Liszt, Konzert Nr. 1 Es Dur, HS 124

This well recorded disc from 1987 delivers truly exciting performances of all three works in typically crisp manner by Zimerman. Ozawa and the Boston orchestra give excellent support. The emphasis here is on excitement largely created by fast speeds delivered with clarity. The more gentler parts of all three works are played with due regard to sensitivity but there is no denying that in these recordings these works are seen as primarily as virtuoso display works and that is what we are given.

J.S. Bach - Branderburg Concertos (1-6) and Orchestral Suites (1-4) (1990) {3CD Festival Strings Lucerne, Rudolf Baumgartner rel 1977-1978}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 986 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 433 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 122 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1977-78, 1990 EuroDisc / BMG Ariola | 69219-2-RV
Classical / Baroque / Concerto / Orchestral

I've been listening to Brandenburgs non-stop for the past three weeks, for some reason. I love the Ristenpart recording, and I like the Britten version even better in some ways. This Baumgartner recording has a certain elegance. The pace is a tad slower and the ambience a bit thicker. The second movement of the first Brandenburg hits that emotional place a bit better than in the Britten version. I would be hard pressed to say which I prefer overall, but on first listening I sure loved this recording.

Ludwig van Beethoven - Trio Parnassus - Complete Piano Trios
5xCD | EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 1,07 GB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # Various | Country/Year: Germany 2001
Genre: Classical | Style: Classicism, Piano Trio

There's beauty aplenty in Parnassus' playing… MDG's recording, by placing the piano (which sounds wonderful throughout) slightly back in the acoustic, achieves a believable and wholly satisfying instrumental balance.

Krystian Zimerman stands as one of the most sensitive and exacting concert pianists to emerge in the latter half of the 20th century. His extensive recordings as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist cover a broad range of repertoire from the classical period to contemporary music.

Ludwig van Beethoven - Trio Parnassus - Complete Piano Trios Vol. 1-5
5xCD | EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 1,07 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 303 1051/4-2, 303 0510-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2001, 1994
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School, Piano, Trio

There's beauty aplenty in Parnassus' playing… MDG's recording, by placing the piano (which sounds wonderful throughout) slightly back in the acoustic, achieves a believable and wholly satisfying instrumental balance.

Louis Spohr - Violinkonzerte Nr. 1, 14 & 15
Ulf Hoelscher / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Christian Fröhlich
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 274 MB | Full Artwork: 149 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: CPO # 999 403-2 | Country/Year: Germany 1999
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School, Romantic

Hoelscher demonstrates a formidable mastery of Spohr’s technically challenging passagework, although his efforts are somewhat undermined by the recessed sound of the orchestra. (…) Nonetheless, it is fascinating to experience a bird’s-eye view of Spohr’s development, from the elegant if somewhat four-square First Concerto to the more sophisticated harmonic and formal structures of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth.

Leos Janácek (1854-1928) is regarded as the greatest Czech composer of the early twentieth century. In his early works, which included the opera Sárka (1888), and numerous vocal and instrumental works, Janácek followed a traditional, Romantic idiom, typical of late nineteenth century music. Having completed Sárka, however, Janácek immersed himself in the folk music of his native Moravia, gradually developing an original compositional style. Eschewing regular metrical phrasing, Janácek developed a declamatory method of setting the voice that follows the natural rhythmic patterns of the Czech language. Characteristically, Janácek allowed these patterns to inform the music itself. In addition, Janácek's harmonies, forms and orchestration ………

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