What are you listening to now?

[Camphy]

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[PerfectWagnerite]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 [Kleiber].....





Those who know this performance know that it is a classic. Those who do not know it need to hear it. 

Yes indeed. No one manages the journey from dark to light better than C. Kleiber. The way he manages the fermatas and silences between notes in the opening movt, and the transition from the 3rd and 4th movt - seems like the universe just contracted to a singularity and then just imploded. I have never heard the Vienna Philharmonic play like this, except maybe for Solti's classic Elektra recording.

I am not as high on the 7th as others. Yes still a very good performance but not as special as the 5th.

[aligreto]

Yes indeed. No one manages the journey from dark to light better than C. Kleiber. The way he manages the fermatas and silences between notes in the opening movt, and the transition from the 3rd and 4th movt - seems like the universe just contracted to a singularity and then just imploded. I have never heard the Vienna Philharmonic play like this, except maybe for Solti's classic Elektra recording.

I am not as high on the 7th as others. Yes still a very good performance but not as special as the 5th.

Indeed. This 5th is simply superlative 

[aligreto]

Weber: Der Freischutz, Act 1 [Keilberth]

[Florestan]

Weber: Der Freischutz, Act 1 [Keilberth]

My favorite opera alongside Carmen.  Haven't heard Keilberth, though --- Kleiber is my go-to version. In case you heard both, how do they compare? TIA.

[Florestan]

Mostly Russians: Gilels, Pletnev, Gavrilov.  Adni and Gieseking ain't too bad, either.  I've heard only two "complete" sets (one much more complete than the other), and I will probably hold fast at that number.  The Lyric Pieces are the works I enjoy most.

Thanks. The two really complete sets I have are both with not-so-famous Norwegian pianists, but from my point of view they're quite enjoyable nevertheless.

[Florestan]

Now playing:



Violin Sonatas (Sonatinas) #1, 2 & 3
Rondo In B Minor (Rondo Brillant)
Fantasy In C (Sei Mir Gegrüßt!)

Bought this Schubert set last year and just getting around to listening to it:
Loved what I heard today - Schubert's music for Violin & Piano is very beautiful and tuneful.
These performances are as good as my old set of the Violin & Piano works (Barenboim & Stern).
Don't imagine these works get praised as much as some of Schubert's other Chamber Music but I think they are well worth any Chamber fans time.

An excellent set, superbly played and with great sound. I'm very glad you like it. Schubert's violin music is probably his best kept secret. 

[Florestan]

300 views . . . but only 6 Likes:

http://www.youtube.com/v/n-95rYkIbmE

I've always maintained that good taste is more and more of a rarity in our age...

[André]

Lili Boulanger's vocal works are breathtakingly beautiful. The Stravinsky is quite special too, but these two composers don't really belong on the same disc.

[aligreto]

Barry: String Quartet No. 1 [played by The Xenia Ensemble and originally written for the Arditti Quartet for those who know that ensemble]....





Short and sharp and sometimes percussive. An interesting approach to the string quartet genre with a lot of the music played in the upper registers of the instruments.

[aligreto]

My favorite opera alongside Carmen.  Haven't heard Keilberth, though --- Kleiber is my go-to version. In case you heard both, how do they compare? TIA.

I cannot help you here my friend. This is my first ever listen to this opera and this is my only version thus far 

[ritter]

Not much time to listen to music tonight, but the symphonic fragments from Debussy's Le Martyre de Saint-Sébastien, conducted by Guido Cantelli, seem like an excellent way to pass some 20 minutes before heading to bed...

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[ritter]

A lagniappe to my night listening:

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Evocación (hat tip to Todd) and Rondeña (a perennial favourite of mine) from Iberia.

[aligreto]

The beauty, joy and sunshine that is the Debussy String Quartet Op. 10 is wonderfully played by the Belcea Quartet....

[Mahlerian]

Schoenberg: Violin Concerto Op. 36
Kolja Blacher, Gurzenich Orchestra Koln, cond. Stenz
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Beethoven: String Quartet in B-flat major Op. 130, Grosse Fuge Op. 131
Alban Berg Quartet
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Ligeti: Three Fantasies after Friedrich Hölderlin
London Sinfonietta Voices, dir. Edwards
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[Turner]

A lagniappe to my night listening:

[asin]B0009IW8RQ[/asin]
Evocación (hat tip to Todd) and Rondeña (a perennial favourite of mine) from Iberia.

Very fine Albeniz performances ... my favourite set.

[Todd]

Barenboim's Fourth.  An eminently professional performance.  Well played, well paced.  It would probably make for a fine concert-going experience.  Ultimately, it is a bit uninspired.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Vivaldi, motets. Stunning music, gorgeously performed. Vivaldi's sacred music has an appealing freshness to it, with plenty of color and inventiveness. It's my favorite of all his music. The devoutness is everywhere, with a wide variety of display.



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[André]

Symphony no 6. Rough and disorganized. I know some like it, but for a really excitable, combustible, mean and disheveled take on the work I'll go for Klemperer in Amsterdam.

[Kontrapunctus]

Listened to the second volume today. These Preludes and Fugues are so imaginative, and played to perfection. Great sound.