What are you listening to now?

[Mandryka]

.   

Two recordings of the fourth partita by Gustav Leonhardt, his first for DHM and his second for Virgin. It's really interesting to hear how much Leonhardt's skills improved in the twenty years between these recordings. Just at the level of voicing, he is able to draw the listener's attention to one voice rather than another totally naturally. Short term tempo changes too, to add  expressiveness, as well as changes in how the notes are attacked. And the instrument is richer too, and much better recorded.

He doesn't take repeats, but in this partita at least I don't think it's a great problem. I think the second performance is considerably superior to the first.

Don Satz  felt the same way as I do about Leonhardt's DHM recording in a review for the Bach cantatas website. I hope, Don, that it didn't put you off hearing the second one.

[Brian]

Trying this new recording of the Tchaikovsky:



Holy cow, this first-movement tempo is crazy-fast. Will Xiayin Wang's fingers fall off? Staying tuned.

[Todd]

Holy cow, this first-movement tempo is crazy-fast. Will Xiayin Wang's fingers fall off? Staying tuned.

She probably just wants to get it over with as quickly as possible.

[Brian]

She probably just wants to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Turns out the performance was actually quite flexible with tempo, Oundjian got his orchestra to commit fully in a way he's notorious for not often being able to do, and overall it's a terrific performance, maybe a new benchmark even. Not gonna listen to the Khachaturian, though.

[Todd]

[SimonNZ]

on the radio:

Charpentier's Italian Impressions - Marco Guidarini, cond.

[Brian]

on the radio:

Charpentier's Italian Impressions - Marco Guidarini, cond.

Hey, this CD looks intriguing. Any thoughts?

[SimonNZ]

Hey, this CD looks intriguing. Any thoughts?

It was playing on the radio and was just that one work from the disc. It seemed fine and well performed, but it wasn't one of those radio-listens that makes me run out and buy the disc - but then you may have more simpatico with the piece than I did.

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to Symphony No. 4 "The Inextinguishable". Such a superb symphony and performance.

[Harry]

Good morning all!

Music that moves your heart and soul. Chamber music at it's best. Recommended.

http://walboi.blogspot.nl/2016/04/taneyev-sergej-18561915-piano-chamber.html?spref=tw

[The new erato]

Hey, this CD looks intriguing. Any thoughts?

I would guess the orchestra is Nice.

[Harry]

I would guess the orchestra is Nice.

[Richard]

Second rerun of this fabulous set of piano music. Quite incomprehensible to me, why this music is so neglected, but finally we have superb performances on disc. Do not miss out on this set, it's on its way out (OOP)

[asin]B00HQRC8C8[/asin]

Brilliant indeed. I was listening to this on Monday. Purchased it last month on your recommendation.

Thanks Harry.

[Mandryka]

.   

Two recordings of the sixth partita by Gustav Leonhardt, his first for DHM and his second for Virgin. I've noticed before how much Leonhardt developed at the level of technique in the twenty years between these two performances, and as before that shows itself the way he uses voicing, rubato, tempo changes, ornaments to produce an  impression of passion: the Virgin recording is not at all abstracted from the world of human emotions.

(it will be interesting to compare Leonhardt II with Verlet I and II I think)

Leonhardt (DHM) is quite a different story, the performance is more poised and much cooler.

No repeats in the second performance. That adds to the impression of expression, an outpouring of feeling, rather than reflection, rumination.

[André]

Holy Cow ! The Berlin Philharmonic on fire !

[Madiel]

Gioco, for string trio

[asin]B0054RVSRS[/asin]

Totally marvellous little piece, a real highlight of this part of my chronological traversal.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Bach fugues arranged by Mozart, Mozart's own Adagio and Fugue, Beethoven's op. 130 (with op. 133 as the finale rather than the obviously inferior other one composed afterwards)



This is all very sprightly indeed.

[Karl Henning]

Schuman
String Quartet № 3 (1939)
Gordon SQ

[North Star]

di Lasso
Missa Tous Les Regretz, motets
Singer Pur
[asin]B001S86JAS[/asin]

[Mandryka]

   

Blandine Verlet's two recordings of the 6th partita, the early one on Philips and the second one on Astrée, specifically in comparison to Leonhardt's second recording of said partita.

In the Astrée, she's not as interesting as Leonhardt for at least one major reason: she doesn't play the harpsichord as well. That's to say, her voicing is flat and lifeless; she's not got at her disposal the same variety of colour, timbre, attack. What she resorts to, given these technical shortcomings, is hesitations to give the illusion of spontaneity and freshness. But it's not very satisfying IMO, and the impression is of music pulled about, rather than any sort of natural flow.

In the earlier recording, the Philips, there are the same weaknesses, it's too flat and monochrome, but they matter less because of the sense of éclat, ardour, energy, spirit, fougue, you know the sort of thing.