what was the last cd you bought?

in 192 high res

in 192 high res

Hawkwind - Epoch Eclipse - 3 CD 30 year anthology

In high res

in high res

Just arrived yesterday...

 Not something that I had thought of buying again but several commentators reviews on Amazon (one underneath) roused my curiosity and swayed me to give it a go for the possible gains in SQ and for £1.47 it seemed rude not to dip in.

"At the time of its release back in September 1999 this collection did not appear at first glance to be a very big deal at all; until, that is, you sat down and listened to its all-too familiar contents. It was only then that its abundant riches were exposed as track after track revealed finely tuned nuances that were a delight to hear. The chief engineer was Peter Cobbin, whose work here was so exemplary that it is to be lamented that his name does not appear among the credits on the 2009 remasters. It will be pleaded, of course, that these mixes were not the originals as issued back in the day- but neither are the mixes featured on the 2009 remastered stereo versions of Help! & Rubber Soul, both of which revive George Martin's excellent late 1980s versions, which effectively scuppers that particular argument. But if Apple's rationale doesn't make a whole lot of sense, the music on Yellow Submarine Songtrack certainly does!

These tracks have been presented with loving care and a painstaking attention to fine sonic detail that places this album in a league of its own among Beatles compact discs. Sure, the bass registers have been enhanced, but that's by no means the full extent of what's on offer here as the entire width & depth of the stereo spectrum has been utilised to unlock & maximise the potentials of each track. 'All You Need Is Love', for example, may not have worn as well in our collective affections as many other Beatles hits but this version stands head & shoulders above any other available to you (& that includes the original mono single) as I write these lines.

So: what in 1999 seemed like a worthwhile curiosity now enjoys elevated status as the one boasting the most impressive sound quality in the band's entire catalogue- a situation that we can be reasonably sure Apple & EMI did not anticipate when it embarked on the 2009 remasters project. If you want the Beatles sounding at their very best, you are recommended to make this album your topmost priority."

Dipping my toe into relatively more recent 20th century classical music. 

Weinberg's Violin Sonatas.

For my wife.  She was complaining how we do not have enough cello music in the collection.

A 6 cd set for next to no money new ($12.99) with recordings by cellists Maurice Gendron, Lynn Harrell, Julian Lloyd Webber, Henrich Schiff and Janos Starker.  Has the Bach Cello Suites 1 through 6, amongst others from Albinoni to Wieniawski and almost everyone inbetween.  Should be interesting.

Led Zeppelin IV, Super Deluxe box set, arrived today:

A very handsome Super Deluxe box of LZ's Houses of the Holy arrived just minutes ago...

Lamb - Backspace Unwind (2CD Limited Edition)

Bruckner Symphonies 4 to 9, and 

Mahler Symphonies 2, 4, 7 and 9 with the Songs Of The Earth.

Conducted by Otto Klemperer ...

All EMI recordings issued now on Warner since the Deutche Gramofon take-over, and as marvellous as legend suggests! Less than £2 per disc, which makes such a purchase possible, considering that the original CDs of these were at £12 or for each ...

ATB from George

George, 

Klemperer's 9th turned out to be one of my favourite.

I am curious what you think of it.

Regarding his Mahler, it's interesting that he did not record the 5th.

Gonna try Hewitt's Bach I keep seeing on this Forum.

Dear Kuma,

Yesterday I listened to Seven and Eight from Brucker [with Klemperer], and the approach is right up my street!

Tonight will be Nine!

As for Mahler, I find some of it very difficult. Klemperer felt the same, and like me a century later found much difficulty [in the musical sense of it working as a whole] in the First Symphony and he made just one performance of it in his whole career. In fact he avoided completely except for performances as a young man quite a lot of Mahler, and I do not know what his view was on the Mahler Fifth Symphony, but it seems that he could have recorded anything he wanted to in the 1960s, so it may be assumed that he did not want to perform or record the work at that time. 

I suspect that the recordings we are left with are the Mahler pieces that he felt in sympathy with. 

For certain the Mahler set is going to challenge me immensely, and I find a challenge of this sort is best met with such strong, and clear sighted performances as are typical from the great musician conductor. Otto Klemperer, who was launched on his long career by Gustav Mahler himself. 

I believe that the recording of the Seventh from Mahler is controversial, and not altogether successful. I shall leave that to last in my efforts to attune myself to the music. I love the Second Symphony, so that will be the starting point. I cannot imagine that I'll be up to listening to two Mahler symphonies in one evening, which I can with Bruckner!

ATB from George

An old pattern reemerges.  EJS keeping me in debt with great music and recording suggestions !