T.D.

Yes...(good grief!)

This is probably much too easy, but the thread's been quiet for a while...

Another classical recording (sorry for OT) with anti-aircraft fire: Walter Gieseking's 1944 "Emperor" concerto

I'll have to review this when I get home, but I could swear that Hampton Hawes's All Night Session! 1 has a section where the engineers (I assume) are having a conversation (about football iirc). I'll try and confirm...I've heard it more than once, but it could possibly be disc #3; I don't own #2. OT, but there's an old EMI classical recording of Wanda Landowska playing a Scarlatti sonata on harpsichord, recorded in Paris during World War II, in which bombs or artillery fire can be heard in the background.

Wendie Malick?

I'm probably just a dumb-ass, but it's hard for me to imagine the J-E-T-S signing Asomugha. A huge part of the payroll would then be devoted to the cornerback position (with him and Revis). I'm inclined to agree re. Haynesworth.

Well, the Pats are making it interesting with deals for Ochocinco and Haynesworth. In the old days, I'd have expected Conn to chime in on such transactions...

Owners have all the leverage in these pro sports strikes. Over the years, I've drifted away from pro football, and now find it almost impossible to watch the games (granted, I don't watch TV at all any more). There's under 10 minutes (I read 9:45 somewhere) of actual play in a 3-1/2 hour broadcast, and I don't care for the way games are telecast (how many moronic beer and car commercials can one possibly stomach?). You all can have it. I do follow the NY Jints via print/Internet, though. Used to live and die with the NHL, but after the big '04-'05 lockout I realized I could live without it.

Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to deal with those... I just let them be. Still a big space savings from dropping jewel boxes.

Yeah, I'm a convert to those. Huge space savings. It's not quite as easy to find things on the shelves, but you can read the tray card labels by riffling the sleeves on the shelves. If the discs are alphabetized or otherwise pre-organized, it's not that difficult.

Ouch! In addition to the insane training/fitness requirements, it takes a lot of courage to be a pro cyclist! Bravo to Evans, btw.

That's my take on things as well. Should still be very interesting! Evans needs 57 seconds, and I'd ordinarily expect him to gain 1 minute easy (both Schlecks looked awful in the early TTT), but: (a) Andy S. may get a psychological kick from the yellow jersey; (b) Evans didn't overwhelm in the 2008 TDF Stage 20 and 2010 Giro Stage 21 ITTs (granted, the latter was kind of short). I'll still pick Evans. He seems a stronger and more aggressive rider since winning the World Ch. in 2009 (though his public and media presence is far from lovable...).

Very exciting today, and surprising as well. Schlecks had been very timid (almost comically so), but Andy threw down big-time on the last 2 climbs. I was shocked that he managed to expand his lead on the big descent, after the prior two days' downhill follies. Voeckler amazed by hanging in there, but between Alpe d'Huez and the ITT, I don't believe he can survive (would love to see it, though!). Evans still looks like the favorite, since I think he can easily take back 1+ minute in the ITT. The Schleck bros. will have to attack again tomorrow, so there should be more fireworks. Contador and Sanchez both showed that this year's Giro d'Italia was too tough to attempt a Giro-TDF double.

I just ordered one CD of Maria Tipo playing Scarlatti, and one of Clara Haskil playing Mozart Schubert and Scarlatti, both on piano. Will pass on opinions, maybe not for a few weeks (Berkshire isn't real fast). The Zacharias set isn't available cheaply, except used from European Amazon sellers, and I'm not sure about shipping to USA. I listened to Pogorelich samples (granted that's not totally reliable) and wasn't blown away, though I do want to hear him eventually. [Added] Berkshire made their fastest-ever delivery, faster than Amazon (I live just over 100 mi. away, but delivery can be up to 4 weeks). So far have been listening to the Haskil CD of Scarlatti and Schubert on Archipel: Excellent! Sound quality is not good, but is less bothersome on the Scarlatti sonatas than on D.960 (which has much greater dynamic range, more distortion). Have removed the big (17-CD) Haskil box from consideration: if I order any EMI mega-box it'll be David Oistrakh (a lot less duplication of music I already have on recording). Can't yet comment on Maria Tipo, though I enjoy the Bach I've listened to so far.

Thanks, I was being a little sarcastic. Read those Amazon reviews, and also researched on r.m.c.r. (Google Groups archives). Tipo's often been recommended to me over the years (with the "idiosyncratic" proviso), but I never got around to her recordings. I listened to the Amazon samples and was very impressed by her Goldbergs. I also threw a disc of Tipo's Scarlatti (and one of Haskil's Mozart/Scarlatti) in the order.

I'm about to order a 5-CD set of Maria Tipo playing Bach from Berkshire Record Outlet. This will probably get me bashed by the cognoscenti , but I listen to a lot of Bach on piano and don't mind mixing in some "eccentric" interpretations...

I'm not a Naxos enthusiast (so shoot me... ), but Konstantin Scherbakov's Naxos recording of Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues was excellent, so I'd expect his volume to merit hearing.

All the best, Tom! :party:

Thanks. I have a CD with Hantai's Goldberg Variations, so would be inclined to look there for harpsichord. Have been enjoying lots of Zacharias's EMI recordings: Mozart sonatas (excellent), Mozart piano cti (very good, perhaps a touch "middle of the road", which I don't mind) and Schubert sonatas (excellent as far as I can tell, though I'm still getting used to Schubert). He's my first inclination; I'm only hesitating for reasons of "diversification"... Interesting re. Haskil. I'm already considering her set for the CDs with Grumiaux playing Beethoven and Mozart violin sonatas (I already own one of the two Mozart discs), but the 17 disc volume has so far scared me away.

Can anyone recommend recordings of D. Scarlatti keyboard sonatas? I'd prefer piano recordings, but would consider harpsichord. Interested in a few discs, not in mega "complete" collections. I know there are quite a few excellent recordings out there, currently have about a half CD performed by Michelangeli. My "no-brainer" instinct is to start with Horowitz; also considering Zacharias, Tipo, more ABM; not sure Pletnev would be my cup of tea. Thanks.

Utter bullshit. Taxpayer winds up paying for ambulances and medical care for the helmetless crashers. Typical neocon garbage.

Well, having closed the Drury era, the Ranger$ went out and spent lavishly on Brad Richards. Something tells me that deal will also come to an early and regrettable end... Have to agree on Jagr, $3.3 million seems a lot, and I don't expect much out of him. Looking at the big free-agent signings, many commentators are talking about such things as "insanity" and "irrational exuberance". Maybe the Red Wings didn't do so badly by staying quiet.

Here's a weird item (What? Weirdness in the chess sphere? Who woulda thunk it?) Legendary chess program Rybka DQ'd, banned for source code plagiarism

It is a steal, and Oistrakh is one of the greats, so there's nothing unrefined about it! I think these EMI mega-sets are exceptional bargains, but the problem for me is that they include wide selections of repertoire. At my (lowbrow) level of classical erudition/listening, I fear this could result in CDs that I seldom/never listen to due to duplication.

After reading this thread, I bought another thrift-shop changer for a spare. Marantz CC-65 5-disc model w. remote for $30, works perfectly.