What are you listening to now?

[Mirror Image]

A ballet triple-bill -

Debussy: Jeux
Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin
Falla: El sombrero de tres picos

From the following recordings:

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I must confess I came out of this first hearing of the Malipiero SQs (only 'No. 1, Rispetti e strambotti' and No. 2, 'Stornelli e ballate' so far) with mixed feelings. Perhaps I was not in the mood for this particular kind of "aggressive neoclassicism" last night, but the musics's angularity and jaggedness, and curious formal configuration (single movements with distinct episodes following each other in relatively quick succession) struck me in a not altogether positive way. But I will continue to explore this set, and revisit these first two SQs sometime soon ( when I'm better disposed to the idiom?).

Well, I think it's important to remember that I believe you shared with me in the past some ambivalence towards Malipiero's music. I must say that I don't know the Orpheus SQ's performances, but none of Malipiero's SQs strike me as 'aggressive neoclassicism'. It may very well be the performances themselves. I own the set from the Quartetto di Venezia on the Dynamic label and haven't experienced what you did at all. I suppose the Quartetto di Venezia downplay the more angularity of the music and bring out it's lyricism. I do hope you continue to try those first couple of quartets as I find Malipiero's idiom quite ear-catching.

[Daverz]

My bit of Bax for today was Symphony No. 5.

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Via Tidal as this is the one Bax 5 I don't have on CD.

[RebLem]

On Saturday, 21 APR 2018, I listened to 2 CDs.


1)  Lowell Liebermann (b. 22 FEB 1961): 25 songs.  Robert White, tenor, Lowell Liebermann, piano--Rec. at SUNY--Purchase Performing Arts Center Recital Hall 19-24 MAR 2000.  Arabesque Records CD.  |Tr. 1.  Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, Op. 41 (1993) (12''24) Text: Walt Whitman.  |Tr. 2-7.  Six Songs on Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Op. 57 (1997) (16'08)  |Tr. 8-13.  Final Songs, Op. 21 (9'17)  |Tr. 14-16.  Three Dream Songs, Op. 53 (4'22)  |Tr. 17-22.  A Poet to His Beloved. Op. 40 (13'57)  |Tr. 23-25.  Night Songs, Op. 22 (5'55).

On the fourth to last unnumbered page (counting the back cover as a page), is this statement:  "Mr. Liebermann's works are published exclusively by Theodore Presser Company and he is a Yamaha artist."  Then, two pages later, on the inside back cover, the piano used for this recording is listed as "Steinway 812."   MOMMY, I'M CONFUSED!
Out of the Cradle...,Op. 41 was originally composed in 199e for mezzo-soprano &  string quartet.  This is the premiere performance of the tenor-piano version.
The Longfellow poems were LL's response to a commission from the Geraldine C & Emorty Ford Foundation for a setting of "poems of a romantic nature," and LL chose these HWL poems as his response to the commission.  It was composed in 1997 and first performed by White & Liebermann. 
The Final Songs have that title not because they are some sort of valedictory works--the early opus number shows they are not.  But they all deal with death and loss, thus the title.  Among them are Robert Graves's "Death by Drums," Randall Jarrell's "Farwell Symphony,"  and of Rod Jellema's  "Listening to Comrade Shostakovich on the Day of His Death,"  LL writes, "My setting includes a fleeting reference to Shostakovich's Viola Sonata, his very last completed work, composed shortly before his death in 1975."  The Final Songs is dedicated to Vincent Pershichetti, who was Liebermann's doctoral dissertation supervisor @ Julliard.  "I asked Persichetti to look at these songs, and we read them through together.  When he finished...he shoved the music away...and told me, 'These are wonderful and they are terrible (in the old Biblical sense" and I don't want to see them again.'  I was bewildered by his reaction but two weeks later I learned he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and been given a short time to live.  During my recital in which these songs were introduced he was up in his studio working away at things he was determined to finish in the time he had left, but he came down to Paul Hall to hear these songs and thanked me for them."
The Three Dream Songs are musical settings of poems by Langston Hughes.  It was originally composed for tenor, flute, string quartet, and piano, but Robert White, the tenor here in the tenor-piano version, was also the vocalist at the world premiere performance of the original version.  The six texts are by William Butler Yeats. 
The Night Songs, Op. 22 were premiered on the same program with the Op. 21 Final Songs.  They are all poems about sleep written by Mark Van Doren, Robert Graves, & Randall Jarrett, adapted from Rainer Maria Rilke.
Texts to all the songs are included into the 24 page unnumbered booklet (counting both the front and back covers as pages).  I marked my copy with page numbers for personal reference.  Its all in English, no translations.


2)  CD 3 in the 10 CD box "Carl Schuricht: The Complete DECCA recordings."  |Tr. 1-4.  L.V. Beethoven (1770-1827): Symphony 2 in D Major, Op. 36 (32'41)  |Tr. 5-8.  Johannes Brahms (1833-97): Piano Concert 2 in B Flat Major, Op. 83 (46'11)--Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Backhaus, piano (Tr. 5-8)--Rec. Greater Hall, Musikverein, Wien, 25-30 MAY 1952.

This is one of three Schuricht performances of the Beethven 2 in my collection.  Another one is a 30'56 performance with L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande from 1947 on Disc 1 of this set.  The last is his 32'17 1958 stereo recording with the Paris Conservatory Orch. which is part of his 7 CD EMI set of all the Beethoven symphonies + the Bruckner 3, 8, & 9 with the Wiener Phil.
It is instructive to compare the timings, movement by movement, of Schuricht's 3 recordings of the Beethoven 2nd, as they have quite a range:
1947    |1952     |1958
LOSR   |Wien    |Paris
9'22      |10'05     |10'01
8'11      |11'58     |12'08
6'50       |3'31       |3'21
6'33        |7'07       |6'47
Note in particular the wide discrepancies in timings for the 2nd and 3rd movements.  In his earliest recording, he gave the second movement alleghretto short shrift, whereas in the two later ones, they get much more expansive treatment.  By contrast, he lingers over the scherzo in the first recording, but shortens them up by almost half in the last two.  In the present recording, the 1952 one, he really lingers on, one might almost say, caresses the second movement. 
The Brahms PC 2 is an excellent recording.  Backhaus was born 26 MAR 1884.  When he made this recording in MAY 1952, he was age 68.  He died 5 JUL 1969 at age 85.  Here, he is still young enough that his powers are undiminished, but not so old as to be in a deteriorating state.
Somehow, I sense some slight problem with this recording.  It seems not to have picked up a certain range of frequencies, the cello solo in the third movement seems a tad wan, as if some tones in its midrange are missing, and the piano sounds a little off, too.  I don't know what it is.  This was made in Vienna.  Backhaus was known to favor Bosendorfer pianos, and they are made in Vienna, so it would be strange if the piano were other than a Bosendorfer, though the liner notes do not say if it was or not.  But the discrepancy could not have been in the piano.  Maybe there was something wrong with the mics, or with the transfer here, I know not what.  Otherwise, this is a fine performance.  All the deficiencies seem to be in the recording, not the musicians.   

[Que]

Morning listening:

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Q

[Undersea]

Earlier:

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Haydn: String Quartet #14 In E Flat, Op. 9/2, H 3/20
Kodàly Quartet


NP:

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Beethoven: Piano Sonata #15 In D, Op. 58, "Pastoral"
Daniel Barenboim

[aligreto]

Taverner: Missa Mater Christi Sanctissima [Christophers]

[aligreto]

Morning listening:

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Q

Nice. I enjoyed listening to that one recently.

[aligreto]

JC Bach: Symphonies Op. 6 Nos. 5 & 6 [Halstead]





Finishing off this fine CD.

[Draško]

No it does not.  Here are all the verses (latin version).  The booklet has the french and english translations
Te Deum laudamus,
te Dominum confi temur.
....

That's the standard text. I thought they sang a few extra verses, but I was wrong. They just sing a lot of repeats and some verses are split into multiple tracks. That's why it's almost twice the length of Christie or Colleaux.

Gave another spin to de Lalande Majesté CD.  I agree with you with the bright slightly resonant sound, but it fits the Te Deum beautifully.  Remember that it was to the glory of Louis the XIV.  You woudnt imagine a subdued and dull sound for Le roi soleil would you ?  It is more of the problem with the motets - it sorts of quashes out religious faith.

I've seen ciritique in that direction before - that grand motets should be performed in less theatrical fashion, and even though I can see where they come from I just plain don't like overly pious and demure performances. It's French high baroque, there has to be pomp and grandeur.

I've listened to it once more and this Dumestre de Lalande will definitely end on my discs of the year list. The vivacity, the color and detail, the singing - everything is phenomenal. And i love the cover.

[Traverso]

Bach Cantatas

CD 14
More festive music on a sunny day.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

#morninglistening to #Bach cantatas w/@bach_collegiumE on #BISrecords

: http://a-fwd.to/788mN6P

#cantataoftheday, namely BWV146 from Vol.44 of the #MasaakiSuzuki cycle.

>Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal in das Reich Gottes eingehen

☆☆☆☆

[aligreto]

Schubert: Mass in E flat major D 950 [Weil]





I have this CD in my collection for many years now and I have always liked it. The performance of this monumental work has a buoyant tone but one which still retains the reverential element. The vocals are very fine and the balance between choral and orchestral lines is very well recorded.

[Todd]

A whiff.

[aligreto]

Vivaldi: Tito Manlio, Atto secondo [Dantone]

[Mahlerian]

To answer your question, I find that the 3 works grow in interest in the order they are given. IOW no 3 is the most interesting - arresting, even. I'll look for another version, possibly the Carus disc.

Thank you for the response.  In fact, it was No. 3 that caught my attention and prompted my listening to that disc again, so it may be that we're in agreement here.

Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 2 in A
Domus
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[Biffo]

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 5 in D major - Leonard Slatkin conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra - another fine performance from Slatkin's cycle.

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Debussy
Children's Corner
Kocsis

[San Antone]

One of my favorite sets:

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Takemitsu
Between Tides
Fujita Piano Trio