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German Requiem
Posted by Terence on March 16, 2025, 2:57 pm
Like Mr Quinn, I have loved the Requiem for decades. I have maybe 50 recordings, but none matches Karajan's. Nothing, no one, beats Janowitz, and her contribution is a miracle. But HvK detail and musicality is, to my mind, better than any other. The one thing I don't like, and why I keep buying others, is the recorded sound: I wish it could be cleaned up, more focused, less brittle. Oddly, the only version that I've really liked recently is Beringer conducting Banse/Genz and the Windsbacher Boys. The soloists are very very good; the pacing and sound excellent; and the boys musical and committed.
Re: German Requiem
Posted by Steve Luciani on March 16, 2025, 6:08 pm, in reply to "German Requiem"
My favorite is the live Previn/LSO recording. I find Previn's tempi and phrasing to be beautifully judged.
Previous Message
Like Mr Quinn, I have loved the Requiem for decades. I have maybe 50 recordings, but none matches Karajan's. Nothing, no one, beats Janowitz, and her contribution is a miracle. But HvK detail and musicality is, to my mind, better than any other. The one thing I don't like, and why I keep buying others, is the recorded sound: I wish it could be cleaned up, more focused, less brittle. Oddly, the only version that I've really liked recently is Beringer conducting Banse/Genz and the Windsbacher Boys. The soloists are very very good; the pacing and sound excellent; and the boys musical and committed.
Re: German Requiem
Posted by Steve Luciani on March 17, 2025, 1:32 pm, in reply to "German Requiem"
If anyone is a fan of the 1948 Furtwangler/Stockholm performance, you might want to audition the version streaming on YouTube's Private Reserve channel.
I had to raise the volume a bit higher than I normally do, but once I got it right, I found the sound to be superb. Unlike other restorations I compared it to, the chorus here doesn't sound muffled or distorted and the balance between it and the orchestra (especially the woodwinds) seems to be ideal.
Previous Message
Like Mr Quinn, I have loved the Requiem for decades. I have maybe 50 recordings, but none matches Karajan's. Nothing, no one, beats Janowitz, and her contribution is a miracle. But HvK detail and musicality is, to my mind, better than any other. The one thing I don't like, and why I keep buying others, is the recorded sound: I wish it could be cleaned up, more focused, less brittle. Oddly, the only version that I've really liked recently is Beringer conducting Banse/Genz and the Windsbacher Boys. The soloists are very very good; the pacing and sound excellent; and the boys musical and committed.
Previous Message