What are you listening to? March 2022

[axolotl]

Patrick O'Hearn ~ Trust (1995)



New Age, Tribal Ambient

From an RYM reviewer:
Another remarkable recording by _Patrick O'Hearn_. Almost all of _Group 87_ are on this album. _David Torn_ and _Peter Maunu_ add textural guitar, _Terry Bozzio_ (_Zappa_, _Group 87_ and _Missing Persons_) lends some drums to the mix. I really need to find more of his recordings.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

The Beach Boys - Smiley Smile (1967)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Destroyer - Labyrinthitis (2022)

 

[Ojai Sam]

Margaret Price, Bavarian Radio Symphony (Colin Davis, cond.) - Handel: Messiah (Highlights) (1985)



There are many ways to go about the daunting task of building familiarity with the vast recorded legacy of classical music. Finding a book of reliable reviews like the late lamented "Penguin Guide To Recorded Classical Music" is one approach. Yes, Zeeb, there's even "1001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die". Perhaps that's another project after Broadway?

Record companies themselves have a vested interest in persuading the casual listener to look through their vaults. One time tested way to do this is to launch a series that encourages the collector mentality.



Polygram, which controlled Decca, Philips, DG and other labels licensed a Spanish company to release "The Prestige Collection" Discogs sez:

This collection contains 100 numbered CD containing various works of classic composers from the 16th century to the 20th century. Collection includes 5 books. Recordings from Archiv Produktion, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and Philips Classics.
Release year of original recordings: 1960 - 1992
Series released around 1993-1994

From what I've seen, you can gain a lot of knowledge with minimal effort just by spinning any of these discs:

Spoiler: The Prestige Collection #1-50

Vol 01 - Monteverdi - Lagrime d'Amante - 6 Madrigales - Schültz Consort, Coro H. Schültz, Roger Norrington
Vol 02 - Corelli - 6 Concerti Grossi Op.6 - The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Vol 03 - Albinoni - Adagio - Sonata - 3 Conciertos - I Musici
Vol 04 - Vivaldi - Las Cuatro Estaciones - Concierto El amoroso - I Musici, Felix Ayo
Vol 05 - Vivaldi - 7 Conciertos - I Musici, Aurele Nicolet (Flute), Heinz Holliger (Oboe)
Vol 06 - Vivaldi - 5 Conciertos - Trio - Camerate De Berna, Thomas Furi (violin), Michael Copley (Flute), Goran Sollscher (Guitar), Thomas Demenga & Regula Hausler (Cello)
Vol 07 - Bach - Obras para Organo - Ton Koopman
Vol 08 - Bach - Conciertos de Brandemburgo 1,2 y 6 - I Musici
Vol 09 - Bach - Conciertos de Brandemburgo 3,4 y 5 - I Musici
Vol 10 - Bach - Las 4 Suites Orquestales - William Bennett (Flute) - Thurton Dart (Clavier), Academy of St.Martin-in-the-Fields, Neville Marriner
Vol 11 - Bach - Obras para Clave - Trevor Pinnock
Vol 12 - Bach - 4 Conciertos - The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Vol 13 - Bach - La Pasion segun San Mateo - Barbara Bonney & Ann Monoios (Soprano) , Anne Sofie Von Otter (Mezzosoprano) - Michael Chance (Contratenor) - Howard Crook (Tenor) - Cornelius Hauptman (Bajo), The English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner
Vol 14 - Handel - 3 Concerti Grossi - The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Vol 15 - Handel - Der Messias - Margaret Price (Soprano) - Hanna Schwarz (Contralto) - Stuart Burrows (Tenor) - Simon Estes (Bajo), Colin Davis
Vol 16 - Handel - 5 Organ Concertos - Simon Preston, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Vol 17 - Haydn - Konzerte - Hakan Hardenberger (Trumpet) - Hermann Baumann (Horn) - Heinrich Schiff (Cello), Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Iona Brown, Neville Marriner
Vol 18 - Haydn - Symphonies 92,94,96 - Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, Colin Davis
Vol 19 - Haydn - La Creacion - Wierner Philharmoniker, Hebert Von Karajan
Vol 20 - Haydn - Las Estaciones - Edith Mathis (Soprano) - Siegfried Jerusalem (Tenor) - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Baritor), Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Neuville Marriner
Vol 21 - Mozart - Symphonies Nos.40 & 41 - Vienna Philharmoniker, Leonard Bernstein
Vol 22 - Mozart - Symphonies Nos.29 & 39 - Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert Von Karajan
Vol 23 - Mozart - 4 Concertos for Trumpet - Hermann Baumann (Horn), Pinchas Zukerman
Vol 24 - Mozart - Piano Concertos Nos.21,27 - Rudolf Serkin, Claudio Abbado
Vol 25 - Mozart - Requiem - Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert Von Karajan
Vol 26 - Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro - Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert Von Karajan
Vol 27 - Mozart - Die Zauberflote - Dresden Philharmonic, Colin Davis
Vol 28 - Mozart - Petite Musique de Nuit - Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert Von Karajan
Vol 29 - Beethoven - Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 - Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Vol 30 - Beethoven - Symphony No.9 - Vienna Philharmonic, Karl Bohm
Vol 31 - Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 4 - Claudio Arrau, Dresden Orchestra, Colin Davis
Vol 32 - Beethoven - Piano Sonatas Nos.14,21,23 - Daniel Barenboim
Vol 33 - Beethoven - Symphony No.3 - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Mario Giulini
Vol 34 - Beethoven - Piano Concerto No.5 - Radu Lupu, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
Vol 35 - Beethoven - Violin Concerto - Bruch - Scottish Fantasy - Kyung Wha Chung, Wiener Philharmoniker, London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Kiril Kondrashin, Rudolf Kempe
Vol 36 - Rossini - Il Barbiere Di Siviglia - Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner
Vol 37 - Schubert - Symphony No.9 - Wagner - Vienna Philharmonic, Georg Solti
Vol 38 - Schubert - Los 6 Momentos Musicales - Radu Lupu
Vol 39 - Schubert - Death and the Maiden - Mozart - La Caza - Amadeus String Quartet
Vol 40 - Schubert - Unfinished - Schumann - Rhenish - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini
Vol 41 - Schumann - Symphonies 1,4 - Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Vol 42 - Schumann - Klavierkonzert - Cellokonzert - Justus Frantz (Piano) - Mischa Maisky (Cello), Wiener Philharmoniker, Leonard Berstein
Vol 43 - Chopin - 13 Nocturnes - Daniel Bareboim
Vol 44 - Chopin - Piano Concertos - Claudio Arrau, London Royal Orchestra, Eliahu Inbal
Vol 45 - Chopin - Piezas Favoritas Para Piano - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vol 46 - Mendelssohn - Symphonies 4-5 - London Royal Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Vol 47 - Mendelssohn - Schubert - Smetana - Chicago Symphony Orchestra, James Levine
Vol 48 - Berlioz - Sinfonia Fantastica - Zubin Mehta - Richard Bonynge - Kurt Herbert Adler
Vol 49 - Liszt - Conciertos - Misha Dichter, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn
Vol 50 - Bruckner - Symphonie No.1 - Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Daniel Barenboim

Spoiler: The Prestige Collection #51-75

Vol 51 - Bruckner - Symphonie No.4 - Wiener Philharmoniker Orchestra, Karl Bohm
Vol 52 - Brahms - Symphony 1 - Schumann - Manfred - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini
Vol 53 - Brahms - Ein Deutsches Requiem - Gundula Janowitz - Tom Kause, Wiener Philharmoniker Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Vol 54 - Brahms - Sinfonias 3 y 4 - Berliner Philharmoniker Orchestra, Herbert Von Karajan
Vol 55 - Brahms - Violin Concerto - Double Concerto - Gidon Kremer (Violin) - Mischa Maisky (Cello), Wiener Philharmoniker Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Vol 56 - Wagner - Orchestral Music - Paris Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Vol 57 - Verdi - Rigoletto - Highlights - Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Orchestra & Chorus, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Vol 58 - Verdi - Aida - Highlights - Teatro de La Scala Orchestra & Chorus, Claudio Abbado
Vol 59 - Tchaikovsky - Violin - Piano Concertos - Victoria Postnikova (Piano) - Kyung Wha Chung (Violin)
Vol 60 - Tchaikovsky - Ballett-Suiten - Berliner Philharmoniker Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich
Vol 61 - Tchaikovsky - Symphony 5 - London Symphony Orchestra, Karl Bohm
Vol 62 - Tchaikovsky - Symphony 6 - Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Mario Giulini
Vol 63 - Dvorak - Symphony 9 - Wiener Philharmoniker Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Vol 64 - Dvorak - Elgar - Tchaikovsky - Serenades for Strings - Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Vol 65 - Dvorak - Slavonic Dances - London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Vol 66 - Dvorak - Symphonies 7-8 - Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph Von Dohnanyi
Vol 67 - Grieg - Peer Gynt - Holberg - Elly Ameling (Soprano) ,Edo De Waart - Neville Marriner
Vol 68 - Bizet - Carmen - La Arlesiana - Igor Markevitch
Vol 69 - Lalo - Symphonie Espagnol - Saint-Saens - Violin Concerto 3 - Itzhak Perlman, Daniel Barenboim
Vol 70 - Saint-Saens - Symphony 3 - Peter Hurford (Piano) - Anthony Pay (Clarinet) - Pascal Roge (Piano)
Vol 71 - Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition - Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Colin Davis
Vol 72 - Rimsky-Korsakov - Prokofiev - Berliner Philharmoniker Orchestra - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Lorin Maazel - Seiji Ozawa
Vol 73 - Smetana - Ma Vlast - Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Vol 74 - Johann - Josef Strauss - Walzer - Wiener Philharmoniker Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Vol 75 - Mahler - Symphony 1 - Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein

This single disc edition of highlights from "The Messiah" is a perfect example. Purists may moan about anything less than the complete work, but this performance is majestic enough to silence any critic.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Spoiler: The Prestige Collection #76-100

Vol 76 - Mahler - Symphony 4 - Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
Vol 77 - Mahler - Symphony 5 - Wiener Philarmoniker Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Vol 78 - Puccini - Turandot Highlights - Wiener Philharmoniker Orchestra & Chorus, Herbert Von Karajan
Vol 79 - R.Strauss - Don Juan - Till Eulenspiegel - London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Vol 80 - R.Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
Vol 81 - Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto 2 - Schubert - Liszt - Jorge Bolet (Piano)
Vol 82 - Rachmaninov - Symphony 2 - The Isle of The Dead - Berliner Philharmoniker, Lorin Maazel
Vol 83 - Debussy - Images - Ravel - La Valse - Paris Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Vol 84 - Debussy - Ravel - Quatuor A Cordes - Orlando Quartet
Vol 85 - Sibelius - Symphony 2 - Karelia - Finlandia - London Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vol 86 - Ravel - Debussy - Tchaikovsky - Paris Orchestra - Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Vol 87 - Stravinsky - Le Sacre du Printemps - Petrouchka - Israel Phiharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Vol 88 - Stravinsky - Orchestra Works - London Symphonic, Riccardo Chailly
Vol 89 - Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez - Falla - Alicia De Larrocha (Piano) - Carlos Bonell (Guitar)
Vol 90 - Bartok - The Miraculous Mandarin - Music For String - Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Vol 91 - Gershwin - Barber - Bernstein
Vol 92 - Orff - Carmina Burana - Antal Dorati
Vol 93 - Grandes Coros de Opera - Joan Sutherland - Samuel Ramey
Vol 94 - Sarasate - Guridi - Lavilla - Ruggiero Ricci, Alfredo Campoli , Belinda Bunt (Violin) - Marisa Robles (Harp) - Felix Lavilla (Piano) - Teresa Berganza (Mezzo-soprano)
Vol 95 - Antologia de la Zarzuela - Igor Markevitch
Vol 96 - Arias - Domingo
Vol 97 - Arias - Caballe
Vol 98 - Gala Concert At The Royal Albert Hall - Pavarotti
Vol 99 - Carreras - Napolitan Songs
Vol 100 - Eduardo Fernandez- Guitarra Espanola

 

[Ojai Sam]

Berlin Philharmonic (Lorin Maazel, cond.) - Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade (1986)
Boston Symphony (Seiji Ozawa, cond.) - Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet (1987)



Scrolling through the list of artists included in The Prestige Collection, virtually every big name of the stereo era is represented: Bernstein, Marriner, von Karajan, Haitink, Dorati, Previn and that's just the conductors.

This volume (#72 if you are keeping score) pairs two equally stellar performances of dramatic Russian compositions that were tailor made to showcase the considerable talents of two legendary conductors fronting two outstanding orchestras.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Fucked Up - Do All Words Can Do (2022)



B-sides and rarities.

 

[axolotl]

Lee Konitz & The Brazilian Band ~ Brazilian Rhapsody (1996)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Placebo - Never Let Me Go (2022)

 

[axolotl]

John Williams ~ The Magic Box (2001)



Afro-Jazz (?), Classical, Folk, World, African

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Isley Brothers - Twisting and Shouting (1963)

Vinyl Rip Of The Day.

The Isleys' third long player marked their only appearance on United Artists Records. It follows in the footsteps of their previous efforts....

Shout! (RCA Victor 1959)

Twist & Shout (Wand, 1962)

The album titles may be unimaginative but the sparkling music more than makes up for that. The key single on the UA album is "Surf and Shout", which manages to ride two cultural waves simultaneously. Dig this lyric:

Say talk about surfin'
Tell him you know why
They got two girls
For every guy

No fools, these brothers.

Of the dozen songs here, half were written by the group. The strongest of these is a moody ballad ("She's Gone"). "You'll Never Leave Him" with its sinuous acoustic guitar lead and calypso beat, offers a real change of pace from all the twisting and shouting. By the time of their next album, The Isley Brothers would move on to Motown for a new sound and more success.

 

[Ojai Sam]

London Symphony Orchestra (Adrian Boult, cond.) - Vaughan Williams: Enigma Variations, English Folk Song Suite, Fantasia On Greensleeves (1971)

It's a completely different recording, but it's interesting to see how a budget label marketed the same music in about the same year:

 

[axolotl]

London Symphony Orchestra (Adrian Boult, cond.) - Vaughan Williams: Enigma Variations, English Folk Song Suite, Fantasia On Greensleeves (1971)

It's a completely different recording, but it's interesting to see how a budget label marketed the same music in about the same year:

One of the better Westminster Group [edited] Gold covers, I would say.

 

[axolotl]

One of the better Westminster Group [edited] Gold covers, I would say.

Westminster Gold Discography and Image Gallery

 

[Nickyboy]

Westminster Gold Discography and Image Gallery

They certainly had a style and stuck with it hard and fast.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

The Legendary Pink Dots - The Museum Of Human Happiness (2022)

 

[Ojai Sam]

Ann Murray & Felicity Lott (acc. Graham Johnson) - The Songs Of Robert Schumann (2004)

 

[axolotl]

^ I had to do a re-read on that. It's Ann Murray, not Anne Murray.

 

[axolotl]

Omar Sosa ~ Across the Divide: A Tale of Rhythm and Ancestry (2009)




Madredeus ~ O espírito da paz (1994)



Listening via my new Audiolab 6000CDT

 

[Ojai Sam]

^ I had to do a re-read on that. It's Ann Murray, not Anne Murray.

But the album does have one of Schumann's lesser known songs, "Der Schneevogel".