What are you currently listening to (Classical)?

[Bachtoven]

 

[NorthStar]

The things we love in life, the things we are passionate about, the things we cherish deep down in our soul, the things we share we exchange we communicate, the things we discover, everything that we love and that we take the time when we feel comfortable in that space with ourselves, our dreams our thoughts our beliefs our sources, is what we are with all our strength with the force that animates us that is life that is the direction we choose.

The time we take to share that passion of life, is the time that matters.

Nice to see you Bach John.

 

[Bachtoven]

Thank you, Bob. That's a lovely sentiment.

This wonderful 13 LP set arrived today. I began with my favorite, No.29 “Hammerklavier.” A fantastic performance, but I wish the otherworldly slow movement had not been split across two sides. Excellent sound— much richer than the CD version.

 

[NorthStar]

Claudio Arrau is one my all-time favorite pianists. ...The emotions he transmits, the musical sensitivities, the sweet passion of his playing. ...Be it Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, any great classical music composer of our beautiful musical heritage from the greatest. He delivers. ...With great hommage and exquisitely floating in our ears and senses. Time to play some.
___

Redbook

Good presence, well recorded, Philips quality.
And the music...well, it is Mozart, one of the great composers of all-time.
And Claudio is one of the world's finest interpreters/piano players.
___

Was he born in:

a) Italy?
b) Mexico?
c) Spain?

* https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Arrau

 

[Bachtoven]

d) none of the above (Chile) (and I didn't have to look it up!)

Yes, he's one of my favorites, too. Everything just sounds "right" with him. Sure, some pianists are superficially flashier, such as Yuja Wang, but his interpretations have greater depth and humanity to my ears.

 

[NorthStar]

I sure agree with you John.

* The question on his birthplace was simply good humor, educational for the people unfamiliar with him and his magnificent and sensitive playing,...yes, like perfect execution on the highest emotional level.

Any serious audiofile is a Claudio Arrau music piano listener lover.
To be without is like playing a music violin recording, without strings.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

d) none of the above (Chile) (and I didn't have to look it up!)

Yes, he's one of my favorites, too. Everything just sounds "right" with him. Sure, some pianists are superficially flashier, such as Yuja Wang, but his interpretations have greater depth and humanity to my ears.

And he was a charming and gracious man.

 

[RBFC]

An old favorite:



Have heard other performances, but none equal Groves in this genre for me....

Lee

 

[NorthStar]

And he was a charming and gracious man.

He sure reflects that. Some of the best musicians and singers I've met...are the most charming and friendliest men and women.

 

[Bachtoven]

This 5 LP set of Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues arrived today. It has been beautifully remastered from the original 1972/73 analog tapes. The piano is close-mic’d— an “under the lid” perspective, but the sound is very clean and clear. Wonderfully played.

 

[Bachtoven]

No.31 and 32 today. Sublime.

 

[Bachtoven]

Quartet No.6

Preludes and Fugues Book I No.14-24

 

[Bachtoven]

A searing performance captured in pretty good sound (Lacks a bit of low end).

 

[Jazzhead]

Given their vintage , some discs have a touch of the HF sizzle . It' gets filtered out though when his sweet tone bursts through . Such expressiveness , flow , grace . Sweeter than Heifetz , I would dare say ...

 

[SCAudiophile]

Any of you who have not heard the latest Minnesota release of Mahler 5 under Vanska,....I would suggest grabbing a copy;

https://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Symph...=UTF8&qid=1509193695&sr=8-4&keywords=Mahler+5

Also,...if you've not listened to this sample of Mahler 8 with Utah Symph. at the Mormon Tabernacle with the Choir, I would suggest listening ASAP and securing a pre-order on Amazon;

https://referencerecordings.com/mahler-symphony-no-8-available-for-pre-order/

Sounds wonderful and very promising!

 

[marty]

I listened to the 2013 SACD of Van Cliburn doing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto and Rachmaninoff Concerto #2 last night. This 1958 recording was same program he played to win the Tchaikovsky piano competition in Moscow in 1958 a the height of the cold war. It is a spectacular performance and the recording is just wonderful. The NY engineering team at Carnegie for the Kondrashin is excellent, but Lewis Layton who did Rach 2 in Chicago w Reiner just may be the best recording engineer who ever lived (not taking anything away from Wilkerson at Decca or Keith Johnson today, but Layton just always seemed to get it so right musically). Hard to believe that nearly 60 years later, recordings are rarely as good as this. And as far as Van Cliburn, there's not much to say except jaw dropping. I just saw Martha Argerich at Carnegie last week and she was amazing. But on this recording, Van Cliburn was 23 and at the height of his powers. He had it all. Speed, power, nuance, emotion, and prodigious skills all coupled with a maturity of playing never seen before in a 23 year old kid. Some say he was the best ever. I can see why. It's a must have recording. Also, perhaps the best liner notes I've seen in some time. Worth getting the disc just for those.

 

[marty]

Any of you who have not heard the latest Minnesota release of Mahler 5 under Vanska,....I would suggest grabbing a copy;

https://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Symph...=UTF8&qid=1509193695&sr=8-4&keywords=Mahler+5

Also,...if you've not listened to this sample of Mahler 8 with Utah Symph. at the Mormon Tabernacle with the Choir, I would suggest listening ASAP and securing a pre-order on Amazon;

https://referencerecordings.com/mahler-symphony-no-8-available-for-pre-order/

Sounds wonderful and very promising!

I just read the liner notes for the M8 and it's interesting that the recording engineer is John Newton from Soundmirror. Newton and Soundmirror is who did the remastering for many of the RCA Living Stereos such as the Van Cliburn/Tchaikovsky noted above. Newton also did the technical section of the liner notes for the RCA which gives great insight as to how the original 3 track recordings were transferred to SACD without signal processing to "improve" the sound of the original tapes since they were so extraordinary to begin with.

 

[SCAudiophile]

I just read the liner notes for the M8 and it's interesting that the recording engineer is John Newton from Soundmirror. Newton and Soundmirror is who did the remastering for many of the RCA Living Stereos such as the Van Cliburn/Tchaikovsky noted above. Newton also did the technical section of the liner notes for the RCA which gives great insight as to how the original 3 track recordings were transferred to SACD without signal processing to "improve" the sound of the original tapes since they were so extraordinary to begin with.

The sound clip of the M8 with Utah and MTC makes me want to have the disk TODAY !!!

Another favorite, not often referred to M8 from a few years ago;

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I listened to the 2013 SACD of Van Cliburn doing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto and Rachmaninoff Concerto #2 last night. This 1958 recording was same program he played to win the Tchaikovsky piano competition in Moscow in 1958 a the height of the cold war. It is a spectacular performance and the recording is just wonderful. The NY engineering team at Carnegie for the Kondrashin is excellent, but Lewis Layton who did Rach 2 in Chicago w Reiner just may be the best recording engineer who ever lived (not taking anything away from Wilkerson at Decca or Keith Johnson today, but Layton just always seemed to get it so right musically). Hard to believe that nearly 60 years later, recordings are rarely as good as this. And as far as Van Cliburn, there's not much to say except jaw dropping. I just saw Martha Argerich at Carnegie last week and she was amazing. But on this recording, Van Cliburn was 23 and at the height of his powers. He had it all. Speed, power, nuance, emotion, and prodigious skills all coupled with a maturity of playing never seen before in a 23 year old kid. Some say he was the best ever. I can see why. It's a must have recording. Also, perhaps the best liner notes I've seen in some time. Worth getting the disc just for those.

thanks Marty.

I've got that disc, but it's not ripped onto my server, i'll have to do that. I could just rip the CD layer myself I guess. i'll get the dsd layer ripped for me this week.

I have three Van Cliburn Living Stereo SACD's and all three are excellent, and i'm playing the dsd file of the Rach 3/Prok 3 right now.....

 

[daytona600]