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I'm listening to all the tracks with Arthur Rubenstein. This set is at the top of my favorite purchases from last year.

 

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Schubert, Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished)

Remembering Furtwangler's birthday with the Unfinished, from 1948 with the Berlin Philharmonic, featuring what John Ardoin calls "an overriding concern for the music's melodic content."

 

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Bruckner, Symphony No. 4

 

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View attachment 149657 currently on CD 13

I'm looking for a Mahler cycle that will rekindle the flame. That set has been tormenting me as a possible purchase for a few years. And when I do searches on vendors' sites, I can never remember how to spell that guy's name. Tennstedt. Why couldn't he just be named Smith or Jones?

 

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Dvorak, Serenade for Winds

I've had this box for a while and haven't explored much beyond the symphonies and concertos, so I appreciate David Hurwitz's enthusiastic YouTube review to spur me into paying more attention to what's in here.

 

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Sibelius, Symphony No. 7

 

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Mahler, Symphony No. 4

 

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Gombert, Credo for 8

I think this is outstanding. The choir is well-blended, and the acoustic isn't so reverberant that the details get lost. I suppose purists would prefer one to a part with individual, distinctive voices. But for those who aren't that persnickety, this group is so in sync that they sound like one person.

 

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John Harbison, Snow Country

I don't listen to this recording that much, but it's the first snowfall of the year out here, so Snow Country seems appropriate.

 

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Debussy, Suite bergamasque

I was listening to a recording of Debussy playing Clair de Lune, and it's remarkable how he does it differently from most people. I pulled out Gieseking to confirm it, and it's true. I guess everyone thinks Debussy got it wrong.

 

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Beethoven, 32 Variations on an Original Theme, Piano Sonata No. 1

I'm revisiting this set after too long. I just noticed it's on sale for about half price at ClassicSelectWorld. I remember this as being a fine set of recordings, especially his complete Beethoven cycle.

View attachment 149842

 

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Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto


Fricsay with the RIAS Orchestra in 1949. The sound is pretty thin, and the orchestra at times has problems keeping together. Menuhin's violin has a stridency, which may be the fault of the recording. Other than that, it's - well, Menhuin is a skilled player, but overall, there are other recordings of this piece which would probably be a better use of your time. Of course, I could be wrong.

 

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Delius, Piano Concerto

 

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Delius, Violin Sonata No. 1

 

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Schubert, Piano Sonata in B Flat Major, D960

 

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Mozart, Late Symphonies

 

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Bartok, Piano Concerto No. 3

I was watching an old Frank Zappa video, and it started out quoting L'Histoire du Soldat, and later he claimed it also quoted Bartok's 3rd Concerto. It bothered me that I didn't recognize it, so I'm going back to school today.

 

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Schoenberg, Piano Concerto

A lot of people are listening to Pollini's recording, so I need to jump in the pool

 

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Schoenberg, Violin Concerto

 

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Roussel, Symphony No. 2