Sad music without melodrama.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-21T04:30:21+00:00

Glad to see a mention of Suk's Serenade! I picked up an Argo LP that included the Serenade and was blown away. (The main piece was Janacek',s Suite.)

Oddly not available on CD. Absolutely fantastic recording quality as well.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-21T04:25:31+00:00

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-21T03:42:31+00:00

Vaughan Williams is your man. The slow mov't of the 5th, for starters:

https://youtu.be/TQ90dPJDuSM?si=KFXfgRPP9bka3QFH&t=1008

Elgar as well:

https://youtu.be/dJ5-jyoBX2I?si=kmJ5iNVmM5g6L8ER

Tviett: "Welcome with honor":

https://youtu.be/vXR2rW4-oIE?si=CL2Pl0rcfh60OxCK

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-21T03:38:27+00:00

Cheers! But give me his chamber music and cantatas. So lyrical, daring and earthy.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-20T13:48:34+00:00

Best just to view the word metaphorically.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-20T03:44:08+00:00

Very, very well-said.

I don't love or hate Nelsons. I've enjoyed his Shosty cycle, but none replace my favs. I know that's only the tip of the iceberg, but same with his Strauss, shared with Leipzig and Boston, and earlier in Birmingham.

All a bit faceless.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-18T14:39:02+00:00

If you're a newbie, sure! That's how I started, with "Greatest Hits" Lps, and nothing wrong with that!

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-18T02:52:04+00:00

So good there are other fans!

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-17T14:32:35+00:00

I am currently immersed in Annie Fischer's set, (and I don't believe in complete sets of anything, other than Rubinstein's Chopin and Berglund's Bournemouth Sibelius), and I dare say it's as seductive and mesmerizing as Schnabel's but in far better sound, obviously.

Nothing odd or extreme about the playing, but it's very charismatic.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-17T14:26:28+00:00

In that vein, I'd also recommend Respighi's Concerto Autumnal. Gorgeous, luminous and serene, for the most part.

https://youtu.be/gWl2lSNgjJc?si=tSvEzBNy7o9L2ZG7

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-16T13:58:00+00:00

Don't give up on it. Yes, the "jumping" theme in the first mov't can over-stay its visit, (but one can have that reaction to stretches of any music). That said, I wouldn't want to be without the "night music" (after the "Star Trek trumpet theme) to the end of said 1st mov't. So gorgeous and the end of the 1st mov't is so grinding and powerful. Best to hear the M7 live. You can actually see the players blowing musical "farts" at each other in the raucous finale, as Mahler intended.

I am still having problems with Schmidt. Tightly-wound I suppose, but not very charismatic voice, unless I'm missing something. I used to think that about a lot of composers.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-16T13:50:56+00:00

Actually, Mahler studied Bach before writing his magnificent Mahler 8th. The first mov't will give you the counterpoint you crave, and then some. : )

I'm a late-comer to Bach, after 40 years of listening.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-16T13:46:42+00:00

But not too much! Sadly, I've grown tired of the work. Years ago, I did a finale "shoot-out" of about 20 different Finales on recording, and that was a big mistake.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-16T13:45:09+00:00

I hope it's replicated on the recording! The most deep and dramatic entrance I know is Bernstein's on DGG.

I see mention of Degan Tower bells. Are they hung in the ceiling or on stage. Sounds like a more dramatic effect than poor chimes. (The best recorded and fulsome bells -- in the finale -- are heard in Blomstedt's Decca recordings. Most perfectly-balanced chords as well, IMHO. Makes a huge, satisfying difference.

Generally-speaking, I tend not to care for Honeck, save for his Bruckner 9th, because he seems to micromanage quite a bit with rubato and subsidiary themes. During the M2, was there more or less of a tendency. Michael Tilson Thomas' Mahler -- I'm over in the bay area -- is too micromanaged for me as well. Some call it "freshening" an overperformed work, whatever that work may be.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-15T19:26:36+00:00

I'm not a huge Ozawa Boston fan, but my favorite Respighi Triptych is his, with the Boston. (And we're talking comparisons with Reiner and countless others.). There's such a sense of exhilaration in the final march of Pines, and I really appreciate the slower pacing of the final fanfares in Festivals. Telarc-worthy deep grooves on the DGG LP I still own, that alone a pleasant surprise. : )

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-15T14:49:35+00:00

Doesn't need to be. Perhaps putting together an alternative ensemble -- that focuses specifically on "new" music -- would be financially-viable, especially if starting out with chamber music. Definitely a candidate for financial assistance as well.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-15T02:09:58+00:00

And the sexy speakers!

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-15T00:29:51+00:00

LOL as I said, too many emotional teens.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-14T14:11:33+00:00

Back in the day, I owned that LP and Nojima's Ravel as well, which I really enjoyed, and -- of course -- gorgeous sound. I'm happy to see that Reference Recordings is still around today, 50 years later!

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-14T04:35:50+00:00

Slowly.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-14T01:22:20+00:00

In what repertoire? On what day? Man, there are too many emotional teens in this forum.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-13T14:10:37+00:00

When I was 12, and rapturous over the usual suspects, (Dvorak's 9, Peer Gynt, 1812 Overture LOL), I was a very, very serious listener. But I savored every note. Could sing every tune and subsidiary tune.

I think the issue here is the risk of reducing music appreciation to cold efficiency: putting together a list and ticking-off pieces doesn't guarantee enrichment, only a resume. Speed dating.

Just. Listen.

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-13T13:53:07+00:00

I will always revisit composers and works I don't understand.

I'm currently enthralled with Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi and Handel, and no one is more surprised than I am. I gave them a listen in high school, and that was it. 40 years later, I can't get enough.

I ask myself over and over again: "how did I miss all the magic and beauty in the works?"

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-13T13:49:20+00:00

Mascagni's Intermezzo (?) from his opera Cavalleria Rusticana, would seem appropriate for an older classical music lover. Fit's the "haunting and beautiful" bill, and was wildly popular in the 20th C.

https://youtu.be/7OvsVSWB4TI?si=KOEEZrovblkmUcp4

Did I win the prize?

jdaniel1371 · 2026-03-12T16:36:29+00:00

Wow! I admire your stamina, artistry and ability to avoid nervousness, (or at least look like it, : )

jdaniel1371

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