What are you listening to now?

[Karl Henning]

I didn't know of the existence of this recording prior to the discussion here.

One thing that is always so relatable about this piece is the second movement, with its immense reserves of nervous energy that suddenly breaks down into a deeply affecting cello solo and gives way to a beautiful and aspirational melody of great simplicity. And then over the course of the remaining 13~ minutes, that melody gets systematically destroyed, mocked, interrupted and generally made hopeless, and the movement ends in quite a high dudgeon. The third movement that follows makes no sense, I think, unless one considers that destruction, and the hollowness of the resulting triumph. It's in E major (the same key as the melody) and the variations grow more parodistic and grotesque until eventually collapsing into despair, and I do think we are meant to hear a parallel between the rising cello passage leading to the coda and the falling cello passage in the 2nd movement that led to that melody: the music uses some of the same melodic shapes and lines. But instead of some kind of return or triumph we get this bizarrely dogged ending, as though the long cello solo injected a sudden determination into the orchestra to drown it out, and ending in what sounds like a series of gunshots.

(Apparently the end of this piece inspired the very prominent role for solo timpani throughout Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 where they also play that ambiguous role.)

Shostakovich wore the record out listening to it!  The original "listen to destruction" event.

[aligreto]

Leifs: Scherzo Concerto [Wilkinson]....





I like the terse musical language of this very short work [4:10 mins.]. For me, the music itself is evocative of a harsh, bleak landscape.

[San Antone]

Debussy : Complete Works for Piano
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet



Jeux, for piano solo

[ritter]

Debussy : Complete Works for Piano
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet



Jeux, for piano solo

I was listening to this just some days ago, and found it (as always) simply  wonderful.

I think that we might finally getting a new recording of the solo piano Jeux and Khamma in the big Debussy box to be released by Warner in January ( the last time I checked, no pianist was specified for these works, but Bavouzet is not listed among the performers).

[Todd]

Holy smokes!  Now this is a Brahms disc.

[San Antone]

I was listening to this just some days ago, and found it (as always) simply  wonderful.

I think that we might finally getting a new recording of the solo piano Jeux and Khamma in the big Debussy box to be released by Warner in January ( the last time I checked, no pianist was specified for these works, but Bavouzet is not listed among the performers).

He included both Jeux and Khamma for solo piano on this installment of his complete cycle - both are, as you say, wonderful.  Since I already have the DG Debussy Edition, I probably won't spurge for the new box.  But, who knows?  Depending upon the performers/ensembles anything is possible.

[Karl Henning]

First-Listen Fridays!

Skalkottas
Concertino for tp & pf
Håkan Hardenberger, tp
Bruno Canino, pf

Quartet № 2 for pf & winds
Holliger & friends

[Pat B]

Stunning in concert performance of Mahler's 7th
Claudio Abbado conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra
If this is not available on a CD, that is tantamount to criminal neglect... :-)

It's on DVD and Blu-ray. Not CD as far as I can tell.

[aligreto]

Weiss: Sonata for Lute No. 15 [Barto]....

[Karl Henning]

First-listen Friday
Hindemith
Ludus Tonalis
John McCabe
[asin]B0096N6BKK[/asin]

In my delirium, I missed this.  How did you like it, Karlo?

[Karl Henning]

Fresh from the mail for Maiden-listen Monday
Haydn
Violin Concerto in G major, Hob. VIIa:4
Riccardo Minasi (vn)
Horn Concerto in D major, Hob. VIId:3
Johannes Hinterholzer (hn)
Il Pomo d'Oro
Maxim Emelyanychev
[asin]B018UZN9AO[/asin]

Borrowing this for First-Listen Friday!

[San Antone]

Weiss: Sonata for Lute No. 15 [Barto]....

That is a fantastic series of recordings!  I am listening to Vol. 8 right now.

[North Star]

In my delirium, I missed this.  How did you like it, Karlo?

I liked it very well indeed, Karl.

Borrowing this for First-Listen Friday!

*pounds the table* ... and a report expected later

Thread duty
Disc 2: Speculum Amoris: Lyrics of Medieval love from mysticism to eroticism
La Reverdie
[asin]B01M3O72BK[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

*pounds the table* ... and a report expected later

Exquisite!

[San Antone]

Dowland: Lachrimae (1604) - Fretwork

[Brian]

If there's ever a Best Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies Set poll, this one and Vincenzo Maltempo's will be my "dark horse" nominations.

[Spineur]

This CD edited by the british label Resonus records earlier this year (2017) contains four song cycles of Pavel Haas, including Fata Morgana op.6 his first important work after he completed his studies with Leos Janacek.  It is scored for tenor and piano quintet.  The texts are from the indian poet Rabindrana Tagore.  This is the first recording of this work.

[asin]B01MYFAWTN[/asin]

Pavel Haas and Viktor Ullmann are my favorite jewish czech composers.  They have left us some wonderful compositions.

[Christo]

Matthijs Vermeulen's "Sacre", the Second Symphony 'Prélude à la nouvelle Journée' (1919) in what I consider the finest of the three extant recordings: Lucas Vis conducting the Residentie Orchestra ('The Hague Philharmonic'):

[ritter]

First listen to Thomas Beecham's Haydn:

[asin]B0000CE7FQ[/asin]
Symphony No. 99 in E-flat major

[André]

Matthijs Vermeulen's "Sacre", the Second Symphony 'Prélude à la nouvelle Journée' (1919) in what I consider the finest of the three extant recordings: Lucas Vis conducting the Residentie Orchestra ('The Hague Philharmonic'):

I don't know this recording  . I have versions by van Beinum, Otto Ketting and Rozhdestvensky. Beinum's live account is the most dramatic and 'punchy'.