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.They is not exactly symphonic, but I just discovered the Prague cello quartet. Their music seems exceptionally well recorded to me.
I've never heard a choir other than on America's Got Talent....lol. Some are very good and interesting. A thousand would have some dynamic range I imagine.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..
That's a clear sign of ASR overdose...The first time I really felt the need for a full blown surround system at home.
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.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
Yes, it did. And do you ask me why?Did it take Savall's recordings for you to gain this appreciation?
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.
My Favorite HIP Beethoven's 5th. The Video version is more dynamic and cohesive than the Archiv CDs: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.
Now for something completely different. Savall/Le Concert des Nations perform a setting of Beethoven's music by Italian composer Luigi Bordèse.
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.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