What are you listening to now?

[Madiel]

Bach Cello continued, not at all what I had planned for my evening but the music itself is so compelling...

Gavriel Lipkind: No. You're making the first Prelude plod and then you do something bizarre in it. Then you make the Allemande plod as well. Everything is weighed down. NEXT!

David Watkin: got some good reviews, but I only have middling feelings right now. A lot of rubato and an acoustic that I'm finding a bit strange. It's a bit distant and yet has quite a bit of noise to it. And yet, as I let it play I find I'm not minding it.

Janos Starker (Sony): first movements giving an impression of another cellist is going to plod a bit. I do not like this music to plod. I want it to dance. Probably not the version for me. Though some later things sound... okay. Not amazing.

Anner Bylsma: Ack. First prelude is So. SLOW. Actually, it changes tempo a hell of a lot. And there seems to be a bit of this generally. Possibly the same sort of interpretation as Wispelwey, only in a slightly poorer acoustic. So in fact not bad after that first plod, but not first choice right now.

Yo-Yo Ma first set: okay, not bad, but feels a bit flat compared to the current one. Not so expressive. How much of that is performance and how much is recording, I'm not entirely sure. Neither hating it nor falling in love, but probably in the positive side of the ledger?

Heinrich Schiff: wow, a first prelude that zips along. In a fairly reverberant acoustic. There's some boldness here, a kind of stand-and-deliver attitude, though with a decent amount of pauses and rubato. This could have a kind of compelling quality to it.

Ralph Kirshbaum: acoustic is relatively neutral and pleasant (though there are some very noticeable chunks of breathing), playing sounds pretty good too. First prelude not fast but it has some flow and colour and interest, doesn't sound stodgy like so many others at a similar pace. Similar qualities in following movements. A lovely dancing quality to the first Courante, it's not fast but it's sprightly. Lyrical, singing tone. A definite contender, the biggest potential downside being the asthmatic breathing.

Torleif Thedeen: nice tone, acoustic is quite reverberant and it might get in the way in places because the cellist is actually taking a fairly bold approach to the music. But he generally seems to be surviving. First Allemande is relatively fast but given room to breathe. Hmm. Not dissimilar to Schiff, a head-to-head comparison would be interesting. Three promising recordings in a row.

Jaap Ter Linden: waaaaaaaay too ruminative for my taste. First prelude insanely slow as far as I'm concerned, and things didn't improve a lot in other movements I sampled.

Boris Pergamenschikow: dryish acoustic but not too bad, musical approach is light and playful, with some noticeable ornamentation. Quite enjoyable first impressions.




....Right, so after soaking up my evening, I think I've narrowed it down to about 8 versions I have some interest in. I guess that's progress. And all because, as much as I quite enjoy the Rostroprovich set I imprinted on, I can't get past the glaring fact that he makes the Allemande of the 6th suite almost incomprehensible.

[Cato]

Hi Cato, various composers, each one using the melody of the rondeau "Malheur me bat" in a different way. Some sources say that the original rondeau was composed by Ockeghem (also present in that recording), some not.
Anyway that melody was used (among others, I suppose) by Agricola, Obrecht, Antonio de Cabezon and Josquin in some of their masses, whose examples are in that recording.
The liner notes is very helpful in unearthing that melody in all those different pieces.

As a side note I'd add that the same melody was quoted by Luigi Nono in his string quartet Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima (1980), at the viola, towards the end. His hommage to the Franco-Flemish school and to Ockeghem in particular, whose works he studied in his youth with his teacher Malipiero.

Ps Just saw that Traverso already posted the rear cover of that recording with all tracks and composers.

Many thanks!  A most informative response!  I will look into this recording and the Nono work!

Ah, now here is a recording which captures the ambience of the church!   ( I'm thinking about the Josquin Agnus Dei.) You can imagine yourself in a darkened cathedral . . .  that's really what Heulgas Ensemble sounded like a couple of weeks ago when I heard them in Antwerp. It shows it can be done, these things can be engineered truthfully.

For the first time today it's made something that sounds like music come out of my speakers!

Now this is a recommendation!!!

[TheGSMoeller]

Anner Bylsma: Ack. First prelude is So. SLOW. Actually, it changes tempo a hell of a lot. And there seems to be a bit of this generally. Possibly the same sort of interpretation as Wispelwey, only in a slightly poorer acoustic. So in fact not bad after that first plod, but not first choice right now.

Heinrich Schiff: wow, a first prelude that zips along. In a fairly reverberant acoustic. There's some boldness here, a kind of stand-and-deliver attitude, though with a decent amount of pauses and rubato. This could have a kind of compelling quality to it.

I own two versions from Bylsma, both on Sony I believe, and about 20 years apart, but his later recording is more idiosyncratic than his earlier one. I love them both.

And I have Schiff on EMI, not sure if he's made another recording of the suites, but I've always admired the engineering. Listen to the Prelude of the 4th suite, about 20 seconds in when Schiff first hits that low C, and the way it resonates. With a good pair of headphones on it's so satisfying. 

[TheGSMoeller]

Prokofiev No. 7 from Berlin/Ozawa. Right up there with Tennstedt for the best available 7th's. Ozawa is in no hurry, and his patience does this beautiful work justice.

[Mandryka]

I've shifted from Yo-Yo Ma doing the Bach Cello Suites, to sampling a whole bunch of different ones on iTunes.

I'm afraid the Fournier, which everyone seems to love, did not last long before I moved on. It just felt old-fashioned and a trifle stodgy in the first few movements.

Queyras is doing well, though the recording is quite reverberant. Takes some adjusting. But once adjusted this sounds rather promising.

Klinger: okay, even more reverberant, to the point where it feels like it's obscuring things. The first Courante, I can hear him trying to play something a bit pointed and it doesn't come across properly. Fast forward to the second Courante... have mixed feelings about the playing, but the recording just isn't going to cut it for me.

Isserlis: at the opposite extreme, an ultra-dry acoustic. Not sure that's an improvement. The playing is possibly robbed of a bit of expressiveness. And there are things where he's not using any rubato at all

Gastinel: straight away, TOO MUCH expressiveness. Mucking around with the basic pulse of movements more than I want.

Wispelwey on Channel Classics: he's playing with the pulse a bit, and there are things I'd prefer faster, but he's doing it in ways that my ear is finding interesting. This has potential at least.

I've been racking my brains for the one which just may be what you're looking for and I suddenly remembered - Morten Zeuthen.

[aligreto]

Vaughan Williams: Magnificat [Davies]

[TheGSMoeller]

Berlioz: Requiem
McCreesh / Gabrieli Consort,  Gabrieli Players,  Wroclaw State Philharmonic Orchestra



[asin]B005FLQRMO[/asin]

[SonicMan46]

Faure, Gabriel - decided to pull out my Faure collection - starting w/ Solo Piano, Piano Quartet (also have the Nash Ensemble), and the Piano Quintet (also have Ortiz on Naxos); I usually pull Kathryn Stott when wanting to listen to his solo piano works - also own the Jean-Philippe Collard & Jean Doyen sets (the latter as an MP3 DL) - do I need the Collard box if I keep pulling out Kathryn's discs?  Dave

   

[aligreto]

Mozart: piano music played by Arrau

[Traverso]

Weckmann

Siebe Henstra  Harpsichord,Clavichord

[SurprisedByBeauty]

#morninglistening to #KaleviAho #WindQuintets 1 & 2 w/@berlinphil #WindQuintet on #BISRecords

: http://a-fwd.to/62vMr2F

Sarge might find the winery depicted on the label to his liking!

[André]

Just finished the 5th symphony - a live performance. This disc has received encomiums from Amazon reviewers, but it won't get one from me. I found it tepid and as alive as an empty house with a for sale sign on the lawn. It's not actively bad, just dutiful and going through the motions. In this context the massively slow coda makes no sense whatsoever. Kondrashin is one of the rare conductors to adopt this trudge, but it comes after a gut-wrenching, open-wounds type of performance. The orchestra plays well but no more. Even the NYPO (Mitropolos, Bernstein) has much more characterful winds and brass. A disappointment.

I love the 6th to pieces, but there's no denying its stature in the Shostakovich canon is on a lesser plane. Still, it never fails to make an impact with its juxtaposition of gloomy, tragic, impish and clownish gestures.

[André]

Gounod's petite symphonie for winds, Dvorak's d minor wind serenade and Strauss' Suite in E flat for 13 wind instruments. A perfect program of warm, sunny, melodious music from top composers.

The NWE was founded by first chairs from various dutch orchestras. At the time of these recordings (1968-1972) the group still counted some of its founding members like Edo de Waart (oboe) and George Pieterson (clarinet), who went on to have distinguished solo or orchestral careers. Nowadays the Ensemble's members are all different, but it still maintains a very active concert schedule.

[Traverso]

Gounod's petite symphonie for winds, Dvorak's d minor wind serenade and Strauss' Suite in E flat for 13 wind instruments. A perfect program of warm, sunny, melodious music from top composers.

The NWE was founded by first chairs from various dutch orchestras. At the time of these recordings (1968-1972) the group still counted some of its founding members like Edo de Waart (oboe) and George Pieterson (clarinet), who went on to have distinguished solo or orchestral careers. Nowadays the Ensemble's members are all different, but it still maintains a very active concert schedule.

Warm and sunny indeed.I like to recommend these recordings.The philips is older than the Hyperion set.The Hyperion has superior sound !

[aligreto]

Smetana: Ma Vlast [Kubelik]





This 1990 recording has achieved legendary status. One can sense the patriotism and passion in the first movement. I love the gurgling opening of the second movement and that lovely symphonic melody that develops into a magnificent piece of music making. The third movement is played with great energy and excitement. In the fourth movement the folk music element really comes through. The fifth movement is somewhat dark and brooding and menacing with wonderful orchestral textures. In the final movement there is a terrific build up of tension like a volcano about to erupt and the final release is played with fervour and passion.

Smetana: Ma Vlast [Talich]





This is a powerful, red blooded account and it is infused with great passion from beginning to end.  I have always thought that this performances surpasses the Kubelik version. To my ear, it has far greater presence, atmosphere and lyricism. It is a compelling performance with a great clarity of interpretation that is filled with drama, tension and excitement. It is, for me, far more highly charged and the intensity and passion reach great heights. Also to my ear, this older recording reveals far more details of the music.

[aligreto]

Warm and sunny indeed.I like to recommend these recordings.The philips is older than the Hyperion set.The Hyperion has superior sound !

Agreed on those recommendations.

[listener]

MESSIAEN:  Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum
Le tombeau resplendissant     Hymne
Orchestre  National de Lyon     Jun Märkl, cond.
1st listen, acquired on the basis of other members' comments
SAINT-SAËNS  Symphony 3 "Organ"
Bamberg S.O.   Christoph Eschenbach cond.    Recorded in Bamberg Cathedral
FRANCK; Chorale 3 in a
Edgar Krapp, organ (Passau Cathedral)

[vandermolen]

Pastoral Fantasia (1939) for Viola and String Orchestra - a sad, poetic, nostalgic work written on the eve of World War Two:
[asin]B001AE4PHY[/asin]
A bit like a 'Lark Ascending' for World War Two.

[aligreto]

Sor: Fantaisie Op. 54 [Kubica/van Berkel]

[Daverz]

Bruckner: Symphony No. 0

[asin]B0009A41VU[/asin]

Baffling how Bruckner rejected this work.

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6, recorded 1950 (private transfer)

https://www.youtube.com/v/bT07h7yJQN4

Haven't heard the transfer above, but this is a very good mono recording, despite some noise from groove damage in the copy I have.