What are you listening to now?

[Madiel]

After starting with cheerful Haydn, for some reason I decided that what my morning really needed was to finally get around to another listen to The Isle of the Dead.

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[Wakefield]

Telemann: Early Concertos & Sonatas
Ensemble Cordia
Stefano Veggetti

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Truly splendid in every respect.

[Kontrapunctus]

Stunningly beautiful playing and sound. He recorded them all in one day on a piano once owned by none other than Vladimir Horowitz!

[Mahlerian]

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 2 in D minor
Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, cond. Alsop


Streamed this just now.  Indeed, a fascinating, if flawed work, and Alsop's performance is more than merely competent.  A little shaky in the first movement (but could that unison D at the end ever sound like a resolution?), but very solid in the second, which culminates in the combination of its theme with the violence of the first movement's motifs.  Thanks for the recommendation, Karl.

[Sergeant Rock]

Nielsen Symphony No.5, Rozhdestvensky conducting the Royal Stockholm Phil




Sarge

[Todd]

The Third.  This is where things get really good, with lots of superheavyweight competition.  While Young opts for the 1873 edition and therefore only faces Tintner in direct comparison in my experience, this is where some of the great conductors begin to deliver on their greatness.  It's been a while since I listened to Tintner, but his recordings never had as much impact as Young's do now.  She keeps things moving along at all times, and her at times springy, operatic style yields great results.  Once again, the Scherzo is a real standout.  Young doesn't match, say, Wand or Celibidache in terms of power or weight or depth, but she is not out of her league with the big names.  This recording makes me think I should snap up Inbal's pioneering efforts for another version-to-version comparison.  The Fourth awaits.  Can Young displace Bohm, Celibidache, or Jochum?

[André]

[André]

Koechlin orchestrated his own piano suite in 1921. Composed more or less along the lines of writer Pierre Loti's Baedaker-style travelogue. Very good, with surprising touches of modernity.

[kishnevi]

The Third.  This is where things get really good, with lots of superheavyweight competition.  While Young opts for the 1873 edition and therefore only faces Tintner in direct comparison in my experience, this is where some of the great conductors begin to deliver on their greatness.  It's been a while since I listened to Tintner, but his recordings never had as much impact as Young's do now.  She keeps things moving along at all times, and her at times springy, operatic style yields great results.  Once again, the Scherzo is a real standout.  Young doesn't match, say, Wand or Celibidache in terms of power or weight or depth, but she is not out of her league with the big names.  This recording makes me think I should snap up Inbal's pioneering efforts for another version-to-version comparison.  The Fourth awaits.  Can Young displace Bohm, Celibidache, or Jochum?

You are tempting me.  I never liked Tintner, and a better recording of the Urfassungen would allow me to officially cull him.
TD

In the form of the fourth and last CD of this set
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Recommended, although it might be critiqued as "Oxbridge" sounding. In fact, an all male German group.

[Kontrapunctus]

Magnificent. He plays Liszt's Harmonies Poetiques Et Religieus and the Sonata.

[HIPster]

A favorite purchase of the last year.  Really fine:

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This recording gathers vocal gems from the Italian baroque and some of the most renowned artists in this repertoire: Il Giardino Armonico's co-founder Luca Pianca, soprano Roberta Invernizzi and contralto Sonia Prina. This intense and heart-stretching program on love and sadness gathers a series of amazing duets of Monteverdi, Handel, Marcello, Scarlatti, Lotti and others.

Review
In Invernizzi and Prina, Naïve have netted the two most exciting Italian Baroque specialists of their generation. --Richard Wigmore, Gramophone Editor's Choice, Nov 2014

[Sergeant Rock]

Bartok String Quartet No.2 played by the Hungarian




Sarge

[Dancing Divertimentian]

What led you to that conclusion? It looks like a regular Nimbus CD to me!

First, the licensing info printed on both the inside front cover (underneath the track listing, at bottom) and on the CD itself ("iyrecords" & "Wyastone Estate Ltd.").

Second, the back side (the playing side) of the CD itself. It has that dark look, not shiny like a standard CD. I compared it to a couple of ArkivCD burns I have and it looks almost identical.

I could be mistaken but I don't think so. Not that it matters since the production is top-notch and, as you know, the price was right!

[Mahlerian]

The Fourth awaits.  Can Young displace Bohm, Celibidache, or Jochum?

Well, she doesn't use the same version as them, recording the 1874 original rather than the 1878/80 revision.

[Todd]

[Brian]

First, the licensing info printed on both the inside front cover (underneath the track listing, at bottom) and on the CD itself ("iyrecords" & "Wyastone Estate Ltd.").

Second, the back side (the playing side) of the CD itself. It has that dark look, not shiny like a standard CD. I compared it to a couple of ArkivCD burns I have and it looks almost identical.

I could be mistaken but I don't think so. Not that it matters since the production is top-notch and, as you know, the price was right!

There was a minor stink over this a few years ago and I think someone at MusicWeb made some inquiries and learned that many Nimbus/Wyastone discs, even new releases, are CD-Rs.

[HIPster]

Continuing with another favorite purchase from the later part of 2016:

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Cheers to all! 

[SurprisedByBeauty]

How is the Elbphilharmonie acoustic? My father (a sound engineer) and I are very curious.

All over the place. Great pianissimo. Harsh. Jury not in, but will write about my experience before long.

[Mirror Image]

After starting with cheerful Haydn, for some reason I decided that what my morning really needed was to finally get around to another listen to The Isle of the Dead.

[asin]B0000042HY[/asin]

Pounds the table! Great stuff.

Now:



Listening to A Celtic Symphony. Good stuff as always.

[Spineur]

This album contains six pieces for violin and orchestra

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All are very atmospheric and evocative, with some sadness in the expression