User Details - akiralx

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Name:
   Alex Leach
Details:
   My musical interests are mainly classical.
Location:
   Shipley, West Yorkshire, UK
HiFi:
   Sony SACD player

Stax Classic earspeakers and energiser system

Harman Kardon amplifier

Mission Freedom floorstanding front speakers

Miller & Kreisler centre and rear speakers

Yamaha subwoofer
Email:
  
Web:
  
Posts:
   271
 
 
Reviews
Found: 59 show all
  July 25, 2008

Large scale Schubert - and it works very well. Russian pianists seem to have insights into Schubert's music and like his compatriots Richter, Ashkenazy and Gilels, Koudriakoff sees the piano sonatas as scarcely less imposing than Beethoven's, but with their own style. This D850 sonata has long ... more
  June 24, 2008

Dvorak's darkest, and probably best, symphony - the Seventh, is here given a very intense performance by Macal. His direct way with Dvorak works better here than with his rather bland account of the New World, though I felt a little more flexibility would not have gone amiss. He chooses some ... more
  November 9, 2007

This is the second volume in Tchetuev's planned sonata cycle, and very fine it is - his musical personality is now become a little clearer which can help us know what to expect in later volumes. The recording is as superb as on volume 1, with the complete absence of any ringing on the higher ... more
  August 8, 2007

There is no shortage of fine New Worlds on SACD, but I'm not sure this one is quite among them. The performance is very well played and recorded, but Macal's interpretation is rather plain. Some may enjoy the directness of his approach, which is miles away from the very interventionist ... more
  July 9, 2007

An excellent SACD, if not quite as revelatory as the companion disc of the Pastoral Symphony from Paris, but much better filled of course. This one completes the middle trilogy from Kubelik's multi-orchestra Beethoven cycle for DG in the 1970s. If you want to assemble the whole cycle (on CD only ... more
 
 
Latest Posts
Discussion: Berlioz: Requiem - Sir Colin Davis
August 4, 2008
Also a luminary of the usenet newsgroup rec.music.classical.recordings. ... more
Discussion: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 - Eschenbach
August 1, 2008
I agree, I cancelled Gramophone years ago, mainly owing to the mindless drivel from Bryce Morrison in his piano reviews. IRR is much better, with many more reviews. But at the end of the day it's possible to acquire just as many valid opinions online for free. ... more
Discussion: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 - Eschenbach
August 1, 2008
The strange thing is Rattle's CDs seem to be discounted here in the UK almost as soon as they are released, certainly in bricks-&-mortar stores like HMV. I rarely buy them though I did think his Haydn symphonies twofer was very good. But the Schubert 9 was mediocre. Years ago he did a great recording of Berg's Lulu Suite in Birmingham. ... more
Discussion: Bruckner: Symphony No. 2 - Jaap van Zweden
August 1, 2008
Does anyone have any idea why this doesn't seem to be available in Europe, unlike the rest of the cycle so far? ... more
Discussion: Stravinsky: L'Oiseau de Feu, Le Sacre du Printemps - Jansons
July 30, 2008
No, I won't have that! I've got a Ljubljana SO CD under Nanut somewhere bought from a local petrol station which I'm sure undercuts him... ... more