What are you listening to now?

[Marsch MacFiercesome]

From The Essential Sibelius

Sibelius
songs
Monica Groop & Lowe Derwinger / Jorma Hynninen, Jorma Panula & Gothenburg SO

I imagine Jorma Hynninen is fantastic- as Sibelius is definitely his ken (I love his Kullervo with Salonen on Sony with the LAPO)- but how's Monica Groop on this cd?

[North Star]

I imagine Jorma Hynninen is fantastic- as Sibelius is definitely his ken (I love his Kullervo with Salonen on Sony with the LAPO)- but how's Monica Groop on this cd?

Splendiferous.

Thread duty
Sibelius
Pohjola's Daughter, Op. 49 (1906)
Sinfonia Lahti
Osmo Vänskä

[Todd]

Disc 40.  More Brahms.

[Que]

I need this!

Do you know what time period the recordings are from?

I have a Melodiya Svetlanov cd with a similar cover- which has the most whiplash-and-charging-and-Satanic Night of Bald Mountain that I've ever heard which is from 1974. . . well, actually I'd tie it with Abbado's LSO endeavor- but you get the idea.

I imagine the performances on this are great as well.

Recordings are all from 1970.
I  can already tell that performances are awesome, (sound is excellent), exactly what I expected from Svetlanov in repertoire like this.

Q

[North Star]

Just in:

Charming and authentic!

Q

That does look good. . .

[Marsch MacFiercesome]

Splenderifious.

Thread duty
Sibelius
Pohjola's Daughter, Op. 49 (1906)
Sinfonia Lahti
Osmo Vänskä

Thanks for that, North Star.

I'll definitely check it out. . .

I have to be candid though: I'm not a fan of Vanska's Sibelius cycle or Kullervo at all- as they are entirely too laid back and attenuated for my tastes (although I think he does a tolerably-well dramatic job on parts of his Origin of Fire).

So I can only imagine how he approaches Pohjola's Daughter.

[Marsch MacFiercesome]

Recordings are all from 1970.
I  can already tell that performances are awesome, (sound is excellent), exactly what I expected from Svetlanov in repertoire like this.

Q

Merci.

- I'm there.

[Mirror Image]

Stacks of cd's in queue, infinitely and endlessly- the story of your life too, huh?

<Clink. Clink.>

Cheers.

You pretty much nailed it!

[Marsch MacFiercesome]

You pretty much nailed it!

Cheers to ' ' Shop-o-holism ' ' !

[Brian]

Stacks of cd's in queue, infinitely and endlessly- the story of your life too, huh?

<Clink. Clink.>

Cheers.

Well, this week I received 61 new CDs!

[North Star]

Thanks for that, North Star.

I'll definitely check it out. . .

I have to be candid though: I'm not a fan of Vanska's Sibelius cycle or Kullervo at all- as they are entirely too laid back and attenuated for my tastes (although I think he does a tolerably-well dramatic job on parts of his Origin of Fire).

So I can only imagine how he approaches Pohjola's Daughter.

Which do you mean, the original or revised version of Origin of Fire? Great to meet another fan of the piece.

As for the recordings, I have no such problems with Vänskä & Lahti recordings. Sibelius doesn't need to be too highly strung, but there is certainly room on my shelf for different interpretations from people like Berglund, Segerstam, Storgårds, Blomstedt, Rattle, Lenny or Maazel.

Thread duty
Sibelius
Tapiola
Lahti
Vänskä

[Maestro267]

Lloyd: Symphony No. 12
Albany SO/Lloyd

Brian: Symphony No. 15
NSO Ireland/Rowe

[Marsch MacFiercesome]

Metallica's "Fight Fire With Fire"?- 'no.' Immortal's "One by One"?- 'no.' Kreator's "Phantom Antichrist??- 'nah.'

I need something 'more' driving, 'more intense,'  'more' dramatically compelling.

I need something so spine-tingling-incendiary that it gives me literal chills and thrills.

In a word, I need 'FIERCE'!!!

- So I turn to the defining moment of it: Callas' "E che? Io son Medea!" from her 1953 live Florence performance.

God I love her galvanizing singing!!!

[Mandryka]

Westminster Choir/James O'Donnell sing Christopher Tye's Euge Bone mass. My appreciation of this recording was greatly increased when I turned the amp up very loud.

The boys in the choir are angels; the performance is phrased so naturally you'd think there are no bar lines at all, which there probably aren't; each part has an individual characters; the voices in each part blend beautifully, so it's certainly not like hearing a small scale performance; there's no sense of the lower music being overwhelmed by the high voices.

[Todd]

From the big box.  Fine wind playing that drowns out the plinky, dinky fortepiano.  Blah.

[Marsch MacFiercesome]

Which do you mean, the original or revised version of Origin of Fire? Great to meet another fan of the piece.

As for the recordings, I have no such problems with Vänskä & Lahti recordings. Sibelius doesn't need to be too highly strung, but there is certainly room on my shelf for different interpretations from people like Berglund, Segerstam, Storgårds, Blomstedt, Rattle, Lenny or Maazel.
[/b]
Thread duty
Sibelius
Tapiola
Lahti
Vänskä[/color]

I am of course referring to both the original and revised versions of the Origin of Fire that Vanska did- as both are on the same cd of his. . .

I'm all about having a large Sibelius shelf too (and in fact do)- only there are some conductors that resonate with my aesthetic inclinations more than others.

I understand everyone is different.

I like my Sibelius either really majestic, streamlined, and beautifully-blended in the orchestral balances- like, say, Karajan's 1960 Philharmonia Sibelius' Fifth; or I like it really ballsy and heroic- like Thor Johnson's Origin of Fire or Oramo's Pohjola's Daughter. 

Sibelius should be beautifully atmospheric and cascadingly exotic and noble to me- but never ponderous or leaden sounding.

[North Star]

I am of course referring to both the original and revised versions of the Origin of Fire that Vanska did- as both are on the same cd of his. . .

Alright. I have the original version on a collection of the YL Male Voice Choir's Sibelius, and the revision in the Essential Sibelius.

I'm all about having a large Sibelius shelf too (and in fact do)- only there are some conductors that resonate with my aesthetic inclinations more than others.

I understand everyone is different.

I like my Sibelius either really majestic, streamlined, and beautifully-blended in the orchestral balanced- like, say, Karajan's 1960 Philharmonia Sibelius' Fifth; or I like it really ballsy and heroic- like Thor Johnson's Origin of Fire or Oramo's Pohjola's Daughter. 

Sibelius should be beautifully atmospheric and cascadingly exotic and noble to me- but never ponderous or leaden sounding.

Oramo is an excellent Sibelius conductor too, certainly. I am not familiar with Karajan's Sibelius, but imagine it being just how you describe it. Thor Johnson? I see it's on YT thanks to John Whitmore. *play*  ... this is terrific. And look at those photos! We'd all be great composers with ears like that! 

Beautifully atmospheric, cascadingly exotic, noble, never ponderous or leaden - agreed. Except that with some things in e.g. Tapiola, 'leaden' is close to what it should be, I suppose.

[Marsch MacFiercesome]

Well, this week I received 61 new CDs!

Its a nice start.

[North Star]

Martinů
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Marcel Machotková; Jirí Zahradnícek; Václav Zítek; Karel Prusa; Otakar Brousek
Belohlávek & Prague Symphony
[asin]B000PFU8KW[/asin]

[SimonNZ]

Gluck Trio Sonatas - Musica Antiqua Koln