What are you listening to now?

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

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kyjo

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on August 17, 2018, 03:33:14 PM
I really love the 6 quartets (esp. 4 and 5), they sound almost like rock music in places  :D
BTW, my favorite recording is by Emerson SQ (DG). They nail the works!

I definitely see the rock music similarity as well! It's been a while since I've listened to the Emerson's recordings - I'll have to give them another spin. Interestingly, Ginastera's String Quartet no. 1 - which is obviously inspired by the Bartok quartets in its rhythmic ferocity - is a work I like much more than any of them. Maybe because the folk influences are more "obvious" than in the Bartok quartets - and I love that "spicy" South American flavor! Also, I suppose I'm biased as I've gotten to perform the Ginastera.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Daverz

Klami: Violin Concerto

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I was actually looking for another recording of the Englund, but Tidal does a bad job of labeling tracks, so I ended listening to Klami. I had thought of Klami as a somewhat backwards looking composer, but I hear echos of Bartok (if still a bit more conservative than actual Bartok), so Klami was fairly au courant at the time of composition (1943).  It's a lovely concerto.

Madiel

A couple of Nørgård's very earliest works, from the age of 16-17.



Just before and after he started learning with Vagn Holmboe.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

SymphonicAddict

Quote from: kyjo on August 17, 2018, 08:05:13 PM
I definitely see the rock music similarity as well! It's been a while since I've listened to the Emerson's recordings - I'll have to give them another spin. Interestingly, Ginastera's String Quartet no. 1 - which is obviously inspired by the Bartok quartets in its rhythmic ferocity - is a work I like much more than any of them. Maybe because the folk influences are more "obvious" than in the Bartok quartets - and I love that "spicy" South American flavor! Also, I suppose I'm biased as I've gotten to perform the Ginastera.

I also like the Ginastera's SQs, but only the first 2. Those wit rhythms and folk influences make me feel good. The third one with voice is terribly less appealing, even, I don't like it to be honest.

Daverz

#119764
Quote from: André on August 17, 2018, 05:07:02 PM


Superb performances. Classically conceived but impassioned Franck, wonderfully earthy and white-hot Prokofiev. The sound is spectacular.

I have the Franck on a Cala CD.  It's certainly one of the better recordings, but at the opposite pole from Monteux.

SymphonicAddict

Prompted by the monumental B-minor symphonies, today's been an unforgettable journey with guilty pleasures:




Manfred Symphony

It may not be the greatest Tchaikovsky's symphony, but it's certainly exciting and doesn't disappoint. The use of the woodwinds is particularly striking in the 2nd and 3rd movements, creating a singular elvish environment.





Symphony No. 1 Klippepastoraler

I don't hear Mahler echoes in this majestic saga as others point out, but rather from Tchaikovsky and Wagner. It's impossible not to be amazed by such a prodigious utterance by a teenager, the orchestration is superb and the symphonic construction is very well sustained in its 67 minutes (of this recording). A truly inspiring score.





Symphony No. 2 The Legendary

Along with the No. 4 Sinfonia Lirica, this is my absolute favorite symphony by Tubin. They can't be more different from each other. The No. 2 is just raw, violent, bleak, with no sun glimpses. The atmosphere this piece depicts is spectacular, I can't get enough of it. I can't live without it!





Symphony No. 3 Ilya Muromets

The epitome of epic symphonies. Period.

Que

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on August 17, 2018, 09:12:03 PM
Prompted by the monumental B-minor symphonies, today's been an unforgettable journey with guilty pleasures:




Manfred Symphony

It may not be the greatest Tchaikovsky's symphony, but it's certainly exciting and doesn't disappoint. The use of the woodwinds is particularly striking in the 2nd and 3rd movements, creating a singular elvish environment.

I have a BIG soft spot for the Manfred!  :)

Q

Que

#119767
Before my vacation I was revisiting the Leiden Choirbooks set,  this morning picking up where I left of:



Q


aligreto

Vivaldi: L'estro armonico, Concertos, Nos. 3-5 [Biondi]





This is wonderfully inventive, exciting, virtuosic and enjoyable music that is very well played here. Biondi is a wonderful exponent of this music with all of its nuances and the interpretation and performances are superlative.

aligreto

Quote from: kyjo on August 17, 2018, 01:44:50 PM

Bloch - Concerto Grosso no. 1 for string orchestra and piano:

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I love this work! It opens with a strikingly declamatory Prelude then moves to dolefully expressive Dirge, followed by the atmospheric and tuneful Pastorale and Rustic Dances and closing with a masterfully written Fugue. I particularly like the way Bloch augments and colors the sound of the string orchestra with the piano part. The Eastman-Rochester Orchestra under Hanson play with tremendous body and vigor, and the recorded sound is remarkably good for 1959.





It has been a while since I listened to the Concerti Grossi But I remember that they are two wonderful works which have a completely different feel from one another; not surprising really as they were written many years apart. Both are very interesting in their own right and obviously have different things to say. They are definitely worth a listen for those who have not heard them.



QuoteBartók - String Quartet no. 5:

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I generally really like Bartók's orchestral works (the piano concerti, Divertimento for strings, and Music for SP&C), but for some reason his widely-heralded quartets leave me cold (that said, I do recall rather liking no. 6). They're undoubtedly masterfully written and innovative, but they are often unremittingly harsh and angular  - and everything seems a bit calculated, to my ears. I will concede that there are some pretty cool rhythmic passages here and there, but nothing that draws me in emotionally. Despite my reaction towards the music, I can't find anything to fault about the Belcea Quartet's performance.

A great set that.

aligreto

Quote from: North Star on August 17, 2018, 01:49:18 PM
I enjoyed the performances very much, though I can't offer a comparison with another recording.

Enough said. Thank you for that  ;)

aligreto

Quote from: Traverso on August 17, 2018, 02:03:28 PM



This is my  "INO"  sung by Gundula Janowitz,an old Archive lp. The singing is heavenly.....



I am envious of that LP  8)

aligreto

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on August 17, 2018, 03:36:23 PM



A wondrous choice aligreto!

Cheers; I am definitely in the "More than The Planets" camp as far as Holst is concerned. He wrote some great music.

aligreto

Soler: Harpsichord Sonata No. 60 [Rowland]





Wonderfully inventive music that is assertively played here.

Que


Que

Quote from: aligreto on August 18, 2018, 12:13:28 AM
Soler: Harpsichord Sonata No. 60 [Rowland]



Wonderfully inventive music that is assertively played here.

Love Soler!  :) I'm not familiar with the Rowland recordings though, quite happy with the Belder set (Brilliant) for now....

Were Naxos to issue a complete set (it seems just about that time), I would consider it.

Q

aligreto

JC Bach: Sonatas Op. 16 [Salzburger Hofmusik]

I have now received my copy, I have had the discussions and read the reviews kindly provided so it is now time to listen. I will take two at a time for comparison of accompanying instrumentation purposes.





Nos. 1 & 2

aligreto

Quote from: Que on August 18, 2018, 12:46:49 AM
Love Soler!  :) I'm not familiar with the Rowland recordings though, quite happy with the Belder set (Brilliant) for now....

Were Naxos to issue a complete set (it seems just about that time), I would consider it.

Q

Yes, that would be the thing to do. I do not know the Belder versions at all. Perhaps a future purchase?

aligreto

A. Scarlatti: La Folia [Purcell Quartet]



Que

Quote from: aligreto on August 18, 2018, 12:50:20 AM
Yes, that would be the thing to do. I do not know the Belder versions at all. Perhaps a future purchase?

Belder's Soler was actually as a somewhat pleasant surprise to me.
His style can sometimes be too "angular" for non-Germanic repertoire.... His survey of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book seems for instance lost on me, unfortunately... ::)

But he turned out to be a perfect fit for Soler's quirky and high powered late Baroque/early Classical  style!  :)

Q