What are you listening 2 now?

[Todd]

[Symphonic Addict]

Symphony in G minor

Anyone with some affinity for Brahms or Stanford could enjoy this well-crafted and tuneful symphony.

[Symphonic Addict]

Yuri Falik: 6th String Quartet (1984).



The 6th is unlike the other quartets on this CD in fact unlike any other quartet known to me! Consisting of two movements, the first being a short boisterous Fanfair followed by a moving Requiem. Two movements that would seem irreconcilable but from Falik's pen they fit and one feeds off the other.

I saw his name somewhere. Looks interesting.

[Symphonic Addict]

Imants Kalnins: Symphony No.4
Wow!
This is something quite special with the 'rock band' genuinely integrated into the orchestra. The first movement with its pounding and yet compulsive Bolero-like ostinato has me on the edge of my seat - I've never quite heard anything like it. It must be sensational in concert and IMO not to be missed:

Yes, a fabulous work.

[Symphonic Addict]

Alexander Mosolov: Symphony in E major

Prompted by a forthcoming release of one of his symphonies, I wanted to try this one. This is not the rebellious Mosolov I had in mind. What I got was a lyric, optimistic work with a nice orchestration.

[Madiel]

Vivaldi, Naive edition no.40: arias for tenor

[vers la flamme]

Witold Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra; Musique funèbre. Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Philharmonic

Great performance of the Concerto. The Musique funèbre has just started so no comment yet except that it is very quiet. Both of these works betray the influence of Bartók; it would seem that the composer used Bartók's own CfO and Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta, respectively, as jumping-off points for these works. But one can hear the composer's own original voice already in these early, not-quite-mature works.

Tortelier & the BBC Phil are excellent, as always. Does anyone else find this conductor/orchestra matchup to be as consistently rewarding as I do?

[vers la flamme]

Arnold Schoenberg: Serenade, op.24. Robert Craft, Twentieth Century Classics Ensemble

I don't know anything about this ensemble but they sound great. The Serenade went from being a work I didn't care for to one of my favorite pieces of Schoenberg's 12-tone music. It's still such a weird piece, and this may be my favorite recording, though I also have an old SWR broadcast recording with Hans Rosbaud that I need to revisit.

By the way, I also listened to this earlier, after seeing Madiel post about it...:



Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quintet No.2 in C minor, op.115. Domus Ensemble + Anthony Marwood on violin

What a beautiful piece! I still ultimately prefer the first quintet but I need to give this one some more attention. (I have yet to make a similar connection with the two piano quartets.)

[JBS]

Beethoven
Piano Sonatas 11-14 Opp 22/26/27-1/27-2
Konstantin Scherbakov Piano

[Madiel]

Vivaldi, Naive edition no.40: arias for tenor

On the final track, the melody from 'Spring' in the Four Seasons was suddenly being sung by a chorus. That was a surprise.

[T. D.]

[JBS]

On the final track, the melody from 'Spring' in the Four Seasons was suddenly being sung by a chorus. That was a surprise.

That particular opera, Dorilla in Tempe, is one of the ones Naive recorded.  He also used the Primavera theme in the opening Sinfonia.

[Madiel]

That particular opera, Dorilla in Tempe, is one of the ones Naive recorded.  He also used the Primavera theme in the opening Sinfonia.

Volume 55 I see.

[André]

Brahms: symphony no 1 + Haydn Variations. Böhm is often thought of as an unbending, rather inflexible conductor. Nothing could be further from the truth. He was a chameleon when it came to revealing the character of an orchestra. When he conducted the BP, he was the BP. With the WP he became the WP. In Zurich, Cologne, Dresden or London he exhibited a totally different personality. IOW he was a master at finding and showcasing the collective sound and personality of the orchestras he conducted.

DG recorded his Brahms 1st in the mid sixties in one of the great performances of the work: tough, propulsive, implacable - exciting as hell. With the WP we are in a totally different sound world. Whenever he conducted them, he would adopt more relaxed tempi and highlight turns of phrasing, accents and instrumental colours that were simply passed over in Berlin, where concerns of architecture and rythm would mesh with that orchestra's more blended, compact sonority. We can witness the same phenomenon with his versions of the Beethoven 7th, Schubert 5th, 8th and 9th, which he conducted with both orchestras. Each time the phrasing is more ample but much freer in Vienna, the instrumental colours sharper and bolder - oboes, bassoons, horns, low strings and timpani sound totally different. Böhm never attempts to force his personality upon the musicians. He becomes them rather than vice versa.

This WP performance brings the first symphony close to the world of the first piano concerto, where angst and darkness vie with light and triumph. This is a pulsating, growling, yearning Brahms first. I find it more uplifting than its Berlin counterpart.

[Symphonic Addict]

String Quartet in F minor

I don't understand certain criticisms toward these works. It's marvelous music, even from this early one you can notice a strong composer blossoming. Four memorable and great movements.

[JBS]

Volume 55 I see.

Now you know what lies in store for you.
TD
Second run of this:

Volume 2 is as good as Volume 2.
Haydn Symphony 39, with arias by Gluck, Haydn, and Myslivevek, and symphonies by Vanhal and J C Bach.

[Madiel]

After every 5 volumes of Naive Vivaldi, I do a volume of Hyperion Vivaldi.

[Daverz]

Volume 2 is as good as Volume 2.
Haydn Symphony 39, with arias by Gluck, Haydn, and Myslivevek, and symphonies by Vanhal and J C Bach.

Moving forward in time, Goebel's "Beethoven's World" series may also be of interest.  The CD of Salieri, Hummel and Vorisek is fantastic.

[vandermolen]

Yes, a fabulous work.

Glad you like it as well Cesar. My brother was less keen and said ithat the first movement reminded him of a cross between Bolero and Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells'. However, the 4th and 5th symphonies have been great discoveries for me.

[Que]

Morning listening:



Not a professional choir, but a nice morning listen. 

Q