Current Purchases......

[Mirror Image]

Originally Posted by Conor71

Nice purchase - I was just listening to the Ravel in that set this morning
Good to see you are getting into piano music there is some cool stuff in the Martha Argerich set .

Conor, where have you been man? I haven't seen you online in a long time!

One reason I bought this box set is because I already owned "Collection 2," which collected all of Argerich's concerto recording on DG, so why not compliment that set with this one?

Yes, I look forward to hearing it. Good to see you back. Have you tried any Latin American composers yet?

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More Villa-Lobos on the way...

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Another one on the way...

[Zeitblom]

This recent purchase has been spinning a lot lately:



It's an extraordinary performance, I think; not how one would want to hear Mahler 9 all the time, but revelatory. What makes it special to me is not so much the reduced vibrato in the strings (and the way in which Norrington uses vibrato sparingly as an expressive device) but the clarity and textual truth of the performance, and Norrington's determination to take the score rather than performance tradition as his starting point. It's once of the most cohesive performances I think I've heard. Mahler famously wrote that tradition is slovenliness and I think he would have appreciated the Norrington's determination to play the piece as music. The refusal to wallow in the finale is, I think, very refreshing.

As ever, Norrington's performance has caused outrage among traditionalists and the usual suspects - some of the reviews have been little more than catalogues of abuse, and Norrington's talent for aggravating life's Buftons remains deeply impressive. I think it's a hugely important performance that anyone who cares for this work should try to hear.

[Conor71]

Originally Posted by Mirror Image

Conor, where have you been man? I haven't seen you online in a long time!

One reason I bought this box set is because I already owned "Collection 2," which collected all of Argerich's concerto recording on DG, so why not compliment that set with this one?

Yes, I look forward to hearing it. Good to see you back. Have you tried any Latin American composers yet?

Your listening and purchases of Latin composers is certainly interesting - I was considering this Villa-Lobos disc on the weekend:



Unfortunately it may be a while before I get any new discs as I have built up a back-log for listening over the last year or so (not to mention spending all my savings!) .

[Mirror Image]

Originally Posted by Conor71

Your listening and purchases of Latin composers is certainly interesting - I was considering this Villa-Lobos disc on the weekend:



Unfortunately it may be a while before I get any new discs as I have built up a back-log for listening over the last year or so (not to mention spending all my savings!) .

I'm not sure if you want that recording or not. It's your choice of course, but that recording is in mono (really bad sounding mono) and while it's interesting that Villa-Lobos himself is the conductor it should be noted that he was not in fine form as he was very sick during these performances, which I believe date from 1959, which was the year he passed away.

If I had to recommend a recording for you to start with I would start with this one:



This particular recording, which contains only one Villa-Lobos composition ("Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2), is a good sampling of Latin American music. Eduardo Mata, who is a strong advocate of Latin American music, conducts the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orch. of Venezuela. The sound and performances are all top-notch.

If you're feeling even more adventurous, I recommend this box set which contains the recording I listed above:

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Another on the way...

Bartok: The 6 Quartets, Takacs Quartet, 2-CDs, Decca


I feel so ashamed that I didn't have at least one set of Bartok's (one of my absolute favorite composers of all-time) string quartets in my collection, so I bought one of the most critically-acclaimed sets.

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More Villa-Lobos on the way....

[Conor71]

Ordered this one a few weeks ago - just arrived on Wednesday :

[Conor71]

Originally Posted by Mirror Image

I'm not sure if you want that recording or not. It's your choice of course, but that recording is in mono (really bad sounding mono) and while it's interesting that Villa-Lobos himself is the conductor it should be noted that he was not in fine form as he was very sick during these performances, which I believe date from 1959, which was the year he passed away.

If I had to recommend a recording for you to start with I would start with this one:



This particular recording, which contains only one Villa-Lobos composition ("Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2), is a good sampling of Latin American music. Eduardo Mata, who is a strong advocate of Latin American music, conducts the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orch. of Venezuela. The sound and performances are all top-notch.

If you're feeling even more adventurous, I recommend this box set which contains the recording I listed above:

Ah, if the Villa-Lobos is in mono I will give that one a miss then - The Eduardo Mata looks pretty cool. I am interested in this one I seen on Amazon (I think you may have it?):



I also really want to get a set of the Mozarts complete Piano Concertos too - I am not meant to be buying any more music for a while! .