What are you listening 2 now?

[Tsaraslondon]

Disc 2

Wagner: Tannhäuser - Overture
Wagner: Das Rheingold - Einzug der Götter
Wagner: Die Walküre - Feuerzauber
Wagner: Götterdämmerung: Siegfrieds Rheinfahrt
London Symphony Orchestra

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde: Love Duet from Act II
Frida Leider (soprano), Lauritz Melchior (tenor)
Ochester der Berlin Staatsopera
London Symphony Orchestra

Humperdinck: Hänsel unde Gretel - Prelude
Strauss: Tod und Verklärung
London Symphony Orchestra

The second disc of this wonderful set is mostly Wagner, recordings made between 1926 and 1929 with the London Symphony Orchestra. The Tristan duet (a composite of two sessions recorded months apart, one in Berlin the other in London) is one of the greatest Wagner recordings ever made, with Leider later saying that it was performed at such an intensity that she nearly fainted during the sessions. It hardly needs be added that Coates was one of the greatest Wagner conductors of all time.

[vandermolen]

That would be difficult, since you already told me, that there is only one Symphony by Raff which you like. I am a great admirer of Raff's art, so for me all works are equally fine. There is not a single Symphony in his oeuvre that i do not like. Thus the concept of a work above all others is not really an issue for me. Apart from his vocal works, I like his output totally.
On another note, I was hugely surprised that new recordings of Max Bruch his Symphonies attracted no sympathy on GMG, while I think he is a marvelous composer. He is one of many composers I admire, but not many beside me. So it's always a dialogue with myself and some close friends outside GMG.
Forgive me my passionate plea for Raff and Bruch and many others, but I feel strongly about this, already a lifetime.

OK thanks Harry. I must have almost every recording of Symphony No.5

[Harry]

OK thanks Harry. I must have almost every recording of Symphony No.5

As always your welcome Jeffrey.

[Wanderer]

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[aligreto]

Stravinsky: Petrouchka Monteux

[Tsaraslondon]

Disc 4

Bach
Bist du bei mir (Stölzel attrib. Bach)
Auch hochgelobter Gottessohn
Geliebet sei der Herr
Sagte, saget mir geschwinde
Bereite dich, Zion
Ach, bleibe doch
Wohl euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen
Celia Nicklin (oboe da caccia or oboe d'amore), Neil Black (oboe d'amore)
Peter Lloyd, Edward Beckett (flutes)
Richard Kraemer (organ), Kenneth Heath (cello), John Gray (double-bass), Martin Gatt (bassoon)
Academy of St Martin in the Fields - Neville Marriner

Christmas Orotorio - Schläfe, mein Liebster
Christmas Orotorio - Schließse, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder
Academy of St Martin in the Fields - Philip Ledger

Mass in B minor - Laudamus te
                - Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris
                - Agnus dei
Continuo: Alan Harverson (organ), Raymond Clark (cello), Gerald Drucker (double-bass)
New Philharmonia Orchestra - Otto Klemperer

More wonderful Bach from Dame Janet.

[Wanderer]

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[Madiel]

Trying out a few different versions of Nielsen, Saga-Dream.

My quest to find a sensible collection of Nielsen's shorter orchestral works is probably doomed to failure, but at least streaming services let me try...

EDIT: I've seriously started working out how it would be possible to collect the symphonies, concertos, the 3 non-occasional cantatas and shorter works in about half a dozen discs. If I could just get someone like Da Capo to cooperate...

SECOND EDIT: Not even the EMI box covers everything. Springtime in Funen is missing, and so is the early Andante tranquillo and scherzo.

[aligreto]

JS Bach: Suites for Solo Cello Nos. 1 & 2 [Monteilhet]





Transcriptions for Bach, and indeed Baroque music in general, were a regular thing. I find the Cello Suites transcribe well for the theorbo.

[MusicTurner]

Viotti - Complete String Quartets (=16) - Viotti4 / Brilliant Classics 4CD. Recorded 2018.

There's some really sweet music here, and a few of the quartets depart into more ambitious and serious regions, such as the Quartet in e-minor, without opus-number.
I can't say that I like what I've heard of his many Violin Concertos, but these quartets have a lot of freshness and charm, and they aren't too predictable either IMO (like I feel the violin concertos can be), they're actually comparable to Haydn's more entertaining ones. I think it is strange they are so rarely recorded, compared to say Arriaga's 3 string quartets.

The sound is unusually distant and spacy in this recording, but they play well, though the sound of the violins can be a bit thin and intonation a bit varying (~ op.1,1 ... op.1,5 ...), but they're surely engaged in the music, luckily.
The cello tends to be recorded, so that you hear it very clearly - and its sometimes short, accompanying 'comments" to the general ongoings can then add some extra charm to the music.

[aligreto]

The Art of the Baroque Trumpet Vol. 5





Music by Ziani, Galuppi, Stradella and Franceschini.

[Mandryka]

Dufourt's An Schwager Kronos. I think the pianist is Dominique My, I'd noticed her before playing some Murail on the piano, she's very very good. For some reason, possibly no good one, the music is making me think of Finnissy's History of Photography.

[Traverso]

 The King's Musick

This is my most expensive single CD,hard to find except as a LP but worth every penny.

[Biffo]

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 2 in B Major, Op. 14  "To October" - Kirill Kondrashin conducting the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus of the RSFSR. Only the second time I have listened to this work. I can't imagine bothering again unless I buy another cycle.

[MusicTurner]

Trying out a few different versions of Nielsen, Saga-Dream.

My quest to find a sensible collection of Nielsen's shorter orchestral works is probably doomed to failure, but at least streaming services let me try...

EDIT: I've seriously started working out how it would be possible to collect the symphonies, concertos, the 3 non-occasional cantatas and shorter works in about half a dozen discs. If I could just get someone like Da Capo to cooperate...

SECOND EDIT: Not even the EMI box covers everything. Springtime in Funen is missing, and so is the early Andante tranquillo and scherzo.

Yes, I think a ~complete collection requires having quite a few duplicates. However, Nielsen recordings tend to vary a lot in the interpretation, so it's often interesting to have several versions. The Small Suite for Strings is often coupled with other composers, and this also applies to some extent to the solo concertos, but the rest of Nielsen's orchestral music tends to be on Nielsen-only discs.

The old CBS-Sony 4CD was very cheap once, I don't know if it's still the case;
it's a very good basic collection, comprising the 6 Symphonies, the Flute and Clarinet Concertos, and some of the smaller orchestral works; recordings of the the 5th and 3rd Symphonies are unsurpassed (it's the legendary Bernstein ones), there's a very fine Clarinet Concerto (also with Bernstein), etc. ...

The famous Bernstein recordings say of Symphonies 3+5 can also be had on one CD, and the Bernstein recording of the Flute and Clarinet Concertos likewise, coupled with a few smaller orchestral works - tends to be cheap.

https://www.discogs.com/Carl-Nielsen-Philadelphia-Orchestra-New-York-Philharmonic-Eugene-Ormandy-Leonard-Bernstein-Symphonie/release/3689197

Salonen has quiet a lot of stuff on 6 CDs, but his take on Nielsen can be controversial ...

[vers la flamme]

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No.9 in D major. Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic (live recording)

One of the best recordings of Karajan's career, and possibly my favorite recording of this symphony.

[Mahlerian]

Mozart: La finta giardiniera, K196, Act 3


As I remember from the last time I listened through this early Mozart opera (he was 18), it has bits of inspiration amidst an overly-long patchwork barely held together by a poor libretto and a composer whose dramatic sense was not yet honed to the heights of perfection it would later reach. His first operatic masterpiece, Idomeneo, was still several years in the future.

[Papy Oli]

Good afternoon all,

1st listen to Reynaldo Hahn.

[Madiel]

Yes, I think a ~complete collection requires having quite a few duplicates. However, Nielsen recordings tend to vary a lot in the interpretation, so it's often interesting to have several versions. The Small Suite for Strings is often coupled with other composers, and this also applies to some extent to the solo concertos, but the rest of Nielsen's orchestral music tends to be on Nielsen-only discs.

The old CBS-Sony 4CD was very cheap once, I don't know if it's still the case;
it's a very good basic collection, comprising the 6 Symphonies, the Flute and Clarinet Concertos, and some of the smaller orchestral works; recordings of the the 5th and 3rd Symphonies are unsurpassed (it's the legendary Bernstein ones), there's a very fine Clarinet Concerto (also with Bernstein), etc. ...

The famous Bernstein recordings say of Symphonies 3+5 can also be had on one CD, and the Bernstein recording of the Flute and Clarinet Concertos likewise, coupled with a few smaller orchestral works - tends to be cheap.

https://www.discogs.com/Carl-Nielsen-Philadelphia-Orchestra-New-York-Philharmonic-Eugene-Ormandy-Leonard-Bernstein-Symphonie/release/3689197

Salonen has quiet a lot of stuff on 6 CDs, but his take on Nielsen can be controversial ...

I already have the Da Capo 'Masterpieces' box, with Schønwandt for the symphonies. And I have Salonen's Violin Concerto recording with Lin because it's paired with the Sibelius Concerto.

I'm focusing on smaller works right now partly because there often a lot FEWER options and it's easier to filter through them. The symphonies and concertos get many recordings, partly because they fit quite neatly on CDs (such as 2 symphonies per disc). Some other works there are only 2 or 3 remotely modern recordings. The cantatas for example. Having recently listened to both Hymnus Amoris and Søvnen, they really should be much better known.

[Biffo]

Nielsen: Hymnus amoris - Ulf Schirmer conducting the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Radio Choir, Copenhagen Boys Choir & soloists