New to classical...HELP!! (1 Viewer)

[WadeM]

If you like the music for Bizet's Carmen, try watching the movie Carmen Jones sometime for an interesting take on it, except with Hammerstein's lyrics replacing Bizet's. Cool movie set in a modern (1950's) setting!

Regarding Pachelbel's Canon, I wouldn't even venture to say which one to get since there are so many variations & hundreds of recordings of it, using any kind of instrument from violins, organs, trumpets, flutes, vocals, guitars, etc. And then there's Mozart's variation on it. It's just been done too many times to know which one to get. I agree that Paillard certainly uses the best tempo, but as others have criticized, the plucking is a bit too prominent, but it's also one of the most well-known recordings. I have a few recordings of it, including a CD of nothing but the Canon, but none that I would come right out and say "Definitive". I will say that I personally prefer the orchestral arrangements. I would just go with whatever Penguin or another reviewer chooses. It's a tough choice.


www.arkivmusic.com has a pretty good selection of classical CDs if you ever have trouble finding something anywhere else.

 

[DanaA]

That's pretty exciting, Felix. What was the occasion? Also, I thought I was pretty topped off with Mahler, but maybe I should give Zander a spin.

 

[JeremyErwin]

One disc set that might prove to be interesting is "A State of Wonder. It's by Glenn Gould, and includes two different recordings of the Goldberg Variations by JS Bach, one done in 1955, and the other in 1981. Three discs, two very different performances. The third disc contains outtakes and an interview (in the spirit of Gould, it's scripted. rehearsed and edited...) with the artist.

 

[Felix Martinez]

It was to chat about the SACD release of Mahler's 1st Symphony, which was released about a year ago last Fall. He also wrote "The Art of Possibility" with his wife, which is also pretty amazing, and we got to talking about that as well.

 

[Henry Gale]

Dvorak's Cello Concerto, OP 104 is very popular and one of my favorites.
The version I've been listening to for years features Yo-Yo Ma.
Yesterday I turned on my local classical station and heard this familiar music, I even guessed correctly that it was Dvorak, a big deal for me.
But this was not Yo-Yo.
This was way better and was really getting to me. After awhile I was just hoping that it was one of those pretty female cello players because, I was in love.
No worries, it was Jacqueline du Pré.
Pretty and unavailable.
Just ordered a 4 CD box set of Jacqueline that include that work and I can't believe it took me this long to discover her version.
You need this music in your life.