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

Dear Kuma,

Every day brings a surprise and your post brought a beautiful one. A legendary recording uncovered. 

In reality I like the crystalline balance of the orchestra, and the swift tempi, especially unusual at the very start. Adolf Busch would have done well with Klemperer who would have relished Adolf's keeping tempo as the music moves to G Minor in the First Movement! 

I would call this as at least as fine [musically though not as a recording in recording technique terms] as fine as anything from David Oistrakh. My favourite for sure. The balance is certainly fine though no doubt the gramophones of 1942 would have favoured the soloist, so perhaps that is why Adolf Busch vetoed the effort.

Never the less, thanks to you and thanks also to the youtube pirate who made it available while CBS have never issued it!

ATB from George

CD rip. These boys got together whilst at school at the end of my road. This record was recorded in Wealdstone. Weird.

On ripped vinyl :-

George,

I could imagine that Oistrakh/Klemperer combo would be great. Their Brahms' Violin Concerto is one of my favourite. 

I have the Klemperer/Menuhin LP which the orchestration is fine but unfortunately Menuhin spoils it for me. 

btw, Busch's 9th is also quick from the start ( timing wise, he's with the HIP crowd, i.e. Gardener, Herreweghe et all ) and he pretty much continues on with crisp rendering through the joyous final movement. But never gets tiring or monotonous for some reasons.

This was waiting when I got home from a fantastic day with Dr Blues  - Vena Porta Emily Barker.

Playing the CD included with the vinyl,

I think you need to add 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' and 'Going for the One' to that list. (And remove 'Big Generator' IMHO.)

With all the talk about The Beatles yesterday I had to play some today.

On the advice of Kuma on the last page.

Ed Sheeran - on vinyl 

Hoodoo Man Blues on vinyl.A gift from Steve J.

Sergei Prokofiev:  Alina Ibragimova (Violin), Steven Osborne (Piano) 

Sonata for Violin and Piano no 1 in F minor, Op. 80

Five Melodies for Violin and Piano, Op. 35bis

On the original vinyl:-

Marillion - Clutching At Straws

Truffaz is French, but he frequently worked with Swiss musicians during his career. He found success with a series of album at the end of the '90s, The Dawn, Bending New Corners and The Mask. It was somewhat similar to Molvær at the time. Then he evolved, and though I don't know most of his discography I find his last two albums very good: In Between and El Tiempo de la revolución. Scattered among lengthy instrumentals, both feature a few pieces that are sung by Swiss female pop singers: Sophie Hunger on the former and Anna Aaron on the latter. Listen to the cover of Dylan's Dirge on In Between. If your blood doesn't instantly freeze in your veins, then you're already dead ! (Dirge is a terrible song, and Dylan's version on Planet Waves was desperatingly bleak; Truffaz/Hunger's version may sound warmer at first, but is in no way less threatening.)

Steve, great to meet up yesterday...This is another Dr Blues recommendation that I am sure you will like. Same label 'delmark' -  Vinyl  new from £8.04 on Amazon.

Graham.

Aleg,

Have you ever had the chance to see Ibrahim Maalouf live ? If not, give it a try, his band and performances are very good. He has his way with the public, he's a funny guy (his falsely self-deprecating humour is touching and hilarious at the same time) and he very well knows how to run a show, that's for sure ! You're in for a great time.

Best,

Maurice

I spent the last week and a half away from the internet & e-mails.  Not by choice but because this damn technology doesn't always work.  Sometimes these trials are a blessing in disguise.  When I wasn't cursing at this cheap hunks of plastic crap made in some low cost country destined only to fill our landfills within months I had rather much more time to retreat to just playing and listening which is what I should be doing anyway.  I view the internet and the like as a tool and not the air I breath.  I could never understand why someone would go for a walk in a park with there children and only look down transfixed on a smart phone - tap tap tap for the entire time.

What I became aware of was to see just how far I have fallen away from my roots.  I didn't have technology around as a child.  I had music though.  Technology makes one lazy while going it alone in a room with your instrument is a hard and lonely climb.  Flashing neon lights in Vegas versus tilling the soil with an ox.

Rachmaninov's Moments Musicaux is a fantastic set of music.  Whether correct or not, I imagine it written on some estate in Russia during the winter.  I can see Rachmaninov sitting at the piano while looking out a large window at large snowflakes covering the trees and land.  This set, to me, represents Rachmaninov's core characteristics and character.  There are no words to describe it other than that it comes from very deep within the soul.  It is about being a human being.  It is about beauty as well as longing for something you might never have.  It can be sad or happy.  It asks questions and reaches deep down to our core (if you allow it).

When you listen to music you should not hear notes (IMHO).  Instead you should see images or feel things.  It should strike a nerve where you may experience any number of emotions.  It may make you laugh or cry but I believe that whatever emotion you are experiencing would be the same as what the composer himself experienced.  This is of course true if you let the music naturally take you where it should and not if you impose your own hardcore ideas on it.  For example, if one despises Marmite then tying up someone and forcing Marmite down their throat will not change their opinion.  You have to come to the table and with an open mind share a meal and conversation with the composer.

Currently, I cannot absorb enough of the Moments Musicaux.  The first four are all in minor keys (B flat -, E flat -, B-, E-) while the last two are in major keys (D flat +, C+).  What I notice on the current recording is just how different Rubinova is from most of her peers.  I have come to really like her B flat minor interpretation.  Another thing I would say is that she strikes me as the most feminine player of Rachmaninov I've heard.  She can play very very soft but when Rachmaninov marks a triple or quadruple forte I don't think she even tries to smash a piano to its max.

The following is what Rubinova sounded like about five years prior to the above recording.  Clearly a much younger performer.  All track timings are faster than the current recording and you can hear the refinement and more unique / mature interpretation now that is like no one else.  But the youtube sample is quite good for being a live performance and you can still hear how unique her playing is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...ge&v=zDce1E9nOwc

Wonderful set that is ages with me.  Superb recording too.

G

Change the payment method or get this as well, double trouble 

Steve.

After our conversation yesterday. If you want to dip your toe into the world of Jazz I can highly recommend this classic as a place to start.

CD:-

This after a clean on Steve J Keith Monks RCM  

Pure Pleasure [Vinyl]