What are you listening to now?

[aligreto]

Sallinen: Horn Concerto [Tapani/Rasilainen]....





This is a first listen to this work for me and I found it to be beguiling, quite atmospheric and somewhat enchanting. I like the musical language and the somewhat disconcerting, menacing tone of the work. The voice of the Horn is not particularly concertante but I find it to be stimulating and engaging and the performance has an appealing and captivating presence to it.

[Christo]

Good evening all, Vaughan Williams - Pastoral Symphony (Handley)
[asin]B00156ZWV0[/asin]

A Pastoral Symphony evening is always a very good evening! 

[The new erato]

Disc 2 from this:



Very good disc of some of the most impressive music from the early renaissance.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Another Alpensinfonie

My thoughts on this recording posted here

[aligreto]

Chopin, performed by Claudio Arrau....





Nocturnes Nos. 8-13

[Jamie]

I'm enjoying symphony 1 from this set...

[André]

Max Reger's Requiem has a complicated story. He wrote different works, assigning them opus numbers (« Hebbel Requiem », op 144b, Lateinisches Requiem op 145a) and leaving an unfinished Dies irae upon his death in 1916 (thus unnumbered in the list of his compositions). The companion piece to the Hebbel Requiem was a song for baritone, chorus and orchestra titled Der Einsiedler (The Ermit) and was assigned the opus number 144a. It is also concerned with death, and is sometimes found together on disc with its opus companion, as both were collectively titled Two Songs for Mixed Chorus and Orchestra, op. 144 by the publisher, Simrock.

It is unclear if the various parts were to eventually form some kind of unified work (like Brahms' Deusches Requiem). Reger was working on other projects at the time, some related, some not. Some of his compositions share an opus number with a and b subdivisions. Confusingly, opus 145a (the Lateinisches Requiem) does not have a « b » opus mate  .

This Koch Schwann disc conveniently groups the « requiem » works together (minus Der Einsiedler), in chronological order, although they were most likely not thought of by their composer as a unified work. Indeed the musical forces vary from one opus to the other. Be that as it may, everything here is full blown mature Reger: concise, powerful, but also tinged with pessimism and not a little drama.

I do wish another recording would attempt to present them (along with Der Einsiedler) with appropriatle large forces and in modern sound. The present disc is well intended but will only serve as a stopgap. It is distantly recorded, which robs the music of its intended impact.

[HIPster]

Some pre-Valentine's Day listening 

[asin]B011MICLO6[/asin]

A totally awesome disc of lute music. 

[Ken B]

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis in D, Op. 123
Rosa Mannion Birgit Remmert, James Taylor, Cornelius Hauptmann, Chorus of the Collegium Vocale and La Chapelle Royale, Orchestre des Champs-Elysees, cond. Herreweghe
[asin]B0743X369G[/asin]

Fantastic performance of a work that's rather difficult to pull off.

Indeed. I was rather put off the piece for a long time by not so convincing performances by usually convincing people. That one really clicked.

TD
One the basis of of the implied recommendation of a Raspberry Award, Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, with the Freiburgers and Faust. I like the smaller scale — pretty much always in every piece — but this has a disjointed feel to it so far. The orchestra never seems to drive us forward and sweep us along.

I'd be interested in Florestan's reaction.

[Todd]

From the DHM long box.  Nice.

[Mirror Image]

Symphony No. 4:

[Mirror Image]

Barber: Medea Ballet Suite - Schenck/New Zealand SO.

[asin]B000001SD6[/asin]

Very nice, Nik. The Third Essay for Orchestra and Fadograph of a Yestern Scene are fascinating works from Barber's late period. It seems he was in long decline after the failure of his opera Antony and Cleopatra, but as a few gems in later years would prove, he still had a lot to say. I just wish he hadn't had let the negative press surrounding this opera get the better of him.

[Todd]

4

[Mirror Image]

Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas:

[SymphonicAddict]

I almost always like to listen to works in chronological order. In this case it wasn't an exception.

First listens:

Symphony No. 1




Two muscular and gripping compositions. So far, I have liked what I've heard.

[Mirror Image]

I almost always like to listen to works in chronological order. In this case it wasn't an exception.

First listens:

Symphony No. 1




Two muscular and gripping compositions. So far, I have liked what I've heard.

Krenek is a composer I seem to struggle with. Any tips on listening to his music or comments on his style?

[SymphonicAddict]

Krenek is a composer I seem to struggle with. Any tips on listening to his music or comments on his style?

These works are the first ones I know by Krenek. Well, I heard some influences of Hindemith, though there are more dissonances and the music is expansive, with touches of aggressiveness (I'm not a musician, so it's what I can say so far)  . For a newbie these works would be a good introduction about Krenek. These symphonies are very approachable overall.

[Mirror Image]

These works are the first ones I know by Krenek. Well, I heard some influences of Hindemith, though there are more dissonances and the music is expansive, with touches of aggressiveness (I'm not a musician, so it's what I can say so far)  . For a newbie these works would be a good introduction about Krenek. These symphonies are very approachable overall.

I've heard all of Krenek's symphonies (and misc. orchestral works) from that CPO box set, but I just can't get my head around the music. With a composer like Hartmann and Hindemith, there are access points in their music along the way that make it a bit easier to get inside the music, but with Krenek I'm finding he's a lot like Henze for me, quite impenetrable.

[kyjo]

Koppel: Symphony No. 5 [Atzmon]....





I have mixed feelings when it comes to the music of HD Koppel so it was with some trepidation that I approached his Symphony No. 5. I immediately liked it a lot; I liked the musical language and the scoring. I like the tension and excitement in the first movement, some of which is quite electric and powerful. The Scherzo is a somewhat subdued but beguiling affair and the tension and excitement of the first movement returns in the final movement and is enhanced by tempo and dynamics.

A great work indeed! I can hear echoes of Shostakovich, Nielsen, and Holmboe in this symphony.

[SymphonicAddict]

I've heard all of Krenek's symphonies (and misc. orchestral works) from that CPO box set, but I just can't get my head around the music. With a composer like Hartmann and Hindemith, there are access points in their music along the way that make it a bit easier to get inside the music, but with Krenek I'm finding he's a lot like Henze for me, quite impenetrable.

It's curious because I felt a kind of connection with those works almost immediately. Possibly his later works are more challenging and not as engaging as the early ones (at least what I could think). And it's also curious I don't feel what you do about Hartmann: I do struggle with his symphonies. There are simply composers who appeal more to our tastes than others.