More great recordings

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I must say that I'm writing down my impressions
diffidently. I'm neither a musician nor a music critic. Take anything I
say with a big bag of salt. If you disagree let me and the forum know.

I have a motive and a justification. The motive is:
to try and get this forum back to audio.and give a change from the
endless "other topics".. The justification is that my opinions about
sound, lame as they may be, can be no worse than those of the authors
of the best-selling Penguin Guides to recorded music. Messrs Layton,
March and Greenfield of the illustrious "Grammophone" seem to me to
listen through the Olde Englishe mantelpiece radios. Their judgements
about sound are best followed in reverse. If they object it probably
is the best.. But I'm well aware of the weakness of subjective
preferences. You've been warned.

Here goes my latest. The matchless duo of Pearlman
and Barenboim playing complete Mozart's violin (and piano) sonatas on
four D.G. Cds. The sound is OK but not something to be enthusiastic
about- it is DG. after all but the performance matches the content.

Next an Lp bought for 1.29 (Canadian) in a flea
-market second hand store. Bach's unaccompanied cello suites on CBS
Masterworks 1983 recording. I'll try to locate the cd (should be one in
1983) for comparison but the LP is superb. I commented recently on
wonderful sound of Janos Starker playing the same on a CD. This if
anything is better and Yo Yo Ma makes it sound almost too easy.
Ludovic Mirabel

[Jenn]

In article . com>,
"Bret Ludwig" > wrote:

> wrote:
> > I must say that I'm writing down my impressions
> > diffidently. I'm neither a musician nor a music critic. Take anything I
> > say with a big bag of salt. If you disagree let me and the forum know.
> >
> > I have a motive and a justification. The motive is:
> > to try and get this forum back to audio.and give a change from the
> > endless "other topics".. The justification is that my opinions about
> > sound, lame as they may be, can be no worse than those of the authors
> > of the best-selling Penguin Guides to recorded music. Messrs Layton,
> > March and Greenfield of the illustrious "Grammophone" seem to me to
> > listen through the Olde Englishe mantelpiece radios. Their judgements
> > about sound are best followed in reverse. If they object it probably
> > is the best.. But I'm well aware of the weakness of subjective
> > preferences. You've been warned.
> >
>
> All my friends who are very knowedgeable classical enthusiasts believe
> that the current generation of musicians, with a few exceptions, are
> not up to the standards established before WWII.

I would agree up to a point. I think that the best of the past are
generally better than the over-hyped classical stars of the present
(with exceptions, of course.) I think that the overall quality of a
DEEP pool of fine performers reached its peak (so far) probably in the
80s. In my view, the quality of music education in this country then
started to deteriorate and continues to do so today, though there are
signs of improvement. There are more fine young (17-25) performers
today than there has been in 15 years or so. Whether they fulfill their
potential remains to be seen.

> Most of them think
> Toscanini was the greatest conductor ever to record (one favors
> Furtwangler)

If the "letter of the law" is your cup of tea, AT is hard to beat. That
doesn't happen to be my priority, either in performing or in listening
for enjoyment.

[[email protected]]

Bret Ludwig wrote:
> wrote:
> > I must say that I'm writing down my impressions
> > diffidently. I'm neither a musician nor a music critic. Take anything I
> > say with a big bag of salt. If you disagree let me and the forum know.
> >
> > I have a motive and a justification. The motive is:
> > to try and get this forum back to audio.and give a change from the
> > endless "other topics".. The justification is that my opinions about
> > sound, lame as they may be, can be no worse than those of the authors
> > of the best-selling Penguin Guides to recorded music. Messrs Layton,
> > March and Greenfield of the illustrious "Grammophone" seem to me to
> > listen through the Olde Englishe mantelpiece radios. Their judgements
> > about sound are best followed in reverse. If they object it probably
> > is the best.. But I'm well aware of the weakness of subjective
> > preferences. You've been warned.
> >
>
> All my friends who are very knowedgeable classical enthusiasts believe
> that the current generation of musicians, with a few exceptions, are
> not up to the standards established before WWII. Most of them think
> Toscanini was the greatest conductor ever to record (one favors
> Furtwangler) and most further think the sound of the Cremona violins
> the orchestras favor the use of (for penis size display reasons now and
> probably then-indeed,even Bob Wills emphasized his fiddler had one!)
> are not as good today as they were in the last century.
>
> Therefore they only listen to music recorded between the mid-30s (but
> mostly after 1945) and say 1965 or so. They believe it was in that
> twenty or so year period that high standards for musicality coincided
> with the technical prowess and equipment design that enabled the best
> recordings to be made.
>
> The question becomes then, the best way to listen to those
> performances today. Modern CD, highbit, or period vinyl?

================================

I can not talk from personal experience about Toscanini. The recordings
(mostly mono) I heard did not impress me so I may have missed the merit
of that legendary conductor. I heard Furtwangler conducting once. I
think it was one oof Bethoven's symphonies and the audience inclufing
me, if any thing biased against him because he stayed in Nazi Germany,
gave him an unprecedented standing ovation. From that to say that they
were unmatched since is a rether long step I'm not qualiofied to take.

I agree that some of the late fifties and sixties LPS (London, RCA,
some Columbias) reached the peak of the recording art. It seems to me
also that as the recording gimmicks multiplied the standards went down.
Talking to friends in the industry I gained the impression that not a
few engineers manipulate the recording to suit what they believe the
great uinwashed will like. The standards of early cds. did not help
either.

Having said that I doubt if the era of great performers is over. To me
Perahia, Pearlman, Barenboim, Yo Yo Ma (at times), John Ogdon in
Busoni's Concerto, seem to be great enough.

As the young turn away from serious music the standards may crumble.
Hardly anyone below middle age to be seen at Vancouver Symphony
concerts.
Ludovic Mirabel
Ludovic Mirabel