What are you listening to now?

[Rainman]

I like it TG! Reminds me of the opening song for Grand Funk at a concert when I was a teenager. Certainly better than the bland top 10 Rick Beato just criticized presented.

[taiwan_girl]

@Rainman I saw him perform in a pub just when he was somewhat big with my college friends. Fun show!

[George K]

The D960 Sonata
Op 99 Impromptus
Ständchen

OK, so, at one time, I almost had the first movement of the D960 under my fingers, so I'm allowed to be critical, right?

First of all, someone, PLEASE buy this woman a metronome. When she started the first movement, I thought it was going to be slower than RIchter's recording. And, for about a minute it seems to be. And then, it's off to the races - for a while. There is absolutely no consistency of tempo anywhere in the first movement. It either plods or it rockets. And the rubato....my God, the rubato!

Almost as inconsistent as her tempo are her dynamics. Sometimes she's so loud and heavy that it's nothing more than a blur.

The second movement is taken slowly, of course, and it seems to be pretty consistent, at least.

I gave up before the third movement.

Give it a listen for about 5 minutes, if you dare.

Link to video

ETA: Her tempo in the first bars is actually a bit slower than Richter (I just listened) and yet she performs the 1st movement, including repeat, about 3 minutes quicker.

Oy....

[Aqua Letifer]

@George-K said in What are you listening to now?:

The D960 Sonata
Op 99 Impromptus
Ständchen

OK, so, at one time, I almost had the first movement of the D960 under my fingers, so I'm allowed to be critical, right?

First of all, someone, PLEASE buy this woman a metronome. When she started the first movement, I thought it was going to be slower than RIchter's recording. And, for about a minute it seems to be. And then, it's off to the races - for a while. There is absolutely no consistency of tempo anywhere in the first movement. It either plods or it rockets. And the rubato....my God, the rubato!

Almost as inconsistent as her tempo are her dynamics. Sometimes she's so loud and heavy that it's nothing more than a blur.

The second movement is taken slowly, of course, and it seems to be pretty consistent, at least.

I gave up before the third movement.

Give it a listen for about 5 minutes, if you dare.

Link to video

The artwork is an obvious Gregory Crewdson knockoff.

[George K]

@kluurs , I'll be interested in seeing what you think of this recording.

[kluurs]

@George-K I heard it a while ago. It's a work that I love and have played. I loath Richter's recording, Brendel's as well. . I think she is pandering to audiences with her performance.

As for favorite recordings, my 3 recommended recordings are Chodos, the recording that Rubinstein authorized for release (a controverial opinion) and Schnabel's..

[jon-nyc]

I was supposed to see her in May at Carnegie but she postponed the concert until October, as she's apparently expecting a baby soon.

[Renauda]

Not a fan of Buniatishvili, although I would really like to be a fan. I think she has all it takes but somehow manages to fall short in most everything I’ve heard her play. The one caveat though, her playing of Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz a few years back was not only original but damned impressive.

[kluurs]

Buniatishvili got a lot of response from her performance of Schubert's

Link to video which she milks for all it's worth. She plays it a bit slower than most other performances - and I must admit I like her performance. I haven't listened to her Schubert D960 in a while - but I remember thinking that my favorite performances were not at risk. There was a time when I looked forward to hearing a new performance of that Schubert as It is one of my favorite works for piano. My heart goes to the first recording of it that I heard - which is the Rubinstein performance that he released back in the 60s. I remember having the album and just being absorbed by it. I later learned that Rubinstein loved that work and associated it with death - Schubert's and death generally. At the time, I was impressed that Rubinstein played it a bit on the slow side - and in his hands, it worked for me. It later came out that the released recording was made just after Rubinstein had a fight with his son - so perhaps the emotion I feel that comes from that performance is tinged a bit with that quarrel. In any event, imagine my surprise when the CD version of the Rubinstein Schubert Sonata became available, and I was hugely disappointed. I wondered why. I subsequently learned that Max WIlcox, the recording engineer, preferred an earlier version that Rubinstein recorded - which is better recorded. Wilcox convinced Mrs. Rubinstein that this is the CD performance to press - not the one that the artist preferred. In any event, there are others that prefer the WIlcox version including some folks I respect - and I won't argue the point that it may be a more accurate and better performance - but I still prefer the Rubinstein authorized version.

Rubinstein did not perform or record much Schubert - especially compared to Alfred Brendel who many, back in the day, acclaimed for his Schubert. On the other hand, Gabriel Chodos made a career of studying and teaching Schubert. He made two recordings of the D960 I believe I had a preference for the first.

[George K]

@kluurs said in What are you listening to now?:

I loath Richter's recording, Brendel's as well.

This one?

Why?

[kluurs]

@George-K Brendel plays it very straight forward perfection, but it lacks soul. As near as I can tell, Brendel went through 3 phases of his career. During his younger years, he resembled Richard Goode and Mitsuko Uchida - romantic playing. I remember hearing him play the Beethoven Op 109 a week or so after having hearing Ashkenazy play the same work. There was no comparison. Both played note perfect, but Brendel's performance exuded a gorgeous interpretation - but then in his middle period, Brendel started talking about making sure that the performing artist not bring anything more to the music than was written. It is at that point where most of his recordings were made - and some termed him Brendull for his lack of interpretation. In his final years, he eased up a bit and started performing with a bit more life - and then he retired.

For the specific recording, I think he did a fair job of capturing my sense of the music. Mind you, I'm not saying he does a bad job. He plays it flawlessly - as do several other artists. Brendel specialized in this music - and I enjoy his playing and were someone to play precisely as he does, they'd do well in an audition at Juilliard- but for me as a listener, I have found some other recordings - that even when they're less technically perfect are more engaging - so the difference between an A- and A. EDIT ADD - Buniatishvili's performance is not a great performance - nor particularly well recorded.

[Aqua Letifer]

Hey @Doctor-Phibes , ever saw these guys live in your misspent youth? They're all of grandpa age now, but still at it.

You can't tell me this song is lesser than compared to Spotify's top 100.

It's amazing to me that after 40+ years, they still have something to say.

Link to video

[kluurs]

Loath for Richter - Less so for Brendel. It's at least tasteful.

[taiwan_girl]

@Aqua-Letifer Good song!!

[Aqua Letifer]

Link to video

[mark]

[mark]

A bittersweet album for me.

This is my Dad's original album from 1958. I found a box of his old albums in my basement a few weeks ago and thankfully, this was in that box. I believe this was the very first piece of music I ever heard while still in the womb. From this exact piece of vinyl too! Dad used to blast this on his Philco stereo system with 15" woofers, electrostatic tweeters, and tube amps. Mom would always ask him why he had to play it so loud. "I need to test the system!" was usually his reply. She told me that the windows in the house would rattle. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess.
I cleaned it very thoroughly this morning before playing it. Unfortunately, 65 years of non-optimal storage and lack of proper record care have taken their toll on it. It has several audible scratches that are not repairable. I will be on the hunt for a better condition copy of this exact pressing. This one will never be discarded as it holds too much sentimental value for me.

Those cannons! Wow! Fortunately most of the album still sounds very good including the cannon sections.

I'm even playing it on a tube amp as he did so many years ago.

[mark]

[Catseye3]

I should have posted my Kodaline post in this thread, sorry.

Link to video

The drummer makes me crazed.

If you like them, and how could you not, here's their songography or whatever you call it.
https://www.songfacts.com/songs/kodaline

[mark]