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ancientdude

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Posts posted by ancientdude

    Classical music

    in 2-Channel Home Audio

    Posted

    Some particular pieces that you want to listen to by any pianist:

    Rachmaninoff's prelude in G-minor

    Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody's (Cziffra, the most amazing Liszt player...Or trancsedental piano player, EVER)

    You should all buy this CD right now: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005AVML/002-2125899-5305618?v=glance&n=5174

    Listen to the 2nd and 6th Rhapsody. The rest you really have to know the pieces to appreciate them.

    Look for the Spanish Rhapsody by Franz Liszt: by any pianist, in particular: Evgenny Kissin and Claudio Arrau.

    Liszt's Dante Sonata: I heard this in concert by some virtually "unknown pianist" and it was still amazing!

    Chopin's 2nd Scherzo in D-Flat (Opus 31)

    Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto Played by Van Cliburn

    Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture - Telerac (Everyone knows that!)

    Sebastian

    Classical music

    in 2-Channel Home Audio

    Posted

    OK, see that gives me a place to start -

    Try these on for size - Look for some Debussy, say "Clair De Lune" and the like, also look for R. Vaughn Williams, I think you would really like it.

    I have never been a huge fan of Camille - maybe just my classical versus romantic leanings...

    DMan, my wife plays the piano, has since 3, and can play a mean Rachmaninoff, which also happens to be one of my favorites - get a copy of Horowitz playign the Rach 2, and you will never listen to another recording of it, I promise. Then again, being from Ft. Worth, the ol vampire Van Cliburn makes a passable Rachmaninoff too!

    LarryC - Love Wagner, can't get enough - but my butt is getting too old to take the marathon 6 hour operas anymore - once saw the whole ring cycle over a week...man that was good stuff! I have a few Wagner interludes and prelude compilations, but they are mainly "Valkyrie" aka Apocalyse now mass consumption discs, made by Szell and Cleveland I beleive, but I have not found any that are worth a damn since then...

    Just so much good stuff, so very little time...

    K

    I really think that you mean Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.3 (Opus 30 vs. Opus 18). Do not mix these two pieces, both are amazing but the 3rd is just phenomenal! And I honestly do not recall any famous recordings on the 2nd piano concerto by either Horowitz Or Cliburn.

    There are three different recordings of this particular piano concerto by Vladimir Horowitz: get the last one that I think was recorded in Carnegie hall in 198x. Also check the Ormandy/Horowitz from 1953 (I believe). You are right in saying that Van Cliburn makes an excellent performance of it...but you should also check the following pianists:

    Martha Argerich...ridiculously fast playing, it will give you shivers,

    Maurizio Polini...cold pianist but so precise that its mind-blowing

    Vladimir Ashkenazy...a bit on the slow side but the recordings will pin you to the seat.

    Note for the Polini and Ashkenazy recordings: they both do the optional (Ozzia) part in the first movement as opposed to Argerich's and Horowitz's "regular". So listen to at least one of each...you will definately hear the difference.

    For more piano recordings you cannot overlook the following:

    Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff...amazing!

    Evgenny Kissin at Carnegie Hall, he plays some amazing Chopin.

    Maurizio Pollini's Polanises' from Chopin, the best out there (deutsche gramaphone), I own it on vynil and cd.

    Beethoven's Piano Sonatas: Check out his 29th Piano Sonata entitled the Hammerklavier, a definite and amazing piece (the 4/5 voices that come out in the first movement sound like there are 4 hands playing!) Alfred Brendel does a decent job at this.

    Check out Vladimir Horowitz's transcription of Liszt 2nd Rhapsody, along with Arcadi Volodo's by ear transcription of Horowitz's' (Released by sony). If you have heard the original piece, you will understand!

    And the list goes on...

    Denon Amp Info

    in 2-Channel Home Audio

    Posted

    I am having a hard time finding any information about this amp/preamp on the web. Someone local has it but I am really unsure what to offer.
    Its from the 70's...apperantly and I am sure someone has some information they could give me.

    Thank you in advance!


    Denon Sub Amp - PRA-1100

    Denon Amp - POA-2200

    Worth/value...any information would be appreciated!

    RF7s vs the RF83s: what do you all think?

    in Home Theater

    Posted

    Here we go

    "Seems there is quite a bit of confusion over the RB-75 and RB-81. Let me try to illuminate.

    There is no replacement in the new Reference line for the RB-75. That speaker was our effort to provide RF-7-like performance in a bookshelf package. It's a great bookshelf speaker and has the 1.75" compression driver that only the RF-7 and RC-7 shared with it. Very expensive driver and definitely overkill in the bookshelf model where we had to attenuate it to avoid outrunning the woofer output. After all, it was able to (more than) keep up with two 10" woofers in the RF-7.

    The RB-81 is the replacement for the RB-35; not for the RB-75. The RB-81 has a 1" compression driver that is an upgrade over the RB-35 driver. It is not competition for the RB-75 driver nor for the new 1.25" compression driver in RF-83, RF-63 and RC-64. That new driver is much like the RF-7 driver though its smaller size allows it superior HF extension and pushes the break-up distortion mode further beyond 20kHz.

    If you want performance like the RB-75, you'll need to find RB-75's. RB-81 is a very nice speaker but it's no RB-75. "

    La-Scalas are in the house

    in 2-Channel Home Audio

    Posted

    First: To any man that is married that owns these, compliments to your wife. These things are freaking huge! (Thankfully I am still single but I know that my girlfriend would never appreciate these...).

    2. These are LS-BR - serial numbers: 8705896 and 8705903 (does it matter that they are not consecutive? what does that mean?) (from 1987, I presume?)

    Type AL crossovers. Any good?

    Even though I bought these at a fair price from the first owner, I still feel like I have taken someones pride and joy away! So emotional right now...haha, can speakers do that to you?

    Yes, the thread is worthless withou pictures...to come!

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