What are you listening to now?

Started by Dungeon Master, February 15, 2013, 09:13:11 PM

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ritter

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 24, 2018, 07:22:52 AM
Delage's Quatre Poèmes Hindous:



Wonderful work.
Indeed! And in a wonderful performance...

Good day, John.

THREAD DUTY:

Still (re)exploring obscure works of the Italian operatic novecento:



I have long admired Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini, which imho contrins some of the best pages of any Italian opera of this (or any) period. I cavalieri di Ekebù is more uneven, while the subject matter (based on Nobel prize winner Selma Lagerlöf's novel Gösta Berling's Saga) is less appealing to me, and it also permits Zandonai  to occasionally lapse into verismo-ish clichés and crudeness. Still, the harmonic treatment of the orchestra is interesting and sometimes daring, and the piece overall is a fun operatic show.

The 1983 performance is lovingly and expertly led by Gianandrea Gavazzeni, and the vocalists are all fine. Fiorenza Cossotto is past her prime, but puts her experience to use in the role of Commandante.

HIPster

Good day, all!  :)

Morning listening ~

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[asin]B000CA2L5A[/asin]
Wise words from Que:

Never waste a good reason for a purchase....  ;)

revdrdave

String Quartet No. 3 in D minor...This is a substantial piece (35 minutes) by a composer about which history knows almost nothing.  My first experience with Araciel's music, and it's pretty terrific.  Echoes of Mendelssohn, perhaps, but to my ears, at least, there is an accomplished, distinctive (if not particularly Spanish) voice at work here.


Que

Still had this lying around.....still wrapped.....  ::)



As good as could be expected...  :)

Rozhdestvensky & Prokofiev = no brainer.

Q

North Star

All' Improvviso
L'Arpeggiata
Pluhar

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"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

Draško



A fine, solid performance, which felt to me a bit static more than once. Still prefer the first Ursula Oppens for her lightness of touch and momentum and Yuji Takahashi for the swing (now that one I'd like to see reissued).

Wanderer


Mahlerian

Kurtag: Songs of Despair and Sorrow Op. 18
Netherlands Radio Choir, Asko|Schonberg, cond. de Leeuw
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"l do not consider my music as atonal, but rather as non-tonal. I feel the unity of all keys. Atonal music by modern composers admits of no key at all, no feeling of any definite center." - Arnold Schoenberg

Spineur

War requiem, Songs of dispair and sorrow, what is it ?  Winter is getting to you ? 

Time to bring some joyful optimism with this recent CD of Offenbach melodies composed in his early twenties

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Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 24, 2018, 07:22:52 AM
Delage's Quatre Poèmes Hindous:



Wonderful work.

I love this recital; both the programming and the singing. A lovely record.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

aligreto

Sallinen: Palace Rhapsody [Rasilainen]....





A fine work to conclude my first run through a very fine set.


I value lyricism highly in music and in the performance of it and this set delivered for me.

aligreto

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on February 24, 2018, 07:18:12 AM



Timely. Did you know Purim is coming up next week, or was this just coincidence?


Pure coincidence to be honest  :)

Kontrapunctus

This new 3 SACD set arrived today from Japan. Since it includes 2 "fillers" (Wagner's "Siegfried Idyll" and Bruckner's "Te Deum"), I was afraid some of the movements might be spread across two discs, but nope, that's not the case. Each disc plays for well over 80 minutes. Symphony 7 is paired with the Wagner on disc 1, Symphony 8 is by itself on disc 2, and disc 3 contains Symphony 9 plus "Te Deum." The DSD remastering from the original analog tapes sounds fantastic, and the playing is phenomenal.


Daverz

Quote from: Draško on February 24, 2018, 09:36:43 AM


A fine, solid performance, which felt to me a bit static more than once. Still prefer the first Ursula Oppens for her lightness of touch and momentum and Yuji Takahashi for the swing (now that one I'd like to see reissued).

Maybe the Takahashi is hard to find because it's classified as reggae!

http://japansmusic.com/4718351-yuji-takahashi-frederic-rzewski-the-people-united-will-never-be-defeated-free-download.html

Xenophanes



I'm actually just listening to Berwald's Symphony no. 3 tonight.  This is very good.

Mirror Image

Quote from: ritter on February 24, 2018, 08:17:43 AM
Indeed! And in a wonderful performance...

Good day, John.

And a good day to you, Rafael! 8) I hope all is well with you.

Mirror Image


RebLem

#109477
On Saturday, 28 FEB 2018, I listened to 7 CDs.


1-2)  Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951):  Blossom Time, an operetta in 3 Acts from themes of Franz Schubert (1921)  Book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly (1880-1928).  TT: 104'25.  CD 1, Act 1 (46'16), CD 2 , Acts 2 & 3 (58'09)--Steven Byess, cond., Ohio Light Opera, Justin Berkowitz, tenor (Franz Schubert), Amy Maples, soprano (Mitzi Kranz), Luke Bahr, tenor (Baron Franz Schobel), Ted Christopher (Count Scharntoff), Boyd Mackus (Herr Kranz, Mitzi's father), Carolin Miller, soprano (La Bellabruna).  Rec. 2012.  A 2 CD Albany Records set.

The Ohio Light Opera is a musical organization based in the Cleveland area.  The orchestra consists of a harpist, a double bassist, 7 violinists, and violas, cellos, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, and percussionists in pairs--a total of 29 instrumentalists.

A note in the accompanying booklet, which includes a complete text, says that the musical score of the production was recorded in full, but that the recording has a truncated (their word) version of the spoken dialogue.  Nevertheless, it is easy to follow the plot.  This is a lovely, charming work, superbly played and recorded.  I highly recommend it.


3) N Miaskovsky (1881-1950):  Tr. 1-4, Symphony 6 in E Flat Minor, Op. 23 (1923) (64'20)  |Tr. 5, Pathetic Overture in C Minor, Op. 76 (1947) (13'40)--Evgeny Svetlanov, cond., Russian Federation Symphony Orch.  CD 13 of a 16 CD set of all the Miaskovsky symphonies + some selected other orchestral works by these forces Rec. 1991-3 in the Large Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Moscow. Issued by Warner Records.

Symphony 6 is, per Wikipedia, "...the largest and most ambitious of his 27 symphonies, planned on a Mahlerian scale, and uses a chorus in the finale. It has been described as 'probably the most significant Russian symphony between Tchaikovsky's Pathétique and the Fourth Symphony of Shostakovich'.  (Myaskovsky in fact wrote part of the work in Klin, where Tchaikovsky wrote the Pathétique.) The premiere took place at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow on 4 May 1924, conducted by Nikolai Golovanov and was a notable success."
For further commentary on the Soviet critical response to the work, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._6_(Myaskovsky)
Later in his life, Miaskovsky authorized a version of the final movement of the Symphony 6 which omits the chorus.  It is this version which is presented on the present recording by Svetlanov.  He is the only conductor who has chosen to perform thiis version.
The Pathetic Overture does sound a little pathetic, like a psychological study of a depressed person up to about the 7 minute mark.  Then it starts to pick up and become much more cheerful and lively.


4) CD 8 in the 14 CD RCA set entitled "Leopold Stokowski: The Stereo Collection 1954-75."   |Tr. 1-4, Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904): Symphony 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 "From the New World" (43'19)--New Philharmonia Orch., rec. Walthamstow Town Hall, London, 2-4 JUL 1973  |Bedrich Smetana (1824-84):  |Tr. 5, The Moldau (Vtlava) from Ma Vlast (12'21)  |Tr. 6, The Bartered Bride: Overture (7'05)--RCA Victor Symphony Orch., rec. Manhattan Center, NYC, 18 FEB 1960. 

I have heard much better New World's than this.  Stokowski's first movement is a competent run through; the second movement seems to have no passion in it at all.  Things definitely start to pick up in the third movement, and the last movement is a real rouser.  My favorite New World, as I have said before in other reviews is the Zdenek Macal version with the London Philharmonic https://www.amazon.com/Dvorak-Symphony-World-Symphonic-Variations/dp/B000005GO8/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1519506222&sr=8-22&keywords=Zdenek+Macal  But other versions, too, are better than this, among them Reiner and Giulini, both with the Chicago Symphony, and Karel Ancerl with the Czech Philharmonic.
BTW, those of us who are old enough remember reading about Dvorak's 1893 summer sojourn in the small town of Spillville, Iowa, a Czech immigrant community on the Mississippi River which commentators from th 50's and 60's assured us no longer existed.  This is erroneous on several counts.  Per Wikipedia, "Spillville is a city in Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 367 at the 2010 census. It is located in Calmar Township, about 4 mi (6.4 km) west of Calmar and about 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Decorah, the county seat."  Winneshieck County is hard up on the Minnesota border, but it is one county west of the Mississippi River.  Its chief attraction today is St. Wenceslaus Church, founded in 1860, which has the distinction of being the oldest Czech Catholic Church in the US.  I just wanted to correct the record.

Stokowski seems more committed to the Smetana pieces than to Dvorak.  These are real rousers, expecially the Bartered Bride Overture.


5) F.J. Haydn (1732-1809):  |Tr. 1-4, Symphony 99 in E Flat Major (1793) (27'32)  |Tr. 5-8, Symphony 100 in G Major "Military" (1794) (24'19)--Adam Fischer, cond., Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orch., rec.1988-9 Haydnsaal, Esterhazy Palace, Eisenstadt, Austria.  This is CD 31 of a 33 CD Brilliant Classics set of all the Haydn symphonies by these forces.  Licensed from Nimbus Records.

As I have said before, the Military Symphony is my number one favorite Haydn symphony, and so I listened to it especially carefully.  These are both wonderful performances.


6) CD 16 of a 23 CD + 1 DVD set of all of pianist Clifford Curzon's recordings for DECCA.  W.A. Mozart (1756-91):  |Tr. 1-3, Piano Concerto 26 in D Major, K. 537 "Coronation" (1788) (31'08)  |Tr. 4-6, Piano Concerto 27 in B Flat Major, K. 595 (30'30)--Istavan Kertesz, cond., London Symphony Orch., rec. Kingsway Hall, London 6, 7, 9, 11 OCT (26), & 1, 2, 4 DEC 1967 (27).

These are wonderfully stylish performances of these two masterpieces.  These are among the very best available recordings of these works.  Curzon/Kertesz have a few equals, but no superiors in this repertoire.
Go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._26_(Mozart) for an explanation of why # 26 has the applellatioon "Coronation" attached to it.


7) CD 5 in the 7 CD Brilliant Classics set of the complete Robert Schumann (1810-56) chamber music.  Tr. 1-4, Maerchenerzaehlungen, for piano, clarinet, & viola, Op. 132 (16'07)  |Tr. 5, Fantasiestueke for clarinet & piano, Op. 73 (10'55)  |Tr. 6-9, Maerchenbilder for viola & piano, Op. 113 (14'45)  |Tr. 10, Adagio & Allegro for viola & piano, Op. 70 (7'45)--Nash Ensemble (Ian Brown, piano, Antony Pay, clarinet, Roger Chase, viola) (Tr. 1-5), Jolanta Bartosiak, viola, Beata Cywinska, piano (Tr. 6-10).  Rec. 1984 Rosslyn Chapel, Hampstead, London.  Licensed from CRD.

On this CD, we get some relief from the general feeling that this set is not up to par.  The Nash Ensemble, which is recorded in the first 5 tracks, is one of the finest chamber music groups in the world.  Most of their recordings are highly rated, and these performances by them are no exception. 

The last two works, performed by Bartosiak and Cywinska meets the same high standard of performance, but the presentation is marred by a too-close miking of the viola.
"Don't drink and drive; you might spill it."--J. Eugene Baker, aka my late father.

Spineur

From La Venexiana box "L'arte del Madrigale"
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I was reflecting on how the Madrigal evolved gradually in the different European culture into the Lieder, the mélodies etc..

ComposerOfAvantGarde

Elliott Gyger (b. 1968)
Smoke & Mirrors concerto for tenor saxophone and orchestra (2014)
Joshua Hyde (sax) and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Prateep Suphanrojn