What are you listening 2 now?

[Traverso]

Bach

CD 2

[steve ridgway]

Schuller: Of Reminiscences And Reflections

[steve ridgway]

Ligeti: Chamber Concerto

[Traverso]

Brahms

Clarinet  Quartet 1 & 3

Quartetto Italiano

[steve ridgway]

Penderecki: Piano Concerto 'Resurrection'

[AnotherSpin]

Highly addictive.

[VonStupp]

That's the one where (as the subtitle suggests) he used the profile of mountains in the photo as a compositional guide, correct?

TD

Indeed, yes. The graphing technique certainly makes his melodic content more angular than usual, although not particularly unpleasant.
VS

[VonStupp]

Paul Dukas
Prix de Rome, Vol. 5
Brussels Philharmonic - Hervé Niquet

A collection of orchestrated songs and choral pieces, cantatas for solo voices, an overture, and a concertante work.

Plus, Bru Zane provides no less than 5 essays examining Dukas' futile attempts at the Prix de Rome, his abilities with orchestration, and libretto considerations.
VS

[Kalevala]

Paul Dukas
Prix de Rome, Vol. 5
Brussels Philharmonic - Hervé Niquet

A collection of orchestrated songs and choral pieces, cantatas for solo voices, an overture, and a concertante work.

Plus, Bru Zane provides no less than 5 essays examining Dukas' futile attempts at the Prix de Rome, his abilities with orchestration, and libretto considerations.
VS

I've heard very little of Dukas' music.  Do you have a favorite one or two?

By the way, love the artwork and graphics on that set. 

K

[Spotted Horses]

Hindemith, Viola Sonata Op 25, No 1, this time Powers.



It is a real tour de force in his hands.

I stumbled on a recording by Suzanne van Els (which I had purchased for the Milhaud). A look at the track times indicates it is a lot slower, and a quick sample indicates a much more sensuous approach to the music. I must listen to this urgently.

[ritter]

The Talich Quartet play Beethoven: String Quartets op. 18, No. 4, 5 and 6.

CD 2 of this set:

[Kalevala]

Hindemith, Viola Sonata Op 25, No 1, this time Powers.



It is a real tour de force in his hands.

I stumbled on a recording by Suzanne van Els (which I had purchased for the Milhaud). A look at the track times indicates it is a lot slower, and a quick sample indicates a much more sensuous approach to the music. I must listen to this urgently.

So, you're over with your Martinu obsession?    Have you ever tried any of his operas?  I like Julietta and have been wanting to check out The Greek Passion.

K

p.s. And I need to listen to more Hindemith at my end.

[Lisztianwagner]

Sergei Prokofiev
Romeo and Juliet, Act I & II

Vladimir Ashkenazy & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

[JBS]

CD 1
Beethoven: Symphony 8 in F Op 93*
Mozart: Piano Concerto in c minor K591 (R. Casadedus piano)*
Bach: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra BWV 1061 (Clara Haskil and Geza Anda pianos)**

* recorded 16 August 1952
**recorded 10 August 1955

Mono recordings. The Beethoven and Mozart have never been issued before. The Bach has--at the very least, in DG's Complete Geza Anda box, which I have. My memory says the sonics in this release are better.

[VonStupp]

I've heard very little of Dukas' music.  Do you have a favorite one or two?

By the way, love the artwork and graphics on that set. 

K

Aye, it is a handsome set, although pricey.

Of course Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice is ubiquitous, and many will have their favorite recordings of it.

Aside from that, his Symphony in C Major is a whole lot of fun, and his ballet music for La Péri (alongside its accompanying fanfare) are both, I think, essential listening from the composer. I just gave a spin of the Naxos Tingaud recording in these works not too long ago.
VS

[AnotherSpin]

Piano Concerto

[JBS]

CD 1
Beethoven: Symphony 8 in F Op 93*
Mozart: Piano Concerto in c minor K591 (R. Casadedus piano)*
Bach: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra BWV 1061 (Clara Haskil and Geza Anda pianos)**

* recorded 16 August 1952
**recorded 10 August 1955

Mono recordings. The Beethoven and Mozart have never been issued before. The Bach has--at the very least, in DG's Complete Geza Anda box, which I have. My memory says the sonics in this release are better.

Moved on to CD 2

Beethoven Symphony 6 in F Op 68
Brahms Symphony 4 in e minor Op 98

Recorded 6 September 1956

The Beethoven is a bit mainstream meh, nothing to write home about. The Brahms however is a muscular energetic reading.

[Linz]

Ludwig van Beethoven The Creatures of Prometheus, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra; David Zinman

[JBS]

The final two CDs of this set, comprising Orgelbuchlein (on the organ of the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Toronto), a final batch of chorale preludes (recorded on the organs of the School Hall, Eton College, Windsor, and St Catherine's College Chapel, Cambridge), and as the stirrup cup to the whole set, the Fugue in g minor BWV131a.

[André]

After 3 listenings I'm still having trouble 'putting together' the symphony in my mind. It's the composer's orchestration of one of his string quartets. The orchestration is expertly sumptuous/sumptuously expert, but the musical phrases of a string quartet don't necessarily make sense as a symphony. In my experience no string quartet has ever been arranged successfully as a string symphony (Schubert, Beethoven, Shostakovich), let alone a full orchestra. There's a sense of economy that's missing, and the effect of acerbic, dramatic string outbursts appear curiously diluted when given the full orchestral treatment. I do like the result but can't help feel the original is more striking.

The two shorter pieces are more immediately accessible.