Thread: What To Record?

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Post by Lochiel October 23, 2015 (1 of 23)
Recently, there was a thread discussing a new release of Mahler's first Symphony in terms of it's non-neededness. There have also been a plethora of new Sibelius cycles released in the last few weeks. In addition, more Shostakovich, etc., etc.

My question to this forum: Is there anything in the classical repetoire for which we (the collective listening community) desperately need a new recording? Or has the classical music industry and audience reached a saturation point? Do we have Mahler or Shostakovich "fatigue"? If so, what must be said about Beethoven and Brahms? Should there be fewer recordings to create "scarcity" in the marketplace? In short, does anyone have anything new to say about any work or has it all been said before?

Post by hiredfox October 24, 2015 (2 of 23)
Lochiel said:

Recently, there was a thread discussing a new release of Mahler's first Symphony in terms of it's non-neededness. There have also been a plethora of new Sibelius cycles released in the last few weeks. In addition, more Shostakovich, etc., etc.

My question to this forum: Is there anything in the classical repetoire for which we (the collective listening community) desperately need a new recording? Or has the classical music industry and audience reached a saturation point? Do we have Mahler or Shostakovich "fatigue"? If so, what must be said about Beethoven and Brahms? Should there be fewer recordings to create "scarcity" in the marketplace? In short, does anyone have anything new to say about any work or has it all been said before?

It is not necessarily a bad thing to have new multiple recordings of everything in the repertory as - if nothing else - it proves there is a healthy appetite amongst ensembles and audiences for classical music even today and the recording companies are responding to that.

It is also good that many of the recordings are genuinely new and can provide fresh insights into very familiar works. What is less good in my opinion is the proportion of re-issues masquerading as re-masterings that are included in the total number of new SACD launched man of which add nothing to our musical or aural experiences.

Post by Iain October 24, 2015 (3 of 23)
hiredfox said:

It is not necessarily a bad thing to have new multiple recordings of everything in the repertory as - if nothing else - it proves there is a healthy appetite amongst ensembles and audiences for classical music even today and the recording companies are responding to that.

It is also good that many of the recordings are genuinely new and can provide fresh insights into very familiar works. ...

Quite right, that.

I thought I had heard it all until I discovered these labels:
http://www.channelclassics.com/

http://www.sfsymphony.org/

https://www.kairos-music.com/

http://www.myriosmusic.com/

http://www.ars-produktion.de/

http://www.cybele.de/

These labels issue primarily new and progressive recordings on SA-CD. What you won't get from them are the time-worn and stale repertoire. They are truly a breath of fresh air in a dingy room.

Post by diw October 24, 2015 (4 of 23)
Lochiel said:

My question to this forum: Is there anything in the classical repetoire for which we (the collective listening community) desperately need a new recording?

I think you have to start by assuming that releasing a work on SACD in and of itself has added value. Otherwise you are comparing new releases against the entirety of recorded classical music.

If you accept this premise, then there is an old thread on "repertoire gaps" which discusses fairly major works that have not been recorded for and released on SACD. I periodically update and revive the thread in the hopes that some label will notice the gaps and address them. Perhaps I will revive it again soon.

Post by Ubertrout October 24, 2015 (5 of 23)
I don't know if I agree with Iain's list - while there have been many good recordings from these labels, I don't think that they necessarily distinguish themselves from other labels by repertory selection.

There are a number of reasons to listen to a record (broadly defined). They include:

* Recording Quality (stereo or multichannel), especially compared to competitors
* Unique Repertory
* Unique interpretation
* Quality of performance
* Sheer enjoyability

I think the comments on the Ondine Mahler, from those including myself, were that it didn't seem likely to stand out in any of these categories. We have many recordings of the Mahler 1 in excellent sound, from superior ensembles and conductors. There seems to have been a large number of live recordings of mid-level European orchestras playing the Mahler symphonies on SACD, and it's going to take more than that to excite me.

I think we've gotten enough Mahler, but a first-rate performance of his work will always be of interest to me. I think we probably have enough of the Beethoven Symphonies as well, with the same caveat. It feels like we've gotten a lot of Bruckner on SACD as well. We don't need more versions of these works on SACD unless they're exceptional.

Post by wehecht October 25, 2015 (6 of 23)
diw said:

I think you have to start by assuming that releasing a work on SACD in and of itself has added value.

If you accept this premise, then there is an old thread on "repertoire gaps" which discusses fairly major works that have not been recorded for and released on SACD.

For multichannel listeners the premise is obviously correct, at least until saturation point has been reached. Since many of us are "collectors" the saturation point with Beethoven or Mahler symphonies may be pretty high. The thing that frustrates me is how much repertoire remains unavailable on sacd. For pete's sake we have way fewer than half the Haydn symphonies! And while several labels have done rather well by Scandinavian composers of the last century, British and American composers have been virtually ignored. One of the few exceptions has been Elgar, but we still don't have a cello concerto in genuine multichannel even though it's been requested numerous times in various threads. And still the Mahler, and the Beethoven, and the Bruckner come in their seemingly endless line, presumably for sale to the patrons of orchestras in Finland and Utah.

Post by diw October 25, 2015 (7 of 23)
wehecht said:

For pete's sake we have way fewer than half the Haydn symphonies! And while several labels have done rather well by Scandinavian composers of the last century, British and American composers have been virtually ignored. One of the few exceptions has been Elgar, but we still don't have a cello concerto in genuine multichannel even though it's been requested numerous times in various threads.

I agree with all of these. I emailed ARS and suggested they now move from the Haydn London Symphonies to the Paris Symphonies.

Post by hiredfox October 26, 2015 (8 of 23)
diw said:

I agree with all of these. I emailed ARS and suggested they now move from the Haydn London Symphonies to the Paris Symphonies.

I hope they will. Please keep us posted. If you have not heard it yet try Ticciati's "Clock". An absolute knock-out and if he starts a survey who knows what may come of it.

Post by wehecht October 26, 2015 (9 of 23)
hiredfox said:

I hope they will. Please keep us posted. If you have not heard it yet try Ticciati's "Clock". An absolute knock-out and if he starts a survey who knows what may come of it.

The Ticciati disc is a stunner, too bad two of the three symphonies are among those already on sacd. I'll certainly be among the first in line for any others he chooses to record.

And thank you, David, for contacting Ars, although considering the pace of releases in the London set, Paris might take another two years. Since the Paris set was conceived with a very large orchestra in mind I've always thought they present a wonderful opportunity for Ivan Fischer to plow a different furrow in the Austro-German field that he seems determined to remain stuck in.

Post by audioholik October 26, 2015 (10 of 23)
Lochiel said:

My question to this forum: Is there anything in the classical repetoire for which we (the collective listening community) desperately need a new recording? Or has the classical music industry and audience reached a saturation point?

Perhaps we should also be asking: are there any new composers who have something new to say in this music genre, or is classical music basically dead, as far as new music is concerned?

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