There are some for whom listening to these two pieces is a guilty pleasure. Sure that their credentials as musical sophisticates are being compromised, they duck furtively into their bedroom, slip a CD into a Walkman with earphones, and luxuriate in the sheer unfettered fun of forbidden pleasure.
OK, I'm just having some fun myself, perhaps because I've been listening to these pieces with so much uncomplicated enjoyment. And because I really have nothing to say about them except that they are wonderful music, easily enjoyed. The orchestra gets to show off, and the Philadelphia is a nice orchestra to hear swagger.
So sit back, crank up the speakers, take off the damned headphones, surround yourself with good tunes and skillfully crafted music, and enjoy!
Link to all files
Indeed they are wonderful. And, unfortunately, neither is programmed much these days, a shame! A great listening experience is to program these two here and then listen to Buster's posting of Georgescu's for comparison. The US orchestras are decidedly superior but those Romanian musicians have this quality..well let's just say its in the blood. Marvelous stuff!
ReplyDeleteFred: thanks for the tip about the Georgescu. I'll head off to Buster's and download them. I've discovered so many new blogs in such a short time that I've barely looked at most of them, and there's lots of music to download!
ReplyDeleteHi guys - Larry, in your enthusiasm for the music and the Philly band, I think you forgot poor Hans Kindler and his Washingtonians. Anyway, thanks for this - looking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteBuster: Guilty as charged. I'll try to make amends by a revision of the text with some information I left out -- mostly because I can go on much too long. But you are right; Kindler deserves better than a mere nod in the title line.
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice performance and an especially nice transfer from 78s. What's your setup for 78s?
ReplyDeleteGood job!
Squirrel: I fact I have a very basic, inexpensive 78 setup, just an low end audio-technica cartridge (CN5625AL) with a .3mil conical stylus. Lucky it was a good fit to the grooves of this set, I guess. If I re-acquire a sizable 78 collection I'll probably get a 500 series Stanton that allows several different 78 stylus options. But my current solution fits my current budget and the occaisional 78. In general my setup is reasonable, but but no means high end. A Numark TT200 direct drive with the S-tonearm and a Technics SA-AX540 amplifier plugged directly into my computer, and three cartridges mounted on headshells -- an AT440MLa, an Ortofon OM-10, and the cartridge referred to above with both an LP and 78 stylus. Audiophile it isn't, but between them and Dartpro, where I re-equalize the present file, things seem to turn out not to badly. After dealing with wavering pitch with belt drive TTs, I prefer direct drive, and I like the DJ table a lot, provided I don't use the scratch arm. I want to try the AT120E/T, which will probably be my next purchase.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is quite an impressive setup compared to what I have!:)
ReplyDeleteWell, it does the job, but I definitely do not have components in the megabucks. In fact the amplifier was a $20 thrift store find.
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