What are you listening to right now?

Vic & Chris, I believe, not because of academic evidence, that Beethoven found the Grosse Fugue disproportional and lacking any moderation vis a vis the rest of the work. All the movements of op. 130 are well measured, with even moderated proportions (with the exception of the first movement, but only to some extent) and even with lighter, somehow subdued and refined writing (with the exception of the first movement, again to a certain degree).

In any case, such a long work stands perfectly O.K. as an independent one rather than constituting the final movement of an already long work. The short Finale, while far less impressive and monumental, it serves better the proportion and the not so heavy character of the whole quartet. It also provides a more positive and proportional resolution to the meditative, extremely refined and so short slow movement.

Parla

"As in the case of Mahler's 6th (discussed elsewhere) we have a clear understanding of what the composer wanted..." (50milliarden)

If you have it clear like you say, please explain to me!, because I don't really know what he is tryng to say, I think that Mahler's music is esentially a sensorial phenomenon, that dont requires a plot or tell an history, and it's sufficient in itself. I think that in Mahler's music more important what  he is eventually tryng to say is how it sounds, and for me in occassions like 2nd andante or 6th adagio is a delicious for my ears!.

Now I'm listen Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique with Vienna Opera State Orch conducted by Rene Leibowitz in a "Millennium" recording from MCA (original Westminster) from 1957, which sounds like an actual recording (it seems that companies recorded better before than today!), for my taste preferable with all my respect to Colin Davis' (RIP), Beecham', Bernstein', Karajan', Klemperer', etc., performances. In the same level I would put Massimo Freccia' (Chesky) and Alfred Wallenstein's (Audiophile Classics) recordings of this work, curiously both with britanian ochestras. Excuse my english, please!. oscar.olavarria

I was merely referring to the order of movements, Oscar - not to any interpretational issues :)

Well Naupilus, it does seem Pollini is one of those who polarises opinion like certain conductors whose names appear frequently on these forums. I seem to recall Pollini caused some considerable debate in the correspondence columns of International Piano Magazine some years ago.

As to Clara I have wondered about the likeness to her playing of her pupils who have recorded but then one listens to recordings of Liszt's pupils and they seem to do their own thing with little in common! The one recording I did find interesting though is the Pearl CD of the three recordings made by Clara's pupil Fanny Davies for British Columbia in the late 1920s when Davies was in her late 60s.

The concerto (with Ansermet conducting) is pretty brisk, no nonsense and unsentimental; Kinderscenen too starts briskly and shows the typical traits of those trained in the 19th century such as some slight separation of the hands and "rolled" chords. One wonders sometimes though how speeds on 78 recordings were sometimes dictated by the restrictions of the medium rather than the performer.

The Davidsbundlertanze takes off and is a very lively performance. Davies was no shrinking violet but then it must have been pretty unusual for an English teenage girl to have gone off to Germany to study around 1880.

Very good sound for the period. Pearl's transfers sound completely unprocessed and unadulterated just like original 78s.

There's an interesting piece on Davies in Wikipedia; she certainly had quite a career pioneering many important works, Brahms for example, in London with Joachim.