Hi John, could you tell me your thoughts on Sollscher's DG version with the Orpheus CO? It's an introspective and ruminative version that suits the music well.
Hello! Sorry it takes me a while to reply these days. I agree with the words you use, introspective and ruminative, to describe Sollscher’s performance. I would also use the word restrained, although that is not a criticism. It is a lovely performance. For me, I prefer a bit more personality or you might say indulgence. But that is just my taste. Sollscher and the Orpheus play beautifully, no doubt about it.
Don’t despair. I listened to it again. Barrueco is wonderful in the Adagio, and Domingo/Philharmonia shine in that movement. The performance is above average overall in my estimation, although I sense the guitar is somewhat too distantly placed in the picture. The orchestra is a bit over-reverberant at times, with some of the solo instruments in the Adagio too far back. Still, the recording deserves a mention. Look for an update.
Hi John. The second recording of Romero and Marriner of this piece and remains still the best for me too. Among the different versions of Williams I prefer the one with Fremaux and I would have also reported Bream/Gardiner and Barrueco/Domingo interpretations but, as always, your list is very satisfying. I have to investigate the Ogden and Denoth versions that I don't know, thank you very much
Thank you Luca, much appreciated. I am probably going to edit the post to add the Barrueco/Domingo recording, the Adagio is especially wonderful. In fact it is a great performance, although I find the guitar is too far back in the sound picture and the orchestral sound is not well balanced. Some of the solo instruments in the Adagio feel too far back. I haven’t listened to the Bream/Gardiner since I did the Desert Island Rodrigo post in summer 2023. So I may listen to that one again as well. Thanks again!
Hi John, could you tell me your thoughts on Sollscher's DG version with the Orpheus CO? It's an introspective and ruminative version that suits the music well.
Hello! Sorry it takes me a while to reply these days. I agree with the words you use, introspective and ruminative, to describe Sollscher’s performance. I would also use the word restrained, although that is not a criticism. It is a lovely performance. For me, I prefer a bit more personality or you might say indulgence. But that is just my taste. Sollscher and the Orpheus play beautifully, no doubt about it.
Barrueco/Domingo is my favorite of all recordings. I noticed it wasn't even listed. So sad.
Don’t despair. I listened to it again. Barrueco is wonderful in the Adagio, and Domingo/Philharmonia shine in that movement. The performance is above average overall in my estimation, although I sense the guitar is somewhat too distantly placed in the picture. The orchestra is a bit over-reverberant at times, with some of the solo instruments in the Adagio too far back. Still, the recording deserves a mention. Look for an update.
Hi John. The second recording of Romero and Marriner of this piece and remains still the best for me too. Among the different versions of Williams I prefer the one with Fremaux and I would have also reported Bream/Gardiner and Barrueco/Domingo interpretations but, as always, your list is very satisfying. I have to investigate the Ogden and Denoth versions that I don't know, thank you very much
Thank you Luca, much appreciated. I am probably going to edit the post to add the Barrueco/Domingo recording, the Adagio is especially wonderful. In fact it is a great performance, although I find the guitar is too far back in the sound picture and the orchestral sound is not well balanced. Some of the solo instruments in the Adagio feel too far back. I haven’t listened to the Bream/Gardiner since I did the Desert Island Rodrigo post in summer 2023. So I may listen to that one again as well. Thanks again!