# Gumdrops for 2011 – Part I



## itywltmt

*This is the fifth of Pierre's Twelve Days of Blogging.*

Related thread:
http://www.talkclassical.com/16734-your-10-best-cm.html

Today and tomorrow, I will be blogging about some notable acquisitions I have made this year, which have not found their way into _la Chronique du disque_. I will forego the usual "grades", and will simply say that they generally rank high on both the _Sound Quality_ and the _Overall Impression_ scales.

On-line purchases









*BERNSTEIN, L.: Mass (Sykes, Wulfman, Morgan State University Choir, Peabody Children's Chorus, Baltimore Symphony, Alsop)* 
[http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/albu...man-Morgan-State-MP3-Download/11536086.html:]​
Leonard Bernstein is as Catholic as Pope Benedict is Jewish - that hasn't, however, made any of Bernstein's performances of Beethoven's _Missa Solemnis_ or Haydn's _Paukenmass_ less spiritual. It is in that vein that I approached (and chose to purchase) Bernstein's _Mass _- a piece that is a combination of spiritual music, Broadway and songfest. Bernstein's Mass is therefore a "performance experience" much more than a modern adaptation of the latin ordinary of the Mass like the Beethoven or Haydn previously mentioned.

The performance features American baritone Jubliant Sykes as the omnipresent "celebrant", and musical forces featuring choirs, singers and the Baltimore Symphony under Marin Alsop. Ms Alsop is, without question, a fine interpreter and champion of American neo-classical music and has trained under Bernstein, which elevated my expectations of this performance. Although she does provide a lucid and tempered performance, I found her "restrained exuberance" of the Kyrie section to be a disappointment. Her tempered vision is "just right" for the Gloria, but the overall muted enthusiasm permeates throughout the performance, leading me to a somewhat reserved recommendation of this disc. That having been said, Mr. Sykes gets full marks for his performance, somewhat redeeming Ms. Alsop's.









*Sonatas (Debussy, Rachmaninoff), Pohadka (Janacek) *
[http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/albu...-Pohadka-Janacek-MP3-Download/10929528.html:]​
One of my favourite chamber purchases this year, this album features Montreal-based cellist *Elizabeth Dolin* and pianist *Francine Kay*. Other than the Debussy _sonata_, I was not familiar with the cello works here, and I found them very pleasant, and well played. This duo works well together. A nice addition for your chamber collection!

Quick Hits:

*Brahms: Symphony No. 3 & Serenade No. 2* [http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/albu...-3-Serenade-No-2-MP3-Download/10941585.html:] I have been pumping up Haitink's LSO Beethoven set (click here), and have not discussed his similar endeavour with the LSO on the Brahms symphonies. I bought 3 of the 4 CDs (omitting the Symphony no. 2/Double concerto offering), and have singled out the third (my favourite Brahms symphony) and the less-heard second serenade. *Poldenice *will agree - Haitink does a stand-up job of the Brahms symphonies in this set, which I rank up there with my *Karajan/Berliner* (first version) and *Giulini/Philharmonia* sets. 
*Arriaga: Overtura del Los Esclavos Felices, Sinfoní en Re Menor *[http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/albu...s-Felices-Sinfon-MP3-Download/11424279.html]: Arriaga is a discovery I made this past Summer during my String Quartet series. This is a fine recording, conducted by *Sir Neville Marriner*, of Arriaga's D Minor symphony and one of his overtures. The resemblance with Mozart is striking, and this sounds much more like Austro-Hungarian music than Spanish…
Store purchases









*Glenn Gould Live in Salzburg & Moscow: Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (from Salzburg Festival, 1959); Three-Part Inventions, BWV 788-801 (from Moscow, 1957)*​
I discussed this Gould "live" performance of the Goldberg variations before. It is my favourite! Also, the set of inventions (albeit incomplete and presented out of sequence) are another "fine" live recording of a not-yet 30 year old Gould, notorious for hating live performances. Rare, and great!









*The Best of Joshua Bell: The Decca Years*​
Three CDs, one low price. Bell as a concerto artist (a great Brahms concerto!), as a chamber artists (the Fauré sonata is divine) and some showpieces. What is there not to like? This is Bell before he went "all Nigel Kennedy" on us.

Quick Hits


*Khachaturian: Spartacus; Gayaneh [Highlights]; Glazunov: Autumn.* The bulk of this recording is a re-issue of an old EMI recording of Khatchaturian conducting the London Symphony in a rare trip to the West. This is great stuff, and Khatchaturian does a great job as a conductor. The filler is a section (conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov) from Glazunov's Seasons.
*Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty / Weldon, Philharmonia* Another re-issue of a classic late 1950's recording by EMI, this time the "first ever" complete stereo _Sleeping Beauty_ originally issued as a 2 LP set. There are some sections that were omitted on the original release, so it is not really complete, but it is a fine recording of the ballet.

"Digital Vinyl" Acquisitions

In my on-going quest to find digital copies of some of my favourite vinyl LPs, I can flag a few noteworthy finds:









*Grieg, Schumann: Piano Concertos / Radu Lupu, André Previn *
[http://bitsnoop.com/grieg-schumann-piano-concertos-lupu-q5569008.html]​
I may be wrong about this, but I believe this recording was one of the rewards gathered by the Romanian pianist as the winner of the 1969 Leeds International Piano Competition (at least, that seems to be what the original LONDON FFRR LP indicated...). This is my very favourite set of these two A minor concertos (I own a similar set from Stephen Kovacevich and some "single" performances from others). A great acquisition, and proudly on my iPod.









*Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie*[http://www.kat.ph/richard-strauss-e...jan-berliner-philharmoniker-ape-t1443825.html]​
I have searched long and hard for ths vinyl favourite. For the last few years, I had a Previn/Vienna performance in my collection, but this Karajan recording of the Strauss masterpiece easily displaced it. And to listen to it without having to "flip" the record!

Publiv DOmain Downloads









*Golovanov / Moscow Radio Choir / Rimsky-Korsakov - Rimsky-Korsakov: Christmas Eve / Golovanov, Krasovsky, et al*
[http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HRKYDIE0]​
A vintage performance of the Christmas tale from Ukrainian folklore. A set of MP3's of a MONO version (not sure iof these are home made or not). Pretty good!









*Verdi: La Traviata *
[http://public-domain-archive.com/classic/download.php?lang=eng&album_no=337]​
This is the "broadcast version" - not the dress rehearsal recording - of the NBC production (December 1 and 8, 1946) featuring Jan Peerce, Licia Albanese and Robert Merrill and under the supervision of Arturo Toscanini. Brilliant!

Dark Side (questionable) downloads

These are recordings that may NOT be in the Public Domain, but are still openly available on the Internet.









*Brahms: Piano Concerto No.1 by Glenn Gould*
[http://avaxhome.ws/music/classical/Brahms_Piano_Concerto_No_1_Glenn_Gould_Leonard_Bernstein.html]​
Yes, THAT recording. The date was April 6, 1962, and the location was Carnegie Hall (Th NY Philharmonic's last season before moving to Lincoln Centre). The concert began with some Nielsen, and then there was a Plan A and a Plan B. Plan B was Brahms's _First Symphony_, and this was Plan A - as introduced by Bernstein ("Don't be frightened. Mr. Gould is here"). I quite enjoy this performance, actually. It is unorthodox and the First movement alone last almost 26 minuites. A piece of history!









*Tchaikovsky - The Symphonies - LPO, Rostropovich, 1976 - Angel *
[http://bitsnoop.com/tchaikovsky-the-symphonies-rpo-rost-q22965378.html]​
This collection does not displace my Mravinsky/Lenningrad set (for the final three symphonies), but it is a strong set of the complete symphonies, and provides high-bit rate MP3's from the _original vinyl _(near-pristine transfers). Love this set!

*My Gumdrops continue tomorrow with non-classical picks, and some of my notable Internet finds!*


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