What are you listening to now?

[The new erato]

Yeah, for an introduction to him it was definitely heavy. I'm fact, when posting that message I was going to say mind blowing. But what a door it opened for me.

That's heavy metal like those clowns in chains and makeup only can dream of.

[Kamisama]

Elly Ney plays Schubert's Wanderer-Fantasie D 760

(via Youtube)
[asin]B000000WPT[/asin]

[NikF]

That's heavy metal like those clowns in chains and makeup only can dream of.

Absolutely. Indeed!

In other news...

Shostakovich: Violin Concertos 1 & 2 - Vengerov/Rostropovich/London Symphony Orchestra.

[asin]B003QTBU8S[/asin]

Staying with Shosty a little longer today. I dearly want to hear a recording of Oistrakh playing the first, but for now I'll familiarise myself with this.

[Brian]

This is not a piano quintet; it's an emotional maelstrom that grabs the listener by the neck from the very first bars and doesn't let go of him until the very last, leaving behind it sort of an existential dizziness. During listening I vividly recalled Dostoyevsky's Idiot: no sooner does poor prince Myshkin set foot on Sankt-Peterburg than he is caught in a whirlwind of powerful and conflicting passions which grab him by the neck and exhaust him spiritually and intellectually.

Amazing work.

The slow movement of Taneyev's piano quintet, in particular, is one of my favorite moments in all chamber music.

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to Ravel's Violin Sonata in G major. Absolutely enchanting.

[Tsaraslondon]

Not trying to be argumentative for the sake of it, but...I never hear that in the music when I play it.

We all hear music differently I suppose. For me it permeates the whole work. Does that make it any less valid as a listening experience? I think not.

[Brian]

This morning...



...and because John/MI recently reminded me that this recording exists, I'll give a re-listen to Gideon Klein's excellent string trio in its orchestral arrangement:



To be followed, maybe, by some HIP Beethoven that washes away the bad aftertaste of the new Harnoncourt disc.

[Mirror Image]

...and because John/MI recently reminded me that this recording exists, I'll give a re-listen to Gideon Klein's excellent string trio in its orchestral arrangement:

Yeah, that Klein piece is excellent, but so are the Bartok and Martinu works.

[Brian]

Yeah, that Klein piece is excellent, but so are the Bartok and Martinu works.

Of course! But everyone already knows those ones are great

I dropped the Klein in the middle of the Albeniz to refresh my ears.

[(poco) Sforzando]

From this excellent box:



This is not a piano quintet; it's an emotional maelstrom that grabs the listener by the neck from the very first bars and doesn't let go of him until the very last, leaving behind it sort of an existential dizziness. During listening I vividly recalled Dostoyevsky's Idiot: no sooner does poor prince Myshkin set foot on Sankt-Peterburg than he is caught in a whirlwind of powerful and conflicting passions which grab him by the neck and exhaust him spiritually and intellectually.

Amazing work.

Can't say I know that one yet. I saw I had purchased (but not yet unwrapped) a copy of Maria Yudina's recording. How is that one compared to this?

[aligreto]

'How' magnifique?

Colin-Davis-level magnifique? Paul Paray magnifique?

If Markevitch has any of that energy that he had for his BPO Schubert's Tragic or his '59 Philharmonia Rite of Spring- then I 'must' hear it.

OK, please bear in mind that I have only listened to this recording once but my first reaction was very positive. I do not own the Paray version yet and Colin Davis, although excellent, is not my favourite version of the work. That accolade, for me thus far lies with the Markevitch/Lamoureux version which I can only best describe as "theatrical". It is a somewhat darker version than normal for me and this Markevitch/Berlin Philharmonic version, although sounding a little different [on first listen] seems to be going in that general direction. I will need to listen to the Berliner version more and then do a proper A/B comparison between the two Markevitch versions to identify the differences.
However, if you have not heard the Markevitch/Lamoureux version I would certainly recommend that for a start.

[aligreto]

The Cimarosa is an odd coupling, I would think.

And I would absolutely agree with you, so much so that I did not listen to both works in the same sitting, but waited another day before I listened to the Cimarosa.

[Brian]

Can't say I know that one yet. I saw I had purchased (but not yet unwrapped) a copy of Maria Yudina's recording. How is that one compared to this?

I don't have either - mine is Pletnev/Repin/Gringolts/Imai/Harrell - but give it a go, and if you find a Russian/Brahmsian hybrid with accomplished counterpoint and a huge structure that doesn't get dull, then you've found a good performance.

[aligreto]

Bruckner: String Quintet....

[The new erato]

Listening to some superb Lawes:

[asin]B00UKNF95I[/asin]

[Mandryka]

Chiaroscuro quartet play Mozart E minor, K428. Such a pleasure to go back to this recording and find it as interesting as I did when I last heard it over a year ago, and for similar reasons. They make it sound serious, meditative; static and rapt. This is how I like my Mozart.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I don't have either - mine is Pletnev/Repin/Gringolts/Imai/Harrell - but give it a go, and if you find a Russian/Brahmsian hybrid with accomplished counterpoint and a huge structure that doesn't get dull, then you've found a good performance.

In just a few moments I will give it a vehicular listen. Not sure why I bought that one in the first place, as my one experience with Yudina, her Diabellis, sounded like a heavy-footed someone driving a tractor through the frost-covered fields of Siberia.

[Brian]

I'm listening to the piece now, myself. Florestan started a listening party!



Now, on my 4th or 5th listen, finally realized that the pianist foreshadows the largo/passacaglia by playing its main theme, in full, at the end of the scherzo.

By the way, I sampled a couple minutes of the Yudina recording on YouTube and, aside from the 1957 sound, the 2-3 clips seemed good enough.

[Karl Henning]

Very likely a first listen:

Σκαλκώτας
Octet (1931)
Melos Ensemble

[asin]B004HF0PFE[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

Assuredly a first listen:

Σκαλκώτας
8 Variations on a Greek Folk Tune, pf trio (1938)
Melos Ensemble

[asin]B004HF0PFE[/asin]