Classical sacd round up part 4 - the Beethoven edition

As readers are aware I bought last year a Super Audio cd player that plays those discs in addition to regular cds and I have been buying a number to add to my classical cd collection that goes back to the early days of cd.
Beethoven is a major composer and so a set on super audio cd of his symphonies was something I had been looking for.

This set is one I am familiar with as it was issued for the first time on cd in 1991 and I bought it in early 1992 during one lunch break putting it out of harms way until I got home
If you look the sticker indicates like most for Europe discs, it has a ordinary layer and the super audio cd layer on the one side so it can be played on practically any player

 There are six super audio cds in the set with two symphonies per disc on four and a bonus disc that has some thirty minutes of rehearsals for the Ninth

As you can see although this is called a box set apart from that bonus disc really all you get is a short booklet outlining the history of Herbert von Karajan's Beethoven symphonies recordings for DG is a slip case as the discs are otherwise identical to the originally released individual ones and just fit in.
There's no attempt to put them in as the 1991 mauve cd box set into space saving multi cd cases or of the use of card or paper sleeves.
The recordings date from 1961 through 1962 and were issued in early 1963 on stereo lp records and was the first stereophonic series issued by DG.
One reason I bought this is I am less taken to the combination of the use of replica original instruments  the sounds some of which I'm not keen on and of the tendency to play it faster and often less consideration than traditionally had been the case which is very much the current flavour in performed and recorded  classical music.
In general I would say these remain amongst the most consistent sets of Beethoven symphonies recorded with the Ninth being one of the finest I've ever heard for the singing of the Ode To Joy with only the Sixth, the Pastoral a little fast in playing although I feel it does hold together well even if it is different to most.
The recording quality for the period is very high and unlike a good number of modern recordings where lots of microphones are used and fed to multi-channel recorders before being mixed, this was done with simple stereo pair with just the odd 'spot mic' to aid the odd section of the orchestra which captures the scale of performance better in my opinion.

To go with this set, I needed some Overtures that traditionally were added to the lp record versions and so I bought this modern set played by the Bremen Chamber Orchestra that also has a multichannel sound layer as well as stereo.

 Around the mid 1990's the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra began a project of recording a collection of central classical repertoire at low cost enabling people to build a useful self contained collection that would aid musical appreciation.
At the time they were issued in conjunction with Tring records on regular cds a good number being well worth owning which I bought at the time but they were recorded at better than regular cd quality using the dsd technology used by super audio cds and briefly issued on sacd in association with Membran Records.
One of the discoveries of that era was the Manchester, England born pianist Ronan O'Hora and he recorded a superb account of Beethoven's Violin Sonatas 5 "Spring" and 9 "Krutzer"  with the violinist Jonathan Carney. It sounds really smooth .
That title was one re-issued on sacd around 2005 which I recently bought  to join my increasing number of classical recordings in this format.
When it comes to recordings of Beethoven' piano works I'm generally in the camp that prefers Wilhelm Kempffs recordings including his 1965 stereo piano concerto cycle but these have not been issued on sacd for North America and Euope. Indeed titles from Deutsche  Grammophon usually only show up as very limited releases in Japan with large price tags.

 One recording I did like of the Fifth piano Concerto growing up was Christoph Eschenbach's 1973 account with the Boston Symphony Orchestra which was recorded in four channel ("Quad") multichannel sound too  for DG and issued in late 2014 by PentaTone on sacd coupled with an account of the Third with the London Symphony Orchestra.
I decided to add this issue to my selection of Super Audio cds by this most important composer.

On the loss of a dear Aunt

Today's entry was not the planned one but as one increasingly realizes not every eventuality lends itself to such an approach not least anything involving people.
We received a telephone call on Wednesday from Mom's brother in law saying my Aunt who had been unwell for a period moving into a care home about five miles away for about eight months following a fall, showed that she wasn't really safe to be 'at home'  even with some supervision, had died having contracted pneumonia on New Years Day.
That didn't particularly surprise me as I had seen over a two year period when I visited her, a marked deterioration in her condition an her moving from limited informal oversight from family and neighbours to more formal careworkers coming in and a 'careline' being put in although she always looked after her personal hygiene and ate well.
My Aunt was one of the central characters in my life because I often visited her at least once a week if I was 'home' myself as it was a home from home where given the many issues and incidents on my weirdo family history that would break out. I go spending hours with talking about things as she'd try to settle me down from the drama around my home life having left often with a book, some money and my plushies.
She lived with her parents because she needed a some support although she worked for a good number of years at automotive factory locally until taking retirement and so that unit was in my ways an alternate family for me that did accept what we know would see as a more child-like regressive side from my teens and older.
They also spend a lot of time talking to me about pasts, my families pasts, their pasts and how we ended up where we did encouraging me to talk more about what was was on my mind and why it was troubling me.
This was a link I kept up for a very long time so outside of my regular at least once weekly  visits I go with Mom around birthdays and Christmas, chatting along the way with her neighbours and indeed it did get to me this christmas past as it was a ritual I missed from the previous year.
The one thing I know is I'll miss her.

New Year thoughts

As I sit here typing my minds thoughts move toward what I and this blog have been doing and what we are so looking forward to from this New Year onward and I think I know how I'll begin this even if only directly applies to a section of my followers.
The life we lead as age regressors matters more than the labels, their definitions and what different groups may think of what words we use to describe this thing we do and what by extension a good portion of this blog talked about last year.
It's what you do for real that actually matters such as the various meet ups I attended out there in the real world and wrote about doing things together, forming friendships, exploring for yourself  what in age regression it is you love and having found out what you don't, respecting your friends who have different likes.
It's also the things you may do on your own  or share less in real space but in cyber-space because they feel right for you and no one online community such as on Tumblr owns you very own regression. Indeed the most they can say is 'don't post about this and this' in a community you've chosen to join with their name and tags on.
I dislike discourse with a passion but there have been some occasions last year on here I've just needed to say a few things because I firmly believe some of that drama we see in age regression on Tumblr is causing harm to those who do regress due to trauma and other conditions and disabilities.
Getting that out of the way, another good thing is to spend as much time outdoors as you can switching off from the online world and allowing yourself to be in the moment with nature whither or not you walk as I have started to do more of, learning to reflect and take comfort from the everyday stuff of life. It's not just mental resilience and healing it will help either but overall wellness even if you face heath or disability related limitations.
One thing I do write about here is things like colouring which can help with de-stressing and improving your co-ordination skills which if they are like mine, poor and with reading which can cover things around the age range you regress to for sheer enjoyment or if you like me you struggle with reading by carefully selecting more upper junior fiction that stretches your vocabulary help in learning to read more for information and picking more the feeling of characters in those stories. The books I wrote about last year fitted that definition to a tee.
You for me it'll be that I'll be doing this New Year, sharing it with you all here and for some fortunate folks even under the same roof together.
Happy New Year!

Christmas Edition

It's usual on this blog to write something around Christmas here because it for one thing it's a major childhood memory, it's almost as big on my age regressed side having that Christmas Eve anxiety at night thinking what I may be having and finally its two whole different days. A heady mixture, what?
I'm home with Mom and Grumpy and I can smell the Turkey cooking ready for Lunch with the turkey from Waitrose, Pigs in blankets made from independent butchers own bacon and sausages, fresh veg from de market in town as we visit our neighbours and having just opened my presents.

Fun that was a direct re-run from my actual childhood came from this annual with adventures from Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Mix and the Bash Street Kids plus a special annual of the Dandy featuring such favourites as Korky the kat, Desperate Dan and Beryl the Peril.

I had some money from Mom, one brother that were put toward some compact discs and a HMV voucher.

One you'll be hearing more about next year without a shadow of a doubt is this six super audio cd set of Beethoven's Symphonies, a sacd set of Sibelius Symphonies and Chopin Preludes sacd.
As well I had a scarf and blu rays of Back To The Future  together with the Karate Kid which were two of my favourite movies from the 80's as I slowly replace a few by the better looking blu ray versions.
I hope you had a super day with your gifts and toys but also with company too.
*Written on the Chromebook on Christmas Day!

Christmas paws edition

*** HAPPY CHRISTMAS FOLKS *** 

At this time of year it's usual for me to take a break from blogging, commenting on various websites not least Tumblr simply because there's that much at the face to face so-called real life level to be getting on with so that has really  to take priority in the build up to Christmas Day and  shortly afterward.
This year will be no different so I thought I'd let you know I'll be off for a period.
(((Hugs)))

The Brrr Edition

This weekend we had something like proper Winter weather sadly not Tundra but better than we've had for a bit which has helped taking my mind of discourse and drama elsewhere with temperatures blow - 2 degrees C (other measurements are available).
You could say those track pants I mentioned last week sure will come in handy trying to stay warm indoors and out.

Yes typical late 1960's site and road layouts abound here apart from having that sinking feeling while walking along the sidewalks not repaired since then(!) showing some of our snow fall.
Our woods are to the rear being between us and one of the two principal roads.

We shovelled some of the snow off but there's still some in the planters and pots

 "Brrr...It's brass monkey weather" our resident ape reckons who escaped from nearby Trentham, Staffs which like most of the county was well covered in it from the outskirts of Sedgley to the top of the Staffordshire Moorlands so he couldn't escape it even if he'd tried!
Another and most little appealing picture appeared during this period shown on the BBC and the Express & Star  newspaper on Friday of the Reindeer at Dudley Zoo out in the snow.

*Picture credits Express & Star
It's too late for a 2018 calendar for them  but I'd pick it for next years in a flash for December's picture.
Just keep warm folks!

Keeping warm

For a long time a staple of my more Tomboy look were lined tracksuit bottoms of the sort that was less overtly masculine with a very sporty feel to them but plainer fleece lined ones that for a period I wore a lot with baseball jackets.

 Just to annoy the brand loyalists I'm not simply because they tend to made from similar materials in the usual factory locations despite attempts to use 'sports science' to build up a strong sense of individual identity and unless you truly are using them in a professional sports context, you generally don't need that stuff anyway.
These area navy blue pair I recently  bought as I usually prefer to avoid baby pinks or white as they tend to show up marks and draw rather more attention to them than I'm comfortable with.
While non-brands can be cheap, I find the finish doesn't last as much.