Best looking CD/LP for sleeve & artwork

[ShineyMcShineShine]

Johnston's music made use of just intonation and his compositional technique seems to have relied on the mathematical properties of notes and intervals rather heavily.
Which make the covers rather fitting.
The Wikipedia bio has plenty of details.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Johnston_(composer)

But you don't have to go back to the 17th century to find illustrations of mathematical thinking.

[ShineyMcShineShine]

It goes far beyond that, as that quartet's purpose for starting was to record all his string quartets.

He was involved in the entire process, including production (there are videos on YouTube).

It wouldn't surprise me if he selected each image.

Amazing guy, as well. :-)

If that's true, he missed the opportunity to unite all the covers visually, which would have been more fitting in keeping with the math concept. They could have all fit together like pieces of a puzzle to demonstrate his ideas.

[71 dB]

In monochrome it's less interesting but I agree that there was no reason for the initials to be red. In black it's now harder to see the circluar foundation of the design. But I just discovered these works were composed in the 20th century, so I'm not sure why the designer chose this illustration. I had assumed Ben Johnston was some obscure baroque composer. I probably would have chosen different art but assuming I was stuck with this, I would have used a more modern typeface in an attempt to indicate the nature of the music.

We disagree about the colours, but your version is better than the original.

[ShineyMcShineShine]

Who's to say they didn't?

He might have encoded secret messages in the covers for all I know, my point is that they have nothing in common except that the name Ben Johnston appears on all three.

[Irons]

Effective use of Art Deco style.



Cover designed by Josef Kalousek.  https://www.discogs.com/artist/1829203-Josef-Kalousek

[71 dB]

Effective use of Art Deco style.



Cover designed by Josef Kalousek.  https://www.discogs.com/artist/1829203-Josef-Kalousek

That's good cover art for sure, but I prefer it without the light blue decoration:

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I'm going to add this Atterberg disc to my monthly focus, it is a stunner!



That and Weinberg SQs v 1 of Danel will do for the rest of the month

[Florestan]

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake - Rozhdestvensky/Grand Symphony Orchestra of All-Union National Radio Service and Central Television Networks

(gotta love the pompousness of the orchestra's name...  )

[pjme]

Effective use of Art Deco style.



Cover designed by Josef Kalousek.  https://www.discogs.com/artist/1829203-Josef-Kalousek

Sorry, but this is a famous creation by Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939)





  - part of the


The Moon and the Stars (series) (1902)
In this series of decorative panels, Mucha again chose to personify the stars as female figures. This time, however, he sought to surpass the panels' decorative function by exploring the deeper meaning of his subjects. The women are no longer confined to ornate crescents and alcoves, but instead float in space and are illuminated by a light radiating from within the composition. Their poses are meditative and dramatic rather than sensual. In all four panels, Mucha demonstrates great skill in rendering the texture and sheen of rich textiles.

https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/art-nouveau



Moreover, Mucha s work is a flamboyant example of of Art Nouveau/Jugendstil, definitely not Art déco (ca 1920-1930).

For Art Déco check out
Tamara De Lempicka!
and  https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/art-deco

[pjme]

On October 29, 2023, Mr. Josef Kalousek, a well-known painter, gallerist, Hradčany neighbor and friend to many, died at the age of 87. Josef Kalousek worked and painted for many years in his studio in Hradčany. Influenced by the beauty of Prague, which was his inspiration throughout his life, he mostly painted Prague motifs. His paintings thus became known both in our country and in the world.
He was close to music and worked as a swing bandleader with Lac Deczi, Ivan Mládek and Eva Olmerová. Together with his wife Světlana, they ran the Josef Kalouska Gallery in Hradčany and the Lapidárium Gallery in the Old Town.



This Josef Kalousek may well have made graphic designs for Supraphon in general, as his name is often quoted - but I'm not certain.

[ritter]

Sorry, but this a famous creation of Alphons Mucha
...
  - part of the
...

Great for biscuit tins and that kind of thing... 

For Art Déco check out Tamara De Lempicka!
and  https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/art-deco

Great for travel posters, and that kind of thing... 
 
Sorry, Peter, couldn't resist. Mucha and Lempicka are two artists whose work I do not like at all. But de gustibus non est disputandum! 

Good day to you...

[pjme]

Dear Rafael, I only wanted to point out that the Supraphon LP sleeve was not the work of mr. Kalousek. 

I do admire the technical (and poetical) qualities of Mucha and de Lempicka's  art. I agree that both artists have been commercialized ad nauseam. 

[Jo498]

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake - Rozhdestvensky/Grand Symphony Orchestra of All-Union National Radio Service and Central Television Networks

(gotta love the pompousness of the orchestra's name...  )

I wonder about the (golden) script/font of the title. Impossible to read for me (unlike the white) and it looks like a strange adaption of a late medieval Latin script for kyrillic. Or were there historically such ornate letters for kyrillic?

It's a beautiful picture but it looks a bit to Germanic/Alpine to me to be the best fit for Russian ballet music.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I love Tamara de Lempicka!

[Florestan]

I wonder about the (golden) script/font of the title. Impossible to read for me (unlike the white) and it looks like a strange adaption of a late medieval Latin script for kyrillic. Or were there historically such ornate letters for kyrillic?

I have no problem reading Lebedinoe ozero, but I studied Russian in secondary school and reading a Russian text poses no problem to me.

To my eyes it looks like they wanted to make Russian letters look like Gothic ones.

It's a beautiful picture but it looks a bit to Germanic/Alpine to me to be the best fit for Russian ballet music.

Given that all characters have German names, I'd say it's a perfect fit.

[pjme]

I wonder if this "lake & ruin" is a genuine 19th century painting or a recent "fantasy" interpretation.

At the Petipa foundation one gets an idea of the first staging.

https://petipasociety.com/swan-lake-photo-gallery/

[Florestan]

I wonder if this "lake & ruin" is a genuine 19th century painting or a recent "fantasy" interpretation.

At the Petipa foundation one gets an idea of the first staging.

https://petipasociety.com/swan-lake-photo-gallery/

Not very far away from the Melodyia cover.

[Florestan]

I wonder if this "lake & ruin" is a genuine 19th century painting or a recent "fantasy" interpretation.

I just checked the booklet. It says "The design was created using graphic neural networks" (whatever that might mean). The release is from 2023, although the recording itself dates from 1969.

[Cato]

The Moldau was one of the first classical pieces I heard, when I was very young, and knew who the composer was!

Years later, when this LP came out, I sighed quite often in front of this picture!   

[Brian]

I just checked the booklet. It says "The design was created using graphic neural networks" (whatever that might mean). The release is from 2023, although the recording itself dates from 1969.

That means it was made using AI! Looking closely at the fake "painting," the clues are very subtle. The reflections in the water do not always perfectly match the landscape above (certain trees are reflected at odd angles, and the mountains are different), and the ruined castle or abbey is an oddly shaped building.