The recording of Fanfare for the Common Man on this SACD, one volume of four of Copland’s orchestral music by John Wilson and the BBC, is impressive enough to put me off my old favorite of Oue and the Minnesota. Everything else on it is gorgeous, too.
Impressive.
I have long considered the MN Orchestra to be the best.
For something completely different…
I believe it’s been 50 years since I last listened to this LP, which I bought new when it was issued in 1974, and found it wasn’t to the liking of my youthful ears. After a lifetime of listening to other periods of classical music, I’m finding it much more to my liking now, with some recognizable themes that appeared in later guitar and lute compositions. And the sound is pretty decent, too.
This record was always a favorite of mine, purchased about the same time as you. I’d pull it out and listen to it now if I still had a copy and a way to play it. Great for its day, and probably still most enjoyable today.
Delightful stuff.
My only quibble is that in the works with obbligato harpsichord, the recorded sound downplays that instrument making it difficult to hear.
Another old LP pulled out of the pile, this one a DG from 1977. It’s a decent enough recording, but the performance doesn’t particularly grab me - the tempo seems a little plodding. I recall buying it when I heard WFMR, the classical station in Milwaukee, play the work and I recognized the closing theme as the music played over the credits of the then- recent BBC production of Anna Karenina.
I feel like the graphic designer at DG in 1977 had real trouble fitting in “Peter Tschaikowsky >> Manfred” on that cover
Too kind!
Not on Qobuz, I would like to hear her play the accordion.
I enjoy it, but I also enjoy Meredith Monk as well. It is available on Discogs in CD format, and LP.
I’ve been playing this repeatedly of late. Reed quintet arrangements (with some brass) of Rameau’s harpsichord compositions. A most pleasant variation on the usual.
Can’t say I was aware of this Danish composer, but Presto had this hi-res download on sale for less than $9.00, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Very nice - dynamic and melodic. It’s holding my interest, and the performance is great. Recording is terrific, too.
Mid-18th Century French chamber music, excellently made and performed though the recording allows a bit too much reverb in the low end for my tastes.
