What are you listening 2 now?

[Bachthoven]

This morning's listening:



Contemporary guitar works, and by the way, she IS in tune! 

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

instrument sounds great, not too clangy or grating, recording sounds spacious and natural, playing is of course virtuosic and jaunty coming from a master of bach

Nice performance!

[Papy Oli]

This morning's listening:

Love this Albinoni!

[ritter]

Revisiting the live recordings of two withdrawn works by Pierre Boulez: Polyphonie X for 18 instruments (SWF Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hans Rosbaud) and Poésie pour pouvoir for three orchestras, tape and electronics (Michel Bouquet —voice on tape—, SWF Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hans Rosbaud and the composer).



Both these pieces were revived last year, as part of the celebrations for the composer's 100th birthday. Let's hope modern recordings are released, now that the Boulez estate seems to have made these works available and allowed publication.

Having said that, Polyphonie X is a tough nut to crack, and the composer later referred to it as a "document" rather than a "work". It is not an attractive piece IMHO.

Poésie pour pouvoir is much more interesting.  Henri Michaux's potent poem Je rame ("I row") is read by an actor on tape, and all sorts of electronic equipment available at the time —1958– are used (sound generators, curve modulators, rotating loudspeakers...), next to the three orchestras led by two conductors. Boulez was displeased with the results, but it  is clear that the seed of what would eventually be one Répons was planted in this piece. For the revival in 2025, the score was reconstructed, with updated performance electronics, by Marco Stroppa and Carlo Laurenzi.

Michaux's poem had an intersting backstory. It was published as a "livre-objet" in 1949, with a drawing by the author as frontispiece, teak wood covers, and the text set as linocuts by Michel Tapié.

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, 1872/77 Mixed Versions. Ed. Leopold Nowak
Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Georg Solti

[Bachthoven]

Love this Albinoni!

Indeed! Wonderful music, playing, and sound.

[Daverz]

Mahler 1 - Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini from 1971

[Que]

Fauré - Mélodies

Souzay / Ameling.

wow, gorgeous start to the set 

So you found a copy or a download!

[prémont]

Cello suites 5 & 6 on 7-string viola da gamba @Mandryka @prémont

Thanks. I can see from my notes that I already purchased it (from JPC) in 2023. But afterwards I have forgotten about it. Reminded of it now I seem to recall that I liked it very much.

[toledobass]

Eric Lu's Chopin Competition disk. 👍🏽

[Papy Oli]

So you found a copy or a download!

Or a friend with resources 

[Que]

Having had my interest piqued by your post, I had a listen to the Monteverdi mass (Missa In illo tempore), and I more or less take superb performances by van Nevel and the Huelgas Ensemble as a given, but the music I found absolutely wonderful, couldn't turn it off!

The Huelgas approaches the piece from its Franco-Flemish roots.
For a more Italianate angle, I'd recommend this other beautiful recording: 



Monteverdi is combined with music by Giaches (Jacques) de Wert, one of the later Franco-Flemish composers that influenced the Italians.

[VonStupp]

Jean Sibelius
Kuolema, JS 113
King Christian II, op. 27
Overture in A minor, JS 144
Twelfth Night: Two Songs, op. 60

Pia Pajala, soprano
Waltteri Torikka, baritone
Turku PO - Leif Segerstam

I agree with @Madiel that Sibelius' Belshazzar's Feast incidental music works substantially better than Kuolema. I find little fault in King Christian II on the other hand, although Segerstam sounds a little poky throughout this program.
VS

[JBS]

Alexandre Lagoya

CD 4

I'm currently listening to CD 9 of that set, part of the duo recordings he made with Ida Presti (aka Mme Alexandre Lagoya). This particular CD includes four solo pieces performed by her.

I wish I could say I liked the set more, but it seems something of a hodge-podge. On the plus side there are a number of pieces I've never heard before, plus a couple by Lagoya himself, and the Rodrigo concertos on CD 5 hit me as among the best performances of those works I can remember.

[Madiel]

Cello suites 5 & 6 on 7-string viola da gamba @Mandryka @prémont

Please tell me she doesn't claim each suite has 7 movements.

[Que]

The Nelson mass is another winner, I had the Weil 4cd set still unwrapped for some time.

This morning's listening:

Great recordings! 

[Que]

[Harry]

In the rerun, I did not have the full attention to the disc in general, so now I have. Had to unblock my ears at my GP yesterday, no wonder the frequencies were fuzzy. An age thing so I am told   

[Que]

In the rerun, I did not have the full attention to the disc in general, so now I have. Had to unblock my ears at my GP yesterday, no wonder the frequencies were fuzzy. An age thing so I am told   

That particular recording is well worth the effort! 

[Harry]

That particular recording is well worth the effort! 

True, the use of "un-split" gut strings, makes the sound special indeed!