What are you listening to now?

[Florestan]

Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 5

This is Mendelssohnian in the extreme, to the point of using recognizable themes from The Hebrides and A Midsummer's Night Dream (Wedding March). That is an observation, not a criticism. Gade puts them to a different use than his model and the result is very satisfying. A magical, echt Romantik atmopshere pervades the whole work, the orchestration is colorful (prominent winds and brass and timpani) and the cycling of thematic material provides a remarkable sense of unity and drama. Me likes.



Les Preludes

Aligreto has sung the praises of this box recently and since his taste pretty much matches my own I decided to give it a try --- and hat tip to him. This is probably going to displace my favorite version, Solti / London SO. The drama is a bit understated (although the storm section gives Solti a hard run for his money) but this is more than compensated by a gorgeous, heart-wrenching and melifluous lyricism which at times made me think it's the first time I hear this piece properly. The orchestral texture is thin and clean, allowing the slightest details to be heard in full, which is not the case of any other recording I've heard. The winds in particular are a balm to the ear and soul. The sound is excellent. Thanks again, Aligreto, for bringing this to my attention, it's stunning.



Following a recent discussion, I've revisited an old favorite:

Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 5 in e minor op. 64

How anyone cannot feel in an almost tangible way (1) the sense of an ominous fate from which there is no refuge, nor in an active life, nor in a faithful love, nor in a tranquil family life, nor in indulging in sensual pleasures, which pervades the first three movements, and (2) the sense of defiance, resistance and reversal, albeit temporary, which pervades the last movement; or how anyone can be bored by this splendid music, which grips you by the neck from the first bar and doesn't let go until the last, dragging you in a whirlwind of emotions, feelings and events, and which is filled with gorgeous melodies in brilliant orchestration --- is completely and irremediably beyond my power of comprehension. For me it's definitely a masterpiece, one of the greatest symphonies ever.

The best commentary on this symphony I can think of, although not intended as such but describing it perfectly, is this short poem by Rainer Maria Rilke:

Schlußstück

Der Tod ist groß.
Wir sind die Seinen
lachenden Munds.
Wenn wir uns
mitten im Leben meinen,
wagt er zu weinen
mitten in uns.

Death is big.
We are his laughing mouths.
When we think ourselves in the middle of life
he dares to cry
in the middle of us.

[Karl Henning]

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 in C minor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, cond. Previn
[asin]B000PGTHR6[/asin]

Still one of my favorites.

[Karl Henning]

How's that performance, alien? That's one I'm unfamiliar with. And the Pierrot score is always a fun read along.

Aye, marvelous writing!

[Harry]

http://walboi.blogspot.nl/2017/05/wellesz-egon-1885-1974-symphonies-no-467.html?spref=tw

Egon Wellesz is a formidable composer, and quite unjustly forgotten.
Reference performance.

[Florestan]

Walter who? Well, this guy who got the first prize in a competition presided by Brahms (for his Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano op.1, the first ever work for such a combination) and who stopped composing altogether at 30. And that is a pity, for his music is a beauty. Quite Brahmsian, obviously, but in my book this is a quality, not a shortcoming. I dare say he's more "autumnal", "elegiac" and "resignated" than Brahms: he has his moments of outburst, but the overall feeling pervading his works is intensely nostalgic and melancholy. Highly recommended.

[Florestan]

Earlier:



Bizet - Jeux d'enfants, op. 22
Faure - Dolly, op. 56

Now playing:

[kishnevi]

Earlier this morning



Jeffrey asked me about this: well, it's a very entertaining album. I recently bought it mainly for the Francesconi's trumpet concerto (inspired by Miles Davis' music), which is an interesting and enjoyable work indeed.
It's a real pity that this very prolific composer isn't so well represented in records.
The Brett Dean's concerto (inspired by the other guys you see on the cover) is good as well, particurarly the final movement, but the Francesconi's is more interesting imo.

Thank you. It goes on the list!

TD
Gusty wind banging around the palm trees.

[Karl Henning]

TD
Gusty wind banging around the palm trees.

Not already?

[Todd]

[HIPster]

Morning listening ~

[asin]B00004ZBJS[/asin]

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

[Madiel]

My exploration of my little Schubert collection comes to an end with D.960...

[asin]B00000IP6T[/asin]
The scary thing is, it appears I started almost 2 years ago. And I don't own that much Schubert. We're talking 33 recordings I've listened to.

[Karl Henning]

The scary thing is, it appears I started almost 2 years ago. And I don't own that much Schubert. We're talking 33 recordings I've listened to.

Speaking for myself, immersion will not be successful with every composer, even a composer whose work I generally like.

I can entirely see two years being a fair pace for 33 Schubert recordings.

Thread Duty:

http://www.youtube.com/v/a-XHmfR_8zg

[HIPster]

Now playing ~

[asin]B00FW7P8QW[/asin]

A beauty! 

[Madiel]

Speaking for myself, immersion will not be successful with every composer, even a composer whose work I generally like.

I can entirely see two years being a fair pace for 33 Schubert recordings.

Thread Duty:

http://www.youtube.com/v/a-XHmfR_8zg

On the other hand I can whip through almost 200 Holmboe recordings in a few months. The fact that his works are generally more compact doesn't hurt!

[Karl Henning]

And, I can see a Holmboe immersion, absolutely 

[North Star]

G'day, all

Thread duty - fresh from the mail
Hildegard/Hinrichs, Gurdjieff
Hinrichs
[asin]B002RB58H0[/asin]

[Harry]

http://walboi.blogspot.nl/2017/05/bowen-york-1884-1961-austin-frederic.html?spref=tw

All in all though, I found this compilation very interesting, and experienced contentment as well as a sense of awe, for music and performances.

[Mahlerian]

Still one of my favorites.

The work, the performance, or both?  If the last, I certainly agree.

[Karl Henning]

Both, indeed.