Recommended recordings
Sun, May 23 2010, 10:56PM
I used to love the feature on your old site where you could look up by composer Grammophone recommended recordings. If it's on the new site, I can't find it anywhere. In the mean time, I'm looking to purchase the Bach Cello Suites. But there are dozens of options. Which one would you recommend?
Mon, May 24 2010, 5:22AM
#2
RE: Home
It is stated everywhere that Casals has the definitive recording of those Suites. However, I must quarrel with this. Aside from the poor sound quality, which is understandable given their age, they are amazing. However, when you get the Sixth, you find numerous errors. For this reason, I recommend the Fournier recording. His sound and tempi are much like Casals', but he is much cleaner and the recording quality is much better. Rostropovich had a good recording, but his tempi are much too fast on nearly every movement of each suite. Schiff is even more unnecessarily brisk.
Fournier is the way to go. I would even go so far as to say that his recording is truly the definitive. It recalls Casals, but has the advantage of analysis from the precedence which Casals established, and therefore derives from a more advanced awareness of the pieces.
Mon, May 24 2010, 3:01PM
#3
RE: Recommended recordings
I'm looking to purchase the Bach Cello Suites. But there are dozens of options. Which one would you recommend?
Once you've got one, chances are you'll want to hear other recordings - because they can vary a remarkable amount in terms of interpretation, tone, style, etc - so it almost doesn't matter which one you start with.
But, obviously, you'd rather start off with a good one than a routine or (perish the thought) bad one.
I'd second... third... the Fournier. It's an exceptionally refined performance and it's easy to see why it's often regarded as a benchmark.
I'd also strongly recommend Janos Starker's 'Mercury Living Presence' recording (despite the CD reissue apparently being a little 'sharp' - something I can't honestly say has troubled me so far). He's recorded the suites several times, but the Mercury one is widely regarded as the best.
The versions by Queyras, Gendron, Rostropovich, Schiff and Yo-Yo Ma (either of his two) are also outstanding, in their often very different ways (compare the Queyras and Schiff for example) and you should be pretty happy with any of those.
Mon, May 24 2010, 5:30PM
#4
RE: Recommended recordings
This is very true, in that it is very hard to only have one recording. Thus far I have four–Casals, Fournier, H. Schiff, and Rostropovich. I enjoy them all, and am looking to get more. I'd like to hear the Yo-Yo Ma recordings; although I find him very overrated (his interpretation of the Elgar's and Shosty's Concerti, for example), he is excellent on baroque- and classical-era pieces.
Moreover, I'm looking to find a good recording of Britten's Cello Suites. Rostropovich on the first two, no doubt. Any recommendations for the third suite?
Tue, May 25 2010, 4:07AM
#5
RE: Recommended recordings
I'm looking to find a good recording of Britten's Cello Suites. Rostropovich on the first two, no doubt. Any recommendations for the third suite?
I don't have a recommendation for you, since I like Wispelwey (2001) for all three.
Tue, May 25 2010, 12:07PM
#6
RE: Recommended recordings
Casals, Truls Mork, Ma, Fournier...all have virtues. I think there are some scattered DuPre recordings but I don't know if JDP did the entire set of six.
Tue, May 25 2010, 12:22PM
#7
RE: Recommended recordings
I think there are some scattered DuPre recordings but I don't know if JDP did the entire set of six.
So far as I know she only recorded the first two - originally released on EMI 63165 and 68132.
Tue, Jun 1 2010, 7:51PM
#8
RE: Recommended recordings
Besides the obvious "classic" performances (Casals, Fournier, Starker-Mercury), I think nobody mentioned one excellent -IMHO- recording: Anner Bylsma on Vivarte (his second recording). Very warm, slower than usualperformance, with excellent sound. J.
Wed, Jun 2 2010, 7:27AM
#9
RE: Recommended recordings
How about Isserlis? His recording seemed to generate universal praise a few years back?
Thu, Aug 18 2011, 10:23AM
#10
RE: Recommended recordings
I used to love the feature on your old site where you could look up by composer Grammophone recommended recordings. If it's on the new site, I can't find it anywhere. In the mean time, I'm looking to purchase the Bach Cello Suites. But there are dozens of options. Which one would you recommend?
The first question remains unanswered. Is Recommended Recordings available on the new site?
Fournier is mentioned in this Gramophone list provided by a Korean blog.
http://kr.blog.yahoo.com/pleroma0517/folder/214.html
My favorites are Schiff and Gendron.