Fred and Fredrik,

It sounds like a double act. Many thanks for your recommendations. If Sloop (and Mrs Sloop) will forgive me for going off-thread for a moment, the "Un coeur en hiver" soundtrack seems to have been withdrawn, and even scratched 2nd hand CD copies are expensive. Any other recommendations, for the Ravel and Saint-Saens pieces?

Best regards,

Ken

Ken, try this link to DeepDiscountCd.com in the US: http://tinyurl.com/ejwkk

Looks like they have it new for US$13.29, that is, if it is indeed in stock. You could email them to confirm, or just order it and see if it goes through.

Good luck.

Fred

Fred,
Many thanks. Being cautious, I've emailed them to confirm details.
Regards,
Ken

Ken, let me know how it turns out.

Hope you get the chance to enjoy this fantastic music.

Fred

Fred,
I've ordered a copy, but it's on back order, and is not expected in stock until July 7th. Add to that 10 to 20 days for shipping (their estimate) and hopefully, I'll be listening to it around the beginning of August. I'll let you know what I think of it. Fredrik's suggestion of late Saint-Saens is easier, in that there is a good number of discs available, but the Ravel is rare.

Sloop,
Back on thread, "Gramophone"'s top recommended disc for the August issue (arrived this morning) is Mozart. Unfortunately, their cover disc only has a track from this amounting to around 3 minutes, and most of that is talk. But even though I'm not usually an enthusiast for period instruments, the sound of the brief extract was lovely. I might investigate further.
Regards,
Ken.

Edited to remove an obscene typo - must be Freudian.

Well Mrs Sloop was delighted with the recommendations, thanks.

I have given several listens to some of them lately and to my surprise (I've never cared much for classical) I found I quite liked some of them.

My favourite so far is the Anda piano concertos 6,17 and 21. Some of it beautifully exquisite some stirringly powerful. I do not have enough knowledge to describe or articulate much on the classic front except to say how much I liked this disc.

I noticed I had Brendel/Mackerras with one of the same pieces. This did not do it as much for me. The juxtaposition of quiet and loud somehow was not as stirring fro me. Whether this is a facet of the recording or the performance I have no idea. I have always like recordings from the 50's whether jazz, rock n roll, blues or Sinatra.

Ricard Goode Mozart I really like with the caveat with similar one instrument Jazz albums I have my mind always tends to wander through it. I can't really keep my concentration as readily as when there are 3 or more instruments.

Bernstein symphonies 41 and 41.

I find the concertos more upbeat (which I prefer but these are 2 amazing pieces to my ears) The anguish of the first part of the Jupiter symphony is stunningly evocative.
When I listened to the Beecham version of this, the anguish was absent from this part and I found it all in all to be a more positive (in the mood sense) performance.

So thus ends my first classical comment in the Naim forum.I still have a Haskil and Uchida to get through but for the moment I'm going to listen to some Fall.

SJB