Post by Jonalogic September 27, 2010 (1 of 7)
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Nice disc.
But would the childish oaf who invariably marks my reviews as unhelpful - in this case, remarkably, before I had even completed it - kindly desist?
What, you think I don't notice?
Anyone who disagrees blindly with what I write before bothering to even read it must be truly pathetic and infantile. Or maybe you have psychic powers of precognition and know what I am going to write before I even post it?
I would be particularly intrigued to learn what exactly do you found unhelpful in this particular review. Perhaps you deem the information imparted tiresome and unhelpful?
Your loss, then. Closed minds are inevitably also tiny.
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Post by hiredfox September 27, 2010 (2 of 7)
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The only disappointment for me with this disc was to discover that it was an original PCM recording unlike many Praga discs.
Personally I value all reviews, being well aware of the time and effort expended to compile them. Just ignore the negativity of the looney-tunes fringe and keep writing.
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Post by robstl September 27, 2010 (3 of 7)
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I like this one, too. Though I'd still rather hear op 147 played on viola, I was _blown away_ by this cellist's ability to play the viola part as written. I like the results a lot better than the ARS disc where it's taken down an octave; too muddy at times where the cello/piano voices overlap. (Plus that recording has such an extraordinarily wide dynamic range -- which is great, but makes that particular recording tough in my listening environments -- and well you might say, change your listening environment).
There's a viola joke in here, though it works better with an instrument at hand.
A violist goes to an audition for a major orchestra. The violist is given some challenging scales to play, and plays them beautifully. Then, there's some sight reading -- the solo viola part from Strauss' Don Quixote -- and again, the violist plays it beautifully. The judges are impressed. "What will you be playing for your prepared piece?", the conductor asks. The violist replies with gravitas, "I will play Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto." The judges gasp. One asks, "You're going to play it as written?" "Certainly," replies the violist. The conductor says, incredulously, "In the original tessitura?" "Yes, just as it's written," says the violist.
Everyone takes a deep breath of anticipation. The violist gathers thoughts, prepares with a flourish of the bow, and plays
B-G-E-G-B-G-B-G
B-G-E-G-B-G-B-G
B-G-E-G-B-G-B-G etc. (all eighth notes in cut time)
(which, FYI, is the viola _accompaniment_ part for the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto :-)
Hope this brings everyone a smile or a chuckle -- and if you're a violist, I'm SO sorry.
Look at it this way, violists, no matter what I say, at least you have op 147 written just for you. It is amazing music.
Rob
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Post by jdaniel September 27, 2010 (4 of 7)
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Jonalogic said:
Nice disc.
But would the childish oaf who invariably marks my reviews as unhelpful - in this case, remarkably, before I had even completed it - kindly desist?
Maybe their "worlds weren't rocked" by your review....
Sorry, too much beer before dinner. : ) Wasn't me though. Too many people confuse the word "unhelpful" with the phrase "contrary to my opinion," when grading reviews. I don't get it.
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Post by Jonalogic September 28, 2010 (5 of 7)
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hiredfox said:
The only disappointment for me with this disc was to discover that it was an original PCM recording unlike many Praga discs.
Personally I value all reviews, being well aware of the time and effort expended to compile them. Just ignore the negativity of the looney-tunes fringe and keep writing.
hiredfox Hi
Thanks for this. Don't worry, I will!
Cheers
Jon
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Post by Jonalogic September 28, 2010 (6 of 7)
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jdaniel said:
Maybe their "worlds weren't rocked" by your review....
Sorry, too much beer before dinner. : ) Wasn't me though. Too many people confuse the word "unhelpful" with the phrase "contrary to my opinion," when grading reviews. I don't get it.
jdaniel Hi
That'll teach you not to have it during and after...
I'm sure you're spot on, here.
What amazes me is the number of people on this Forum who are aggressive in 'defending' their opinions and regard the best way of doing this as blindly rubbishing others - in this case, even before the post was complete!
Needless to say, I don't get this mindset, either.
But it ain't going to stop me writing what I hear.
Cheers
Jon
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Post by Jonalogic September 28, 2010 (7 of 7)
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robstl said:
I like this one, too. Though I'd still rather hear op 147 played on viola, I was _blown away_ by this cellist's ability to play the viola part as written. I like the results a lot better than the ARS disc where it's taken down an octave; too muddy at times where the cello/piano voices overlap. (Plus that recording has such an extraordinarily wide dynamic range -- which is great, but makes that particular recording tough in my listening environments -- and well you might say, change your listening environment).
There's a viola joke in here, though it works better with an instrument at hand.
Rob
robstl Hi
Thanks! I am not a violist, so your joke is quite safe! My wife has a violin to hand, and she wasn't too upset, either.
Seriously, the transposition from viola to cello seemed pretty seamless to me, here.
If the truth be told, however, I actually prefer Shostakovich's violin sonata op 134 to 147. No tessitura problems there, of course!
Strange that he only wrote three instrumental sonatas - ops 40, 134 and 147. Just not his favoured form, I guess.
Cheers
Jon
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