What are you listening to now?

[EigenUser]

Very cool, Nate. I own this Lintu recording and I haven't even listened to it (yet). It must be really good considering how many Turangalila performances you've heard. What do you think of Chung's Turangalila?

Chung's recording was probably the first one that I heard. I love that one, too, but there are too many places where the ondes-Martinot gets drowned out (which is partly why I love the one with Lintu -- it stands out loud and clear!). I figure that since it is such a unique, rare sound, it may as well stick out. It is hard to tell if this is the fault of the playing or the audio engineering.

[RebLem]

8 CD Decca set 478 2364 Brla Bartok: Complete Solo Piano Works--Zoltan Kocsis, piano--rec. Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg.

CD 1--(54'03)--rec. Sep 1991

Tr. 1-14......14 Bagatelles, Op. 6, BB 50, Sz. 38 (28'46)
Tr. 15-16....2 Elegies, Op. 8b, BB 49, Sz. 41 (14'41)
Tr. 17-22....4 Romantic Folk Dances, BB 68, Sz. 56 (5'09)
Tr. 23-25....Sonatina, BB 69, Sz. 55 (3'54)
Tr. 26-28....3 Hungarian Folk Tunes, BB 80b, Sz. 66 (3'56)

In the life and career of Bela Bartok, we have one of those opportunities to trace influences through almost two centuries. From Wikipedia: From 1899 to 1903, Bartók studied piano under István Thomán, a former student of Franz Liszt, and composition under János Koessler at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest. In 1907, Bartók began teaching as a piano professor at the Royal Academy. This position freed him from touring Europe as a pianist and enabled him to work in Hungary. Among his notable students were Fritz Reiner, Sir Georg Solti, György Sándor, Ernő Balogh, and Lili Kraus.

It should be borne in mind that Bartok never taught composition at the Academy, although he is today considered, along with Franz Liszt, to be one of the two greatest composers Hungary has produced. He was, instead, a Professor or Piano. Many of the compositions on CD 1 specially the Bagatelles, have an etude quality about them: a progression from easy to more difficult pieces intended at least partly as tutorials for his students. The other major theme in his work as a composer was to seek inspiration from the folk music and dances of Hungary and other central and eastern European countries. In fact, he is considered one of the principal founders of the field of ethnomusical studies.

CD 2--(71'32)--rec. Aug 1993

Tr. 1-2.......2 Romanian Folk Dances, Op. 8a, BB 56, Sz. 43 (8'21)
Tr. 3..........3 Hungarian Folk Songs from the Csik District, BB 45b, Sz. 35a (3'12)
Tr. 4..........Allegro barbaro, BB 63, Sz. 49 (2'30)
Tr. 5-8.......4 Dirges, Op. 9a, BB 58, Sz. 45 (8'18)
Tr. 9-12.....Suite, Op. 14, BB 70, Sz. 62 (6'01)
Tr. 13-14...Romanian Christmas Carols, BB 67, Sz. 57 (10'44)
Tr. 15-17...3 Studies, Op. 18, BB 81, Sz. 72 (7'05)
Tr. 18-20...3 Rondos on Folk Tunes, BB 92, Sz. 84 (8'07)
Tr. 21.........First Term at the Piano, BB 66, Sz. 53) (14'33)

The Two Romanian Dances, Op. 8a, are piano work written by Béla Bartók, based on Romanian folk music. Written in 1910, they date from the beginning of his interest in folk music
Allegro barbaro, BB 63 (Sz. 49), composed in 1911, is one of Béla Bartók's most famous and frequently performed solo piano pieces. The composition is typical of Bartók's style, utilizing folk elements. The work combines Hungarian and Romanian scales; Hungarian peasant music is based on the pentatonic scale, while Romanian music is largely chromatic.

The Suite, Op. 14, Sz. 62, BB 70 is a piece for solo piano written by Béla Bartók. It was written in February 1916, published in 1918, and debuted by the composer on April 21, 1919, in Budapest. The Suite is one of Bartók's most significant works for piano, only comparable with his 1926 Piano Sonata. Though much of Bartók's work makes frequent use of Eastern European folk music, this suite is one of the few pieces without melodies of folk origin. However, Romanian, Arabic, and North African rhythmic influences can still be found in some movements. Originally intending the suite to be a five-movement work, Bartók later decided against the idea and discarded the second movement, the Andante, later publishing it in the October 1955 issue of Új Zenei Szemle (New Musical Review).

CD 3--(74'39)--rec. Apr. 1994

Tr. 1-27.....For Children, BB 53, Sz. 42 (1943 revision)

These, of course, are mostly fairly basic piano exercises for beginning and intermediate students of the piano. Paradoxically, some of the more complex of them are right at the beginning, but throughout they are laced with simple, charming, often folk-derived melodies.

CD 4--(48'51)--rec June 1996

Tr. 1-3.......Piano Sonata, BB 88, Sz. 80 (1926) (12'17)
Tr. 4-8.......Out of Doors, BB 89, Sz. 81 (1926) (13'19)
Tr. 9-17.....9 Little Piano Pieces, BB 90, Sz. 82 (15'16)
Tr. 18-23...Petite Suite, BB 113, Sz. 105 (Arr of the 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB. 104, Sz. 98) (1936) (6'41)

The first two and probably the third work on this list were composed in 1926, just after the beginning of the interwar period as the Admiral Horthy regime began to settle into the governance of the new, reduced, but separate and independent Hungarian state. The liner notes say the following: "His piano style took on a harder edge, influenced by the rhythmic manner of Italian keyboard music and counterpoint of the 17th and 18th centuries, as immediately announced in the uncompromising drive of the Sonata and the opening piece of the "Out of Doors" Suite, "With drums and pipes.'" Old Italian keyboard music? Perhaps. But the percussiveness of some of these pieces, and the First Piano Concerto from the same period, the most radical of his three progressively more tonal concerti, sound to me like they might have been influenced by the Soviet Futurists of the 1920's.

CD 5--(76'24)--rec. July 1997

Tr. 1-96.....Mikrokosmos, BB 105, Sz. 107, Books 1-3
Karoly Mocsari, second piano--tracks 43, 44, 56, 68, 74, 95.
Marta Lukin, mezzo-soprano--tracks 65, 74, 95.

CD 6--(76'12)--rec. Oct 1997

Tr. 1-57....Mikrokosmos, BB 105, Sz. 107, Books 4-7
Marta Lukin, mezzo-soprano--track 31

CD 7--(61'30)

Tr. 1-3.......3 Burlesques, Op. 8c BB 55 (6'42)--rec. Aug 1998
Tr. 4-10.....7 Sketches, Op. 9b, BB 54 (11'20)--rec. 1980
Tr. 11-24...15 Hungarian Peasant Songs, BB 79 (13'22)--rec. 1980
Tr. 25-32...Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Op. 20, BB 83 (10'58)--Tr. 25-31 rec1980, Tr. 32 rec Aug 1998
Tr. 33-43...10 Easy Piano Pieces, BB 51 (17'57)--rec. Aug 1998
These are mostly short, percussive pieces, pleasant enough, but, to me at least, of no great moment.

CD 8--(76'38)--rec. Aug 1988 and Aug 1999.
Tr. 1-6.......Dance Suite, BB 86b (15'09)
Tr. 7...........Rhapsody, Op. 1 (long version, BB 36a) (18'49)
Tr. 8-11.....4 Piano Pieces, BB 27 (26'05)
Tr. 12.........Marche funebre from "Kossuth", BB 31 (4'52)
Tr. 13.........Rhapsody, Op. 1 (shortened version) (10'39)

Others have done the complete Bartok solo piano canon, most notably Gyorgy Sandor of sainted memory. But for virtuosity and modern sound. Zoltan Kocsis can't be beat. This is the set to have.

 
__________________

[North Star]

C.P.E. Bach: Pensées nocturnes
Mathieu Dupouy, clavichord
(Martin Kather, 2001, after Hubert, 1787)

[asin]B002P9KAPE[/asin]

Both the recording as the interpretation are top-notch.

The clavichord is simply perfect to express these intimate and painful musical thoughts.

Mandatory for CPE lovers, I think. 

Fresh from the mail, sounds good so far.

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Had I known that wisdom comes with age, I might have passed on the offer.   0:)

Yes, sadly, Faustus discovered that, as well.      Happily, the consolation is that wisdom contains the seeds of its own redemption - just needs more care in growing.

[Brian]

Yowza, is this VC wonderful! Exciting, soulful, melodic and danceably Mexican, in parts.  Fascinatingly, Ponce included therein a rueful reference to his big "pop hit" Estrellita - Little Star.  He had foolishly signed away his rights and rec'd no financial reward for its broad S. American success.  Szeryng was soloist for the VC's debut in '43.

Nooooooo this isn't on Naxos Music Library

But this is:



Ponce - Concierto del Sur
Szeryng, Henryk - violin
Moreno, Alfonso - guitar
Osorio, Jorge Federico - piano
Mexico State Symphony Orchestra 
Batiz, Enrique - Conductor

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Nooooooo this isn't on Naxos Music Library

But this is:



Ponce - Concierto del Sur
Szeryng, Henryk - violin
Moreno, Alfonso - guitar
Osorio, Jorge Federico - piano
Mexico State Symphony Orchestra 
Batiz, Enrique - Conductor

Concierto del Sur (until this AM) was the only other Ponce work I knew.  I had come to prefer this artful arrangement by Kupinski : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIrBtSAzIg4

[Brian]

Concierto del Sur (until this AM) was the only other Ponce work I knew.  I had come to prefer this artful arrangement by Kupinski : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIrBtSAzIg4

Thanks! (As you probably already noticed, NML misled me by claiming there would be three soloists...)

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Side note: there's a Chailly Daphnis?!?! How did I not know this before? John (MI), have you heard it?

I've heard, and own, it and my opinion is it's rather unremarkable compared to Boulez's DG account and not to mention Dutoit's on Decca.

I have it, too. In my opinion it's an accomplished performance. At one point I thought of it as my "favorite" out of the others I have (including Dutoit, Monteux, Cluytens, etc...). It's still in constant rotation.

[EigenUser]

Speaking of ondistes reminds me of my friend and mentor, the late John Morton, who introduced me to both the Ondes Martenot and the music of Messiaen. So fascinated was he with the instrument that he acquired one himself (from Richard Rodney Bennett, I believe) and learned to play it. He would do talks on the instrument, and on a couple of occasions I accompanied him on the piano when he played excerpts from Milhaud's Suite for Ondes and Piano. He became quite well known as an Ondiste, and is featured on quite a few film scores. He also appeared once at the Proms, when Boulez conducted parts of Turangalila. (I don't think Boulez ever conducted the whole work. Something to do with objections to the Love Music. Boulez aficionados will no doubt be able to confirm or refute).

John died last year, but his appreciation and enthusiasm for music will always be remembered, by me at least.

That's a really nice story.

Just found the Milhaud work you were talking about (at least, I think) and I'm giving it a listen now:
https://www.youtube.com/v/FFL_ylrm2G8

[Brian]

I have it, too. In my opinion it's an accomplished performance. At one point I thought of it as my "favorite" out of the others I have (including Dutoit, Monteux, Cluytens, etc...). It's still in constant rotation.

Thanks! I'll give it a try.

BTW the Ponce concerto was terrific.

[Brian]

Trying these, first listens except maybe (?) the Montsalvatge. First listen to the recording, for sure.



By the way, Montsalvatge really flies WAY under the radar, but I can't think of a single piece I've heard by him which didn't make me happy.

[Todd]

Continuing on with Kraus' great Mozart sonata cycle. 

[aligreto]

CDs 5 & 6: Solo Piano music...





All new to me and even though not my favourite genre I was still interested and intrigued by it. A really excellent set.

[Xenophanes]

I have been listening to Beethoven's 9th Symphony lately because our choral society will be doing it with the local symphony orchestra. We did it 10 years ago but I found I did not remember a lot of it. So, out came some recordings:

Karajan 1962
Leibowitz
Schmidt-Isserstedt
Ansermet
Suitner
Norrington (I may get around to that one)

I have a few on LP, but I don't think I will bother with them for learning purposes. Cluytens and Stokowski are among them.

There is always Cyberbass, of course, a valuable resource for the choral singer.

I think I am the only one in our bass section who finds no particular vocal difficulties with the high notes the choral parts.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Great disc, Jessop! Love all of those pieces and Ozawa, as always in Takemitsu, is at the top of his game.

Yes it's a good one! I'm very fond of Quatrain at the moment.

[Lisztianwagner]

Richard Wagner
Rienzi

https://www.youtube.com/v/VTwm0_-fsZ4

[aligreto]

Clementi: Symphony in D major Op. 18....

[king ubu]

played this last night already - picked up in the recent aFR sales, and it's very good, at least upon first impression:

[asin]B000ROAAHM[/asin]
Hadjimarkos performs the sonatas KV 457, KV 545 and KV 333, each followed by a rondo (in order: KV 494, KV 485, KV 511)

More about conductor Adriano :

http://www.adrianomusic.com/resources/Too-obscure.pdf

Haven't finished reading yet, but thanks for this, interesting indeed! There was a lengthy article in a local daily paper about him a few months ago, read it but not sure if I kept it ... might have been because of his retirement. Ha, I see he's got it on his homepage, so I'll read that again as well and then look around on his site for more:
http://www.adrianomusic.com/resources/2013-Tages-Anzeiger.pdf

[SimonNZ]

Bach's Cantata 13 "Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen" - Karl Richter, cond.

Richter at his best...making me wonder why that work isn't more famous or more often recorded.

[Madiel]

Symphony No.1

[asin]B011A8X3B8[/asin]