Post by terence April 24, 2007 (1 of 21)
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very interested in this programme but have never heard the prazak quartet before, nor indeed praga multichannel recordings.
any comments on what the "track record" is like in both cases?
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I have found all the Praga mch recordings to be excellent, and the Prazak Quartet as well. Am I confusing this disc with some other that was/is actually stereo and mistakenly labled as mch? I thought that was the case here but if not, I am delighted and will order it presently....may even do so regardless!
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Post by nickc April 24, 2007 (3 of 21)
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terence said:
very interested in this programme but have never heard the prazak quartet before, nor indeed praga multichannel recordings.
any comments on what the "track record" is like in both cases?
hi terence
you can buy praga without fear - i don't have this disc but i have about 6 others and they sound fantantic!
cheers
nick
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Post by Beagle April 24, 2007 (4 of 21)
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My copy left France 10 days ago, it should be cleared by Homeland Security any day now. I am eager to hear what they do with Verklärte. The Prazákovo are a bit 'aggressive' in their sound production; I have heard them a number of times, and that extra energy is acceptable in the 'live' context -- but on disc it conceals subtlety (my preference is for the Kocian Quartet on Praga).
In the same vein, the MDG "Music of the Viennese School" is interesting -- a traversal of this very modern moment in music, starting with juvenalia from Alban Berg and finishing with Schönberg's 2nd Quartet with soprano. I can't decide if it's the Zeitgeist or the soprano but you can drive the proverbial ox-cart through her vibrato.
Music of the Viennese School - Jac van Steen
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Post by terence April 25, 2007 (5 of 21)
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thanks B. is the 2nd quartet done with full strings then?
Plus - would be grateful to know whether the praga/schoenberg is in fact multichannel when you get it. as well as performance comments of course!
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Post by Edvin April 25, 2007 (6 of 21)
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String orchestra in the second quartet.
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Post by terence April 25, 2007 (7 of 21)
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thanks E. does it "work" like this?
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Post by Edvin April 25, 2007 (8 of 21)
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It works fine. However, it goes without saying that this version is less intimate.
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Post by Beagle April 25, 2007 (9 of 21)
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terence said: would be grateful to know whether the praga/schoenberg is in fact multichannel when you get it. as well as performance comments of course!
The Verklärte arrived today, along with the Claviers mozartiens (and a hefty customs imposition, bringing the per disc cost to almost $40 each, ouch!).
The box says MCH, the disc says MCH, the booklet says MCH. Please note that I am not set up for multichannel, I'm stubbornly stereo (plus powered Hafler). Now, when I put the disc into the Shanling and clicked MCH, the sound changed (became slightly fainter), but when I put it into the Sony and clicked Surround, nothing changed. So I can't say for sure either way. Some MCHer will just have to play it and run around listening carefully to all the speakers.
Performance comments will have to wait. Number One, I'm listening to, and loving, the Claviers mozartiens:
Claviers Mozartiens - Pierre Goy
--which goes very well with the spirited OTHER mozart-on-nonstandard-piano disc,
Mozart: Piano Sonatas Nos. 8, 11 & 13 - Miyuki Itoh
and Number Two, I'm enduring some fatiguing health problems at present. So, more later.
PS: I agree with Edvin, and would much prefer the Schönberg Quartet no. 2 with soprano played by -- what a concept! -- four players. But this version is no musical bastard, unlike the several bloated Quartets-by-Grand-Orchestra discs discussed elsewhere here. Schönberg himself is the father.
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Post by ramesh April 25, 2007 (10 of 21)
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I find the Fourth quartet a very, very difficult work to understand. Perhaps Praga used Verklärte Nacht as the sweetener. I found the Kolisch Quartet the most illuminating in S's quartets [ shades of the Busch for late Beethoven ], but the sound is truly historic.
For V Nacht, don't forget the orchestral version on SACD conducted by Mehta. Good sound and conducting. Last week, I ordered from Japan a 2006 Japanese reissue, plain CD, of Karajan's famous recording, coupled to the Webern Passacaglia and the Berg Lyric quite for string orchestra. The previous CD issues of these works from Karajan have been a travesty, so I'm hoping things will change.
NB. I once attended a performance of V Nacht in Malaysia where the dumbfounded audience started applauding during the long pause. The German musicians cracked up!
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