Forums - Classical Music Thread

CAJames

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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1150 - 11/29/25 at 15:30:38

Monteverdi's Vespro della beata Vergine aka 1610 Vespers, is hugely important music. Both to the Western Classical Tradition^tm but apparently also in the life of John Eliot Gardiner. At the time it was composed it was a technical and stylistic tour de force of unprecedented scope and scale. A revolution comparable to Beethoven's Eroica or Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. It pretty much invented Baroque music.

For JEG, properly Sir JEG, it was the piece that began his journey to become one of the most influential classical musicians of the last half century. I'm not a fan of everything, or maybe even most things he does, but he has also made a lot of excellent and thought provoking recordings and his Vespro from the late 80s is outstanding in every way.

16/44 FLAC download

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CAJames

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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1151 - 11/29/25 at 20:09:33

At the top of a new page and the latest installment of the Beethoven Symphony Round Robin. The mighty Eroica, no. 3. Andre Cluytens is one of the least appreciated great conductors of the 20th century in my book. But he was thought of well enough to land the gig conducting both the first complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies recorded by the Berlin Philharmonic, and the first stereo Beethoven recordings of that orchestra. All of his Beethoven is great, but he really makes all the different aspects of the Eroica come to life.

DSD rip from Tower Japan SACD

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Dominick Seasoned Member Still like that old time Rock and Roll!! Posts: 1483	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1152 - Yesterday at 14:07:00 Fighting a sinus infection so I was up early this morning. Decided to run my Grado’s this morning with my Schiit Bifrost and the Vali 3. I was searching the Deutsche Grammaphon label, and landed on this album with Yuja Wang whom I am a big fan of.
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CAJames

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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1153 - Yesterday at 16:00:46

Sorry about the sinuses Dom. I don't know that recording, but do know those pieces and I'm a big fan of all of them. Bach, Beethoven and Brahms (the 3 Bs) wrote the "great" cello sonatas, but Rachmaninoff's is as great as any of them. Also great is Chopin's, which IMO doesn't get nearly enough attention.

16/44 FLAC download.

Maria Joao Pires is famous for her Chopin so no surprise that her account of the cello sonata is outstanding.

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Dominick

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Still like that old
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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1154 - Yesterday at 22:53:19

Quote:

Sorry about the sinuses Dom. I don't know that recording, but do know those pieces and I'm a big fan of all of them. Bach, Beethoven and Brahms (the 3 Bs) wrote the "great" cello sonatas, but Rachmaninoff's is as great as any of them. Also great is Chopin's, which IMO doesn't get nearly enough attention.

Thanks… I made the best out of a crappy situation and enjoy some critical listening. Thanks to yours truly…I have expanded my appreciation for Rachmaninov.

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CAJames

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red light on memory
lane."

Posts: 2920

Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1155 - Today at 01:45:12

I would say Rachmaninoff is best known for his piano concertos and symphonies, which are nice enough. But my favorite pieces are the Cello Sonata and Vespers, about which I have posted several times. And I prefer some of his tone poems, like the moody Isle of the Dead to his better known orchestral works. So if you want to hear Isle of the Dead you can't do any better than Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony, which is true of pretty much everything they recorded for RCA Living Stereo.

On CD

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