What are you listening to now?

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

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Todd

Quote from: Brian on November 01, 2013, 12:51:36 PM[D664] sounds kind of cool and sleepy and excessively Mozartean.


Cool and sleepy I'll buy; Mozartean, not so much.  Mozart's music was never properly meant to be played so languorously.  Some of Schubert's music can be.

Anyway, thread duty: I'll add Leon McCawley to the list of names I want to hear more from in LvB.  Crisp, clean, proper, classical LvB. 


The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

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

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Dancing Divertimentian

Quote from: Todd on November 01, 2013, 05:29:36 PM
Anyway, thread duty: I'll add Leon McCawley to the list of names I want to hear more from in LvB.  Crisp, clean, proper, classical LvB. 




Ah, yes, agreed. I have the Black Box issue of this one and it's been a keeper for years. I think this may be the first time we've ever agreed on anything Beethoven-sonata-related. ;D





[asin]B00005COXF[/asin]
Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

kishnevi

Quote from: Mirror Image on October 31, 2013, 08:54:35 PM


Now listening:



Listening to this performance (Rattle's second actually) of Le sacre du printemps for the first time. Quite good!

And of all the people on this forum, you should know :)
I keep wondering about this one, have been since it came out.  Guess this is my cue to get finally get it.

Thread duty:  Bach Cantatas BWV 54-57, performed by Rilling and company, CD 18 of the Hanssler Complete BachAkademie.  Not sure who sang 54--will need to go looking in the PDFs--sounded like a singer who was eminently  capable of the job, but not great; the tenor in 55 was better, but 56 is sung by Fischer-Dieskau, and 54 and 55 drop off into the shade....

Mirror Image

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on November 01, 2013, 06:05:00 PM
And of all the people on this forum, you should know :)
I keep wondering about this one, have been since it came out.  Guess this is my cue to get finally get it.

It doesn't replace my beloved Gergiev/Kirov performance, but it's a well-rounded Le Sacre with a lot of infectious energy. Of course, this is one of Rattle's favorite works of all-time, so I thought before I listened to the performance he better bring his A-game and thankfully he did. The Berliners sound great here, too. The other works Symphony of Wind Instruments and Apollo are just as inspired.

kishnevi

Quote from: Mirror Image on November 01, 2013, 06:10:28 PM
It doesn't replace my beloved Gergiev/Kirov performance, but it's a well-rounded Le Sacre with a lot of infectious energy. Of course, this is one of Rattle's favorite works of all-time, so I thought before I listened to the performance he better bring his A-game and thankfully he did. The Berliners sound great here, too. The other works Symphony of Wind Instruments and Apollo are just as inspired.

Pretty much, the next time B&N has a coupon, probably next week the way they do things, since it's in their brick and mortar store.....

Thread duty:
Various and sundry piano pieces by Britten, played by Steven Hough, from the small (6CDs) EMI box of "Chamber and Instrumental Works".  Britten seems to have been willing to be more dissonant in his piano works than in much of his other works;  it's a refreshing change of pace.  (Most of these pieces are totally new to me.)

Mirror Image

Now some more Halloween music for me:



Listening to Three Pieces for Orchestra. A masterpiece no doubt about it. Exemplary performance from Abbado/VPO.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on November 01, 2013, 06:40:38 PM
Pretty much, the next time B&N has a coupon, probably next week the way they do things, since it's in their brick and mortar store.....

Sounds good, Jeffrey.

Wakefield

#13067
Well, this sounds just perfect to me:

[asin]B00COU07NY[/asin]

I heard the Freiburgers are preparing some Mahler.

"One of the greatest misfortunes of honest people is that they are cowards. They complain, keep quiet, dine and forget."
-- Voltaire

Wakefield

"One of the greatest misfortunes of honest people is that they are cowards. They complain, keep quiet, dine and forget."
-- Voltaire

Mirror Image

Now:



Listening to Kyung Wha Chung completely decimate the Violin Concerto No. 2. Brilliant performance. Next up, I'll listen to Concerto for Two Pianos, Percussion, and Orchestra.

Brian

Quote from: Gordo Shumway on November 01, 2013, 07:05:26 PM
Well, this sound just perfect to me:

[asin]B00COU07NY[/asin]

I heard the Freiburgers are preparing some Mahler.
I liked that CD! I don't know that I liked it any more than the Anima Eterna/Immerseel versions, which are maybe bolder and more assertive.

Mirror Image

And some Mahler before bed...



Absolutely thrilling performance from Bernstein.

Mandryka

#13072


Andreï Vieru and Grigori Sokolov play the Diabelli Variations

I've played Vieru's CD twice all the way through. It's like it doesn't speak to me - it's like dead, flat, hollow. I'm going to put it away for a while, maybe I'll hear more in it another time.

On the positive side, Vieru has helped me to appreciate Sokolov more. Vieru reminded me of Sokolov because they're both refined, sensual and they both take their time. Var by var comparison with Sokolov shows what a great pianist the latter is by comparison, how much more pulsing with life his Diabelli Variations is. . I know that's a shallow thing to do, I know thay var by var evaluation is a pretty narrow way of looking at this music.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Que

Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on November 01, 2013, 04:09:51 PM
:o

Say it ain't so, Q! The Wanderer stands not only as a watershed moment in Schubert's output but also as a triumph of pianistic/musical wizardry. The music is glorious. I only hope one day the piece will reveal itself to you. :(

I like to a degree :-\... it is precisely the pianistic aspect that evokes some reservations - I like other aspects of Schubert better.
A performance on a period instrument might change my mind - as it did in Liszt's case. After Pollini and Perahia, I kind of lost interest and stopped looking any further.


Starting this morning with what might be considered a favorite amongst those here that have a taste for (English) Renaissance music/ viol music/ early music for strings:

[asin]B001BSH0YO[/asin]

QuoteIf Musick Be the Food of Love ...

... then money CAN buy you love after all! In fact, in the current economic turmoil, music is obviously the only luxury (or for some of us, necessity) we can afford. THIS IS AN ASTONISHING BARGAIN! As recently as a year or so ago, you would have needed a lot of 'plata' to build a collection of English Viola da Gamba Consort performances. Now you can buy the heart fo the repertoire, by one of the two dominant ensembles (the other is Phantasm), for about twelve bucks. Don't hesitate! This is the buy of your lifetime!

I've reviewed several of Fretwork's recordings previously. They are superb technicians, pellucid in tone, precise in rhythm, always worth hearing. The only thing that could make this 5-CD package more appealing would be a sixth CD!

March 12, 2009, Giordano Bruno

Q

Sean

Bernstein makes more sense of the finale than any other conductor, one of his finest efforts on disc.

Quote from: Mirror Image on November 01, 2013, 09:02:18 PM
And some Mahler before bed...



Absolutely thrilling performance from Bernstein.

Que


TheGSMoeller

Quote from: Sean on November 02, 2013, 03:22:42 AM
Bernstein makes more sense of the finale than any other conductor, one of his finest efforts on disc.

Sean, what do you think of Bernstein's later effort on DG of the 7th? Another successful finale?

Lisztianwagner

"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

Sean

Quote from: TheGSMoeller on November 02, 2013, 04:07:27 AM
Sean, what do you think of Bernstein's later effort on DG of the 7th? Another successful finale?

Hi Greg I'm afraid I don't recall which one it was I borrowed from the university library a few years ago but Bernstein indeed was one of the best in the Mahler business: the Seventh finale's structural conviction can seem lacking but there's more logic and paragraphing not to mention passion here than I've ever heard. One of my little regrets is not keeping a long file of my listening performance details and reactions.

TheGSMoeller

Quote from: Sean on November 02, 2013, 05:40:58 AM
Hi Greg I'm afraid I don't recall which one it was I borrowed from the university library a few years ago but Bernstein indeed was one of the best in the Mahler business: the Seventh finale's structural conviction can seem lacking but there's more logic and paragraphing not to mention passion here than I've ever heard. One of my little regrets is not keeping a long file of my listening performance details and reactions.

I haven't listened much to the older sony, but Bernstein's DG from the late 80s is my favorite 7, with MTT/LSO very close by. The finale is tricky, but I agree Bernstein nails it.