Various classical

[Justin Ayers]

I created a light-hearted gimmicky format for sharing music and have decided it's not worth the time to try to shoehorn things into categories. So, here are some classical music links of some interest and variety, generally with a smidgen of commentary. Feel free to share other classical, or similar, if you wish. A plus for obscure music that's interesting.


• first movement of Scriabin's first piano sonata, played by Elena Richter. Fiorentino is also recommended, particularly for the entire piece. I have only listened to Richter's sonata performances once all the way through but only the first movement of the first sonata truly impressed me. I remain impressed, hearing it again. I have heard many renditions, too.

• second Roslavets sonata, played by Irina Emeliantseva.

• Protopopov's second sonata, played by Steffen Schleiermacher (the only recorded performance I know of). Scriabin may be the father of jazz but Protopopov is the father of goth. Did I mention I absolutely adore arpeggios?

• second Miaskovsky sonata, played by İdil Biret. Boris Lvov is great (completely different interpretation) with this one but is not on Youtube. It took me some time to warm up to Biret's brash 'cubist' interpretation but it certainly grew on me. Interpretative differences may be largely due to there being two versions of the piece (a revised and an original).

• 1st and 2nd movements (3rd is also fine but first two are best) of Rachmaninov second sonata (original, non-butchered, version), played by Vladimir Ashkenazy. It wouldn't be a classical list without Rach, would it? This piece has been played so many times at competitions that it's practically a joke in the young pianists' world. Nevertheless, they persist.

• Composition No. 3 by Ustvolskaya. A polarizing composer. Some of her work is great (in particular the 'symphonies' 2–5). Reinbert de Leeuw is on piano here. Her music is more deserving of the "minimalism" moniker than Philip Glass' is. That is a misnomer for much of his work.

• Beethoven piano concerto 4, played by Artur Rubinstein. It's hard to get more "core repertoire" than this composer, this piece, and this pianist. Love it anyway. I didn't like the 4th until I heard Rubinstein play it. I was always a big aficionado of the 5th. Now that I'm older I prefer the 4th's greater subtlety, I suppose. The piece reminds me of Dvořák slightly. Hard to imagine he was 88 years old here.

• A. Tcherepnin concerto 5, played by the composer himself. He wasn't a virtuoso pianist and therefore it took him years of practice to manage to be able to play this concerto at all. Noriko Ogawa and the Singapore Symphony under Lan Shui is better (get ahold of the CD, as the Youtube versions are really low rate, even for Youtube) but it's fascinating to hear a composer play his own composition. This is, in my view, an excellent concerto. However, very few appreciate its dryness.

• Ornstein concerto, performed by Alan Feinberg. A huge amount of recent classical avant-garde piano music sounds like Ornstein. That also includes a few hacks from some time ago, like Sorabji. This concerto is not particularly impressive as a stand-alone piece but it is impressive in terms of how its ideas (and the rest of Ornstein's output) became the sound that continues to dominate.

 

[brimble]

Thank you!

A plus for obscure music that's interesting.

You might like this Reddit group, which has exactly that brief: https://old.reddit.com/r/ElitistClassical/new/

 

[Feanor]

I created a light-hearted gimmicky format for sharing music and have decided it's not worth the time to try to shoehorn things into categories. So, here are some classical music links of some interest and variety, generally with a smidgen of commentary. Feel free to share other classical, or similar, if you wish. A plus for obscure music that's interesting.


• first movement of Scriabin's first piano sonata, played by Elena Richter. Fiorentino is also recommended, particularly for the entire piece. I have only listened to Richter's sonata performances once all the way through but only the first movement of the first sonata truly impressed me. I remain impressed, hearing it again. I have heard many renditions, too.

• second Roslavets sonata, played by Irina Emeliantseva.

• Protopopov's second sonata, played by Steffen Schleiermacher (the only recorded performance I know of). Scriabin may be the father of jazz but Protopopov is the father of goth. Did I mention I absolutely adore arpeggios?

• second Miaskovsky sonata, played by İdil Biret. Boris Lvov is great (completely different interpretation) with this one but is not on Youtube. It took me some time to warm up to Biret's brash 'cubist' interpretation but it certainly grew on me. Interpretative differences may be largely due to there being two versions of the piece (a revised and an original).

• 1st and 2nd movements (3rd is also fine but first two are best) of Rachmaninov second sonata (original, non-butchered, version), played by Vladimir Ashkenazy. It wouldn't be a classical list without Rach, would it? This piece has been played so many times at competitions that it's practically a joke in the young pianists' world. Nevertheless, they persist.

• Composition No. 3 by Ustvolskaya. A polarizing composer. Some of her work is great (in particular the 'symphonies' 2–5). Reinbert de Leeuw is on piano here. Her music is more deserving of the "minimalism" moniker than Philip Glass' is. That is a misnomer for much of his work.

• Beethoven piano concerto 4, played by Artur Rubinstein. It's hard to get more "core repertoire" than this composer, this piece, and this pianist. Love it anyway. I didn't like the 4th until I heard Rubinstein play it. I was always a big aficionado of the 5th. Now that I'm older I prefer the 4th's greater subtlety, I suppose. The piece reminds me of Dvořák slightly. Hard to imagine he was 88 years old here.

• A. Tcherepnin concerto 5, played by the composer himself. He wasn't a virtuoso pianist and therefore it took him years of practice to manage to be able to play this concerto at all. Noriko Ogawa and the Singapore Symphony under Lan Shui is better (get ahold of the CD, as the Youtube versions are really low rate, even for Youtube) but it's fascinating to hear a composer play his own composition. This is, in my view, an excellent concerto. However, very few appreciate its dryness.

• Ornstein concerto, performed by Alan Feinberg. A huge amount of recent classical avant-garde piano music sounds like Ornstein. That also includes a few hacks from some time ago, like Sorabji. This concerto is not particularly impressive as a stand-alone piece but it is impressive in terms of how its ideas (and the rest of Ornstein's output) became the sound that continues to dominate.

Thanks very much. I am on the look out for Classical music by less well known composers ... and that does include the contemporary and avant-garde varieties.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

• Beethoven piano concerto 4, played by Artur Rubinstein. It's hard to get more "core repertoire" than this composer, this piece, and this pianist. Love it anyway. I didn't like the 4th until I heard Rubinstein play it. I was always a big aficionado of the 5th. Now that I'm older I prefer the 4th's greater subtlety, I suppose. The piece reminds me of Dvořák slightly. Hard to imagine he was 88 years old here.

I heard him at Carnegie Hall in 1967 when he was 80. He played the Appassionata and he was brilliant. He ripped off the last movement much faster than expected and when I told him of my surprise and pleasure, he said, "Well, I played those first three notes too fast and, then, I was on the hook for the rest!"

 

[brimble]

Don't hate me for loving the music of Dimitri Shostakovich.

I liked Shostakovich when I first discovered him, as a teenager, and then I went off him in a big way for several decades, but then, a couple of years ago, I discovered Schnittke, and just a few weeks ago I realised that Schnittke has explained enough of Shostakovich to me that I like him again.

 

[Justin Ayers]

Thanks very much. I am on the look out for Classical music by less well known composers ... and that does include the contemporary and avant-garde varieties.

Since you have Shostakovich as your avatar you'll have to get this performance of the 15th symphony: Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony with Ladislav Slovák.

The adagio movement here is absolutely breathtaking, one of the top 5 best symphonic experiences I can point a person to. I am far from a Shostakovich expert. I haven't even heard all of the symphonies. But, the only one that has grabbed me is the 15th and that movement in particular (although I am also fond of the whole thing). One can hear Ustvolskaya's influence in the adagio, unmistakably. He had proposed to her previously and she had been his pupil. As I prefer her music to his (in general; I don't like some of her pieces and only semi-like some also) that influence seems to have increased my ability to appreciate the 15th. Most of it, though, is probably due to the composer's greater maturity when he wrote the 15th, as it's very much Shostakovich overall.

A similarly basically perfect powerful symphonic adagio is Prokofiev's 6th symphony with Slatkin and the National Symphony. I often pair the two movements on CDs I make for people to pique their interest in both composers. The rest of the 6th is significantly weaker, compositionally, but the adagio, as with the opening movement of his 2nd piano concerto, stands very well by itself.

I don't think the Slovák performance is on Youtube and I wouldn't want to hear it from there anyway due to the audio degradation. The Prokofiev likely is there but I don't suggesting listening to it on Youtube for the same reason. Piano is more tolerable when degraded by extremely lossy compression than full symphony music is, especially performances that were recorded digitally.

Here are twenty-one others I can point to, at random, for everyone (not in a particular order):

1. Scriabin concerto with Ugorski. One of my favorites.

2. 8th Scriabin sonata with Alexeev. A close second is Ashkenazy's (which is more precise). Alexeev has the more beautiful interpretation.

3. 10th Scriabin sonata with Taub.

4. 4th Scriabin sonata with Rutstein.

5. 3rd Miaskovsky sonata with S. Richter. Horrible sound but best recorded performance of this piece. His 6th Scriabin sonata (on the same CD) is also the best Scriabin 6th recorded and has even worse sound. I resorted to using Audacity to reduce the coughing but nothing can be done about the extreme distortion when he hits the loudest chord.

6. 1st movement of 2nd Scriabin sonata by Sofronitsky. Pogorelich's is equal to it but a different interpretation. Also, for a very different experience there is a Scriabin piano roll that is exciting, despite the sound issues and piano roll performance capture issues.

7. Dvořák's 4th symphony (el-cheapo Excelsior label) with Stanislav Bogunia via the Westbohemian National. I've heard others and keep coming back to this one. The 8th that's on the disc has compressed analog sound but it's also a great performance.

8. Rautavaara's piano concertos on Naxos with Laura Mikkola on piano and the Royal Scottish National under Lintu. Also, his 3rd etude (Op. 42) is one of my favorite piano compositions. His sonatas are mediocre, however.

9. Allen Sapp's 3rd sonata with Lambis Vassiliade. Utterly unknown composer (originally a cryptographer, then a Harvard music pedagogue). The only sonata of his I've heard that's good. Vassiliade unfortunately has not recorded more than three as far as I know. Prokofiev sonata fans may like Sapp, even though his music is period-typical 12-tone.

10. Tveitt's 1st and 5th concertos on Naxos with Håvard Gimse on piano and the Royal Scottish under Engeset. The 5th's only great movement is the "Dance of the Blue Flowers" and it's wonderful. It's the sort of composition that one lifts and places onto a mix CD. The 1st concerto is pleasant throughout. It's not a spectacular piece but it's very enjoyable once in a while, with a clear inspirational nature theme.

11. Hamelin playing Roslavets on Hyperion. Get Emeliantseva's Roslavets, too. They're both equally good and different, too.

12. Hamelin playing the Busoni concerto. I need to get a CD of this. I have only seen the Youtube live performance. It's absolutely tremendous, particularly the opening movement.

13. Rachmaninov 4th concerto, 1927 version. Icelandic symphony under Buketoff. William Black, piano. Also, get the Ashkenazy conducting Helsinki with Ghindin on piano. That's the original version of the composition. I do not like the third revision as well as the first two. The best for that one, though, is Anievas on piano. He is the only pianist I've heard who produces enough angst (something the third revision focuses on more than the other two).

14. Rach playing his own third concerto. Even with the cuts and bad sound it's the performance that gives one reason to listen to it. The same goes for the 2nd concerto. His performances of the 1st and 4th (third revision) are uninteresting.

15. Horowitz playing the Rach third concerto (avoid the 1978 performance), of course. Also, of course, him playing the second sonata. Even with his stupid changes to the piece he played it with a level of verve that is unmatched. I like Ashkenazy's uncut version of the 2nd sonata more, though. It's a superior composition. And, I prefer the ossia cadenza for the third concerto as well. Ashkenazy also does well with that. I only have the disc of his last set of the concerti and he plays the cadenza very well, although the rest of the performance isn't nearly up to the standard of Horowitz and Rachmaninov. Horowitz got the first standing panel when he played the original version of the 2nd sonata for his graduation exam but, very sadly, felt his revision was better so never recorded the proper original. So, if anyone can spare their time machine I would like a nice recording of him playing for that panel. I would also like the true original of the 1st sonata, before Rachmaninov's "friends" told him to cut it down because it was "boring" and "too long".

16. Volodos performing the Scriabin 7th sonata. His even manages to edge-out Glemser's, which is surprising.

17. Anthony Newman's "Ultimate Organ Collection" (all Bach) on the el-cheapo Excelsior label. I have heard various performances from him on Youtube and I like the performances on this disc more. The highlights for me are the Passacaglia and the Fantasy. A better Toccata & Fugue in d can be found elsewhere.

18. Dvořák's Serenade for Strings with Capella Istropolitana (Naxos label). Extremely core repertoire alert! Yes, played constantly on public radio. Yes, still extremely lovely. I have several discs of these pieces and I like this one the most. For something less common, S. Richter performing his original concerto is worthwhile. The slow movement has one of the most beautiful moments in classical.

19. Satie's Ogive No. 1 played by de Leeuw. Also, get Queffélec's Satie Gnossiennes. You'll need to add reverb to the old de Leeuw analog recordings of the Gnossiennes and then pick and choose between Queffélec and him to make a disc or playlist with the Gnossiennes. In my opinion, neither play all of them as well as a mix of the two work out. Avoid Ciccolini like the plague. Talk about overrated.

20. Prokofiev's 2nd piano concerto (2nd version, as the first perished in accidental fire), first movement (andante I believe), with Ashkenazy on piano. The London Symphony conducted by Previn. Bog standard core stuff but one of the best piano concerto movements extant. Shame about the rest of the concerto, though. Also, get György Sándor on piano for the 8th sonata.

21. Mahler's 3rd with Podleś. The highlight is the song. Antoni Wit conducting the Polish National Radio Symphony. The first (and only complete) movement of his 10th is also an old favorite. A very good version of that one is on the "Mahler: Platinum Masters" disc. I'll track down the orchestra and conductor info if anyone is particularly interested — if I can still find the CD. I am not a Mahler expert by any means but from what I have heard these are both good choices. I prefer the Podleś to the others I've heard and I have about four versions of the 10th. As with Rach's Isle of the Dead (very nice with Litton and the London Symphony), the 10th is the sort of piece one wants to hear (or, at least, me) not very often.

 

[brimble]

I met Hamelin recently (on a plane!) and I thought he was very nice, and interesting ... which might not be relevant, but then again maybe it is - I know I enjoy things more when they're performed by nice people.

 

[brimble]

20. Prokofiev's 2nd piano concerto (2nd version, as the first perished in accidental fire), first movement (andante I believe), with Ashkenazy on piano. The London Symphony conducted by Previn. Bog standard core stuff but one of the best piano concerto movements in extant. Shame about the rest of the concerto, though.

I am a huge fan of Ashkenazy, and am pleased to see that you like him too, and I agree that this performance is extremely good, but you have not LIVED if you haven't heard Toradze play this. It is, without exaggeration, the greatest piano performance I've ever heard. I mean his studio recording; and there are also a couple of very good videos on youtube of him playing it, of which my favourite is this one:

 

[brimble]

Also, get György Sándor on piano for the 8th sonata.

I'm very grateful for this recommendation. Prokofiev is SO hard to interpret - IMO, even many of the greatest pianists can't do him justice. I happen to have been spending a lot of time recently looking for good performances of his sonatas. The best I've found (not counting your new suggestion, which I'm listening to now) has been Barbara Nissman.

 

[Justin Ayers]

I'm very grateful for this recommendation. Prokofiev is SO hard to interpret - IMO, even many of the greatest pianists can't do him justice. I happen to have been spending a lot of time recently looking for good performances of his sonatas. The best I've found (not counting your new suggestion, which I'm listening to now) has been Barbara Nissman.

I'm glad. I listen to it a lot. The highlight is the opening movement. He plays it with exactly the right tempo and feeling. I prefer S. Richter for the heavy sonatas. Nissman is nice. I like how she recorded both versions of the 5th.

I'll listen to the Toradze above tomorrow. Can't do it now because spouse is asleep.

 

[StefaanE]

Sándor Szokolay's opera "Blood Wedding" (after Garcia Lorca) is worth a (actually more than one) listen. There's a Hungaroton CD box, featuring the Hungarian State Opera conducted by András Kórodi. I haven't found it on Youtube.

EDIT: spelling correction in Sándor Szokolay's name.

 

[Feanor]

Since you have Shostakovich as your avatar you'll have to get this performance of the 15th symphony: Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony with Ladislav Slovák.

The adagio movement here is absolutely breathtaking, one of the top 5 best symphonic experiences I can point a person to. I am far from a Shostakovich expert. I haven't even heard all of the symphonies. But, the only one that has grabbed me is the 15th and that movement in particular (although I am also fond of the whole thing). One can hear Ustvolskaya's influence in the adagio, unmistakably. He had proposed to her previously and she had been his pupil. As I prefer her music to his (in general; I don't like some of her pieces and only semi-like some also) that influence seems to have increased my ability to appreciate the 15th. Most of it, though, is probably due to the composer's greater maturity when he wrote the 15th, as it's very much Shostakovich overall.

A similarly basically perfect powerful symphonic adagio is Prokofiev's 6th symphony with Slatkin and the National Symphony. I often pair the two movements on CDs I make for people to pique their interest in both composers. The rest of the 6th is significantly weaker, compositionally, but the adagio, as with the opening movement of his 2nd piano concerto, stands very well by itself.

I don't think the Slovák performance is on Youtube and I wouldn't want to hear it from there anyway due to the audio degradation. The Prokofiev likely is there but I don't suggesting listening to it on Youtube for the same reason. Piano is more tolerable when degraded by extremely lossy compression than full symphony music is, especially performances that were recorded digitally.

Here are twenty-one others I can point to, at random, for everyone (not in a particular order):

1. Scriabin concerto with Ugorski. One of my favorites.

2. 8th Scriabin sonata with Alexeev. A close second is Ashkenazy's (which is more precise). Alexeev has the more beautiful interpretation.

3. 10th Scriabin sonata with Taub.

4. 4th Scriabin sonata with Rutstein.

5. 3rd Miaskovsky sonata with S. Richter. Horrible sound but best recorded performance of this piece. His 6th Scriabin sonata (on the same CD) is also the best Scriabin 6th recorded and has even worse sound. I resorted to using Audacity to reduce the coughing but nothing can be done about the extreme distortion when he hits the loudest chord.

6. 1st movement of 2nd Scriabin sonata by Sofronitsky. Pogorelich's is equal to it but a different interpretation. Also, for a very different experience there is a Scriabin piano roll that is exciting, despite the sound issues and piano roll performance capture issues.

7. Dvořák's 4th symphony (el-cheapo Excelsior label) with Stanislav Bogunia via the Westbohemian National. I've heard others and keep coming back to this one. The 8th that's on the disc has compressed analog sound but it's also a great performance.

8. Rautavaara's piano concertos on Naxos with Laura Mikkola on piano and the Royal Scottish National under Lintu. Also, his 3rd etude (Op. 42) is one of my favorite piano compositions. His sonatas are mediocre, however.

9. Allen Sapp's 3rd sonata with Lambis Vassiliade. Utterly unknown composer (originally a cryptographer, then a Harvard music pedagogue). The only sonata of his I've heard that's good. Vassiliade unfortunately has not recorded more than three as far as I know. Prokofiev sonata fans may like Sapp, even though his music is period-typical 12-tone.

10. Tveitt's 1st and 5th concertos on Naxos with Håvard Gimse on piano and the Royal Scottish under Engeset. The 5th's only great movement is the "Dance of the Blue Flowers" and it's wonderful. It's the sort of composition that one lifts and places onto a mix CD. The 1st concerto is pleasant throughout. It's not a spectacular piece but it's very enjoyable once in a while, with a clear inspirational nature theme.

11. Hamelin playing Roslavets on Hyperion. Get Emeliantseva's Roslavets, too. They're both equally good and different, too.

12. Hamelin playing the Busoni concerto. I need to get a CD of this. I have only seen the Youtube live performance. It's absolutely tremendous, particularly the opening movement.

13. Rachmaninov 4th concerto, 1927 version. Icelandic symphony under Buketoff. William Black, piano. Also, get the Ashkenazy conducting Helsinki with Ghindin on piano. That's the original version of the composition. I do not like the third revision as well as the first two. The best for that one, though, is Anievas on piano. He is the only pianist I've heard who produces enough angst (something the third revision focuses on more than the other two).

14. Rach playing his own third concerto. Even with the cuts and bad sound it's the performance that gives one reason to listen to it. The same goes for the 2nd concerto. His performances of the 1st and 4th (third revision) are uninteresting.

15. Horowitz playing the Rach third concerto (avoid the 1978 performance), of course. Also, of course, him playing the second sonata. Even with his stupid changes to the piece he played it with a level of verve that is unmatched. I like Ashkenazy's uncut version of the 2nd sonata more, though. It's a superior composition. And, I prefer the ossia cadenza for the third concerto as well. Ashkenazy also does well with that. I only have the disc of his last set of the concerti and he plays the cadenza very well, although the rest of the performance isn't nearly up to the standard of Horowitz and Rachmaninov. Horowitz got the first standing panel when he played the original version of the 2nd sonata for his graduation exam but, very sadly, felt his revision was better so never recorded the proper original. So, if anyone can spare their time machine I would like a nice recording of him playing for that panel. I would also like the true original of the 1st sonata, before Rachmaninov's "friends" told him to cut it down because it was "boring" and "too long".

16. Volodos performing the Scriabin 7th sonata. His even manages to edge-out Glemser's, which is surprising.

17. Anthony Newman's "Ultimate Organ Collection" (all Bach) on the el-cheapo Excelsior label. I have heard various performances from him on Youtube and I like the performances on this disc more. The highlights for me are the Passacaglia and the Fantasy. A better Toccata & Fugue in d can be found elsewhere.

18. Dvořák's Serenade for Strings with Capella Istropolitana (Naxos label). Extremely core repertoire alert! Yes, played constantly on public radio. Yes, still extremely lovely. I have several discs of these pieces and I like this one the most. For something less common, S. Richter performing his original concerto is worthwhile. The slow movement has one of the most beautiful moments in classical.

19. Satie's Ogive No. 1 played by de Leeuw. Also, get Queffélec's Satie Gnossiennes. You'll need to add reverb to the old de Leeuw analog recordings of the Gnossiennes and then pick and choose between Queffélec and him to make a disc or playlist with the Gnossiennes. In my opinion, neither play all of them as well as a mix of the two work out. Avoid Ciccolini like the plague. Talk about overrated.

20. Prokofiev's 2nd piano concerto (2nd version, as the first perished in accidental fire), first movement (andante I believe), with Ashkenazy on piano. The London Symphony conducted by Previn. Bog standard core stuff but one of the best piano concerto movements extant. Shame about the rest of the concerto, though. Also, get György Sándor on piano for the 8th sonata.

21. Mahler's 3rd with Podleś. The highlight is the song. Antoni Wit conducting the Polish National Radio Symphony. The first (and only complete) movement of his 10th is also an old favorite. A very good version of that one is on the "Mahler: Platinum Masters" disc. I'll track down the orchestra and conductor info if anyone is particularly interested — if I can still find the CD. I am not a Mahler expert by any means but from what I have heard these are both good choices. I prefer the Podleś to the others I've heard and I have about four versions of the 10th. As with Rach's Isle of the Dead (very nice with Litton and the London Symphony), the 10th is the sort of piece one wants to hear (or, at least, me) not very often.

Many thanks for this.

 

[Justin Ayers]

Someone did recently upload the Lvov Miaskovsky performance. It doesn't sound as good as on the CD, of course, since it's Youtube.

In fact, it looks like a few have popped up. One listing claims the performance is a live one but my CD of it doesn't say that. It does say that about the 6th Scriabin sonata, which isn't particularly well-played. Lvov's Miaskovsky sonata, though, is very good.

 

[raif71]

I liked Shostakovich when I first discovered him, as a teenager, and then I went off him in a big way for several decades, but then, a couple of years ago, I discovered Schnittke, and just a few weeks ago I realised that Schnittke has explained enough of Shostakovich to me that I like him again.

I got introduced to him in my elective class (Appreciation to Music), a 2 credit course in university. The music chosen was symphony no 5

 

[Tomino]

I would enthusiastically recommend the masses of Josquin. There is a terrific two-CD release by the Tallis Scholars on the Gimell label (2006). The harmonies are very consonant but still hold interest, and the textures are varied and beautiful. I found his musical language took some getting used to. It can seem too slow-moving at first, but I've come to enjoy it very much.

 

[Daverz]

I'm very grateful for this recommendation. Prokofiev is SO hard to interpret - IMO, even many of the greatest pianists can't do him justice. I happen to have been spending a lot of time recently looking for good performances of his sonatas. The best I've found (not counting your new suggestion, which I'm listening to now) has been Barbara Nissman.

I had Sandor's recordings of the piano sonatas on a Vox Box. But comparing them to Raekallio, they seemed rather pedestrian, so I didn't keep the box. I did keep the Vox Box of the other piano music, since it has a lot of obscure pieces, but then Raekallio did a lot of those, too, and Chiu and many others...

I'm trying to give Sandor another chance by sampling his Bartok from the recent Sony box.

 

[Daverz]

• Beethoven piano concerto 4, played by Artur Rubinstein. It's hard to get more "core repertoire" than this composer, this piece, and this pianist. Love it anyway. I didn't like the 4th until I heard Rubinstein play it. I was always a big aficionado of the 5th. Now that I'm older I prefer the 4th's greater subtlety, I suppose. The piece reminds me of Dvořák slightly. Hard to imagine he was 88 years old here.

Have you heard Moravec/Turnovsky?

 

[Justin Ayers]

I had Sandor's recordings of the piano sonatas on a Vox Box. But comparing them to Raekallio, they seemed rather pedestrian, so I didn't keep the box. I did keep the Vox Box of the other piano music, since it has a lot of obscure pieces, but then Raekallio did a lot of those, too, and Chiu and many others...

I'm trying to give Sandor another chance by sampling his Bartok from the recent Sony box.

Sándors' Prokofiev set is pedestrian (when compared with someone like Sviatoslav Richter) with the exception of the 9th sonata — the first movement in particular. I have heard a few pianists play that piece (Glemser, Richter, Bronfman, Sándor... maybe a few others on Youtube). Of those, Sándor's is the one I feel has the best tempo and overall interpretation for the first movement. The slow movement is also played quite nicely. Richter's 9th is too hard-edged. The other two were forgettable.

I have not heard Raekallio so thank you for the suggestion.

Have you heard Moravec/Turnovsky?

I haven't. Thanks for that suggestion also.

I would enthusiastically recommend the masses of Josquin. There is a terrific two-CD release by the Tallis Scholars on the Gimell label (2006). The harmonies are very consonant but still hold interest, and the textures are varied and beautiful. I found his musical language took some getting used to. It can seem too slow-moving at first, but I've come to enjoy it very much.

Thank you for the suggestion.