Buying Western Classical Music

Hungary for good music?

For cinema I personally rate Hungary very highly. Much higher than the blockbuster factories of India and the United States. Miklos Jancso, Zoltan Huszarik, Istvan Szabo and Bela Tarr are among their best and most popular film makers but I have viewed films by many other Hungarian directors and almost all of them were good. At festivals like IFFI Goa, I automatically tick all the films from Hungary, Poland and other East European countries before looking at other options. One can watch only 5 films a days and selecting the right ones is of paramount importance. I rarely select a film made in Hindi or English!

Hungary was also the homeland of composers like Franz Liszt, Zoltan Kodaly Gyorgy Ligeti and Ernest Dohnanyi. But undoubtedly the greatest was Bela Bartok.

Composers like Bartok, Kodaly, Ligeti, Mahler and Dvorak imbued their music with a touch of folk, gypsy and 'peoples' strains which may have initially shocked the purists who viewed classical music purely in 'aristocratic' and 'noble' terms. But gradually their music found acceptance and probably even influenced musicians of popular 20th century genre's like Jazz and rock. From the daring dystopian music of Gyorgi Ligeti to the psychedelic musings of Sid Barret and Pink Floyd may be a huge leap but there may be a connection. A connection I would like to pursue through more listening sessions. I may be entirely off the mark as I have only played my Ligeti box set a couple of times and have not heard a complete Floyd recording for well over a decade now.

This post was meant to be about Bela Bartok but it seems to have meandered off onto a different path. Therefore I will save Bartok, my current favorite, for the next post.

Gyrgy Ligeti - Lontano - YouTube
 
All the reason for you NOT to dump the music system!

Possibly, you have probably grown out of Western Classical, looking at your indepth thoroughness in this regard. Why is it that you have not tried Indian Classical ... anything, Instrumentals / Vocal / Hindustani / South Indian. Quite possible, you have .... just suggesting, if not.

+ 1 to that Ajay, its probably time for indian classical /vinyl/tubes.
cheers
 
+ 1 to that Ajay, its probably time for indian classical /vinyl/tubes.
cheers

avidyarthi, himadri

I believe everybody on hifivision would love to live on a planet where you possess every kind of hifi at will :) Unfortunately there are very fm's who can afford multiple systems. I could split the funds from my potential sale and build two small systems. But because of the halved budget I may wind up with two compromised systems instead of one good one. I would rather have one good system.

Right now it is not even clear when or whether the sale will go through. I may even change my mind and withdraw the sale offer! What is clear is that I don't intend to invest more funds into hifi. Whatever system I own in the future will be built from the proceeds of the sale of my previous system.

But it does not cost anything to dream, plan or research a new system. And the first inkling of what I would want from my next system has come from my wife. In music she is more of a purist than I am. She primarily listens to Johann Sebastian Bach, deeming a lot of other music I listen to as noise. She suggested that the new system should be one which can render the Brandenburg Concertos in all their glory. The key word for a dramatically different next system would be smaller. Smaller amp. Monitor speakers. Could be a solid state or tube amp with passive speakers. Or perhaps the Esoteric cdp simply connected to active speakers....
 
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I like the old Russian & Ukrainian folk and classical music very much, especially the music on a stringed instrument called bandura. Instrumental folk music and songs that were sung during the czars' regime are also quite interesting.
Some good music is available at -
Folk // www.UMKA.com.ua
 
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20th century composers

Bela Bartok is one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. He was born in Hungary in 1881 and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest. Bartok was a friend and contemporary of Zoltan Kodaly. Both the Hungarian composers shared a passion for folk music and incorporated it into their compositions. Their fellow countryman Franz Liszt had earlier used folk and gypsy strains in his famous Hungarian Rhapsodies. Bartok and Kodaly travelled all over Hungary collecting and imbibing the spirit of the Magyar and other folk melodies.

Major works of Bela Bartok:

Bluebeard's Castle (opera)
The Wooden Prince (ballet)
The Miraculous Mandarin (ballet)
String Quartets 1-6
Divertimento for strings
Concerto for orchestra
Dance Suites

Major recordings of Bela Bartok:

Bartok: Pierre Boulez: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Bartok: The Orchestral Masterpieces: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Georg Solti: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Bartok : String Quartets Nos 1 - 6 [Complete] - Apex: Keller Quartet: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Bartk - Orchestral Works: Sir Simon Rattle: Amazon.co.uk: Music

The french conductor and composer Pierre Boulez would be my first choice for recordings of 20th century composers. The Simon Rattle set is also good and more affordable. For the string quartets the CD recording by the Keller Quartet is worth buying.

Bartk: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta / Boulez Berliner Philharmoniker - YouTube
 
One of the early champions of Gustav Mahler in the west was the American conductor Leonard Bernstein. During the 60's he recorded the 9 complete symphonies of Mahler with the New York Philharmonic for the first time. These recordings introduced Mahler's great symphonies to a much wider audience. In the 1980's Bernstein teamed up with DG and recorded a new Mahler cycle, with top notch orchestras like Vienna and New York Philharmonic and Royal Concertgebouw. Gustav Mahler is possibly the most recorded composer of western classical music in recent decades. The Bernstein recordings of the 60's opened the flood gates and a deluge of Mahler cycles ranging from the good to great have hit the market in recent decades.

The 60's set by Bernstein is available at Amazon U.K.
Gustav Mahler: The Complete Symphonies & Kindertotenlieder: Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic: Amazon.co.uk: Music

The 80's set by Bernstein is available at Rhythm House:
Mahler-The Symphonies Rhythm House | Buy Online Music CD

Some more conductors associated with Mahler are Bruno Walter, Rafel Kubelik, George Solti, Klaus Tennstedt, Otto Klemperer, Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink and John Barbirolli.

Mahler-The Complete Symphonies Rhythm House | Buy Online Music CD

Mahler: Complete Symphonies: Gustav Mahler, Rafael Kubelk, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Chorus, Edith Mathis, Norma Procter, Marjorie Thomas, Elsie Morison: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Mahler: Complete Symphonies 1-10 & Songs (Rattle) [14cd]: Simon Rattle, Gustav Mahler, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Mahler: Symphonies 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10: James Levine: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Mahler: Complete Symphonies Nos 1-9 / SOLTI /DECCA/10 CD BOX SET: Gustav Mahler, SOLTI: Amazon.co.uk: Music

For the more financially privileged there is a monstrously over priced hybrid SACD set by Michael Tilson Thomas and San Francisco Symphony.
MAHLER, GUSTAV-The mahler cycle box set: Michael Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony, Gustav Mahler: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Both EMI and DG have issued excellent box sets of Mahler, featuring various conductors and orchestras. Buying one or both these sets would mean acquiring some of the greatest recordings of Mahler ever made in one swoop. The EMI set is still relatively easy to buy.The DG set would be hard to find.

Gustav Mahler: Complete Works [150th Anniversary]: Gustav Mahler: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Amazon.com: Gustav Mahler: Complete Edition: Various Artists, Gustav Mahler: Music
 
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The German conductor Bruno Walter met Gustav Mahler in 1894 and gradually became his protge and assistant. As perhaps the only conductor who actually knew Mahler intimately, his recordings would be invaluable for Mahler fans. Several box sets of Bruno Walter's recordings have been issued in 2012 on his 50th death anniversary. I am eagerly looking forward to listening to the Bruno Walters Mahler set which was dispatched by Amazon a few days ago. Sony has priced this set quite fairly considering that the audio quality may not be outstanding. But concerns about audiophile sound quality will hopefully be rendered redundant by the music!

Bruno Walter conducts Mahler: Bruno Walter: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Bruno Walter conducts Mozart: Bruno Walter, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Bruno Walter - ICON: Bruno Walter, Various: Amazon.co.uk: Music
 
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I have around 600+ records of western classical music recorded between1902 and 90s.
These includes RCA red label records, Red label box sets and few from non English speaking countries.
 
20th century composers

The French composer Claude Debussy created an alter ego named Monsieur Croche with whom he conducted imaginary conversations regarding the nature of art and music. Monsieur Croche had very definite views about life and once famously stated " I would rather look at the sun rising than listen to Beethoven's Pastorale symphony."

Debussy's composed iconoclastic works in the 19th and 20th century with a distinctly modern flavor. He may have been the first composer to challenge traditional notions of how classical music should be composed and performed. Debussy's music was the opening blast of a thoroughly modern 20th century music. Music which probably shocked and scared many purists who had spent a lifetime listening to or performing the works of the classical composers. Claude Debussy, Gustav Mahler, Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok, Arnold Schoenberg, Dmitri Shotakavich, Olivier Messiaen....the men who rewrote the rules and created the seminal sounds of 20th century music.

Popular works by Claude Debussy:
Suite Bergamasque
Claire De Lune
Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun
Pelleas Et Mellisande (opera)
La Mer
Nocturnes
Preludes
Etudes
Children's Corner Suite

Albums:
Boulez Conducts Debussy & Ravel: Pierre Boulez: Amazon.co.uk: Music

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Debussy...r_1_10?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1341042339&sr=1-10

Debussy: Orchestral Music - Images/La Mer/3 Nocturnes etc.: Claude Debussy, Bernard Haitink, Eduard van Beinum, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Debussy: La Mer/L'aprs-midi d'une faune: Claude Debussy: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Debussy: La Mer, Jeux, Prlude l aprs-midi d un faune (LSO/Gergiev): London Symphony Orchestra, Claude Debussy, Valery Gergiev: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Claude Debussy: Piano Works: C. Debussy: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Debussy: La Mer (Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra) - YouTube
 
many thanks for this thread Ajay. it's very comprehensive...and only obvious that you live, eat and breathe classical music.

the other day i listened to some track from Brahms...it hasa very eerie bass live and cello.. almost gothic, dark transilvanian kinds...almost sounded like the background score of Sleepy Hollow.

any recommendations on such type of music...? i didnt get a chance to go thru this entire threads, only bits and pieces...but now i know wht ill be doing over weekends :)
 
jenson

Johannes Brahms was a wonderful composer. He is one of my favorite five at the moment- Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Mahler and Brahms.

The sound of a cello has a richness and a warmth which perhaps no other instrument has. It is considered to be the musical instrument which is closest to the human voice. The cello is also referred to as a violincello which connotes "small violin" or "small double bass". The double bass is the big brother of the violincello. An orchestra normally has several cello players and a double bass to handle the lower notes. A string quartet normally comprises of two violins, a viola with a cello handling the bass.

There are many famous works for solo cello (sonatas) and the cello as the principal instrument backed by the orchestra (concertos). Probably the greatest solo works ever written for the cello are Bach's Six Suites for unaccompanied cello (BWV 1007-1012). Other famous works are the Double Concerto by Brahms, Triple Concerto by Beethoven and the Cello Concertos by Shostakovich, Dvorak, Schumann and Saint Saens.

Mstislav Rostropovich is generally considered the greatest cello player of the 20th century. Some other famous cellists are Pablo Casals, Jacqueline Du Pre, Pierre Fournier, Gregor Piatigorsky, Janos Starker and Paul Tortellier.

Bach - Cello Suites: Mstislav Rostropovich: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Beethoven: Triple Concerto/Brahms: Double Concerto: Mstislav Rostropovich, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Herbert von Karajan, George Szell, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter: Amazon.co.uk:

Cello Concerto (Rostropovich, Oisrakh): Dmitri Shostakovich: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Dvork: Cello Concerto / Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme: Mstislav Rostropovich, Berliner Philharmoniker: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Dvorak & Saint-Saens:Cello Concertos: Mstislav Rostropovich, Antonn Dvork, Camille Saint-Sans, Carlo Maria Giulini: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Schumann: Piano and Cello Concertos: Robert Schumann, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, Washington National Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Martha Argerich: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Rostropovich - Master Cellist: Mstislav Rostropovich, Mstislav Rostropovich: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Classic cello work by Johann Sebastian Bach
Mstislav Rostropovich - Bach Cello Suite 2 I. Prelude - YouTube

Modern cello work by Dmitri Shostakovich
Rostropovich plays Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 - 1/4 - YouTube
 
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In 2011 I took advantage of the free shipping offer by Amazon U.K. and built a brand new collection of western classical music. Free shipping, low prices, VAT deduction, no import duties, 73 rupees to a pound. Those were the days!

Unfortunately good things come to an end.

The free shipping offer is history. Standard shipping charges from Amazon U.K. is over 3 pounds per CD.

Recently I noticed that Amazon U.K does not deduct VAT any more??? Perhaps earlier prices were inclusive of VAT which was later deducted for non U.K customers, but current prices are exclusive of VAT which is later added for U.K. customers?

The pound is currently hovering at 86 against the rupee.

On CD orders Amazon U.S seems to be now reserving an additional amount to be paid as import duty, which was earlier not the case.

CD prices have been cranked up quite a bit in 2012.

@ The west seems to be in the grip of a prolonged reccession. Their central banks resorted to several rounds of monetary easing. Interest rates are close to ZERO %! The stock market is perpetually on tenterhooks because several European countries could default on their sovereign obligations if they are not repeatedly bailed out. India (and Asia as a whole) seem to on a much better wicket than the 'advanced' economies. Yet the pound/euro/yen/dollar have risen dramatically against the rupee! Try and figure that one out :)
 
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Simple ....... a lot of Rupees have been lost to scams galore! The Rupee converted to US $ or Euro have hightailed to Swiss accounts leading to shortage of both. The moment demand outstrips supply, prices go up. Hence, both Dollar and Euro have shot up ....... thank those scums in power whom we had elected.
 
Last year, at the fag end of my CD buying spree, there was very little music left with Amazon U.K. which I wanted to buy. There were box sets by Emil Gilels and Martha Argerich (two of my favorite pianists) which I postponed buying and will now have to pay substantially more to acquire. And most of all there was a giant 28 CD EMI box set of the great Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. I don't recollect the exact price but I think it was available for direct shipment by Amazon for less than 4K. Currently Amazon U.K lists only one seller who is asking for 225 pounds for a used set and Amazon U.S. lists one seller who wants 899$! David Oistrakh's 21CD EMI set is still available at an affordable price. It should be bought before it becomes unaffordable like the Rostropovich set.

Mstislav Rostropovich: The Complete EMI Recordings: Mstislav Rostropovich: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Amazon.com: Rostropovich - The Complete EMI Recordings (28 CDs): Mstislav Rostropovich: Music

David Oistrakh - Complete EMI Recordings: David Oistrakh: Amazon.co.uk: Music
 
Yo Yo Ma is a multiple award winning cellist who probably sells more CD's than any other cello player. He has made recordings of both classical and popular works and has also featured on the soundtrack of block buster films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Memoirs Of A Geisha.

I had bought a few CD's of his recordings, but I did not keep them for long, because his music seemed to be more in the populist mode rather than the rigidly austere or classical sphere. He is regarded as one the greatest cello players of the present times so this is only my personal impression.

'Yo Yo Ma plays Ennio Morricone' is a very popular and enjoyable recording. But for Bach's cello suites I would look elsewhere.
 
During Mozart's lifetime, his music was usually performed in private chambers and small concert halls, in the palaces of the rich and the powerful. Smaller audiences and smaller spaces meant a smaller orchestra. And smaller instruments with far less dynamic range than their modern avatars. There were no percussions instruments and the horns, woodwind and pianos were of a much simpler construction. Mozart himself played (exquisitely well since the age of 4 or 5!) on a much simpler piano than the grand pianos on which modern day pianists perform his music.

Which leads to the question: Can the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn be properly and authentically performed on modern instruments, by the huge orchestras of the present times?

The debate between using modern or historical instruments has been raging since the late 60's. And like every good debate it will keep on raging, with neither camp willing to accept any contra arguments! The best way to resolve the dilemma is to buy multiple recordings of baroque and classical composers and let your ears decide which part of the woods you want to pitch your tent in.

Mozart started composing at the age of 5 and his first symphony was completed at the age of 8! The total number of symphonies he wrote is not known but the authenticity of 39 symphonies is more or less established. Since his early symphonies were written when he was still a child, they may be of greater interest to a die hard Mozartian. I am sure there are plenty of them! His later symphonies from 25-41 are of greater interest with symphony no. 25, 35,36,38,39,40,41 being the most frequently performed.

Unlike the symphonies of later composers like Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and Mahler, the symphonies of Mozart sound wonderful even with a smaller orchestra and period instruments. These recordings evoke images of cosy chambers and crackling fireplaces in royal palaces, rather than the impersonal and giant concert halls where the masses now gather to pay homage to the eternal beauty of his music.

The big band, modern instrument recordings:
Karl Bohm/Berliner Philharmoniker
Leonard Bernstein/Weiner Philharmoniker
Colin Davis/Dresden Statskapelle
Herbert Von Karajan/Berliner Philharmoniker
Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Otto Klemperer/New Philharmonia Orchestra

The small orchestra, period instrument recordings:
Trevor Pinnock/The English Consort
Christopher Hogwood/The Academy Of Ancient Music
Neville Marriner/Academy Of St.Martin's In The Fields

Charles Mackerras first recorded Mozart's symphonies with the Prague Chamber Orchestra. Recently, he teamed up with Linn for a series of critically acclaimed, bestselling, audiophile quality recordings of Mozart's later symphonies, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Mozart: Symphonies 38-41: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Charles Mackerras, Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Mozart - Symphonies Nos 29, 31 (Paris), 32, 35 (Haffner) & 36 (Linz) [Hybrid SACD - plays on all CD players]: Sir Charles Mackerras; Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sir Charles Mackerras, Scottish Chamber Orchestra: Amazon.co.uk:

But for an introduction to Mozart's symphonies, perhaps the best place to begin would be a small sampling of the later symphonies, conducted by Karl Bohm or Leonard Bernstein:

Mozart: Symphonies Nos.35 "Haffner", 36 "Linzer", 38 "Prager", 39, 40, 41 "Jupiter": Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Bhm: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Mozart: The Late Symphonies; Symphonies Nos.25 & 29: W.A. Mozart: Amazon.co.uk: Music
 
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This thread makes me sunday morning reads and listen. Please keep em coming. i guess there cannot be a better way to enter western classical, one always needs a mentor

(Suresh lalwaniji and Moktan were/are my mentors for Jazz music)
 
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