What are you listening to now?

[SurprisedByBeauty]

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

I hope I didn't push too hard. Brings to mind a lyric of Bob Dylan, "I helped her out of a jam, I guess, but I used a little too much force."

Can't be disappointed, except by us overselling it.  It's one of the all-time great recordings... it's profoundly changed my listening, view of Beethoven and the piano sonata... But then I got that hit very early on in my listening-stage, so the potency was probably quintupled.

[Baron Scarpia]

But then I got that hit very early on in my listening-stage, so the potency was probably quintupled.

Same here.

[aligreto]

Handel: Ariodante Act III [McGegan]....





A wonderful work that is well played and sung in this very good performance. I like the tension and the subdued drama of the work which is well portrayed by all here.

[aligreto]

What...?  Could you explain that cover unless it was a Garmin giveaway? Is the marked place Sochaczew?

I was going to say that you are obviously too young to remember the Navigator series  but I see that another member has kindly explained the background to the cover 

[The One]

I was going to say that you are obviously too young to remember the Navigator series  but I see that another member has kindly explained the background to the cover 

Yes, yes I am...obviously.

I really love reading RebLem's posts in this thread.

It's the first thing I check when I log in everday.

I never really got around liking the way Perl plays. I have many recordings but still dislike her antics. She almost never follows the score, and is constantly adding some ornamentation or changing the score. She admits as much by a few interviews she has given for the French and German television, with the motivation that this was also done in the composers era.
Anyway I will never play them again so they will land in the next culling round.

Her take in Hanssler set is passable. The rest are always questionable for me.

This looks really intriguing and I want to have a listen. I haven't heard the flute quartets played by this lot though. What do you think of this arrangement?

The arrangement belongs to an oboist and was done right after it was composed. I love Mozart, the soloists, the Magic Flute, flute itself and the arrangement so it's a treat for me. But hearing the vocals of the arias is not for everyone. You have to love Mozart to keep this one.

[aligreto]

Vivaldi: Mandolin Concerto RV 425 [O'Dette/Goodman]....





I still love to hear this work no matter how many times I have already listened to it.

[The One]

[The One]

[André]

I sometimes feel these two symphonies are « about » Vaughan Williams rather than « from » Vaughan Williams. As if the composer was reflecting on his art in an essay and I was reading his thoughts, comments, footnotes. In any case, no 9 is definitively a valedictory work.

Slatkin's great quality in these recordings of the symphonies is the care he gives to the orchestral balances, particularly the very important percussion parts.

[Todd]

[kishnevi]

It's great and I think the only thing bad about the cover is that the name of the quartet is in a much bigger font than the composers and repertoire.

It is a good CD. Most of Q. Ebene's work is good, including the recordings they made before they signed to EMI.  I'm not a fan of their cross genre CDs in jazz and pop, but that's my taste, and not a comment on those particular CDs.  This Debussy/Ravel/Faure was their  first CD with what was then EMI.
But the cover photo does remind me of boy band photos....and the Backstreet Boys are actually my favorite pop group, so referencing them wasn't a real diss...

[Mandryka]

Savall, du Caurroy, the booklet essay by Jean-Michel Vaccaro is a scholarly, passionate and inspiring piece of journalism, and the more I listen to the performances the more open I am to the idea that this is a major masterpiece. Such a shame that no one else has risen to the challenge of du Caurroy - as far as I know there's only Savall who has recorded a substantial amount of them - about half in fact.

Once again Astrée proves itself to have been a real force in recorded music.

[aligreto]

Langgaard: Music of the Spheres [Dausgaard]....





This is my second version of this wonderful work [my first being that by Rozhdestvensky]. This is a powerful interpretation and performance and it has augmented my already high opinion of this work. This is a live recording and this aspect always adds an extra dimension.

[listener]

BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique
2 recordings:  London Classical Players /Norrington  (53:11)
and French Nation Radio Orch. /Beecham    (52:13)
the big difference in timings is in the March to the Scaffold, Norrington takes 7:25, Beecham 5:12
I will hear this again tomorrow live when the Vancouver Symphony is joined by the Youth Orchestra

[aligreto]

BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique....

I will hear this again tomorrow live when the Vancouver Symphony is joined by the Youth Orchestra

I would love to hear this live. Do enjoy the performance 

[SurprisedByBeauty]

#morninglistening to #Bruckner on @hyperionrecords w/#CorydonSingers & #MatthewBest

Amazon: http://a-fwd.to/1L5NcKqq1

Terrific performance of the F-minor #Mass and #Psalm 150 on #HyperionRecords

[Christo]

I sometimes feel these two symphonies are « about » Vaughan Williams rather than « from » Vaughan Williams. As if the composer was reflecting on his art in an essay and I was reading his thoughts, comments, footnotes. In any case, no 9 is definitively a valedictory work.

Slatkin's great quality in these recordings of the symphonies is the care he gives to the orchestral balances, particularly the very important percussion parts.

Great observation, though I feel this applies more to the Eight perhaps than to the Ninth - that is not only valedictory (absoletely) but also brimming with new energy, especially in the 'brutal' middle movements (nobody serves them as well as Thomson, but you are right, Slatkin is very convincing overall. Great to read!~

[André]

BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique
2 recordings:  London Classical Players /Norrington  (53:11)
and French Nation Radio Orch. /Beecham    (52:13)
the big difference in timings is in the March to the Scaffold, Norrington takes 7:25, Beecham 5:12
I will hear this again tomorrow live when the Vancouver Symphony is joined by the Youth Orchestra

The timing difference stems from Norrington's willingness to observe the silliest repeat ever penned in a score. Who would want to march to the scaffold twice ? 

[mc ukrneal]

#morninglistening to #Bruckner on @hyperionrecords w/#CorydonSingers & #MatthewBest

: http://a-fwd.to/1L5NcKqq1

Terrific performance of the F-minor #Mass and #Psalm 150 on #HyperionRecords

Yeah - a real beauty!

[Spineur]

La petite musique de Marie Antoinette: last DVD of this set, produced by the center of Baroque musique of Versailles



A selection of staged and semi staged operas of Gretry (Céphale et Procris, La caravane du Caire) Francois Gossec at Le petit théatre de la Reine in Versailles Trianon.  One of the loveliest theatre I have ever seen

Ensemble Les Agremens, Guy van Waas