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

Dear Kuma,

Your comment is interesting to me. Bohm was highly regarded in his time, and seems to have all but disappeared as a legendary figure since his death. Yet he was a legend in his lifetime as one of the links to the older style of Germanic performance in the tradition that took in Bruno Walter, Wlhelm Furtwangler, Erich Kleiber and Otto Klemperer as the most famous examples who lived on after 1945

I have always wondered about his way with Beethoven. Very civilised, and always very lucid, but perhaps there is more a sense of the bucolic in Beethoven's orchestral music at least [among many other examples of course] than Bohm brings out.

He brings a certain Mozartian-style of playing, where everything is completely under control and precise. His way with Beethoven with the VPO shows it well. I had that cycle with Bohm on LPs, and have never missed it since it went in 1992.

And yet these Bohm recordings are versions I would soon recommend for those who find Beethoven verging on the overwrought!

As you know, I am an immense admirer of Otto Klemperer's much tougher way with both Beethoven and Mozart! Bohm's delineates the music deftly and with great beauty, while Klemperer somehow seems to carve it out of the living rock. Two most contrasted characters, on a personal level as well as musical.

ATB from George

Such a crazy release from a crazy band. Also freely downloadable from Scion A/V web page. This distributor is worth following: they release, from time to time, very interesting EPs that one can't get anywhere else.  

On vinyl

..during workout..

..Schumann during breakfast..

George,

Speaking of two completely different reading, I am also attracted to both Böhm and Toscanini and Cantelli's 7th.

I can't speak for the rest of the symphonies ( I have not heard all of his Beethoven cycle yet! ), but  the 7th can quickly turn into a garish circus so his 7th is a  bit of a relief from so many keyed up in your face readings. *Classy* is what comes to my mind.

Maybe his style is orthodox and conventional compared to Cantelli or Toscanini, yet it's expressive and the music never gets boring. I love his Mozart for sure.

His Beethoven pieces might be too polished and restrained but there's something *bubblicious* about it. ( unlike ponderous Walter for instance )

He's sort of like a groovy Kleiber.

You know I still haven't listened to all of Klemperer's Beethoven symphonies other than the 3rd & 6th!

But today I found his 5th and 9th!

Old pap's still know how to do it. This is made in 2011 and it kicks ones behind just like 25 years ago.

Edit: What a crappy picture quality, sorry about that.

I have played this quite a lot since I received it a little while ago

I can fully agree with the review of All About Jazz:

"Remember the River will appeal most to fans of the more lyrical aspects of artists including Oregon, Pat Metheny Group and Keith Jarrett, but make no mistake, Simon has his own distinctive approach which, for a Chicago native, evokes surprising images of open spaces and broader vistas. And with the firm support of Rodby and the provocative playing of McCandless, he has fashioned an album of sensitive grace, charm and dignity"

Classic Records 6 x one sided 200g 45rpm vinyl discs.

Awesome

Saw them once. Very loud. As in almost painful.