What are you listening 2 now?

[Florestan]

Yes. Our perceptions are momentary and infinitely variable.  Also, completely conditioned by outside influences. What is attractive one minute will be repulsive the next. Therefore, any evaluations and verdicts are laughable, especially "objective" and "scientific" ones. All objects are changeable, only the perceiving subject is unchanging.

The only objective thing in a review is the fact that the recording(s) exists. Everything else is highly subjective and indeed heavily context-dependent, starting with the vocabulary itself, which under the appearance of both intellectual and emotional sophistication is often pleonastic and/or nonsensical.

[AnotherSpin]

The only objective thing in a review is the fact that the recording(s) exists. Everything else is highly subjective and indeed heavily context-dependent, starting with the vocabulary itself, which under the appearance of both intellectual and emotional sophistication is often pleonastic and/or nonsensical.

Factual, quantitative parameters, instead of qualitative ones. Pleonasms or not, what difference does it make if criticism only scratches the surface without penetrating inside. Regarding subjectivity, I'm not sure how the externally conditioned can be subjective.

[Spotted Horses]

The only objective thing in a review is the fact that the recording(s) exists. Everything else is highly subjective and indeed heavily context-dependent, starting with the vocabulary itself, which under the appearance of both intellectual and emotional sophistication is often pleonastic and/or nonsensical.

That fact that the recording exists is usually the most important fact conveyed. There are other more-or-less objective things that can be said (modern instruments or period, tempo fast or slow, recording reverberant or dry, repeats taken or not taken). The reviewers opinion as to whether the recording is good or bad is typically not valuable to me, but some of the more-or-less objective criteria can be useful in deciding if I should be interested.

[Todd]

[Linz]

Hermann Nitsch Für Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major, 1878 Version Ed. Leopold Nowak, European Philharmonic Orchestra, Peter Jan Marthè

[foxandpeng]

Helvi Leiviska :Symphony No.1 (1947)
Amazon owed me a refund so I used part of it to get this double CD. I found the Symphony to be of great interest. Hurwitz enthused about it as well. I haven't listened to the Piano Concerto yet. I will need to listen to the Symphony several times to grasp it but my attention was held throughout. It is a very atmospheric work which is not quite like anything else I have heard but tonal and approachable. It sounds both anachronistic and contemporary (if that makes sense!) I found the end to be rather moving. Of course Rasilainen recorded all the Atterberg symphonies:
PS I'm listening to the Piano Concerto - it's not full of big tunes but there is something worthwhile going on here.

I like Helvi Leiviska's Symphony #1 very much indeed, as with her #2. Very worthwhile, particularly after enough listens to generate familiarity. Thumbs up from me, anyhoo.

TD:

Sir Hubert Parry
Symphony 1
London Philharmonic
Matthias Bamert

Outside of my regular listening arc, but always enjoyable to revisit Parry's symphonies. They are monuments to their time, in some respects, but I do like them and they form part of the rich heritage of music from these fair islands, so why not? Working with no phone to hand, so good old YouTube for the choons.

[Lisztianwagner]

Hans Werner Henze
Symphony No.1

Marek Janowski & Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin

[foxandpeng]

Adorate Deum/Gregorian Chant
From the Proper of the Mass
Anonymous
Alberto Turco
Nova Schola Gregoriana
Naxos Early Music

Hm. Gregorian Chant in the mid-evening. Interesting. This sort of thing tends to pop up in the middle of the night for me, rather than at this time. It does make me want to dim the lights and light candles, despite my aversion to such ecclesial overtones...

[Linz]

Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition
Respighi Rossiniana, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet

[Todd]

[mahler10th]

Today I listened to a lot of Walter Braunfels.
What great music - it's music that's happy to be music itself.  I will return to Braunfels. I really like what I'm hearing.   

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Today I listened to a lot of Walter Braunfels.
What great music - it's music that's happy to be music itself.  I will return to Braunfels. I really like what I'm hearing.   

I don't know his music.  What is it like?

PD

[Brian]

Just the two works by Qigang Chen: a ten-minute suite called The Five Elements, then a violin concerto called The Joy of Suffering. (Hmm.)

[Linz]

Bruckner Symphony No. 6 in A Major, 1881 Version. Ed. Robert Haas, Wiener Philharmoniker, Horst Stein 

[Madiel]

I reject the claims of total subjectivity just as much as I would reject claims of objectivity.

No, it is not totally subjective. Opinions about art are not random. They do not sit on a bell curve.

Treating any one review as gospel truth is an error. Treating the collective wisdom of reviews as worthless is just the opposite error.

And one that makes me wonder why people are on the forum, frankly. Here we are, constantly sharing mini-reviews, and every now and then someone seems to declare that sharing opinions is utterly valueless, which would make what they are reading AND POSTING an exercise in futility.

I care what other people write about music and performances. That's why I read it.

[Harry]

Today I listened to a lot of Walter Braunfels.
What great music - it's music that's happy to be music itself.  I will return to Braunfels. I really like what I'm hearing. 

Join the bandwagon. Braunfels is a great composer, whatever the criticasters say, calling him a third rate composer. The first CD I listen to, was a long time ago, and since then I always looked for follow ups, it was a lonely wait. But lately it gained speed, and there is a impressive line up of his compositions waiting to be bought and heard.

[Symphonic Addict]

I've heard that William Schuman CD before and enjoyed it. 

PD

Yes, it's a remarkable piece. The recording I heard yesterday captured the bass drum quite well, that was a feature I liked very much.

[Symphonic Addict]

I'd picked up the Linde disc cheap a few months ago but was prompted by your post to listen for the 1st time.  Very good immediate impressions - the violin concerto is quite Walton-esque I thought (a good thing in my book) similar sort of nostalgic but biting harmony and lots of jagged rhythms and melodic shapes - not jazzy but wouldn't have been written that way if there had never been any jazz.... (does that make sense?!)

Linde, whilst not a top-tier composer, did write music with purpose. That Naxos disc is a good entry to his output. The two symphonies, orchestral music and chamber pieces are worth listening too.

[Symphonic Addict]

Koechlin: Le Buisson ardent - Symphonic poem

There are moments of transcendent beauty that strike me like moving and arresting at once. Magical music.

[VonStupp]

CM von Weber
Grand Potpourri in D Major, op. 20

Raphael Wallfisch, cello
Northern Chamber Orchestra

The billowy acoustic seems out-of-place for this music, but I enjoy Wallfisch's playing in this fantasia-like showpiece.
VS