What are you listening to now?

[Karl Henning]

Steve Reich's beautiful piece "The Desert Music".
Edit: Ken, you're our resident minimalist. What do you think of this piece (or anyone else for that matter)?
[asin]B000005IXI[/asin]

I fell for this piece big time when I first heard it, in part because it made such a strong musical impression, in part because I am a great Carlos Williams fan.

[Karl Henning]

Ciao, Ilaria!

I see you've been bitten by the Copland bug.
How are the symphonies? I haven't heard any of them. 

Oh, may I suggest the following?—

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[North Star]

Thanks, Karlo! I was hoping the performance would call forth praise on that order, and so I ordered the CD on spec

Splendid! I don't think you could be too disappointed, Karl! 

Oh, may I suggest the following?—

You may -  I just added this to my shopping list now, thanks! (where it shall lay dormant for an undisclosed period of time... )

Thread duty

Mussorgsky
Pictures
Pletnev

[andolink]

Dmitry Shostakovich: Sonata for Violin and Piano in F major, Op. 134
Isabelle Faust, violin
Alexander Melnikov, piano

[Sergeant Rock]

This has been on repeat: Karl Henning's short anthem, For God So Loved the World.

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Mozart Piano Concerto No.23 A major K.488, Hélène Grimaud playing and conducting from the keyboard




Sarge

[DavidW]

Zinman Mahler 2.

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It seems to be popular to crap on this recording.  Classics Today, various forums etc all damn with faint praise.  Well I think they're all wrong and full of it!  (I will point out that Hurwitz is the least critical, don't look at the score read the text.)

The playing is lyrical without sounding heated.  The singing from Anna Larsson is poignant.  The soprano and the choir as well do a great job. 

The sound quality is exceptional, the best I've heard and that includes all of those other modern recordings out there.  To easily hear the singing, the orchestra, the organ and the bells all as layers of the sound field distinct from each other was awesome!

Now the question to ask is it better than Gielen, Bertini, Chailly?  Gielen yes, the other two nope.  MTT, Fischer?  Yup.  But that is the problem though isn't it?  It's a fine performance that doesn't distinguish itself from the overcrowded field.  And that was DH's point, if only internet posters from the various forums can be as nuanced as he is!  Wow I just praised Hurwitz!   And it is a fair criticism.  It stands as one of the better BUT not the best of the modern recordings.  It stands as a good recording but not better or best overall.  Why listen to that when you have the choice between Klemperer, both Bernstein's, and many others?  The same can be said probably for everything else in the Zinman Mahler box.  But I'll see that for myself.

But I stand with this recording gets an undeserved bad rap.  It sports excellent playing, exceptional sonics, and a wonderfully well judged performance!  Thumbs up.

[Karl Henning]

This has been on repeat: Karl Henning's short anthem, For God So Loved the World.

Sarge

Thank you, sir!

[Karl Henning]

You may -  I just added this to my shopping list now, thanks! (where it shall lay dormant for an undisclosed period of time... )

No rush -- it will keep!

[Madiel]

Nothing but this all day.

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Both this and the companion disc of the B flat major trio are absolute knockouts. Seriously. I purchased these conscious that the piano trios were one of the last gaps in my Schubert collection that I was interested in filling, and suddenly I've got 2 pieces that are not only clearly going to rank as my favourite Schubert to listen to, they're going to rank as among my favourites of anything to listen to.

Incredibly alive and joyous music-making.

[Mandryka]

Noelle Spieth plays a couple of top suites by Louis Couperin,  F major (the one with Blancrocher) and a D major one which ends with a chaconne.

Everything is so natural and expressive, I've been actually shocked sometimes by the sheer candour of the music making, like she's bearing someone's soul - though whose soul it is, hers or Louis Couperin's, I wouldn't like to say. Every bit as passionate as Blandine Verlet, but less physical, carnal. Anyway I think that Noelle Spieth's two Louis Couperin recordings are essential, peerless. Louis Couperin has inspired some of the most wonderful harpsichord playing.

[North Star]

Nothing but this all day.

Both this and the companion disc of the B flat major trio are absolute knockouts. Seriously. I purchased these conscious that the piano trios were one of the last gaps in my Schubert collection that I was interested in filling, and suddenly I've got 2 pieces that are not only clearly going to rank as my favourite Schubert to listen to, they're going to rank as among my favourites of anything to listen to.

Incredibly alive and joyous music-making.

Those Schubert PTs are great works indeed, and Florestans ought to do well in them, judging by their LvB & Brahms.

No rush -- it will keep!

Most probably

Thread duty
Tchaikovsky
Sleeping Beauty
Ansermet

[Lisztianwagner]

Granville Bantock
Celtic Symphony

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[Todd]

.
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Starting in on Schirmer's Handel again.  I need to hear me some more music from her.

[Moonfish]

Bach: Secular Cantatas BWV 30a & 207 /Café Zimmermann · Leonhardt

[asin] B000VX1RAS[/asin]

[Sergeant Rock]

Haydn Symphony No.54 G major (third version, with trumpets)



Sarge

[SonicMan46]

Finishing up the Foerster 4-CD piano set that I posted yesterday (abbreviated comments below), and a new arrival today, i.e. Renaissance guitar music (recommendation recently from Que) - large booklet!

Foerster, Josef (1859-1951) - Solo Piano Music w/ Patricia Goodson - recent purchase based on a recommendation by Harry in one of his blog links - a 4-CD set @ a bargain price; the music is beautiful - a forgotten Czech composer whose predecessors stole the publicity, I guess.

Michael Craddock - Tabulatures de Guiterne - works by three 16th century composers played on a Renaissance guitar - Dave

 

[Sergeant Rock]

Mahler Symphony No.2, Zinman, Zurich




Sarge

[DavidW]

Oh you have that set Sarge?  Wait why am I surprised?  You have all Mahler recordings!

[Sergeant Rock]

Oh you have that set Sarge?  Wait why am I surprised?  You have all Mahler recordings!

I may be missing one or two 

Zinman's "Resurrection" is Mahler-Lite, the kind of Mahler performance I imagine Lethe enjoying. I don't mind it either as an alternative take heard on days when I don't want to commit to a huge emotional expenditure. Like you, I enjoy the transparent sound of this recording--extra points given for the fact Zinman and team actually let us hear the col legno strings near the climax of the development (that happens so rarely in M2 recordings). Second and Third movements are really good.


Sarge