What are you currently listening to (Classical)?

[Bachtoven]

 

[Addicted to hifi]

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Great album.

 

[Bachtoven]

He's one of the most brilliant guitarists I've heard in a long time. Here's a review: https://www.classicstoday.com/review/an-audiophile-bach-on-guitar-delight/

 

[Andrew S.]

He's one of the most brilliant guitarists I've heard in a long time. Here's a review: https://www.classicstoday.com/review/an-audiophile-bach-on-guitar-delight/

Thank you so much for this - with the wonders of the internet, your recommendation, and a quick search for the artist on my streaming service, I am playing this as I type. It is beautiful. Gosh the sound quality is good, as well.

Just the thing for a cold wet and windy Winter's day.

2thumbsup

 

[Bachtoven]

Thank you so much for this - with the wonders of the internet, your recommendation, and a quick search for the artist on my streaming service, I am playing this as I type. It is beautiful. Gosh the sound quality is good, as well.

Just the thing for a cold wet and windy Winter's day.

2thumbsup

I bet the SACD sounds even better!

 

[astrotoy]

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Wow, Kissen is getting old! I haven't seen him since he was a teenager, or maybe in his early 20's, and now he is almost 50! The Emersons have been around a really long time too. A few years ago, I got to have dinner with David Finckel who was their cellist for over 30 years from near their beginning in the late '70's until he left them about a decade ago. He has been playing in a cello piano duo with his wife Wu Han since then. The Emersons are certainly considered one of the top string quartets in the world. Larry

 

[Gregm]

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For -- what I believe is - a more muanced rendition, I thoroughly recommend Flagstad's live recording with Furt Despite the poor sound, it is majestic. There is a Pristine Audio version, apparently, with much better sound, of course.
Otherwise, here is another moving performance, with better sound to boot:

 

[christoph]

Thank you so much for this - with the wonders of the internet, your recommendation, and a quick search for the artist on my streaming service, I am playing this as I type. It is beautiful. Gosh the sound quality is good, as well.

Just the thing for a cold wet and windy Winter's day.

2thumbsup

I silently follow this thread to improve my little knowledge in classical music, where I have very little clue and I am really thankful for your contributions here because otherwise I am paralyzed with shock from the sheer amount of classical music on Qobuz to chose from

But with your "guidance" here, I am able to cherry pick from the almost daunting offer on Qobuz

Thank you all for your "help" with my dilemma

PS: I'm on holidays and it is REALLY wonderful here but I almost can't wait to get back home to listen to those albums mentioned above

 

[Andrew S.]

I silently follow this thread to improve my little knowledge in classical music, where I have very little clue and I am really thankful for your contributions here because otherwise I am paralyzed with shock from the sheer amount of classical music on Qobuz to chose from

But with your "guidance" here, I am able to cherry pick from the almost daunting offer on Qobuz

Thank you all for your "help" with my dilemma

PS: I'm on holidays and it is REALLY wonderful here but I almost can't wait to get back home to listen to those albums mentioned above

Golly - I hope you are referring to Bachtoven, Larry, Rando, Addicted to Hi Fi, and all the other valuable posters who contribute here rather than me!

It is they - being so generous with their knowledge, and willingness to share it - who deserve accolade.

But, if you are by chance referring to me, thank you so much for your generosity - most kind.

And now - a treat for those of us who like our Schubert played at funeral pace.

 

[Andrew S.]

I silently follow this thread

ps. Please share what you listen to and enjoy. I'd love to know what you like.

Forget about all the fancy talk of conductors and orchestras and performers and composers - none of it matters. It is what you enjoy that matters.

 

[Bachtoven]

Here's a video of Bin Hu in action during the recording sessions.

 

[christoph]

ps. Please share what you listen to and enjoy. I'd love to know what you like.

Forget about all the fancy talk of conductors and orchestras and performers and composers - none of it matters. It is what you enjoy that matters.

I will share and comment as soon as I'm back home again from my holidays next week

 

[DasguteOhr]

i love this recording of the Beethoven Symphony

 

[rando]

“Mass in Time of Distress” flexibly taken on by 'small voices' was not immediately... I turned it off and put on another recording of the work requiring multiple choirs and large orchestral forces. A few weeks later the opening “Kyrie eleison” (“Lord have mercy”) fell on my ears with greater abstraction.

 

[Bachtoven]

 

[VoicesInMyHead]

i love this recording of the Beethoven Symphony

Me too, it's indeed a favorite of mine when it comes to older recordings. I've got this one on vinyl too.

And now - a treat for those of us who like our Schubert played at funeral pace.

My absolute favorite with Khatia is her Rachmaninoff No 2 which is also my absolute favorite piano concerto recording, and I'm sure it must have been mentioned here before, but even if so it deserves a re-mentioning... So good!

 

[Andrew S.]

Me too, it's indeed a favorite of mine when it comes to older recordings. I've got this one on vinyl too.



My absolute favorite with Khatia is her Rachmaninoff No 2 which is also my absolute favorite piano concerto recording, and I'm sure it must have been mentioned here before, but even if so it deserves a re-mentioning... So good!

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Ahhh excellent- thanks - will look for it.

 

[Drikus]

 

[Addicted to hifi]

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Another great album

 

[VoicesInMyHead]

I silently follow this thread to improve my little knowledge in classical music,

@christoph I think few people are able to call themselves experts in classical music, I'm definitely not one of them. I did however reflect the other day a bit about how I actually got into classical music just a few years ago, let me elaborate briefly about my personal journey without getting too much OT. Maybe someone can get something out of it.

It's all so overwhelming isn't it, soo many composers, conductors, orchestras, symphonies, concertos, recordings etc. Where to start? For me it's very much about just "getting into" something, be it a composer or a symphony etc. Like I mentioned the other day Beethoven is my guy, he will never fail me. With Beethoven I would start with Symphonies 5, 3 & 9 and the recordings I recommended the other day (although 9 doesn't exist in that cycle yet), but take Bach for example, I know many others swears to Bach as I do to Beethoven, I've tried many times but just not found "my way in" there yet.

I'm sure that it will come though, and just a few days ago I actually managed to listen to an entire Bach album without loosing my interest and it was this one with the Goldberg Variations. I think that this might actually be it for me.



Either way I'd recommend to stick with the "big names" and their major symphonies or concertos. Try to explore one at the time and see if you can find a favorite to dig deeper with and put the ones you don't fancy away for a while, it's ok to come back later when you're ready for it. It's all about discovering in your own pace. For instance I quite quickly felt that Mozart was not my kind of guy, today I can of course appreciate some of his work, but it's still not what I usually turn to.

I had tried many times before to get into classical music, but the composer and symphony (and recording!) that finally kicked it off for me was this one, Mahler's 2nd symphony with Ivan Fischer and BFO. It was so dramatic and simply irresistible.



Then came Schubert who I think is quite a good place to start for "beginners" actually, and whose melodies are easy to get into. I remember my brother in law played "Fantasie" from the ECM recording below to me late at night while we were having a glass of rum and almost falling asleep in our listening chairs. I was completely hooked by it for a long time afterwards. I remember that I mostly listened to classical music in the car on my way to work every morning, this is something I still enjoy doing, driving to classical music (and Black Metal, but that is another story), there was a lot of Schubert in the car there for a while.

I can also recommend reading up a bit on Schuberts history which I found quite fascinating, it all made it even more interesting to have some "background" to the music and the person behind it.



And then this album also had great impact on me, Alisa Weilerstein's Dvorak cello concerto which I just picked randomly on Spotify one day at work as I wanted to explore Dvorak, but I kept coming back to it and realizing that I liked it very much. I still today find it amazing and I have tried to find better interpretations and recordings, but I'm sticking to this one, although I feel it was a real lucky find at the time.



I'm not sure that the 3 above albums would be "essential" in classical music history, but they really got me into the classical music space where I have since enjoyed exploring further and digging deeper. There's really an endless source of fantastic music out there. Bach... are you ready for me?!