Watching a webcast of Boz Scaggs set at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass from the 5th Oct..

Darkside - Psychic.

a treat as always...

Savages - Silence Yourself

One of my favourite discs of all time.

Some night music...

Cheers,

EJ

Deerhunter -  Halcyon Digest

To be Sung on the Water: Music for Solo Violin

Giuseppe TARTINI(1692- 1770)Sonata IXin A major [12.21];Sonata IIin D minor [9.09];Sonata XIIIin B minor [9.29]
Donald CROCKETT(b. 1951)To be sung on water(1988) [11.30] *
Mickey Finn, for solo violin (1996) [9.58]

Michelle Makarski (violin), Ronald Copes (viola)*
rec. Radio Studio DRS, Zurich, March 2004. DDD

The unfamiliar Sonata #1 and the very familiar Sonata #2, played with excellent balance of in-depth exploration and clarity, not an easy feat for Rachmaninov's dense style. Doug, thanks again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pswGmlM5m-Q

Ludwig van Beethoven:  András Schiff (Piano) 

Bechstein Piano (1921):

Sonata for Piano no 32 in C minor, Op. 111

33 Variations for Piano on a Waltz by Diabelli in C major, Op. 120 

Franz Brodmann fortepiano (c. 1820):

33 Variations for Piano on a Waltz by Diabelli in C major, Op. 120 

6 Bagatelles for Piano, Op. 126

I respect András Schiff for his knowledge, wisdom, and dedication to music.  No one can take this away from him, however, from time to his eccentricities test my patience a little.  For this recording, Schiff has chosen two different period instruments, as noted above.  He is asked in the liner notes, "Why are you using two instruments" and he replies, "Why not."   I would shorten this reply one simple word for both question and answer: WHY?  Or better yet, maybe I'd like to ask him if he's bored as bored people go to great lengths to justify their wayward behaviour.

The Bechstein is reasonably good.  The Brodmann, in my estimation, is not.  OK, it's a novelty but it is not something I could listen to repeatedly and this is a detriment for me as I like to listen to recordings more than once.  Schiff was also correct in saying that there will be three types of response to this recording.  Some will like the fortepiano, others will prefer the Bechstein, and finally, those incurable Steinway enthusiasts may dislike both versions and wish for another pianists - on a Steinway, as always.  Well, guilty as charged Mr. Schiff with a proviso.    

There is a fair group of anti-Steinway artists out there currently.  The problem is these guys and gals have to play on poorly serviced and cared for pianos that take a beating and then they blame the brand.  But going from a poorly serviced Steinway to a poorly serviced / sounding brand "anything else" doesn't make sense & proves nothing.  I could care less about modern vs. period instruments.  I just want to enjoy what I listen to.  Alexander Lubimov's Debussy Preludes album on ECM is one of the finest "period" instrument recordings I know of.  Lubimov found a 1913 Steinway and a 1925 Bechstein and both are fine sounding instruments.  Lubimov has other recordings on period instruments that I can't listen to as well though.  BTW, Lubimov's 1925 Bechstein is leagues ahead of Schiff's 1921 Bechstein here although its claim to fame is that this was Bachhaus' piano for some time.

In addition to this instrument selection my ire was probably most raised by one other comment of Schiff's in the notes.  Personally, when I speak of or someone else speaks for someone who has been dead for hundreds of years I prefer the more humble approach in that one can have all sorts of ideas to consider who this person might have been but I draw the line at declarative statements that insist a composer would say this or that and imply 100% certainty.  He goes on about how Beethoven would never accept a new Steinway of today.  What poppycock.  This defies logic and is outrageous for anyone to assume they can speak for someone they have never met and has been dead since 1827.  No one can know this today.  My approach would be that there is reasonable probability that Beethoven or Bach or you name it would be just as accepting of today's instruments as they were accepting of the instruments of there own day (faults and all).  

I say all of this just because I was expecting more from this one but to be fair, I just do not care for any recordings that make use of a fortepiano.  I am not necessarily just a Steinway lover.  I have many fine recordings with Bechstein, Bluthner, Bosendorfer and so on but these are all mostly modern instruments in top shape and good sounding.  I really don't care for period instruments, Fazioli (sorry Angela-your Faure album suffers for it too), Yamaha etc. 

If the recordings are from the era of this photo, than she has become much, much better in her later years.

i wouldn't discard on the basis of these youth recordings

cheers 

aleg

This isn't by any chance the new APO Sacd of the album is it Matt? If so what is the sq like? Great album though.

A nice bit of Jazz Funk before work..

 CD

In the same vein as above..

CD

Both CD's  1p + postage from Amazon.