How do get hold of many versions?

[Harry Collier]

I might be mistaken but I bet the selection of composers and works were very limited back in 1955. So, it was about performances.

Not much choice of performances back in 1955! For the Brahms violin concerto, for example, most record stores could offer you Oistrakh (DGG), Martzy (Columbia) or de Vito (HMV). End of offers.

[Siedler]

Yeah, I gave up on hiring cds from librarys a while ago too.

It costs a couple of dollars each time you rent one and its due back in one week!

It costs to use library there? Here in Finland it's free and my local library has a wide collection of classical music. 

[Harry]

It costs to use library there? Here in Finland it's free and my local library has a wide collection of classical music. 

What a delightful circumstances that lending classical cd's are free. A very good example for every country to do!

[71 dB]

What a delightful circumstances that lending classical cd's are free. A very good example for every country to do!

Taxation level in Finland is higher than many other countries but the money does not disappear anywhere; we get free public services like this for it. 

[George]

i for one get many recordings of something to find the perfect one & i don't stop until i've found it, but only if i like the work enough to make it worthwhile of course. then when i find the perfect one i might get more to make sure that it really is perfect. luckily i haven't done that with many things though. if i really get lucky (as with the goldberg variations) i could find the perfect recording right away. with others (the cello suites) it has taken longer. \

I had the same experience myself. Who do you like in the suites?

[George]

What a delightful circumstances that lending classical cd's are free. A very good example for every country to do!

Free in America too, but alas - "you get what you pay for." 

[Hector]

One thing that amazes me is the fact that people have heard so many performances of several works. I have never heard Brahms piano concertos and yet some people are able to tell about the differences of half-dozen recordings! How do people get hold of so many versions? Do you loan them from library? Do you just buy many versions of certain works? I have 2 or 3 versions of some works (duplications) but I can't even dream about having 6 version on Brahms piano concertos. I struggle financially to buy just one version!

There are at least 50-100 interesting composers with several interesting works. Having just one version of each means hundreds or thousands of CDs. Who the hell (except Harry) can afford 6 versions of any work?  Someone had nearly 100 versions of Mass in B minor! Insane!

It's called listening to the radio but I have BBC Radio 3 that, this morning, played yet another recording of the 'Pastoral' in a version I have already.

There are certain popular works that crop up time and time again.

[PerfectWagnerite]

Taxation level in Finland is higher than many other countries but the money does not disappear anywhere; we get free public services like this for it. 

So in Finland the state takes all your money and redistribute it in terms of services. I didn't know Finland is a Communist country.

[Que]

So in Finland the state takes all your money and redistribute it in terms of services. I didn't know Finland is a Communist country.

Any state redistributes wealth and resources - just the degree of redistribution and the methods used vary from one country to another.


On topic: I don't usually aim for multiple versions of the same work, like Don.

But certain factors already mentioned lead to multiple versions of some pieces:
- Not finding the "right" performance/performer right away. I dump the rest immediately when I find it!
- Special interest in particular pieces, which leads to several versions that I find equally interesting. Examples: several works by Bach, the Beethoven symphonies and concertos, ditto for Brahms.
- Over time the number of multiple versions rises.

Q

[71 dB]

So in Finland the state takes all your money and redistribute it in terms of services. I didn't know Finland is a Communist country.

Did I say all money is taken? You can call Finland a comminist country if you want but the same happens in many western countries as Que stated well. Free library services do not cost that much anyway.

[71 dB]

I have the following problem with comparing multiple versions:

Version A. I know it well and while listening to it I remember how the next bar/second sounds. Same with version B (and possibly with other versions), but when listening to version B I can't remember version A that accurately because version B masks it out of my mind. Other people can easily tell version A is faster/slower than version B but I can't. It's fuzzy for me because I am relativistic listener. I am also very bad evaluating performances. Sound quality is my thing because I am an acoustics engineer. The difference between good and bad sound is very very clear for me.

[George]

I have the following problem with comparing multiple versions:

Version A. I know it well and while listening to it I remember how the next bar/second sounds. Same with version B (and possibly with other versions), but when listening to version B I can't remember version A that accurately because version B masks it out of my mind. Other people can easily tell version A is faster/slower than version B but I can't. It's fuzzy for me because I am relativistic listener. I am also very bad evaluating performances. Sound quality is my thing because I am an acoustics engineer. The difference between good and bad sound is very very clear for me.

Care to share your top ten best recorded performances?

[71 dB]

Care to share your top ten best recorded performances?

Top 10 is a bit hard to make but here is 2:

Rameau - Dardanus - Minkowski - [Archiv]
Mendelssohn/Bruch - Octets - Kodály Quartet+Auer Quartet [Naxos]

[Don]

I have the following problem with comparing multiple versions:

Version A. I know it well and while listening to it I remember how the next bar/second sounds. Same with version B (and possibly with other versions), but when listening to version B I can't remember version A that accurately because version B masks it out of my mind. Other people can easily tell version A is faster/slower than version B but I can't. It's fuzzy for me because I am relativistic listener.

Well, just look at the timings on the disc (assuming repeats are handled the same).

[71 dB]

Well, just look at the timings on the disc (assuming repeats are handled the same).

I used tempo as an example. More difficult is for example the quality of singing. What reveals Robin Blaze a bad singer? Every singer has a personal voice and style of signing. How to evaluate them?

Perforances are different. They have many good aspects as well as bad one. I don't see it an easy task to put these performances in order.

[George]

Top 10 is a bit hard to make but here is 2:

Rameau - Dardanus - Minkowski - [Archiv]
Mendelssohn/Bruch - Octets - Kodály Quartet+Auer Quartet [Naxos]

Don't have that one on Naxos, but I do have other Kodaly recordings on that label. I agree, they sound superb!

[knight66]

I have seen a few sour comments on Robin Blaze, I have not heard the recordings that were regarded as unsatisfactory, but I have heard several others that I thought were OK. But I do not find it a distinctive or beautiful voice and if you were to specifically compare him in a piece with several other counter tenors such as Scholl, Daniels or Chance, you can detect a much lusher tone, a wider range of colour in the voice, more expressiveness in the use of the words.

This goes for any singer, if you start to compare side by side, eventually you carry that specific voice in your head and know how others measure against it.

Mike

[George]

This goes for any singer, if you start to compare side by side, eventually you carry that specific voice in your head and know how others measure against it.

Mike

I fully agree Mike. My Dr. says the voice in my head will probably always be there. Now if it would only sing....

[71 dB]

Don't have that one on Naxos, but I do have other Kodaly recordings on that label. I agree, they sound superb!

More discs (SACD) with excellent sound:

Beethoven - Piano Sonatas - Ronald Brautigam [BIS]
Mozart - Flute Concertos - Sharon Bezaly [BIS]
J. S. Bach - Cantatas Vol. 30 - BCJ/Suzuki [BIS]

[71 dB]

I have seen a few sour comments on Robin Blaze, I have not heard the recordings that were regarded as unsatisfactory, but I have heard several others that I thought were OK. But I do not find it a distinctive or beautiful voice and if you were to specifically compare him in a piece with several other counter tenors such as Scholl, Daniels or Chance, you can detect a much lusher tone, a wider range of colour in the voice, more expressiveness in the use of the words.

This goes for any singer, if you start to compare side by side, eventually you carry that specific voice in your head and know how others measure against it.

Mike

Scholl is wonderful indeed but his recordings are limited. Mostly some compilations albums of Handel...