# Commuting CD Project



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

In the couple of months I've been away from the site, I started a new project. And, unlike previous "bright ideas", this one seems to be working well.

I've taken some of my larger boxed sets and started taking one disc from each and putting them in my car's flip-lid tray. When I drive alone in my car (mostly to and from work), I listen to these twelve discs in order three complete times through the sequence. After a third listen, I retire that disc and get the next one from the respective box to replace it.

Three times through gives me a much better feel for the recording than just a single hearing would.

This is the set sequence right now:

*Brahms Complete (Brilliant Box)* - resequenced to be in almost Opus # order (Copied songs and resorted them by Opus #s instead of the totally mixed up sequencing in the box.)

*Dave Brubeck 10 CD Box *- Weird set I picked up at Half-Price Books with mostly 1950's stuff.

*Bernstein Symphony Box (Sony)* - Second time through this set

*Elgar Electronic Recordings * - Elgar conducts Elgar

*Hadyn Symphonies _ Adam Fischer* - Second time through this set

*Mercury Living Presence Box*

*Steinberg Icon Box (EMI)*

*Mozart Complete (Brilliant Box)* - resequenced to roughly K# order

*Munch Conducts Romantic Masterpieces*

*Nielsen 10CD Box*

*Szell Beethoven Symphonies Original Cover Set*

*Vaughan Williams 30CD set (EMI)*

I'm currently adding one disc from my miscellanous single-disc collection to the batch, making for 13 in all.

If you are really unfortunate, I may start posting my reactions to some of this stuff on this thread.


----------



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Please do actually. I love posts like that!


----------



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Oh, Sonata, you're so nice...

One of the things that suggested this idea to me was that all these boxed sets are composed of sleeved CDs and not jewel cases, so a stack of 12 or 13 of them only takes up about two inches or so of vertical space, an amount that can easily fit in the tray I mentioned.

Since we moved into an apartment two years ago, I find that the car is the only place I can really listen to my music at a volume level that suits my aging ears. My car system, like my current home systems, is by no means state of the art, so any opinions I might have on what I hear needs to be taken with more than a grain of salt by any real audiophile out there.


----------



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I miss my commute listening as well....my house is so busy that I also have trouble listening to certain albums at home. Background music, or highly melodic, or rock music is fine. But something like Mahler, I can never listen to except alone. I used my Jeep until my little girl was born, then had to switch cars with my husband who works from home and has the kids during the day because his was too small for two car seats. Unfortunately it has no CD player or auxillary port for my iPod. Oh well, I do generally get an hour at lunch a couple days per week to listen then


----------



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Wow. I have the added advantage that I have an office to myself so I can listen all day long at work. The problem is, I can't really turn it up too loud, both for my own benefit as I concentrate on my work, and for the fact that people working right outside my office door can be distracted by it as well. 

I have a listening program for my workday as well, including discs from my library system (huge collection there), but even after three or four hearings, I don't always get to know a disc the way I do on my commute.

The worst venue for listening for me is actually the apartment itself. I never really crank anything up there, and headphone listening is a bit too selfish for me unless I happen to be in the apartment alone.


----------



## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I used to do that, but now I rip and add the tracks into one big library on shuffle play. When I rip, I join tracks so a symphony plays all the way through. I have a smart playlist that prioritizes stuff I haven't heard yet.


----------



## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

Vesteralen said:


> In the couple of months I've been away from the site, I started a new project. And, unlike previous "bright ideas", this one seems to be working well.
> 
> I've taken some of my larger boxed sets and started taking one disc from each and putting them in my car's flip-lid tray. When I drive alone in my car (mostly to and from work), I listen to these twelve discs in order three complete times through the sequence. After a third listen, I retire that disc and get the next one from the respective box to replace it.
> 
> ...


@ Vesteralen, That sounds like some great music you've come up with to play via your new listening methodology. Let me join with my fellow member Sonata in stating that I would really look forward to your sharing with us your impressions and opinions of what you're listening to. For me, I'd be especially interested in your "takes" on Nielsen and RVW. Out of interest, which cycles do you own of these respective composers? I'm also really "into" your Beethoven and Brubeck cds. So, please do share--I'll be paying attention!


----------



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Thanks, Samurai.

The EMI RVW set includes the Hickox performances of the symphonies (if that's what you meant).

The Nielsen boxed set was a real surprise to me. It's from Membran Music and it features performances of the symphonies with the Royal Liverpool Phil under Bostock. They are older recordings (from the 80s?), but so far, I'm enjoying them a lot. 

In both cases, though, I bought the boxed sets more because of the lesser-known pieces that are included in them. The symphonies are just a bonus.


----------



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

bigshot said:


> I used to do that, but now I rip and add the tracks into one big library on shuffle play. When I rip, I join tracks so a symphony plays all the way through. I have a smart playlist that prioritizes stuff I haven't heard yet.


Sounds interesting. I don't have that technology yet myself, but who knows what the future might bring?

In the meantime, I'm satisfying my obsessive-compulsive instincts the best way I can.


----------



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

You'd think with such a diverse playlist there would be little chance of repetition, but the Bernstein and Steinberg boxes both start out with Beethoven symphonies. Since I've also included the Szell Beethoven set in the mix that means I've had a pretty heavy dose of Beethoven to start with.

At any rate - here's what I've listened to so far in this project, Beethoven-wise:

*Bernstein (NYPO) - Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 7 (originally from Columbia in stereo)
Steinberg (Pgh Sym O) - Symphonies 3, 5, 6, 8 (all mono - Capitol)
Szell (Cleveland O) - Symphonies 1, 2, 3 (originally from Epic in stereo)*

As you can see, the only one I've listened to all three conductors navigate is the "Eroica". But, I can make some general observations on the three conductors.

First of all, these three orchestras were, for their time, all state-of-the-art ensembles. People today have mostly forgotten that at one time it was not the "Big Five", but the "Big Six" American orchestras, and the Pittsburgh Symphony under Steinberg was one of those six. I only point this out so that anyone reading this can appreciate that, as far as the orchestras themselves are concerned, it was a pretty level playing field. The only factor outside of the conductor that has an impact on appreciation of these three sets of recordings is the fact that most of the Steinberg material in this boxed set are mono versions. Personally, outside of the opening movement of the "Eroica", which seemed a bit thin in the tutti passages, I did not find this to be much of a concern.

If I had to characterize the three conductor's styles in as few words as possible, I would have to say that Bernstein's conducting was dynamic and propulsive; Szell's was mercurial and precise; and, surprisingly, Steinberg's was lyrical.

You can sense this lyricism especially in the 5th, 6th and 8th symphonies. I would particularly point out the 5th. Tired as I am of this old warhorse, I found Steinberg's flowing and melodic style gave it a new lease on life for me. I would recommend it without reservation.

All three conductors, though, seem quite at home with this material, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of them to a new listener.


----------



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

I was just thinking as I listened to Szell's "Eroica" (for the third time) on my commute this morning what a nightmare the "Eroica" must have been back in the LP era. The first two movements are both extremely long, so how do you break up the work on to two sides of an LP?

One way (as in the Steinberg version) would be not to take the repeats in the first movement. In that way, you could crowd the first two movements on to one side. With most phonographs of the time, that would result in tremendous end-of-side distortion by the time you got to the end of the second movement.

If you tried to make the first movement take up a full side and the final three movements the second side, you'd be taxing the timing of the second side to the absolute limit.

The common solution to the problem was to break the second movement into two sides of the LP. I remember having to make that switch back then. Talk about ruining the effect! 

So, there's one good argument for the CD and post-CD eras.

By the way - Szell's "Eroica" is totally satisfactory on every level. As I've said before, in the era before HIP, his style of conducting at least approached that style more than most others - taut, lean, but somehow muscular as well.


----------



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I didn't enjoy Eroica quite as much as Beethoven's other popular symphonies on my first listen through of the cycle (LSO with Krips). That was over a year ago though, so it just may be time for another listen. I wish he had written more piano concertos


----------



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Sonata said:


> I didn't enjoy Eroica quite as much as Beethoven's other popular symphonies on my first listen through of the cycle (LSO with Krips). That was over a year ago though, so it just may be time for another listen. I wish he had written more piano concertos


I know I've disturbed some people on this site in the past when I said the "Eroica" is my least favorite of his symphonies. It still is, though the least favorite Beethoven is still better than most others. Maybe it's because I don't have a martial cell in my body. Maybe it's because I just find the length to be daunting (though I don't mind the ninth nearly as much). Anyway, it's not because I haven't listened to it enough.


----------



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Anyway, getting back to completed discs in the project:

The "Brahms Complete" box from Brilliant is a great addition to my collection. It's not that the performances in the set are always the very best I've heard, but what I've listened to so far (including the symphonies) are at the very least serviceable. My biggest problem with the set is the way it's organized - by type rather than chronologically. That isn't a major problem for most of the discs, because I can always rearrange them to suit me. The exception is the vocal music - particularly the songs - with individual songs from each opus number collection split up and spread across multiple discs. That takes a lot of copying and pasting to set right. 

At any rate, the two discs I've finished sampling so far are:

*Piano Sonata Op 1 and Scherzo Op 4 - Kamerhan Turan, piano (Disc 28)
Piano Sonatas Op 2 & 3 - Alan Weiss, piano (Disc 29)*

Somewhere on this site, another poster complained that Brahm's solo piano music is too calculated and 'by-the-numbers', and I silently agreed with that at the time. But, listening to these pieces again repeatedly made me reassess. At least in these early works, I feel Brahms-the-genuine-romantic coming through clearly.

I've always loved the first sonata and the Op 4 Scherzo, and I have other peformances of these that may be just a tad more exciting than the ones in this set. But, the Op 2 & 3 sonatas by Alan Weiss were a real revelation. There is a lot to love in these works. The slow movement of the Op 3 is particularly moving, if you're in the right frame of mind for intent listening.


----------



## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I've found that Brahms totally falls flat under the hands of the wrong performer. I know everyone always says that the performances on Brilliant Classics are good but not great, but I haven't found that to be the case. I think on the whole, they are excellent. I especially like Han's Mozart concertos in the giant Mozart box.


----------



## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

You were away?


----------

