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Some results.

I have made a complete pass using my Marantz model 40n -> Stax SRD-7 -> Stax SR-007 setup. It has been fascinating. I have grown to appreciate the work. It didn’t get tiring even after 40+ listenings. I found that I really appreciate a good recording/mastering, but the performance has to rule them all.

Here are my thoughts on my preferences in ascending order. 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1, Violin Concerto No. 2 & Violin Sonata No. 1
Neeme Järvi, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Lydia Mordkovitch, Gerhard Oppitz
2009

https://album.link/i/1656559337

– The performance borders on the screechy a lot in the first movement. The lead is pushed forward, and in the higher registers can be a touch harsh, not all the time, but enough to be distracting to me. I am not saying that my Prokofiev has to be pretty, but I have to be able to follow your story. The dynamics and pace were all there. And the third movement was pretty sublime. 

 

image.png
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Five Melodies
Anne Akiko Meyers
2010

https://album.link/i/398214615

– We played a bit with the shrill at the opening of this one. There are some nice dynamics, but the upper registers of the violin were not as controlled as I would have liked. There seemed to be a little bit of a veil over the recording, slightly muted, I played with the volume and it was the recording. Anne has the techniques down, the transitions from playing, to plucking to strumming were seamless, that does not happen for all of these performances. There is just a slight harshness in their playing that pulls this away from a really great performance for me.

 

image.png
Prokofiev & Nielsen: Violin Concertos
Liya Petrova
2018

https://album.link/i/1434309960

– A Very nice recording. Performance was strong and consistent. The dynamics of the recording were slightly compressed that stole some of the power out of the bigger moments. Overall a nice balance of the orchestra and lead, but Liya does get lost a bit in the third movement, when it is very important that she be pushed forward. The pacing was comfortable, just enough to keep the action moving.

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos
Maria Milstein, Phion Orchestra, Otto Tausk
2023

https://album.link/i/1656675394

– Unknown artist, label, orchestra, conductor, new recording. Here we go. I liked it. The pacing is slightly slow, but they do some good things with it. Nice balanced recording, slightly violin forward. Overall good performance with some character and highlights of understanding of the work. Great dynamics. 

 

image.png
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos.1 & 2 / Tchaikovsky: Sérénade mélancolique
Leila Josefowicz, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit
2001

https://album.link/i/1452220126

– I wasn’t initially into this performance. It had a nice balance in the recording, but it seemed just too slow without the lift of expression. But there was something there. The violin sound was fuller, almost like it was being played on a viola. This kept me intrigued and listening for more. The performance is a little sloppy here and there. But Leila finished so well that it still gets an honorable mention. 

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D Major
Cho-Liang Lin, LA Phil
1992

https://album.link/i/401535446

– Almost too balanced? Full bodied recording, delicacy and weighty. In the end was it a little too perfect? Maybe. This Sony recording is very good, and it seems to me that the performance is almost note perfect. I think it gave me a really good basis of what prokofiev wrote, without interpretation. I know that this is not fair, and I feel bad, because everything is done so well, but if I am not pulled into the interpretation, there is not much I can do.

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos.1 & 2 / Stravinsky: Violin Concerto
Kyung Wha Chung, André Previn, London Symphony Orchestra
1990

https://album.link/i/1452190869

– This gets a lot of points for just being what it is, Chung, Previn, LSO, Decca. I am pretty much all in from the start. It did deliver on most points. The recording was done very well, with great space and dynamics. The only thing that pulled me out of the recording was Chung not creating the flow that I wanted and felt from others. There were times when I was presented with a note, and then another note, and they didn’t seem to be connected. Also there seemed to be a disconnect between bowing, plucking and strumming. This work has them all and they need to be seamless to have the work come together. 

 

image.png

Glazunov & Prokofiev : Violin Concertos - Elatus
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mstislav Rostropovich & National Symphony Orchestra
1997

https://album.link/i/80023300

– The sleeper in the group. It shouldn’t have been with Anne-Sphonie and Rostropovich at the helm. I guess that there is less to complain about than to shout about. It is well recorded and wrapped up in a nice sounding package. Enjoyable, but I was never quite drawn all the way in. 

 

image.png
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 - Walton: Viola Concerto - Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
Isabelle van Keulen, NDR Radiophilharmonie
2018

https://album.link/i/1438420362

– One of the slowest recordings, but it does not feel that way. Isabelle has a lovely way of hitting the notes and then bringing in the vibrato, to get the attack then body and warmth comes in. A good modern recording, with a nice soundstage and balance from solo and orchestra, with dynamics. I felt that they had something to say. Some performances are slow because the performer cannot keep up, I felt like Isabelle wanted to show me some of the passages that are so pretty that I had missed them. And I was thankful.

 

image.png
James Ehnes Plays Prokofiev
James Ehnes, Gianandrea Noseda, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Andrew Armstrong
2013

https://album.link/i/1608385372

– A darker brooding performance and take on the work. And it works. Well recorded by Chandos. Balanced from front to back. Fast when it is fast and melodic when it needs to be as well. 

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.1 / Sibelius: Humoresques Op.89; Violin Concerto
Ilya Gringolts, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
2004

https://album.link/i/1452182124

– There is a focus on subtleties and dynamics from Ilya. Not too surprising coming from DG. Almost a perfect recording. You are placed in the fourth row, and you are rock solid there with the orchestra laid out in front of you, with Ilya a few feet in front of them, very nice. The pacing is quick, but not fast. It gives a lot of movement to the work. We are going somewhere, and I think I want to follow. 

 

image.png
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Violin Sonata No. 2
David Oistrakh
2004

https://album.link/i/696929966

– A historical recording - 1954 - Conductor – Lovro Von Matačić - London Symphony Orchestra. David is the father of Igor Oistrakh, we will get to that in a bit. The recording does not have the dynamics of the others, and there is hiss. A great performance? - absolutely. Technical abilities in spades, and a lightness on fast passages that really shines in the third movement. It falls short just because of some of the sonics. 

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.1 & 2
Gil Shaham, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
1996

https://album.link/i/1452224616

– LSO, Previn, DG. Okay Gil, let’s do this. I really liked the pacing. The recording is detailed and clean. I like that Previn has different approaches based on the performer. Feels like a collab between them. Gil wanted to run, and he can run, and LSO was right there to follow. This was not that high on my list until this final listening. It might have needed a full system to really have it come to life and make me pay attention just that little bit more. 

 

image.png

image.png
I didn’t listen to these together to start with, and it was when I was about 3 minutes into the first movement, I started to think, wow this one really does sound a lot like the great performances release. Well a quick discogs search later, and yup. They are slightly different masterings of the same performance. 


Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Isaac Stern
2019


&


Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Isaac Stern, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
1983

https://album.link/i/1522244483

– Just a great recording. The power and balance are all on display. Isaac attacks when he needs to, and relaxes into the melody when it is warranted. The orchestra and Ormandy are right there to support everything he is doing. It sounded more like jazz, that they were listening to each other and playing off each other. It is a 1965 recording and does not have the inky black background levels. But as far as pure listening - it is a pleasure. The second movement is almost too fast, but Stern can hold it together. For streaming the 1983 Great Performance version of the 1965 recording is the one to pick.

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 2
Itzhak Perlman
1982

https://album.link/i/1025523737

– The subtlety and phrasing is just amazing. A master playing a masters game. Does he drop a few notes? yeah, and no shits given. Itzhak has such a flow that it is hard to keep up with him sometimes. But when you do it is a beautiful ride to be on. The recording is a little violin forward, for reasons, but still a good recording.

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 in D Major, Op. 19 (Digitally Remastered)
Sergei Prokofiev
2014

Tidal link - https://tidal.com/browse/album/36944865  (I am not sure where else you can find this)

– Then there is Igor Oistrakh (son of David above) paying something very different. This is so far beyond anything else in the list that it should be a new category. Variations of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto? It is hard to explain what this recording does for me. It builds tension, it releases it, it makes me marvel at virtuosity, it lets me peer into the music like never before. Does it sound good? Luckily, yes it does, not great but good enough. Apparently Prokofiev was not the biggest fan of his readings, but he got over it. Way back when I did my first pass of all these, this recording stuck out to me and had me saying wow more than once. Others play trills, Igor plays bird songs. My favorite version, even if I may listen to Itzhak more in the long run. 

So no one has read this far - but I will have three of these in rotation. Itzhak is just so good, Stern for power, and Igor for the pure fun of the music. It was a fun ride. None of these are bad at all. Remember that these were my top selections from around 50 total recordings.

Not planning on another marathon anytime soon, but you never know.  
 

  • Like 6
  • Thanks 1
Posted

Mikey, you are a treasure. Thank you. 

It'll take awhile to digest all of those, but I just realized that I have a DVD of the Oistrakh '54 performance, and I remember kind of being blown away by the performance. Can't wait to check out some of the others on your list.

 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Posted
On 3/23/2023 at 8:02 PM, mikeymad said:

Some results.

I have made a complete pass using my Marantz model 40n -> Stax SRD-7 -> Stax SR-007 setup. It has been fascinating. I have grown to appreciate the work. It didn’t get tiring even after 40+ listenings. I found that I really appreciate a good recording/mastering, but the performance has to rule them all.

Here are my thoughts on my preferences in ascending order. 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1, Violin Concerto No. 2 & Violin Sonata No. 1
Neeme Järvi, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Lydia Mordkovitch, Gerhard Oppitz
2009

https://album.link/i/1656559337

– The performance borders on the screechy a lot in the first movement. The lead is pushed forward, and in the higher registers can be a touch harsh, not all the time, but enough to be distracting to me. I am not saying that my Prokofiev has to be pretty, but I have to be able to follow your story. The dynamics and pace were all there. And the third movement was pretty sublime. 

 

image.png
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Five Melodies
Anne Akiko Meyers
2010

https://album.link/i/398214615

– We played a bit with the shrill at the opening of this one. There are some nice dynamics, but the upper registers of the violin were not as controlled as I would have liked. There seemed to be a little bit of a veil over the recording, slightly muted, I played with the volume and it was the recording. Anne has the techniques down, the transitions from playing, to plucking to strumming were seamless, that does not happen for all of these performances. There is just a slight harshness in their playing that pulls this away from a really great performance for me.

 

image.png
Prokofiev & Nielsen: Violin Concertos
Liya Petrova
2018

https://album.link/i/1434309960

– A Very nice recording. Performance was strong and consistent. The dynamics of the recording were slightly compressed that stole some of the power out of the bigger moments. Overall a nice balance of the orchestra and lead, but Liya does get lost a bit in the third movement, when it is very important that she be pushed forward. The pacing was comfortable, just enough to keep the action moving.

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos
Maria Milstein, Phion Orchestra, Otto Tausk
2023

https://album.link/i/1656675394

– Unknown artist, label, orchestra, conductor, new recording. Here we go. I liked it. The pacing is slightly slow, but they do some good things with it. Nice balanced recording, slightly violin forward. Overall good performance with some character and highlights of understanding of the work. Great dynamics. 

 

image.png
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos.1 & 2 / Tchaikovsky: Sérénade mélancolique
Leila Josefowicz, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit
2001

https://album.link/i/1452220126

– I wasn’t initially into this performance. It had a nice balance in the recording, but it seemed just too slow without the lift of expression. But there was something there. The violin sound was fuller, almost like it was being played on a viola. This kept me intrigued and listening for more. The performance is a little sloppy here and there. But Leila finished so well that it still gets an honorable mention. 

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D Major
Cho-Liang Lin, LA Phil
1992

https://album.link/i/401535446

– Almost too balanced? Full bodied recording, delicacy and weighty. In the end was it a little too perfect? Maybe. This Sony recording is very good, and it seems to me that the performance is almost note perfect. I think it gave me a really good basis of what prokofiev wrote, without interpretation. I know that this is not fair, and I feel bad, because everything is done so well, but if I am not pulled into the interpretation, there is not much I can do.

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos.1 & 2 / Stravinsky: Violin Concerto
Kyung Wha Chung, André Previn, London Symphony Orchestra
1990

https://album.link/i/1452190869

– This gets a lot of points for just being what it is, Chung, Previn, LSO, Decca. I am pretty much all in from the start. It did deliver on most points. The recording was done very well, with great space and dynamics. The only thing that pulled me out of the recording was Chung not creating the flow that I wanted and felt from others. There were times when I was presented with a note, and then another note, and they didn’t seem to be connected. Also there seemed to be a disconnect between bowing, plucking and strumming. This work has them all and they need to be seamless to have the work come together. 

 

image.png

Glazunov & Prokofiev : Violin Concertos - Elatus
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mstislav Rostropovich & National Symphony Orchestra
1997

https://album.link/i/80023300

– The sleeper in the group. It shouldn’t have been with Anne-Sphonie and Rostropovich at the helm. I guess that there is less to complain about than to shout about. It is well recorded and wrapped up in a nice sounding package. Enjoyable, but I was never quite drawn all the way in. 

 

image.png
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 - Walton: Viola Concerto - Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
Isabelle van Keulen, NDR Radiophilharmonie
2018

https://album.link/i/1438420362

– One of the slowest recordings, but it does not feel that way. Isabelle has a lovely way of hitting the notes and then bringing in the vibrato, to get the attack then body and warmth comes in. A good modern recording, with a nice soundstage and balance from solo and orchestra, with dynamics. I felt that they had something to say. Some performances are slow because the performer cannot keep up, I felt like Isabelle wanted to show me some of the passages that are so pretty that I had missed them. And I was thankful.

 

image.png
James Ehnes Plays Prokofiev
James Ehnes, Gianandrea Noseda, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Andrew Armstrong
2013

https://album.link/i/1608385372

– A darker brooding performance and take on the work. And it works. Well recorded by Chandos. Balanced from front to back. Fast when it is fast and melodic when it needs to be as well. 

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.1 / Sibelius: Humoresques Op.89; Violin Concerto
Ilya Gringolts, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
2004

https://album.link/i/1452182124

– There is a focus on subtleties and dynamics from Ilya. Not too surprising coming from DG. Almost a perfect recording. You are placed in the fourth row, and you are rock solid there with the orchestra laid out in front of you, with Ilya a few feet in front of them, very nice. The pacing is quick, but not fast. It gives a lot of movement to the work. We are going somewhere, and I think I want to follow. 

 

image.png
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Violin Sonata No. 2
David Oistrakh
2004

https://album.link/i/696929966

– A historical recording - 1954 - Conductor – Lovro Von Matačić - London Symphony Orchestra. David is the father of Igor Oistrakh, we will get to that in a bit. The recording does not have the dynamics of the others, and there is hiss. A great performance? - absolutely. Technical abilities in spades, and a lightness on fast passages that really shines in the third movement. It falls short just because of some of the sonics. 

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.1 & 2
Gil Shaham, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
1996

https://album.link/i/1452224616

– LSO, Previn, DG. Okay Gil, let’s do this. I really liked the pacing. The recording is detailed and clean. I like that Previn has different approaches based on the performer. Feels like a collab between them. Gil wanted to run, and he can run, and LSO was right there to follow. This was not that high on my list until this final listening. It might have needed a full system to really have it come to life and make me pay attention just that little bit more. 

 

image.png

image.png
I didn’t listen to these together to start with, and it was when I was about 3 minutes into the first movement, I started to think, wow this one really does sound a lot like the great performances release. Well a quick discogs search later, and yup. They are slightly different masterings of the same performance. 


Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Isaac Stern
2019


&


Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Isaac Stern, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
1983

https://album.link/i/1522244483

– Just a great recording. The power and balance are all on display. Isaac attacks when he needs to, and relaxes into the melody when it is warranted. The orchestra and Ormandy are right there to support everything he is doing. It sounded more like jazz, that they were listening to each other and playing off each other. It is a 1965 recording and does not have the inky black background levels. But as far as pure listening - it is a pleasure. The second movement is almost too fast, but Stern can hold it together. For streaming the 1983 Great Performance version of the 1965 recording is the one to pick.

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 2
Itzhak Perlman
1982

https://album.link/i/1025523737

– The subtlety and phrasing is just amazing. A master playing a masters game. Does he drop a few notes? yeah, and no shits given. Itzhak has such a flow that it is hard to keep up with him sometimes. But when you do it is a beautiful ride to be on. The recording is a little violin forward, for reasons, but still a good recording.

 

image.png

Prokofiev: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 in D Major, Op. 19 (Digitally Remastered)
Sergei Prokofiev
2014

Tidal link - https://tidal.com/browse/album/36944865  (I am not sure where else you can find this)

– Then there is Igor Oistrakh (son of David above) paying something very different. This is so far beyond anything else in the list that it should be a new category. Variations of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto? It is hard to explain what this recording does for me. It builds tension, it releases it, it makes me marvel at virtuosity, it lets me peer into the music like never before. Does it sound good? Luckily, yes it does, not great but good enough. Apparently Prokofiev was not the biggest fan of his readings, but he got over it. Way back when I did my first pass of all these, this recording stuck out to me and had me saying wow more than once. Others play trills, Igor plays bird songs. My favorite version, even if I may listen to Itzhak more in the long run. 

So no one has read this far - but I will have three of these in rotation. Itzhak is just so good, Stern for power, and Igor for the pure fun of the music. It was a fun ride. None of these are bad at all. Remember that these were my top selections from around 50 total recordings.

Not planning on another marathon anytime soon, but you never know.  
 

Aw, man, my girl Hilary didn't even make the cut?  :(

No, seriously, from your descriptions, it sounds like I would like the "too perfect" and "dark and broody" versions as well as many of the ones you liked the most, so I will follow in those footsteps.

Posted (edited)
33 minutes ago, shellylh said:


I’ve been stuck in the house with the worlds worst cold and pink eye.  Hoping to get back to teaching in person tomorrow.  For now, I have music. 

image.jpeg

Hope you feel better soon Shelly from both things.  We all have been wiped out with something, likely a cold, this week also. Coming out the other side and joining you also on Zorn/Harris, though less elegantly at Internet Archive. Doesn't seem to be on the normal streaming services. 

https://archive.org/details/john-zorn-2020-songs-for-petra 

Also we need to get "For now, I have music" on t-shirts.  

Edited by blessingx
  • Thanks 1
Posted

Enjoy, Ric!  

Sorry y’all feel crummy too.  There seems to be something nasty.  I got tested at the doctor’s office for flu and COVID but tested negative.  Still, I’ve had body aches, fever, sore throat for 10 days straight, etc.  

‘we need to get "For now, I have music" on t-shirts’

yes!

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, Dusty Chalk said:

Aw, man, my girl Hilary didn't even make the cut?  :(

No, seriously, from your descriptions, it sounds like I would like the "too perfect" and "dark and broody" versions as well as many of the ones you liked the most, so I will follow in those footsteps.

It didn't come up in my initial Tidal search - they need a better search engine for classical. 

so:

image.png

Paris
Hilary Hahn, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
2021

https://album.link/i/1547821040

– It would have made it into the cut of the 17+ that I listened to, out of the 50ish that I started with. Pacing is a touch slow, but makes up for that, with a bit more dynamics and expression. The attack on the violin is one of the most aggressive. I felt that they had something to say, and was not happy about it. The recording is very well done, even though the orchestra is presented more of one big lump rather than players with Hilary pushed up front. A part of the aggressive nature leads to the touch of screechiness that I mentioned in some of the ones in the list. I don't have a lot of tolerance for high register screech. I would place this in the Isabelle van Keulen, James Ehnes area of my list. Very good, just not as enjoyable to me as the higher ones.  - thx Dusty

But I really like listening to this work now, so if there are any others out there that I have missed, please let me know. I would be happy to discover it. And hopefully TIDAL continues to realize that they need to update their search to be better with classical.

 

Also this morning:

François Couperin: Les Apothéoses

François Couperin: Les Apothéoses
Jordi Savall
2021

https://album.link/i/1578273334

Example:

I appreciate this French Baroque work. I discovered Jordi Savall back in the day with the All The Mornings of the World soundtrack (Tous les matins du monde). I could do without the introduction of each piece, I don't speak French anyway, so it does me no good. 

 

Ed: Sick as well - Get better y'all

Edited by mikeymad
  • Like 1
Posted

J.S. Bach: Three Or One - Transcriptions by Fred Thomas

J.S. Bach: Three Or One - Transcriptions by Fred Thomas
Fred Thomas, Aisha Orazbayeva, Lucy Railton
2021

https://album.link/i/1584781648

Example:

Just letting Bach flow over me tonight. No real critical listening, I have to back off from that for a little bit. And this did the trick nicely. As it says it is mostly trios and sometimes solos from Fred. If you like some pretty and mellow and pretty-mello Bach, this works well. 

Posted

I bought it on pre-sales but you can listening on spoti... 

Mammal Hands Gift from the trees 

Simply delicious

51TMruzZn0L._SL1200_.jpg

 

As I savor this, I'm waiting for the latest Go Go Penguin work due out this month. 🙂

 

 

  • Like 3

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