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

Originally Posted by Haim Ronen:

Kuma, Jeremy Denk (who just won the MacArthur Ginius Foundation award of $625,000) is going to performs the variation in Symphony Hall on October 13. Are you going?

Haim,

Looks like I am going to miss that one ( like I missed Perahia last year! ) cuz I'm gonna be in Denver on that weekend. Are you going to Schiff's Paritas?

I might go to Tetzlaff/Vogt's in November.

btw, Mark Andre-Hamelin is playing Medner program but only at Carnegie. I was tempted to go but all good seats are gone, so screw it.

Now you ARE going to Uchida's Schumann next year right? 

Just two examples of why I cry myself to sleep every night wondering why I was born in some god forsaken flat earth prairie in the north that no sane musician would ever come to visit.

I've thought of making a movie about this and I know one scene would picture Haim and Kuma as follows:

While the land is filled with plague, famine, and pestilence we have two Henry the VII type characters sitting in there massive castle enjoying a life filed with abundance and pleasure.  One each at the end of a huge 60 foot long table which is piled so high with exotic foods prepared by the worlds best chefs that the thick beams of the table are bent down under the pressure of the weight.  Each one laughing at the abundance before them and they each just take one bite of a drumstick and throw the rest over their shoulders - right hand, left hand, right hand.....yum, yum, yum - there is more where this came from they muse while not realizing that their subjects of the land are starving.  Mwahaa, haaaahhaaa  aahhhhaaa...... 

If in my lifetime I had the opportunity to see just one of Perahia, Schiff, Uchida, Hamelin, Lugansky, Denk alone I would consider myself very lucky and fortunate.  It seems you have the choice on a weekly basis.

Ah, I'm just bugging you.  One day maybe I'll have to change my address.  This in a small way might explain why I have such a large collection of music in my library.  With a little imagination, I can go see any one I wish to on any day of the week....

Hi K. I have a copy of this album also on vinyl. It's such a long time since I have played it I will have to dig it out and have a listen however, I don't recall it being a laugh a minute! 

Hope you are well G

Johann Sebastian Bach:  Cédric Pescia (Piano)

The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 

The monumental Die Kunst der Fuge.  At more than 99 minutes here this is not an appetizer or dessert full of sugar but a full meal heavy on protein and substance.  I have many string quartet versions of this work and they mostly tend to stress me out as they sometimes feel just too rushed and on steroids.  Along the lines of Bach's own vision of music this gives more of a singing tone and time to reflect.  A beautiful example is the Canon alla Decima in Contrapunto alla Terza.  I suppose it depends on your tastes but Pescia on the piano allows this to sing in a beautifully understated way with lots of space while most of the string quartet versions simply play it in half the time.  The outcome is a totally different meaning.

Pescia plays on a 1901 New York Steinway & Sons model D that has been tuned to specific unequal temperament settings which you can hear but it is not terribly a burden or strange.  It is a beautiful sounding piano to begin with and the recording of it is very pleasing and real to life. 

Over The Rhine   "Long Surrender"   (cd rip to iTunes)

iMac/iTunes AIFF:-

Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes

Joe Bonamassa - Blues Deluxe.

One of Johns series of great albums.

Don't worry as there is officially only 167 days to the release of her next disc.

Good to know Ewemon.

G

Sting   "The Soul Cages"   (Spotify Premium US)

MFSL 45rpm vinyl. This arrived today and I've just finished listening to it. Like Freewheelin' the SQ is astonishing for a record pressed from a 50 year old master tape. This one is recommended.

Ah I somehow thought you might say that after I cancelled my order some weeks back!

Time to reconsider and put it back on my 'wish list'......problem is there is too much good vinyl around these days and I can't afford it all!

Richard

Butthole Surfers  -  Independent Worm Saloon  -   on cd.

Richard

The Police   "Synchronicity"   (Spotify PremiumUS)

Always thought 44 just edged it for quality.........

Shamefully under-rated, our Val. 

SJB

competes with Pires, think this one is better...

Emerson Lake & Palmer

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Keith Emerson | Format: Audio CD

Judas Priest  "Sin After Sin"     on cd.

The first and the best IMO.  Excellent album

An old album on CD. You don't hear much about Pink Fairies nowadays. 

+1 to that. Both sides are excellent. Tarkus is a close second but there are a few patchy tracks.