What are you listening to now?

[TheGSMoeller]

Thread duty:

Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie

[asin]B008S87SYW[/asin]

Gorgeous!

In the past I've heavily recommended this Alpine recording, and I still do! It's Alpine with muscle, but also quite lyrical when needed. I think before I've written that the Sao Paulo S.O. play the hell out of this piece!And they do.

[TheGSMoeller]

The music of Vladimir Martynov, performed by the Kronos Quartet.

[Madiel]

Shostakovich, Four Monologues to words by Pushkin, op.91



Mostly this is the composer in his bleak mode. The first song's accompaniment has a pretty strong resemblance to the Prelude op.87/4.

[Madiel]

Guess you're all asleep... time zones are like that.

Sibelius, The Maiden in the Tower



EDIT: The lead soprano has shrieking tendencies.

[Madiel]

And now, the other generally available version of The Maiden in the Tower, which Classics Today regarded as significantly better. Let us see...



EDIT: I think that perhaps the main aria is inherently a little bit on the shrill side, but the soloist here did seem to handle it a little better. Still not essential Sibelius, but interesting as it's his only completed opera project. And only about 35 minutes long.

[Ken B]

Max Richter
Nor Earth nor Boundless sea
From Sleep

[Roasted Swan]

When in judgemental mood I've tended to dismiss L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande as characterful but ragged (certainly in years back).  But recently I've enjoyed 3 of their recordings a lot;

One of my all time favourite Sibelius collections:
[asin]B00000E3B7[/asin]
with the best En Saga I know.  Horst Stein gets the orchestra to play with such fervour and drama.

[asin]B000B5VM9W[/asin]
Weller is excellent in all 3 of the Symphonies but he gets real attack and venom from the L'OdlSR

[asin]B00008Y176[/asin]
This is a recent purchase and I'm very impressed.  Spring really does blaze in here in the 1st movement.  Not the subtlest performance but very exciting and full of life.  I love the Zemlinsky too.

[Daverz]

When in judgemental mood I've tended to dismiss L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande as characterful but ragged (certainly in years back).  But recently I've enjoyed 3 of their recordings a lot;

One of my all time favourite Sibelius collections:
[asin]B00000E3B7[/asin]
with the best En Saga I know.  Horst Stein gets the orchestra to play with such fervour and drama.

One of the earliest CD I ever bought, and still a treasured one.  Stein's Sibelius with the OSR has been reissued on Eloquence:

[asin] B016CQZYR4[/asin]

[Florestan]

Etymology
Borrowed from Latin gentīlis.

Adjective
gentile (masculine and feminine plural gentili)

kind, courteous
gentle
lovely

That's true, except it's not English but Italian.

[Harry]

That's true, except it's not English but Italian.

Thus I meant to use the Italian word.

[Karl Henning]

Shostakovich, Four Monologues to words by Pushkin, op.91



Mostly this is the composer in his bleak mode. The first song's accompaniment has a pretty strong resemblance to the Prelude op.87/4.

Great stuff, and as sharp a contrast to sunny Haydn as one might wish.

[Karl Henning]

Thus I meant to use the Italian word.

That's how I took you, Harry.

[Harry]

That's how I took you, Harry.

[Traverso]

Sweelinck

CD 2

[Mandryka]

Sweelinck

CD 2

I'm very keen on this, I've collected all Bernard Winsemius's recordings.

[Harry]

I'm very keen on this, I've collected all Bernard Winsemius's recordings.

Really? What is your fascination with him?

[Traverso]

I'm very keen on this, I've collected all Bernard Winsemius's recordings.

The maestro at work.  

http://www.youtube.com/v/QPn0Z-0IBAY

[Mandryka]

Really? What is your fascination with him?

I think that when he plays there's a spiritual intensity, and a sense of cantabile, and a poetry which doesn't seek to dazzle with virtuosity or overwhelm with rich and powerful sounds. He lets the music sing and seduce. All these things I think are revealing and satisfying in Sweelinck as much as it is in Buxtehude.

I've just been listening to this, when I saw Traverso's post



In the Weckmann and Reincken, and even in the Buxtehude, I don't know of anyone I enjoy more with the music.

[Traverso]

I think that when he plays there's a spiritual intensity, and a sense of cantabile, and a poetry which doesn't seek to dazzle with virtuosity or overwhelm with rich and powerful sounds. He lets the music sing and seduce. All these things I think are revealing and satisfying in Sweelinck as much as it is in Buxtehude.

I've just been listening to this, when I saw Traverso's post



In the Weckmann and Reincken, and even in the Buxtehude, I don't know of anyone I enjoy more with the music.

I think that it is a good description.I start looking to other recordings.

Bernard Winsemius: North German Baroque

http://www.toccata-records.nl/overig-cd/80-trr1014.html

[Traverso]

Bach

CD 5