What are you listening to now?

[Camphy]

Symphony 98, Vienna State Opera Orchestra conducted by Max Goberman

[EigenUser]

Feldman: Piano and String Quartet (Vicki Ray / Eclipse Quartet) - Though not the first time I've heard this 1985 piece, I'm very much enjoying this recording. I recall liking the 1993 version with Aki Takahashi and the Kronos Quartet, but I haven't heard it in years.

[asin]B0068RHODU[/asin]
[asin]B000005J27[/asin]

--Bruce

Also a big fan of P&SQ (I've yet to find better music suited for a long, dreary afternoon), but I definitely prefer the Aki/Kronos. I think it is far more expressive. I also heard one by the Ives ensemble on Spotify which was a huge no-no for me because the piano arpeggios are rolled too fast. That being said, the score doesn't specify how fast or slow to roll them, so it is just a personal preference.

If you like P&SQ, you'd probably also like Triadic Memories (solo piano) or Clarinet and String Quartet (self-explanatory scoring, haha). Not to mention the strange, enigmatic Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello (which he probably wrote when someone bet he couldn't possibly write drearier music ).

[Camphy]

Holmboe, Symphony 3

[marvinbrown]

Wow! A soulmate! I agree with you 100% on this one. Do you know I went through all of them (samples, youtube, etc.) looking for the one that hit me just right. And one of the hardest parts for me to find one where I hit Nirvana is when Mario sings Victoria! Price is great, Taddei is excellent, but Di Stefano nails that part like no one else I have yet found. A truly outstanding performance!

  Ineeed! All I have to do is play track 14 on CD2, the dark motif.........gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!

  marvin

[Sadko]

MARSCHNER:  Hans Heiling
Thomas Mohr, Magdalena Hajossyova, Eva Seniglova, Karl Markus
Slovak Philharmonic O. & Chorus   Ewald Körner, cond.
bought and shelved a few years ago, first listen today.
I feared he was a later composer, but comes just after Weber, and a very listenable one.  I'll get out Der Vampyr soon in appreciation.

This is also a nice recording of the opera, with Hermann Prey:

[asin]B00005229I[/asin]

[RebLem]

Since my last report, I have been listening to the following:

Vol. 1-5 of the RCA Complete Toscanini set, NBC Sym Orch, devoted to music of Beethoven, recorded in Carnegie Hall, except for the Leonore Overture 3  on Disc 4 recorded in Studio  8H.

Vol. 1--

Tr. 1-4......Sym 3 in E Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica" (45'44)--rec. 28 Nov  & 5 Dec 1949.
Tr. 5-8......Sym 1 in C Major, Op. 21 (23'49)--rec. 21 Dec 1951.


Vol. 2--

Tr. 1-4......Sym 7 in A Major, Op. 92 (32'49)--rec. 9 November 1951 (rehearsal) & 10 Nov 1951 (broadcast)..
Tr. 5-8......Sym 2 in D Major, Op. 36 (28'49)--rec. 7 Nov 1949 & 5 Oct 1951.
Tr. 9..........Egmont Overture, Op. 84:  (7'45)--rec. 14 Jan 1952.

Vol. 3--

Tr. 1-5......Sym 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastoral" (40'44)--rec. 14 Jan 1952.
Tr. 5-9......Sym 4 in B Flat Major, Op. 60 (30'41)--rec. 3 Feb 1951.

Vol. 4--

Tr. 1-4..........Sym. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 (29'23)--rec. 22 Mar 1952.
Tr. 5-8..........Sym. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 (25'20)--rec. 10 Nov 1952.
Tr. 9..............Leonore Overture 3, Op. 72a (13'12)--rec. 4 Nov 1939.

Vol. 5--

Tr. 1-4......Sym 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 (64'46)--rec. 31 March & 1 April  1952. Robert Shaw Chorale, Robert Shaw, Cho. Dir., Eileen Farrell, soprano, Nan Merriman, mezzo-soprano, Jan Peerce, tenor, & Norman Scott, bass.

Beethoven: 9 Symphonies and 5 Overtures--Gewandhausorchester, Leipzig, Franz Konwitschny, cond., and, in the 9th, The Rundfunkchor Leipzig--Dietrich Knothe, Chorus Master. Soloists: Ingeborg Wenglor, soprano, Ursula Zollenkopf, contralto, Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, tenor, Theo Adam, bass.--6 CD set, edel classics.

CD1--
Tr. 1-4.....Sym 1 in C Major. Op. 21 (26'26)
Tr. 5-8.....Sym. 2 in D Major, Op. 36 (33'55)
Tr. 9.........The Creatures of Prometheus (ballet), Op. 43: Overture in G Major (4'46)

CD 2--
Tr. 1-4.....Sym. 3 in E Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica" (52'55)
Tr. 5.........Leonore, Op. 138: Overture 1 in C Major (10'13)
Tr. 6.........Leonore, Op. 138: Overture 2 in C Major (14'17)

CD 3--
Tr. 1-4.....Sym. 4 in B Flat Major, Op. 60 (34'53)
Tr. 5-8.....Sym. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 (36'30)

CD 4--
Tr. 1-5.....Sym. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale" (45'01)
Tr. 6.........Leonore, Op. 138 : Overture 3 in G Major (14'23)
Tr. 7.........Fidelio, Op. 72: Overture in E Major (6'25)
Tr. 8.........Coriolan Overture in C Minor, Op. 62 (8'23)

CD 5--
Tr. 1-4.....Sym. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 (41'31)
Tr. 5-8.....Sym. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 (26'23)

CD 6--
Tr. 1-4.....Sym. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral" (70'46)

I have decided to do comparative reviews work by work.  First, the overtures.  Only one overture--Leonore 3--is performed by both Toscanini and Konwitschny.  Toscanini's Egmont overture comes from 1952, iand is in as good sound as Toscanini ever got.  It is vigorous and tuneful, with rock solid rhythms and sharp, well defined accents that, nevertheless give a true account of its lyricism as well.

Konwitxchny is generally slower than Toscanini in the slow passages of these works, but he is capable of switching to fleet, energetic playing when the scores call for it.  Leonore 2, especially, seems rather turgid in the first few minutes.

Toscanini's Leonore 3 is a 1939 performance, and the early part of the overture really shows it age; distant ann dulled sound mar the performance.  Later on, it seems to have more presence, but perhaps that is just a sign that I got used to it.  In any event, because of the sound, it really is not competitive with the Konwitschny, which has much more presence and is a fine performance, to boot.  It seems slower than Toscanini for about the first four minutes, but after that things liven up.

The Fidelio and Coriolan Overtures in the Knowitschny set are of a piece with his other overture performances.  Over-long pregnant pauses in slow passages, vigor, energy and sharp accents in the fast ones.

Sym. 1--Toscanini's performance is fleet, strong, sharply accented, vigorous and thoroughly Beethovenian.  This is not Beethoven, student of Haydn.  Konwitschny is more relaxed, melodic, and classical.   Of the two, Toscanini definitely gets my nod.  Only a few other conductors like Liebowitz, Schurict, and Solti compare favorably with him in this work.

Sym. 2--Toscanini's performance here is exactly 5'06 faster than Knowitschny's.It is incisive, energetic, and rhythmic, while Konwitschny's is a bit more laid back and lyrical.  Both conductors, however, seem to see this symphony as fully mature Beethoven.  Toscanini gets the edge here, but not by as great a margin as in the First Symphony.

Sym. 3--Toscanini's account is fleet and powerful.  But the marcia funebre, the core of the work, does not move me at all.  It seems clouded and obscured.  Konwitschny, by contrast, is longer--Toscanini is 45'44 and Knowitschny is 52'55.  The extra length is mostly in the first movement; Toscanini's first movement is 13'47, Konwitschny's is 19'40.  Konwitschny's is a ruminative and thoughtful performance.  The marcia funebre is moving, but although in the middle it is a grand lament, both the beginning and the end seem very private and personal.  Konwitschny's  performance is lush and tuneful.  I prefer it to the Toscanini by a long shot.  And what of other performances?
My two favorite Eroicas are both by Furtwangler and the Vienna Phil.  In the one from 1944, the marcia funebre is an angry Jeremiad; the Novemeber, 1952 performance is a requiem, as I have said before in other fora, for the dead not only of war and Holocaust, but for the honor of two generations of Germans and Austrians.

Sym. 4--The Toscanini recording sounds almost perfect.  Just the right amount of misterioso feeling in the beginning of the first movement, with tension building gradually up to its explosion into the allegro.  The rest of the work is fast, incisive, and still lyrical.  Konwitschny takes it a little slower, but not by that much.  It was recorded later, of course, and has a more full bodied sound as a result.  I'd have to give the slightest of edges to Toscanini, though, mostly because of the first movement lead in to the allegro.  It is more explosively visceral than Konwitschny, but the latter has much to recommend it as well.  Other recordings of note are Klemperer and Monteux in addition to Liebowitz, who is excellent in all the symphonies, and Schurict, whose performances of the first 8 are magnificent.

Sym. 5--The Toscanini is a very fleet and otherwise MOR performance.  It is visceral and exciting; Konwitschny is more ruminative and contemplative.  Both have their charms, but Toscanini's brashness wins in the end.  After all, this is a young man's symphony.  Others to consider are Liebowitz, Schuricht, Reiner, and Carlos Kleiber.
Sym. 6--Konwitschny's account is 4'17 longer than Toscanini's, but his first movement is actually a tad fleeter--11'36 vs Toscanini's 11'53.  Toscanini's is more lyrical than many others, but compared to Konwitschny, he is dramatic, incisive, and sharply accented.  Again, Konwitschny is more contemplative and ruminative, but the program lends itself to that approach more than most of Beethoven's other symphonies.  Of the two, I prefer Toscanini, but is is a close call.  But neither is a real favorite of mine--those are Szell and Solti.  Other versions to consider are Reiner, Liebowitz, Schuricht, and Monteux.

Sym. 7--The timings here say a lot--Toscanini 32'49, Konwitschny 41'31.  Toscanini's is fleet and classically proportioned; Konwitschny is more romantic and expansive.  I prefer Konwitschny's approach here, though I would not fault anyone who preferred Toscanini.  Others to consider are Schuricht, Liebowitz, Szell (in all but the second movement, which is the worst performance of a single movement in Szell's set of the Beethoven symphonies), Solti, Mravinsky, and Carlos Kleiber.

Sym. 8--Not as big a difference between Toscanini and Konwitschny as far as speed is concerned as in the 7th.  Konwitschny's account is only 1'03 longer than Toscanini's.  They both seem to follow Klemperer in a sense, seeing this as a great symphony in its own right, not as a self parody.  Toscanini's is, as usual, the more sharply accented performance.  But my favorites in this work are Schuricht, Liebowitz, Szell, Solti, and Klemperer.

Sym. 9--Konwitschny's account is exactly 6 minutes longer than Toscanini's, and most of the difference is in the firs movement.  Toscanini, as always, is fleet and incisively accented, and his is the better account of the first two, maybe three movements, though accenting is not a prominent feature of the third movement.  It is in the last movement that Konwitschny outshines Toscanini by a country mile and it is due primarily to the fact that all his soloists spoke German as a first language, and none of Toscanini's did.  Theo Adam is a much more secure bass voice that Norman Scott, and the differences in intonation are palpable and obvious.

Other great 9ths--Szell/Cleveland, 2 Furtwanglers--the March 22, 1942 Berlin recording and the 1951 Bayreuth performance, Reiner, Tennstedt, and others are well worth a listen.

[bhodges]

Nicer colours? 

Actually a good time to insert a mini-rhetorical rant: do classical recordings always have to use a photo of the composer, especially when some other artwork might be a better choice? (I know this has been discussed elsewhere, so no need to do a retread here.)

Also a big fan of P&SQ (I've yet to find better music suited for a long, dreary afternoon), but I definitely prefer the Aki/Kronos. I think it is far more expressive. I also heard one by the Ives ensemble on Spotify which was a huge no-no for me because the piano arpeggios are rolled too fast. That being said, the score doesn't specify how fast or slow to roll them, so it is just a personal preference.

If you like P&SQ, you'd probably also like Triadic Memories (solo piano) or Clarinet and String Quartet (self-explanatory scoring, haha). Not to mention the strange, enigmatic Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello (which he probably wrote when someone bet he couldn't possibly write drearier music ).

Thanks, glad to have another rec for the Kronos (which I will surely get at some point). I've heard Triadic Memories a number of times (including 2-3 times live), but I've not yet heard the other two - did run across some comments on them, while doing a quick search for comments on Piano and String Quartet.

--Bruce

[Florestan]

This CD is simply excellent. It is not quite original Verdelot, as it consists of Adrian Willaert´s arrangement for voice and lute of some of Verdelot´s madrigals, interspersed with pieces for solo lute. Sonically speaking, the voice and the lute are recorded on separate channels and that gives a lively feeling of space: one can picture the singer in a corner and the lutenist in another corner. The end result is one of the most intimate, heartfelt and beautifully sounding musicmaking I´ve ever heard, and on top of it you get that unmistakable Renaissance mood and soundworld. A winner!

[king ubu]

first listen:

[asin]B000JRYMDU[/asin]

probably not becoming a favourite, but certainly not half bad either!

[Sadko]

Actually a good time to insert a mini-rhetorical rant: do classical recordings always have to use a photo of the composer, especially when some other artwork might be a better choice? (I know this has been discussed elsewhere, so no need to do a retread here.)
...

--Bruce

I find there are too many faces of all kinds on CD covers, portrayed in a loud and often cheap way that tries to catch attention and establishes an almost "physical" closeness, which to me is mostly unwelcome, even if I like an artist. They offer artists as if they were whores. But I wouldn't think of looking for art in a brothel.

[Camphy]

Mozart, Piano Concertos 5, 6 & 8, Rondo K 382

[bhodges]

I find there are too many faces of all kinds on CD covers, portrayed in a loud and often cheap way that tries to catch attention and establishes an almost "physical" closeness, which to me is mostly unwelcome, even if I like an artist. They offer artists as if they were whores. But I wouldn't think of looking for art in a brothel.

--Bruce

[Karl Henning]

Schoenberg
Chamber Symphony № 1, Op.9
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

[EigenUser]

I find there are too many faces of all kinds on CD covers, portrayed in a loud and often cheap way that tries to catch attention and establishes an almost "physical" closeness, which to me is mostly unwelcome, even if I like an artist. They offer artists as if they were whores. But I wouldn't think of looking for art in a brothel.

Well, we know what we'd find if we looked for music in a brothel...

[San Antone]

Joachim Raff Piano Works, Vol. 4
Tra Nguyen

There are six volumes to date; I plan on getting them all.  Wonderful music and performances.

[Mirror Image]

Holmboe, Symphony 3

Love Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonia Rustica", but all of Holmboe's symphonies are worth hearing multiple times.

[Camphy]

Love Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonia Rustica", but all of Holmboe's symphonies are worth hearing multiple times.

Holmboe's music attracts me, but his symphonies take longer for me to appreciate than his chamber music did.

Just listened to Symphony 6.

[Harry]

Holmboe's music attracts me, but his symphonies take longer for me to appreciate than his chamber music did.

Just listened to Symphony 6.

For me its the other way around, Symphonies were no problem for me, but the SQ still are.

[Karl Henning]

I have had the companion volume for years and never got around to getting this one.  Your post finally reminded me to rectify that omission.  Mirror Image will be pleased.

Not only do I need to spend some more time with these CDs . . . I should give the DVDs a spin, too!

[Mirror Image]

Holmboe's music attracts me, but his symphonies take longer for me to appreciate than his chamber music did.

Just listened to Symphony 6.

It took me quite some time to finally 'click' with Holmboe, but I can listen to him with no problems now. Haven't dug into the chamber works (yet).