Messiaen, “Quartet for the End of Time” ?
Posted by: Edot on 11 December 2002
I heard Messiaen's quartet the other night on the radio and liked it quite a bit. Any opinions as to which reading is best and I should pick up.
Posted on: 12 December 2002 by Todd A
I have the Koch recording of Christoph Eschenbach and his Houston Symphony Chamber players that has suited me fine for a few years. DG has a more recent star-studded recording with dedicated Messiaen specialist Myung Whun Chung at the piano and Gil Shaham on the violin that might be intersting. Hell, I'm interested.
Posted on: 29 May 2003 by DJH
Two versions of this deserve a mention.
The first is on Philips Solo with with George Pieterson, Vera Beths, Anner Bylsma and Reinbert de Leeuw. The cello and piano playing is excellent, but it is the clarinet which really makes the difference, as it rises from subterranean depths to the stratosphere in a mounting crescendo with supreme confidence. Really stunning. Comes with a very good version of Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum under Haitink.
The second is on a budget EMI label, with Yvonne Loriod on piano. Overall, the quality of the ensemble is not as good as the version above, but the final movement is extraordinary, with the piano producing a series of images almost like a sequence of Rothko paintings. Anyone sceptical of the phenomenon of synesthesia could be converted by this alone. Given the price, it's definitely worth trying.
Avoid the Barenboim, which seems to have been mastered for CD particularly harshly.
OK, that's it - adieu.
The first is on Philips Solo with with George Pieterson, Vera Beths, Anner Bylsma and Reinbert de Leeuw. The cello and piano playing is excellent, but it is the clarinet which really makes the difference, as it rises from subterranean depths to the stratosphere in a mounting crescendo with supreme confidence. Really stunning. Comes with a very good version of Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum under Haitink.
The second is on a budget EMI label, with Yvonne Loriod on piano. Overall, the quality of the ensemble is not as good as the version above, but the final movement is extraordinary, with the piano producing a series of images almost like a sequence of Rothko paintings. Anyone sceptical of the phenomenon of synesthesia could be converted by this alone. Given the price, it's definitely worth trying.
Avoid the Barenboim, which seems to have been mastered for CD particularly harshly.
OK, that's it - adieu.
Posted on: 30 May 2003 by Anna Tooth
Hi Ed
If you were looking to augment (or start!) your Naim CD collection, we have recorded this piece of music.
It's Naim CD008, recorded by Ken Christianson with The Vermeer Quartet. The Chicago Tribune said "Here was music making of the most passionate kind, in which eloquent playing was brightened by brilliant technique and tempered by a heightened sense of taste."
It was described by a Polish newspaper as nearly perfect! Hi Fi world said: "the recording illuminated each strand of the texture ... Vermeer's cultured Dvorák playing and the thrilling performance of the Messiaen make for an unexpectedly winning combination."
The sound clip on our website is for the Dvorak that precedes Messiaen on the disc, so I won't post the link.
Anna
If you were looking to augment (or start!) your Naim CD collection, we have recorded this piece of music.
It's Naim CD008, recorded by Ken Christianson with The Vermeer Quartet. The Chicago Tribune said "Here was music making of the most passionate kind, in which eloquent playing was brightened by brilliant technique and tempered by a heightened sense of taste."
It was described by a Polish newspaper as nearly perfect! Hi Fi world said: "the recording illuminated each strand of the texture ... Vermeer's cultured Dvorák playing and the thrilling performance of the Messiaen make for an unexpectedly winning combination."
The sound clip on our website is for the Dvorak that precedes Messiaen on the disc, so I won't post the link.
Anna
Posted on: 30 May 2003 by throbnorth
While we're at it, I fancy some of the organ music - is there an easy listening recommendation for the cautious?
throb
throb
Posted on: 01 June 2003 by David Hobbs-Mallyon
throb,
Regis have recently released a 6CD set of Jennifer Bate's recordings of a range of Messiaen's works from the 1930s to the 1980s at bargain price. I think I paid around £20 for the set. Sound and performances are excellent.
David
Regis have recently released a 6CD set of Jennifer Bate's recordings of a range of Messiaen's works from the 1930s to the 1980s at bargain price. I think I paid around £20 for the set. Sound and performances are excellent.
David
Posted on: 03 June 2003 by throbnorth
Well, thanks for the recommendation David, but six CD's is quite a wodge as an introduction 
Any single discs you think worth checking out?
throb
Any single discs you think worth checking out?throb
Posted on: 03 June 2003 by Peter Litwack
La Nativité du Seignuer
One of his greatest works for organ, it's in 9 movements and, for my money, you can't beat the composer playing it himself. There's a 4 disc set, including most of his major organ works, available from ArkivMusic.com for $25.99, which is a great deal.
Messiaen par lui-même
It's mono, and historical, but the sound is certainly serviceable. If you want an idea of what this music is really about, scoop it up! BTW, I was an organ performance major at university, and Dieu Parmi Nous was on my graduate recital program. You really don't know how difficult this stuff is to play until you try to perform it - and not just technically - to get across the meaning of "God Among Us" is a real challenge. A very demanding work to bring off succeessfully, and most performances I've heard fall far short of the composer's version.
As for the Quatour, the Tashi recording, with Peter Serkin, Ida Kavafian, Fred Sherry, and Richard Stoltzman is near definitive. The Naim recording is also very fine. The Vermeer Quartet is a world class ensemble (and I'm not saying that just because Shmuel Ashkenasi used to keep his Porsche in my dad's garage in Brooklyn). The recording quality is, of course, superb, and Shmuel and Co. interpret this landmark work's inner meanings with great profundity.
One of his greatest works for organ, it's in 9 movements and, for my money, you can't beat the composer playing it himself. There's a 4 disc set, including most of his major organ works, available from ArkivMusic.com for $25.99, which is a great deal.
Messiaen par lui-même
It's mono, and historical, but the sound is certainly serviceable. If you want an idea of what this music is really about, scoop it up! BTW, I was an organ performance major at university, and Dieu Parmi Nous was on my graduate recital program. You really don't know how difficult this stuff is to play until you try to perform it - and not just technically - to get across the meaning of "God Among Us" is a real challenge. A very demanding work to bring off succeessfully, and most performances I've heard fall far short of the composer's version.
As for the Quatour, the Tashi recording, with Peter Serkin, Ida Kavafian, Fred Sherry, and Richard Stoltzman is near definitive. The Naim recording is also very fine. The Vermeer Quartet is a world class ensemble (and I'm not saying that just because Shmuel Ashkenasi used to keep his Porsche in my dad's garage in Brooklyn). The recording quality is, of course, superb, and Shmuel and Co. interpret this landmark work's inner meanings with great profundity.