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Best Symphonic Recordings

d2k5000

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They is not exactly symphonic, but I just discovered the Prague cello quartet. Their music seems exceptionally well recorded to me.

 

Doodski

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They is not exactly symphonic, but I just discovered the Prague cello quartet. Their music seems exceptionally well recorded to me.

I attended the Phantom of the Opera in Vancouver from the dress circle upper left balcony. It was fantastic. I had never seen or heard anything like it before. The chandelier fake falling on the lower dress circle was fun too.
 

001

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I was due to see Mahler's entire 8th with a 1000 voice choir in Melbourne last October but covid.. So I had to be content with a snippet from a few years ago. Maybe one day soon..
 

Doodski

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I was due to see Mahler's entire 8th with a 1000 voice choir in Melbourne last October but covid.. So I had to be content with a snippet from a few years ago. Maybe one day soon..
I've never heard a choir other than on America's Got Talent....lol. Some are very good and interesting. :D A thousand would have some dynamic range I imagine.
 

dualazmak

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Very nice to see this thread is now re-activated after silence for a while!
 

LTig

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Years ago I saw Berlioz' opera The Troyans in our local opera house in the middle of row 4. The choir was huge, and a part of it secretly smuggled itself behind row 16, and some other parts were located at the sides behind veiles. It was an incredible experience when they suddenly started to sing. The first time I really felt the need for a full blown surround system at home.
 

mSpot

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I've always liked Beethoven, but Savall's recent recordings made me appreciate this music for what it is, and not for what we think it is, giving it a new life by returning it to its origins, and discovering that it should have never left that orchestral format and playing tradition.

First set, from 1 to 5
Second set, from 6 to 9
Did it take Savall's recordings for you to gain this appreciation? The historically informed performance (HIP) movement is 40 years old and already produced many recordings of Beethoven that follow HIP practice (Harnoncourt, Hogwood, Norrington, Brüggen, Gardiner and many others). I'm a fan of Savall and I like his musicality, compared to some HIP performers who are self conscious about how the music is "supposed" to be played, resulting in performances that are mechanical and lacking expression.

Savall previously recorded the Beethoven 3rd in 1997 (re-released in 2017), which I prefer over the new recording because of its more immediate, less reverberant sound (the performances are very similar). It is coupled with a great rendition of the Coriolan overture.
0190374366687_600.jpg


Now for something completely different. Savall/Le Concert des Nations perform a setting of Beethoven's music by Italian composer Luigi Bordèse.
 

xaviescacs

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Did it take Savall's recordings for you to gain this appreciation?
Yes, it did. And do you ask me why? ;)
I'm a fan of Savall and I like his musicality, compared to some HIP performers who are self conscious about how the music is "supposed" to be played, resulting in performances that are mechanical and lacking expression.
:)
 

Robin L

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Did it take Savall's recordings for you to gain this appreciation? The historically informed performance (HIP) movement is 40 years old and already produced many recordings of Beethoven that follow HIP practice (Harnoncourt, Hogwood, Norrington, Brüggen, Gardiner and many others). I'm a fan of Savall and I like his musicality, compared to some HIP performers who are self conscious about how the music is "supposed" to be played, resulting in performances that are mechanical and lacking expression.

Savall previously recorded the Beethoven 3rd in 1997 (re-released in 2017), which I prefer over the new recording because of its more immediate, less reverberant sound (the performances are very similar). It is coupled with a great rendition of the Coriolan overture.
0190374366687_600.jpg


Now for something completely different. Savall/Le Concert des Nations perform a setting of Beethoven's music by Italian composer Luigi Bordèse.
My Favorite HIP Beethoven's 5th. The Video version is more dynamic and cohesive than the Archiv CDs:

The Weirdest HIP Beethoven's Fifth---the ending appears to be tacked on from Sibelius' 5th:



 

LTig

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Sometimes different interpretations are much more different than seen above. One example is the Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez. The first recording was lead by Ramirez himself, and I own this on vinyl.


In the 1990's the version with José Carreras was often played as demo in the local hifi shops, but compared to the raw interpretation of the original it's just too smooth and too calm.


Later I stumbled upon a version with Mercedes Sosa as singer which I liked. It's somewhere in the middle between the other two.


Would be nice to know what people here think about these three interpretations.
 

DWI

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I located a thread on best piano recordings (https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/best-piano-recordings.11036/page-), but not one on symphonic (I’m of the opinion that good small ensemble recordings are almost too numerous).

In another thread, someone introduced me to the Osmo Vanska recordings of Beethoven, which are superb - high dynamic range, detailed, smooth-sounding.

I just finished listening to this one -

https://bis.se/conductors/vanska-osmo/beethoven-symphonies-1-and-6
I went to a mostly Beethoven programme conducted by Osmo Vanska, Iceland Symphony at the magnificent main hall at Harpa in Reykjavik. They opened with a fabulous piece by Kalevi Aho. A memorable evening and the best orchestral acoustic I can ever remember.
 
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Timcognito

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Not much of classical guy but I keep coming back to this this website when I get the urge. FYI
 
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