What are you listening to now?

[Harry]

TD. Third listen.
Stylus Phantasticus, und lied variationen bis Bach.
Gerhard Gnann, Organ. ( Riegner & Friedrich in Riegel, (Freiburg)

Gnann is in topform on this CD. He lets the music speak! Sound of the organ is superb as is the recording.
Perfect.

[Mandryka]

This is a very small ensemble of men, no countertenor, nearly all a capella - almost as a capella as Gothic Voices. The music's all well chosen, rare. It's well recorded, loads of space between the singers, there's a good ambience, a sense of the hall, very clear polyphony, they don't form the notes in a loud way. This all is good. The harmonies seem a bit white note, the sound reminds me a bit of Diabolus in Musica, better IMO.

[Papy Oli]

Ralph Vaughan Williams - symphony no.3
From the EMI edition (Handley IIRC)

[André]

Brahms Violin Concerto
Ida Haendel Sergiu Celibidache/LSO
from here
[asin]B07MWZ5NK1[/asin]

Haendel is still alive. I don't know if she performs anymore, but when I last heard her a few years ago she displayed amazing command and, yes, physical strength. She is easily the most impresssive violinist I have had the chance to hear. When she plays it is like a priestess performing a sacred rite.

I suspect her physical appearance may have played a role in her gradual fading out from the heavily marketed solo scene from the 1980s onward. It is a real shame. The local (Montreal) music critic Claude Gingras, who died this year at 87 was a lifelong friend of Haendel's. He wrote many years ago that she was still upset about a critic that started with a disparaging comment on her physical looks. 

I can still see and hear her in my mind playing the Bruch g minor concerto (it was around 1977 if memory serves). She had a magnetic presence. Hard to explain, but once experienced, never forgotten.

[Brian]

First-ever listen to Dvorak's Saint Ludmila, one of the few major mature works by the composer that I haven't heard yet:

[Madiel]

First-ever listen to Dvorak's Saint Ludmila, one of the few major mature works by the composer that I haven't heard yet:

I'll be interested in your reactions.

[Harry]

What an amazing piece Johann Sebastian Bach wrote when he penned down the Toccata in C  BWV564. (Toccata ex Pedaliter) I cannot get enough of it. Moves me greatly. Gerhard Gnann plays it with so much feeling for the melody line, in a quiet way, never overstressing the notes, but lets it flow...

[Mirror Image]

Monique Haas plays Ravel.

CD 6 of this set:

[asin]B000QFBW5G[/asin]
Miroirs, Jeux d'eau, Pavane..., Menuet antique,both the À la manilère... pieces, the Haydn minuet and Ma mère l'Oye (w. Ina Marika as second pianist)

G'day, Rafael. Is Monique Haas better in Ravel than Debussy? I remember you talking rather negatively about her Debussy some pages back.

[Ken B]

Really?? This hasn't been my experience at all. I used to collect recordings of the Goldbergs and had 40 or 50 of them at one stage. I was constantly reading reviews and discographies and criticism of the recordings, talking to friends and people online about them, and reading lists of favorite Goldberg albums from others. My memory is that people seemed mostly unaware of the Kempf disc.

TD:



Debussy Preludes, Pascal Roge

How old are you though? Back before period instruments swept the field this was a big deal. Literally everyone I talked to about Bach knew this recording back in the 70s.

[Mirror Image]

Lutoslawski
Paganini Variations
Paroles tissées ("Woven Words")
Les Espaces du Sommeil
Symphony No. 3
Bernd Glemser (piano), Piotr Kusiewicz (tenor), Adam Kruszewski (baritone)
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit



Another strong recording in this wonderful Lutoslawski series from Wit. I've heard all of these recordings years ago, but they're making an especially strong impression this time around. It seems I have unlocked this composer, but, to be honest, I never really had any difficulty with his music aside from his Symphony No. 2, which threw me through a loop and left me scratching my head.

[Harry]

TD. Second listen.
Tientos y Glosas, Iberian Organ & Choral music from the golden Age.
Martin Neu plays on the organ of San Hipolito Church, Cordoba. Build by Joseph Corchado in 1735. Pitch a= 430 Hz, Mitteltönig modifiziert 1/5 Komma bei 23 celsius.
Ensemble Officium, Wilfried Rombach.

I treated myself today on a few organ discs in my backlog. Needed that.

A beautiful organ for sure. The sound is amazing. Neu is a very sensitive organ player, who gets quite some surprises out of the music and organ. Needless to say that this disc is also a find, and is very much treasured by me.

[pjme]

First-ever listen to Dvorak's Saint Ludmila, one of the few major mature works by the composer that I haven't heard yet:

I remember the "Introduzione and chorus" vividly from an old Supraphon LP with choral treasures. Gloriously rousing!
Never heard the whole oratorio.

https://www.youtube.com/v//MThKGlVNjc8

[ritter]

G'day, Rafael. Is Monique Haas better in Ravel than Debussy? I remember you talking rather negatively about her Debussy some pages back.

Good day, John. Nah, not really impressed by Mme. Haas's Ravel either  . I can't really put my finger on it, but it's as if several, opposing things competed to detract from my enjoyment: the phrasing seemed pedestrian, some parts sounded brittle rather than precise, and there was a lack of magic and sensuality in Ma mère l'Oye in particular.

THREAD DUTY:

RW: Parsifal (Act I). Daniel Barenboim conducting.

[asin]B01CH5F6T0[/asin]

[pi2000]

[/url]

Haendel is still alive. I don't know if she performs anymore, but when I last heard her a few years ago she displayed amazing command and, yes, physical strength. She is easily the most impresssive violinist I have had the chance to hear. When she plays it is like a priestess performing a sacred rite.

I suspect her physical appearance may have played a role in her gradual fading out from the heavily marketed solo scene from the 1980s onward. It is a real shame. The local (Montreal) music critic Claude Gingras, who died this year at 87 was a lifelong friend of Haendel's. He wrote many years ago that she was still upset about a critic that started with a disparaging comment on her physical looks. 

I can still see and hear her in my mind playing the Bruch g minor concerto (it was around 1977 if memory serves). She had a magnetic presence. Hard to explain, but once experienced, never forgotten.

There is inside  a Bruch from1948 with Kubelik
I hope you have seen this(all  the parts):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7pQGuSL7uo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRZiAaXiFF0

[aligreto]

F Couperin: Les Concerts Royaux 1722, Quatrieme Concert [Le Concert Des Nations]

[aligreto]

That, to me, looks interesting.

[Papy Oli]

Malcolm Arnold - symphonies no. 3. & 4
(Penny cycle)

[Brian]

I remember the "Introduzione and chorus" vividly from an old Supraphon LP with choral treasures. Gloriously rousing!
Never heard the whole oratorio.

https://www.youtube.com/v//MThKGlVNjc8

Oh god, this YouTube clip is so much better than the Naxos recording...in comparison the Naxos version is significantly slower (like 15-20% slower) and certainly much more weakly played. It is hard to recognize the typically Dvorakian harmonies and melodies when played at rehearsal tempo...

This is an oratorio of subtlety for sure. I must say I didn't find it especially interesting, and I certainly did not think it sounded like classic Dvorak, but this YouTube clip is making me think that the performers are responsible for a lot of that deficiency. Maybe in another recording it is great?

The Naxos recording takes 1 hour 40 minutes; the Supraphon takes 2 hours 17 minutes. Whaaaa? Something is fishy here...

[Mirror Image]

Good day, John. Nah, not really impressed by Mme. Haas's Ravel either  . I can't really put my finger on it, but it's as if several, opposing things competed to detract from my enjoyment: the phrasing seemed pedestrian, some parts sounded brittle rather than precise, and there was a lack of magic and sensuality in Ma mère l'Oye in particular.

Well, that's too bad. Sounds like one I should definitely avoid then. Thanks for taking a blow for Team Debussy.

[aligreto]

Zelenka: Sonates Pour Deux Hautbois et Basson, Sonata VI





I like the textures throughout and the energy in the performances of the quicker tempi movements.