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#91
General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...
Last post by AnotherSpin - November 09, 2025, 06:00:51 AM
A splendid recording of Scarlatti sonatas, captured in 1975.
#92
Composer Discussion / Re: Langgaard's Lyre
Last post by relm1 - November 09, 2025, 05:42:59 AMQuote from: Symphonic Addict on November 08, 2025, 08:01:17 AMYes, he did:
Oh nice, I haven't heard that...will have to check it out!
#93
General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...
Last post by hopefullytrusting - November 09, 2025, 05:42:45 AMToday's first Op. 1 is Elgar's Romance for Violin and Piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDqga8a7KgY
First time listening, and this is much more what I expect from an Op. 1 - a bit tepid, a bit timid, but still with a strong compositional voice marking it as differentiable. The interplay between the two instruments is dance-like, and you can feel them shift from who is leading who - dynamically, it expands the whole range, and it is extraordinarily tuneful - which is something Elgar is a master of, not dissimilar to Saint-Saens in this ability, although, I've been told when it comes to the ability to actually play they exist in different universes.
This is a safe, first piece - nothing dared, nothing new, in my opinion, offered, although, its ending is probably more modern than what was deemed acceptable at the time, so that is a choice right there, and a good one- For me, any end that is not on the tonic is already better in my book - I am so sick of that end, but nearly all classical music ends that way - for me, that is why I like that Bach didn't finish The Art of Fugue - its current end is perfect; it just stops - same here with Elgar - chord, chord, stop I like that.
The piece is music to the ears, so to say - I would definitely recommend it.
First time listening, and this is much more what I expect from an Op. 1 - a bit tepid, a bit timid, but still with a strong compositional voice marking it as differentiable. The interplay between the two instruments is dance-like, and you can feel them shift from who is leading who - dynamically, it expands the whole range, and it is extraordinarily tuneful - which is something Elgar is a master of, not dissimilar to Saint-Saens in this ability, although, I've been told when it comes to the ability to actually play they exist in different universes.
This is a safe, first piece - nothing dared, nothing new, in my opinion, offered, although, its ending is probably more modern than what was deemed acceptable at the time, so that is a choice right there, and a good one- For me, any end that is not on the tonic is already better in my book - I am so sick of that end, but nearly all classical music ends that way - for me, that is why I like that Bach didn't finish The Art of Fugue - its current end is perfect; it just stops - same here with Elgar - chord, chord, stop I like that.
The piece is music to the ears, so to say - I would definitely recommend it.
#94
General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...
Last post by steve ridgway - November 09, 2025, 05:33:24 AMRadulescu - Astray
#95
General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...
Last post by Mookalafalas - November 09, 2025, 05:32:31 AM
#96
General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...
Last post by AnotherSpin - November 09, 2025, 05:21:44 AMQuote from: Mandryka on November 09, 2025, 12:53:37 AMI really like this, the modern organs not withstanding. There's a sense of the thrill of discovery in the music making. In fact, it's his second Arauxo recording, there's an earlier on the Ricercar label - and there's a recent third recording on baroque organs.
Yes, I've marked all three of Foccroulle's albums on Qobuz for listening. So far I've made my way through two of them, and I must say I rather like what I've heard.
Curiously, the other recordings in the El Órgano Histórico Español series, performed by different artists, haven't resonated with me much. I've tried five or six, and something about them just doesn't sit right. Maybe it's the harshness of the sound, or something odd in the recording itself.
Or maybe it's simply me; with the constant air raids, power cuts several times a day, and the damp, gloomy weather outside, I seem to gravitate toward music that's gentle, slow-paced, and broadly sedative.
#97
General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...
Last post by Todd - November 09, 2025, 05:14:34 AM
D557.
#98
General Classical Music Discussion / Re: What are you listening 2 n...
Last post by Madiel - November 09, 2025, 04:20:33 AMBeethoven: Clarinet Trio, op.11
#99
The Diner / Re: Last Movie You Watched
Last post by Cato - November 09, 2025, 04:06:46 AMQuote from: Roasted Swan on November 08, 2025, 11:56:52 PMMy £4 a ticket local cinema is showing this this week;
Set in 1916 its about a small Yorkshire town's choral society trying to put on a concert despite the loss of so many male singers to the Front Line. They decide to perform The Dream of Gerontius. The script is by Alan Bennett and its directed ny Nicholas Hytner.
My wife enjoyed it more than me. A strong British cast, some nice typically Bennett(ian) one-liners but the whole film feels out of time and flawed in terms of characters and place. So set in 1916 with very much 2020-style attitudes/morals. For some reason they have Elgar turn up (having driven in an open top car from Manchester an hour away in full Doctorial robes from an investiture at the University). Then they make him slightly pervy - offering the young woman who is going to sing The Angel (why is she cast as a soprano not a contralto?) access to lessons in return for implied "favours".
Ralph Fiennes is a fine actor - can't conduct AT ALL (despite having a coach in the credits!) and he seems a bit weary throughout. None of that intensity that marks his finest roles. Nicholas Hytner thinks it would be a good idea to do a "semi-staged" version of the work which has some interesting basic ideas; Gerontius = Soldier, Angel = Nurse but it all feels very "National Theatre" not real-world let alone 1916. That concept works because in the film you get tiny little filleted excerpts which makes for some striking images/equivalences but would be impossible to make coherent through an entire performance.
The closing sequence of the latest group of young men departing by train to the front line is powerful as it is accompanied by the Elder/Halle/Coote recording of the Angel's Farewell and is genuinely moving (a fine musical performance).
One of those cosy period films that tries to have a wider message but fails. I really hoped it would be better than this.....
Your review reminds me of a movie from 1925, The Big Parade, one of the greatest silent movies ever made. I saw a truncated version 70 years ago, and it was an eye opener in so many ways, even on an early television set.
Here is one of the scenes which stamped itself into my memory:
The actor, John Gilbert, was one of the biggest stars in the Silent Era: supposedly his voice was not what people had been imagining, but the truth was much more complicated, involving alcoholism and deliberate sabotaging of his career via studio heads and fellow actors. He died before age 40 of alcoholism.
The actress, Renee Adoree, (yes, she was French, and what a name!), also had a great career, but died early in the sound era at age 31 (or 35, depending on the source) of a "lung disease."
#100
The Diner / Re: Last Movie You Watched
Last post by Madiel - November 09, 2025, 03:57:13 AMHail, Caesar!
Oh yes, this is SUCH a Coen Brothers film.
And frequently very funny. Ultimately it does feel a little disjointed, and even by the standards of this stuff the 2nd of Channing Tatum's two big scenes is completely ridiculous, but I had a good time.
The film looks fantastic, a love letter to bad Hollywood movies. I'm sure there were some things where making it look dated was a heck of a lot of work.
Oh yes, this is SUCH a Coen Brothers film.
And frequently very funny. Ultimately it does feel a little disjointed, and even by the standards of this stuff the 2nd of Channing Tatum's two big scenes is completely ridiculous, but I had a good time.
The film looks fantastic, a love letter to bad Hollywood movies. I'm sure there were some things where making it look dated was a heck of a lot of work.