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1: Classical Court, And her interpretation of the Schumann piano concerto is equally impressive (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-04-20, 18:46:33 (1.120.183.49)
It is refreshing to hear these much played concertos done so well. I'm a confirmed Sophie fan. .......
2: Classical Court, Sophie Pacini - touted as the next big thing by Martha Argerich (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-04-20, 18:32:58 (1.120.183.49)
The number of excellent young artists emerging playing the cello, violin and piano is heartening and good news for the future of classical music. And they are seriously good to look at as well as l .......
3: Classical Court, The other impressive Wang - Xiayin (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-03-29, 16:33:45 (1.120.183.49)
A lot of (very justified) excitement and praise for the superb pianist Yuga Wang but I only find one reference here to Xiayin, someone only "discovered" by me recently. The much earlier post here dis .......
4: Classical Court, Another perplexing modern work THEODORAKIS: SYMPHONY NO. 3. LITURGY NO. 2, "FOR THE YOUNG KILLED IN WARS" (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-02-02, 20:07:30 (1.120.183.49)
Not many here seem to like some of the later compositions and I'm unsure if I'm also in that camp for this work to agree or disagree with with Peter Bates at Classic.net. It is not a work of immediate .......
5: Classical Court, What do you Expect from Music? Is musical training a hindrance or help? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-01-14, 16:24:30 (120.158.21.178)
I raise this question because there seems to be an expectation from some that music needs to be intellectually as well as emotionally stimulating before it gets the thumbs up. And it seems many modern .......
6: Classical Court, Augusta Read Thomas: Dream Catcher - more to your taste? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-01-09, 17:27:28 (120.158.21.178)
The more modern compositions I've drawn attention to do not seem to appeal to some here and are being labelled as bland so here is another. I'll quote what Augusta Read said of it - "Native America .......
7: Classical Court, An album to either fall asleep to or get very, very cross about. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-01-08, 20:23:04 (120.158.21.178)
This is a quote from one reviewer who gave it a rating of 2/5. Against that some other reviewers rated it very highly and loved the innovative approach by the Icelandic composer and German-Japanese pi .......
8: Classical Court, RE: Could you elaborate as to what it is you like about the music? [nt] (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-01-08, 16:16:24 (120.158.21.178)
That is a hard one to answer Chris. I did find the music appealing and a refreshing contrast to some modern works which I really cannot listen to for long. And it is a contrast to our beloved Beethove .......
9: Classical Court, RE: That was a different Caroline Shaw (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-01-08, 16:08:26 (120.158.21.178)
Thanks for the correction - it was not making sense to me!! .......
10: Classical Court, Was married to conductor Robert Shaw (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-01-07, 19:15:46 (120.158.21.178)
An interesting interview with Caroline about being spouse of Robert in 1992 at http://robertshaw.website/caroline-shaw-interview I find the lives of many composers and musicians fascinating. ::: TOPI .......
11: Classical Court, American composer/artist Caroline Shaw - wow! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2023-01-07, 18:19:21 (120.158.21.178)
I have been guilty of joining the chorus "Classical Music is dying" but emerging brilliant composers like Carolyn Shaw deny that and give optimism for the future. The album Orange has innovative and .......
12: Classical Court, More rediscovered music - Quartets by Josef Beneš (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-12-27, 20:36:28 (120.158.21.178)
Chamber music is my favourite genre and I find these two quartets delightful fare, well recorded and played by the Martinů Quartet. There is a nice description on the background to the two quarte .......
13: Classical Court, Agree +++1 (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-12-18, 19:36:20 (120.158.21.178)
nt .......
14: Classical Court, Great Argentine Musicians - Barenboim, Argerich, Piazzolla & Sol Gabetta (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-12-16, 14:47:36 (120.158.21.178)
I've only just become aware of cellist Sol Gabetta. The cello is, along with the piano, one of my favoured instruments so I've relished the efforts of Jacqueline du Pre, Natalie Clein, Alisa Weilerste .......
15: Classical Court, A challenging contemporary cello work (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-12-10, 18:35:05 (120.158.21.178)
A casual lisatening to this could inspire a negative reaction but more serious listening reveals innovative cello music. Idlir Shyti is a new artist to me but his musical skill with the cello is spell .......
16: Classical Court, Our beloved Martha appears to have not recorded much Debussy (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-11-23, 20:58:49 (110.147.209.228)
In the 77 of her albums here (includes all the Lugano Festival ones) I can only see 3 Debussy entries. .......
17: Classical Court, Uchida (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-11-23, 20:48:40 (110.147.209.228)
I'm a great fan of that lady so will chase up that album - thanks for the tip .......
18: Classical Court, Apologies for a very slow response (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-11-23, 20:38:07 (110.147.209.228)
I won't bore you with excuses so will answer. Gieseking might be the supreme etudes interpreter in this collection but even with hi-rez remastering, the sound is not impressive so my choice of the alb .......
19: Classical Court, Debussy Etudes with a difference - Momo Kodama splices in edudes of Hosokawa (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-11-19, 15:51:22 (110.147.209.228)
Sacreligious, or refreshing? Have a listen to "Point and Line" and see what you think. I'm veering towards the refreshed side but it is challenging and certainly different!! I've featured a pic of the .......
20: Classical Court, Some unknown music from Toccata Classics (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-11-12, 19:51:54 (110.147.209.228)
I've featured Kate Loder as she is one of the more interesting composers Toccata are recording. I commend downloading the digital booklet as it gives a very interesting and scholarly account of the di .......
21: Classical Court, Chris, you are not moderating appropriately (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-10-19, 04:39:43 (110.147.209.228)
I am not impressed with you touting such controversial political opinion - you cannot expect to have the respect from others by posting as you do. To be frank, if I was still moderating, I would have .......
22: Classical Court, Agree but responded when shocked at Moderator postings (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-10-18, 21:38:59 (110.147.209.228)
I'm immersing myself in the chamber music of Nino Rota as an escape but fully agree with your sentiment. Politics has no place here. .......
23: Classical Court, This thread reflects how prejudices can be ingrained in the brain (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-10-18, 21:00:45 (110.147.209.228)
I have extreme difficulty with accepting a positive view of ex KGB officer Putin and his current action in Ukraine. IMHO to dismiss criticism of him as US propaganda is naive. The evidence of his resp .......
24: Classical Court, Adès Conducts Adès - album (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-10-18, 18:17:51 (110.147.209.228)
If you like Gerswin, you will like this! There are a number of bio articles on the net about Adès - an interesting modern coimposer. I see one of our contributors actually attended a similar, if not t .......
25: Classical Court, Beautiful Singing by Norwegian Mezzo Soprano Marianne Beate Kielland (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-10-14, 20:43:20 (110.147.209.228)
There are many very cheesy Christmas Carol albums out there but I found this one to be exceptional. Marianne has a lovely voice and sings the songs (not the usual Chistmas Carol choices) very movingly .......
26: Classical Court, Tasmin Little & a couple of music tit bits (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-10-12, 15:46:19 (110.147.209.228)
Exploring music played by this artist and articles about her, I've come across a couple of music tit bits you might, or might not have heard of. 1. In an article The Times reported "......Tasmin Littl .......
27: Classical Court, A Scary Challenge for Chamber Music Lovers - Feldman's String Quartet No.2 (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-10-06, 18:52:06 (1.120.167.47)
A brief summary description of the work reads "atonal, sparse, string quartet, acoustic, instrumental, hypnotic, meditative, calm, surreal, sombre, chamber music, soft, suspenseful, mysterious, avant- .......
28: Classical Court, Lovely Mozart Sonata playing by Orli Shaham (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-09-15, 22:56:47 (1.120.167.47)
I seem to recall that Richter avoided playing the Mozart sonatas because he judged them too challenging, something which never made sense to me but maybe a pianist here can offer an explanation. Regar .......
29: Classical Court, Organising a classical music collection is VERY difficult. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-09-04, 22:49:25 (1.120.167.47)
Not too hard for albums from the one composer but around half make it challenging with more than one. When I had the collection well sorted I attempted to collate, symphonies/orchestral together, cham .......
30: Classical Court, RE: Ooh! But she says she's been influenced by Britney! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-09-04, 21:23:09 (1.120.167.47)
Yes, that could be a worry, but I do feel her singing is a little bit better than Britney!! And I see she hanhers to sing the role of Violetta in "La Traviata" - one of my favourite operas. I wait imp .......
31: Classical Court, Another Find - Soprano Fatma Said. Lovely to look at and listen to (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-09-04, 19:42:31 (1.120.167.47)
The album is a bit of a mish-mash of items, but her singing is rivetting - a must listen on Spotify or whatever. POSTSCRIPT: Fired up with enthusiasm I have now downloaded the hi-rez file of her fi .......
32: Classical Court, When is a music collection large enough? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-09-03, 22:15:17 (1.120.167.47)
Some criticize a large collection as being obscene because there is no way all albums will ever be listened to. But is the same negativity aimed at those collecting books when there are obviously m .......
33: Classical Court, Yes, she is a mature and accomplished artist (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-08-21, 14:01:00 (1.120.167.47)
I read one comment on the net about her being a prodigy teenager but yes, that was many years ago. The reference was meant to show that not all are artists who never develop as a poster recently sugge .......
34: Classical Court, Another prodigous Violinist - Anne Meyers (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-08-20, 21:39:02 (1.120.167.47)
Yes, she is touted as a prodigy but hold off the sarcasm because she really is something special. She was unknown to me despite having achieved a lot of recognition world-wide, something reflecting on .......
35: Classical Court, The Haydn Baryton Trios - Esterhazy Ensemble (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-08-13, 19:38:50 (1.120.164.103)
One of the joys with classical music is the discovery of new things, in this case, for me, the baryton, a new instrument. A poster on Amazon describes it - " The instrument, the baryton, is very funky .......
36: Classical Court, RE: I recommend a test drive of the new Nezet-Seguin COE Beethoven 7th... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-07-23, 22:45:42 (1.120.164.103)
Well I DO like this Beethoven set and the DGG sound on them, and other DGG albums here is fine for me. .......
37: Classical Court, But I'm not so wrapped with the Glass Seasons effort (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-07-23, 14:16:13 (1.120.164.103)
The music is listenable, but not particularly impressive. But maybe there are more appealing versions out there? .......
38: Classical Court, The Four Seasons in 4 different flavours! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-07-22, 20:58:08 (1.120.164.103)
Yet another Vivaldi Seasons goes into this music library, but its playing is refreshingly different in this release and there are challenging contrasts with a Piazzolla tango version, one from Richter .......
39: General Asylum, A Senior Pontificates - What I've Learned in 7 decades of Audio Madness (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-07-19, 19:26:08 (1.120.164.103)
87 in a few weeks, so time to impose some senior wisdom on unsuspecting Audiophiles, some of which is guaranteed to raise the ire of some. This journey started in the 1940s when as a lad I listened .......
40: Classical Court, Yes and good for dowmloads too (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-07-06, 15:23:58 (1.120.164.103)
I've used their services for years without hassles and was pleasantly surprised the other day when a BD arrived within a couple of days from the order. And their prices are usually as good as you can .......
41: Classical Court, Is any music really bad? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-07-04, 22:13:28 (1.120.164.103)
Maybe an odd question but I would be interested what others think. It came to the forefront with me when trying to listen to the illustrated album. I could not find anything about it I liked so to me .......
42: Classical Court, RE: The Pekinel Sisters! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-07-03, 16:23:09 (1.120.164.103)
I also have them playing a few Mozart duo works - very nice, and have just ordered their "Treasures" box on e-Bay. Hopefully that album of yours will be among the 7 CDs. Here is the blurb on the box - .......
43: Classical Court, Duo Pianists Guher & Suher Pekinel (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-07-02, 18:45:22 (1.120.164.103)
One of the joys of this pursuit of listening to fine music on good equipment coupled with the collecting bug is the continual personal discoveries of great artists and the fascinating stories around t .......
44: Classical Court, Agree with your comment re his Handel Suites (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-06-29, 19:08:26 (1.120.164.103)
I must confess to ignorance about Eric Heidsieck and had not come across him in my LP collecting days. But better late than never!!! And I see he is only one year younger than me :-) .......
45: Classical Court, Do I need yet Another Beethoven Piano Sonata set? Eric Heidsieck's Beethoven Cycle (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-06-29, 16:37:25 (1.120.164.103)
I approached this with considerable cynicism having a number of cycles from eminent pianists already in this music library. But what the hell, it was inexpensive and did get a generally very positive .......
46: Classical Court, Interesting comment but nothing to do re her artistry (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-06-27, 15:25:14 (1.120.164.103)
It is easy to sling shots at artists for their peculiar personal foibles and du Pre's behaviour left the field wide open. But surely that is irrelevant? We love Wagner's music despite him being a part .......
47: Classical Court, The Remarkable Jacqueline du Pre (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-06-26, 21:33:54 (1.120.164.103)
Some of her recordings are regarded as absolute classics but by saying that it should not be interpreted as meaning her interpretations are the only "true" ones and those by other artists pale into in .......
48: Classical Court, If you like the cello and Chamber music .... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-06-09, 22:06:17 (1.120.153.19)
..... you will love this! Unknown but delightful!! The Eudora site describes this gem thus: https://eudorarecords.com/shop/catalogue/shadows/In this wonderful recording, cellist Lorenzo Meseguer and p .......
49: Classical Court, RE: Favoured Violinists in your music library? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-06-06, 18:26:27 (1.120.189.208)
Interesting comment. What you hear is a personal subjective evaluation which is neither absolutely right or wrong. I've had another listen to that Beethoven recording but cannot share your opinion tha .......
50: Classical Court, Favoured Violinists in your music library? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-06-05, 22:57:29 (1.120.189.208)
Note the header is "favoured" not "favorite" and in that context, I'm currently a fan of Isabelle Faust and have 28 of her albums. Her artistry and musical intelligence is awesome IMHO. I actually ha .......
51: Classical Court, PENDERECKI St Luke Passion (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-05-31, 22:07:09 (1.120.216.123)
There are currently 3 versions available of this work but I have only listened to the Argo CD featured where the composer is conducting. I have a few of Penderecki's works in the music library here bu .......
52: Classical Court, The Gramophone Selects 50 outstanding pianists (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-05-20, 17:11:25 (110.147.211.231)
Fourth try at posting!!!! The list I've compiled from "The Gramophone" is in alphabetical order of surname with no implied relative order of artistic ability. Like me, you might have selected some oth .......
53: Classical Court, Maybe, but I still prefer the older works - listening to Vilde Frang as I pen this - superb artist (nt) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-05-14, 04:47:17 (110.147.211.231)
8 .......
54: Classical Court, Something VERY different - Bora Yoone's "Sunken Cathedral" (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-05-13, 21:04:21 (110.147.211.231)
Not new as it was first released on LP & CD in 2014, but a new discovery for me. The first few notes had me groaning - another unlistenable Avante guarde item? But I became intrigued and listened to m .......
55: Classical Court, A superb vocal album - just released (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-05-08, 16:15:03 (110.147.211.231)
I was immediatly transfixed by the enchantment of Jose Maria Lo Monaco's voice, although not having a clue about what she was singing about. I'm a great fan of Baroque and Early music and this is, for .......
56: Classical Court, Pictures like this make it a lot more difficult (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-05-06, 17:17:47 (110.147.211.231)
I guess this picture personifies our dislike of artistic ego, regardless of talent. .......
57: Classical Court, Jenny Lin - The Eleventh Finger (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-05-05, 20:42:52 (110.147.211.231)
After the first few notes of this album I groaned - is it another item to temporarily cast aside with the tag "Oddball & Avante Guarde"? Well I persisted with listening and was sucked in. The music is .......
58: Classical Court, W e are spoiled with Chamber Music Choices - the Busch Trio & others (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-05-03, 17:44:45 (1.120.216.224)
Where I live is a bit of a musical outpost but one of my most memorable concerts was in the 1980's with the Beaux Arts Trio. The sight of Menahem Pressler's pianistic enthusiasm is etched in my mind. .......
59: Classical Court, RE: Expensive violins vs. very expensive violins test. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-05-03, 14:43:38 (1.120.216.224)
Agree - fascinating. I got about half of them right but that was no better than by chance and the sound was via small inexpensive speakers anyway. At this level the more important factor is the skill .......
60: Classical Court, Gilels, Kogan, Penderecki, ......... and the KGB (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-29, 23:27:20 (1.120.216.224)
While researching on the net about violinist Leonid Kogan, married to Gilel's sister, I found one reference suggesting his "heart attack" in a train aged 58 might have been engineered by the KGB becau .......
61: Classical Court, I did not mean to imply that (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-26, 12:59:58 (1.120.216.224)
She had been criticised for being fat by some and her response was she did not see how it affected her playing - that was what I was referring to. Many artists have their challenges but she had more t .......
62: Classical Court, Is it time to revise my opinion of Lang Lang? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-24, 17:12:26 (1.120.216.224)
The sight of his emotionalism at the keyboard has been the off-putting image of Lang lang that I have held for years and railed against. But more recently, without the video distraction, I'm modifying .......
63: Classical Court, Anthea Pichanick - a contralto worth your attention (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-23, 19:20:01 (1.120.216.224)
I really like the richness of her voice but, if you can, sample it and see what you think. iMusic had this to say: "Naples was the European capital of music, with its conservatories forming almost all .......
64: Classical Court, A rough estimate of just over 2.5 years (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-23, 17:33:31 (1.120.216.224)
That is based on a Roon album count of over 22,500 at 1 hour each but that is misleading as few of the non classical items (25%) are 1 hour BUT the count inclues many multi set albums, some 4 hours or .......
65: Classical Court, One of her wise comments ..... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-23, 15:16:12 (1.120.216.224)
"It is hard work becoming a celebrity but even harder to remain one". She comes across as a feisty artist who put on weight but refused to see how it affected her pianism so continues to enjoy her swe .......
66: Classical Court, Yes, Guilty your honor! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-22, 16:24:22 (1.120.216.224)
But like Kal, having switched to music files on PC, deletion easily fixes the problem. For awhile I kept both 16/44 and hi-rez versions of some but ultimately decided that was pointless as they sounde .......
67: Classical Court, A Fascinating Forgotten Pianist - Maryla Jonas (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-22, 16:15:58 (1.120.216.224)
I stumbled upon her via the set of 4 CDs illustrated. It seems she shot to "Stardom" with an LP of Chopin mazurkas although overall her playing was not enough to propel her into the halls of fame. But .......
68: Classical Court, Anna is between a rock and a very hard place (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-20, 22:19:31 (1.120.216.224)
I sympathise with her situation. It is all too easy to get carried away in a moment of enthusiasm and utter things that are dug up later with offensive overtones. Few public figures have not made stat .......
69: Classical Court, A composer challenge - describe your impressions of their music in just one word (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-19, 15:21:07 (1.120.141.4)
Maybe a pointless exercise, but interersting. Taking the list of ten defined in another post here is my attempt: 1. Johann Sebastian Bach - spiritual 2. Ludwig van Beethoven - inspirational 3. Wolfga .......
70: Classical Court, Lizst, Shostakovich, Berlioz .... ?? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-15, 21:39:49 (1.120.141.4)
Rankings are pointless as the music styles vary so much besides it all being so subjective. Ignoring the ranking in that list one could not argue against any being included as among the composers dese .......
71: Classical Court, RE: The fascinating pianist Yuja Wang (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-11, 14:56:19 (1.120.141.4)
Maybe in the text of another discussion but a search did not find asny recent headers. .......
72: Classical Court, RE: What a coincidence. I saw her recital last night in Chicago (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-11, 14:54:44 (1.120.141.4)
I'm envious - how great! .......
73: Classical Court, The fascinating pianist Yuja Wang (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-10, 21:21:07 (1.120.141.4)
It looks like it has been a couple of years since she was discussed here so I'm opening the topic again. Inspired by her playing I researched and came upon the lengthy but interesting article on her i .......
74: Classical Court, RE: ANOTHER recording of the Bach Cello Suites (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-09, 23:21:57 (1.120.141.4)
Interesting thread. Obviously, some feel the price is OK. I have over 20 different artists playing these suites in albums in this music library but cannot put my finger on which would accompany me to .......
75: Classical Court, Esther Birringer pianist debut album is worth your time to investigate (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-04-09, 23:06:40 (1.120.141.4)
The three works she has recorded are available elsewhere but I found her interpretations very attractive, particularly the Tchaikovsky Nutcracker where she succeeded superbly in translating the orches .......
76: Classical Court, Akiko Suwanai - Another artist lovely to listen to and to look at (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-03-24, 19:19:46 (1.120.230.46)
My chamber music preference usually swings towards the piano but this lady plays the violin VERY seductively. She has a number of albums out and all I've heard are, to me, rivetting. If you have no .......
77: Classical Court, Which artist(s) have you most albums of in your collection? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-03-14, 21:28:56 (1.120.167.186)
This question is inspired by the surprise I had on realising there are over 100 albums here featuring Daniel Barenboim. On reflection that is not surprising because there are a lot with him conducting .......
78: Classical Court, Peer Gynt - Ragnhild Hemsing & Trondheim Soloists - featuring a Hardanger Fiddle (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-03-12, 20:38:59 (1.120.167.186)
It is refreshing to hear a familiar work presented differently. I had never heard the Hardanger Fiddle before and the booklet accompanying this album (only release recently) explains its folk music o .......
79: Classical Court, How do you decide if a musical composition is ordinary, good or whatever? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-02-27, 21:10:58 (1.120.230.214)
As a non musician plebs I guess I rely on an emotional response so my judgement is purely subjective. And that comes with a heap of baggage - such judgement can be skewed by a number of factors both p .......
80: Classical Court, RE: . . . not to mention conductors who were/are sexual predators (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-02-26, 12:49:31 (1.120.230.214)
Yes, that is very challenging, .......
81: Classical Court, Prejudices affects music appreciation of Gergiev and ....... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-02-25, 20:06:32 (1.120.230.214)
..... a heap of artists, including many composers. Wagner is a classic example of an individual with views distasteful to many (but sadly, not all) of us. And he sponged on all he could BUT composed s .......
82: Classical Court, Most critics disliked her reading (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-02-21, 15:01:06 (1.120.230.214)
Interesting comment Chris and one which raises the question about the relative importance of interpretations. To unmusical plebs like me, a diversion of timing or even of the notes, is not critial. Th .......
83: Classical Court, Her interpretation of Mussorgsky's Pictures is .......... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-02-20, 18:21:09 (1.120.230.214)
Well I really like it and feel she is a dynamic and exceptional artist. But not all agree. Some time ago I posted here about it fishing for responses but the thread went way off topic so I've no idea .......
84: Classical Court, Beethoven + Jennifer Kloetzel + cello = sublime music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-02-20, 17:54:12 (1.120.230.214)
One of the joys of classical music is discoving artists who were previously under the personal radar and hearing them play. This American artist has some serious alternative choices with the Beethoven .......
85: Classical Court, Shostakovich - worth the effort to appreciate?? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-02-18, 18:41:50 (1.120.230.214)
I gather from some previous reactions about his music that many lurking here would reply with a resounding NO!! That reaction is understandable as many of his compositions are raucous and appear to la .......
86: Classical Court, Froburger - a fascinating character (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-02-12, 20:56:11 (1.120.230.214)
A Google search has not revealed the fascination referred to in the header. But there is a fascinating account in the booklet accompanying the album illustrated of how he expressed his emotions in his .......
87: Classical Court, RE: Assistance Request From eClassical / Download Experts (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-02-12, 20:39:15 (1.120.230.214)
A lovely work which I also now have. Why download separate tracks? You can go back (BIS allow this) and download it again, this time as an album. .......
88: Classical Court, Ear Infections should be carefully and promptly treated (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-01-28, 17:31:06 (110.147.218.64)
The header is common sense but too easily not properly fulfilled as I'm currently experiencing. My first GP (General Practice) medical visit only gave me ear cleaning advice and to be fair, infection .......
89: Classical Court, RE: Veress Quartets (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-01-15, 13:57:48 (110.147.224.72)
Ok, I've now sampled the trio (very nice) and his "Hommage" and agree his compositions are interesting although I cannot say they had me lusting after more from him. Like a lot of the more modern work .......
90: Classical Court, An overlooked "Warhorse" gem - John Eliot Gardiner Beethoven Symphony (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-01-13, 16:05:01 (110.147.224.72)
The term "warhorse" is not meant to be derogatory, although it is often used in that sense. I'm using it to describe a very well known work, so well known that I'm often guilty of deliberately avoidin .......
91: Classical Court, Another composer to inverstigate! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-01-13, 15:50:28 (110.147.224.72)
Thanks for the tip Mel, I'll follow up. A search of the over 21,000 Roon listings in this music library finds only one work of his here - Four Transylvanian Dances. I'll listen to it later. ::: TOPIC .......
92: Classical Court, As did Netrebco for getting inmvolved in politics (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-01-02, 20:55:56 (110.147.224.72)
Yes, social media is a two edged sword! .......
93: Classical Court, RE: Was "Social Merdia" a Typo? Either Way It's a Brilliant Descriptor! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-01-02, 18:54:02 (110.147.224.72)
Well maybe a bit unfair as there are some praiseworthy music items among the tons of junk but they can be hard to find. At the risk of sounding snobbish, although acknowledging its usefulness in some .......
94: Classical Court, True to an extent, but subjective evaluation can be unfairly critical (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-01-02, 17:48:46 (110.147.224.72)
History is cluttered with examples of composers who were initially shunned (and some still are!!) but were later praised to the sky. A similar situation can apply to artists where a bad review by an " .......
95: Classical Court, RE: A set of 6 Satie CDS is canned (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-01-01, 17:50:40 (110.147.224.72)
Thanks for the suggestion Todd - that is all in hand. .......
96: Classical Court, A set of 6 Satie CDS is canned (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2022-01-01, 14:57:17 (110.147.224.72)
The Gramophone gave the Brilliant Set of Cristina Ariago's Satie interpretations the severe thumbs down with a final comment "Ariagno to the magic that Alan Marks provokes on LTM says it all: this set .......
97: Classical Court, RE: John - I was with you all the way. Until you said that. . . (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-12-20, 18:38:28 (110.147.223.148)
Chris, I'm not trying to stir up a conflict, but I did not say that!! Interesting anacdotes and I had not appreciated you were in the camp of non Shostakovich appreciation!! Still learning. ::: TOPIC: .......
98: Classical Court, Judgement of how "good" a recording is (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-12-20, 15:02:41 (110.147.223.148)
It seems that judgement is primarily dependent on how musically educated the listener is. By that I mean that someone who is musically trained and plays an instrument has a different perspective on wh .......
99: Classical Court, A VERY lovely cello and harp album (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-12-18, 13:45:15 (120.158.32.250)
Every so often, one discovers a gem in this vast world of recorded music and this album is one for me. Lovely music from a variety of composers (see the attached link for details) played with the cell .......
100: Classical Court, The "Best" 50 albums according to the BBC Music Magazine (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-12-12, 13:23:04 (120.158.11.85)
Few would totally agree with their list while not depreciating the quality of items chosen, but the "best" is such a subjective concept it is unlikely we all do not have more favoured alternatives. Th .......
101: Classical Court, Seriously, is this music? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-30, 15:47:47 (110.141.12.206)
I'm interested in a wide variety of music but some of the contemorary efforts are not very entertaining. No doubt a lot of clever thought and work went into the composition, but I'm sorry, not for me. .......
102: Classical Court, I'm trying to overcome the prejudice the saxophone is only for jazz (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-27, 16:30:06 (110.141.12.206)
But it is hard as that instrument, well played, sounds great in a jazz setting. However one must admire the efforts of the lovely young Dutch-German saxophonist Hannah Koob to find suitable music in t .......
103: Classical Court, Yes I have that record + 18 others of the Mahler 2 (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-25, 18:07:03 (110.141.12.206)
The quality of this 60 year old effort is remarkable and the artistry deserves its high reputation. It is one of my favoured music compositions and I rank the conducting of Bertini and Chandler up wit .......
104: Classical Court, Martinu Chamber Music - superb (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-25, 15:13:29 (110.141.12.206)
If you like his symphonies, try this excellent artistry of his chamber music. .......
105: Classical Court, Early Beethoven Trios- period instruments with, horror, a forte piano! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-23, 16:37:05 (110.141.12.206)
I know that most, if not all of you really dislike the forte piano and concede that often the music sounds better on a modern instrument BUT urge overcoming of preducices to listen this delightful al .......
106: Headphone Heights, Headphones increase the bacterial count by 700X (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-22, 13:15:02 (110.141.71.50)
I just received this bit of fiction in an email so did some Googling and came across this interesting research https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3406203/ So we can relax although careful hy .......
107: Classical Court, RE: finesse, elegance and artistry (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-22, 12:45:40 (110.141.71.50)
Your use of the word "refined" is particularly apt as it neatly describes her artistry. I'm frequently surprised (and delighted) at just how nuanced her playing comes through on recordings. ::: TOPIC: .......
108: Classical Court, Magic with Schubert- Mitsuko Uchida (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-21, 15:18:49 (110.141.71.50)
I'm always on the lookout for new pianistic talent but come back to established artists like Miksuto for the most enthralling experiences. This lady's playing of Schubert and Mozart never fails to sen .......
109: Hi-Rez Highway, RE: The Focal Clear Professional MG Headphones POSTSCRIPT (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-19, 16:12:35 (110.141.71.50)
I've listened to these new toys for some time now and can detect a subtle difference between them and thr Utopias, and that subtlety might not be evident on all systems. It could esily be masked by th .......
110: Classical Court, I'll be interested in other opinions - a Janet Baker successor?? nt (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-17, 16:32:19 (110.141.71.50)
nt .......
111: Classical Court, The seductive voice of mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-17, 15:25:49 (110.141.71.50)
I must confess to frequently just sampling a track or two of newly acquired albums to get a sense of how well I rate then. But not with is album. Canadian Emily D;Angelo's voice was just too beautiful .......
112: Classical Court, A great fun album of chamber music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-17, 14:50:10 (110.141.71.50)
Occasionally the mischievious fun musicians have in performing their art come through. That is the case with this very appealing album with a wide variety of chamber oieces, Thoroughly recommended. :: .......
113: Hi-Rez Highway, RE: Low bass on Focal headphones (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-16, 21:22:34 (110.141.71.50)
You are right about those reports and there is a suggestion that being open back does not help. That said I fully agree that the bass sounds satisfactorily good. There is no way headphones can induce .......
114: Hi-Rez Highway, Low bass on Focal headphones (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-14, 17:58:17 (110.141.71.50)
With respect, I find that observation strange when I report what I hear - but it is not to be believed because of other reports? Perhaps my earlier comment on treating reports with caution is relevant .......
115: Hi-Rez Highway, RE: The Focal Clear Professional MG Headphones (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-14, 15:29:55 (110.141.71.50)
Achieving deep bass with Focal headphones requires a revealing DAC and headamp but is possible so is not a limitation on either the Utopias or Clear Mg here. This is an aspect of reviews which concern .......
116: Hi-Rez Highway, The Focal Clear Professional MG Headphones (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-09, 18:18:37 (110.141.71.50)
It is interesting to compare these to the much admired Utopias, something I'm currently doing and finding little difference. This might sound crazy but look at what is going on a little more closel .......
117: Classical Court, Do you get conditioned to both artistry and audio qualty? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-05, 20:36:32 (110.141.0.57)
Many of us do get confused and perplexed at reading polarising different opinions on a musical performance. Of course the easy solution is to not read reviews but that is obviously not going to happen .......
118: Classical Court, RE: Thanks, John - I don't know Jinjoo Cho's playing at all (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-11-02, 17:04:54 (110.141.0.57)
A late reply Chris, apologies. No, I have not heards her - there are some very talented artists coming out of Asia now, something not surprising in light of the huge population and the increased stand .......
119: Classical Court, A talented South Korean violinist - Jinjoo Cho (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-10-29, 21:21:08 (110.141.0.57)
I have been listening to the Saint-Saens album illustrated above and her talent and artistry are obvious. Beautifully recorded - strongly recommended. .......
120: Classical Court, Agree completely (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-10-28, 20:15:27 (110.141.0.57)
And that philosophy applies everywhere. Judgement should be on the quality of the product, not the gender of the one responsible. However that is a difficult proposition with music as tastes change wi .......
121: Classical Court, Gender Equality in Music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-10-28, 16:17:41 (110.141.0.57)
The topic of gender equality is a bit of a minefield and is even more so in the artistic field because here judgement is so subjective and is frequently done by males. I greatly admire intelligent gif .......
122: Classical Court, An enigmatic contemporary composer - Wolfgang Rihm (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-10-26, 20:21:02 (110.141.0.57)
He ia a highly intelligent man with a vast general knowlege of the arts, choosing music as the avenue for his personal artistic expression. I've used the term enigma in the header because that is how .......
123: Classical Court, Pejacevic Piano Music played by Ekatarina Litvintseva (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-10-23, 20:12:22 (110.141.0.57)
A couple of interesting artists here. More about the composer in the link but the pianist is just as fascinating. Nice music on the featured album. Here is a copy of the pianist's bio - She spent her .......
124: Classical Court, And yet another fine violinist - Pavel Sporcl (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-10-11, 21:26:25 (110.141.86.68)
Time to focus aaway from the glamourous women and appreciate that there are curently some impressive male artists (as there have been in the past). This guy has apparently managed to become a milliona .......
125: Classical Court, And I have two versions of the cello concerto played by Rostropovich (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-10-01, 22:46:39 (110.141.86.68)
One recorded 1956 and the other 1964. The cello comes through cleanly but the orchestral sound is below the latest quality. However I do have a fine quality recording of the cello concerto featuring T .......
126: Classical Court, I'm downloading the sonatas from Presto now (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-10-01, 20:34:45 (110.141.86.68)
The album illustrated gets good reviews. Next move is to look for the quartets. .......
127: Classical Court, A blonde pianist for Chris - Claire-Marie Le Guay (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-10-01, 19:01:56 (110.141.86.68)
Beauty, brains + considerable artistic talent! - The Gramophone was very impressed with this Lizst album and Classic FM described it as "A Powerhouse Performance Of Liszt". And wow - I agree. Spine ch .......
128: Classical Court, Superb thank you (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-30, 21:12:30 (110.141.86.68)
I've hunted through the over 400 violin chamber albums in the collection here but failed bto find that Suk item. In fact not much Suk full stop. LATER: Correction - I do have it being very capably pla .......
129: Classical Court, And another ignored Soviet composer - Nicolai Myaskovsky (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-30, 15:33:02 (110.141.86.68)
I have that set of symohonies but must confess to not listenung to them often. So I hestitate about giving opinion as the music is not always memorable or appealing. It is not avante-garde or outlandi .......
130: Classical Court, And Russian singing is best a capella (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-29, 16:51:20 (110.141.86.68)
One of my most endearing memories is of the singing of a group of male Russian singers in a small chapel in Russia - a spine tingling, hair raising experience. I did buy one of their CDs and wsish I h .......
131: Classical Court, That can apply to many albums where over an hour of the same music becomes challenging (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-29, 16:15:54 (110.141.86.68)
Yet we will attend a concert of longer length and enjoy it because the company of others makes it more of a social event. And this is where files on a PC are advantageous - one has a choice of the who .......
132: Classical Court, Agree nt (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-29, 16:07:38 (110.141.86.68)
nt .......
133: Classical Court, The Mendelssohn offer on eClassical now (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-29, 14:04:57 (110.141.86.68)
Sister to Felix, completely unkown to me previously, but now impressed. Very nice music. Very much recommended and at a bargain price. .......
134: Classical Court, A glamourous violinist for your appreciation (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-27, 23:44:43 (110.141.86.68)
Very nice solo violin playing, BUT over an hour is a bit concentrated, so best appreciated in smaller bites. Suoerbly recorded and helpful friendly notes by the artist on the items played. No mention .......
135: Classical Court, The Lokshjin Symphonies are on BIS at a good price (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-27, 15:59:34 (110.141.86.68)
You haven't really missed it as it is there on their list. I just downloaded "Lokshin - Orchestral Music" as the companion disk to their offer. I have the Jarvi set of Prokofiev Symphonies so are not .......
136: Classical Court, Another Soviet era composer - Alexander Lokshin (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-26, 15:50:14 (110.141.11.119)
Three of his symphonies are the current eClassical daily offer and were downloaded with some trepidation as reviews were cautionary. But they are more palatable than expected so should also interest t .......
137: Classical Court, The Chamber Music of Michael Quell (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-24, 19:50:00 (110.141.11.119)
I'm interested in different music, even, much to Chis's amazement, that of composers like Stockhausen. So I'm now sampling the chamber music of Quell but am not finding it very appealing. No doubt it .......
138: Classical Court, The new BIS Arvo Part Passio (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-23, 18:29:17 (110.141.11.119)
A VERY austere, but beautiful piece of music was given this description by Andrew Clements, Financial Times, 12.6.1986 "It takes 75 minutes to relate the story of the Passion according to the Latin o .......
139: Classical Court, Lizst Songs - eCassical offer today - Excellent (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-23, 17:07:54 (110.141.11.119)
Superb singing of songs unfamiliar to me - highly recommernded. And I'm taking the plunge with the Part Passio, an album yet to be released to the general public so no reviews available. The Hillier v .......
140: Classical Court, As a listener and not a performer of music .............. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-22, 19:29:35 (110.141.11.119)
........ I must confess to liking their playing a lot and stayed listening for a lengthy period. VERY nice recording quality. .......
141: Classical Court, And another feminine group to distect (or focus) you on the music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-22, 17:20:09 (110.141.11.119)
Their first recorded effort is being well prasised. I'm yet to listen to it but know how anxious some of you are to acquaint yourselves with delectable female artists so rush this post here FYI. LATER .......
142: Classical Court, Arvo Pärt - Passio on offer by eClassical (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-21, 15:40:31 (110.141.11.119)
Not sure I'm tempted as the Hillier interpretation appears to be the one to get + the work, which I'm unfamiliar with, appears to be very austere. Any comment? .......
143: Classical Court, Another composer discovered - Henriette Renié (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-17, 18:40:15 (110.141.74.151)
And the chamber music in the album displayed is delightful. A complex woman with a lot of detail about her at https://www.sylvain-blassel.com/en/about-henriette-renie but here is a brief summary lifte .......
144: Classical Court, Mieczyslaw Weinberg Symphonies half price hi-rez at Presto (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-12, 16:27:48 (110.141.72.87)
For those interested, there are 5 of his symphonies at attractive download prices for hi-rez at Presto. All but one are highly praised. I have one of the 5 of a set of his quartets by Quatuor Danel an .......
145: Classical Court, Thanks for that (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-11, 16:12:39 (110.141.72.87)
I just downloaded the other two chamber symphonies from Presto so will absorb them before moving on to your recommendations. The man had as many frustrations and threats as Shostakovich and was simila .......
146: Classical Court, RE: Another composer previously unknown to me - Mieczyslaw Weinberg (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-10, 22:18:12 (110.141.72.87)
And I just spotted the other two chamber symphonies are on offer at Presto at half price for hi-rez downloading. Great music - highly recommended .......
147: Classical Court, Another composer previously unknown to me - Mieczyslaw Weinberg (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-10, 21:27:47 (110.141.72.87)
eClassical are offering two of his chamber symphonies at a tempting price so I succumbed and have become intrigued at the background to this composer. There is a lot of fascinating material on the net .......
148: Classical Court, RE: Taneyev Choral Music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-02, 20:40:42 (110.141.72.87)
I've spent some time researching for his choral music and there is not much to find apart from 2 versions of "The Twelve Choruses - Partsongs on Poems by Polonski", the CD on one label being unavailan .......
149: Classical Court, Taneyev Choral Music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-02, 19:58:45 (110.141.72.87)
My interest in this is inspired by the essay referred to below - an interesting one to wet your appetite. But, athough I have the composer's chamber and symphony works well represented, this library o .......
150: Classical Court, A superb chamber classical offer on eClassical today (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-09-01, 20:34:20 (110.141.60.168)
Rave reviews and, listening to it, I see why .......
151: Classical Court, Gubaidulina - Offertorium is only for those who like Shostakovich (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-30, 18:34:25 (124.183.200.137)
But that is no guarantee that this album will appeal. It is very contemporary and OFFERTORIUM plays games with BACH'S Musikalischer Opfer, something beyond me currently. An interesting album, but I'm .......
152: Classical Court, I am missing the Mendelssohn Quartets 2 & 3 from the Excher Quartet (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-29, 20:58:15 (124.183.200.137)
eClassical are slightler less expensive to buy from than Presto if I insist on hi-rez. And that has me hesitating because I have not been able to detect any difference in AQ between hi-rez and CD qual .......
153: Classical Court, Escher String Quartet - another superb quartet playing Mendelssohn offer eclassical today (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-29, 16:06:21 (124.183.200.137)
Of all classical music genre I vote chamber works as my favourite. Apart from the music itself, recordings of quartets etc are generally better than orcherstral and this BIS release is up to their usu .......
154: Classical Court, The life and music of Albeniz (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-25, 20:53:06 (110.141.26.214)
Interest in this has been inspired by the complete piano offer by eclassical - yes, I could not resist and am pleased about that because it is beauifully performed and well recorded - recommended. The .......
155: Classical Court, Classical Music racist? Looks like COVID has affected sanity (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-18, 22:18:00 (210.50.218.38)
That article makes depressing reading. 'Racism' is being used as a smoke screen to hide all manner of society ills but to apply it to music is abut as far fetched as is possible to go. The worst aspec .......
156: Classical Court, Music on historically "correct" instruments - a two edged sword (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-18, 16:08:10 (210.50.218.38)
This post is inspired by mixed reviewer comments on the Satie piano offering from eClassical today. The odd piano used has evoked reservations. I know many here dislike the fotre instrument although i .......
157: Classical Court, Well I'm one oldie experimenting but ..... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-17, 22:24:40 (210.50.218.38)
.... as you say, the days left are limited (I'll be 86 next month) so I should take heed of your wise words. But then again, one is never too old to be adventurous! ! .......
158: Classical Court, Today's eClassical Offer - Mantra - not for everyone (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-17, 15:54:08 (210.50.218.38)
And I'm not so sure it is for me either. The first item by Toshio comes across as generally discordant and unappealing. No 2 by Sorensen is less jarring but has little immediate appeal. No 3 by Aalber .......
159: Classical Court, A delightful duo piano album of Milhaud's music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-16, 22:16:24 (210.50.218.38)
Not new but I just re-discovered it in the collection here. I only have half a dozen albums of Milhaud's works, something I guess reflecting that his music is very nice but doe s not generally capture .......
160: Classical Court, Do I want yet another interpretation of "Kullervo"? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-15, 16:59:52 (210.50.218.38)
No, I do not need it but it was too attractive to pass - todays e-classical temptation. The superb engineering of BIS combined with the Scandinavian empathy of Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orche .......
161: Classical Court, RE: John, with all due respect (and I think you know I'm being sincere when I say that). . . (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-12, 15:55:45 (210.50.218.38)
OK, your call Chris, but my sentiments are that there is no place on this site for real or implied personal comment. Rubbish and pettiness such as expressed in this thread is not worth preserving in t .......
162: Classical Court, Chris - DELETE THIS - it reflects poorly on this otherwiuse excellent site nt (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-12, 14:21:39 (210.50.218.38)
nt .......
163: Classical Court, WOW - what a useless storm in a teacup!! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-11, 22:13:13 (210.50.218.38)
Sorry, but I cannot see that any valid or significant points have been made here and more specifically, what it has to do with music. In particular, it makes the voluntary job of moderation uncomforta .......
164: Classical Court, And another glamourous and artistic group - The Sitkovetsky Trio (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-10, 15:44:43 (210.50.218.38)
And they are the current ecassical offering featuring superb playing of Dvořák, Smetana & Suk. Worth adding to a collection even if the works are already there from others. And up to the usual hi .......
165: Classical Court, And a link to more detail on the man and his music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-09, 18:35:33 (210.50.218.38)
The lives of some composers, and the stuggles they endured, make fascinating reading (if you have the time to spare). .......
166: Classical Court, The composer Medtner (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-09, 16:58:29 (210.50.218.38)
You have motivated me into finding out more about this composer. Not a happy life despite the generosity of his brother!! But nice music. .......
167: Classical Court, Nice lute album on offer today (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-09, 15:54:28 (210.50.218.38)
I like the artistry of Jascob Lindberg and have more of his efforts in the library. However some might find the music boring so be warned. I find it very relaxing and it appeals but we all have differ .......
168: Digital Drive, No harshness so no jitter problems (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-09, 05:13:41 (210.50.218.38)
I do not have a jitter problem because the G1 is cleaning it out!! The point of mny post is that in my situation I consider it is the bridge doing the heavy lifting. OLther ideas?? .......
169: Classical Court, Tartini - an intriguing marriage!!! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-08, 22:50:50 (210.50.218.38)
Still coming across odd fascinating bits and pieces abour composers. Here is one on Tartini FYI: A secret marriage to Elizabetta Premazore, the niece of the Bishop of Padua, in 1710 when he was 18 nec .......
170: Digital Drive, What bridge choices are there that are effective with PC sourced music? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-08, 21:13:43 (210.50.218.38)
I raise this question because my very limited excperience suggests that the ability of the bridge to handle timing errors (jitter) in the audio chain is critical and possibly more important than the D .......
171: Classical Court, Thanks for sharing John & pontification on the challenge of being an artist (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-08, 19:03:43 (210.50.218.38)
The life of a professional musician is challenging at the best of times - and now is particularly so with the epidemic out of control in many countries. It is interesting to see some using social medi .......
172: Classical Court, Prokovief Sonatas temptation from eClassical today (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-08, 15:54:27 (210.50.218.38)
Sonata No 1 is not a relaxing piece of music but its playing on this album is arresting and engrossing from an interesting husband and wife team (see the link for more). As usual, the BIS engineering .......
173: Classical Court, Yes I succumbed - Nice violin artistry (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-07, 19:14:36 (210.50.218.38)
But I have my reservations about the Seasons in tango form. Yes, it is refreshingly different, however ...... The 4 tango exudes for flute is my pick of the 3 works featured with the Histoire du tango .......
174: Classical Court, Another pinup to add to the collection? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-07, 18:34:11 (210.50.218.38)
Some of these new artists are a distraction!!! OR maybe an attraction to buy the album? BIS is trying to tempt me and I'm weakening. .......
175: Classical Court, Yes - interesting thanks Chris (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-05, 15:15:55 (210.50.218.38)
A fascinating character who spent most of his days in fear of deportation by Stalin and that very nearly happened. One wonders how different his music might have been in a less repressive atmosphere. .......
176: Classical Court, Finnish composer AHO - a timpani concerto (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-05, 14:52:10 (210.50.218.38)
An interesting modern composer but a concerto feasturing the timpani? That is the offering from eCassical at the moment so, being adventurous (or stupid?) I took the bait and downloaded it. Well, not .......
177: Classical Court, And a duo piano masterpiece from Argerich & Pletnev (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-03, 20:56:45 (210.50.218.38)
Brilliant playing from two of our favourite artists. Highly recommended. .......
178: Classical Court, A nice duo piano album from eClassical today (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-03, 17:32:09 (210.50.218.38)
Only in stereo and 16/44 so I guess of less interest to many. And one of the pianists, Hal Palsson, is not well known BUT the album is rather nice IMHO and worth the modest download cost. Originally r .......
179: Classical Court, So I now can choose to hear TWV40 Fantasies on the Guitar, the flute, the violin or the Oboe (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-02, 16:40:28 (210.50.218.38)
Comparisons are fascinating and the oboe (via Holliger) comes out as one of the more interesting instruments playing the Fantasies. .......
180: Classical Court, Around 11 Euro hi-rez download at Cobra (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-02, 16:02:51 (210.50.218.38)
This is not only the best price, but the most convenient place to buy it. You can download the booklet first to investigate further. Some places are asking very high prices for the CD with freight ad .......
181: Classical Court, Christian Poltéra plays Arthur Honegger (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-02, 15:47:35 (210.50.218.38)
This is the "special" offer on eClassical at the moment and IS worth investigating. Honneger is not a composer I'm very familiar with so it has been surprising to listen to this album and realise how .......
182: Classical Court, The Tangent Piano (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-08-01, 15:41:49 (210.50.218.38)
Interest in this has been inspired by the current daily eClassical offering of music by CPE Bach played on the instrument. Between the harpsichord (disliked by many here) and the piano I detect little .......
183: Classical Court, The negativity re Shostakovich has surprised me (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-31, 18:28:12 (210.50.218.38)
Yes, some of his music (as with all composers) is less appealing but so much more of it does hit the right notes with me. And the variety of that music is impressive. I guess a lot of it has to be vie .......
184: Classical Court, Thanks - is it available to download/ (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-31, 17:55:47 (210.50.218.38)
That is a vastly superior performance to the one I found and refrerred to earlier. The performance,, even via the tinny speakers of this notebook, is impressive so I would love to have it in the libra .......
185: Classical Court, Is there a recording of Bach's Cello Suite 6 on a 5 stringed instrument? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-30, 21:01:51 (210.50.218.38)
I have many artists demonstrating their skill with the cello by playing Bach's 6 suites but none here using the 5 stringed instrument Suite no 6 was written for. The story behind these works is fascin .......
186: Classical Court, Is there a piece of music that consistently irritates you? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-30, 19:44:08 (210.50.218.38)
I really dislike Ravel's Bolero - IMHO one of the most bland and unsophisticated works in the repertoire. Yes, there is variation of the theme, but i is not very subtle or appealing to me. Much as I g .......
187: Classical Court, I finally ordered the SACDs from Presto (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-30, 18:38:40 (210.50.218.38)
At half the price of downloads from E-classical, they were too tempting to resist. No guarantee they will top the bill in this collection, but there is only one way to find out. But that will now have .......
188: Classical Court, Another Beethoven Symphony set??? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-29, 18:05:45 (210.50.218.38)
I easily dismissed today's eClassical offering of Betthoven's symphonies 2 and 7 as I already have 16 interpretations of No.7 + a few complete symphony sets. But curiosity got the better of me (and I .......
189: General Asylum, Recordings made over 50 years ago can sound impressive (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-27, 22:06:15 (210.50.218.38)
Listening to a Mercury "living Presence" album this morning reminded me how good some recordings made back then were. And it was interesting to remind myself of the battle that went on to decide that .......
190: Classical Court, I agree with you (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-26, 21:15:01 (210.50.218.38)
Maybe some of the piano music is less arresting, but I find it very nice to listen no. I like Valentina Lisita's playing and that of Viktoria Postnikova. I see some critics absolutely hate his tone po .......
191: Classical Court, And another lesser known composer - from Iceland (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-26, 21:01:07 (210.50.218.38)
The composer Jón Leifs features on today's eClssical offer and yes, the music is very different! I quote from an article on the net "Icelands Greatest Composer": - His music is much like his native co .......
192: Classical Court, So what are the criteria upon which to judge if a composer is second rate? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-26, 13:14:53 (210.50.218.38)
I take my hat off to all who compose, and that includes those behind some modern popular fare. I might not particularly like what they compose but that does not justify any rating. Tchaikovsky wrote s .......
193: Classical Court, The Romantic Composer Spohr (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-25, 23:01:23 (210.50.218.38)
Research on the man was inspired by toadys daily special release and I copy the item below from Naxos for your amusement. When Spohr was appointed music director in Gotha in August 1805 he had just tu .......
194: General Asylum, You learn to ignore tinnitis nt (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-25, 05:36:22 (210.50.218.38)
NT .......
195: General Asylum, A warning to those over 40 - older age could be affecting your hearing more than you realise! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-24, 16:35:49 (210.50.218.38)
Maybe picking on 40 is an exaggeration. Generally hearing is still pretty good at that age but there are some who exposed themselves unnecessarily to extremely loud sounds (not necessarily music) a .......
196: General Asylum, This begs the question - are all sound distortions bad? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-24, 15:20:43 (210.50.218.38)
Here we strongly associate "distortion" with as number reflecting how good or bad a piece of electronics is. But there are many types of distortion, the most obvious being that caused by room/hall ac .......
197: General Asylum, But then do not ALL recordings present a distorted (compared to the original) sound? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-23, 19:36:10 (210.50.218.38)
The multi mics, mixers etc used to highlight certain instruments do fundamentally alter the sound in recordings so it is different to what one would experience in a certain seating position anyway (an .......
198: General Asylum, Listening to recordings - does it "condition" our brains? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-23, 17:36:56 (210.50.218.38)
Those of you who go to live concerts, be they jazz, classical or whatever, have a reference for comparison but those of us who only listen to our home systems might be predjudicing our brains as to wh .......
199: Classical Court, Schnittke's film music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-22, 23:04:14 (210.50.218.38)
A month ago, Pbarach recommended this music - well the 4 album set finally landed and has been sampled. The variety is amazing and the style quite different to some of his the other works listened to .......
200: Classical Court, Bottom line - more appealing to view than Lang-Lang (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-21, 17:17:19 (210.50.218.38)
And she is not alone in gathering emotional and prurient interest via video, and here's hoping her attire is an increasing trend and will encourage others to display their talents more. Plus actually .......
201: Classical Court, Sharon Bezaly being enthusiastically reviewed for her exceptional flute virtuosity (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-21, 15:35:15 (210.50.218.38)
An offer from eClassical for an album featuring this artists and the works of AHO have brought her to my attention. Not sure I'll buy it yet but find reviews of her playing skills fascinating with her .......
202: Classical Court, The Suzuki Beethoven Missa solemnis offer on eClasssical (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-19, 16:32:41 (210.50.218.38)
The reviews on it are mixed - lukewarm from The Gramophone but enthusiastic from Music Web and AllMusic - again illustrating how subjective reactions to music are. Yes I did end up downloading -> a to .......
203: Classical Court, Thanks Chris - interesting (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-19, 16:12:16 (210.50.218.38)
Obviously the inspiration for the music was more for the artist than his work but it is interesting to see it. .......
204: Classical Court, Nielsen's " Four Temperaments" symphony 2 (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-17, 22:11:31 (210.50.218.38)
Intrigued by the story of the painting that inspired the composer, I attempted to find an illustration but failed. In similar vein I've never come across the paintings thar inspired Mussorgsky with hi .......
205: Classical Court, Martha Argerich - a living legend (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-16, 18:49:20 (210.50.218.38)
Maybe you have seen this article before - but a link if not. I came across it again listening to one of her Lugano Festival albums - I've been fortunate in collecting a complete set 2003 to 2016. An .......
206: Classical Court, Not cheap, but sophisticated - look at ROON (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-16, 16:51:56 (210.50.218.38)
How well the music ends up sounding depends heaps on the components chosen. I'm personally very happy with ROON. No it is not perfect, but it does most of what I want with a very large collection. Tha .......
207: Classical Court, Do any other countries have bodies to help classical artists? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-15, 19:57:11 (210.50.218.38)
I've come across how DMW assist artists in Germany to get on their feet so wondered if the USA or any other countries have similar organisations to keep classical music and artists alive - anyone know .......
208: Classical Court, Caroline Shaw - new to me but an obvious talent (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-15, 13:51:05 (210.50.218.38)
Thanks for the heads up - I was completely ignorant about her. A few more like her and the future of classical music would look a lot brighter. But then, if we look back in history, we see this music .......
209: Classical Court, Sibelius Songs - Sophie van Otter (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-14, 20:35:08 (210.50.218.38)
I hesitated for some time before relenting and downloading this, but facing up to confessing becomimg a music album junkie, I relented. It was not expensive and joins some similar Sibelius song albums .......
210: Classical Court, Sadly no kickback - and those harp concertos? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-13, 18:40:40 (210.50.218.38)
Apologies for the slow response. There are only a couple of harp concertos in this collection - one by Handel & the other by Dittersdorf. Which ones are you referring to? .......
211: Classical Court, Interesting eClassical piano album on sale today (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-13, 14:34:24 (210.50.218.38)
I'm downloading it now. Different piano music played by Clare Hammond (a new artist for me) that has achieved high praise from the Gramophone and others. EDIT POSTSCRIPT: Wow, this is an impressive al .......
212: Classical Court, RE: "The Russian Brahms" (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-10, 20:29:12 (210.50.218.38)
Yes I've been reading about that work, touted as his greatest, so I'm now downloading it from our Danish source which turns out is only costing a few cents less than Presto, who also offer it in hi-re .......
213: Classical Court, Lesser known Russian Composer - Taneyev (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-10, 16:53:28 (210.50.218.38)
The album cover illustrated is one of 5 highly praised, excellent and inexpensive Naxos albums. A contempory of Tchaikovsky, his music is not well known but well worth exploring. Recommended. ::: TOPI .......
214: Classical Court, Nice Guitar Concerto Album (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-09, 17:22:51 (210.50.218.38)
As might be guessed, eClassical have been benefiting from my patronage lately but the music library here has had some nice additions as a result. This is a very well recorded album of rather nice, app .......
215: General Asylum, An Attempted Summarising reply (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-08, 23:47:39 (210.50.218.38)
The responses to my initial posting reflect the varied experiences we have all had. Combine that with our predisposition to liking a particular AQ and it is unsurprising we will not always agree on wh .......
216: Classical Court, Something else a bit different on e-classical (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-08, 17:24:17 (210.50.218.38)
I just inadvertently posted up about the Danish String Quartet in General asylum instead of here, so have a look at the post if, like me, you like chamber music. Anyway I looked to see what else e-cla .......
217: General Asylum, The Danish String Quartet - well worth investigating if you like chamber music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-08, 16:59:07 (210.50.218.38)
This group of 4 artists is very talented and versatile. As well as highly praised renditions of quartets they have assembled a couple of fascinating albums of folk music which includes some of their o .......
218: Classical Court, Yes, a nice album (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-08, 16:46:09 (210.50.218.38)
I already have multiple interpretations of these works but welcome this addition - very nice artistry and up to BIS usual high standards sonically. .......
219: Classical Court, Interesting piano piece on offer at e-classical today (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-08, 16:10:01 (210.50.218.38)
A collection of 30 short piano pieces that are neither heavy, dramatic or boring and might appeal to you. I would not pay full price for the album but am happy to add it to the collection at the curre .......
220: Classical Court, Discounted currently at presto (nt) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-08, 04:47:01 (210.50.218.38)
nt .......
221: Classical Court, The Brilliant Classics Handel set now price reduced! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-07, 14:51:30 (210.50.218.38)
Some irony in that because I just purchased a set only to find that if I had waited another couple of weeksd it would have been significantly cheaper. Such is life sometimes. Anyway I figured that the .......
222: General Asylum, Interesting reply thanks Todd (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-04, 05:10:54 (210.50.218.38)
We have both been around these traps for many years now and, although differing on some points. have settled down to systems that suit us. And, as you say, that is the bottom line. .......
223: General Asylum, Bad recordings or inferior DACs? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-03, 22:00:37 (210.50.218.38)
OK, not all recordings are pristine as some obviously come through the audio chain sounding better than others BUT are some as bad as we sometimes think? Being a scrooge I've never thrown a disc out w .......
224: Classical Court, Access to Classical & other Music Is so much easier than 21 years ago (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-07-02, 22:05:13 (210.50.218.38)
I mention 21 years because, incredibly, that is how long, on and off, I've been lurking on AA. And 21 years ago I was a digital hater, clinging stubbornly to vinyl, messing around with expensive toys, .......
225: Classical Court, Do you find you have a preference for any particular classical genre? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-30, 23:11:42 (210.50.218.38)
Our moods change and there are lots of different music genre to suit but I do find myself gravitating more often to chamber music, both instrumental (piano, harpsichord, violin) and groups such as qua .......
226: Classical Court, RE: The top 10 orchestras in the World..... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-30, 23:00:10 (210.50.218.38)
Thanks for the interesting link. In my classification of orchestral genre I list the conductor as the key link. Both are obviously important but to me it is the inspired leadership of the conductor wh .......
227: Classical Court, The chamber offering on eClassical today (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-30, 16:56:29 (210.50.218.38)
Another nice clean, clear and musical recording from BIS. Maybe like me you find piano and violin chamber works more appealing than clarinet and other woodwind, but the asking price is pretty good and .......
228: Classical Court, And I've just downloaded the Mark Wigglesworth Shostakovich symphonies at half pricee (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-29, 21:01:11 (210.50.218.38)
Yes, I already have enough interpretations of the works but could not resist!! .......
229: Classical Court, But then again it might be!!! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-29, 20:49:13 (210.50.218.38)
It is pointless challenging anyone about what they hear. You hear distortion, I do not, So why? Maybe it is a biological function of our brains/ears and that will always be the case. But perhaps it is .......
230: Classical Court, I'm invesgating .... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-28, 23:27:07 (210.50.218.38)
Looks fascinating - a quirky composer with a great sense of humour. .......
231: Classical Court, Mostly BIS Albums (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-28, 21:59:02 (210.50.218.38)
Yes it is limited but prices are better than Presto (particularly for hi-Rez, if available) if you can find what you want. So, for me it is not the first port of call, but a good one for some items, e .......
232: Classical Court, The Forte Piano and Harpsichord are disliked because they sound distorted? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-28, 20:25:02 (210.50.218.38)
And I have no argument if that is occurring because I cannot enjoy music if it is distorted. For that reason I find very old transcriptions of classic artists hard to appreciate. And I blame the DAC f .......
233: Classical Court, "What Mozart intended" (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-27, 20:57:09 (210.50.218.38)
It is amusing to speculate on that!! And I would guess many composers are turning in their graves at how some artists interpret their compositions. Music appreciation is so subjective so it is unsurpr .......
234: Classical Court, FWIW I find the recording enjoyable (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-27, 19:39:44 (210.50.218.38)
Bear in mind I play no instruments and am not a musician so this opinion is to be viewed in the context of basic ignorance. To me the most important aspect of a recorded peace of music is that it evok .......
235: Classical Court, I changed my mind and am downloading it (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-27, 18:12:03 (210.50.218.38)
Like you, I do follow this artist and love Mozart's concertos so .......... I'll listen soon and give impressions but tell us your verdict please. .......
236: Classical Court, Yet another attractive female artist! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-27, 18:05:09 (210.50.218.38)
Here's hoping her musical talent equates to nice appearance. .......
237: Classical Court, Mozart - Piano Concertos 9 & 12 - Brautigam (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-27, 15:02:01 (210.50.218.38)
This is the current e-Classical daily special offer but is getting mixed reviews. The fact that a forte piano is used will be enough for many to reject it but the reviews illustrate how different reac .......
238: Classical Court, Concerto Grosso No 1 - the flute and oboe BIS version - (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-26, 16:44:27 (210.50.218.38)
- is the the one I'm listening to now but a review suggests this version yields an entirely different aurora than the violin interpretation. That said, there is no doubting Schnittke's unique approach .......
239: Classical Court, The music of Alfred Schnittke (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-25, 20:07:56 (210.50.218.38)
This is yet another composer whose music has not yet been explored. But I'm now curious after purchasing the Alfred Schnittke & Arvo Pärt: Choral Works from e-classical. https://www.eclassical.com/per .......
240: Classical Court, César Franck - Piano works Yukie Nagai (piano) - the e-Classical daily special (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-25, 18:53:16 (210.50.218.38)
The reviews are not painting a picture of a "must have" album but, in line with my collection addiction, I added it to the collection and do not regret it. The reviews are coorect in judging the AQ to .......
241: Classical Court, Audiophilia has evolved into me being a musical junkie collector (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-25, 17:46:28 (210.50.218.38)
It must be an underlining need to collect. Once it was changing audio toys but now it appears to have evolved into collecting music that is not really important to have. Example - I have many great i .......
242: Classical Court, Maxim Rysanov plays Martinů (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-20, 13:47:41 (210.50.218.38)
A well reviewed item of interest. Gramophone: https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/martin%C5%AF-rhapsody-concerto-viola-sonata Classical Net: http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/b/bis02030a.php .......
243: Jazz Alley, RE: Lisa Thiel - where can I get downloads of her albums? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-19, 18:53:27 (210.50.218.38)
Sadly it says "Download not available" .......
244: Digital Drive, Like any PC program speed depends upon the hardware (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-18, 22:40:19 (210.50.218.38)
I have Roon handling over 17,000 albums on an 8tb and 6tb HDD drive with no dramas. Roon is on a 2tb SSD C drive. Maybe not lightning/instantaneous fast with the latest AMD processor & a ton of memory .......
245: Classical Court, RE: Juilliard Quartet, the Early Years box set and select hi-res downloads released (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-18, 19:16:04 (210.50.218.38)
They seem generally unavailable .......
246: Classical Court, I just listened to her Legendary Chopin 1965 recoding - magnificent (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-18, 18:46:54 (210.50.218.38)
Inspired by this thread to listen to Martha I chose this album - it brought tears to my eyes. Guys & Gals if you haven't got this in your collection go and get it now. The woman is truly a Goddess of .......
247: Classical Court, She has a very different personality (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-18, 17:29:17 (210.50.218.38)
I have been a fan for some time now so was fascinated by a recent documentary featuring her two daughters. Martha made it clear she was never cut out to be a good mother and her eccentric relationship .......
248: Classical Court, Scandinavian Choral Music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-18, 17:15:27 (210.50.218.38)
I've been collecting and listening to a variety of this genre lately thanks to BIS. Most of it is unfamiliar to our ears as local choirs find the languages involved too challenging. Maybe not masterwo .......
249: Jazz Alley, Lisa Thiel - where can I get downloads of her albums? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-18, 16:18:25 (210.50.218.38)
I generally lurk on the Classical board on AA but also dabble into Jazz and only just discovered this talented singer. But I find her CD albums VERY expensive so tried searching for downloads that can .......
250: Classical Court, That is a brilliant set of recordings and Martha is only featured on some (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-17, 14:52:07 (210.50.218.38)
I collected the complete set, year by year as they were issued and recommend them highly to chamber music lovers. A wide canvass of composers covered by many different artists. Bottom line - highly re .......
251: Classical Court, Audiens - Schola Cantorum Brilliant contemporary singing (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-15, 22:01:04 (210.50.218.38)
Old age has obvious drawbacks but one great plus is the time in retirement to spend exploring new and different music. And no argument Audiens is different!! If you ever have the chance, and like chor .......
252: Classical Court, Thank you for an interesting reply (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-15, 18:29:27 (210.50.218.38)
You are spot on about value judgements. It is pointless to compare Richter to Sting, each are great artists in their own field, and I should add Sting is borderline for me but that is not meant to be .......
253: Classical Court, RE: Can't judge a book by it's cover (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-14, 15:49:00 (210.50.218.38)
And I had a prejudice against Naxos for some time, labelling it a cheap brand with inferior engineering. Yes the art work on a cover has emotional impact just as the music inside has that potential so .......
254: Classical Court, Harpsichord reproduction is the ultimate test of audio quality (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-14, 15:43:09 (210.50.218.38)
Yes I have that album in DSD and agree wholeheartedly about how excellent it is. And I see we are on the same page re the harpsichord. The complex harmonics are easily screwed up by a DAC with unpleas .......
255: Classical Court, What genre does your musical taste extend to beyond classical? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-14, 15:28:10 (210.50.218.38)
I guess that before answering that one should declare tastes within the classics. Many hate opera, forte piano, ..... so tastes vary and even at the best of times our moods, state of health etc, influ .......
256: Classical Court, Some 1980's Decca CDs sampled and they sound excellent here (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-10, 21:48:18 (210.50.218.38)
Please understand I'm not trolling and respect opinions about shrillness because I've heard that myself with older DACs. But, thankfully it is in the past here. I sampled the following Deccas - * The .......
257: Classical Court, RE: Shrill soundings CDs (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-10, 17:58:57 (210.50.218.38)
Could you please name a few CDs - I might have one here and w ill try it out. .......
258: Classical Court, Shrill soundings CDs (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-10, 16:42:36 (210.50.218.38)
My limited experience is that shrillness is caused by inadequate DAC processing, something common in CDs early days with jitter the basic problem. I rarely find it now on any in the big collection her .......
259: Classical Court, Do you judge hi-rez classical music actually sounds better than 44/16? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-09, 15:26:19 (210.50.218.38)
This was recently discussed on the digital board but I would be interested in the opinions of those who lurk here. As I understand it, increasing the 44.1 merely allows reproduction of higher frequenc .......
260: Classical Court, Let us smugly concede we are really connoisseurs!! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-08, 17:46:33 (210.50.218.38)
Audiophilia is just a disguise. .......
261: Classical Court, Am I really a music lover or just a cranky old man? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-07, 18:47:44 (210.50.218.38)
Maybe I'm both but must confess to finding enyment from poorly recorded, often historic, albums difficult. My excuse is that response to musical stimli is emotional so mediocre reproduction has a less .......
262: Classical Court, Were you tempted by tday's Bach Susuki? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-07, 18:27:37 (210.50.218.38)
I already have the Harnoncourt interpteation of the first work vut could not resist downloading the Suzuki effrt - sublime music. .......
263: Classical Court, Symphony Fantastique (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-07, 15:30:01 (210.50.218.38)
An engrossing Berlioz work which I first heard, surprise, surprise, via a ballet in Melbourne decades ago. I've kept an eagle eye open ever since but have never seen it performed and caught on video. .......
264: Classical Court, I'm listening to that Stockhausen CD as I type .... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-06, 22:59:33 (210.50.218.38)
... and must confess I'm not a great Stockhauen fan. Klavierstuk is rather "plonk-plonk" music but I've heard worse. No surprise his compositions are rarely played or recorded these days. That said, I .......
265: Classical Court, Your Road to Classical Music? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-06, 16:04:16 (210.50.218.38)
Every so often we are asked for suggestions about dipping toes in classical music. But giving advice for that is not easy as music appreciation is so subjective. One man's meat is another man's poison .......
266: Classical Court, RE: Another classical music download site you might not know about (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-06, 15:06:47 (210.50.218.38)
If you are dipping your toes into classical, the daily special on the site today would be helpful. It is an excellent way of becoming familiar with the Verdi music of the opera and could even bring yo .......
267: Classical Court, Another classical music download site you might not know about (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-05, 20:53:42 (210.50.218.38)
It is a bit restricted for choice as not all brands are covered and not all albums are available for that brand BUT there are some yummie offerings at good prices. And they do not charge more for hi-r .......
268: Classical Court, A choral discovery by Benedict Sheehan: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-04, 20:34:49 (210.50.218.38)
Yes, I've been absent from AA for some time due to factors I'll not bore you with. But I've been continuing to build the collection on haed drive and am relishing superb sounding music on headphone .......
269: Headphone Heights, RE: By AEC do you possibly mean AES/EBU or AES3? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-04, 16:24:50 (210.50.218.38)
Yes AES/EBU, thanks for the correction. I'll blame old age for that one! .......
270: Headphone Heights, I'm finally at the end of the road and have the best system for me (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2021-06-03, 20:51:23 (210.50.218.38)
I've been away from the Asylum for awhile due to various factors I'll not bore you with. But I've been "upgrading" (silly word) for some time while collecting and listening to a lot of music via RO .......
271: Classical Court, Mutter/Masur Beethoven Violin Concerto (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-12-06, 16:59:22 (211.26.205.53)
Perhaps this has been discussed long ago so forgive my ignorance by opening up discussion on it again. The critics are damning of Mutter's performance with this concerto, but maybe I'm an unintelligen .......
272: Classical Court, Mussorgsky "Pictures" on piano - Now for Something Really Different!!!! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-07-12, 21:58:10 (218.215.107.138)
Among other Cds 2 piano versions of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" arrived. The first was a well reviewed one sampled was played by Paul Lewis. Yes competently played, but no real surprises. .......
273: Classical Court, RE: May be brilliant, but.... (Fair warning: had a shot of vodka.) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-02-27, 17:02:22 (218.215.107.138)
LOL, and I like vodka too! Your post illustrates perfectly just how subjective is appraisal of music. I often feel that criticism of raspy/shrill strings on recordings is more a reflection of poor dig .......
274: Classical Court, Yes LKS (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-02-23, 20:44:11 (218.215.107.138)
One of the penalties of old age with me is increasing typos. Thanks for pointing that out - now corrected. I briefly owned the well reviewed Schiit Yoggy but the LKS was so much better (and less expen .......
275: Classical Court, Recording manipulation (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-02-23, 20:39:25 (218.215.107.138)
I suspect EVERY recording these days is "manipulated". The feed from multiple mics goes through a mixer and ...... I detect no adverse "manipulation" with my disc copy, but as I said before, bad elect .......
276: Classical Court, Not harsh but the DAC is fundamentally important to achieve that (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-02-23, 19:44:23 (218.215.107.138)
No, strings not too harsh on the set up here. BUT, that is no guarantee they will not sound harsh on some gear. Reason - nothing wrong with the recording BUT if the digits are not deftly handled by th .......
277: Classical Court, A Brilliant "Pathetique" from Currentzis & MusicAeterna (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-02-23, 19:07:30 (218.215.107.138)
Sigh, not another Tchaikovsky No 6 - surely I have enough versions of this veritable warhorse? Well those were my thoughts before ordering, but the BBC Music review was so persuasive I went ahead and .......
278: Classical Court, Excellent cello CD - The Cello in Wartime - Isserlis on a Trench Cello (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-02-23, 16:51:39 (218.215.107.138)
The cello and piano are my favourite solo instruments so I could not resist this highly praised (BBC Music) album and am more than pleased with it. Following rave reviews can be a trap if one's tastes .......
279: Classical Court, Klara Wurtz - her Mozart Sonatas are excellently played and interpreted (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-02-23, 15:54:19 (218.215.107.138)
If you get the chance, have a listen to her playing the Mozart Sonatas - the multi disc set (Brilliant Classics) is inexpensive with quite a few on e-bay at rock bottom prices. The review below sugges .......
280: Classical Court, It is the magic touch of the artist that can make the difference (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-02-23, 12:58:45 (218.215.107.138)
And it is because of that I find Mitsuko Uchida's delicate touch combined with technical brilliance so attractive. And little known Klára Würtz is not far behind. However reaction to music and its a .......
281: Classical Court, Richter & Mozart (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-02-22, 18:15:43 (218.215.107.138)
Interesting. Where did you find that? I have known for some time he did not favour the composer but am surprised if that is the reason. POSTSCRIPT: Did a search and the only statement so far (Wikipedi .......
282: Classical Court, Mozart Sonatas - why do some pianists avoid them? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-02-22, 14:46:17 (218.215.107.138)
This question came to mind when doing a survey of the nearly 1000 piano albums in this collection. Now it could be I have not collected some because they were not favourably reviewed so the only sets .......
283: Classical Court, The superb artistry of pianist Mitsuko Uchida (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-01-23, 21:46:02 (111.220.170.101)
I've just listened to her playing Schumann's "Carnival" and am moved by her delicate touch. This is on CD2 of her album "Perspectives" - highly recommended. .......
284: Classical Court, RE: I think it would take more that a really good Chinese DAC... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-01-05, 17:52:16 (111.220.170.101)
The harpsichord can often sound "jangly" and I guess it is because of the massive harmonics not being well reproduced. And another trap with harpsichord recordings is playing them too loud. The few ha .......
285: Classical Court, Ronald Brautigam & the Forte Piano (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2018-01-05, 14:55:05 (111.220.170.101)
Some time ago I wrote in praise of his Beethoven sonata set played on the forte piano and the post sponsored negative replies about the instrument and a sarcastic note congratulating me on my new foun .......
286: Classical Court, RE: Argerich and Mozart (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-11-18, 11:18:22 (211.26.202.255)
Thanks for the tips. I've now ordered the Barenboim/Argerich duo piano recording (only some Mozart on board) and 5 of the highly praised Uchida/Cleveland Mozart piano concertos. And there is some Moza .......
287: Classical Court, RE: Farewell Martha Argerich and friends at Lugano (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-11-17, 19:30:36 (211.26.202.255)
Fully agree. And it underlines how live performance inspires the artists much more than studio recordings do. I now have all 45 albums on hard drive that were issued over the last 15 years. The variet .......
288: Classical Court, Schumann's Violin Concerto (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-11-04, 19:22:56 (211.26.202.255)
Still not sure I particularly like this work, even when played alluringly by Isabelle Faust with vavishingly fine audio. The first movement seems a bit of a mess to these old ears although becomes mor .......
289: Classical Court, Schubert "Fierrabras" (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-10-28, 04:20:25 (211.26.202.255)
Thanks for the reminder - I have it here so must have another listen . .......
290: Classical Court, Opera "Discovery" - Schubert's "Alfonso & Estrella' (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-10-27, 22:23:17 (211.26.202.255)
Friends over recently and we looked at the recently released DVD from Naxos. I did some preliminary research and found it was a candidate for the worst opera with the best music along with Bizet's .......
291: Classical Court, RE: Which classical musical instrument do you find hardest to reproduce to enjoy? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-10-05, 13:01:12 (202.7.239.23)
Interesting reply - sort of similar to hearing perrfect pitch, maybe the same? .......
292: Classical Court, Favourite Classical Artists (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-30, 20:26:33 (202.7.239.23)
As might be guessed from the thread below, Martha Argerich is one of my favourites. She might not have been a very devoted mother (a fascinating doco has been made about that) but her artistry is boun .......
293: Classical Court, RE: I don't have all of these, but .... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-30, 20:00:25 (202.7.239.23)
Fully agree and find myself coming back to chamber music time and time again. And one of the telling aspects of these recordings is that the music was being perrformed in front of a live audience, som .......
294: Classical Court, Damn- I don't have the 2003 issue!!! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-29, 21:58:47 (202.7.239.23)
Thanks for alerting me to that. POSTSCRIPT: Finally found a set on e-bay, actually cheaper than the Presto download, something unusual as many are asking very high prices for these CDs. .......
295: Classical Court, Farewell Martha Argerich and friends at Lugano (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-29, 21:31:21 (202.7.239.23)
I just read that, sadly, her annual Lugano chamber concerts are to be no more with their subsidy being withdrawn. I've been a fan of these 3CD sets since they were first issued in 2004 so, including t .......
296: Classical Court, It is a complex problem but remarkable progress has been made (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-22, 18:09:26 (202.7.239.23)
I have always had reservations about the current use of many microphones fed into and manipulated in complex mixing consoles BUT must concede that it does work to yield a credible illusion of an orche .......
297: Classical Court, And it is here that some headphones shine (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-22, 17:38:50 (202.7.239.23)
Having very light diaphrams they can respond to this music with surprising accuracy. Electrostatic membranes in speakers and some headphones are similarly smart at responding and recovering to these i .......
298: Classical Court, Very interesting response (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-21, 18:50:19 (202.7.239.23)
And I would guess the perspective of an orchestral player would be even more different! .......
299: Classical Court, Which classical musical instrument do you find hardest to reproduce to enjoy? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-20, 15:58:09 (202.7.239.23)
I guess I'm not a true musician as the quality of reproduction of the music is most important to me. So, I find older recordings much harder to enjoy. My take is that the harpisichord is the most chal .......
300: Digital Drive, Now Solved (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-18, 17:56:01 (202.7.239.23)
Obviously the cable impedence is rather important and it was stupid of me to use mic cable. That has now bneen replaced with more correct cabling and all systems are behaving. Yes it does seem that 3 .......
301: Digital Drive, Can someone please explain what is going on with this Canare splitter & attached cabling? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-12, 22:21:26 (202.7.232.47)
The setup is: Roon (files on this PC) -> Aurilac Aries (LAN cable connected) -> AES digital out -> Canare 3 way splitter with 3 AES/BSU outs -> 1. Canare DA206 balanced cabling -> DAC -> headamp & hea .......
302: Headphone Heights, RE: I was advised by someone who knows a thing or two... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-02, 17:30:19 (139.216.89.178)
It is interesting how our concept of value has changed with emphasis for some of us now on headphones rather than amp/speaker systems. I pose the question as to how great is the fidelity of any $1000 .......
303: Headphone Heights, RE: Took my Sennheiser HD800 a very long time to break in... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-09-01, 15:58:04 (139.216.89.178)
And I found that not all HD800's sound the same. Some time ago I had two of them and one most definitely sounded better than the other. But I do find the HD800S is smoother and (yes I'm an idiot) now .......
304: Headphone Heights, Demo-ing headphones (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-08-27, 20:14:11 (123.3.221.56)
And that touches on another weird aspect of this "hobby". One can become"acclimatised" to a certain sound so that it becomes the preferred option. This can display itself with music where a particular .......
305: Headphone Heights, RE: Lots of folks on Head-Fi think the HD-800 S solves problems many found... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-08-27, 18:33:28 (123.3.221.56)
At 82 next month my hearing is not great for the high frequencies so I never found the HD800 unbearable as some have. That said, I do find the 800S smoother. The problem with a lot of headphone compar .......
306: Headphone Heights, RE: IF you indeed end up with the HD-800 S.... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-08-27, 16:10:07 (123.3.221.56)
I'm surprised at the negative comments about the HD800 as, although not as smooth as the 800S, they sounded very good to me. Forgive me, but I must hark back to a mantra I keep beating like a drum. Mo .......
307: Headphone Heights, RE: Focal Utopia vs Sennheiser HD800S (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-08-25, 01:25:57 (123.3.221.56)
Thank you for your comments and good wishes. A PS to my post. Look around for a used 800S. Here they are available, virtually new, at 70% new price. I have a used one and it is perfect. I feel they co .......
308: Headphone Heights, Focal Utopia vs Sennheiser HD800S (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-08-24, 18:40:16 (123.3.221.56)
In general terms, as an owner of both, I would recommend the Sennheiser is a better fit for most people. Yes, the Focals are slightly better and more revealing BUT this will only be apparent in an .......
309: Digital Drive, Wise words ... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-08-08, 15:36:41 (123.3.219.196)
... and it was responsible my original post. There was something just not right about the audio quality - it was obviously jitter, the curse of digital!! 25m of Canare cable on its way to improve the .......
310: Digital Drive, I'm guilty of using long digital feeds to DACs :-( (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-08-05, 15:44:24 (111.220.55.251)
Thanks guys - invaluable. For some naive thinking reason I had not associated jitter problems with cables so your responses have educated this old mind. Previously I had always associated jitter with .......
311: Digital Drive, For analog balanced output ex a DAC, is there any significant difference between RCA unbalanced DAC input to XLR input? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-08-04, 22:39:28 (111.220.55.251)
There is a lot written about the possible advantages of balanced analog out of a genuinely balanced DAC but I'm unsure if a balanced digital input to the DAC is any advantage. Anyone know? TIA John :: .......
312: Music Lane, I now suspect the fortepiano is not easy to reproduce well (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-06-15, 16:31:05 (139.216.91.90)
I completely understand where you are coming from and would have agreed with you previously. I would not have changed my mind had I only been exposed to its sound on a good, rather than excepional, sy .......
313: Music Lane, Ronald Brautigam's Beethoven Sonatas via the fortepiano (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2017-06-15, 00:05:07 (139.216.91.90)
These nine discs arrived today and are now in the Server feeding music via Roon. A couple of surprises about them to post about. First listening was done on the high end rig using the Focal Utopia hea .......
314: Music Lane, There are 20 in that list with many you nominate in it + 20 TOP CONDUCTORS!!!! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-08-20, 17:28:56 (202.7.231.200)
I should have added in the original post, there were 20 listed and may mentioned by posters here are in that 20. Apologies but I was too lazy to type in numbers 11 to 20. And here is another list, fro .......
315: Music Lane, BBC surveys 151 conductors - Beethoven Sym. No 3 chosen as the greatest symphony (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-08-19, 18:25:15 (202.7.231.200)
The choices of the 151 conductors varied as widely as would opinions here, but the top 10 symphonies chosen were: 1. Beethoven Symphony No 3 (1803) 2. Beethoven Symphony No 9 (1824) 3. Mozart Symph .......
316: Headphone Heights, Enthusiastic welcome to HiFiMan 400S headphones (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-02-09, 12:25:22 (139.216.67.246)
The 400S arrived yesterday and I'm in awe. They match up to the SONY A17 player superbly. Good sensitivity. more bass, better articulation, more air, ... than the Sennheiser 598s or 650s used previous .......
317: Music Lane, Conductor or Orchestra? Which is more important? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-01-28, 01:08:50 (60.231.176.190)
You make a good point but I must agree with Chris because conductors DO extract different interpretations from the same orchestra. But bear in mind that this sort of classification is to make searches .......
318: Music Lane, Database entries for classical music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-01-27, 13:54:12 (60.231.176.190)
Most of the discussion below is centered on descriptions of albums in a server but applies generally to database entries for classical music. It also applies to how classical recordings are classified .......
319: General Asylum, Improved hearing setup in a 7.1 system for a hearing impared inmate (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-01-19, 12:24:46 (147.69.161.208)
The schematic above hopefully explains everything and has been posted as it might give some ideas to others who suffer from hearing loss but still want to enjoy as much of the audio from an A/V sys .......
320: General Asylum, Good AQ in & good AQ out! nt (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-01-08, 18:44:54 (147.69.12.138)
Agree, but why put garbage in? The latest Sony players can handle classical music very very well - far better than any iPod or phone.. .......
321: General Asylum, The New Sony A25 - "Music Play on the A25 for Dummies" (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-01-08, 14:49:04 (147.69.12.138)
I've been the happy owner of a Sony A17 for some time now and finally managed to persuade my (somewhat scrooge) friend to invest in an new A25 to play music (the only mode he is interested in). I'v .......
322: Digital Drive, The headphone jack (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-01-04, 11:52:56 (147.69.25.208)
Thanks for replying Kal. The unfortunate aspect of using the headphone jack is it cuts off all audio to amps & speakers so deprives others in the room of any sound. But, as you say, it does not utilis .......
323: Digital Drive, MC = multi channel (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-01-04, 01:25:20 (147.69.25.208)
That gizmo looks very similar to a Monoprice one I've already tried. The monoprice gives 2CH analog but baulks at giving PCM 2Ch stereo because the cannot properly decode the HDMI signal. I hope the A .......
324: Digital Drive, The original digital audio format can vary and .... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-01-03, 21:52:35 (147.69.25.208)
.... I guess this is the basic problem I face. My hearing is deteriorating so I'm trying to find a way of sending PCM stereo to the Benchmark DAC beside where I sit for headphone use. The older Rotel .......
325: Digital Drive, Is there any gismo that converts MC digital to digital stereo? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2016-01-03, 19:20:18 (147.69.25.208)
Googling only gives me converters from HDMI or converters ending in analog stereo. Anyone know of a converter which keeps the signal in the PCM domain but extracts 2 CH from the other digital formats? .......
326: General Asylum, Graphic equalisers (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-30, 14:37:15 (124.182.196.125)
Thanks for the tips. There is an excellent discussion of these at http://www.recordingeq.com/EQ/req0400/OctaveEQ.htm So I will simply go for an octave equaliser - it is all I need to change frequencie .......
327: General Asylum, Downsizing systems (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-29, 19:25:52 (124.182.196.125)
Yes this is undoubtedly a trend, particularly when portable players like the Sony A series sound so good and are so inexpensive. This seduces people into more headphone use and with that high end AQ c .......
328: General Asylum, Your thoughts are appreciated thanks (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-29, 15:03:24 (124.182.196.125)
It was with heavy heart I posted up about this having previously slotted myself into the audiophile category but poor hearing is now counting me out of that. All somewhat depressing. But one must be r .......
329: General Asylum, RE: Use your tone controls (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-29, 11:55:12 (124.182.196.125)
I do in one system and am intending to insert a 31 band graphic equaliser into the headphone music system. I agree we have been conditioned into a paranoia about using these devices but with severe he .......
330: General Asylum, The brain takes time accommodating hearing aids (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-29, 04:02:12 (124.182.196.125)
Same with glasses, although not quite as challenging. The worst of the lot is CPAP gear required to overcome sleep apnea But hearing aids are not far behind. The brain revolts at having to be re-progr .......
331: General Asylum, Thanks for a thoughtful response Tom (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-28, 11:09:22 (124.182.196.125)
Tom I agree there is a lot of hype around hearing with the incorrect assumption everyone starts off with the same hearing response. With few people thinking exactly alike (identical twins excepted) be .......
332: General Asylum, RE: How bad is your hearing? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-27, 15:16:39 (124.182.196.125)
Thanks Dave, I've read good things about those but at the moment are getting settings sorted out with a pair of BTE Bernafon Acriva 9s. They have 4 programs set, one is general, two is for crowded sit .......
333: General Asylum, How bad is your hearing? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-27, 14:29:33 (124.182.196.125)
Seems to be a man thing not to admit hearing loss but I've been forced to face up to it and now wear hearing aids which help a bit but not an awful lot. A friend of mine is heavily into LOUD classical .......
334: Digital Drive, Finally found a unit (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-23, 16:23:07 (147.69.16.134)
The clue for searching was "lip sync" and that led me to discover quite a few units that were available in the past but many are now discontinued. I had hoped to latch on top a used unit and did disco .......
335: Digital Drive, Thanks for responding (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-22, 19:04:30 (147.69.16.134)
Finally on the track of a couple of items with the Alchemy looking to be the most promising as it is in the digital domain. I hope to be able to get one for around the $USD100 mark + postage (bit of a .......
336: Digital Drive, Is there a simple digital audio buffer to slow down the signal? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-22, 03:16:11 (147.69.139.148)
There are two HDMI feeds out of the Onkyo preamp/processor here and I've got the following setup: MAIN HDMI out -> amps and speakers in a 7.1 system with 4 subs (for my wife) HDMI output 2 -> HDMI pro .......
337: Digital Drive, Is there a simple digital audio buffer to slow down the signal? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-12-21, 22:04:34 (124.182.197.146)
There are two HDMI feeds out of the Onkyo preamp/processor here and I've got the following setup: MAIN HDMI out -> amps and speakers in a 7.1 system with 4 subs (for my wife) HDMI output 2 -> HDMI pro .......
338: General Asylum, And that is exactly what I did! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-11-29, 03:37:46 (60.231.182.124)
Purchased a refurbished LG on the net. But (again read my post) it was not region free which the Panasonic was -> it had to be brought back into use for DVDs. .......
339: General Asylum, Misbehaving cats (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-11-28, 21:17:31 (60.231.182.124)
We have a cat like that only v. dark brown + green eyes. He has been shooed off the top of the sub speakers several times. The other cat climbed up the top of the electrotats twice(illustrated) wh .......
340: General Asylum, KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid nt (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-11-28, 15:20:01 (60.231.182.124)
** .......
341: General Asylum, Read my post - the BD option does not work (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-11-28, 12:26:52 (60.231.182.124)
As I posted, it was sent for repair but no parts are available! .......
342: Music Lane, Gala Mariinsky - a superb musical experience on Blu Ray (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-11-27, 19:48:15 (60.231.182.124)
I've just finished viewing and listening (via headphones) this in my "man cave" and thoroughly enjoyed it - more spine chill moments than experienced for some time. It is a film of the opening concert .......
343: General Asylum, Is KISS ever possible for sufferers of Audiophilia & Videophilia? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-11-27, 15:18:16 (60.231.182.124)
For me, sadly not. Something which starts out simple, inevitably ends up complex but I suppose that is the nature of this "hobby". The latest madness has occurred in my headphone system which start .......
344: Music Lane, Two DVDs worth investigating (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-10-19, 14:51:53 (147.69.6.147)
Music loving friends over last night and we looked at the two DVDs illustrated above. The "Orchestra of Exiles" was purchased as a result of an earlier post here and related the exhausting efforts .......
345: Music Lane, Music Collector no good for music videos, only movies (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-10-09, 19:47:08 (147.69.39.220)
I guess that like CDs, where classical music is not the focus, with video it is movies the databases cater for, not music videos. No doubt a large number of databases would suit if I'm prepared to typ .......
346: Music Lane, Anyone know a good video database for classical fare? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-10-08, 23:48:31 (147.69.39.220)
Maybe not a good move, but I've taken all DVDs& BD music videos (operas, concerts etc) out and put them in a number of albums basically designed for CDs. The albums have been classified with those con .......
347: General Asylum, Interesting, but there are just so many different forms of cancer that ..... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-09-19, 20:46:13 (124.177.23.197)
........ it is improbable music could be a general cure. More likely appropriate music (not heavy rock etc) relaxes the patient to stimulate the immune system to act more effectively, something which .......
348: General Asylum, RE: High Frequencies over rated (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-09-19, 20:34:25 (124.177.23.197)
Ah but the other two headphone sets here (Sennheiser HD650 & AKG K702) are also open back but in fairness I have the HD800s connected with a balanced line to a rather good head amp (Headroom Blockhead .......
349: General Asylum, High Frequencies over rated (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-09-19, 19:17:18 (124.177.23.197)
Interesting response and one I cannot argue with now I'm not hearing them!! Something I really appreciate, and the Sennheiser HD800 headphones excel with, is spacial presentation giving "air" to the m .......
350: Music Lane, DVD- "Set the Piano Stool on Fire" re Kit Armstrong & Brendel (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-09-19, 17:13:38 (124.177.23.197)
Touted as "One of the Most Fascinating Films About Pianists Ever Made" I was sucked into buying it. Well the sad truth is that, at most, it is mildly interesting. It certainly shows what a prodigy .......
351: Music Lane, Fine - the more the merrier (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-09-19, 15:43:08 (124.177.23.197)
I find myself preferring baroque and chamber music these days and love the variety of approaches being used, often on period instruments. A huge catalog of early music is now coming to light with avid .......
352: General Asylum, This thread highlights just how different we all are (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-09-19, 15:32:03 (124.177.23.197)
What works for one, might not for another reflecting how different are our brains with attached ears. I've had tinnitus for nearly 2 decades now but it is more of the white noise variety than a distra .......
353: Music Lane, Cage: Music for the Prepared Piano Vol. 2 - Boris Berman (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-08-11, 17:33:48 (147.69.169.185)
Many posters expressed their distaste for "Modern Classical Music" in the other thread and I'm inclined to join in that chorus. I am finding that listening to the Cage music listed in the header hard .......
354: Music Lane, A Classical Music Work You Really Cannot Listen To (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-08-08, 20:57:34 (147.69.169.185)
There are a few modern works I find difficulty listening to but that could be due to unfamiliarity so it would be unfair to list them. BUT my pet hate is Ravel's "Bolero". To me it is repetitive, irri .......
355: General Asylum, Agree and wonder if there is really any benefit with a RAID system (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-30, 20:26:09 (124.177.22.121)
Yes I do external backups, in fact keep two on hand. Better safe than sorry. But if we cannot have full confidence with the mirror system one wonders if it is worth having at all. John .......
356: General Asylum, Editing downloads can be very time consuming but I agree - worth it (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-30, 15:43:47 (124.177.22.121)
Pop music is relatively easy but classical music can offer some hurdles. Track data can need changing because full data does not always download, or it might not be in appropriate form, ...... Yes it .......
357: General Asylum, RE: Very interesting history (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-30, 05:41:15 (147.69.160.37)
Yes, still got the big electrostats and enjoy them every night we are home, but for A/V, not audio only. Hearing problems have steered me towards headphones. And, as posted elsewhere, we do share oper .......
358: General Asylum, Sold as a lot ..... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 17:17:16 (147.69.139.135)
... to a contact I had made previously - he purchased all my LPs. I have had email contact with him for a number of years now and just happened to mention that I should get rid of my CDs as I was not .......
359: General Asylum, Yes, two backups (nt) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 16:12:34 (147.69.139.135)
* .......
360: General Asylum, Hard Drive music systems are a Pandora's box for the industry (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 15:41:42 (147.69.139.135)
You have touched on a sensitive topic. Copying CDs is just so easy and there is no question musicians are losing heaps of royalties as a result. Attempts at copy control have proven futile and have re .......
361: General Asylum, Agree backups are essential. That said .... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 15:23:41 (147.69.139.135)
.... I've had the Sooloos system for 5 years now and there has been no sign of HDD problems. It is a RAID system so theoretically has an auto BU but, as we all know, nasties can occur in any processor .......
362: General Asylum, Thanks. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 13:57:09 (147.69.139.135)
And I see from your gallery we share similar interests as well as music!!! .......
363: General Asylum, Sort of a living fossil?? (nt) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 13:50:13 (147.69.139.135)
* .......
364: General Asylum, No, not nuts, but .... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 13:48:52 (147.69.139.135)
... in my case selling the collection puts a full stop on the temptation to get any more. Building up a music library satisfies the collecting urge and gives aesthetic pleasure in the music. And assem .......
365: General Asylum, I still have a box full of old 78s downstairs ...... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 13:42:29 (147.69.139.135)
... "Pop" music from the late 1920s and 1930s as collected by my late parents. Stuff I used to play as a callow youth. I have a special 78 needle in a Shure cartridge to use on a Dual 1019 but cannot .......
366: General Asylum, Yes, all backed up twice Mike. Editing has been a hobby in itself. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 13:37:18 (147.69.139.135)
Editing is VERY time consuming as the data, not the music, on discs often get corrupted. I have spent many hundreds of hours putting albums of classical music into a form I want. Sometimes the interne .......
367: General Asylum, I still enjoy Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mozart, Verdi etc but ........ (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 13:25:12 (147.69.139.135)
..... these days my tastes are more for Baroque and Early music BUT, and an important BUT, with recordings played at random as per music server. 70 minutes of the one disc e.g. Gregorian chant, would .......
368: General Asylum, I sold the CDs to ..... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-29, 13:09:11 (147.69.139.135)
.... the same guy who bought my LPs!!! He used to own a record selling business but went out of it years ago and now has regular employment. However he had built up a circle of contacts who keep peste .......
369: General Asylum, A 70 year journey - the CD collection now SOLD!!! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-28, 22:52:55 (147.69.139.135)
Sort of embarrassing how often changes are made to the systems in this house -the out of date AA files a reminder of those changes. I've now updated the gallery etc. A big move was made last week when .......
370: Music Lane, RE: Classifying Classical albums on a server (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-16, 16:05:55 (147.69.176.90)
That is an interesting approach and I understand its usefulness. If there is more than one composer involved in an album I do what you do and put the composer as the header in each track but do not do .......
371: Music Lane, Classifying Classical albums on a server (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-07-16, 00:23:22 (147.69.176.90)
Pop albums are easy as the artist is the prime focus but Classical albums are more challenging as the composer is usually the main focus. On that basis it is fairly straightforward to do albums alphab .......
372: Music Lane, Another Chamber Discovery: Franz Xaver Gebel Quintets (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-06-07, 17:39:37 (124.177.24.173)
Seems there were a few Gebels who composed music so it took as bit of hunting on the net to unearth the right guy and find a bit about him, reproduced below. Lovely music - highly recommended, John .......
373: Music Lane, RE: Also, bad review. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-04-29, 22:55:30 (124.182.197.38)
No need to feel bad about that. He/she obviously was unimpressed but could have been a bit more positive so your sourpuss description is apt. .......
374: Music Lane, RE: Also, bad review. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-04-29, 16:34:37 (124.182.197.38)
The main beef the reviewer seems to have against the disc is that Rossini never wrote any quartets so he (assume it is a him) considers the actual music unauthentic, although he does admire the playin .......
375: Music Lane, Misleading CD promotion (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-04-29, 15:06:36 (124.182.197.38)
Not a big issue so do not misinterpret - I'm not banging a drum of complaint but thought this amusing. Looking for reviews of the CD "Rossini Six Quartets" by Ensemble Wien-Berlin I found this quote o .......
376: Music Lane, RE: Depends on your point of view. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-04-22, 15:48:01 (124.187.233.209)
I will not argue or defend that except to say your friend's comments might only apply to a few, and evidence is coming out now about abuse in a orphanage run by some sadistic Aussie nuns being among t .......
377: Music Lane, Poulenc: Dialogues Des Carmelites on Blu Ray - excellent (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-04-20, 15:14:36 (60.231.177.141)
We were not expecting a laugh a minute with this grim story but what we did get was superb singing, staging, lighting and photography. Act One was a warm up to get attuned to the style of the music .......
378: Music Lane, GRIEG - Piano Concerto (Jorge Bolet) - at least 3 issues (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-04-07, 20:38:09 (121.223.166.196)
And the cover on the copy I have is different again!! You have a great bargain there Ivan303. .......
379: Music Lane, RE: is anyone else having trouble with that link? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-04-07, 13:41:55 (124.187.245.154)
No, worked for me just now. And I notice some very inexpensive used copies of that disc available there. If you are still having trouble Google "Grieg, Schumann: Piano Concertos Live Edvard Grieg (Com .......
380: Music Lane, GRIEG - Piano Concerto (Jorge Bolet) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-04-06, 23:57:09 (124.187.245.154)
This concerto was the first I ever purchased so has some sentimental value. That performance was by Walter Gieseking (wait for it) on three 78 rpm shellac discs. The introduction to it was at schoo .......
381: Music Lane, Chris- drop me a note with your email address please (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-03-31, 17:32:33 (147.69.43.203)
There is a matter I would like to discuss with you off board. TIA John .......
382: Music Lane, CORRECTION - wrong cover displayed, apologies if this was misleading (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-03-31, 13:54:43 (147.69.43.203)
As Chris has pointed out the production of the performance we looked at is an earlier one than the one displayed in my first post. And I should add we had a different reaction to Chris for that pro .......
383: Music Lane, RE: I used to have an earlier-issued blu-ray of a Gergiev/Mariinsky Performance (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-03-30, 21:38:41 (147.69.43.203)
Well there you go - that IS the version here and I must have been asleep to be unaware of the "Eurotrash" elements you mention because none of us objected!!! The cover I showed in the original post wa .......
384: Music Lane, RE: Maybe he was forced to adopt fast tempi for the CD (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-03-30, 20:26:07 (147.69.43.203)
That is a possibility - the BD is 88 mins long but you could cut off 8 mins for applause, titles etc. That said the tempos in the video were neither markedly slow or fast - the excellent dancers coped .......
385: Music Lane, Tchaikovsky Nutcracker via Gergiev & Marinsky Ballet on Blu Ray (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-03-30, 18:32:59 (147.69.43.203)
Friends over last night so Tchaikovsky was the focus. We started the evening with a sobering documentary describing the agony of his life in continual fear of the exposure of his homosexuality. But th .......
386: Music Lane, I subsequently sampled one of his symphonies and ... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-03-27, 23:18:59 (147.69.43.203)
.... it is very listenable but not spine chilling stuff, on the one I sampled anyway. But I really should not comment until I've heard more of that and his other works. I'll be interested to read opin .......
387: Music Lane, Just Discovered Composer ALEXANDER GRETCHANINOV (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-03-27, 20:09:16 (147.69.43.203)
I have downloaded some of his works but am just listening to " LITURGIA DOMESTICA OP.79 " featuring brilliant bass singer Boris Christoff. Wow that music has atmosphere - one is transported into a .......
388: Music Lane, Poor Marketing of CDs (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-03-19, 16:15:21 (124.182.72.67)
Companies go to considerable expense in making classical recordings yet seem to be very slack at marketing their produce. There are thousands of CDs of interesting music but try to find out more infor .......
389: Music Lane, Orchestra & chorus 0f children play Bizet's Carmen in a Paris shopping mall (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-28, 20:35:08 (147.69.142.129)
Follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/eee4-d7FUis I love the little tot on the tympani :-) .......
390: Music Lane, Here are some comments from other reviewers (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-24, 17:18:34 (147.69.142.129)
After posting the above I found a comment that Hilary's score was different to that usually used. I have not been able to find that again but I've appended some comments on her interpretation of Tchai .......
391: Music Lane, Thanks (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-23, 11:04:13 (147.69.142.129)
I'll follow that up. .......
392: Music Lane, I should add the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is less impressive (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-22, 20:59:43 (147.69.142.129)
I feel the Tchaikovsky recording has the violin a bit too recessed and some of the tempi in the first movement are faster than I comfortable with. Movement 2 is more lyrical & movement 3 is quite :viv .......
393: Music Lane, Still away from Baroque & at the other extreme to the modern Pulitzer winner - Higdon Violin Concerto (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-22, 20:27:30 (147.69.142.129)
This was written especially for the talented Hilary Hahn. It is coupled with the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and certainty offers a contrast!! Maybe it has been discussed here before, if so, I missed .......
394: Music Lane, Missed that - but catching up now :-) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-21, 18:56:02 (147.69.142.129)
His chamber concertos are lovely with an alluring haunting quality, and in line with quite a lot of other earlier chamber compositions of earlier composers. His Beatus Parvo, for chorus & orchestra, O .......
395: Music Lane, And after declaring Baroque & Early as tops I've discovered the modern composer Holmboe (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-21, 17:45:28 (147.69.142.129)
I'd never heard of him before but, as I type, am listening to the above disc. This is what "The Gramophone" had to say about it - Hard on the heels of BIS’s splendid brass concertos issue (3/97) come .......
396: Music Lane, Hard to believe you are serious! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-21, 15:31:57 (147.69.142.129)
> .......
397: Music Lane, What Classical Music Genre do you find yourself listening to most? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-20, 21:48:16 (147.69.180.117)
With me it is Baroque and Early - everything including operas, chorales, cantatas, concerti, symphonies, harpsichord, lute .... etc from Bach, Handel, Haydn, Scarlatti, .... and earlier. I find it .......
398: Music Lane, What makes a music item appeal to an individual? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-13, 19:17:31 (121.223.173.115)
Primarily I think 2 factors are involved: 1. The mood of the listener at the time 2. The nature of the music But there are many secondary factors. The mood can be influenced by health, tiredness, t .......
399: Music Lane, Orchestral transcriptions of items originally composed for the Piano (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-11, 16:09:06 (121.223.173.115)
IMHO these generally lack the impact of the piano sound and tend to be syrupy and sweet. I have just been listening to Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies as transcribed for Orchestra (and List himself had a .......
400: Music Lane, Your post illustrates two things - (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-11, 12:28:14 (121.223.173.115)
1. What a marvelous work this is, something which has inspired many of us to have multiple versions of the work, 2. How diverse are the various interpretations but none shining through as the absolute .......
401: Music Lane, Thanks - I'll have another critical listen (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-11, 11:25:43 (121.223.173.115)
I do like the Hogwood recordings and have lots in the collection so I'll go back to his Messiah and listen again. .......
402: Music Lane, RE: Box Set of Sacred Music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-09, 22:05:20 (121.223.173.115)
A quality DAC is still needed once they are in a PC in FLAC form because FLAC is still in digital mode. IMHO the DAC is THE most important component in the chain whether playing the disc or a FLAC fil .......
403: Music Lane, RE: Diana Krall 'Wallflower' (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-09, 19:31:14 (121.223.173.115)
Yes I agree. I only downloaded it this morning. I'm mainly appreciative of classical music but really do like DK's style - nice and relaxed. I now have 8 of her CDs + one DVD. .......
404: Music Lane, Searched for Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan(!) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-08, 15:29:49 (121.223.173.115)
Thought I had found a freebie download but all I imported were heaps of Trojans and nasties. Took close on an hour to nuke them :-( But I'll keep an eye out for this set thanks John. But with so many .......
405: Music Lane, Messiah - your favourite? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-07, 18:49:36 (121.223.173.115)
Maybe not the usual time to be discussing this work but it thrust itself to me because in the box sets recently purchased, there are now 2 more versions in the collection - William Chrisrie with Les A .......
406: Music Lane, Box Set of Sacred Music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-02-03, 19:40:25 (121.223.173.115)
This purchase, along with two other box sets was purchased from Amazon as a result of a recommendation by John Marks in February "Stereophile". Thanks for inspiring these purchases John. This one, .......
407: Music Lane, Mozart Opera “Don Giovanni†– the new Pizzi Italian production (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-01-12, 15:14:22 (121.223.173.115)
Enthused by rave reviews I purchased the Blu Ray of this opera and viewed it last night with friends. Yes the production is very good and not Euro trash, demonstrating a more playful approach than .......
408: Rocky Road, Please be careful about copyright when posting (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2015-01-06, 22:13:08 (147.69.150.103)
It is friendly to alert fellow inmates about an article you have found interesting BUT please be sensitive to copyright issues which can cause problems for all of us at AA. We ask you choose a couple .......
409: Rocky Road, TO ALL POSTERS: In the spirit of the festive season - Please refrain from the insults (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-12-27, 13:42:03 (124.177.27.65)
Please respect the views of other inmates and keep this a pleasant forum. Few people have identical tastes and bagging another's viewpoint reflects more adversely on that poster than the target anyway .......
410: Music Lane, RE: Tip from a friend - box sets are sometimes MUCH cheaper from Amazon.UK (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-09-22, 18:00:16 (124.179.237.188)
I agree with pbarach, Presto are sometimes cheaper, but not in this case. That set landed here would cost $AUD98 but at Presto, even on special, it is $AUD141 + freight. Very tempting at that price bu .......
411: Music Lane, A superb DVD from Anne Sofie Von Otter and others (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-09-15, 18:32:21 (124.179.237.188)
Last night our music friends arrived again and I prepared an unusual music feast for them. First up we looked at two DVDs: 1. SAVED by MUSIC - The Wallifisch Family follows the incredible life of Anit .......
412: Music Lane, The Aussie Equivalent is Vegemite - also distasteful to others (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-09-13, 16:09:40 (124.179.237.188)
I'm glad the original article referred to Marmite which I can happily leave alone, and did not refer to our yummie Vegemite, which my American born wife despises! Maybe these spreads are an acquired t .......
413: Music Lane, A fascinating heap of responses reflecting a wide variety of tastes (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-09-13, 15:51:08 (124.179.237.188)
There are many composers listed whose music I truly love but other posts remind me of further dislikes. I hate Ravel for composing Bolero but love his other works. Bottom line is we are truly blessed .......
414: Music Lane, RE: As you might guess from some of my previous posts. . . (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-09-12, 17:58:33 (124.179.237.188)
I guess he would be next on my list also but I do find some of his chamber works very attractive. The other composers I'm hot and cold on are Elgar and Britten although I would not go so far as to lab .......
415: Music Lane, Who are your Classical "Marmite" composers? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-09-12, 15:50:50 (124.179.237.188)
Richard Morrison (Music columnist of The Times) raised this topic in the October issue of BBC Music magazine. He comments that Wagner is a pretty certain nomination because he is both loathed and love .......
416: Music Lane, RE: I am astonished to hear an opera singer would try bariatric surgery (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-08-20, 17:31:43 (124.177.5.28)
Fair comment but I guess Deborah Voigt went ahead because she was not getting work due to her size + personal feelings of frustration when all diet programs failed. She really had little to lose (exce .......
417: Music Lane, Definitely buy it Chris (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-08-19, 19:37:59 (124.177.5.28)
As I posted before, the MET production moved us all Monday night - my friends emailed back to say they were on a high driving home!! I just read up about Deborah Voight and had forgotten how she had b .......
418: Music Lane, Gotterdammerung - MET production on Blu ray - MAGNIFICENT (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-08-19, 17:42:41 (124.177.5.28)
On Monday night we sat down with our friends to look at and listen to this last of the ring operas. That was done with some trepidation as 4.5 hours is a LONG time :-( But wow, was it worth it. Debora .......
419: Music Lane, "Siegfreid" MET on Blu Ray - superb (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-07-21, 16:41:05 (124.177.23.107)
Last night friends came over and we looked at Ring opera no 3. This 4+ hour opera needed a rethink of approach so they came early, we viewed Act 1, had the main meal (accompanied with a nice Aussie re .......
420: Music Lane, Apologies if my post gave that impression - only the blu ray recording was experienced here in Australia! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-07-01, 06:01:13 (58.169.105.134)
Interestingly, when I did a net search on MET productions of that opera there were highly critical comments on several actual live productions using all the machinery, but different artists. So, it s .......
421: Music Lane, RE: I can foresee a time in the not-too-far-distant-future where looks equally (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-06-30, 21:05:25 (121.223.138.152)
Tinear, I fear we are close to that situation already. Count up the number of buxom singers compared to the more glamorous ones around now. Same situation with ballet dancers. Have a look at the massi .......
422: Music Lane, Saw the MET "Die Walkure" last night - excellent (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-06-30, 18:31:56 (121.223.138.152)
Jonas Kaufman (Siegmund) and Hans-Peter Konig (Hunding) were brilliant in Act 1, Act 2 is a bit long and tedious but Stephanie Blythe (Fricka) gave Wotan (Bryn Terfel) an appropriate dressing down for .......
423: Music Lane, Ripping all the albums into the Meridian Sooloos system was not a waqlk in the park! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-06-28, 19:14:06 (121.223.138.152)
Thanks for the compliment Chris but the way I approached it has been highly criticised (with reason) elsewhere. My approach was to rip as if the job was left to a mindless automaton. It was done with .......
424: Music Lane, Not sure I understand what point you are making (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-06-28, 17:23:58 (121.223.138.152)
Ripping CDs into a server gives convenience for accessing and enjoying the music - finding a genre or a particular item is easily found where it can get lost in among a heap of discs on the shelf - no .......
425: Music Lane, About time all the classical music DVDs & BDs were sorted & classified (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-06-27, 22:51:18 (121.223.138.152)
The CD collection on hard drive is fine - easy to put multiple tabs to find what you want quickly. If only those video discs were so easy!! The collection of videos has grown like Topsy over the years .......
426: General Asylum, Excellent Service From JVC Australia (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-06-22, 20:42:11 (147.69.157.107)
We are often critical of poor service and it can be far too common BUT that does not apply to JVC, at least here in Australia. I have been having a few problems with a relatively new X900R projector .......
427: Music Lane, RE: Second Valencia: my Bluray is stunning, visually and aurally. But… isn't that (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-06-15, 12:59:04 (124.177.31.117)
Yes, it is, but to me it is acceptable and I would think it would be the sort of production Wagner would applaud. It is a fable and the Valencia production is fabulous. At the moment I cannot say the .......
428: Music Lane, Agree the "bridges" were only partially convincing (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-06-09, 18:37:37 (124.177.31.117)
Yes Eric Owens was also very good although he did not impress us as much as the others - in Das Rheingold anyway. .......
429: Music Lane, Yes that is it, but we saw the Blu Ray release nt (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-06-09, 18:35:33 (124.177.31.117)
& .......
430: Music Lane, The MET "Ring" on Blu Ray - saw "Das Rheingold" last night (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-06-09, 15:30:28 (124.177.31.117)
A basic search of this forum has not revealed much discussion of this set so a few of our thoughts follow. (As yet I've not looked up other critical comment). The MET Ring set was purchased last year .......
431: Video Asylum, RE: Is a Crystal Vision VPS-1 the answer? But does it handle PAL?? Anyone know? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-31, 16:18:31 (147.69.146.134)
Thanks. I did try contacting them last week but they never responded. However I've since found the solution - see my other posting. Thanks for responding John .......
432: Video Asylum, RE: Need a simple 3D comb filter for a Pioneer CLD-D925 laserdisc player (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-31, 16:16:24 (147.69.146.134)
Thanks for responding. You are correct about the iScan VP50m PRO, it does a superb jog for video to the main system BUT but the Pioneer DVD recorder will only accept SD. But I finally have found the a .......
433: Digital Drive, RE: Having problems with an OPPO DV 981 HD player - can anyone help? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-29, 18:19:14 (147.69.146.134)
Weird, you could be correct. I gave it to a friend to look at and when it came back it worked fine! John .......
434: General Asylum, The antics of the Salut Salon - do they help classical music appreciation or ridicule it? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-29, 17:44:58 (147.69.146.134)
Not sure what to think about the video clip referred to below. From one point of view they make classical music more approachable and possibly encourage people to pursue more - people who otherwise mi .......
435: Digital Drive, The simple & obvious answer finally found! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-28, 20:26:50 (147.69.146.134)
Thanks for responding Steve. My problem has been a paranoia about composite being a trash video format. Maybe it can be but the analog laser video is good composite that needs processing and I'm disco .......
436: Video Asylum, Is a Crystal Vision VPS-1 the answer? But does it handle PAL?? Anyone know? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-27, 17:32:49 (147.69.146.134)
Interest inn analog video is not great so I'm finding answers about the Crystal Vision VPS-1 hard to find. Anyone know if it handles PAL? Even better, if it does, does anyone have one for sale?? TIA J .......
437: Digital Drive, The Crystal Vision VPS-1? But does it handle PAL? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-27, 17:26:19 (147.69.146.134)
More hours searching came up with this product as a possible answer. But will it handle PAL? Anyone know? TIA John .......
438: Digital Drive, Is there a digital solution to this analog video problem? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-27, 15:25:23 (147.69.146.134)
I posted up on the video board but have had no response so am testing out the brains at work here :-) The basic problem is to find a device with a suitable comb filter to turn an analog composite vide .......
439: Video Asylum, Need a simple 3D comb filter for a Pioneer CLD-D925 laserdisc player (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-26, 22:32:25 (147.69.146.134)
I'm ripping my laserdiscs into DVD using a recent model Pioneer DVD recorder and am having reasonable success with NTSC laserdiscs using a Pioneer HLD-X9 because it appears to have a good internal com .......
440: Music Lane, OOPs - yes. Old age, my excuse & I'm sticking to it!!! nt (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-22, 01:09:49 (121.223.139.123)
** .......
441: Music Lane, Verdi and Puccini - Live vs recorded performances (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-21, 17:29:17 (121.223.139.123)
If we are to judge operas on their plots, few of the vintage ones are credible. Il Travatore has one of the more ridiculous stories and is rivaled by the last scene of Puccini's Manon. Massanet ended .......
442: Music Lane, Just read those links you gave (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-21, 16:36:41 (121.223.139.123)
Rather sad really that such an attractive woman with a gifted voice should have such personality problems. John .......
443: Music Lane, RE: Leontyne Price (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-20, 19:44:18 (121.223.139.123)
Yes I have that CD set and must listen to it again. However her performance on the video was very moving so if she was ":past her prime" it was not evident. We really are so lucky today to be able to .......
444: Music Lane, Agree that Battle was not alone (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-20, 19:27:48 (121.223.139.123)
Callas had a few tantrums also as did others. That does not stop us from appreciating her artistry. It is in a similar vein to Wagner - a most obnoxious selfish individual who composed glorious music .......
445: Music Lane, RE: Anyone else in love with Kathleen Battle's voice? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-20, 16:03:35 (121.223.139.123)
Count me in, lovely voice. Pity about her abrasive and arrogant personality. This has been discussed here before and I have a note somewhere from an employee of the MET who was scathing about her. For .......
446: Music Lane, On Opera & VERDI. Specifically La Forza Del Destino (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-19, 18:21:58 (121.223.139.123)
I have the feeling that because opera is not universally popular among followers of classical music, composers like Verdi are not counted in with other greats like Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner etc. Yet t .......
447: Digital Drive, Having problems with an OPPO DV 981 HD player - can anyone help? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-16, 12:59:22 (121.223.139.123)
I have a problem the the 981 HD audio with its RCA digital out when playing DVDs - it motorboats in synch with the platter motor. Oddly the audio via external DAC is high quality (no distortion etc) w .......
448: Music Lane, RE: Rimsky-Korsakoff's greatest artistic achievement (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-15, 18:14:53 (121.223.139.123)
I listened/looked at that Blu Ray yesterday - MAGNIFICENT! For comparison I went back to the Gergief CD set but the audio seemed dead by comparison. John .......
449: Music Lane, Elliott Carter DVD of 103rd Birthday Concert (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-05-14, 19:08:07 (121.223.139.123)
This was purchased as a result of an enthusiastic review in the BBC Music Magazine and it has surprised me. I'm generally no fan of the latest classical music fare but do like the music here, quite a .......
450: Music Lane, What makes BLOODY DAUGHTER so different is .... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-04-22, 17:32:05 (60.231.183.123)
... it was recorded by her daughter. There are few such intimate records of an artist available. But yes, what you say is appreciated. Not many great artists have what the rest of us would term "norma .......
451: Music Lane, I looked into ordering "Evening Talks" but gave up (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-04-22, 17:14:44 (60.231.183.123)
If it has been less expensive (freight costs to Australia were high) I might have gone ahead. But your description of this one hour discourse was less than attractive so I decided no. John ::: TOPIC:: .......
452: Music Lane, The Lebrecht review is pretty fair & accurate IMO (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-04-22, 14:30:29 (60.231.183.123)
Chris, no need to be wary of this doc because of the Lebrecht review as I feel it neatly summarizes the film. Martha is obviously a very complex, impetuous person and I guess would be impossible to li .......
453: Music Lane, Oooppps - yes (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-04-21, 22:31:58 (60.231.183.123)
But you should make an effort to see it Mike as it gives great insight into the trials of family life for a popular classical artist. Few of these artists seem able to maintain a stable relationship a .......
454: Music Lane, I did my bit when teaching in a country school decades ago (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-04-21, 17:10:17 (60.231.183.123)
Although a maths and science teacher, I was able to bring along my tape recorder to play classical music at the start of morning school assemblies and had a small group once a week to listen to more m .......
455: Music Lane, Fascinating DVD on Algerich - BLOODY DAUGHTER (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-04-21, 16:34:48 (60.231.183.123)
Saw this fascinating documentary by daughter Stephanie Argerich the other night. It gives a "warts & all" look at the life of a successful artist. I think we all knew Martha was a bit of an eccentric .......
456: Speaker Asylum, New caps installed (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-03-12, 21:22:37 (124.187.226.85)
OK, parts ordered from a supplier in Queensland Australia arrived a couple of days ago. Unscrewed the crossover module at the back only to find there were two caps, not three and only one purchased wa .......
457: Speaker Asylum, Ahah, now that makes sense! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-03-04, 14:31:41 (147.69.12.188)
Of course, that is what is in the kit. But I've ordered & paid for caps from an Aussie supplier (took a heap of Googling to find him) and they are on there way here. I did have a well regarded NAD 203 .......
458: Speaker Asylum, RE: Can anyone give me Info on POLK 7A speakers (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-03-03, 11:55:08 (121.223.149.189)
I stand corrected on the number of drivers - did not look carefully enough. That e-bay kit is not post free, not to here anyway. Freight from the USA was prohibitive for USA parts suppliers and it too .......
459: Speaker Asylum, RE: Can anyone give me Info on POLK 7A speakers (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-03-02, 19:18:14 (121.223.149.189)
Thanks. Replacing inductors made no sense to me either! John .......
460: Speaker Asylum, RE: Can anyone give me Info on POLK 7A speakers (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-03-02, 17:21:12 (121.223.149.189)
LOL, thanks hifitommy. I see there is discussion on all this on a Polk speaker forum so have posted a query there. As we are looking at speakers around 30+ years old it is highly likely the caps would .......
461: Speaker Asylum, Can anyone give me Info on POLK 7A speakers (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2014-03-02, 15:00:20 (121.223.149.189)
I have a pair of these in a secondary system and have just purchased a used Cambridge Topaz AM10 Premium Integrated Amplifier to feed them. The 3 drivers are still in good shape but I'm wondering abou .......
462: Vinyl Asylum, Please edit your post (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-11-14, 17:09:34 (147.69.154.105)
Some are offended by your language so we ask you to make a small correction to the first part of your second para. It spoils an otherwise good post. Do that please and my request on this open forum wi .......
463: Vinyl Asylum, Political tag lines will no longer be tolerated from anyone (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-11-06, 03:27:50 (147.69.154.105)
It is not a case of "I'll do it if someone else will", it is a case of everyone does it when requested politely by the Board. Rest assured political tag lines will not be tolerated from anyone so we a .......
464: Vinyl Asylum, As Opus 104 does not accept unsolicited emails, this request from the Board must be posted here (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-11-05, 16:50:31 (147.69.154.105)
The request to Opus 104 is to please change your tag line to something non political and preferably music/vinyl related. The Board has enough challenges sorting out the passion re audio on this forum, .......
465: Music Lane, Reply from Presto re my complaint (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-10-01, 20:56:42 (121.223.162.51)
I guess I'll have to forgive them! Here is their (prompt) reply: I have arranged for the stock item to be despatched as soon as possible. Unfortunately the UK Distributor for Australian Eloquence rece .......
466: Music Lane, Best service re CD orders (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-09-30, 23:04:01 (58.169.143.138)
I vote Amazon as giving the best service for two reasons: 1. Quick service 2. They only charge for discs once they are posted. But I have been doing more business with Presto lately as they do have so .......
467: Music Lane, Music genre you find the most relaxing (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-09-30, 16:31:04 (58.169.143.138)
I have all the music on the server tabbed into various genre so can select what suits the mood. Interestingly, when I choose relaxing music it is either Jazz piano, Chamber or Baroque & Early. B&E cov .......
468: Music Lane, Spira Mirabilis - inspiring BD/DVD for classical music lovers or those tempted to investigate this music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-09-09, 06:07:48 (58.169.143.138)
It got a rave review in BBC Music and very justifiably too. It is inspiring to see the enthusiasm of the players and to see/hear their hair raising playing. We looked at it earlier tonight with our mu .......
469: Digital Drive, RE: How to best get digital 2CH audio for headphones use (via a DAC) using HDMI out of a receiver (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-09-08, 17:53:54 (58.169.143.138)
Maybe a better alternative is to convert the L/R stereo out (meant for a different zone) to coax digital. I've found these two possible units: 1. http://www.ambery.com/aldiaufoco.html 2. http://www.tr .......
470: Digital Drive, How to best get digital 2CH audio for headphones use (via a DAC) using HDMI out of a receiver (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-09-08, 16:39:53 (58.169.143.138)
Up to now I've had a coaxial digital port out of a receiver to use. So I've set up a digital line from the gear to where I sit -> DAC -> headphones. Works well as I have an independent volume control .......
471: Music Lane, Chris - you are wise to take your time (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-08-28, 18:50:13 (58.169.143.138)
At times I've gone too fast and missed that the data was incorrect or missing. The first rip is the easy part. The following editing is the PIA, particularly coping with the errors on many net sites. .......
472: Music Lane, Mercury Living Presence Collectors edition 2 - Swan Lake (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-08-27, 20:52:25 (58.169.143.138)
This arrived 2 days ago and it took a day to rip & edit the 55 discs into the Server system, so it is only now some are being listened to. AQ is very good, if somewhat "dry" at times and the biggest s .......
473: General Asylum, Depends how you define it - design or manufacture (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-07-21, 18:28:48 (58.169.135.43)
There is some top gear designed, with some of it made, in the USA. OPPO, NuForce, Lavry are brands I've used and appreciated. John .......
474: Music Lane, Beethoven Violin Concerto - disappointing Mutter performance on Blu Ray (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-07-15, 18:26:23 (58.169.145.42)
Friends over last night & we found the tempo of her performance agonisingly slow and tepid. Yet I see heaps of enthusiastic reviews on Amazon. Anyone else here seen/heard this performance? John ::: .......
475: Music Lane, RE: The harpsichord / Caro Mitis. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-07-10, 01:34:30 (58.169.145.42)
Yes, some rave on about "The Absolute Sound" Nirvana but generally that is impossible to reproduce in the home HOWEVER chamber music comes the closest and listening to recordings can be very rewarding .......
476: Music Lane, RE: The harpsichord / Caro Mitis. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-07-09, 21:21:26 (58.169.145.42)
This is a difficult instrument to reproduce. You must have a good system. So often is can sound a jangled mess! .......
477: Music Lane, STRAVINSKY: The Firebird Ballet on Blu Ray (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-07-06, 18:24:43 (58.169.145.42)
Wow, the brilliant dancing accompanied by superb playing conducted by Gergiev. And the audio quality is stunning via a modded OPPO 105. I've yet to see the accompanying "Rite of Spring", which, BTW .......
478: Music Lane, Blu Ray Glyndebourne WAGNER "Die Meistersinger" SUPERB (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-06-24, 18:15:41 (58.169.67.90)
This is a LONG opera so our friends and us spread it over 2 sessions - one BD per session. I must confess to not being very fasmiliar with this work but I note that many of you listed it among your .......
479: Music Lane, YouTube Spoof of pianists - Leroy Anderson's "The Typewriter" (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-06-11, 18:34:44 (58.169.67.90)
If you have seen the way a pianist adjusts his stool etc before playing you will appreciate this short video. Both the audience & orchestra obviously thought it fun. John .......
480: Music Lane, RE: And while we are discussing complete string quartets.... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-05-28, 19:18:25 (58.169.67.90)
Thanks for the heads up on that set. It looks a real bargain and fills a gap in the collection here as I love both works of Villa Lobos and chamber music. And the set has good reviews. John ::: TOPIC: .......
481: Music Lane, Your Desert Island operas? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-05-28, 19:04:35 (58.169.67.90)
Discussed this with a fellow music lover the other night. His choices were Wagner's Meistersinger & Mozart's Magic Flute. Past that he was undecided. My choices were Mozart's Magic Flute and Verdi's L .......
482: Music Lane, Here is a very negative opinion of the work! (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-03-30, 21:49:08 (121.223.175.75)
Randolph Magri-Overend says (while reviewing the 11 CD Brilliant set): I have left my comments on La Damnation de Faust to last - purposely. I am not a great fan of it! Regardless how wonderful the in .......
483: Music Lane, RE: Berlioz "Damnation of Faust" - your favourite rendition? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-03-30, 20:33:12 (121.223.175.75)
Interesting replies I must admit that the Staatskapelle 1999 Salzburg Festival DVD does not sound very exciting as audio only - that crit I linked to is correct about the slowness of tempo. That said .......
484: Music Lane, Berlioz "Damnation of Faust" - your favourite rendition? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-03-29, 22:07:12 (121.223.175.75)
A superb piece of music - in the server here there are the two Colin Davis interpretations, the Inbal/Ewing CDs & I've just ripped in two DVDs - Solti/von Otter (actually attended that concert in the .......
485: Music Lane, Corruption in ballet!!! I agree that is extremely sad and somewhat distressing (nt) (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-03-18, 22:25:13 (121.223.130.60)
** .......
486: Cable Asylum, Excellent 110 ohm cabling (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-03-10, 19:37:22 (121.223.137.184)
I've been playing around with this a bit lately and did have what looked to be reasonable shielded twisted cabling in place for a balanced digital line out of the Meridian server system to my DAC - WR .......
487: Vinyl Asylum, Thank you for your understanding (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-03-03, 14:17:43 (124.187.255.76)
And we hope we caused no offence to you. Nothing personal, just this situation is on the edge and some inmates were questioning our policy. .......
488: Vinyl Asylum, "What price should I ask for this" posts (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-03-03, 12:21:19 (124.187.255.76)
These might or might not be innocent but do come across as a veiled "I have for Sale" post and as such are not allowed. Anyone genuinely wanting to know the used value of items can generally find the .......
489: Music Lane, Hey, read my post more carefully - the order is not his, it is alphabetical by me (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-30, 18:26:58 (121.223.137.211)
And I disagree about him being an idiot - that is a bit over the top and unfair. I find his documentaries both authoritative and interesting. But, as in all matters of taste, particularly in music and .......
490: Music Lane, The list is really endless - Berstein, Bruno Walter ..... (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-30, 16:52:08 (121.223.137.211)
It would probably be sensible to have 100, or even 200, but then that is the list he made and I'm looking forward to seeing those videos of his one day. Agree Charlotte Church appears odd in thay comp .......
491: Music Lane, Congrats - you have every reason to be pleased and proud (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-29, 21:10:01 (121.223.137.211)
Well done Chris John .......
492: Music Lane, And here is a précis of those 6 BBC programs (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-29, 21:06:31 (121.223.137.211)
HOWARD GOODALL’S STORY OF MUSIC By Howard Goodall, December 2012 In this new six-part series for BBC Two, composer Howard Goodall traces the story of music from the year dot to the age of dot com. Mus .......
493: Music Lane, Howard Goodall's Choice of Music's 50 Most Influential People - Feb BBC Music Mag. (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-29, 17:57:14 (121.223.137.211)
A 6 one hour series to be broadcast on BBC Two will cover this. I'll be certainly looking out for a release of the set on DVD or BD as Goodall is very entertaining, if somewhat controversial with his .......
494: Music Lane, Good price for this 9 DVD set at Presto (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-13, 12:23:47 (124.179.239.60)
Somehow this link got missed in the original posting: http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/w/29674 John .......
495: Music Lane, Your favourite Mahler 7th? (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-13, 12:20:06 (124.179.239.60)
Our music loving friends are coming over tonight and we are to play the DVD of Bernstein conducting this piece with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. No question that Bernstein's interpretation is br .......
496: Music Lane, RE: try cartoon music too (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-11, 14:40:19 (124.179.239.60)
Good suggestion Penguin. When they next visit I'll try them out on "Fantasia". And I like your Kurt Vonnegut quote. Maybe that expl;ains the trouble most countries are in!! John .......
497: Music Lane, The choices (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-09, 18:58:33 (124.179.239.60)
Being only 8 years old, Will did not listen for long but chose the Indian Dance from "My Country" with Trevor Pinnock at the helm. The frustrating bit was to actually find this track in among the coll .......
498: Music Lane, Another talented, beautiful soloist (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-09, 18:24:23 (124.179.239.60)
We are spoiled for choice these days. Thanks for the tip Chris. I'll follow up. John .......
499: Inmate Systems, John C. - Aussie's Headphone Music System (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-09, 11:31:13 (124.179.239.60)
John C. - Aussie 's Headphone Music System System
IP Address: 124.179.239.60
Last Update: January 09, 2013 at 11:31:13
Amplifier: HeadRoom BlockHead headphone amplifier
Preamplifier (or .......
500: Music Lane, Finally found a way to introduce my Grand kids to Classical Music (0.00)
Posted by John C. - Aussie on 2013-01-09, 11:06:17 (124.179.239.60)
Ages ago I posted that the family had moved closer so asked for ideas on how to interest the Grand kids on classical music. Unfortunately I have had little opportunity to do much at all as their visit .......
Found total of 500 records, Query: , Author: John C. - Aussie in All Forums, Time: 2 sec.