stunsworth Posted August 6, 2006 Share #101 Posted August 6, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Yes, but I didn't say that Argerich's Rach 3 is necessarily the best one played but the best one overall. I can't see a recording from the late 1950's have better sonic engineering than the recordings from the 1970's and 1980's. Sorry but the engineering and restoration can't match up to a higher quality recording at the 1st time than say, a Marston remake here. Actually Alfie the period from the mid to late fifties to the late 60s was a golden age of audio engineering. Listen to almost any Decca or EMI recoding from that period and you'll hear what I mean. Yes there's more tape hiss, but the fidelity of the recordings is very, very good. EMI and Decca generally used very different microphone techniques - this is a generalisation, but EMI went for a Blumlein crossed pair of figure of 8 microphones, while Decca used a 'Christmas tree' of omni directional microphones. The effect of this - and yes, this is a generalisation again, is that the Decca recordings give a more 'in your face' sound with exceptional bass and high frequencies, the EMI recordings have you in a good seat in the hall with a more distant presentation. One thing they do lack is the 'glassy' sound that seems to plague many digital recordings. I believe that Mercury and RCA of the same period from the US have a similar reputation. Personally I've always found the Mercury recordings too close, but that could well be down to the equipment I use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 6, 2006 Posted August 6, 2006 Hi stunsworth, Take a look here Musical preference. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
albertwang Posted August 6, 2006 Share #102 Posted August 6, 2006 Indeed, the balance of sound is very important. I dislike in your face recording which is popular nowadays especially with opera recordings. Digital is good but the problem it is too crisp. I still prefer the warm sound of recordings from the 1960's and 1970's... By the way, Carlos Kleiber is awesome. I can't believe that people don't enjoy him ... of course I would champion Helene Grimaud and Lang Lang on occasion too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gberger Posted August 6, 2006 Share #103 Posted August 6, 2006 Agree! Carlos Kleiber's recordings of the Beethoven V and Brahms IV are absolutely "The Gold Standards" although some will claim that the Reiner Brahms IV is better. George (The Old Fud) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertwang Posted August 6, 2006 Share #104 Posted August 6, 2006 Actually, I would add that I'm big on Russian pop music. Lately I've been listening to T.A.T.U. and Irina Dubtsova. In fact, I am excited to visit the country in 2008! I would like to add that I absolutely hate Simon Rattle. I saw him conduct on occasion with the Philly Orchestra and he is rather flamboyant. He ruins Mahler and he makes Bernstein look very unflashy by comparison. In fact, I love Eugene Ormandy. His conducting is just perfect on many pieces. And the consummate human being. He is always respected in Philly where I used to live. Eschenbach is alright. I would leave or take him on occasion. By the way, on my jazz tastes I would like to add Bill Evans. I think that everything he played turned to gold. He is very much the Glenn Gould of jazz music. Very understated and full of joyful heart. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
echogallery Posted August 7, 2006 Share #105 Posted August 7, 2006 Amazing thread. Sorry to arrive so late. Okay, how's this: John Mayall - 1960's British blues musician; helped the careers of many notable Rockers. Anyone remember "California" or "Room to Move?" Aztec Two-Step - 1970's folk duo. Fantastic harmonies and imaginative lyrics from literature and the belated "beat" crowd. Never really made it past the club scene but there's a couple of recording that made it to CD. Gershwin - Any of the later, serious work. Classicals - Copeland, Ravel, Glass Gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcraig Posted August 7, 2006 Share #106 Posted August 7, 2006 My daughter's debut album "Street Child" featuring Slash from Velvet Revolver and Guns N' Roses, plus guest appearances from David Immergluck (Counting Crows), Grammy Award winner and Beck producer Brian Paulson and Grammy Award winning engineer Jeff "The Pirate" Poe (Santana, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and Madonna) among other distinguished guests. Also her newest album "London Express" hit the top ten in a number of countries on several continents. Just this last weekend, the video to the second single hit Number One on Telehit in Latin America and Spain. All her music thus far has been written in English. I had the pleasure of shooting the cover to latest album "London Express" with my M7 and a Nocti. Her name is Elan. The music is available on her website and on iTunes as well as most major music portals. Her web site is ELAN Official Website I hope you like it. Regards, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertwang Posted August 7, 2006 Share #107 Posted August 7, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Sounds cool. So is Elan a British version of Jewel/Dido type of music? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcraig Posted August 7, 2006 Share #108 Posted August 7, 2006 Thanks. I've heard the comparison with Dido and Jewel many times. She presented Dido once in Miami at the Latin MTV awards. I've heard so many statements as to similarities, possibly the Editor in Chief of Sountrack Magazine can help me here. He said: ".... “Street Child,” revealed an outstanding assortment music that was a kind of semblance of Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt, Martina McBride, Cat Stevens and a few other notable influences, yet carried within a refreshing originality all its own. Elan’s voice proffered a husky and resonant articulation, with captivating song-writing skills that went beyond the simple verse-verse-chorus vibes of most modern divas; Elan was something different entirely – a powerful songwriter whose songs were intensely honest works that were raw and full of soul. She wasn’t just singing songs – she had something to say, and said it with a relentless intensity. The album was full of confident passion, songs that surged forth in insistent tsunamis of dramatic provocation. Her second album, “London Express”, goes even further in its song-writing and its performance. One review I read aptly described it as “gorgeous, soulful, and empathetic blues rock,” which I feel puts it very well. I will add only that it is by far one of the best albums I’ve heard all year. I am simply blown away by both of these albums, which carry an impact and an import one rarely encounters in today’s pop musical landscape. The “London Express” finds its roots in the music of The Beatles, which Elan has described as “the only band that really changed everything.” Elan has adopted rhythmic patterns and textures and recording techniques from the British Invasion of the 1960s and crafted her own tribute to British rock, yet stamped with her own unique signature and poetry....." Regards, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertwang Posted August 7, 2006 Share #109 Posted August 7, 2006 Sounds good. I will check out her album at Virgin megastore later on then Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leica_mage Posted August 7, 2006 Share #110 Posted August 7, 2006 Agree! Carlos Kleiber's recordings of the Beethoven V and Brahms IV are absolutely "The Gold Standards" although some will claim that the Reiner Brahms IV is better. George (The Old Fud) 'Gold Standards', especially in the Beethoven V - and given its recording and performance history - is way too exaggerated an accolade, as far as I'm concerned. Yes, it's good, perhaps even very good, definitely exciting, but Kleiber Jr. was only a talented conductor who made the best of the moment. Beyond that, he was superficial and whimsical. He basically conducted with his teeth. Watch his rehearsal DVD and you'll see what I mean. His Brahms Fourth is far better, but even that could never lay claim to being a... 'gold standard'. Giulini in his now nla LAPO recording is infinitely more nuanced, and let's not forget two riveting Brahmsians, Furtwängler and the younger Toscanini... But one thing I do not doubt: he was a very sensitive man, and that's why he kept out of the concert hall and recording studio as much as he possibly could. That I respect. Best, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnPirat Posted August 7, 2006 Share #111 Posted August 7, 2006 that's cool: Sarah Vaughan : "Fever" (Adam Freelander Remix) (look on "Verve today 2005") K@y Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcastelli Posted August 7, 2006 Share #112 Posted August 7, 2006 Any form of the blues; I love the compact story that a good blues song weaves - The Rolling Stones (#1), CSNY, classical music, no opera, some jazz, etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertwang Posted August 7, 2006 Share #113 Posted August 7, 2006 Albert King is way awesome. I really enjoy some good blues whenever I can, you know? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gberger Posted August 8, 2006 Share #114 Posted August 8, 2006 K.P. - If you think selecting a "gold standard" for Beetoven V is problematical, just try and select the best recording of Beethoven IX. Szell, Karajan 1, Karajan II, Toscanini, etc. My personal favorite is the Szell. I remember someone in the earlier years remarking that for a conductor to lead any orchestra and chorus in Beethoven IX was akin to practicing brain surgery on a kitchen table. I agree. George (The Old Fud) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisweeks Posted August 8, 2006 Share #115 Posted August 8, 2006 iron maiden, sabbath and italian pop music. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raizans Posted August 8, 2006 Share #116 Posted August 8, 2006 mainly bauhaus, joy division, gary numan, kraftwerk, lydia lunch, the cramps, nick cave, mississippi john hurt, furry lewis, elizabeth cotten...also been getting into italo disco (digital emotion, miko mission, ken laszlo, silver pozzoli). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leica_mage Posted August 8, 2006 Share #117 Posted August 8, 2006 K.P. - If you think selecting a "gold standard" for Beetoven V is problematical, just try and select the best recording of Beethoven IX. Szell, Karajan 1, Karajan II, Toscanini, etc. My personal favorite is the Szell. George (The Old Fud) Szell is indeed remarkable. The Old Man you can forget in I (Philharmonia), II (BPO 1962/3), III (BPO 1977) and IV (BPO 1982/3), as well as the much-flaunted Vienna version and the filmed stuff - at least as far as I'm concerned. The problem is that the work is terribly disparate: all four movements are entirely different in character between themselves. The choral movement is above all very easy to mess up, as you know (kitchen table indeed!). Toscanini is riveting, especially in the Buenos Aires recording. But for me, four recordings tower above the rest: 1.Furt with Vienna on 30.05.1953 (I am certain they were in a trance during the closing bars!) and Klemperer with the New Philharmonia on 27.10.1964 at the top, 3. Furt with Berlin on 22.03.1942 (daemonic tympani in the fourth movement!) and 4. the Fricsay BPO recording, which is the only one to fully unlock the mysteries of the main part of the choral section. Apart from that, the only man who seems to have unlocked the mysteries of the second movement was Celi. And he explains it on one of the films, during rehearsal. Having said that, the greatest Ninth I have ever heard in the concert hall was under Baremboim with his Staatskapelle in 2000. I lost two kilos crying, something which happens exceedingly rarely. Furthermore, I never expected it from that man: he had got me used to mediocre interpretations, both at the keyboard and as a conductor. But his live Ninth and his live Rite of Spring... and his Tristan... and his Meistersinger... and his Parsifal (all live)... I was blown away. He is very great, and at his worst in his recordings. Tja!... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gberger Posted August 8, 2006 Share #118 Posted August 8, 2006 K.P. Well, one thing about Baremboim - - he certainly loves string players <g>. I treasure the Du Pre Dvorak Cello Concerto she made with him. Mutter??? George (The Old Fud) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertwang Posted August 8, 2006 Share #119 Posted August 8, 2006 Add Zero 7 to the list. In fact, I use their albums to test all of my stereo equipment since their music uses the full range of tones. Great music to lounge to. Yes, finally, another person who knows who Bill Evans is. This Thursday I'm headed to a live Soulive concert and I'm actually bringing my Contax NX to it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leica_mage Posted August 8, 2006 Share #120 Posted August 8, 2006 K.P. Well, one thing about Baremboim - - he certainly loves string players <g>. I treasure the Du Pre Dvorak Cello Concerto she made with him. Mutter??? George (The Old Fud) Mutter ist ja leider keine Mutter... Seriously though, here's a personality that bounces all over. From rock-bottom to stellar - even within the same recording project! (cf. latest Mozart Violin Concertos). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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