What are you listening to now?

[staxomega]

Scriabin Symphony 3, Prometheus and Reverie (Richter on piano for Prometheus), conducted by Svetlanov and recorded live. Blistering performances.

From the Melodiya Anthology of Russian Symphony Music Vol 2

[Mirror Image]

Scriabin Symphony 3, Prometheus and Reverie (Richter on piano for Prometheus), conducted by Svetlanov and recorded live. Blistering performances.

From the Melodiya Anthology of Russian Symphony Music Vol 2

I'd love to own those Melodiya anthologies, but they're just way too expensive, IMHO.

[SonicMan46]

Chadwick, George Whitefield (1854-1931) - continuing to 'explore' my American classical collection - today, George Chadwick is up - own the 4 CDs shown below; all orchestral music, except for the solo piano selection performed by Peter Kairoff (a professor at our local Wake Forest University) - if interested, see attached reviews (select out the 'Symphonic' comments from the two included).  Dave

     

[staxomega]

I'd love to own those Melodiya anthologies, but they're just way too expensive, IMHO.

Yeah these two volumes and the Richter, Gilels Melodiya boxes were my biggest wallet busting classical purchases. I justify it (and my hifi gear) by telling myself I'm still driving my car from residency/fellowship 

[ritter]

Cross-posted from the opera thread (this work and recording deserve as much exposure as possible  ):

First listen to this recording of Georges Enesco's beautiful and noble Oedipe:



Despite the so-so (but perfectly tolerable) sound and the cuts in the score, this is turning out to be the most convincing recording of this masterpiece I know (the others being Lawrence Foster's—with José van Dam—on EMI, and Michael Gielen's—live from Vienna, with Monte Pedersen—on Naxos).

This is a live concert given in the Salle Pleyel a fortnight after the composer's death—I presume it was a homage to him—, and AFAIK the first performance of the score after the 1936 Paris premiere. Charles Brück (who also recorded a magnificent French-language version of Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel) has a masterful grip of this complex score, and (as one reviewer put it) it sounds more "modern" and daring than in the later recordings. The cast are all native French speakers, and their renditions have a natural flow that is admirable. Xavier Depraz (despite some very occasional hoarseness) is simultaneously imposing and moving in the title rôle, Rita Gorr is appropriately menacing as the Sphinx, Geneviève Moizan is superb as Jocaste, Berthe Monmart is touching as Antigone, and so on even to the tiniest roles. The chorus is also first-rate: their screams near  the end of Act 3 (the blinding of Oedipus), replying to the lead's "Ouvrez les portes!" are chilling.

A wonderful document. 

[vandermolen]

I'd love to own those Melodiya anthologies, but they're just way too expensive, IMHO.

Same here.

[vandermolen]

Symphony 3 'Laudes Musicae'
A rather beautiful and poetic work for Tenor Solo and Orchestra:

Nice Sunday evening listening.

[André]

Cross-posted from the opera thread (this work and recording deserve as much exposure as possible  ):

What a cast !! This is mouth watering stuff !

[ritter]

What a cast !! This is mouth watering stuff !

It is...I'm quite bowled over!

[Mirror Image]

Yeah these two volumes and the Richter, Gilels Melodiya boxes were my biggest wallet busting classical purchases. I justify it (and my hifi gear) by telling myself I'm still driving my car from residency/fellowship 

[NikF4]

Delibes: Sylvia - Mogrelia/Razumovsky Sinfonia.

[asin]B00000147D[/asin]

[staxomega]

Shostakovich's Op. 87 Preludes and Fugues have been in my heavy listening recently (Scherbakov my long time reference), I listened to all of Muza Rubackyte play them on Youtube to see if I should buy the CD. I don't think they got to the heart of these compositions, a shame since I really love Muza in many works There are also some loud, nasty digital glitches in the final prelude and fugue, maybe that is just on the Youtube version. 

The playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEyYTVkpXgM&list=OLAK5uy_npXaFSOv8rSMEVDQQirbmA-9EXHjiK-yo



Now listening to Ashkenazy play all of Rachmaninov's Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22

[André]

Symphony no 2 is a "pure" application of Nørgård's infinity rows technique. The notes mention that the results sound closer to Riley and Reich than to Boulez and Stockhausen. Agreed. The minimalist feel is obvious. The whole work is built as a mathematical structure: the first 4096 notes of the chromatic infinity row, equally divided in 4 sections of 1024 notes, each of these in turn divided by 4 ( = 256 notes of the infinity row), the sections being varied mostly by orchestration. Lest that sound numbingly repetitive and formulaic, there is variety in the musical result.

Obviously that kind of thing is a cul-de-sac over the long term and Nørgård was clever enough to recognize this early. Therefore he never settled for long into a particular musical technique. When he was done with an experiment he carried on and tried other things: "Change, growth and metamorphosis are recurring themes in Per Norgård's production". In the 4th symphony (1981) his encounter with the works of writer/painter Adolf Wölfli finds a striking musical illustration. From this experience he derives the notion of idyll/catastrophe, where beauty and chaos mingle to create a schizophrenic musical adventure. Given that both works are rather short (23 and 18 minutes) I can't say I was bored or irritated. The composer knows when he's done, a quality I appreciate.

[kyjo]

Sinfonia Pascale (Symphony 3)
A fine, urgent, tonal, declamatory, poetic and memorable score:

Reminds me slightly of Kokkonen's Symphony 4 and also of Einar Englund.

Another fine recent discovery of mine thanks to you, Jeffrey. Just when I thought I knew all the great British composers, along comes people like Philip Spratley!

[NikF4]

Auric: Les facheux - Poppen/Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern.

[asin]B0040Y7F0K[/asin]

[André]

Same choir, soloists and orchestra throughout, but a change of conductor occurs midway. Cantatas I-III are under Karl Friedrich Beringer, the choir's longtime conductor. This was his very last performance and recording (Christmas week 2011). Martin Lehmann, the new director, takes over for cantatas IV-VI. A superb recording, more HIP influenced than previous Windsbacher/Beringer performances.

[Mirror Image]

Varèse
Amériques
Arcana
Déserts
Ionisation
Pierre Boulez, conductor
CSO

[ritter]

Auric: Les facheux - Poppen/Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern.

[asin]B0040Y7F0K[/asin]

I was listening to that some months ago...That's a costume design by Braque in the cover. 

[Kontrapunctus]

Excellent all around.

[NikF4]

I was listening to that some months ago...That's a costume design by Braque in the cover. 

What a coincidence.