Forums - Classical Music Thread

CAJames Seasoned Member Online "I've run every red light on memory lane." Posts: 3359	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1350 - 08/21/26 at 21:19:22 Herbert Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony play Sibelius' majestic 5th symphony to something near perfection. Aided as usual by Decca's demonstration quality recording. On CD.
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CAJames Seasoned Member Online "I've run every red light on memory lane." Posts: 3359	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1351 - 08/22/26 at 21:25:58 If I were a virtuoso pianist, I think I'd want to play Bach like Glenn Gould. Not so much because his Bach is my favorite, although it is certainly a favorite, but because it is constantly changing. On CD I was enjoying some of the English Suites.
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Lon Seasoned Member Online "Love without guts is worthless!" Philip K. Dick Posts: 28760 Munson Township, OH	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1352 - 08/23/26 at 00:23:56 Yes, I'm a Gould fan, though not a Bach fan, still I enjoy having this box set: Glenn Gould - The Goldberg Variations - The Complete Unreleased Recording Sessions June 1955
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CAJames Seasoned Member Online "I've run every red light on memory lane." Posts: 3359	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1353 - 08/24/26 at 03:11:53 Igor Levit's recording of Mendelssohn's Lieder Ohne Worte was his response to raising anti-Semitism. And it is deeply moving, with or without the back story. On CD.
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CAJames

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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1354 - 08/24/26 at 20:05:52

Another page, another Beethoven symphony, seven.

If Herbert Kegel and the Dresdner Philharmoniker have a name at all, it is for modern music. However their Beethoven is unapologetically old school and excellent, esp. the 7th. Capriccio does a great job capturing the winds and low strings, and the final movement is exciting as heck.

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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1355 - 08/26/26 at 15:38:08

One of the bits of trivial you might pick up in music class is that the piano is considered a percussion instrument because the strings are hit by a hammer while a harpsichord is a string instrument because the strings are plucked. Then there is the lute-harpsichord where the strings are made of gut rather than metal, and it sounds a lot like...you guessed it... a lute.

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The lute-harpsichord is not my favorite thing on the menu, but I'll order it once in a while when the mood strikes.

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CAJames Seasoned Member Online "I've run every red light on memory lane." Posts: 3359	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1356 - 08/28/26 at 22:44:45 Brahms' autumnal late piano pieces, beautifully played by Stephen Hough. 16/44 FLAC download
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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1357 - 08/29/26 at 22:07:27

In 1947, while Europe was digging out from under the rubble of WWII, the Philadelphia Orchestra was making phenomenal recordings, like the evergreen showpiece Scheherazade. The recording is in excellent mono, and while it isn't in the same league as Reiner's RCA recording a decade or so later, the playing and performance are every bit a match.

On CD from the Ormandy/Philadelphia mono box.

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CAJames Seasoned Member Online "I've run every red light on memory lane." Posts: 3359	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1358 - 08/31/26 at 02:02:04 "Elagiac" isn't exactly the right word for a lazy Sunday afternoon, but it isn't too far off. And Maisky Mischa's CD of Rachmaninov, Elegie, is a nice soundtrack. On CD
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CAJames Seasoned Member Online "I've run every red light on memory lane." Posts: 3359	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1359 - 08/31/26 at 20:31:35 Bruckner's Symphony no. 7 is thrilling in both it's loudness and quietness. Esp. the way the Münchner Philharmoniker and Sergiu Celibidache play it. On CD from the Celibidache/Munich/Bruckner box.
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CAJames Seasoned Member Online "I've run every red light on memory lane." Posts: 3359	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1360 - 09/01/26 at 19:48:43 I don't know the back story for Ottorino Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances, beyond they were originally for the lute. Like all the Respighi I know, this isn't "great" music, but it is a fun listen, and the Mercury Living Presence recording sound state-of-the-air, in spite of being almost 70 years old. On CD
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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1361 - 09/02/26 at 22:01:14

The 1954 Munch/Boston/RCA recording of Ravel's Daphnis et Chole was one of the first stereo recordings ever made of anything, and it remains pretty much much sans pareil. I'm guessing it has been recorded at least a hundred times since, but the combination of the Boston Symphonies superhuman playing, Charles Munch's suave interpretation and RCA's Living Stereo recording remain-state-of-the art 70+ years later.

DSD rip from SACD

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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1362 - 09/03/26 at 22:34:15

Listening to Mahler's gigantic 3rd Symphony is a major commitment, and not just because it is very long. It is also a musical exploration of nature, man and the Devine. Or, to put a bow on it, all of creation. And it is a very rewarding way to spend almost 2 hours.

On CD

Giuseppe Sinopoli was one of the first riders on the "Mahler Train" that left the station with the introduction of the CD. His Mahler is a bit of a mixed bag, but I always found his Third very enjoyable.

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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1363 - 09/04/26 at 20:17:02

I love the music of Georg Friedrich Händel, pass the candle. He wrote some of the most popular and recognizable (classic) music every written by anyone, like the Water Music. He wrote a lot of other great stuff that is not as well known, but that is for a different post.

On CD

The early digital recordings Delos made of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra are some the best recordings I own, both musically and sonically.

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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1364 - 09/06/26 at 02:43:53

I'm going to go out on a limb and say no one could write choruses like Handel. Everyone knows the Hallelujah Chorus, which is great, but only the tip of the greatness iceberg. If you like it you might try Handel's Israel in Egypt which is an hour plus of great chorus after great chorus.

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The Sixteen record the oratorio which only a handful of singers and instrumentalists. But the singing, and playing, and recording are all so good the overall effect is breathtaking.

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CAJames Seasoned Member Online "I've run every red light on memory lane." Posts: 3359	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1365 - 09/07/26 at 02:47:43 Enjoying Beethoven-Liszt's 2nd Symphony from the Leslie Howard/Hyperion recording. This is simply a great way to experience this great music. 16/44 FLAC download
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Lon Seasoned Member Online "Love without guts is worthless!" Philip K. Dick Posts: 28760 Munson Township, OH	Re: Classical Music Thread Reply #1366 - 09/07/26 at 10:40:43 I agree--great transcriptions and performances.
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Re: Classical Music Thread
Reply #1367 - Today at 17:30:01

Edvard Grieg was one of the great miniaturists of music, even though he is probably best known for his piano concerto and the incidental music he wrote for Ibsen's play Peer Gynt. Most of his output was piano music, and much of that is based on Norwegian, or Nordic folk songs. For example his Op. 66 19 Norwegian Folk Songs from the BIS Complete Grieg piano music.

On CD.

This is great collection for anyone who loves piano music.

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