What are you listening to now?

[Mister Sharpe]

This arrived today, tore off wrappings and ran, not walked, to the CD player to hear Myaskovsky's #21, recorded in 1947 when he was one of the world's greatest composers.  Ormandy and the MSO are sensitive, even poignant interpreters, and the engineering is much better than expected. 

[San Antone]

Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5
François-Frédéric Guy

[André]

Finn Mortensen (1922-1983).

Symphony no 1, op. 5 from 1953. Mariss Jansons' very first recording as MD of the Oslo Philharmonic (1979, label Aurora). This is a substantial work at 37 minutes, full of brute force, anger, but shot through with beams of hope and tenderness. There is another, more recent version on Simax (Terje Mikkelsen). According to the net, this is the most often played and most important symphony by a norwegian composer. I don't doubt it's excellent, even great. But there are others almost or just as magnificent by Egge, Kielland and Irgens-Jensen.

For some reason, the 20th century norwegian composers have sort of gone unnoticed compared to their finnish, swedish or danish counterparts. I think Norway lacked a seminal, established and recognized voice like those of Sibelius, Nielsen or Stenhammar to pave the way to the world's concert stages. Most of these norwegian orchestral works date from 1925+, by which time the other scandinavian countries' composers had more or less grabbed the musical world's attention.

[San Antone]

[mc ukrneal]

Angela Hewitt ; Schumann.

Hey. Welcome to the forums... Good start!

[aligreto]

JS Bach: Cantata BWV 130 For the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels [Gardiner]....

[Wakefield]

This exceptionally varied and enjoyable disk:



Another fruit of multiculturalism in the middle of the XVIIth Century.

Mandatory for viola da gamba lovers.

[king ubu]

disc one, with the first three English Suites

[Mister Sharpe]

Martinů's VC #2 :

[Harry]

This exceptionally varied and enjoyable disk:



Another fruit of multiculturalism in the middle of the XVIIth Century.

Mandatory for viola da gamba lovers.

Yes I said something in the same terms last year.

[NikF]

Mahler: Symphony No. 6 - Horenstein/Stockholm Philharmonic.

[asin]B000027EJT[/asin]

The first Mahler 6 I ever heard.

[HIPster]

This exceptionally varied and enjoyable disk:



Another fruit of multiculturalism in the middle of the XVIIth Century.

Mandatory for viola da gamba lovers.

Hi Gordo! 

Looks interesting.  I'm considering that same group's Abel/Hasse offering.  Are you familiar with that one?

For now ~

[asin]B0017KV78G[/asin]

[André]

Symphonies 2 and 4 by the norwegian composer Klaus Egge (1906-1979).

Egge wrote 5 symphonies. I own 1, 2 and 4. They belong to different periods of the composer's oeuvre. I love the first, the 2nd is ok but sounds disjointed, whereas the 4th, written in his serialist period is cringy and quite unbecoming.

[André]

Halvor Haug (born 1952). Symphony no 1 (1982). LSO, Per Dreier.



Not exactly a tough nut to crack, but not cotton candy either. Three movements (a regular feature of norwegian symphonies from the samples I have in my collection), 33 minutes long. A substantial, imposing - almost intimidating work.

[San Antone]

Horn Trio, Op. 40

[San Antone]

Martha Argerich Edition: Chamber Music


   
Piano Quartet in E Flat Major, Op.47
by Martha Argerich/Renaud Capuçon/Lida Chen/Gautier Capuçon

[André]

Symphony no 3 and Air for cello and orchestra by Gavriil Popov. The symphony is for strings only and, at 53 minutes, it's longer than the longest string concerto of Pettersson. It's a beast of a work. The cello piece is a substantial piece at over 15 minutes. It's a very emotional work. Popov was Shostakovich's classmate and both men frequently showed their works in progress to each other.

The recording dates from 2008.

[anothername]

Igor Levit plays: Goldberg Variations

[Mandryka]

Here is a diametrically opposed view from Fanfare!

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=922347

Thanks for posting that. I listened to the scherzo of the op 18 quartet and the second movement of op 135, which I thought were as imaginative as the reviewer said.

[anothername]

Gouvy - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2/ Deutsche Radio Philharmonie & Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Jacques Mercier