What are you listening to now?

[Wakefield]

Telemann & The Baroque Gypsies
Ensemble Caprice
Matthias Maute



Vibrant and energetic, and fully enjoyable. 

[Florestan]

The G minor is played with Beethovenian intensity, especially the first movement. Things lighten up a bit (but not too much) in the E-flat major. This is serious, weighty and committed Mozart playing

[Karl Henning]

The G minor is played with Beethovenian intensity, especially the first movement.

So the question is:  is Beethovenian intensity a distortion, or is it being true to Mozart?

[Florestan]

So the question is:  is Beethovenian intensity a distortion, or is it being true to Mozart?

For those who think Mozart was all sunshine and nonchalance, probably the former.

[MN Dave]

For those who think Mozart was all sunshine and nonchalance, probably the former.

I thought Mozart was all sugar and spice.

[Mahlerian]

Truly Mozart is the embodiment of the demonic...

[TheGSMoeller]

Telemann & The Baroque Gypsies
Ensemble Caprice
Matthias Maute



Vibrant and energetic, and fully enjoyable. 

I love that disc, Gordo! Glad to see you're enjoying it.

[amw]

The G minor is played with Beethovenian intensity, especially the first movement. Things lighten up a bit (but not too much) in the E-flat major. This is serious, weighty and committed Mozart playing

This is a very good recording, maybe my favourite on modern instruments. I don't think they're all intensity and weight all the time though—they certainly turn up the charm for the finale of No.1 (one of my favourite individual movements in Mozart's output) for example.

[Karl Henning]

For those who think Mozart was all sunshine and nonchalance, probably the former.

For informed listeners who have no such cartoonish thoughts of Mozart, is it nevertheless a distortion?

[Biffo]

Martinu: Overture for Orchestra; Rhapsody for Large Orchestra; The Parables for Large Orchestra & Estampes for Orchestra - Jiri Belohlavek conducting the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, recordings from 1987 (issued 1989)

[Florestan]

This is a very good recording, maybe my favourite on modern instruments. I don't think they're all intensity and weight all the time though—they certainly turn up the charm for the finale of No.1 (one of my favourite individual movements in Mozart's output) for example.

Oh, sure, I agree.

[Florestan]

For informed listeners who have no such cartoonish thoughts of Mozart, is it nevertheless a distortion?

I don't think so. To my ears they are serious and weighty but I don't mean they are dark and gloomy and turn Mozart into Alan Pettersson. See amw's comment.

[Karl Henning]

I don't think so. To my ears they are serious and weighty but I don't mean they are dark and gloomy and turn Mozart into Alan Pettersson. See amw's comment.

Thank you both.

Just to clarify my opinion (not specific to this recording, which I have not heard), while Alan Pettersson is an exaggerated example—no one thinks Mozart should sound like Pettersson!—I don't think it would be right to make Mozart sound like Beethoven, either.

[amw]

I don't think so. To my ears they are serious and weighty but I don't mean they are dark and gloomy and turn Mozart into Alan Pettersson. See amw's comment.

Yes, much more Donna Anna than Queen of the Night, imo.

[Karl Henning]

ДШ
Pf Quintet in g minor, Op.57 (1940)
Ashkenazy & the Fitzwilliams

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[Florestan]

Thank you both.

Just to clarify my opinion (not specific to this recording, which I have not heard), while Alan Pettersson is an exaggerated example—no one thinks Mozart should sound like Pettersson!—I don't think it would be right to make Mozart sound like Beethoven, either.

Well, imho early Beethoven would not be entirely inappropriate, he sometimes sounded quite Mozartian himself.

Anyway, I should have probably written "almost Beethovenian intensity". You should not infer from my comment that what you hear on this recording is not recognizably Mozart.

[Florestan]

Yes, much more Donna Anna than Queen of the Night, imo.

Yes, a nice way to put it.

[Judith]

Had a Shostakovich Day today as fancied something with a bit of bite.

Shostakovich
Piano Trio no 2
Joshua Bell
Steven Isserlis
Olli Mustonen

Shostakovich Symphony no 9
RLPO
Vasily Petrenko

Both very tasty

[Karl Henning]

Had a Shostakovich Day today as fancied something with a bit of bite.

Shostakovich
Piano Trio no 2
Joshua Bell
Steven Isserlis
Olli Mustonen

Shostakovich Symphony no 9
RLPO
Vasily Petrenko

Both very tasty

Almost as if I knew . . .

ДШ
Pf Quintet in g minor, Op.57 (1940)
Ashkenazy & the Fitzwilliams

[vandermolen]

When in judgemental mood I've tended to dismiss L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande as characterful but ragged (certainly in years back).  But recently I've enjoyed 3 of their recordings a lot;

One of my all time favourite Sibelius collections:
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with the best En Saga I know.  Horst Stein gets the orchestra to play with such fervour and drama.

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Weller is excellent in all 3 of the Symphonies but he gets real attack and venom from the L'OdlSR

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This is a recent purchase and I'm very impressed.  Spring really does blaze in here in the 1st movement.  Not the subtlest performance but very exciting and full of life.  I love the Zemlinsky too.

I like that Weller recording as well. The second CD used the same image used for Damase's 'Symphonie'.