When I want traditional done properly, I look for Arturo Toscanini. He conducted the New York Philharmonic until 1936, then did regular broadcasts with the NBC Symphony Orchestra until about 1954, when he retired at age 87. Much of his work is on RCA Victor Red Seal LP, and there have been many restorations of the NBC broadcasts. He doesn’t seem to put out Vivaldi only work, but some of what you will find is very good. He started his NBC work with Vivaldi’s Concerto Grasso, for example.
His Verdi pieces are some of the best ever, and much more available.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this one before (doesn’t look like it) but this is a very special piece to me.
And no, it’s not because I was a fan of Halo in the mid-late 2000’s… I don’t know what would make you say that. Oh shush!
Ok, so maybe I was introduced to this through one of the best video game trailers ever.
This is the only rendition that I can find that doesn’t rush through. Takes it nice and slow and squeezes every last drop of feels out. Absolutely wonderful.
Hmmm, when I’m not in the mood for period instruments (which at the moment doesn’t seem to happen too often), and I want a bigger sound than Jansen, I reach for Sarah Chang & The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. I just listened to the Joshua Bell recording on Amazon HD, and liked it too.
I found this one a bit mixed. There are passages where the technical abilities of Chang really shine but I found the overall arrangement not quite to my preference.
I was actually just thinking of listening to this one again to see if my opinion would change when you posted it!
I got a new tube to plug in and I want to try the Joshua Bell and Chang again but I’m stuck at work.
If you do listen to it again, I’d be interested to know what you don’t like about Chang. Of course, if you point things out that I hadn’t noticed before, that will ruin it for me, so ignorance may be bliss in this case.
I’m not familiar with the Preludes but I liked it. I happen to have the Argerich box set, which has a full set of (previously ignored) Preludes, and her tempo for this particular one is a lot faster than Lang Lang, but I appreciate the level of emotion in Lang Lang’s playing.
Gramophone likes Cristian Budu, so I listened to him on Amazon HD and liked it a lot. Have you tried Budu? Not quite as slow as Lang Lang, but still feels emotional to me - or is it still too rushed for you?
IIRC, it wasnt Chang, who may be technically superior to Jansen in these recordings, but it was the orchestral arrangement that threw me off. Its been a few months since I put an ear to it.
Allright imma gonna tell you since I just spend some time with the Chang…
Its just flat in comparison to the Jansen. Lacks vibrancy and dynamic range. The actual technical abilities of the musicians sound excellent but it just doesnt come through on the recording. So essentially the Chang lacks the emotion and joy of the Jansen
Joking aside, I agree about the Jansen. I really wasn’t expecting the sense of joy I’d get listening to it, and that’s definitely the recording I listen to the most. It’s difficult to describe, but it sounds to me like a small group of highly skilled musicians just finished having dinner together, and wanted to “jam” together after dinner. And because they know each other so well, it just works.
It must be neat to just get up and play something like this, and I imagine they pretty much can.
Its odd though that I dont listen to anything else by her or have even tried to look in to it. Maybe I think this is her defining performance and just want to leave it. I think this was her break out release.
What would be a good performance to introduce me to Debussy? I’ve tried listening to random CDs I found in the library, but I couldn’t get into his music, so I’m guessing I picked the wrong piece.
i got introduced to Debussy by exactly that - preforming his music. I’m far from a professional level pianist, being self taught for about 8 years, and at this relatively intermediate level, Debussy provides beautiful music that is incredibly satisfying to play.
As for the performances themselves, composer & arranger Alfred Reed arranged Claire De Lune for orchestra, and no one has done it better than the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra:
This one is a bet removed, but I love Ramin Djawadi’s ‘rendition’ of Reverie from the Westworld soundtrack:
And just from that album, my favorites are Arabesque No. 1, La Fille aux Cheveaux De Lin, & Les sons set les parfums
The Debussy and Ravel string quartets (I think they only wrote one each) will give some flavor of what their music is like.
I associate the Late Romantics like Bruckner, Mahler, Strauss as producing music that in painting would be considered vivid with strong contrasting elements of dark and intense light. Ravel and especially Debussy produce music in pastels with a dream-like quality with shadows and light that are not that pronounced.
I enjoy the contrast of the various periods including Baroque, Classical and Early Romantic, and those works that may combine multiple elements. When my ears are saturated with the music of Late Romantics, Impressionists, and 20th Century composers, a return to the likes of Mozart simplifies, clarifies, and purifies my little gray cells.
In my early decades I was drawn to the dramatic qualities of music with a focus on composers of the Classical and Early Romantic periods. As decades past and a need for a change of pace felt like a good idea, my appreciation for all varieties and stylistic periods were added to the mix. Some music can be immediately taken to, some may be an acquired taste with adequate exposure needed. And some may never “click” with me.
I didn’t take to all styles and periods immediately in my youth and I’m still very narrow in my opera likes. I like late Mozart, Late Wagner, and Late Puccini, and Bizet’s “Carmen”. I never got Verdi, his music just never could focus my attention, and at my age I’m unlikely to do so now, LOL.
