What are you listening to now?

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to Lemminkainen Suite. Absolutely enthralling performance.

[Ken B]

Pousseur
Crossed Colors
Liége Phil
Second listen. Has some interest, but I cannot say it appeals much.

[listener]

HONEGGER: Cello Concerto    FAURÉ: Elégie op. 24    d'INDY: Lied op. 19
SAINT-SAËNS: Cello Concerto in a op. 33  Allegro appassionato op. 43
Julian Lloyd Webber, cello   English Chamber Orch.  Yan Pascal Tortelier, cond.
nice!

[mc ukrneal]

Yummy! (Lovenskiold ballet: La Sylphide)
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[Madiel]

You know what tonight is, don't you?

That's right, it's Alban Berg Mozart Menuet Listening Night!

[Moonfish]

Rachmaninov : Symphony No.1 in D minor, Op.13            RCO/Ashkenazy

https://www.youtube.com/v/1q0t683xaWI

[Madiel]

You know what tonight is, don't you?

That's right, it's Alban Berg Mozart Menuet Listening Night!

I have made peace with K.458's Moderato.

Even if it is just a tiny bit more moderato than K.589. 

[Karl Henning]

You know what tonight is, don't you?

That's right, it's Alban Berg Mozart Menuet Listening Night!

Hah!

Although I did listen to the remaining two from the Juilliard set, I may not have troubled to comment . . . .

[Karl Henning]

I have made peace with K.458's Moderato.

Even if it is just a tiny bit more moderato than K.589. 

Splendid!

[RebLem]

Since my last report, I have been listening to the following:

Dvorak (1841-1904): Piano Works, Vol 2, Radoslav Kvapil on Dvorak's own 1879 Bosendorfer piano.  Rec. Oct., 1998 in Hlubos Castle, Czech Republic--alto ALC 1171.  TT: 77'41

Tr. 1-8......Valses, Op. 54, B. 105 (1880) (25'56)
Tr. 9-12....Eclogues B. 103 (1880) (16'36)
Tr. 13-16..Pieces for piano, Op. 52, B. 110 (1880) (13'53)
Tr. 17-22..Mazurkas, Op. 56, B. 111 (1880) (20'46)

Radoslav Kvapil is a superb master pianist, and Dvorak is a specialty of his.  The Waltzes are the most virtuosic of these pieces--they are fast and there is lots of fingerwork.  The Eclogues are slower, somewhat more pastoral and contemplative works.  The rest are somewhere between the two extremes.  The Mazurkas, particularly, of course, are based on rhythms of traditional folk dances.  This music is unfailingly exciting and visceral, except for the Eclogues, which are more serene.



Janos Starker: "The Warner Legacy" smile emoticon , a 10 CD compilation of recordings featuring Janos Starker. Warner Classics 0825646341252.
CD 5 (59'45)--Walter Susskind, cond., Philharmonia Orch., rec. 11-13 July 1956, Kingsway Hall, London.  STEREO

Tr. 1-3....Dvorak: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104 (37'15).
Tr. 4.......Ernst von Dohnanyi: Konzertstuck in D Major, Op. 12 (1904) (22'23).

The Dvorak here is very disappointing.  The firt movement seems disjointed and confused, as if the soloist and conductor had what divorce lawyers call "irreconcilable differences." Attacks are timid, tentative and halting, and orchestral support seems sloppy.  Things pick up a bit in the second movement, with at least a clearer line from Starker, but it is overly slow, as if slowing it down somehow demonstrated profundity.  Only in the last movement does the performance do honor to the composer, and even then it is not quite as impressive as many another interpretation. 

My favorite of all time is the 1951 Rostropovich/Talich/Czech PO recording, Rostropovich's first and best recording of this work, when he was young, not well know3n, and could not dominate the conductor, who was a long time Dvorakian.  Other good performances are Fournier/Szell/Berlin PO, Queyras/Belohlavek/Czech PO, perhaps the most recent addition to the work's discography, and even the Helmerson/Jarvi/Gothenburg recording.

The Dohnanyi work is a work of two worlds.  Composed in 1904, it is really in three parts.  The first seems to look to the past and is very Dvorakian; the middle third sounds rhapsodically Straussian, with the orchestra often overwhelming the cello.  The last third seems to try to meld the two approaches into a cohesive whole, and features a bigger role for the soloists than earlier in the work.  Its one of those transitional works that straddles the old and new--one part classical romantic like Brahms and Dvorak, the other modernist like Strauss, Mahler, and even Debussy.  I am not sure it holds together all that well, but that's what it seems like Dohnanyi was attempting.  Of course, it must be borne in mind that this was early in the composer's career, and his later works were much more sure-footed.


Profil CD PH 07043   

Tr. 1-6......Hindemith, Paul (1895-1963): Die junge Magd (The young maid) for contralto, flute, clarinet, and string quartet, Op. 23/2 (1922) (Set to poems by Georg Trakl (1887-1914) (1943) (19'43)--Ruth Lange, contralto, Joseph Keilberth, cond. Staatskapelle of Dresden Chamber Orch.--rec. Sep 1948.

Tr. 7-9......Toch, Ernst (1887-1964): Die chinesische Flote (The Chinese Flute), song cycle for voice and orch., Op 29 (1922)  (Set to Chinese poems by Hans Bethge (1876-1964): (23'24)--Elfride Trotschel, soprano, Arno Birr, flute, Hans Lowlein, cond. Staatskapelle of Dresden Chamber Orch.--rec 22 Feb 1949.

Tr. 10........Interview with Ruth Lange (3'24)
Tr, 11........Interview with Elfride Trotschel (7'42)

Both of the vocal works on this record are originally from 1922, but received few performances until the early post WWII era, when these recordings were made.  Despite the early date of these recordings, they sound remarkably fresh and in an excellent approximation of up to date sound.  Remember that the tape recorder was a German invention, and in this period, all through the 1940's and the early 1950's, they were the best in the world in this technology.  And, of course, these works are still not exactly at the top of the classical "hit parade," so to speak, so the original masters have not been repeatedly handled and suffered degradation as a result.

These two works convey pretty much the same kind mood.  They sound like their composers were clinically depressed, and considering the social, economic, and political events of Germany in and around 1922, that is no wonder.  The singers are excellent and the instrumental musicianship is as well.  The interviews at the end are in German, of course, but verbatim transcripts in English translation are in the rather disorganized, but informative booklet that accompanies this CD.  Recommended.

[Karl Henning]

Happy Friday!

Nielsen
Symphony № 2, « De fire Temperamenter » Op.16 (1901-02)
Royal Liverpool Phil
Bostock

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[Karl Henning]

No surprise, we might say . . .

Nielsen
Symphony № 2, « De fire Temperamenter » Op.16 (1901-02)
DNSO
Schønwandt

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[San Antone]

https://www.youtube.com/v/ekV2-5yySSs

Yuja Wang plays Gershwin : Piano Concerto in F (1925)
Michael Tilson Thomas
London Symphony Orchestra

[Madiel]

No surprise, we might say . . .

Nielsen
Symphony № 2, « De fire Temperamenter » Op.16 (1901-02)
DNSO
Schønwandt

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I'm thinking about that box (and the volume 2 as well). Even if I go another route for the symphonies, the other disc conducted by Dausgaard seems to be universally praised.

[Karl Henning]

I'm thinking about that box (and the volume 2 as well). Even if I go another route for the symphonies, the other disc conducted by Dausgaard seems to be universally praised.

I heartily endorse both boxes.

[Karl Henning]

The Andante malincolico in the Nielsen Second is marvelous, simply marvelous.

[Karl Henning]

Nielsen
Symphony № 3, « Sinfonia espansiva » Op.27 (1910-11)
Eva Hess-Thysen, sop
Jan Lund, ten
Royal Liverpool Phil
Bostock

[asin]B005NKS2TS[/asin]

[bhodges]

R. Strauss: Four Last Songs (Lucia Popp / LPO / Klaus Tennstedt) - Still a favorite version after all these years. (I have the original coupling, which includes Death and Transfiguration.)

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--Bruce

[Karl Henning]

There may be only one Jn Adams piece to which I can return repeatedly in musical confidence:

http://www.youtube.com/v/Ozb9eigk9yY

[North Star]

Ives
San Francisco Symphony Chorus & Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas
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Chopin
Mazurkas
Luisada
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