Recent content by Webern

It's not so much classical crossover as a genre, but the mis-labelling of crossover artists as classical (step forward Katherine Jenkins). Having just seen the list of attendees/award winners at the so-called Classic Brits 2018, there they are: the usual suspects. With a few honourable...

There were some discussions a while back about the Chromecast Audio and I mentioned its lack of gapless playback with Qobuz. Well I took a smallish plunge and ordered a D-Stream WR100D receiver/streamer and I can report that it works pretty well. For those unfamiliar with this device (there is...

First player was a Marantz but I can't recall the exact model. I had already bought a handful of CDs which I can remember! Bach Brandenburgs, violin and keyboard concertos Pinnock/English Concert Schubert song recital Elly Ameling Stravinsky Rite of Spring Bernard Haitink The Bach especially...

+1 for all of that. I loved my old classical LPs and I sometimes miss having the big sleeve notes, but there is no way I would ever go back to them from CD. I have CDs from the 1980s that still play perfectly and sound as fresh as ever.

Hm yes £10.99 is a bit steep for lossy. I think Presto Classics may offer it as a FLAC download for similar money, but anyway, what a classic recording, and just seeing that cover reminds me of the original lp. They don't make them like that any more! (well not so many).

Probably my CD of the year so far is '1948' by cellist Laura van der Heijden and pianist Petr Limonov. I like albums with a theme or concept, this one has the intriguing idea of exploring works written in the wake of the Zhdanov decree, in Stalinist Soviet Union. If that sounds like a bit of a...

Much as I still like my CDs, I think I might have been tempted to buy the download and print my own CD cover artwork!

I still buy and listen to CDs but use Qobuz to listen to new recordings. Classical is my passion, but It's also great to be able to read a recommendation for a folk/pop album on this forum and be streaming it two minutes later. Before streaming I just wouldn't have taken the risk of paying for a...

My amp has a default volume of 65 which I find absurdly loud - not ear-splitting but enough to make me jump. The max is 99 - I believe every 9 higher means twice as loud. We have minor power cuts quite often as we live a bit off the beaten track, so it returns to default quite a lot and it...

I listened to the Prokofiev CD yesterday on Qobuz and enjoyed it very much. It's good to see fine new versions being released of these concertos, and in great recorded sound. The fillers were interesting too. Pedro I am very envious of the Trifonov recital. He's someone I haven't managed to get...

That's a major +1 from me!

if there is one piece of music (well, four really) that is almost guaranteed to leave me moist-eyed, it has to be Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs. They have a powerfully moving combination of bitter-sweet nostalgia and aching sadness at the approaching end of life. I once heard them...

Most of my listening is classical music. Streaming represents a particular problem for the excellent smaller independent labels who finance their own new recordings. There's an interesting article from Gramophone magazine that puts the problem into stark relief...

I think the NAD 3020 should definitely be on the all-time list. A true classic, and a gateway into the world of hifi for many including me. I wish I hadn't sold mine. Even if I didn't stll use it somewhere in the house it would be nice to look at such an iconic design. It sounded okay too and...

So glad to hear that you are enjoying this wonderful music. They have a joyous way with Smetana and Dvorak, with vibrato kept under control at all times. They have spoken about playing in an almost jazz idiom - emulating the freedom of jazz musicians, and I think that comes across. Their playing...