What are you listening to now?

[HIPster]

L'Orfeo - Ensemble Elyma
[asin]B0000044RA[/asin]
Outstanding!  Other versions exist, at more attractive prices. . .

One of the finest accounts of this great work. 

[Brian]

BTW, I'm not the hugest fan of the ubiquitous Steinway D

THANK YOU!!! Most of the time when I hear one live it sounds overbright and thin.

[listener]

like late  Brahms or Reger with its predilection for fugues, Adolf BUSCH:  String Sextet in G op. 60
BRAUNFELS: String Quintet in f# op. 63
members of the Toronto Conservatory of Music
and on the Riegner & Friedrich organ in Riegel, played by Gerhard Gnann
BACH, BRUHNS, SWEELINCK, BÖHM, and "Mons Brunth" (attrib. Bruhns)
good annotation on the works,

[Ken B]

THANK YOU!!! Most of the time when I hear one live it sounds overbright and thin.

I prefer Bosendorfers. Ohlsson's Hyperion Chopin is a Bosen, as it Markovina's CPE Bach -- both great sounding.

[EigenUser]

I prefer Bosendorfers. Ohlsson's Hyperion Chopin is a Bosen, as it Markovina's CPE Bach -- both great sounding.

Bartok had a Bosendorfer. It even had a low extension (past the low A) which shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has ever heard five seconds' worth of his music .

[Brian]

Nobody told me the blind listening game was over.

[TheGSMoeller]

Nobody told me the blind listening game was over.

I'm still listening to the sixth almost on a daily basis since the blind comparison ended. I've been going back and rereading the notes you all made about the various recordings. It's amazing how this piece continues to transform and evolve to my ears, and especially with the assistance of your comments. It would be interesting to do the comparison again but go backwards starting with the finale. I bet the results would alter a bit.

[Brian]

I'm still listening to the sixth almost on a daily basis since the blind comparison ended. I've been going back and rereading the notes you all made about the various recordings. It's amazing how this piece continues to transform and evolve to my ears, and especially with the assistance of your comments. It would be interesting to do the comparison again but go backwards starting with the finale. I bet the results would alter a bit.

I bet they would!

If I downvoted Stan Skrow's first movement, I have to stick to that, unfortunately. It's not his finest hour - bits seem very rushed, then other bits don't match that velocity (thankfully). The rest is extremely good, although the sound of the orchestra is not ideal for my taste either (a little bright).

[listener]

19th Century Moravian Parlor Music -  piano solos, solo vocals and part-songs
by Amelia & Lisetta Van Vleck, Carl Van Vleck and F.F. Hagen
a 2-cd set from New World

[Justin Ignaz Franz Bieber]

Now that I've finally got my hands on Buxtehude's organ stuff I see it's no wonder Bach worshipped him:

http://www.youtube.com/v/md0Ydfs-teU

[asin]B00IFTU1WK[/asin]

[NLK1971]

The corrected CD 18 from the Entremont concertos big box.  Arrived today from Sony Classical in Germany.

Saint-saens: Piano Concerto no.3 / Africa / Rhapsody d'Auvergne / Wedding Cake

[Ken B]

Bartok had a Bosendorfer. It even had a low extension (past the low A) which shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has ever heard five seconds' worth of his music .

That's the grand imperial. Extra keys.

TD, Lennie Prok-Rach

Lennie and Entrement smoke the Rach 2.

[TheGSMoeller]

First time listens to these recordings of the 8th. Both good, and very different from each other.
Venzago's leaner approach isn't as successful here as it has been with Bruckner's 2nd, 4th and 7th. The harmonies are incredibly clear, especially within the beautifully played Adagio. Although the finale lacked a certain amount of brawn I prefer. But overall a nice listen.

But yet I returned to it again this evening. Still lean, but an approach to the music that I'm starting to realize is necessary. Really it's the brass that tones it down a bit, still a powerful timbre or quality, but allowing for the strings and woodwinds to have a greater presence.

[asin]B00K8H5UKK[/asin]



In other Venzago news, he is finally completing the cycle with the grandiose 5th. And for a conversation piece, checkout his timings on the movements...

I - 15:55
II - 12:13
III - 13:11
IV - 18:37

[asin]B00N5EINIY[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

On tonight's menu:



A new acquisition which I'm really excited about.





Probably will listen to the Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 4.

[Ken B]

HVL, FDA, BIS

[NorthNYMark]

May (or may not) be your thing:

http://www.youtube.com/v/OnLYQ748aEg

This is extraordinary: beautiful, haunting, and even thought-provoking. Thank you for this!

[Mookalafalas]

Hermann Scherchen conducting this:



from this:


I have a bunch of Scherchen loaded into the player, but am supposed to be doing other things so I don't know when i will actually listen to it...

[Mirror Image]

Hermann Scherchen conducting this:



from this:


I have a bunch of Scherchen loaded into the player, but am supposed to be doing other things so I don't know when i will actually listen to it...

I haven't heard Gliere in years. Let me know what you think of the music, Baklavaboy. I remember enjoying The Red Poppy.

[Mookalafalas]

I haven't heard Gliere in years. Let me know what you think of the music, Baklavaboy. I remember enjoying The Red Poppy.

  This recording is in pretty good mono.  For some reason I constantly feel like I am listening to an old film score that was specifically written to coincide with images and action--which, of course, are not present.  Another way to describe it is like the music that accompanies an opera, but with the vocal sound track absent.   The music is lovely and tasteful, but I constantly feel like the core is missing. Yet another way to describe it, it's like the prelude before a central theme that never enters.  I am only about half way through now. It is starting to heat up a bit...

[Mirror Image]

  This recording is in pretty good mono.  For some reason I constantly feel like I am listening to an old film score that was specifically written to coincide with images and action--which, of course, are not present.  Another way to describe it is like the music that accompanies an opera, but with the vocal sound track absent.   The music is lovely and tasteful, but I constantly feel like the core is missing. Yet another way to describe it, it's like the prelude before a central theme that never enters.  I am only about half way through now. It is starting to heat up a bit...

Gliere was, of course, a much loved Soviet composer and wrote rather old-fashioned music that appeased Stalin and the Soviet music committee. This was 'music for the people'. Another composer that wrote in this manner was Kabalevsky, but I think he could, on occasion, dig much deeper than Gliere. Anyway, this isn't to say it's bad music, it's just not something I personally jump up and down about.