Post by Beagle April 24, 2010 (1 of 12)
|
|
From my cranky viewpoint, this is an odd and irritatating pairing. I am used to seeing Shosty's Quint on a disc with his Piano Trio. The Borodin Trio CD was my component-shopping test disc for years. If Praga had paired the quintet with any of a number of non-quartet works, I'd order it.
We already have three good recordings of the popular Quartet no. 8 (not counting the orchestral version) and a good no. 7 from the Mandelring cycle. Nor does this disc look like the beginning of a cycle, just an opportunistic patchwork of odds and ends. Grumble, grumble....
|
|
|
Post by krisjan April 24, 2010 (2 of 12)
|
|
I'm with you on this one Beagle. I would love a good recording of the quintet on SACD but don't want/need more of the quartets - I'm very happy with the Mandelrings on Audite (in addition to what I already have on RBCD). I really liked the recent Kempf Trio SACD of the trio on BIS but wish it had the quintet. Oh well, I guess we'll have to wait some more on the quintet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
krisjan said:
I guess we'll have to wait some more on the quintet.
Pas moi, messieurs !
|
|
|
Post by Cicero April 24, 2010 (4 of 12)
|
|
Let me try to understand the aim of this thread.
This is how I read it: We do not wish that record labels produce recordings of great music (any great music, really) performed by world-class artists, and issue those on SACD whenever possible. No, we want them to produce SACDs that fill the gaps in our libraries but do not overlap with other SACDs we may already have. If the labels do not comply, we start a thread.
Have I misunderstood your intentions?
If I have not, then - don’t buy, if the pairing is not to your liking, or if it does not meet the requirements of your library. But why complain about the alleged oddity of a new issue when you have not even heard the recording? Should I mention that this particular label is one of the very few left in the game, for which we should be grateful? I would have thought that artists and record labels should be free to issue whatever they see fit.
|
|
|
Post by krisjan April 24, 2010 (5 of 12)
|
|
Cicero - I see this forum as a good place to voice our desires regarding repertoire. I know of no other place to do that. So, I for one, will continue to speak my mind (regardless of what others say). I simply wish the couplings were different - that in no way places any judgment on the "goodness" of the performances (which have not been heard yet). Some of the labels are listening to us as evident in the BIS and Channel threads at a minimum.
|
|
|
Post by Cicero April 24, 2010 (6 of 12)
|
|
krisjan said:
Some of the labels are listening to us as evident in the BIS and Channel threads at a minimum.
Do you really believe that, let us say, Ivan Fischer is recording Dvorak 7 *primarily* in response to demands voiced on this site? Label executives are certainly pleased when their new releases meet with instant approval from forum members, or when they can announce that they will soon be able to satisfy the repertory cravings and longings of some of us. However, I am probably not alone in assuming that to them that is a nice extra rather than a determining factor. Some label execs are communicating with us (rather than "listening to us"), which is much appreciated; but they would certainly not want their artistic policies to be dictated by our purchasing habits and (sometimes quirky) musical predilections - nor should they.
|
|
|
Post by Beagle April 24, 2010 (7 of 12)
|
|
I believe that he who pays the piper can call the tune... some pipers listen, some don't. If indeed SACD is a 'niche-market' then we need not be catered to by mass-market rules, those rules-of-thumb that say "Shostakovich's Eighth sells well, sell them some more Eighth...".
We review musicianship and recording quality on this site; consider my remarks above as a thumbs-down review of that aspect of recording called programming (and I didn't even need to buy it to do so). Please note, I am NOT buying -- and since this forum is a public place, I am saying it out-loud for all to hear and consider their own best options.
|
|
|
Post by Cicero April 24, 2010 (8 of 12)
|
|
Like everyone else, you are free to buy or not to buy. However, you are wrong in claiming that the coupling of Shostakovitch's Piano Quintet with one of his string quartets is odd: witness the Amati (Divox), Debussy (Arion), Petersen (Capriccio), Schidlof (Linn), Sorel (Chandos), and Talich Quartets (Calliope) - all coupling one or several of the Shostakovitch string quartet with his op. 57, albeit all on RBCD. May I suggest that calling the programming irritating reflects more on your cravings and on the gaps in your library than on anything else.
For heaven's sake, Praga is recording the Pratzak Quartet; and that Quartet does Shostakovitch better than most. I for one am grateful for the opportunity to hear them in that repertoire, together with Koroliov in op. 57, and all in SACD sound (and, yes, I have the Mandelring and the Petersen SACD recordings of string quartet # 8).
|
|
|
Post by Arthur April 24, 2010 (9 of 12)
|
|
If their history is any guide, I suspect Praga is testing the waters. We may well see a cycle, but it will probably be spread among their 3 or 4 house ensembles.
If so, I will be quite happy, and won't quibble about the pairings. If not, this will be a one-off I will still want!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cicero said:
Do you really believe that, let us say, Ivan Fischer is recording Dvorak 7 *primarily* in response to demands voiced on this site?
A few years ago I more or less spearheaded a drive to request the Dvorak 7th from Ivan on Channel. Flyingdutchman had bemoaned the lack of a Dvorak 7th and I noticed a call from Jared on his website asking for suggestions. I pointed this out in a response to FD and more or less reminded folks ever so often that visiting Channel's site and requesting the 7th might actually make it a reality.
|
|
