Sergei Rachmaninov:  Artur Pizarro (piano), Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Tanja Tetzlaff (cello)

Piano Trio No. 2 'Trio Elegiaque' for Piano, Violin, and Cello Op. 9

This Piano Trio in D minor remains one of my favourite piano trios.  Rachmaninov was only 20 years old when he wrote it.  Unimaginable really that music like this was conceived in the first place let alone that someone at any age could be so brutally honest and emotionally frank.  Written as a tribute to Tchaikovsky after his death in 1893 it really is a great work - which fits nicely right beside Tchaikovsky's own Piano Trio in A minor.  Two great indispensable works for me actually.

Pizarro / Tetzlaff / Tetzlaff actually doing a fairly nice job here of the work.  In the end though, it seems for me that the ultimate recording of this work for me remains Kogan / Luzanov / Svetlanov.  

ClaudeP posted:

EJS posted:

Back in black. First spin of an early release of the Doric String Quartet's second volume of Haydn quartets - a doubler with all six op. 76 quartets. The Doric's earlier Op. 20 quartets sweep the field, IMO, so expectations for this one are high.

EJ

Keep us posted. My personal favorite for Haydn String Quartets remains ABQ.

What I'd like to know is when did the men in black turn in to three men in black with a woman with unblack hair in black?  What happened? 

Budapest String Quartet: Beethoven Quintet Op.59 No.9 & Op.95 No.11  1960 Recording

This is my first Beethoven String Quartet. Starting out with his middle period.

No.9 Starts off with all melancholy but the tune soon starts to turn around in a full happiness. Andante is  elegant and demure but cello's plucking strings giving the tune strong back bone. There is Beethoven-esque riffs here and there but it contains folk song like melody in some spot which is unusual for the composer.  The final movement is like a mad car race at the end where everyone is trying not to bump into each other.

Out of 2 Quartets, I prefer the No.11 with many surprises and unusual twists and turns. 

Unlike the composer’s piano sonata or concerto, his Quartet pieces seem to be never rest in peace where all the movements are laced in a sense of urgency and/or sadness.

Pink Floyd. The Wall (1979). 1997 Columbia Records CD remaster. My son went back to college today and before he left we had a chance to listen to Disc 1 together. He's ripped this and is quite familiar with it in MP3 via HPs. He's also familiar with my system but does not hear it very often anymore.  He was gobsmacked with the presentation noting the dimension of the soundstage, the imaging, the distinct kick drum, and accuracy of the cymbals. My words paraphrasing him, but he gets it. "MP3s really suck" - his words. A few days ago after listening to vinyl together he asked me to show him how to properly handle LPs and use a TT. I was gobsmacked!

Emerson Quartet: Beethoven Op.59/3, Op.95/1  1994 recording

I bought this CD probably about 5 years ago. It sat on the shelf all this time.

Much faster and agitated than Budapest set above. Exciting and more drama certainly keep me captivated with quick corner handling. Even the cello is dashing like a lean thoroughbred with tremendous agility and alacrity. Dramatic pauses and abruptness are more accentuated in this newer fresher performance with bravura finish. 

Salon music this isn’t.

Streaming | WAV

(1968)

The album that marked the beginning of the end of the Syd Barrett era for the band and where the other members had to step up. Nicely psychedelic, spacey and even ambient in places. 

Pink Floyd. Pulse. On 2CD from 1995. I can't be bothered with any purist's objection to calling this a live recording. To hell with the post-production knockers, it's a smashing live performance with fantastic SQ.

patk posted:

Cdb posted:

ewemon posted:

Cdb posted:

I got this for Christmas (CD) and am enjoying it so far. However, I think it's compressed, as when the music gets louder, the sound hardens up. I would be interested to hear if anyone else has a view on this.

Clive

Vinyl is apprently better as the cd was when I heard the pre release badly compressed. Had to give it away as my eardrums were bleeding. Typical modern mastering.

Thanks for the confirmation. Very frustrating...

Well, this is not good news.  I suppose a download would not be better than the CD then? 

Haven't heard the download but apparently it is as bad as the cd. The vinyl according to some friends is the way to go but even then don't expect a sonic masterpiece.

Florestan posted:

ClaudeP posted:

EJS posted:

Back in black. First spin of an early release of the Doric String Quartet's second volume of Haydn quartets - a doubler with all six op. 76 quartets. The Doric's earlier Op. 20 quartets sweep the field, IMO, so expectations for this one are high.

EJ

Keep us posted. My personal favorite for Haydn String Quartets remains ABQ.

What I'd like to know is when did the men in black turn in to three men in black with a woman with unblack hair in black?  What happened? 

Hélène Clément (on viola) joined the group in 2013.

Nice quiet start of the day

On CD:-

Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear

ClaudeP posted:

EJS posted:

Back in black. First spin of an early release of the Doric String Quartet's second volume of Haydn quartets - a doubler with all six op. 76 quartets. The Doric's earlier Op. 20 quartets sweep the field, IMO, so expectations for this one are high.

EJ

Keep us posted. My personal favorite for Haydn String Quartets remains ABQ.

Claude, I was writing a review of the new DSQ disc by comparison of the ABQs two op. 76 discs, but I can't the words to sound right. In short, where I find the ABQ respectable, I think the DSQ are irresistible. 

EJ

I very much like Sudbin's playing, this is another pleasant album from Sudbin's...

A present from my daughter - vinyl of course 

Sunshine Boy - Townes van Zandt, nice to hear him noodling around as the studio album tracks emerge.  Always liked his version of the Stones' Dead Flowers, two more gems here. 

1966 UK 10-track STEREO Vinyl.

joerand posted:

Pink Floyd. Pulse. On 2CD from 1995. I can't be bothered with any purist's objection to calling this a live recording. To hell with the post-production knockers, it's a smashing live performance with fantastic SQ.

Very much agree with that, joerand. I always enjoy playing this album and arguably the DSotM version on this is very bit as good as the studio original.

M 

Until the release of Currency of Man, this was comfortably my favourite Melody Gardot album.  Hard to choose between them now so I play both regularly 

M

Leonard Cohen, Songs From a Room on vinyl. Long time since I played this, as was easy to stream from HDX than dig the record our but the vinyl is so much better

First play of a christmas album, on vinyl... great recording. Brings back memories as I was at the concert.