Classical fans, I need advice


I need a bit of advice. I've been listening to sample classical recordings (from tower records and amazon) for over 3 months trying to find a place to start. My interest began when I first became entranced by Alison Krauss + Union Station and Nickel Creek. I've gained a new appreciation for classical styles and the violin (fiddle?) in particular.

I listened to: Hilary Hahn - Bach: Violin Concertos on Deutsche Grammophon and enjoyed it. It wasn't too pretty, nor too symphonic. It's intimate and large at the same time. Maybe not quite as romantic as I might prefer but I honestly cannot say without hearing more. Keep in mind I'm not describing the performance here just the music. I'm thinking I will take the plunge with this Hybrid SACD.

Based on this can I be "profiled" and perhaps pointed in a direction? I know these works come from the Baroque period. I also read this in an amazon review "Shortly after Bach's time, the structure of a concerto changed from an ensemble piece for chamber musicians to a piece for soloist and full orchestra. Hence many recordings of these pieces are done by 'name' soloists and 'name' orchestras and lose their intimacy in the process. This recording does not; kudos to DG and Hahn for the choice of the thoroughly musical and consummately professional Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for this disc." I really don't know if this is significant to my enjoyment of what i've heard but I thought I should mention it.

A few other notes about myself. Sound quality is of extreme importance to me. I simply cannot enjoy music on poor recordings. Something else, I really like the song from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack titled "Concerning Hobbits" composed by Howard Shore and performed by the New Zealand S.O. Again I'm not sure if this points me to a specific classical style or period but I figured I would mention it.

Any comments are appreciated
Vedric
vedric

Showing 5 responses by vedric

Wow! Thanks much for the response everyone. I enjoyed reading each and every one. I will be listening to samples of everything mentioned here over the weekend. If something jumps out and grabs me I will let you all know!

I was also going to say I will likely be ordering the Beethoven Violin Concerto. I'm trying to get the right one of these:

Beethoven, Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos / Heifetz, Munch, Boston SO - RCA Living Stereo CD

Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Heifetz, Munch, Boston SO - JVC XRCD

Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Romances / Mutter, Masur, NYPO - Deutsche Grammophon Hybrid SACD

Any Others? Im cautious of the XRCD because of bad experiences with them in the past. I've read about the RCA Living Stereo releases which are said to be superb. This one also has both the Beethoven and the Mendelssohn. Of course there is the DG Hybrid SACD also, I assume this and the RCA are safe bets. Might have to get both!

Jim,
Nickel Creek is great! As much as I enjoy "This Side" I presently prefer their self titled release. I really hope they maintain their signature style as the years progress. I cant wait for more. In the unlikely event that you haven't looked into Alison Krauss, do yourself a favor and start with "Now That I've Found You". I now own everything she has released solo and with Union Station. The Hybrid SACD's are superb on both stereo layers. Haven't tried multi-channel yet.

Thanks again everyone!
Jim,
Indeed it's fun and you have a deal sir! Also take a quick peek at who produced your Nickel Creek discs.
Bomarc,
I own two XRCD's. The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over which is mostly fantastic sounding and a reference for redbook. It has some pronounced vocal sibilance but overall its a great disc.

My other XRCD is terrible. Dire Straits - Brother in Arms. It's thin with excessive treble. My Warner remaster of the same album is better in all respects.

The XRCD of Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Heifetz, Munch may indeed be great. My hesitation is because of the Dire Straits disc and the fact its only the 38 minute concerto. Other releases from DG and RCA have more to offer. However if its superior just let me know! As I mentioned sound quality is very important.
I should clarify what I meant by the "right" Beethoven Violin concerto. The three I listed are simply labels known to me. Each has a reputation for quality sound. I figure my best chance to grow within the genre is to get the best recorded sound of works I think I may enjoy first. This will allow me to fully appreciate some of the more complex passages I'm sure to be bombarded with soon. From there I can later work backwards into finding performances I prefer. So when I said "right" I simply meant the best engineered disc. My mistake!
A few clear things I've learned after all of your suggestions. I enjoy the weight, warmth (cello?) and body an orchestra can add to solo performances. I enjoy the dynamics between each in a concerto as long as the orchestra doesn't overpower the solo performance. This is not to say I don't enjoy the orchestra. I do very much so! It's just the piece itself I guess and the scale in which it was written, or the sound as a whole. I've began looking into double and triple concerti in an attempt to find a greater solo performance focus within an orchestra.

For example, I listened to Bach: The Art of the Fugue by The Emerson String Quartet. I really enjoyed this but missed the warmth, weight and body of an orchestra behind them. I know the piece isn't written for orchestra I'm just describing my experience. I have some clear directions now and I will continue to refer to this thread. I feel like I'm learning a new language. So many names, performances, styles, recording labels etc. etc!

Meisterkleef,
I think you were on to something. The Bach piano concerti flow very much like the violin concerto. If I warm up to the piano in a solo role these will be my first choice.

Jim!
The Be Good Tanyas, I am so frustrated with them. The music is absolutely wonderful!! I like everything I hear but.. the vocals! Most of the vocals are done in an alternative rock drawl I like to call "vocals on novocaine". I have the same problem with Bob Dylan although he isn't trying to sound like anyone other than himself. I may break myself of this hangup eventually though!

The Ahn Trio has some interesting material. I really like their Riders on the Storm! Swing Shift may take some time for me Jim. In all fairness I only listened to samples though. Not exactly an honest listen. I'm glad you enjoy the AK+US Live CD set. I should have recommended this to you before the "Now That I've Found You: A Collection". The Live set really is a full featured sample of AK and AK+US. I have this on DVD-Video and the Hybrid SACD set. Having owned the studio version of everything I can say the performance is great but perhaps a tiny bit cold at the start. Completely enjoyable and a first rate recording.

Back to the search..