Topic: Pieces that have blown you away recently

[Christo]

Finally a performance of Johann Pachelbel's famous Canon in D, that I like! https://twitter.com/i/status/1175524972137254913

[SymphonicAddict]

Could the Piano Concerto be the most melodious one ever? If not, it's a super strong candidate for sure. This is insanely fantastic, memorable, delightful, the perfect cross between a sort of Neo-Romanticism (with tinges of Rachmaninov) and Neoclassicism. I am in awe of this!

[Sergeant Rock]

Finally a performance of Johann Pachelbel's famous Canon in D, that I like! https://twitter.com/i/status/1175524972137254913

 

Sarge

[Florestan]

Could the Piano Concerto be the most melodious one ever? If not, it's a super strong candidate for sure. This is insanely fantastic, memorable, delightful, the perfect cross between a sort of Neo-Romanticism (with tinges of Rachmaninov) and Neoclassicism. I am in awe of this!

+ 1.

[kyjo]

Could the Piano Concerto be the most melodious one ever? If not, it's a super strong candidate for sure. This is insanely fantastic, memorable, delightful, the perfect cross between a sort of Neo-Romanticism (with tinges of Rachmaninov) and Neoclassicism. I am in awe of this!

Oh yes! It’s sheer gorgeousness indeed! Another Poulenc piece that has blown me away recently is his Stabat Mater. What an awesomely sublime piece of music! It shows Poulenc at his most serious, but it’s never heavy-handed and has some wonderful, luminous writing that is quite goosebump-inducing!

[Florestan]

The Concerto for Two Pianos is equally marvellous.

[SymphonicAddict]

Oh yes! It’s sheer gorgeousness indeed! Another Poulenc piece that has blown me away recently is his Stabat Mater. What an awesomely sublime piece of music! It shows Poulenc at his most serious, but it’s never heavy-handed and has some wonderful, luminous writing that is quite goosebump-inducing!

The Stabat Mater is tremendous indeed. I even prefer it to the Gloria.

[SymphonicAddict]

The Concerto for Two Pianos is equally marvellous.

A most compelling work. It has a Mozartian feel to it that appeals to me.

[Florestan]

A most compelling work. It has a Mozartian feel to it that appeals to me.

Precisely. The second movement could come straight from a Mozart concerto.

TD (cross post from the WAYLT2 thread)

First listen.



(actually, I have it as part of the Sony Complete Masterpieces box)

Wow. No, I mean: WOW!!! A thrilling work which piqued my interest from the very first bars and sustained it crescendo until the very last. It made it on the spot from unkown to my list of favorite Romantic vocal-orchestral works.

[Cato]

Precisely. The second movement could come straight from a Mozart concerto.

TD (cross post from the WAYLT2 thread)

First listen.



(actually, I have it as part of the Sony Complete Masterpieces box)

Wow. No, I mean: WOW!!! A thrilling work which piqued my interest from the very first bars and sustained it crescendo until the very last. It made it on the spot from unknown to my list of favorite Romantic vocal-orchestral works.

Wow!  OR: WOW!!!  What a coincidence!  Because I just heard a performance of the Mendelssohn Third Symphony on the radio that was incredible.  It seemed as if the conductor thought the score said Bruckner rather than Mendelssohn!

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Jaime Laredo conducting, on NIMBUS, from 1992.

[Florestan]

Wow!  OR: WOW!!!  What a coincidence!  Because I just heard a performance of the Mendelssohn Third Symphony on the radio that was incredible.  It seemed as if the conductor thought the score said Bruckner rather than Mendelssohn!

I'm not sure I would like that. 

[Cato]

Wow!  OR: WOW!!!  What a coincidence!  Because I just heard a performance of the Mendelssohn Third Symphony on the radio that was incredible.  It seemed as if the conductor thought the score said Bruckner rather than Mendelssohn!

I'm not sure I would like that. 

   Heh-heh!

Not to worry: there was nevertheless a great Kammermusik feel to the clarity of the polyphony.

One can hear it via YouTube:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/9RmSTa30h1M&amp;list=OLAK5uy_l_GGd6EBCMlIZEPj6ELJrMM9GJCW8r9oo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/9RmSTa30h1M&amp;list=OLAK5uy_l_GGd6EBCMlIZEPj6ELJrMM9GJCW8r9oo</a>

[SymphonicAddict]

Milhaud's first two string quartets are abusively lovely, I mean, intensely idyllic in its expressivity! You just have to get carried away by such endearing and warm music. The version of the 1st quartet is in 4 movements. Now I'm planning to hear the rest of the quartets very soon. Milhaud had some very kept secrets.

[Cato]

Precisely. The second movement could come straight from a Mozart concerto.

TD (cross post from the WAYLT2 thread)

First listen.



(actually, I have it as part of the Sony Complete Masterpieces box)

Wow. No, I mean: WOW!!! A thrilling work which piqued my interest from the very first bars and sustained it crescendo until the very last. It made it on the spot from unknown to my list of favorite Romantic vocal-orchestral works.

WOW!!!  How has this work remained unknown to me?!  Why is it not better known?!

A live performance from 5 years ago on YouTube:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/RkH7hUVSDfQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/RkH7hUVSDfQ</a>

[Florestan]

Alexey Shor - Childhood Memories

Listened to them on this disc:



and the music charmed me no end from the very first bar to the very last.

Here it is, played by Ingolf Wunder

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/uPkkXLomW4s&amp;t=43s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/uPkkXLomW4s&amp;t=43s</a>

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Having just "listened to it for the first time, again": the exquisite Schnittke Choir Concerto

[Que]

Not specifically linked to the comment above - more a Film Music/Piece that blew me away recently thing...... (is there a film music thread here?)

Picked up one of those Marco Polo/Moscow/Score reconstruction discs recently - Max Steiner's scores for Lost Patrol/Beast with 5 fingers/Virginia City.  I find some in this series can be interesting but not compelling.  This time I got this one:

The link above is from the UK US Amazon site - this disc can be listened to there as part of their "Prime" package. 

First selection - "Lost Patrol" definitely falls into the interesting not compelling category.  Skillful potpourri of familiar themes/tunes - quite evocative, pretty well played..... unlikely to return to the score often.  THEN, the Beast With Five Fingers.  I'm always partial to a good big overblown arrangement of baroque music for a large symphony orchestra (Stokowski/Elgar/Respighi et al) - I had NO idea the main music theme of this score is a very neurotic working out of the Bach Chaconne (extrapolated from the Busoni piano arrangement I assume).  But loved the whole score - dark and menacing with the Bach exploding out at unexpected points.  I remember dimly having seen the film but this prompts me to see it again.

The disc closes with another fairly routine Western score - Virginia City - its that Beast that is the keeper!

The asin feature only works with the asin of the physical  recording. 

Q

[kyjo]

Milhaud's first two string quartets are abusively lovely, I mean, intensely idyllic in its expressivity! You just have to get carried away by such endearing and warm music. The version of the 1st quartet is in 4 movements. Now I'm planning to hear the rest of the quartets very soon. Milhaud had some very kept secrets.

I listened to the 1st Quartet a couple days ago in this recording:

My expectations were certainly exceeded by this inventive, melodious, and joyous music! “Abusively lovely” indeed! There are echoes of Debussy and Ravel, but the music is far from derivative. A very nice discovery, so thanks for the tip, Cesar!

[SymphonicAddict]

I listened to the 1st Quartet a couple days ago in this recording:

My expectations were certainly exceeded by this inventive, melodious, and joyous music! “Abusively lovely” indeed! There are echoes of Debussy and Ravel, but the music is far from derivative. A very nice discovery, so thanks for the tip, Cesar!

Very glad you liked them, Kyle! These are gorgeous, sunny, idyllic works indeed with some touches of Impressionism. The subsequent ones tend to be more Milhaud. The 3rd one is with soprano (a la Schoenberg), and it implies that is more dissonant but very approachable nonetheless. Last week I finished listening to all of them and definitely it's been a major project, Very meaty, quirky, rustic, enjoyable quartets.

[SymphonicAddict]

Not a first listen, but Sibelius' Symphony No. 7 has moved me in a way that is difficult to explain. To be honest, it's one of the most beautiful works I've heard in my life. Period.