DanaA

No, but in reading the link to the guy who had a set in hand, he mentioned that the fillers from the individual releases had been deleted.

I'm getting really excited about getting a copy of his No. 6. It is one of my favorites.

Seth--L

You should look into getting Szell's then. He does what has to be the single greatest interpretational touch in this work: right before the first hammer blow he slows the tempo down. It creates a great dramatic effect that I always listen for in other performances, but no one else ever does. Overall Szell views the symphony as one long march to the death. Not surprisingly Szell isn't emotionally overwrought, but instead unforgiving and unrelenting. He and the orchestra are a tour de force in the final movement; hammer blows come off perfectly.

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DanaA

Well, I could resist no longer and ordered it. It will be interesting since the Barbirolli is excellent.

Side note: I just received the Sviatoslav Richter Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 and Beethoven Sonata No. 23 (Appassionata) in the mail today. Am listening to it on my headphones right now and it is pretty dang great!!! I have a set of sonatas by Richter on order from Berkshire as well, but that didn't include No. 23. If this is an indication, I'll be happy, happy, happy.

Seth--L

I think that's the one Richter recording that receives a little more praise than it really deserves. It's a very fine recording indeed, but one of the few times that I'll sink to the level of saying that something is definitive, is with Leon Fleisher's recording of both Brahms piano concertos. Fleisher is one of the few pianists who is willing to embrace the classicism of Brahms' music -- not everything has to be big, loud and with the intention of trying to impress. His touch is on the lighter side and extremely clear. It also doesn't hurt that Szell is conducting who too approaches Brahms as classicist and provides Fleisher with a transparent orchestral sound, one that never overwhelms him, forcing him to compete with the orchestra.

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DanaA

Will have to look into Fleisher, so thanks for the tip. The Richter was mostly for the Beethoven. I've heard great things about his playing, especially circa the late '50's/early 60's. I don't even want to get into how much more I like his style of playing than some of the other sonatas I have. Very fluid style. Also like Annie Fisher quite a bit for Beethoven. I know Horowitz has his fans, but, for some reason, I can't get into him nearly as much. On the other hand, Ashkenazy has his detractors with Beethoven, but I like him a lot more than Horowitz. Could just be the particular recordings I have though.

Have heard good things about, but haven't heard the Serkins, which you have. Good???

Seth--L

Don't miss his equally fine Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle. Had his career not ended so quickly because of a hand injury he would have become recognized as one of the century's great pianist.

Richter was one of the most brilliant pianists of the 20C. He performed everything with an electrifying intensity. He was probably at his best with Russian music, like Prokofiev. His biography is also an interesting read. My favorite part is where he trashes Karajan .



Serkin is excellent in Beethoven. As my neighbor who had him as teacher puts it, "Serkin can make the piano sing when he plays Beethoven." His touch can be a little heavy at times (too much so in his Brahms), but there's always a great deal of clarity with a lot of attention to detail. For the first time ever, Sony France just last year packaged his complete authorized recordings of the Beethoven piano sonatas into a single box (actually a jewel case holding 5 discs). It's about half of the sonatas, but does cover most of the major ones. Highly reccomended, especially since it's a budget price. You can order it either from overseas at MDT or at Amazon.

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DanaA

Hey, thanks a lot Seth. Will most definitely look into his Piano Concerto cycle.

Seth--L

I should add that Fleisher is probably my favorite pianist despite his small number of recordings.

Maybe we should start a new thread?

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Bob K

Seth and Dana,

I've been catching up with you posts with great interest -- you guys are prolific! I haven't heard the Gielen but you've whetted my appetite. The Sixth has been running neck-and-neck with the Ninth as my favorite Mahler for years. The only thing I can add is -- hear it live. An overwhelming experience.

Speaking of which, the other thing I'd suggest to anyone getting into Classical, particularly orchestral, is to see some live concerts. There's something about orchestral music -- perhaps it's the dynamic range? -- that is not easily captured on recordings. To give one example, I'd always liked Sibelius but never really "got it" viscerally until I was privileged to attend a series of Sibelius concerts by Colin Davis a number of years ago. The live performances conveyed the icy moodiness of that composer in a way that recordings, for me, had not.

Tempest and Pi Construction Pix: http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/m...view_album.php

DanaA

Seth, I ordered some Fleisher last night, along with some other things. Looking forward to hearing him.

Bob, you're so lucky to live in New York. They can attract some top drawer performers there.

When I lived in the Los Angeles area, I saw some great performances, but that was years ago. A friend travels to San Francisco pretty regularly to attend concerts. Maybe, I'll go the same route this summer. Would really love to see some great live music.

Seth--L

Be sure to let me know what you think. Fleisher is the man



As well as the sound stage of the concert hall.

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