SPOTLIGHT The classical music general discussion thread

[4-earredwonder]

My favorite Bruckner Joke - it will make total sense to New Yorkers, but isn't unintelligible to others:

Why do they call it the Bruckner Expressway?

Spoiler

Because it's long and boring and doesn't go anywhere

Or, as we call it in New York, ubertrout .... the Road Not Taken ..... on purpose!

 

[bluelightning]

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Giving this a try tonight. It appears to be one of those binaural 3D recordings that gives stereo headphone users a 3D sound image. The multichannel surround mix is very immersive as well. Performances by this German group are solid and spirited.

I am curious to read your opinion.

 

[ubertrout]

Or, as we call it in New York, ubertrout .... the Road Not Taken ..... on purpose!

I've actually taken a decent bit, driving back from Boston to Manhattan. It's not actually that long nor boring - the entirety is in the Bronx, which tends to be entirely too interesting, rather than the opposite. But I like the joke.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I've actually taken a decent bit, driving back from Boston to Manhattan. It's not actually that long nor boring - the entirety is in the Bronx, which tends to be entirely too interesting, rather than the opposite. But I like the joke.

I really enjoyed the joke but I take the Bruckner Expressway almost every weekend and it ain't that bad. My navigation system is pretty good in routing me around congestion. Of course, that is not possible in absolute terms. I note that it never sends me to the Cross Bronx Expressway and it is just as well since I choose never to take that road.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Anybody else heard this one yet? Got a chance to listen to it today; and really enjoyed it. Seemed very discrete and immersive; and the music was very pleasant.

 

[bluelightning]

Anybody else heard this one yet? Got a chance to listen to it today; and really enjoyed it. Seemed very discrete and immersive; and the music was very pleasant.

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It has been sitting in my pile of to listen discs for a while and came with high recommendations from folks over here. Haven't had a chance yet. Too much material to go through . This place is making me broke between all the classical/rock/concerts/ & 4k material!

 

[Lute]

I am curious to read your opinion.

In short, I like this release. The program has a nice variety of pieces for string quartet, pianos, and violin with piano. Adams's musical style also varies from 20th minimalism (like John Cage) to radiant lyricism to muscular pulse-driven jazzy rhythms. As with most contemporary classical music, these pieces are more abstract rather than beautifully melodic. But the music is not overly dark, or eerie horror movie type atonal classical music. It's generally uplifting with a bit of funk and even folk thrown in at times.

 

[windhoek]

Heads up: the new station for classical music in the UK, Scala, has begun broadcasting on DAB radio. I just saw an article about it on the beeb and have re-auto-tuned my DAB radio accordingly (I knew it was coming but I forgot today was launch day, as it were). I can't say much about it yet as the news has just finished and the music has just begun playing again. Anyway, retune your DAB radios and you'll be able to hear it for yourselves

 

[ubertrout]

Anybody else heard this one yet? Got a chance to listen to it today; and really enjoyed it. Seemed very discrete and immersive; and the music was very pleasant.

View attachment 38757

It's fantastic! The cover is misleading, and kind of bizarrely so. I get that the Gotterdammerung cover is seriously metal and badass, but it's only one (admittedly long) track, while the main attraction is of Stokowski's Bach orchestrations. Seeing as Stokowski was hugely famous for his orchestrations of Bach (E.G. the Toccata and Fugue that begins Fantasia), and this is his only recording of Bach orchestrations to make it to quad (let alone a fairly immersive quad) I definitely would have focused on that with the cover.
The mix is quite aggressive for classical music, too. Stokowski wasn't afraid to be creative with instrumentation/arrangement or sound, and I suspect he found a kindred spirit in the RCA engineers (Richard Mohr, who produced this, had been producing Stokowski's recordings for RCA since the Living Stereo era and before). Listening to the performance and mix, you wouldn't quite believe the conductor was born in 1882!

 

[Lute]

I picked up another excellent recording of Duruflé's beautiful choral music. This one includes the 1961 version of the requiem with a small orchestra, which definitely changes the mood of the piece. There are still quiet, meditative moments with just the organ and chorus, though. And the boys' angelic voices are a nice alternative. The multichannel recording is naturally immersive.

 

[4-earredwonder]

It may be somewhat Wagner~Lite, but an utterly delightful 2 disc mch SACD set from Pentatone

 

[ubertrout]

I was reading about the new recording of Kirill Gerstein and the Boston Symphony (conducted by Sakari Oramo) of Busoni's massive piano concerto, which hasn't yet had a surround release, and would really benefit from it (it uses not only a very large orchestra but a male chorus in addition to the solo piano). Myrios has done surround SACDs in the past, but I'm frustrated that this one is only RBCD and stereo HD download (the original recording was 24/96, and live).

 

[Lute]

I was reading about the new recording of Kirill Gerstein and the Boston Symphony (conducted by Sakari Oramo) of Busoni's massive piano concerto, which hasn't yet had a surround release, and would really benefit from it (it uses not only a very large orchestra but a male chorus in addition to the solo piano). Myrios has done surround SACDs in the past, but I'm frustrated that this one is only RBCD and stereo HD download (the original recording was 24/96, and live).

That's a pity. Cello Concertos of 1966 has a MC download. And Myrios doesn't seem to be producing MC SACDs anymore. Their last one was Lizst's transcendental etudes.

 

[windhoek]

I don't know if any of you guys plumped for the Beth Gibbons performance of Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, but the word on the web is, it's not a hit - at least, not a hit for classical music enthusiasts. I love Beth Gibbons as the singer of Portishead and also as an artist in her own right, but I wouldn't have thought her technical ability would have been up to the Gorecki piece, even with a lot of training, so I never ordered a copy. Dawn Upshaw's performance still seems to be the go-to version.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I don't know if any of you guys plumped for the Beth Gibbons performance of Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, but the word on the web is, it's not a hit - at least, not a hit for classical music enthusiasts. I love Beth Gibbons as the singer of Portishead and also as an artist in her own right, but I wouldn't have thought her technical ability would have been up to the Gorecki piece, even with a lot of training, so I never ordered a copy. Dawn Upshaw's performance still seems to be the go-to version.

I have not heard the Gibbons performance but my go-to is:

.........and in wonderful multichannel.

 

[ubertrout]

I don't know if any of you guys plumped for the Beth Gibbons performance of Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, but the word on the web is, it's not a hit - at least, not a hit for classical music enthusiasts. I love Beth Gibbons as the singer of Portishead and also as an artist in her own right, but I wouldn't have thought her technical ability would have been up to the Gorecki piece, even with a lot of training, so I never ordered a copy. Dawn Upshaw's performance still seems to be the go-to version.

Whilst I'm a bit wary, I'm all for popular singers stretching their range if it brings in people who wouldn't otherwise be listeners. I don't think classical aficionados are really the audience.

I'm curious to hear the version Kal recommends, but I understand that it's nearly impossible to track down. This SACD, on the other hand, is pretty common and works fine for me.

 

[4-earredwonder]

A Crossover album [of sorts] with some magnificent musicianship [Pentatone mch SACD/2 discs] Highly Recommended!

 

[Kal Rubinson]

A Crossover album [of sorts] with some magnificent musicianship [Pentatone mch SACD/2 discs] Highly Recommended!

The entire series is good stuff and fun.

 

[4-earredwonder]

The entire series is good stuff and fun.

Also recommended in this series: [Pentatone/2 mch SACDs]

 

[4-earredwonder]

And a Third [Pentatone/2 mch SACDs]

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