What are you listening 2 now?

[vandermolen]

Béla Bartók: Piano Concerto No.3, Sz.119. Géza Anda, Ferenc Fricsay, RSO Berlin.

A beautiful performance of a damn fine concerto. I really love the slow movement.

+1

[vers la flamme]

Morton Feldman: Only (for solo voice); Voice, Violin & Piano; Vertical Thoughts 5; For Franz Kline; Voices & Cello; Pianos & Voices; and a reprise of Only. Joan La Barbara, Stephen L. Mosko, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players

The whole disc. Damn fine middle-period music by Feldman. For Franz Kline is the obvious masterpiece here—interestingly, this recording is almost double the length of other commercially available recordings of same work—but each and every one is worth hearing. Beautiful music...

[SimonNZ]

Grisey's Quatre Chants

[T. D.]

Discs 8-9 (the late works)

[André]

Kraus, Joseph Martin (1756-1792) - Piano Music - Jacques Després vs. Ronald Brautigam; the so-called Swedish Mozart's solo keyboard compositions fit on a single disc w/ the two sonatas occupying two-thirds of the time.  Després is playing a modern Hamburg Steinway, while Brautigam is on a reproduction fortepiano by Paul McNulty, 2001, after Walther & Sohn, ca. 1802 - does one need both? 

Attached are a half dozen reviews, three each per performer w/ a scathing attack from Dubins regarding both the quality of Kraus' composing for a keyboard and the attempt by Després to 'save' the music!  I believe he again went 'overboard' in his review - to my ears the recording is much better (as is evident from others assessing the same performance) - HOWEVER, the reviewers seem to really favor Brautigam, as I do!  Thus, will likely 'cull out' the Naxos recording.  Dave
.
 

The Brautigam disc is one of the best discs of Kraus I know. Perfect adequation btw music, style/era, instrument.

[ritter]

Felt like some autumnal Richard Strauss tonight , so went for the third act of Die Liebe der Danae. Some wonderful music here...

[San Antone]

Cello and Orchestra
Robert Cohen, New World Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas

[SonicMan46]

The Brautigam disc is one of the best discs of Kraus I know. Perfect adequation btw music, style/era, instrument.

Hi André - 1+  Brautigam seems to have an enthusiasm for this music - really enjoy!  Dave

[Karl Henning]

Total Miaskovsky bias 

In fairness,    since the Shostakovich quartets are (with good reason) a known quantity; the Myaskovsky was a real ear-opener.

[Daverz]

Attached are a half dozen reviews, three each per performer w/ a scathing attack from Dubins regarding both the quality of Kraus' composing for a keyboard and the attempt by Després to 'save' the music!  I believe he again went 'overboard' in his review - to my ears the recording is much better (as is evident from others assessing the same performance) - HOWEVER, the reviewers seem to really favor Brautigam, as I do!  Thus, will likely 'cull out' the Naxos recording.  Dave

Just Dubins being Dubins.  Peter J. Rabinowitz in issue 29:5:

"For those of you lucky enough to have missed the food fight: it began when Bertil van Boer wrote a letter about Jerry Dubins's fairly innocuous review panning some of Kraus's piano music. Van Boer is a distinguished musicologist with particular expertise in the music of Kraus (in fact, he wrote the excellent notes for the CD Dubins had reviewed); and he clearly had both the background knowledge and the rhetorical command to write a rational and persuasive defense of the composer. Instead, he let his emotions boil over, penning an ad hominem piece of vituperation in which he called Dubins (among other things) a "cretin." No response was really necessary; the letter was sufficiently over-the-top to be self-damning. But Dubins, not content to leave well enough alone, responded with his characteristic overkill, ending up accusing van Boer of an intellectual style "matching the level of our national political discourse." You'd hope that that would end the matter, but two issues later, several letter writers and even Fanfare colleague Christopher Williams joined in the rumble (28:6). David English made an eloquent plea for "simple civility"—but his words were drowned out by the fracas. David N. Lewis went so far as to say "Dubins is like a guy who goes to a banquet where every one [sic] else is dressed to the nines, hikes down his trousers, and sits on his dinner plate"—and Dubins contributed another three pages of response, suggesting that Lewis's "set of moral values" was "adrift." Oy!"

TD: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3



Dorati has a wonderful way with the lighter Tchaikovsky, and Mercury's sonics are delightful.

[Symphonic Addict]

Hanson - String Quartet

His only work in the form and it's quite a substantial piece despite it lasts 18 minutes. The music has that intensity we find in his orchestral works.




Schubert - Variations for piano duo in E minor on a French song

Such a fun work. Schubert in his most carefree and frolicsome. Very entertaining.

[SonicMan46]

Just Dubins being Dubins.  Peter J. Rabinowitz in issue 29:5:

"For those of you lucky enough to have missed the food fight: it began when Bertil van Boer wrote a letter about Jerry Dubins's fairly innocuous review panning some of Kraus's piano music. Van Boer is a distinguished musicologist with particular expertise in the music of Kraus (in fact, he wrote the excellent notes for the CD Dubins had reviewed); and he clearly had both the background knowledge and the rhetorical command to write a rational and persuasive defense of the composer. Instead, he let his emotions boil over, penning an ad hominem piece of vituperation in which he called Dubins (among other things) a "cretin." No response was really necessary; the letter was sufficiently over-the-top to be self-damning. But Dubins, not content to leave well enough alone, responded with his characteristic overkill, ending up accusing van Boer of an intellectual style "matching the level of our national political discourse." You'd hope that that would end the matter, but two issues later, several letter writers and even Fanfare colleague Christopher Williams joined in the rumble (28:6). David English made an eloquent plea for "simple civility"—but his words were drowned out by the fracas. David N. Lewis went so far as to say "Dubins is like a guy who goes to a banquet where every one [sic] else is dressed to the nines, hikes down his trousers, and sits on his dinner plate"—and Dubins contributed another three pages of response, suggesting that Lewis's "set of moral values" was "adrift." Oy!"

Hey Dave - FUNNY!    I read that 'exchange' before (and was quoted in another Kraus review) - Dave

[Symphonic Addict]

Wirén - Piano Trio No. 1

Holy God! What a terrific piece! Meaty chamber music, and Wirén in full display of its creative genius. The Adagio is just beautiful. One of the most gorgeous movements I've listened to lately. Truly remarkable. A piece with no waste at all.




Weingartner - Symphony No. 3

Intensely late-Romantic, exuberant, voluptuous, lush, Straussian in spirit, I mean, great!! The core of the work is the slow movement that has an epic-but-slow motion that reaches a grand and imposing climax. A shimmering work.

[San Antone]

For my money, the BEST Liszt recording out there.

[SimonNZ]

[Carlo Gesualdo]

Goodnight, I'm currently listening to J.s Bach Motets on naxos and  musique d'abord label, I'm so lame, should had bought J.s bach's complete motets on Musica Omnia, sound way better than, the naxos and musique d'abord, Traverso would agree. At least it's on my wish list for god sake, I'm shock...wanted the best J.s Bach Motets recordings, Should'had pick this album first, feel like the best to my ears...   

[Harry]

Goodnight, I'm currently listening to J.s Bach Motets on naxos and  musique d'abord label, I'm so lame, should had bought J.s bach's complete motets on Musica Omnia, sound way better than, the naxos and musique d'abord, Traverso would agree. At least it's on my wish list for god sake, I'm shock...wanted the best J.s Bach Motets recordings, Should'had pick this album first, feel like the best to my ears...   

Well Masaaki Suzuki, with his Japan singers is also a strong contender, to my ears far superior to the Koopman set. But that's just my opinion.

[GioCar]

Grisey's Quatre Chants

Listening to the same

[Que]

Morning listening:

[asin]B07HNVTQF5[/asin]
https://earlymusicreview.com/the-ear-of-theodoor-van-loon/

Q

[Florestan]

Kraus, Joseph Martin (1756-1792) - Piano Music - Jacques Després vs. Ronald Brautigam; the so-called Swedish Mozart's solo keyboard compositions fit on a single disc w/ the two sonatas occupying two-thirds of the time.  Després is playing a modern Hamburg Steinway, while Brautigam is on a reproduction fortepiano by Paul McNulty, 2001, after Walther & Sohn, ca. 1802 - does one need both? 

Attached are a half dozen reviews, three each per performer w/ a scathing attack from Dubins regarding both the quality of Kraus' composing for a keyboard and the attempt by Després to 'save' the music!  I believe he again went 'overboard' in his review - to my ears the recording is much better (as is evident from others assessing the same performance) - HOWEVER, the reviewers seem to really favor Brautigam, as I do!  Thus, will likely 'cull out' the Naxos recording.  Dave
.
 

I have the Brautigam and it's excellent. Dubins is completely wrong.