Thanks Dave for encouraging me to listen to Shostakovich's film music, that it wasn't a waste of time at all. Nice to see some of the CDs appearing on the reviews.
I love "The Execution of Stepan Razin" , so sad that it's never performed and rarely recorded. To be fair it would be hard to beat Kondrashin's Melodiya recording with Vitaly Gromadsky, originally issued on vinyl with an equally hard to beat performance of the 9th Symphony. I think I still have that disc in my attic. It is however included in the Melodiya boxed set of the complete symphonies. Get it if you can!!
I also love the Kondrashin/Gromadsky classic, and latterly Vladimir Ashkenazy and Gerard Schwarz produced fine recordings in much better sound. Sadly, I'm unaware of (m)any other recordings of this neglected gem of a cantata. Edit: I just looked through my collection, and there's another version by Paavo Järvi on Erato. It's very good, too, as I recall.
Actually there were TWO Melodiya recordings of Nikolayeva in the Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues: one from 1987 and an earlier one from 1962. The latter was reissued on Doremi. The Hyperion is from 1990.
I heard that Matsuev has basically been canceled (in the West at least) for being a staunch Putin ally..no wonder he made all those cd's with Gergiev. Politics aside, this one is wonderful, agree with Dave
There was an earlier recording of the Preludes & Fugues on RCA by Roger Woodward. I wasn't around at the time, so I don't know what kind of impact it had then. But no one talks about it now. I'm sure it's been surpassed repeatedly.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Strange to go to the trouble of recording two LPs' worth of rare material by a major composer, only to fail to promote it. But I guess that's in part the story of the classical music industry. And I guess RCA was especially a basketcase in the 70s.
RCA had some bright spots in the 70s, eg. Levine, Bream, the Guarnieri Quartet. They bet on a couple violinists who looked good on album covers but whose careers went nowhere. They also promoted a technology called "Dynaflex, " which I suppose they hoped was the new "Living Stereo." My 70s lp collection probably never had more than 5% RCA items. It was a pity that they couldn't sustain what they achieved with Slatkin in the late 80s and 90s.
@@stevecook8934 Dynaflex was a way to use less vinyl in pressings, resulting in a floppy, flexible disc. It wasn't a recording technology. Part of my gripe with 70s RCA LPs is the noisy vinyl they used. That said, there were some amazing RCA recordings in the 70s, including a bunch of operas & the things you mentioned. But the 70s were definitely RCA's nadir.
Would you mind remembering to hold the CD front to the camera a bit earlier and a bit longer? You do mostly, but sometimes not. Call me picky! Also, be sure to hold the cats earlier and longer to the camera, please!!
Thanks Dave for encouraging me to listen to Shostakovich's film music, that it wasn't a waste of time at all. Nice to see some of the CDs appearing on the reviews.
I love "The Execution of Stepan Razin" , so sad that it's never performed and rarely recorded. To be fair it would be hard to beat Kondrashin's Melodiya recording with Vitaly Gromadsky, originally issued on vinyl with an equally hard to beat performance of the 9th Symphony. I think I still have that disc in my attic. It is however included in the Melodiya boxed set of the complete symphonies. Get it if you can!!
I also love the Kondrashin/Gromadsky classic, and latterly Vladimir Ashkenazy and Gerard Schwarz produced fine recordings in much better sound. Sadly, I'm unaware of (m)any other recordings of this neglected gem of a cantata.
Edit: I just looked through my collection, and there's another version by Paavo Järvi on Erato. It's very good, too, as I recall.
Actually there were TWO Melodiya recordings of Nikolayeva in the Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues: one from 1987 and an earlier one from 1962. The latter was reissued on Doremi. The Hyperion is from 1990.
May I get a dedicated portrait of Mildred please ?
I heard that Matsuev has basically been canceled (in the West at least) for being a staunch Putin ally..no wonder he made all those cd's with Gergiev. Politics aside, this one is wonderful, agree with Dave
There was an earlier recording of the Preludes & Fugues on RCA by Roger Woodward. I wasn't around at the time, so I don't know what kind of impact it had then. But no one talks about it now. I'm sure it's been surpassed repeatedly.
No one talked about it then either, which wasn't really fair. He wasn't a "name" and the label did nothing for him.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Strange to go to the trouble of recording two LPs' worth of rare material by a major composer, only to fail to promote it. But I guess that's in part the story of the classical music industry. And I guess RCA was especially a basketcase in the 70s.
RCA had some bright spots in the 70s, eg. Levine, Bream, the Guarnieri Quartet. They bet on a couple violinists who looked good on album covers but whose careers went nowhere. They also promoted a technology called "Dynaflex, " which I suppose they hoped was the new "Living Stereo." My 70s lp collection probably never had more than 5% RCA items. It was a pity that they couldn't sustain what they achieved with Slatkin in the late 80s and 90s.
@@stevecook8934 Dynaflex was a way to use less vinyl in pressings, resulting in a floppy, flexible disc. It wasn't a recording technology. Part of my gripe with 70s RCA LPs is the noisy vinyl they used. That said, there were some amazing RCA recordings in the 70s, including a bunch of operas & the things you mentioned. But the 70s were definitely RCA's nadir.
Would you mind remembering to hold the CD front to the camera a bit earlier and a bit longer? You do mostly, but sometimes not. Call me picky!
Also, be sure to hold the cats earlier and longer to the camera, please!!