There’s a date each month on the calendar that I look forward to these days. Specifically, it’s the 20th when my subscription on EMusic gets refreshed and I can pick up a few hundred more music pieces. I’ll be pretty much in music nirvana, getting introduced into new musical compositions. Here’s what I’ve picked up just this week:
19 of Albinoni’s Oboe Concertos (3 CDs). This is baroque music, and Albinoni’s stuff is like Vivaldi’s: they all start sounding alike after a while.
Five of Fumiko Shiraga’s albums (5 CDs). I’ve blogged about her recordings recently.
Beethoven’s symphonies performed by Minnesota Orchestra & Osmo Vänskä (5 CDs). I’ve got several interpretations of these symphonies already, including the famous recording of the 5th with the late Carlos Kleiber. But this set of recordings was highly recommended on Amazon, and WOW they didn’t disappoint. Amazing lower strings section.
Brahms’ Serenades (2 CDs) performed by the Dresdner Philharmonic & Heinz Bongartz. These are some of the composer’s most lyrical compositions, but the audio quality was awful with distortion at the high frequencies. Didn’t listen to it more than once.
Mozart’s Piano Variations (3 CDs) performed by Francesco Nicolosi. I haven’t heard these works before but hey it’s Mozart.
Mozart’s ‘Die Zauberflote‘ (2 CDs) performed by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by octogenarian Sir Charles Mackerras. My, dunno, fifth recording of this opera…?
Handel’s Organ Concertos (4 CDs) performed by Thüringisches Kammerorchester Weimar & Johannes-Ernst Köhler. I think I’ve got an older analog collection of these recordings on Decca CD somewhere. These are new and modern recordings with all the benefits of newer sound technology.
Joplin’s Piano Rags. Joplin’s most famous for The Entertainer, a piece that just about every grade VI+ piano learner will play, but he wrote several dozen other similar rags too.
There’s also an assortment of other works; choral selections from Handel’s oratorios (other than ‘Messiah’ LOL), half a dozen of Bach’s cantatas, the lesser known W. F. Bach’s symphonies, trombone concertos, more piano sonatas by Haydn, overtures by Weber etc.
Totaled together there’s about 40 hours of music. At times like these I wish I had two or three pairs of ears so I can finish listening to all of them before the next 20th of the month comes along again.:)
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