What are you listening to now?

[Autumn Leaves]

Now playing:



Symphony #8

Gave this one a couple of spins - another great performance.
Cant really fault Petrenko's Cycle so far.



Jazz Suites

Needed a bit of light relief after the Symphony #8 (that one really gets to me for some reason).

[Karl Henning]

Symphony #10

Played this one a few times already - brilliant version: I think I like it better than Kondrashin and Karajan's versions but time will tell.

I agree:  better than both HvK and Кирилл Петрович.

[Karl Henning]

Last night



CD 1: Piano Sonatas 1-4

Splendid music and superb performances.

It´s much more Chopin that I hear in them than any wild mysticism. 

Yes, indeed.

[Karl Henning]

Now playing:



Shostakovich: Symphony #4

Playing this version for a first listen.

I await your report!

[Karl Henning]

Last night, the two d minor symphonies:

Дмитрий Дмитриевич [ Dmitri Dmitriyevich (Shostakovich) ]
Симфония № 5 ре минор, соч. 47 [ Symphony № 5 in d minor, Opus 47 ] (1937)
Симфония № 12 ре минор «1917-й год», соч. 112 [ Symphony № 12 in d minor, Opus 112 "The Year 1917" ] (1961)
Gürzenich-Orchester Kölner Philharmoniker
Дмитрий Георгиевич [ Dmitri Georgiyevich (Kitaenko) ]

[asin]B000B8QEVA[/asin]

(Thoughts on the Twelfth will be over in the Cycles thread.)

[Mister Sharpe]

Last night



CD 1: Piano Sonatas 1-4

Splendid music and superb performances.

It´s much more Chopin that I hear in them than any wild mysticism. 

That's precisely what's so mystical about Scriabin - listeners don't know they've been mysticized!

[amw]

Decided to listen to this whole thing, including the Korngold concerto, which I don't know well despite also having the James Ehnes performance. I think Vilde Frang does a better job of convincing me it's an authentic piece of super-late-19th-century Romanticism in sweep and scope, rather than a clever but anaemic pastiche. Many individual moments that bring Richard Strauss to mind although with somewhat less of a personality.

[Mister Sharpe]

Coupla' Alfvén symphonies this morning:

[asin]B00007GXJQ[/asin]

[asin]B000027EMG[/asin]

[Monsieur Croche]

I'll shut up about Ravel after the Sonatine. I promise, because I've got to get to work.

But I've always felt pretty well served by these recordings.

[asin]B00000422W[/asin]

Both Samson François and Monique Haas will serve you Ravel, more than very well. 
[Both have recorded the complete solo piano works.]

Haas is no secret, but if you have not heard her playing, I think you will be at least a little amazed :-)


Best regards.

[Karl Henning]

That's precisely what's so mystical about Scriabin - listeners don't know they've been mysticized!

(* tries to work this out . . . . *)

[Madiel]

Both Samson François and Monique Haas will serve you Ravel, more than very well. 
[Both have recorded the complete solo piano works.]

Haas is no secret, but if you have not heard her playing, I think you will be at least a little amazed :-)


Best regards.

Um... are you telling me I need to buy multiple recordings? Another thread suggests that neither you nor I are particularly driven to do that.

[Karl Henning]

Альфред Гарриевич [ Alfred Harriyevich (Schnittke) ]
Concerto grosso № 4, or Symphony № 5 for violin, oboe, harpsichord and orchestra (1988)
Concertebouworkest & al.
Chailly

[North Star]

Good morning, Karl!

Coincidentally, I'm listening to Schnittke, too - just got this set in the mail yesterday.

Suite from The Adventures of a Dentist (Klimow, 1965)
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Frank Strobel
[asin]B00U0S0MX2[/asin]

[Harry]

I am a bit on the Bach Wagon today, and came to Leonhardt recordings. A bit hit and miss for me, I am afraid. First listen.

http://walboi.blogspot.nl/2016/08/bach-js-italian-concerto-toccatas.html?spref=tw

[Karl Henning]

Good morning, Karl!

Coincidentally, I'm listening to Schnittke, too - just got this set in the mail yesterday.

Suite from The Adventures of a Dentist (Klimow, 1965)
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Frank Strobel
[asin]B00U0S0MX2[/asin]

Schnittke in the air!

[North Star]

Schnittke in the air!

Time to take the allergy medication.

[Harry]

More Bach, but not necessarily more joy. There is missing too much Bach, and an excess of the interpret. Not a good balance to my ears.

http://walboi.blogspot.nl/2016/08/bach-js-cello-suites-complete.html?spref=tw

[Madiel]

Sibelius premieres from a concert on 17 April 1895:

Spring Song, op.16
Serenade for baritone and orchestra
The Wood-Nymph, op.15

[amw]

Decided to listen to this whole thing, including the Korngold concerto, which I don't know well despite also having the James Ehnes performance. I think Vilde Frang does a better job of convincing me it's an authentic piece of super-late-19th-century Romanticism in sweep and scope, rather than a clever but anaemic pastiche. Many individual moments that bring Richard Strauss to mind although with somewhat less of a personality.

I forgot how repetitive and monothematic the last movement is. Could've maybe done with more variety—definitely a letdown after the first two movements.

Onto the main event, Britten: This is dark. Not sure how else to put it. It's not very slow, but feels heavy and leaden to start with, and angrier than usual in the more lively passages. The orchestra here also sounds very transparent and I'd say rather Shostakovichesque; same goes for the lyrical passages. Unlike someone like Haendel Frang measures out the work's tragedy from the first movement; witness the long descending passage near the end.

Scherzo is quite a bit lighter and more frenetic—by compositional design—but with its obsessive nature brought out, making a link forward to the decidedly non-humorous scherzo of the Cello Symphony. Start of the cadenza therefore ends up being very powerful. The cadenza itself is somewhat of a letdown I think, by comparison. Frang doesn't manage to maintain the intensity despite clearly attempting to with unpredictable tempo changes, violent accents and strained dynamics. On the other hand, I'm not sure Britten's cadenza is quite equal to the task in itself. (Maybe the age-old practice of soloists composing their own cadenzas should be revived.)

The start of the finale acts as though the cadenza was effective and presents a swell of intensity. Not much to say, this is probably Britten's most anguished and tormented individual movement, so of course this crew does a good job with it.

Overall i'd say despite dark colouring (or because of it) this is probably one of the most accessible Britten violin concerto performances—more overtly emotional and tormented than most, and well put together. Nothing abstract about it. Don't know what that means re my opinion on its quality.

[jlaurson]

Both Samson François and Monique Haas will serve you Ravel, more than very well. 
[Both have recorded the complete solo piano works.]

Haas is no secret, but if you have not heard her playing, I think you will be at least a little amazed :-)

Best regards.

I probably wouldn't take François over Roge... but I might be inclined to take Tharaud over most. (Perhaps not Roge II on Onyx.)