User Details - peteyspambucket

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Name:
  Peter
Details:
  I'm a 40-something frequent live performance opera and symphony goer. More used to live sound. This makes me tend to dislike the recording medium in general, but I have, on rare occasions, found CDs and SACDs and vinyl to be quite notable. My reviews tend to come from a performance and interpretive perspective with a degree of sound quality criticism where it is compared to a live sound. I am someone who looks for integrity and excitement in interpretation, and transparency and clarity in recording quality. I have studied music and have hundreds of opera and symphonic printed scores, which is how I learn music. I own a huge collection of music recordings which I don't know what to do with because I am a voracious music consumer/listener. (I've started to sell them on Ebay, a local used CD store, etc.)
Location:
  New York, NY
HiFi:
  NAD Receiver, Sony DVP-NS685P SACD/DVD 5disk-Changer, Playstation 3, B&W DM220 (Front) Speakers, Sony rears, sub-woofer and center channels.
Email:
 
Web:
 
Posts:
  251

 
 
Reviews
Found: 55 show all

Verdi: Falstaff - Sir Colin Davis          (11 of 11 found this review helpful)
  September 27, 2005

I've had this set for almost a year at this point, and I've listened to it several times with very positive results each time. I'm listening to it again because I'll be seeing this opera a few times at the MET over the next month, and my interest was renewed. The strength of this performance is in ... more
Smetana: Ma Vlast - Susskind        (4 of 4 found this review helpful)
  September 1, 2005

I thoroughly enjoyed this performance! The music is played so lovingly and with attention to rhythm and inner harmonies. There are places that are faster or slower than others play it, but it's all done very convincingly and with feeling. The sound is crisp and clear, and very nicely balanced. The ... more
Richard Strauss: Music from Salome, Elektra - Borkh/Reiner        (10 of 14 found this review helpful)
  September 1, 2005

Once again, I will put myself out there and disagree with the praise-party for this SACD release. I have loved this recording since I was very young, and I learned Elektra and Salome with the help of these excerpts, as well as Borkh's complete recording of Elektra with Karl Bohm. The performances ... more
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 - Reiner        (10 of 18 found this review helpful)
  August 24, 2005

I know that this is not going to be a popular review, but I've listened carefully to this SACD about 10 times, and I have found it to be unrelentingly boring. From the tentative first bar to the final note of the last movement, I was wondering what qualities this recording has that makes it worthy ... more
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 - Abbado        (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
  July 15, 2005

I've always enjoyed Abbado's work with Mahler. I liked his old cycle, also on the DG label. This new recording with the BPO raises the bar of my admiration even more. The performance is idiomatic and very colorful. The details in the heavily orchestrated passages of the first and last movements are ... more

 
 
Latest Posts

Discussion: Tchaikovsky: Symphony "Manfred" - Macal
August 27, 2010
The best Manfred interpretation I have heard on recordings is the ancient version from the USSR Symphony with Yevgeny Svetlanov. Highly recommended! ... more
Discussion: Schoenberg: Gurrelieder - Esa-Pekka Salonen
February 8, 2010
I didn't enjoy this recording from a performance standpoint. Contrary to the official review, I would choose RBCD for this piece if I wanted to hear a good interpretation, and I would gladly sacrifice whatever SACD might add in sonics. In terms of Gurrelieder on SACD, I prefer the Gielen version over the Salonen. ... more
Discussion: Verdi: Requiem - Davis
January 28, 2010
I agree the orchestra played well on the recording. My problem was mostly with the choral style. ... more
Discussion: Verdi: Requiem - Davis
January 28, 2010
I just listened to this, and I can't believe how much the choral parts sound like Christmas music. This is not very a idiomatic performance at all. The chorus sings with a straight tone mostly (no vibrato) so it comes off sounding very dull, didactic, and perfunctory to my ears. To date, I think have 3 SACDs of Verdi Requiem (Giulini, Harnoncourt, ... more
Discussion: Richard Strauss: Alpine Symphony, Four Last Songs - Luisi
August 16, 2007
I think that on top of the obvious positive expectation of what Luisi usually does with Richard Strauss, the biggest draw on this is the contribution of Anja Harteros in Vier Letzte Lieder. I was lucky to catch her a few seasons ago at the MET where she did an amazing Marschallin that was detailed, lyrical, and powerful. She followed that run with ... more