What are you listening to now?

[North Star]

First-listen Thursday
Mompou
Volodos
[asin]B00BAC76MM[/asin]

[Josquin13]

The Orlando Consort is a reliable group in this repertory.  Have you listened to their on-going Machaut series being released on Hyperion?  There are four volumes so far.  The aim is to record his entire body of songs, etc.  I've enjoyed them.

Yes, I've heard their Machaut in the first two volumes.  I've yet to collect the last two.  There's so much to get to!  I've enjoyed their Machaut as well, though I'm not sure if its my favorite Machaut to date, even if I am grateful to them for taking on such a valuable project.  But I've yet to sit down and compare their Machaut to other favorite recordings (such as Thomas Binkley's, Ensemble Musica Nova, Liber unUsualis, Medieval Ensemble of London, etc.).

I also may slightly prefer the original line up of singers in the Orlando Consort.  For example, I don't think I've ever heard better counter-tenor singing than on the Orlando's Josquin Motet disc.  Though that's certainly not a criticism of the current line up, which is very fine too.

Thread duty--right now, I'm listening to the music of Johannes Ciconia, performed by La Morra, a favorite group of mine.  They've recorded the complete works ("Opera Omnia") by Ciconia with the ensemble Diabolus in Musica in this highly recommendable box set:

[asin]B0053SQSNM[/asin]

For me, Ciconia was one of the great composers in music history.

[Ken B]

Sibelius
Symphony 2
Pittsburgh, Maazel

[Cato]

Busoni
Berceuse élégiaque, Op.42 (BV 252a)
BBC Phil
Järvi

Excellent work!  In one sense, a companion to the Nocturne Symphonique.

https://www.youtube.com/v/nxv0x-lPLbY

[San Antone]

Pärt: Kanon Pokajanen
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir | Tõnu Kaljuste

[aligreto]

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 [Sinopoli]....





I find this to be a strong, assertive interpretation. The performance is powerful, dark, brooding and sometimes angry, always noble and very well portrayed.

[Mandryka]

Pomerium, Busnoys,  Very Good.

[Ken B]

Beethoven
Symphony 8
Cleveland, Maazel

always one of my favourite Beethoven cycles.

[Mahlerian]

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 [Sinopoli]....





I find this to be a strong, assertive interpretation. The performance is powerful, dark, brooding and sometimes angry, always noble and very well portrayed.

Can you tell me which lieder are represented by the "6 Fruhe Lieder" mentioned on the cover?

[San Antone]

[aligreto]

JS Bach: Partitas Nos. 2 & 3 BWV 826 & BWV 827 [Leonhardt]

[aligreto]

Can you tell me which lieder are represented by the "6 Fruhe Lieder" mentioned on the cover?

Selbtstgefuhl
Fruhlingsmorgen
Nicht wiedersehen
Zu Strassburg auf der Schanz
Ablosung im Sommer
Um schlimme Kinder artig zu machen

[Mahlerian]

Selbtstgefuhl
Fruhlingsmorgen
Nicht wiedersehen
Zu Strassburg auf der Schanz
Ablosung im Sommer
Um schlimme Kinder artig zu machen

Thanks.  I see they're all from his collection Lieder und Gesange, rather than reaching back to the earliest extant songs (which is fine, because those songs weren't very good anyway).

[Spineur]

First-listen Thursday
Mompou
Volodos
[asin]B00BAC76MM[/asin]

The most impressive Volodos CD IMHO.  The range of colors in his piano palette seems boundless in Mompou materpiece Musica Callada.  There is apparently an historical recording of this piece played by the composer.  A comparison would be most interesting.

[San Antone]

Grazyna Bacewicz : Complete String Quartets
Silesian String Quartet



No. 1

[North Star]

The most impressive Volodos CD IMHO.  The range of colors in his piano palette seems boundless in Mompou materpiece Musica Callada.  There is apparently an historical recording of this piece played by the composer.  A comparison would be most interesting.

'Historical' makes it sound like it was recorded with potatoes, when it was actually recorded in 1974. You can listen to Mompou's recordings of 4 CD's worth of his solo piano works on Brilliant's Youtube channel. Musica callada is at the start of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/v/WvmIBbulwMM

Thread-duty - First-listen Thursday continues

Gesualdo
Sesto Libro di Madrigali
La Compagnia del Madrigale
[asin]B009ZEHNH0[/asin]

[Wanderer]

.[asin]B007O5CMNM[/asin]

[aligreto]

Stradella: La Susanna, Part I [Astronio]....

[aligreto]

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations, about half of them! [Kovacevich]....

[Kontrapunctus]

Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, or both?

Both. Here's a review: https://www.primephonic.com/news/news-passions-erupt-in-rachmaninov-and-prokofievs-powerhouse-second-piano-concertos