Classical Music for Aficionados

@rvpiano     A true one off. Incomparable !!

I would like to say that Claudio Arrau and Vladimir Horowitz were fully up to and in certain ways passed Moravec with their playing. As far as Arrau is concerned you only have to look on Idagio at the moment and he is playing the 4 Ballades and the 4 Scherzi. which was a stupendous disc when it came out at first. I went through a couple of LPs by constantly playing them. It was so strange for a lot of people to believe that a South American who trained in the Germanic tradition could play Chopin so well. He had a repertoire that ranged from Bach to Schoenberg. His Debussy was beautifully liquid and his rubatos were wonderful. And now of course we have Mr Horowitz who I think got better as he got older and thank goodness he still had a reasonable technique left to give us some wonderful recordings for us to savour. Get your wallet out !!!

@jcazador    

Hi Jeremy,

I have looked for the recording you mentioned but cannot find it on Idagio. I have consolidated my streaming now , I have given up Qobuz because of this dammed decision to play music by female composers, before any of you jump on me I have not got it in for female musicians or composers in fact my third favourite pianist is Martha Argerich so I am just saying that I am fed up with each month taken up by lesser musicians so I stopped Qobuz. What I will ay there is a disc with Yuya Wang and a cellist ( forget his name ) doing the rounds and she is playing Rachmaninov and it is really special. I would have a look out for it if I was you as I am sure you will enjoy it . Another very special female musician is Maria Joao P Pires which at the moment I am listening to her Chopin - Piano Concerto No 1, It is absolutely beautiful as is all things from her.

@jim5559 

Have a listen on You tube to Khatia playing the Schubert / Liszt Standchen and before you blast the head of me Liszt only arranged it and what a wonderful job he made of it. Give it a shot she makes a beautiful job of it. Jim.

@jim5559 

I think as you do he was a truly great conductor.

@jcazador 

Jeremy, that was a really good article on Moravec I really enjoyed it. It shows you the power that some high flying conductors really had, they could destroy a career at the stroke of a pen. I am glad he kept his integrity intact. He really was a superb pianist and yes I do love his Chopin Nocturnes ( Up there with Arrau and Pires for me ). Take care , Jim.

PS I am listening to James Ehnes's take on The Sonatas and Partita's for solo violin By my hero , JS Bach, absolutely divine.

I see three posts have been deleted , wonder what that was about.

I have a stunning new recording for you to listen to , it's Brahms Piano Works By, Alexandre Kantorow.

Stunning BIS recording and playing from Kantorow.

The 4 Ballades Op 10.

Sonata No 3 in F Minor

Chaconne from Bach's D Minor arranged for Left hand. This one has been popular lately as none other than Triffonov has laid his hand on it lately ( pun intended )

It really is a special recording probably in reflective mode.

@melm734       I Have just purchased the download of Kantorow  A la Russe and I shall listen later on when I can get some peace, will let you know later.

@twoleftears      Yes I do prefer Kissin playing that one , his phrasing is better and also Horowitz makes a lovely job of it.

@twoleftears    At the moment I am listening to Chochieva.  Playing The Chopin Etudes the thought comes back to me from the three book anthology by Prof. Alan Walker on the life and times of Franz Liszt. where Liszt is in Chopin's apartments and Chopin is at his writing desk listening to Liszt and trying to write to a friend at the same time. He actually wrote that at that moment in time he did not know what he was writing as Liszt was playing thorough his Op.10 etudes and all he was thinking was how he could steal Liszt's way of playing his Etudes as he was totally astonished by it . He had dedicated his Op.10 to Liszt, no wonder Schumann called him Klaviator Maximus . I digress so back to my point of the recording I think this young woman has an astonishing technique and people listening to her playing these Etudes must exhibit the same astonishment at her keyboard prowess. I think she has a lot to say in the near future so I will keep my ears primed. The only quibble I have it is too closely recorded for me. I like a wee bit more air around the instrument.

@jim5559      I see you have posted a recording of one of my favourite harpsichordists and organists not forgetting conductors and pioneers of searly music playing. I shall look forward to listening to it tomorrow.

A veritable cornucopia of delights today, I see I am going to be busy.

@twoleftears      Yes superlative indeed, that young lady has a stellar career in front of her she is astonishing. About more time between tracks I totally agree with you it hardly gives you time to draw a breath. I must say though that the recording quality of most of the piano recordings I listen to nowadays are superbly detailed and tonally awesome. I have been listening to young  Alexandre Kantorow these last two days and they are all on the BIS label and they are I would say the best classical recording label out today. Their sound is so dynamic and detailed that I have trouble remembering I am listening through headphones and not in the Usher hall.

A little tip here on the technical side of things here , I have just bought a new USB cable for between my PC and DAC. Is is a CAD 11 USB cable and it surely is a star . It cost a bloody fortune but it is worth it for what it brings in detail tone and just old fashioned enjoyment . Another thing I got was a filter that goes between my router and PC by way of the Ethernet. Another Eureka moment as it seems to clear up the gunge and digital noise from the signal. It is from Network Acoustics and it is called the ENO. If you want to radically clean your streaming then those two boys are for you.

@rvpiano   You are right RV about Lewis playing the Brahms late pieces I listened to them last night and totally agree with you. There are a few recordings of late Brahms doing the rounds at the moment, Volodos Kantorow and Lewis and all special in their own way.  

Aye "jim5559"     I see you have been putting some lovely video files lately, as the drill sergeant would say Keep itUp. 

@jim5559      Yes you certainly got that one right but you have illuminated another point , in music like the drill field Discipline rules also . Where would we all be without our scales arpeggios, thirds fifths and octaves. Yes that is why the drill has to start early at three onwards. I pity that life and thank providence for the product of those years.  

Yes Len I surely do agree with you and sympathise at the same time. I also think it is too late to reverse what we yes We have done to this planet. 

And I really don,t think the wee poison dwarf will win us our independence.

As Rab said "Sold for a passel O' silver " and it still goes on. Scotia forever.

Oh Len I'm so glad you are getting through it. My thoughts are with you my friend. Take care , Jim.

Heard Lupu in Edinburgh many years ago, playing of infinite beauty and virtuosity beyond reproach but only for the music not the crowd. We are fortunate he left us a large recorded legacy. Never be another Schubert player like him.

Andras Schiff has a very well respected Brahms twin piano concertos that I can really relate to. I think he plays a nearly period Bosendorfer but to hear it you wouldn't know it.

This lament was penned after the the battle of Flodden in 1513 when King James the Fourth and nearly all the Scottish nobility were wiped out.

@jcazador   Thanks for the link, it's nice to put fingers to an interpretation. Isn't it amazing that he is not even 20 yet. I see he takes lessons from Murray Perahia.