It contains my favorite recording of Fratres, the violin and piano arrangement played by Gidon Kremer and Keith Jarrett.
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I love this piece. there’s a great recording with Tasmin Little as well.
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Being a pianophile, I’m surprised I never came across the recordings of this marvelous pianist before: Francoiş-René Duchâble.
These two recordings, in particular are spectacular. His playing has the white hot intensity of early Maurizio Pollini. His technique is mind-boggling.
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Perhaps because he protested the “elitism of the classical music system” and described the piano as a symbol of bourgeois society. However true this may or may not be, it does not endear a performer to his art/fellow artists/reviewers/listeners. Nice performances/recordings of wonderful works, though.
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Hindemith is another composer who doesn’t get much attention these days. This is part of the Complete Orchestral Works on CPO. Give the Concerto for winds, harp and orchestra a go.
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Speaking of 20th century music: a well-known composer, but one particular composition does not get enough of attention as far as I see it - Béla Bartók´s ballet ´The Wooden Prince´ from 1917. As a fairytale ballet, it is not long enough for a complete evening (and pretty boring for children), but too long for its rather simplistic story. I have seen it fully staged and danced only once
The music is fascinating, particularly with this recording by Susanna Mälkki. It is some post-romantic work, in its entirety you can witness the subtle deconstruction of the diatonal system with some elements of rhythmic folk elements and a hint of expressionism at times anticipating some Prokofiev-sound. It is worth listening to the whole thing on a good system or pair of headphones, as Bartók is utilizing a very big crowd of musicians to create very unusual timbral and dynamic combinations instead of extremely loud tutti.
Unfortunately Bartók´s second ballet, the Miraculous Mandarin, is added in form of the 19min suite version which does not do the work justice.
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BIS also has released Malkki conducting Bartok in:
All three of these spent a lot of time in my Q when they came out and are worth listening to.
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Another good fairly recent Mozart piano cycle I have been listening to, which has been briefly mentioned before, is:
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I saw Bluebeard at the met many years ago, and found it a challenging listen. Is this recording a good place to start re-evaluating?
Funnily, I do not find “Duke Bluebeard” challenging to listen to, would rather say it is one of my favorite operas from 20th century which I can see over and over again (have seen it in at least 5 different combinations with other pieces to form a complete evening).
The Mälkki recording is very good, but maybe not the ideal starting point to explore the composition. Dynamics are extreme, the sharp parts of the composition particularly led by woodwinds, appear even sharper here, the loud brass passages louder than usual, both roles sung very well but rather on the extreme side of their psychological spectrum.
My favorite would be Ivan Fischer´s 2002 recording:
Less extreme and sharp, rather organic and more romantic-oriented singing with some ´human touch´.
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excellent choice. I know both soloists, from my previous career. Lazlo Polgar is a wonderful singer, and lovely human being.
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Completely agree…some works have to be heard live. The 5th door is an extraordinary experience in the opera house, and a recording doesn’t ever get that…or I need bigger speakers…
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If you go with the Fischer, I think the stereo version is better than the SACD, sonically.
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Absolutely agree, after having seen a performance with doubled number of trumpets and trombones, additionally placed on stage while orchestra stayed in the pit. Have never again heard that much of massive brass sound.
It is possible to have it reproduced, and you do not necessarily need very big speakers. It is more about overall available dynamics, clarity and transparency of brass sound when it gets loud. If either speakers or room sound harsh, you can forget about it.
The SACD has stereo tracks, DSD and PCM (CD-layer) and I do not think they are differently mastered compared to other stereo sources. The surround mix has pretty much of reverb on all 5 channels so you need a proper speaker setup.
it does not appear to be available for streaming. Amazon has used SACD copies…
I meant ignore the multichannel mix, I found it to be a mess on a well set up system.
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You know, I don’t own this anymore so I looked on line and found that the recording was re released with improved sonics on the second release according to a review of the SACD. So you may find my comments don’t apply to what is currently available.
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