Excellent article

[Rob S]

On my weekly trip to Borders (a bookstore in the States) I was doing my
regular reading of three classical magazines, in no particular order:

1. BBC Music
2. Gramophone
3. Classicfm

One of the three magazines had this excellent article about building your
classical library. The person involved conducted a blind "taste testing" of
the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. He gathered 60-70 of the
recordings that are currently on the market and listened to each one. He
did not know who was playing the piece, who was conducting the piece, and
which orchestra was accompanying the piece. As an aside, I am sure that he
probably could have recognized a few of them. After listening to each
recording he would write notes regarding the piece.

When he was completed, he looked at his notes and checked out which
recordings they actually turned out to be. His findings were interesting.
He didn't like the Evegny Kissin, the Helene Grimaud, the the Krystian
Zimerman. The one that stood out from the crowd was the 1963 recording from
Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Although this is really a matter of personal preference, I thought that
article was very interesting.

*****

As an addition to this message, I just wanted to say that I have really
enjoyed talking to everyone on this forum. I have learned a lot from
reading everyone's posts and reading your answers to my questions. I am the
guy that has decided that as a treat I would purchase one Classical CD a
month (much to the shock of everyone who posted, I am not a CAD (someone who
suffers from Classical Acquisition Disease). Two months ago, I asked people
to provide me with suggestions for the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G
minor. I had a lot of interesting suggestions and I went to my trusty
Borders and listened to everyone's suggestions. From Midori, to Perlman, to
Kyung-Wha Chung, to Lin Cho-Liang.

I settled on purchasing the Penguin Classic, Kyung-Wha Chung with the angel
hugging herself on the front. Before I received all of your advice, I was
adamant that I would be purchasing the Midori, but a lot of people suggested
that there were better choices. (All personal preferences, but still, I
would have never thought of purchasing the Lin Cho-Liang because I never
heard of him, and he has a great recording too).

All that to say thanks for your help and insight. I can't wait to announce
who my next purchase will be, and see what kind of advice I receive.

Rob S

[Matthew B. Tepper]

Post by Rob S
On my weekly trip to Borders (a bookstore in the States) I was doing my
1. BBC Music
2. Gramophone
3. Classicfm

I observe that your list does not include American Record Guide, which is
edited out of your home town of Cincinnati. I'm interested in whether this
is because you can't find the magazine (which in itself would be amusing),
or whether, like many other people, you consider editor Don Vroon a little
... overopinionated.

Post by Rob S
One of the three magazines had this excellent article about building your
classical library. The person involved conducted a blind "taste
testing" of the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. He gathered
60-70 of the recordings that are currently on the market and listened to
each one. He did not know who was playing the piece, who was conducting
the piece, and which orchestra was accompanying the piece. As an aside,
I am sure that he probably could have recognized a few of them. After
listening to each recording he would write notes regarding the piece.
When he was completed, he looked at his notes and checked out which
recordings they actually turned out to be. His findings were
interesting. He didn't like the Evegny Kissin, the Helene Grimaud, the
the Krystian Zimerman. The one that stood out from the crowd was the
1963 recording from Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Although this is really a matter of personal preference, I thought that
article was very interesting.

David Hurwitz did a non-blind and somewhat less exhaustive, but no less
interesting, multiple comparison of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto cycles, and
decided in favor of the new Hough set on Hyperion. As soon as I can get
this item at a non-confiscatory price, I'll be eager to give it a listen.

Post by Rob S
*****
As an addition to this message, I just wanted to say that I have really
enjoyed talking to everyone on this forum. I have learned a lot from
reading everyone's posts and reading your answers to my questions. I am
the guy that has decided that as a treat I would purchase one Classical
CD a month (much to the shock of everyone who posted, I am not a CAD
(someone who suffers from Classical Acquisition Disease). Two months
ago, I asked people to provide me with suggestions for the Bruch Violin
Concerto No. 1 in G minor. I had a lot of interesting suggestions and I
went to my trusty Borders and listened to everyone's suggestions. From
Midori, to Perlman, to Kyung-Wha Chung, to Lin Cho-Liang.
I settled on purchasing the Penguin Classic, Kyung-Wha Chung with the
angel hugging herself on the front. Before I received all of your
advice, I was adamant that I would be purchasing the Midori, but a lot
of people suggested that there were better choices. (All personal
preferences, but still, I would have never thought of purchasing the Lin
Cho-Liang because I never heard of him, and he has a great recording
too).
All that to say thanks for your help and insight. I can't wait to
announce who my next purchase will be, and see what kind of advice I
receive.

Well, if the opinions of posters here (perhaps including myself) have been
helpful, all the better. As you feel your way, I hope you'll be willing to
post your own opinions to add to the mix.

[Van Eyes]

Post by Matthew B. Tepper
David Hurwitz did a non-blind and somewhat less exhaustive, but no less
interesting, multiple comparison of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto cycles, and
decided in favor of the new Hough set on Hyperion. As soon as I can get
this item at a non-confiscatory price, I'll be eager to give it a listen.

There was a rather large initial bandwagon for this recording. We'll
soon see if it has collection staying power. I'm guessing you won't
hafta wait long.

What I've heard of it, Hough Rachy sounds ugly. Lacks warmth and
patience. A surprising amount of bang-bang goin' on. And I've heard
better sound in live recordings.


Regards

[Dave Cook]

Post by Matthew B. Tepper
I observe that your list does not include American Record Guide, which is

Our local Borders (Carmel Mountain) does not carry ARG or Fanfare, I have to
go to Tower for those. Same for Barnes and Noble. I note in passing that
most of the "music" periodicals they do carry seem to be primarily obsessed
with T&A to judge from their covers.

Dave Cook

[Matthew B. Tepper]

Post by Dave Cook

Post by Matthew B. Tepper
I observe that your list does not include American Record Guide, which is

Our local Borders (Carmel Mountain) does not carry ARG or Fanfare, I
have to go to Tower for those. Same for Barnes and Noble. I note in
passing that most of the "music" periodicals they do carry seem to be
primarily obsessed with T&A to judge from their covers.

Well, that's what passes for "culture" among the sheep these days. And the
pseudointellectuals are obsessed with whatever flavor-of-the-month NPR and
PBS happen to be gushing over. Such is life.

[RX-01]

Post by Matthew B. Tepper

Post by Rob S
On my weekly trip to Borders (a bookstore in the States) I was doing my
1. BBC Music
2. Gramophone
3. Classicfm

I observe that your list does not include American Record Guide, which is
edited out of your home town of Cincinnati. I'm interested in whether this
is because you can't find the magazine (which in itself would be amusing),
or whether, like many other people, you consider editor Don Vroon a little
... overopinionated.

Post by Rob S
One of the three magazines had this excellent article about building your
classical library. The person involved conducted a blind "taste
testing" of the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. He gathered
60-70 of the recordings that are currently on the market and listened to
each one. He did not know who was playing the piece, who was conducting
the piece, and which orchestra was accompanying the piece. As an aside,
I am sure that he probably could have recognized a few of them. After
listening to each recording he would write notes regarding the piece.
When he was completed, he looked at his notes and checked out which
recordings they actually turned out to be. His findings were
interesting. He didn't like the Evegny Kissin, the Helene Grimaud, the
the Krystian Zimerman. The one that stood out from the crowd was the
1963 recording from Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Although this is really a matter of personal preference, I thought that
article was very interesting.

David Hurwitz did a non-blind and somewhat less exhaustive, but no less
interesting, multiple comparison of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto cycles, and
decided in favor of the new Hough set on Hyperion. As soon as I can get
this item at a non-confiscatory price, I'll be eager to give it a listen.

MDT and blahdvd.com have it very cheaply. I got mine from the latter.

RX-01

[RX-01]

Post by RX-01

Post by Matthew B. Tepper

Post by Rob S
On my weekly trip to Borders (a bookstore in the States) I was doing my
1. BBC Music
2. Gramophone
3. Classicfm

I observe that your list does not include American Record Guide, which
is edited out of your home town of Cincinnati. I'm interested in
whether this is because you can't find the magazine (which in itself
would be amusing), or whether, like many other people, you consider
editor Don Vroon a little ... overopinionated.

Post by Rob S
One of the three magazines had this excellent article about building your
classical library. The person involved conducted a blind "taste
testing" of the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. He gathered
60-70 of the recordings that are currently on the market and listened to
each one. He did not know who was playing the piece, who was conducting
the piece, and which orchestra was accompanying the piece. As an aside,
I am sure that he probably could have recognized a few of them. After
listening to each recording he would write notes regarding the piece.
When he was completed, he looked at his notes and checked out which
recordings they actually turned out to be. His findings were
interesting. He didn't like the Evegny Kissin, the Helene Grimaud, the
the Krystian Zimerman. The one that stood out from the crowd was the
1963 recording from Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Although this is really a matter of personal preference, I thought that
article was very interesting.

David Hurwitz did a non-blind and somewhat less exhaustive, but no
less interesting, multiple comparison of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto
cycles, and decided in favor of the new Hough set on Hyperion. As
soon as I can get this item at a non-confiscatory price, I'll be eager
to give it a listen.

MDT and blahdvd.com have it very cheaply. I got mine from the latter.
RX-01

I forgot to mention that after reading Mr Hurwitz's review of the SACD
version, I decided to get the CD version. And I think it was worth every
penny. This is really playing of the highest order!

RX-01

[Matthew B. Tepper]

Post by RX-01
MDT and blahdvd.com have it very cheaply. I got mine from the latter.

I had to put a "www." in front of that to get it to work, a sign of sloppy
coding on their part. But beyond that, I must admit I am put off by their
site for multiple reasons. The first is the lack of a classical-friendly
search. Browsing classical is very uninspiring; k.k. or "lite" collections
account for seven of nine (ahem) items pictured. The prominence there of a
relative of a would-be bride of Dracula is particularly annoying.* And
while I note that £17.99 for two Hyperion CDs is fairly competitive (though
no match for £16.17 as presently offered at MDT), I couldn't find their
rates for shipping to the USA.

* Remember, the ol' guy had the hots for a Lucy--

[A. Brain]

Post by Rob S
One of the three magazines had this excellent article about building your
classical library. The person involved conducted a blind "taste testing" of
the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. He gathered 60-70 of the
recordings that are currently on the market and listened to each one.

Alberto Gonzales, call your office.