What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol.IX)

There aren't many good recordings of Dvorak's concerto - the famous one that attracts all the attention is Sviatoslav Richter / Carlos Kleiber on EMI, which doesn't - in my opinion - really make good on the promise of these two titans working together. I also have Moravec on Supraphon, which finds the performers rather indifferently going through the motions. This flawed work really requires love to bring out well. The Schumann on the other hand must be the most performed warhorse around, and there are a ton of excellent performances around.

So how does Piemontesi fare? Well, in the Schumann, not so brilliantly. This was taken from live performances, but there is something wrong with the flow. The performers recover later in the first movement, and overall this isn't bad at all, but equally it doesn't stand out. Sonically, this recording is also afflicted by the "modern live" sound: clean as a studio recording, but with a veiled quality.

The Dvorak is better, one of the best performances I've heard of it. By taking things as they are, Piemontesi and Belohlavek come close to bringing it off. But also here, I just miss the sense of occasion. Piemontesi strikes me as too ordinary, lacking the required charisma. The sound engineers apparently didn't care much about it either: some ugly piano sounds when the orchestra recedes and Piemontesi is on his own. Naive can do, and usually does, better.

So, overall: not bad, but not a wholehearted recommendation, either.

Cheers,

EJ

Resetting the balance with one of the best discs from a pianist from whom we don't hear enough:

You haven't heard Rach's solo music before you've listened to Demidenko in this selection of preludes and other miniatures! Breathtaking...

EJ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8TvgfwffVM

Highly recommended.

Cheers,

EJ

Beautifull performance ..

Liking this...

Brand X - Livestock

Second listen today, under rather better conditions: speakers carefully repositioned, a drink close by, seat at the sweet spot, volume up. The experience is a lot better - I was clearly suffering from a hangover caused by the exceedingly good Tokyo String Qt disc earlier. Slight reservations remain, but I am finding the Dvorak rather more enjoyable this time round.  

Cheers,

EJ

On CD:-

First album from this vinyl box set that arrived today.

CD - Sony Music © 2009 / Columbia Jazz Classics (p) 1973 : )

..after multiple spins still difficult to digest for me, but I will keep on trying to get closer to it..

Bert, I know the feeling. For these works, it pays to live with them for a while (some seriously beautiful music here, if not so easy to digest). Not always, though: after years struggling with Schoenberg's piano concerto, my take on the work is that the man was just messing with us, probably rolling on the floor laughing at all those critics taking him seriously. I gave up. 

Cheers,

EJ

Strauss Daphne has surreptitiously become one of my most listened-to works over the years. Critics differ whether this is uninspired late Strauss, or a minor masterpiece. In my book, it's a simple re-imagining of one of Ovidius' myths, set to gorgeous music. Fleming has top billing and rightly so, but the two tenors vying for her attention are really very good in extremely difficult to sing parts.

The story is what would pass for romcom today and is unintentionally funny. Essentially, Daphne is wooed by the god Apollo and ordinary guy Leukippos. Both have an angle: Apollo banks on his godlike powers, including a healthy dose of thunder and lightning on demand;  Leukippos likes walking around in drag to get to dance with girls. Naturally, Daphne can't choose between the two and scorns both. Drama ensues when Leukippos is exposed by Apollo. Not humiliated by defeat, Leukippos starts acting all offended and slings insults to Apollo - who then shoots the guy. At that point, Daphne understands that she truly loved Leukippos (uhh yeah). Her mourning moves Apollo, who requests from Zeus that she be turned into a tree. The end. Or is it? For those looking for a PG-subtext: Daphne's final lines in the transformation scene start with "Ich komme..." (I'm coming)...

Cheers,

EJ

Inpired by a recent bass player thread!

First spin of this one...

..during my workout. This one will not end up on the list of best albums of the year. Too much a wall of noise rather than music...I will bury it far below...

..could on a very nice album to balance the bad album of Leprous...

Remastered CD 2011. First time for me hearing it through HPs. Wonderful!