but my favourite is Susanne Lautenbacher.An early 1960 recording when biber was rarely perfomed and recorded.Her Passagalia playing is superb.
1 Like
I’m a fan of Walton’s first symphony. The benchmark recording has long been Previn’s version from 1967. Compared with it, the new performance by John Wilson with the Sinfonia of London has been widely praised by U.K. press (Guardian, Telegraph, FT etc) and widely panned by US commentators, so I had to give it a hearing.
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Good though the nearly 60 year old RCA recording is, the new Chandos is outstanding and let’s you hear right inside the smallish orchestra to appreciate the quality of the playing of the Sinfonia’s musicians. Performance-wise I think I can understand the different reactions. A performing tradition has evolved since the 1960s, but rather than follow this, Wilson stays much closer to the score. Removing a layer of varnish reveals a lot more of the inner details but has perhaps lost some of the fierce momentum of Previn. For a desert island choice, I’d stick with Previn, but will certainly listen to the Wilson album again.
Roger
7 Likes
I wonder if the controversy around his win of last year’s Chopin Competition is a help or stain on his career but this is a superb disc, every bit as good as his Schubert sonata album.
cheers
EJ
4 Likes
Another admirable Schubert series in the making - but Cakmur’s Schubert is a world away from Lu’s (or Perahia or Brendel). The easiest way to explain it to myself is that Cakmur plays the notes, while Lu plays the silences. Cakmur is in good company (Beautigam, Zimerman) but for me personally I prefer the darkness and timelessness that Perahia, Uchida, Brendel, Volodos and now Lu achieve in their best moments.
Cheers
EJ
6 Likes
This is the time of the year that we remember the story of Jesus being baptised by St John the Baptist. Bach - whose greatest compositions are written for organ - wrote an organ prelude for it ‘Christ under Herr zum Jordan jam’.
The left hand symbolises the flowing river Jordan, the right hand symbolises a dialogue between Jesus and John and the feet plays the melody.
Here is a noteworthy performance by Reitze Smits:
I’ve played this piece in the morning service in my town this morning. It’s quite a job!
4 Likes
One of my favorite interpretations of Schubert’s sonatas.
Of course, there are others, but this one is among those interpretations where you let yourself be carried away by the flow of the music without overthinking it.
Love it 
3 Likes
Superb playing and maybe even better sonics on this recording.
Hyperion did a splendid job with this. Recorded at a level that maximises impact without ever overloading the mics even at the most extreme fortissimos.
A brilliant representation of a forcefully played piano right there in your living room.
2 Likes
If there’s anyone still wanting this Shostakovich set, note that the price on Presto is currently just £11.49 for any download.
Still $100 in the States. Actually, the CDs are cheaper (at least before shipping).
I’ve been playing this album recently ( the CD having sat pretty much unplayed on my shelf/rip in my streamer for many years). A more recently acquired appreciation of the talents of Prokofiev led me back to this unusually scored quintet for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and double bass. Very happy to have rediscovered it. Masterful composition and in this live recording, a real system bending audiophile production. Fabulous!
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Despite the title this is not a 90s department store sampler but one of the best piano recitals in recent years.
Cheers
EJ
3 Likes
Filling a couple of gaps in my chamber music library.
BTW - my library does include that Festetics set as well as the (incomplete) Quatour Mosaiques set, which makes for some interesting HIP comparisons.
3 Likes
Been enjoying these two then young pianists in top form. Their performance of the Schubert Fantasia for piano duo sounds to me more like one pianist with four hands. Deeply moving, too, particularly towards the end. The Mozart’s not bad either! Deservedly a classic recording.
Roger
6 Likes
