Love your Inner Classical Music Geek

I’m currently working through the 234 box sets and 3 composer retrospectives in this thread. The craziness started in early 2020 with the Stravinsky box and I’ve been lost to it ever since. The link takes you to the END, so you’ll need to scroll up. I will continue to…..

@Chablislodge The Fourth is just incredible!

@LoveInner I’ve never understood the preference for 5 over 4. Beethoven 4 is the perfect concerto. (Unless you’re trying to play it of course).

The Claudio Abbado Complete Recordings on Deutche Grammophon, on 257 CDs and 8 DVDs. Obviously many of these are repeated in other Abbado boxes, but I couldn’t resist. So now adding it to my box set Odyssey.

@ernestonosthas @fulhamopera Despite my reaction to the Fifth I am looking forward to the rest.

@fulhamopera @LoveInner Worth every penny...the Third Symphony is my fav...

As someone who is indirectly responsible for the recommendation to @LoveInner, I would like to offer my thoughts: It is a beautiful, accessible, slow-paced, and reflective work throughout most of its lovely progression, but it deserves to be heard and evaluated...

@AlexeyZiskin Fortunately no-one is going to make you do it!

@LoveInner The mere thought of having to sit through all his Chopin and Schubert recordings would give me nightmares!

#NowSpinning, to complete the Pollini Abbado Beethoven Piano Concertos series. I do enjoy these performances. Effortless virtuosity, for sure, but absolutely no unnecessary sentiment.

#AbbadoDGComplete CD 21 The Emperor comes off with panache and glowing energy. Lots of natural sensitivity and beautiful phrasing characterise both the solo and orchestral parts. This is a genuine partnership. Perhaps more sports car than classic, but none the worse for that.

#AbbadoDGComplete CD 20 Pollini and Abbado continue their Beethoven Piano Concertos series with 3 and 4. Pollini’s engagement with 4 sounds much higher, with the music dancing and singing all over the place. 3 is darker and more introspective here.

@ernestonosthas I hear all of that, but sadly am currently getting very little out of the work.

@LoveInner 4/Meaning by movement, according to Pavlova: - I: Her personal feelings about life - II: Meditation on a white lotus flower. It features an extended violin solo - III: A jarring return to the mundane. Also with a violin solo, lasting 13 minutes

@AlexeyZiskin Poor me huh?

@LoveInner The thought of having to go through that Pollini box is utterly depressing! 😂🤣

@AlexeyZiskin Actually I will have the whole thing in the Pollini box and will compare….eventually.

@LoveInner Question is, is this an improvement over his earlier DG cycle with Bohm & Jochum?

@textkritik I like the stereo Kempff cycle.

@LoveInner I’m curious. Recently I listened to Klemperer/Barenboim again, that was also the first recording I bought at that time it came out (LP), and I like it still very much.

@AlexeyZiskin I haven’t heard the earlier cycle yet, though I will have some of it in the Böhm boxes.

@textkritik I guess. My favourite versions have more fire.

@LoveInner But isn’t this ›coolness‹ a problem itself?

#NowSpinning Pollini and Abbado with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.1. Taut and elegantly controlled. Pollini’s virtuosity is pretty understated.

@SongBird3411 The orchestra’s sound doesn’t match Ravel at all.

@LoveInner This seems an odd pairing. The orchestral colors are vivid because of Ravel! I doubt any orchestra could entirely screw that up. I haven’t heard this recording. But the Levine/Vienna Phil pairing with Ravel is so surprising to me that I will give that a try.

#NowSpinning James Levine’s Vienna Philharmonic recording of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. For some reason the existence of this performance evaded detection until recently. The orchestral colours are certainly vivid.

@Ricisolen @AlexeyZiskin @ClassicalCritic I don’t really have a favourite for this one, though I was recently quite happy with Neeme Järvi’s. He at least makes it sound like he’s interested!

@AlexeyZiskin @LoveInner @ClassicalCritic #NowSpinning The recording quality may be synthetic, but Rozhdestvensky captures the atmosphere of Symphony No. 3 like no other. What is your favourite version of this work? prestomusic.com/classical/prod…

@ClassicalCritic @netchord Understood

@netchord @LoveInner What bothers ME about the article (and I wrote one myself, four years earlier) is that it rehashes the rumors alright ("There were entire countries where he could not be in a room with minors") without substantiating any. He's flinging more mud, instead. forbes.com/sites/jenslaur…

@netchord @ClassicalCritic Definitely. I did think that, too. Actually I quite like that Mahler 3.

@LoveInner @ClassicalCritic the Mahler 3 story is particularly petty, on both sides.

Well, it does pick up. A bit. About 7 and a half minutes before the end. The problem is, for me, the first 40 minutes before that. Empty string gesture after empty string gesture.

#NowSpinning Pavlova Symphony No.5 following recent recommendations. I know nothing about this composer and so invested in four Naxos discs. Time to find out!

@netchord @ClassicalCritic Never mind. Still a very fine conductor.

@LoveInner @ClassicalCritic i have some issues with that article. much of what he decribes is, or was, pretty basic when the record industry (not just classical) was at its height, and dependent on star soloists and conductors to drive sales and revenue.