What are you currently listening to?

[Lionel Harrison]

Hindemith: Violin Concerto   David Oistrakh (vln) London Sumphony Orchestra / Paul Hindemith   Decca Enterprise cd

Wow! It leaps from the heaphone ear pieces with such vitality it could almost have been recorded yesterday. With David Oistrakh playing you can't go wrong here. A tremendous performance of this fine,melodic and rewarding violin concerto. You start thinking,it should be more popular! I really enjoyed this!

I was never a great fan of Hindemith apart from the Symphonic Metamorphosis on themes by Carl Maria von Weber until I heard somebody (I can't remember who at this distance of time -- it must have nigh-on fifty years ago) play the Violin Concerto in the Festival Hall (I think it was) and I was bowled over by it. I agree with you that it's a fine piece. I have a few recordings of it but not Oistrakh, sadly. Of those I have, my favourite is André Gertler with the Czech Philharmonic under Karel Ancerl on Supraphon. A bonus is that it's coupled with Paul Tortelier playing Hondemith's Cello Concerto, which I don't enjoy quite as much as the fiddle concerto but it's still worth hearing. I can only imagine whast Oistrakh does with it!

I like Hindemith! Listening to this concerto did,however,make me think that this is the a work that might appeal to someone who might not like his other output so much. It seems to speak from the heart more than some of his other pieces. There's passion there. I can imagine my late mother or grandmother enjoying this on the radio. My mother didn't collect Lp's (or cd's) but she always liked classical music (and some popular) and she'd have a radio in the kitchen or upstairs,when she was doing embroidery or sewing! The Symphonic Metamorphosis followed the Violin Concerto & I only just realised that Morton Gould seems to have pinched some of the brassy flourishes (a subconscious crib,coincidence or maybe purposely?) for his third symphony,which I have on an Albany cd! Nothing wrong with quoting other composers,of course! I was merely surprised! It's one of Hindemith's most approachable & tuneful works,however.

Yes, after that experience with the Violin Concerto I went on to investigate his music further. As a result, I'm now a fan, especially of the  Mathis der Maler Symphony, Nobilissima Visione (of which I have great recording conducted by Joseph Keilberth)  Konzertmusik for Strings and Brass op 50 'Bostoner Sinfonie' and lots of the Kammermusik and various sonatas. Great stuff, all of it. Who knows, one of these days I might even try Mathis der Maler the opera, and not just the Symphony!

[cilgwyn]

Reger: Piano Concerto    Marc-André Hamelin (piano) Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Ilan Volkov    Hyperion

One of my favourite piano concertos. I love the huge,steely sounds that come out of Reger's orchestration. The piano sounds majestic. There are some thunderous sounds coming out of the orchestra at times and the keyboard playing seems to glitter in the faster sections. It's not the most tuneful Piano concerto admittedly, (Brief Encounter wouldn't have been quite the same with this one! ) but as far as everything else goes it's got just about everything I want in a piano concerto. I remember getting the Serkin recording out of the library when I was a youngster & being bored stiff by it! It didn't help that the recording sounded so dry & cramped. This Piano Concerto cries out for the kind of digital recording quality that you get on this Hyperion cd. The Cpo recording is another example.

Last,but definitely not least! The cd also includes  Richard Strauss' Burleske in D minor. A lovely,tuneful,life enhancing,piece that never outstay's it's welcome! I love it! It's like the best champagne! Not that much champagne comes my way! (I have to use my imagination here!) If you find some of Strauss' later tone poems a bit full of themselves at times,this is the perfect antidote! It also makes for a lovely contrast after the strenuous demands of the Reger! An excellent choice,Hyperion!

[cilgwyn]

Hindemith: Violin Concerto   David Oistrakh (vln) London Sumphony Orchestra / Paul Hindemith   Decca Enterprise cd

Wow! It leaps from the heaphone ear pieces with such vitality it could almost have been recorded yesterday. With David Oistrakh playing you can't go wrong here. A tremendous performance of this fine,melodic and rewarding violin concerto. You start thinking,it should be more popular! I really enjoyed this!

I was never a great fan of Hindemith apart from the Symphonic Metamorphosis on themes by Carl Maria von Weber until I heard somebody (I can't remember who at this distance of time -- it must have nigh-on fifty years ago) play the Violin Concerto in the Festival Hall (I think it was) and I was bowled over by it. I agree with you that it's a fine piece. I have a few recordings of it but not Oistrakh, sadly. Of those I have, my favourite is André Gertler with the Czech Philharmonic under Karel Ancerl on Supraphon. A bonus is that it's coupled with Paul Tortelier playing Hondemith's Cello Concerto, which I don't enjoy quite as much as the fiddle concerto but it's still worth hearing. I can only imagine whast Oistrakh does with it!

I like Hindemith! Listening to this concerto did,however,make me think that this is the a work that might appeal to someone who might not like his other output so much. It seems to speak from the heart more than some of his other pieces. There's passion there. I can imagine my late mother or grandmother enjoying this on the radio. My mother didn't collect Lp's (or cd's) but she always liked classical music (and some popular) and she'd have a radio in the kitchen or upstairs,when she was doing embroidery or sewing! The Symphonic Metamorphosis followed the Violin Concerto & I only just realised that Morton Gould seems to have pinched some of the brassy flourishes (a subconscious crib,coincidence or maybe purposely?) for his third symphony,which I have on an Albany cd! Nothing wrong with quoting other composers,of course! I was merely surprised! It's one of Hindemith's most approachable & tuneful works,however.

Yes, after that experience with the Violin Concerto I went on to investigate his music further. As a result, I'm now a fan, especially of the  Mathis der Maler Symphony, Nobilissima Visione (of which I have great recording conducted by Joseph Keilberth)  Konzertmusik for Strings and Brass op 50 'Bostoner Sinfonie' and lots of the Kammermusik and various sonatas. Great stuff, all of it. Who knows, one of these days I might even try Mathis der Maler the opera, and not just the Symphony!

Oh,good! He's allot better than Birtwistle,anyway! (Albeit,RIP,as they say!) I must admit I wasn't too excited by Hindemith when I tried Lp's of his music from the local library,in my younger days! It's only recently his music really clicked with me! And only after I dug out an old musicassette of Mathis der Maler. I had to hear more! It also occurred to me that he is (or was) a major figure & it might be in my interests to hear a little more?!! I ended up buying a stack of Hindemith cd's! At least I'm not costing you money,if you've got them in your collection already & your now a fan?! Wow! It didn't take long! Maybe,the fastest about turn on this message board ever?!! Yes,I like all those! I have also been very  impressed by the Symphonie 'Die Harmonie der Welt' and Symphonia Serena. I wouldn't mind hearing Mathis der Maler. The emi set has been deleted & sellers are asking eye watering prices,however! Although,there may be a newer recording? Music that is very much of the twentieth century but accessible & not likely to tie your ears in knots like those Tippett symphonies!

[dhibbard]

interesting symphony...





this too!!

[cilgwyn]

interesting symphony...

this too!!

The Mermaid is a lovely piece. I'll admit I haven't heard the early symphonies. Another composer (like Schreker & Boughton) I wish had composed more concert music. I was listening to the Conlon (emi) and old Schwann cd's of his Vorspiel zu einem Drama and Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper (Memnon) amongst other works & thinking what a Schreker symphony would have been like! It's pointless speculating really,I suppose,but listening to pieces like this lead me to think that if his main interest had been in purely orchestral concert works he would have made a very good symphonist. Works like Vorspiel zu einem Drama & Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper are just so well worked out. They feel so tightly structured. Schreker's capabilities of orchestration have been described as mind boggling in terms of his use of orchestral colour,instrumentation & the sheer virtuosity of his orchestration. With his best pieces,like those I have referred to here,there is no sense of mere scene,mood setting or wallowing like the proverbial hippo. Vorspiel zu einem Drama is symphonic in scope and has all the sweep and inevitability of some pre-determined destination. It's also jam packed with imagination. Eighteen (and a bit on my emi and Schwann cd's) minutes packed with more ideas than some blockbuster's I can think of,twice or even three times it's length,put together. In fact,as a listening experience it is a symphony,in all but name! Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper (and his later operas) give us a good idea of the direction in which a Schreker symphony cycle would most probably (almost certainly,imo) have gone. The lean textures and paring down. The astringency of the orchestration in contrast to the luxuriance & extravagance of his earlier music. Yet,there's no dryness to the orchestration. There's the same allure and opulence,but cooler and the textures are more refined. It's a superb piece. Not a wasted note! His Chamber Symphony for 23 solo instruments is another magnificent piece,which I've just got to mention here. What a composer!! The review of the Conlon cd at ClassicsToday has this to say about Vorspiel zu einem Drama & Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper (Memnon) "The two operatic overtures–one for a “major opera,” Memnon, never completed, the other for the infamous and decadent lyrical masterpiece Die Gezeichneten–certainly count among the greatest symphonic extravaganzas ever". Whoever wrote that isn't far wrong! Indeed,he isn't wrong! But amongst the mind boggling luxuriance and virtuosity of the orchestration it's the sense of structure and thematic concision of these pieces that makes them so compelling. They feel as tight as your proverbial drum. Unlike Lionel and Albion I love Bax and he certainly was a talented & imaginative orchestrator (albeit a beginner by comparison!)! But oh dear,like allot of talented orchestrator's he does love a good old wallow! I can think of others! Not that (as every happy hippopotamus knows) there's anything wrong with a good old wallow. It can be great fun! But Schreker shows you just how it should be done! Much as I enjoy Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony (or even the Sinfonia Domestica) I can't imagine Schreker reeling out stuff like that. It's truly astounding,imo,that such a talented composer with such an awe inspiring command of the orchestra could have been neglected for so long! Mind you,as a life-long fan of classical music and,particularly,path's less well trodden,nothing really surprises me anymore! So,what conclusion can I draw from what I have written (typed!) here?!! That,in effect,even though he didn't set out to compose symphonies in the way that Mahler did,for example (with the Chamber Symphony a notable exception) he was actually a first rate symphonist after all. So what am I moaning about?!!

[Lionel Harrison]

interesting symphony...

this too!!

The Mermaid is a lovely piece. I'll admit I haven't heard the early symphonies. Another composer (like Schreker & Boughton) I wish had composed more concert music. I was listening to the Conlon (emi) and old Schwann cd's of his Vorspiel zu einem Drama and Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper (Memnon) amongst other works & thinking what a Schreker symphony would have been like! It's pointless speculating really,I suppose,but listening to pieces like this lead me to think that if his main interest had been in purely orchestral concert works he would have made a very good symphonist. Works like Vorspiel zu einem Drama & Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper are just so well worked out. They feel so tightly structured. Schreker's capabilities of orchestration have been described as mind boggling in terms of his use of orchestral colour,instrumentation & the sheer virtuosity of his orchestration. With his best pieces,like those I have referred to here,there is no sense of mere scene,mood setting or wallowing like the proverbial hippo. Vorspiel zu einem Drama is symphonic in scope and has all the sweep and inevitability of some pre-determined destination. It's also jam packed with imagination. Eighteen (and a bit on my emi and Schwann cd's) minutes packed with more ideas than some blockbuster's I can think of,twice or even three times it's length,put together. In fact,as a listening experience it is a symphony,in all but name! Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper (and his later operas) give us a good idea of the direction in which a Schreker symphony cycle would most probably (almost certainly,imo) have gone. The lean textures and paring down. The astringency of the orchestration in contrast to the luxuriance & extravagance of his earlier music. Yet,there's no dryness to the orchestration. There's the same allure and opulence,but cooler and the textures are more refined. It's a superb piece. Not a wasted note! His Chamber Symphony for 23 solo instruments is another magnificent piece,which I've just got to mention here. What a composer!! The review of the Conlon cd at ClassicsToday has this to say about Vorspiel zu einem Drama & Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper (Memnon) "The two operatic overtures–one for a “major opera,” Memnon, never completed, the other for the infamous and decadent lyrical masterpiece Die Gezeichneten–certainly count among the greatest symphonic extravaganzas ever". Whoever wrote that isn't far wrong! Indeed,he isn't wrong! But amongst the mind boggling luxuriance and virtuosity of the orchestration it's the sense of structure and thematic concision of these pieces that makes them so compelling. They feel as tight as your proverbial drum. Unlike Lionel and Albion I love Bax and he certainly was a talented & imaginative orchestrator (albeit a beginner by comparison!)! But oh dear,like allot of talented orchestrator's he does love a good old wallow! I can think of others! Not that (as every happy hippopotamus knows) there's anything wrong with a good old wallow. It can be great fun! But Schreker shows you just how it should be done! Much as I enjoy Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony (or even the Sinfonia Domestica) I can't imagine Schreker reeling out stuff like that. It's truly astounding,imo,that such a talented composer with such an awe inspiring command of the orchestra could have been neglected for so long! Mind you,as a life-long fan of classical music and,particularly,path's less well trodden,nothing really surprises me anymore! So,what conclusion can I draw from what I have written (typed!) here?!! That,in effect,even though he didn't set out to compose symphonies in the way that Mahler did,for example (with the Chamber Symphony a notable exception) he was actually a first rate symphonist after all. So what am I moaning about?!!

You make a very strong case for Schreker. I was thinking 'I must listen to some of his stuff' and when I consulted my catalogue, I discovered that I actually have two downloaded versions of Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper (Memnon) as well as downloads of Ekkehard Symphonic Overture op 12; Phantastische Ouvertüre op 15; Vier kleine Stücke for large orchestra (1930) and Romantische Suite, op 14. I'm sure if he's as good as you say he is I'd remember them but since I don't, I think I mustn't have listened to them since I downloaded them (whenever the hell that was). I shall try to rectify that!

[cilgwyn]

Some of the music on the Chandos and Marco Polo/Naxos  cd's are early works & a good deal of them are merely extract's from his operas,some of which have been revised as concert pieces. This is why I only bought the emi and Schwann cd (and the Nimus cd with ballet,The Birthday of the Infanta) because they include the more substantial works. I was actually just trying to be philosophical about his concentration on opera at the expense of concert music. While extract's are enjoyable (or bleeding chunks!) I feel Vorspiel zu einem Drama and Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper (Memnon) The Birthday of The Infanta and Chamber Symphony are so good & contain such gorgeous orchestration that I can't help wishing he'd focused his attention on orchestral music. I just can't help thinking of how such music with a man of his talent & imagination would have developed. Some pieces like the Romantic Suite are enjoyable enough,but they are lesser pieces,imo. As it stands,orchestral and chamber music seem to have been of secondary importance to his operas. Vorspiel zu einer großen Oper (Memnon) is in his later style. It took a little longer to appreciate and I like it very much,now. Again,this was composed as a prelude to an opera,which in this instance ,never materialised (his death put paid to that). Again,it's not an original concert work. I can only speculate what a man with his imagination and mastery of orchestration might have achieved if his main focus had been on writing original concert works for the concert hall & stage ( ballet).
Rutland Boughton's another one. I enjoy what I have heard of his operas (or music dramas) and I wish funding could be found to record more. But every time I listen to his Symphony No 2 "Deirdre" and Symphony No 3 (and there's a Hyperion cd of some other,rather nice,orchestral works,too) a part of keeps wishing he'd focused more of his attention on orchestral music (less problems too with hokey,dated sounding librettos!).

Oh,well!

[cilgwyn]

A second helping of Reich Pudding! Gut,ja!



After that cd of Max von Schillings' String Quartet & Quintet,this album of String Quartet's by Hans Pffffffffff-itzner (another composer with delightful views! But hey,he's dead & let's just enjoy the music! ) this is more like it! Lot's of interesting instrumentation & ideas. It's not exactly tuneful,but there's lyricism & some fibre,which helps the medicine go down (Wasn't that supposed to be sugar?! ). Pfitzner,later,turned the String Quartet op.36 in c sharp minor into a full blown symphony for orchestra. If you enjoy Berg & Zemlinsly (String Quartet's 2-4) there's the same tortured lyricism,but not too severe that it frighten's duffer's like me who head for the nearest air raid shelter as soon as they hear the name's,Stockhausen or Birtwistle!


Actually,listening to Schillings & Pfitzner makes me wonder whether Cpo will get around to recording the music of Max Trapp (1887-1971). Another composer with unpleasent political affiliation's & views! Not saying they should. But it's a mildly,intriguing thought!

https://www.overgrownpath.com/2006/09/furtwngler-and-forgotten-new-music.html

[cilgwyn]

The best recording of Bizet's masterpiece ever,imho! The sound quality of this 1911/12 complete opera recording,the first to include the dialogue (or the version with dialogue) before 1950,might be a problem for some,however. A great cast,though,who perform this masterpiece with great enthusiasm,considering the 'technology' that was afforded them. All it needed was that little bird in Wilma Flinstone's washing machine in the cartoon. It's just so strange to imagine the world outside the studio while they were recording. No horseless carriages (or at least,hardly any) just the sound of hooves,the whinnying of a horse,street vendors advertising their wares,no mobile phones or loud thudding beats from passing vehicles! Ah,bliss! Spare a thought for the music fan who had to get through the pile of cylinder's! Allot of hand cranking & one arm with a bicep like Popeye!! The transfer's,on this 2 cd set,by the world leading expert Ward Marston are superb! The booklet notes & photos,provided with this set are a delight & model of their kind.

NB: In case anyone reading this is thinking of ditching their stereo recordings in favour of this. It's been deleted & sellers are asking eye watering prices. Just so you know!

[Lionel Harrison]

The best recording of Bizet's masterpiece ever,imho! The sound quality of this 1911/12 complete opera recording,the first to include the dialogue (or the version with dialogue) before 1950,might be a problem for some,however. A great cast,though,who perform this masterpiece with great enthusiasm,considering the 'technology' that was afforded them. All it needed was that little bird in Wilma Flinstone's washing machine in the cartoon. It's just so strange to imagine the world outside the studio while they were recording. No horseless carriages (or at least,hardly any) just the sound of hooves,the whinnying of a horse,street vendors advertising their wares,no mobile phones or loud thudding beats from passing vehicles! Ah,bliss! Spare a thought for the music fan who had to get through the pile of cylinder's! Allot of hand cranking & one arm with a bicep like Popeye!! The transfer's,on this 2 cd set,by the world leading expert Ward Marston are superb! The booklet notes & photos,provided with this set are a delight & model of their kind.

NB: In case anyone reading this is thinking of ditching their stereo recordings in favour of this. It's been deleted & sellers are asking eye watering prices. Just so you know!

I'm not so old that I actually remember cylinders but there are certain pieces which I first heard on 78 RPM shellac recordings and which I can never hear even now without anticipating the side breaks. One such that springs immediately to mind is Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre which I got to know through a Decca 78 of the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Charles Münch and where the side break came at letter G in the score!

However, not wishing to get slapped down for going off on a tangent, on the subject of Carmen my go-to recording is Beecham with Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda and Ernest Blanc and I know I am not alone in this. All right, 1959 is not 1911 but who's complaining?

[cilgwyn]

The best recording of Bizet's masterpiece ever,imho! The sound quality of this 1911/12 complete opera recording,the first to include the dialogue (or the version with dialogue) before 1950,might be a problem for some,however. A great cast,though,who perform this masterpiece with great enthusiasm,considering the 'technology' that was afforded them. All it needed was that little bird in Wilma Flinstone's washing machine in the cartoon. It's just so strange to imagine the world outside the studio while they were recording. No horseless carriages (or at least,hardly any) just the sound of hooves,the whinnying of a horse,street vendors advertising their wares,no mobile phones or loud thudding beats from passing vehicles! Ah,bliss! Spare a thought for the music fan who had to get through the pile of cylinder's! Allot of hand cranking & one arm with a bicep like Popeye!! The transfer's,on this 2 cd set,by the world leading expert Ward Marston are superb! The booklet notes & photos,provided with this set are a delight & model of their kind.

NB: In case anyone reading this is thinking of ditching their stereo recordings in favour of this. It's been deleted & sellers are asking eye watering prices. Just so you know!

I'm not so old that I actually remember cylinders but there are certain pieces which I first heard on 78 RPM shellac recordings and which I can never hear even now without anticipating the side breaks. One such that springs immediately to mind is Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre which I got to know through a Decca 78 of the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Charles Münch and where the side break came at letter G in the score!

However, not wishing to get slapped down for going off on a tangent, on the subject of Carmen my go-to recording is Beecham with Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda and Ernest Blanc and I know I am not alone in this. All right, 1959 is not 1911 but who's complaining?

Maybe,the best recording circa 1911/12?!   As a self confessed bit of a fan,I think I'd choose Beecham! And no,you're certainly not alone in your go-to choice! I think Cluytens 1950 recording is also very good. And if you like mono it has the advantage of electrical recording. I just thought I'd give the 1911/12 a plug because it is very good (even Musicweb discounted it from their survey due to it's sonic limitation's) & since the recording was begun only 36 years after the premiere (& with the Paris Opéra-Comique) it's as about as close to the prime source & a truly authentic sound as it get's! So,a genuinely important aural document! Just their luck they didn't invent electrical recording,at least,15 years earlier!


NB: Unbelievably,the 1911/12 set isn't actually the first 'complete' recording! There is an earlier one from 1908,with Emmy Destinn,in German!!

[Lionel Harrison]

The best recording of Bizet's masterpiece ever,imho! The sound quality of this 1911/12 complete opera recording,the first to include the dialogue (or the version with dialogue) before 1950,might be a problem for some,however. A great cast,though,who perform this masterpiece with great enthusiasm,considering the 'technology' that was afforded them. All it needed was that little bird in Wilma Flinstone's washing machine in the cartoon. It's just so strange to imagine the world outside the studio while they were recording. No horseless carriages (or at least,hardly any) just the sound of hooves,the whinnying of a horse,street vendors advertising their wares,no mobile phones or loud thudding beats from passing vehicles! Ah,bliss! Spare a thought for the music fan who had to get through the pile of cylinder's! Allot of hand cranking & one arm with a bicep like Popeye!! The transfer's,on this 2 cd set,by the world leading expert Ward Marston are superb! The booklet notes & photos,provided with this set are a delight & model of their kind.

NB: In case anyone reading this is thinking of ditching their stereo recordings in favour of this. It's been deleted & sellers are asking eye watering prices. Just so you know!

I'm not so old that I actually remember cylinders but there are certain pieces which I first heard on 78 RPM shellac recordings and which I can never hear even now without anticipating the side breaks. One such that springs immediately to mind is Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre which I got to know through a Decca 78 of the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Charles Münch and where the side break came at letter G in the score!

However, not wishing to get slapped down for going off on a tangent, on the subject of Carmen my go-to recording is Beecham with Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda and Ernest Blanc and I know I am not alone in this. All right, 1959 is not 1911 but who's complaining?

Maybe,the best recording circa 1911/12?!   As a self confessed bit of a fan,I think I'd choose Beecham! And no,you're certainly not alone in your go-to choice! I think Cluytens 1950 recording is also very good. And if you like mono it has the advantage of electrical recording. I just thought I'd give the 1911/12 a plug because it is very good (even Musicweb discounted it from their survey due to it's sonic limitation's) & since the recording was begun only 36 years after the premiere (& with the Paris Opéra-Comique) it's as about as close to the prime source & a truly authentic sound as it get's! So,a genuinely important aural document! Just their luck they didn't invent electrical recording,at least,15 years earlier!


NB: Unbelievably,the 1911/12 set isn't actually the first 'complete' recording! There is an earlier one from 1908,with Emmy Destinn,in German!!

  Really? Good gracious me, the things you know!!

[cilgwyn]

A third helping of Reich pudding!



More Hanz Pffffffff-itzner! [STOP!] Vill report back! [STOP!] Unless zummoned to ze Eastern Front! (Unzung Compozerz )

[cilgwyn]

Gounod: Faust  Marston 3 cd's (Or another incredibly ancient recording you can't wait to add to your collection!! )



Faust   Léon Beyle
Méphistophélès   André Gresse
Valentin   Jean Noté
Wagner   Pierre Dupré
Marguerite   Jeanne Campredon
Siebel   Marguerite d’Elty
Marthe   Jeanne Goulancourt
François Ruhlmann, conductor

The best recording of Gounod's masterpiece! (Oh,no! Here we go again! ) Okay,the best c1911/12!! Although,if it wasn't for it's obvious sonic limitation's I think it would be a possible candidate? Question: Why?!! It's over a hundred years old for goodness sake! Well! (Scratching my head! ) The authenticity of the French cast,who were among the finest in Paris,typical of the Paris Opera roster,and all closely associated with the opera (with one notable exception,which I will get to shortly).  Indeed,Jeanne Campredon had made the role of Marguerite her own at the time of the recording. André Gresse had been one of the foremost exponents of the role of Méphistophélès,since 1901. The Belgian baritone Jean Noté had been playing the part of Valentin since 1896. Marguerite d’Elty had been an opera favourite as Siebel .And Jeanne Goulancourt a noted Dame Marthe! The notable exception,I referred to earlier,being,Léon Beyle,who sings the title role and who had switched allegiance to the Opéra-Comique early in his career and had not performed Faust in Paris. As the booklet points out, "the repertoires of the two Paris houses were mutually exclusive, and Faust was the strict prerogative of the Opéra".  Pathé  had several tenors on their roster who had distinguished themselves in the role so why they chose a tenor from the  Opéra-Comique is a minor mystery. The booklet goes on to say that it is possible Léon Beyle had sung the role in his youth in Lyon (at the conservatory there) from which he originated. He had also recorded "solo & concerted extracts from the opera". So it's obvious he had some experience in the role.
Faust was first performed at the Paris’s Théâtre-Lyrique in 1859. It ran to 57 performances.It then toured France and Germany. Surprisingly,it wasn't until March 3rd 1869 that it was finally performed at theParis Opéra at the Salle Le Peletier. So,in terms of authenticity this is about as close as you can get!

So,if you can be bothered to read that ,(I wouldn't!?!! ) that explains why this recording would be a possible candidate for a top choice........if it wasn't for the 1911/12 recording technology! The performance is a very lively one indeed & obviously very well sung. It must have been difficult to perform standing around a large horn,but having to get everything right in one take adds an element of spontaneity to the result. As to the sound! It's not just the swish of shellack here! You've got the rumble of cylinder! That said,Ward Marston,who is considered to be one of the world's leading expert's has done an amazing job in transfering these truly ancient cylinder recordings to compact disc. The booklet accompanying the set is a model of it's kind with lots of interesting photos of the soloists & a bonus track's of solo numbers from the opera recorded by various singers from around the period of the recording. Some as early as 1903!

Need I add?!! This wasn't the first complete recording! The first complete recording dating from 1908,sung in German,with Emmy Destinn as Margarethe. Available as a 2 cd set from Marston. I haven't got it though! But I do have it on 2 cd-r's (I think I downloaded it from Amazon?).
 

[cilgwyn]

George Lloyd: Symphony No 10 "November Journeys"    Trax cd



It was on sale for around a fiver so I thought why not buy it?!! The tenth symphony doesn't appear to be a favourite with fans of the composer judging by some reviews I saw on Amazon. Knowing Lloyd's skilful & imaginative use of the brass section of the orchestra I thought it would be worth hearing & I liked the idea of November Journeys. Also,I (fairly) recently enjoyed Arnold's Symphony for brass & the Conifer cd of his music for brass is fantastic! So far,I'm enjoying what I'm hearing. I'm not familiar with the music of Wilfred Josephs. Another neglected composer! There is another recording of Lloyd's Symphony No 10,but it's more expensive.

Update! I am enjoying Symphony No 10! I'm not a big fan of brass bands,but I like George Lloyd's handling of the brass here. Maybe it's not one of Lloyd,greatest symphonies?  But,what not to like?!! (I like the cover art,too!)

PS: Anyone else here like this one?!! (It seems to be a bit of a Cinderella amongst his output!)