What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

CD XI.

Partitas from Secondary sources. Part VI.

[Harry]

Henry Purcell.
Theatre Music, Part V.

The Libertine or the Libertine Destroyed.
The Massacre.
Oedipus.Overture in D minor.
The History of King Richard the second. (The Sicilian Usurper)
Sir Barnaby Whigg, or No wit like a Woman's.
Sophonisba or Hannibal's Overthrow.
The English Lawyer.
A fool's preferment or The Three Dukes of Dunstable.
The Indian Emperor or The Conquest of Mexico.
The Knight of Malta.
A Dialogue between Thirsis and Daphne.
The Wives's excuse or Cuckolds Make-Themselves.
Cleomenes, The Spartan Hero.
Regulus or The Faction of Carthage.
The Marriage-Hater Match'd.

A delight CD, full of gorgeous gems of Purcell's vocal works.

[vandermolen]

Romance for Harmonica with Strings and Piano.
Larry Adler, BBC SO, Sargent.
My favourite version of the work.

I've always liked this short, quirky work. I was inspired to listen to it having watched a poignant harmonica solo played by a 'deceased' airman near the start of the film 'A Matter of Life and Death' and being visited yesterday evening by a friend who plays the harmonica:

[Tsaraslondon]

Superb Richter concert, recorded at the Royal Festival Hall, London in 1969.

[vers la flamme]

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No.7 in E minor. Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic. This has unexpectedly become one of my favorite Mahler symphonies...

[Maestro267]

Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie
Berlin PO/Karajan

[Traverso]

Rameau

Zoroastre
Les Boréades



https://www.youtube.com/v/UOF4x7RZc38?list=RDUOF4x7RZc38

[Traverso]

Lully

Symphonies,Ouvertures & Airs à jouer



https://www.youtube.com/v/hbl5Lsmb8IM

[Harry]

Madrigals & Songs. CD X.

Orlando Di Lasso, Le Lagrime di San Pietro.

Biagio Marini, Le Lagrime D'Erminia, opus 6.

Very interesting performances, Di Lasso in a totally other interpretation as I am used to. Riveting though.

[Christo]

If there is a better collection of Barber's orchestral music on disc out there, I don't know what it is. Fabulous disc.

This one is equally fine, IMHO:

[Tsaraslondon]

Important first recordings, all but Dover Beach sung by their first performers. All are wonderful performances, though I have to say I've come to prefer Dawn Upshaw's no less famous recording of Knoxville to Steber's slightly more operatic version.

[Tsaraslondon]

This one is equally fine, IMHO:

Thank you. I'll look out for it.

[Madiel]

Brahms op.119



Oh how I needed this.

[Karl Henning]

If there is a better collection of Barber's orchestral music on disc out there, I don't know what it is. Fabulous disc.

Excellent!

[Karl Henning]

I fiamminghi's Tango album.

[Traverso]

Buxtehude

[Madiel]

Beethoven, variations for cello and piano



I'm starting with the variations on "See, the conquering hero comes", from Handel's Judas Maccabeus. Yet to decide if I'll also do the other 2 sets of variations, which are both from Mozart's The Magic Flute.

[Madiel]

I decided one set of Beethoven cello variations at a time was sufficient...

Sibelius streaming instead. I already listened to this in a more background mode earlier today, and liked it, so paying a bit more attention now.

[j winter]

After Florestan's continued advocacy, today I swapped out the Vanska Beethoven set for the Konwitschny Leipzig set.  For the drive this morning, I went for the Pastorale, followed by the Coriolan overture.

I have to say, this is a truly outstanding 6th.  The sound quality is superb for 1959, extremely clear with only a small touch of harshness in the upper strings.  I love the transparency and balance Konwitschny produces from the orchestra; you can hear the inner voices shining through, particularly the woodwinds, which are distinct and colorful in tone throughout.  In every movement, every idea is presented though all of the voices in near ideal proportion.  The finale is beautifully judged, with excellent brass playing, and a truly glorious uplifting of emotion at the end. 

Honestly, this is very close to an ideal recording of this symphony for me.  I could quibble a bit, but it's only quibbling – the timpani could be a bit more fierce during the storm, but then that may be more of my own Romantic "King-Lear-mad-upon-the-heath" conception of how it ought to go than anything in Beethoven; the strings could be a bit richer and fuller in tone, but then if they were they might overpower the woodwinds, as they do in so many other recordings. 

All in all, this ranks right up there with the best 6ths I've ever heard.  Really wonderful stuff – thanks again to Florestan for bringing my attention back to it!   

[Tsaraslondon]

This is a fabulous disc and should be in the collection of anyone with an interest in the violin.

The six sonatas are all written for a different violinist - Joseph Szigeti, Jacques Thibaud, George Ensecu, Fritz Kreisler, Mathieu Crickborn and Manuel Quiroga - and all are phenomanlly difficult to play. Thomas Zehetmair surmounts their difficulty with ease, playing with a huge range of tone colour and immaculate intonation, and he is afforded superb sound by ECM.

Recommended.