BaL 29.01.11 Liszt: Anneés de Pélerinage Deuxième Anneé: Italie

[StephenO]

Still very mch aive as far as I know. What a loss he would be - a truly civilized man.

[BBMmk2]

Ah, right, apologies evreyone. I thought he had passed on.

[silvestrione]

Well I've now listened and enjoyed the programme, but I have no inclination to add to the three I have: Kempff (twice), Berman (I was not enthusiastic about him anyway and the BAL confirmed my sense that he was a bit leisurely and indulgent), and Brendel. BUT the Brendel I have is on Phillips LP from 1975 and I think is more focussed and intense than the digital one he played. Pacing is really important in this music I think, and the young Brendel paces it all perfectly, notably the Canzonetta, which is sheer delight.

[Panjandrum]

DON's brief it always seems to me (based on his track record) is to throw out established convention (remember his out of left field choice of the Suite Bergamasque?) and look for the dark horse contender. I won't be throwing out my Berman based on anything I heard yesterday.

[silvestrione]

No no quite, I won't be dosposing of my Berman either: he'd be my choice in the Dante Sonata and some of the other pieces in the other books. But I did already feel a disappointment with his playing of the Petrarch Sonnets which was confirmed by DON's comments and examples.

Yes Panjan you're right, DON likes to bring a fresh approach and choose something surprising, as with Vladar for Brahms op 118. Yet though I bought that and enjoyed it once or twice, now I would go back to Kempff's mono recordings, or seek out the Richter recordings of some of them scattered through my collection: the ultimate test is, which recordings stay fresh, reveal new dimensions of the music each time you play them. I suspect Alan Marks would be the same as Vladar. And Berman, in Liszt, IS one of those players you can go back and back to.

[Panjandrum]

I notice today that DG have reissued Kempff's magisterial recording of the Italie book from 1975. Surely, it is high time that BAL surveyed all recordings of the work under review; and not only those currently available, since this changes by the week. It makes a nonsense of the aim to provide an authoritative conspectus of the repertoire when great performances such as those by Kempff, Arrau and Bolet are not even considered. This omission is made all the more glaring by the fact that, with a little ingenuity and persistence, many recordings which are considered hors concours by BAL can be obtained from many sources on the web, and elsewhere. Time for a rethink.

[vinteuil]

Surely, it is high time that BAL surveyed all recordings of the work under review; and not only those currently available, since this changes by the week. .... Time for a rethink.

Panjandrum - I agree - and they cd do an in-depth survey - and perhaps call it, oh I don't know, - "Interpretations on Disc"?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Surely, it is high time that BAL surveyed all recordings of the work under review; and not only those currently available, since this changes by the week.

Imagine a Building a Library involving every version of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, or Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

[Panjandrum]

Imagine a Building a Library involving every version of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, or Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

Can you imagine a BAL of LvB 5 without Kleiber, Klemperer or Furtwängler?

OK, one has to be sensible about this. Where there are a relatively small number of recordings of a work, and where, by common consent, a highly regarded reading drops out of the catalogue, it should still be considered, as it is highly probable that it will be available again. Companies such as Brilliant and Newton are constantly reissuing classic recordings which the major labels have deleted from their lists. Consider the Haitink Alpensinfonie which was disregarded in the final analysis from a recent BAL but is now being re-released in April. Commonsense would have said that it should have been considered as a contender regardless of its current availability status.

[amateur51]

OK, one has to be sensible about this ... Consider the Haitink Alpensinfonie which was disregarded in the final analysis from a recent BAL but is now being re-released in April. Commonsense would have said that it should have been considered as a contender regardless of its current availability status.

And if the re-release is not available to be played and compared, and when it does appear it is found to be in an inferior pressing or whatever - ... imagine the hoo-ha that would result.

I think we need to be a bit grown-up about this. Just the available versions suits me fine. After all, it's not a competition, is it? It's a matter of opinion about what you can access easily and currently.