At long last! New #1!

[maestro267]

A toast, please, to I Fagiolini, who have knocked A*d*é R*eu off the top of the Specialist Classical Chart after what seemed like an eternity (well over a year, I'm certain).

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/chart

[MrGongGong]

He woz robbed
should have been Xenakis

[french frank]

He was briefly toppled for a couple of weeks (can't remember what by***) but returned.

But considering the volume of his sales The Beanlets have done stunningly well to have outsold him (but I bet he'll be back ).


*** VOICES - CHANT FROM AVIGNON - BENEDICTINE NUNS OF NOTRE-DAME

[Bryn]

He woz robbed
should have been Xenakis

Busy day on April 2nd. Straight from celebrations of John White's 75th birthday to Xenakis at the QEH. I take you will also be at the latter, MrGG?

[MrGongGong]

Busy day on April 2nd. Straight from celebrations of John White's 75th birthday to Xenakis at the QEH. I take you will also be at the latter, MrGG?

I was planning to go to all the symposium but John White's 75th sounds good , plenty of Drinking and Hooting no doubt !

[Anna]

My brother's friend has a fixation about André Rieu and follows him all round Europe. A complete anorak. He cannot talk about anyone else. Who takes any notice of these charts

[Bryn]

Hmm. Items from the charts do not normally find their way into my disc players, but I find I have numbers 1, 3 and 18 in the current Specialist Classical Chart. I am looking forward to listening the the i Fagiolini discs tonight. I was very impressed with the Shostakovich disc, but the Rattle was a big mistake. I really wish I hadn't bothered with it. I keep hoping that he will come up to my hopes rather than my expectations, but he very rarely does.

[StephenO]

Hmm. Items from the charts do not normally find their way into my disc players, but I find I have numbers 1, 3 and 18 in the current Specialist Classical Chart. I am looking forward to listening the the i Fagiolini discs tonight. I was very impressed with the Shostakovich disc, but the Rattle was a big mistake. I really wish I hadn't bothered with it. I keep hoping that he will come up to my hopes rather than my expectations, but he very rarely does.

Agree on all counts. The i Fagiolini disc arrived from Amazon today, along with Pappano's Rachmaninov/Lyadov CD. I too am very impressed with the Shostakovich.

Rattle, though. For many years he was one of my favourite conductors. I used to go to Symphony Hall regularly to see him in his CBSO days and bought practically every recording he made at the time. His CBSO Mahler 2 wasn't perfect (as people keep pointing out, there's yet to be a perfect Mahler 2 on disc) but, until Ivan Fischer's version was released, it was the one I kept returning to, not least for the wonderful soloists. In comparison Rattle's BPO recording is a real disappointment. Perhaps it's time he returned to Birmingham?! Never mind, it's still a million times better than anything Andre Rieu's ever likely to churn out!

[Bryn]

I have just listened to the Number 1 (well the DVD anyway). I searched in vain in the booklet and the back insert for information regarding the format of the "5.1 Surround" offering. My player identified it as (lossy) Dolby Digital (not even the somewhat less lossy DTS is included). When I ejected the disc I found that the Dolby Digital logo was printed on the label side of the disc, but that and the info on the circumference of the disc was the only indication. Why could they not at least have included a DTS option, or better still, a DVD Audio layer? Only 2 cheers for the surround aspect of the issue, I'm sorry to say. Perhaps they are planning on a later Blu-ray release?

I understand that the Dolby Corporation can get quite shirty if use of their system is not adequately drawn attention to. I hope Universal have not upset them too much.

Much enjoyed the music-making, anyway.

[MickyD]

I must admit to being intrigued (and delighted) by the success of the new #1. Bearing in mind the staggering amount of discs Rieu undoubtedly sells, how did a disc of choral music by a largely unknown composer come to knock him off his perch? Was it lavish marketing from Decca? Was it endlessly played and plugged by Classic FM? Your thoughts, please!