What are you listening to now?

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

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Traverso


SonicMan46

Mozart, WA - Horn Concertos & Quintet w/ David Pyatt-Neville Marriner & Acad St. Martin - new arrival to complement my other modern horn recording, along w/ two discs w/ natural horn - the Pyatt is coupled w/ the Horn Quintet, an uncommon but welcomed combination.  Dave :)


vandermolen

Quote from: Mirror Image on January 12, 2019, 05:56:24 AM
Excellent. What did you think of that recording, Jeffrey?
Only heard it a few times John but sounds excellent to me although I listen on a not very expensive system.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

Quote from: Biffo on January 12, 2019, 07:07:21 AM
Holst: Egdon Heath, Op 47 Homage to Thomas Hardy- Richard Hickox conducting the London Symphony Orchestra - atmospheric performance
Possibly Holst's masterpiece. A kind of Engish Tapiola.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

Quote from: Christo on January 12, 2019, 07:19:42 AM
Urged by Dundonnell, whose expertise in all matters regarding Rubbra and many more  ;D I highly value, I bought all the Lyrita recordings a couple of years ago. But didn't play them enough; am repenting of my sins now and concentrating on this wonderful Sixth & Eight first.  0:)

They are all great Johan but I think that there is something very special about Boult's performance of Symphony 7.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

cilgwyn

Playing,now. Track 1,cd 2.Harriet Cohen,Bax's Mistress for 30 years,playing the first movement of Bach's Keyboard Concerto No1. A 1946 recording. A brilliant pianist. I'm really enjoying listening to her recordings. The transfers are superb. I only wish she could have recorded more complete works! :( But,there's 3 cd's of sheer pleasure,here. The booklet is excellent,with lots of interesting photos.


cilgwyn

Moeran's Sinfonietta. I just had to put it on after reading the enthusiastic posts,here! :)


cilgwyn

Now! Heifetz playing Korngold's Violin Concerto. First movement!


André



Two beautiful, very substantial cello concertos. I listened to each twice.

The Finzi opens with a somewhat blustery theme, almost melodramatically worked out to maximum effect. Having started with such a grand, sweeping flourish makes it somewhat hard to 'back down' musically, so parts of the development tend to lose steam in the process. The slow movement is a wonderful invention, its heart-on-sleeve sentiment kept in check by a welcome modesty, the composer rightly refusing to milk this plum of a theme. The last movement has a winning start, with a striking rythmic tune, but its jauntiness seems more appropriate for a « british light music » confection. While I think the work is of a high standard, I found the rather disparate character of its individual movements not wholly convincing.

The Leighton is more "serious", not immune to a feeling of harshness, courtesy of its sometimes dissonant, chromatic language. But it cannot disguise a solid foundation of late-romantic feelings. Unusually for a 3-movement concerto, the central movement is a scherzo and trio (allegro molto e ritmico - il piu presto possibile - moderato e dolce), while the last one is slow (lentissimo: molto sostenuto). These original touches are brought off successfully, the musical material living up to the composer's structural adventurousness.

I also have the concerto coupled with the 3rd symphony, "Laudes musicae" for tenor and orchestra. I will listen to it tonight.

vandermolen

Quote from: André on January 12, 2019, 01:23:05 PM


Two beautiful, very substantial cello concertos. I listened to each twice.

The Finzi opens with a somewhat blustery theme, almost melodramatically worked out to maximum effect. Having started with such a grand, sweeping flourish makes it somewhat hard to 'back down' musically, so parts of the development tend to lose steam in the process. The slow movement is a wonderful invention, its heart-on-sleeve sentiment kept in check by a welcome modesty, the composer rightly refusing to milk this plum of a theme. The last movement has a winning start, with a striking rythmic tune, but its jauntiness seems more appropriate for a « british light music » confection. While I think the work is of a high standard, I found the rather disparate character of its individual movements not wholly convincing.

The Leighton is more "serious", not immune to a feeling of harshness, courtesy of its sometimes dissonant, chromatic language. But it cannot disguise a solid foundation of late-romantic feelings. Unusually for a 3-movement concerto, the central movement is a scherzo and trio (allegro molto e ritmico - il piu presto possibile - moderato e dolce), while the last one is slow (lentissimo: molto sostenuto). These original touches are brought off successfully, the musical material living up to the composer's structural adventurousness.

I also have the concerto coupled with the 3rd symphony, "Laudes musicae" for tenor and orchestra. I will listen to it tonight.
Leighton's Third Symphony is eloquent and moving - my favourite work by him.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

SymphonicAddict

Three impressive choral works:

Reger - Die Nonnen




Boulanger - Du fond de l'abime (Psaume 130)




Bloch - Sacred Service




The Reger surprised me by how different I thought of it at first. Much more pensive, less academic than the majority of his output, and with some cataclysmic climaxes!

About the Boulanger, it's simply incredible that a 22-year-old girl has composed such a towering masterpiece. Her choral writing is dramatic and quite sublime in some passages.

And finally, Bloch's Sacred Service... I was expecting something like this: epicness! And I received that for lots.

SymphonicAddict

Quote from: André on January 11, 2019, 05:54:27 PM


This disc is a peach !

3 absolutely wonderful works. The Caribbean Concerto has a slow movement to die for. Film music composers would sell their soul for such a theme !


It, literally, is music for my ears. I must check it out.

André

Quote from: vandermolen on January 12, 2019, 03:18:34 PM
Leighton's Third Symphony is eloquent and moving - my favourite work by him.

And here it is, exactly as you describe it: moving and eloquent.



It could be argued that it is as much a song cycle as a symphony. It is cast in 3 movements, just like the cello concerto: first movement, followed by a scherzo, and ending with an adagio. It makes sense to view it as a symphony, meaning it has the structural cast of a symphonic work, despite its unusual layout. It is a powerful utterance, the more so as it avoids sounding like a Big Statement, relying instead on the creation of a strong atmosphere. The 3 poems are about the beauty of music.

André

Quote from: SymphonicAddict on January 12, 2019, 03:56:16 PM
Three impressive choral works:

Reger - Die Nonnen




Boulanger - Du fond de l'abime (Psaume 130)




Bloch - Sacred Service




The Reger surprised me by how different I thought of it at first. Much more pensive, less academic than the majority of his output, and with some cataclysmic climaxes!

About the Boulanger, it's simply incredible that a 22-year-old girl has composed such a towering masterpiece. Her choral writing is dramatic and quite sublime in some passages.

And finally, Bloch's Sacred Service... I was expecting something like this: epicness! And I received that for lots.

+ 1 for the Boulanger and Reger. I must look for the Sacred Service. Bloch is such an intense composer ! Right now the 4th string quartet is in my cd player.

Todd




Disc two.  More great early Beethoven.  Op 7, like 2/2, ends up being one of the greats.  The opening movement is light and bouncy, with Kempff tossing in rubato rather liberally, and while the Largo is slow and a bit solemn, it's not too heavy for this early work, and the Allegro and Rondo bounce along nicely.  And while not the last word in superhuman virtuosity, mid-40s Kempff's chops are fine.  The Op 10 trio has a predictable set of strengths and not so strong points.  (There are no real weaknesses.)  The not so strong points include opening ascending arpeggios in 10/1 that are a bit slower than I prefer, and a less than ideally intense climax in the Largo of 10/3, though part of that is due to the ancient recording.  The exclusion of the 10/2 Prestissimo repeat is a recording choice I wish would not have been made.  The rest of the playing is all top shelf, with an adroit mix of lightness, fun, drive, nice articulation, and a less dramatic and always flowing sound.  One could describe it as easy listening Beethoven, but it's too natural sounding for that.  Yep, it's sweet, sweet stuff.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Kontrapunctus

I wouldn't mind more intensity at times, but she plays very beautifully. Excellent sound.


Daverz


Madiel

Sibelius, Lyric Pieces op.74

[asin]B019D93B18[/asin]
A bit of Grieg, a bit of Debussy, a whole lot of quality. Time and again Mertanen is making Sibelius' piano output sound far more worthwhile than it's usually taken to be.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

SymphonicAddict

Quote from: amw on January 12, 2019, 01:16:39 AM
The new(ish) Arnold Rosner symphony on Toccata:



The musical language in this work is strongly reminiscent of Shostakovich, or another similar composer (maybe Allan Pettersson?) but not without originality or individual interest. Not very easy to digest on a first listen as the music tends to be at a uniform level of intensity and is based on intervals rather than recogniseable themes, so will probably hold up better on a second listen.

One of my first great discoveries this year. Likely it sounds like Shostakovich but without the sarcasm. In terms of mood, the Pettersson connection is kind of apt too, I think.

SymphonicAddict



Threni

I don't disclaim the artistic meaning of this work, but I can't say I have liked it. I'll need to give it more tries before giving up, I suppose.




Pizzetti - Messa di Requiem

This was much better. It's not the typical Requiem you would expect (both for the music itself and the lack of an orchestra). The music is rather peaceful, I didn't feel any presence of anger or despair (not even in the Dies irae section) and, overall conveys a sense of tranquillity. The inclusion of a children chorus was a nice plus.