Thread: Latest Purchases

Huh, it's been a while since I've been here...well, here I am again.

I've been listening to a lot of Tennstedt's recordings lately, and I figured I might as well get his Mahler cycle, which in its latest repackaging has 4 (!) bonus discs: live recordings of the 5th, 6th, and 7th symphonies, which EMI had released some time ago but allowed to go out of print shortly thereafter.

Looks like I'll be performing some of these; I looked over the scores to some of them, and while they're all extremely difficult, some of them are actually within my grasp, so I'm getting the only recording of all 24 preludes for solo viola by Casimir Ney:



Eric Shumsky, viola

Preludes 1, 2, and 4 are the primary ones I'm looking at (even though the score assures me that they are not arranged by difficulty; I doubt that somewhat). They're difficult, but they focus on a confined set of techniques that I like to think I'm good at (number 1, for example (C major), focuses on 3rds and 10ths as well as maintaining a line using very little bow (some of the slurs in these preludes are really long; sometimes the editor puts in an optional bow change)).

So, yeah. These are more fun than I though they would be.

Some dirt cheap CDs on sale.



This small picture = Mozart symphonies #40, #41. Marc Minkowski and his period instrument band.

@ harpsichord concerto - all looks good; also recently heard mr minkowski's work, excellent. described my experience listening to his bizet on my blog, check it out if you're interested in his "take" on romantic musics.

today, got this disc of music by chinese composer qigang chen. that makes my "tally" of chinese composers a grand total of TWO - i also have one of the huang ruo naxos discs, but he lives in the usa. among the musicians on this disc is yo-yo ma playing one of chen's cello concertos...

Originally Posted by presto

That Kremer / Piazzolla disc is an absolute winner.

My goodness you were absolutely right about this.

Originally Posted by HarpsichordConcerto

A favorite of mine.

$1 ea.

Got this on special -

"Swagman's Promenade" - Australian Light Classics (ABC Classics 2 disc set)
Various Aussie composers - eg. Colin Brumby, Arthur Benjamin, John Carmichael, Miriam Hyde, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, etc.
(Full details HERE at Australian Music Centre).

So I just stumbled across this and decided to download it. My first St. Matthew.



Bach: St. Matthew Passion (with some cuts)
Wilhelm Furtwängler, Vienna Philharmonic

If Klemperer and Mengelberg are monolithic, this recording is almost exact opposite. It's a performance of extremely intimate dimensions, very sparse-sounding and with such broad tempi at times that time literally seems to stand still. I haven't listened to the whole thing yet; I'll probably do that on Saturday. The sound is very good, 1950's EMI, the orchestra is wonderful, the soloists unfortunately have a lot of vibrato, but that's only a small thing compared to how wonderful it sounds so far. Furtwängler at his most inward.

Nabbed secondhand -

Peter Thomas - Futuremusik
This guy (originally a pianist) was apparently big on the post-war German scene, did a lot of work for television, this album is a mix of electronic, recorded, orchestral & jazz musics -

The Demonic Liszt - Earl Wild