Tír Na HiFi

Seán wrote: Hi Fergus, not at first, no, but overall, yes I did. I was unsure at first because of the light sound of the strings, the fast tempo and lack of depth, if that makes sense? It certainly is very different from any others I've heard, so that, in itself makes it very interesting. It isn't my favourite, far from it, von Karajan's 1962 recording with the BPO fits the bill. Perhaps I should listen to all my recordings and discover which one takes pride of place in my affections.

That certainly would be an interesting project Seán!
You know, I could not name my favourite version either!
It is a difficult work to get it all to sound just right as there are so many constituent parts going in to make up the whole.

How funny, Jesús López-Cobos recorded Lucia di Lammermoor with Montserrat Caballé in 1977 for Philips, in the first critical edition (mostly) without the high notes, as it was originally composed.
37 years later he returns to the traditional and corrupt edition, high F´s and all -you just can´t keep a coloratura girl low-.

Diana Damrau is perhaps the most celebrated Lucia of this decade. She sings more truly than Natalie Dessay who has recorded Lucia twice, in French and Italian, she is also very histrionic, not perhaps a bad thing in this super demanding and extreme role. She delivers both arias with aplomb, I´ll even say with panache considering that this is a live concert recording. In the end what one misses is the sense of style and elegance that Mariella Devia brought to the role not that long ago, she was surely the last GREAT, truly GREAT in capital letters, Lucia di Lammermoor.
But Damrau is never less than accomplished, often much more than that. Joseph Calleja is a good match for her, his Edgardo is easy on the ear and kind of stylish. Ludovic Tézier as the evil brother is also an elegant singer, just misses the macho Italianate tone that made Rolando Panerai and Ettore Bastianini so exciting in this role.
Jesús López-Cobos knows this repertoire and keeps things moving. The Munich orchestra is fine.
The set comes in a pathetic twofer without libretto but sells under 20 dollars. Not a bad Lucia, but not the best there is, and guys there are some terrific Lucias out there.

Puccini: Madama Butterfly with Victoria De Los Angeles & Jussi Bjorling....

fergus wrote:Puccini: Madama Butterfly with Victoria De Los Angeles & Jussi Bjorling....

Did you know Fergus that this recording of Butterfly was a very sad occasion for all concerned?
Jussi Björling was having heart trouble, he fainted twice during the love duet and almost didn´t finish the recording. Victoria de los Angeles said it was the most horrible experience of her life.

Victoria has an earlier mono Butterfly with Giuseppe Di Stefano and Gianandrea Gavazzeni conducting. If you want to have the adorable Victoria de los Angeles in this opera, that is the recording to have.

Jose Echenique wrote:

fergus wrote:Puccini: Madama Butterfly with Victoria De Los Angeles & Jussi Bjorling....

Did you know Fergus that this recording of Butterfly was a very sad occasion for all concerned?
Jussi Björling was having heart trouble, he fainted twice during the love duet and almost didn´t finish the recording. Victoria de los Angeles said it was the most horrible experience of her life.

Victoria has an earlier mono Butterfly with Giuseppe Di Stefano and Gianandrea Gavazzeni conducting. If you want to have the adorable Victoria de los Angeles in this opera, that is the recording to have.

Thank you for the very interesting background information Pepe.
De Los Angeles must sound really very good in that mono Butterfly considering how well she sounds [to me] in my version above!

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7....





Just picking out this one so far in my current Shostakovich odyssey to say what a wonderful work Symphony No. 7 is; so full of contrasts.

fergus wrote:

Jose Echenique wrote:

fergus wrote:Puccini: Madama Butterfly with Victoria De Los Angeles & Jussi Bjorling....

Did you know Fergus that this recording of Butterfly was a very sad occasion for all concerned?
Jussi Björling was having heart trouble, he fainted twice during the love duet and almost didn´t finish the recording. Victoria de los Angeles said it was the most horrible experience of her life.

Victoria has an earlier mono Butterfly with Giuseppe Di Stefano and Gianandrea Gavazzeni conducting. If you want to have the adorable Victoria de los Angeles in this opera, that is the recording to have.

Thank you for the very interesting background information Pepe.
De Los Angeles must sound really very good in that mono Butterfly considering how well she sounds [to me] in my version above!

Victoria always sounded great needless to say, buy yes, she was in even finer voice in 1953. The mono sound is by the way excellent.

Symphony 1, enjoying it immensely so far!



Although I have to say, the cover really reminds me of another Warner album from the same period:

The ASMF under Marriner play with the lightness of touch and also with the charm and elegance that is, for me, required in Mozart's music. There is also that lilt that is required to keep the music moving along at the correct tempo.
Pyatt plays a modern instrument very well. He gets a good tone and there is just the right balance between the soloist and the orchestra.
Very well played by all and comes recommended.

Diapason wrote:Symphony 1, enjoying it immensely so far!

While some may shy away from Beethoven's First and Second Symphonies, I don't, I love them both. His First is an extraordinary work when one considers what, in musical terms, preceded it.