The Lindsays' enviable reputation owes much to their authoritative recordings of the ... more
complete quartets of three composers: Haydn, Beethoven and Bartok. Their recordings of the quartets of Haydn stand out in particular, setting completely new standards....
The Lindsays are unstoppable, combining busy concert schedules with a ceaseless stream of ... more
recordings: Haydn: String Quartets Op.64 Nos 1, 2 and 3 brings them one step closer to a complete collection by this master. If you like your Haydn immaculately polished, the Emerson Quartet will fit your bill better. But if you prefer your Haydn chamber music to be redolent of the country where it was first conceived and performed, the Lindsays are your bag. There are moments in these new recordings where you can almost imagine the mud on the players' boots, so strongly rooted is their timbre. Their minuets have gusto, their prestos hurtle and when Haydn demands high seriousness they deliver that in spades. Moreover, when the score calls for breath to be held, and for long lines of slow melody to sound, the Lindsays obey with delicate plangency. There are many moments to savour here, from the surprises in the minuet of the third quartet, to the way the colour changes form from bar to bar--like clouds chasing each other across the sky--in the opening movement of the second. --Michael Church
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Haydn is the perfect pick-me-up, especially in the hands of dedicated enthusiasts such as ... more
The Lindsays. The wit, sparkle and humour are all infectiously conveyed with that familiar keen rhythmic sense (although the players now and then press ahead perhaps a shade too much in both fast and slow music). But as these readings make clear, we ignore the soul-searching side to Haydn's personality at our peril--witness the dramatic Adagio of Op.64 No.6, for example. It was commonplace at one time to hear statements to the effect that The Lindsays never let the search for technical perfection get in the way of the music. That may be true, but this disc is yet further evidence, if we needed it, of the quartet's consummate dexterity, indeed, it's the ability to retain the eye for detail while travelling at speed which sticks in the mind. As ever, first violin Peter Cropper is eloquence itself. The excellent recorded sound is warm, detailed and spacious. And compared with the Emerson Quartet's contemporary recording of Op.64 No.5? Fine though that is, when it comes to conveying the humanity in this music, The Lindsays are ahead--and with better sound. --Andrew Green
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Advantages: Perfect performances, funny in the right places, genuinely heartfelt effort. Disadvantages: Not for thos who prefer Eels the rock band
, on with the review.
The tour previous to this one had been a dark, heavy and manic. Mark Everett decided it would be interesting to see what would happen if the traditional rock band layout was replaced with a stringquartet, and then having different instruments placed around them. You will see in this DVD, the use of an auto harp, a double bass, piano, toy piano, melodica, slide guitar, a vibrator covered in tinfoil (I?m not joking either) and a drum kit composed of two bins and a suitcase. Everybody is very smartly dressed, and it all screams at you, from every conceivable angle, that this is designed to be a gentleman's evening and not a heavy metal concert.
This presents something of a watershed concept to be honest. For fans whose vocabulary is limited to the words "Dude", "Hardcore", "You sold out man!" and "Wooooooo!", this will go ...
Advantages: Excellent backing tracks, competent vocals, a couple of strong pop hits Disadvantages: Not much in the way of soul, some dull tracks, all rather dated now
mind that in 1972 "The Black & White Minstrel Show" was still one of the top rated TV shows, which tells you something about the era.
The Pearls were signed to the Bell label ? which had some hugely popular acts on their roster including the Bay City Rollers, Barry Blue, David Cassidy and Gary Glitter. The UK arm of the label focused mainly on commercial pop and the Pearls fitted into this perfectly. Interestingly the US arm tended to focus more on soul music.
A String of Pearls
Going back to my dad?s old Sanyo radio cassette recorder there was a song which was oft played by myself back in 1974 called ?Guilty?. Performed by the Pearls I loved it and have vague recollections of a Top of the Pops performance which incorporated judges? wigs. I have hunted high and low for this clip on the internet and sadly can only conclude it was ...
Advantages: The writing, the setting, the music Disadvantages: The characters are not sow ell defined or likable
I bought this book, An Equal Music by Vikram Seth, for the grand sum of one penny on the basis of a review written by Floon. I was enchanted by his description of the storyline and the author?s writing style. I was not disappointed.
The author, Vikram Seth states, in an author?s note located on the last page of the book, that, ?Music to me is dearer even than speech?. To convey this, he focuses his novel on the world of music and its performance.
The central character, Michael Holme, is the second violinist in a London-based stringquartet. His life has settled somewhat into a rut. He plays his violin; teaches the violin; makes love to one of his students, Virginie; rings his father; all as a matter of routine.
His comfortable lifestyle is suddenly disturbed by a series of events each connected and occurring in parallel ...
![Haydn: String Quartets [DVD] [2004]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78492076.jpg)
