What are you listening 2 now?

[amw]

I greatly prefer this to the Lim above—hard to articulate why though.

[Karl Henning]

I much prefer Walton's Viola Concerto to the better-known Violn Concerto.

I'm in, Jeffrey! It is far too long since I listened to it. IIRC, he composed it for Hindemith.

Walton
Viola Concerto
Paul Neubauer
Bournemouth Symphony
Litton

[Karl Henning]

And now:
Sibelius
Symphony # 3 in C, Op. 52
Pittsburgh Symphony
Maazel

[San Antone]

Bach 2 The Future, Vol. 1
Fenella Humphreys



Another interesting violinist.

Take one motivated and talented young British violinist, inspired by the solo violin music of J.S. Bach, and mix with some of the best British composing talent of today and the result is: Fenella Humphreys' "Bach 2 the Future". Fenella came to performing Bach's masterpieces in their complete form relatively recently, but was frustrated by a lack of solo works to perform alongside them. A Kickstarter and remarkable fundraising drive ensued, and Fenella has been able to commission six incredible new works by Adrian Sutton, Sally Beamish, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Gordon Crosse, Piers Hellawell and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Bridging the connection between Bach and the new works are iconic works of the unaccompanied repertoire, from the virtuosic fireworks of Ysaye and Paganini to the charm of Fritz Kreisler and the contemplation of Biber.   The new works have been recorded by Fenella across two critically acclaimed discs for Champs Hill Records.   

[staxomega]

I greatly prefer this to the Lim above—hard to articulate why though.

In general I find Takahiro Sonoda's third cycle to be quite enjoyable, particularly in the late sonatas. I just wish these discs weren't so expensive.

[André]

I recently listened to vol 2 of Kayser's symphonies (nos 1 and 4) with great interest. Symphonies 2 and 3 are on vol 1. The second (1939) is a work of unalloyed joy and blitheness. The third, written btw 1943 and 1953 is an assertive, rythmically complex, tonally astringent composition. The quiet D major ending offers a soothing, life-affirming conclusion.

[JBS]

This, which ranges from the delightful (the neo Baroque Concertino by Leigh)  through the Rorem (essentially stuck in a drawer for several decades before being performed) and Kalabis (written for his wife, Zuzana Ruzicvkova) to the typically-Nyman Nyman concerto [I don't particularly care for Nyman, so I'll just leave it at that.]
[asin]B07R3L7N86[/asin]

Since it's the world premiere of the Rorem and only the second recording of the Kalabis, it's probably worth getting.

[JBS]

Moving on to another new arrival
[asin]B07WQ1P2K8[/asin]

[Ken B]

Bach
English Suites
Hewitt, Piano

[staxomega]

Festetics Quartet, Haydn's Seven Last Words of Christ for string quartet, Bartok's first and second piano concerti (Pollini/Abbado/CSO)

[Mirror Image]

Martinů
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Manfred Honeck, Lukáš Vasilek
Lucy Crowe, Jan Martiník, Simon Callow, Derek Welton, Andrew Staples
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic Choir



I doubt I'll finish this tonight, but I'll continue with the rest tomorrow.

[springrite]

The previous two hours devoted to:

1: Schnittke Cello Concerto #2 (Ivashkin, Polyansky)
2: Beethoven Hammerklavier + Opus 111 (Ugorskaja)

[andolink]

J. B. Bach, cousin of J. S. He worked within Telemann's sphere of influence and these works share kinship much more with that composer than the Bach clan. The music is charmingly rustic and full of fascinatingly original turns of phrase. Performances and recording are excellent.  I'm thoroughly enjoying this!

[Que]

Moving on to another new arrival
[asin]B07WQ1P2K8[/asin]

You're clearly up to date with the latest on the Naïve Vivaldi series! 

Q

[Que]

Morning listening:

[asin]B000SQJ2PU[/asin]
Q

[Irons]

Between those two conductors I prefer Klemperer.
However, I actually have five different versions, under five different conductors, of Oistrakh playing this work and of them all I prefer his version under Galliera.

Interesting. I have not heard Galliera. There has been some controversy for years over the Szell recording. Apparently the tape speed during the recording was out which affects the pitch of Oistrakh's violin. This error was not rectified during mastering to CD. 

[Irons]

Disc 2. Concerto no 5 (Beethoven) with Casadesus, Concertgebouworkest; concerto no 2 (Rachmaninoff), with von Karolyi, Münchner Philharmoniker. The Emperor is a stereo recording from 1961 and is typical of Casadesus' view of Beethoven: he recorded the concerto many times, always with the exact same tempi, including a much swifter than usual slow movement. Vigourous orchestral response, very good recorded sound. A classic of its genre. The 1949 performance of the Rachmaninoff is a brooding, somber view of the work. Austro-Hungarian pianist Julian von Karolyi was a regular DGG artist, a virtuoso of the first order. His interpretation is intensely felt and Rosbaud is in lockstep with his every moods. The recording is variable, with moments of clouding veering to distortion. We get it because the box claims to contain the 'complete DGG recordings'.

One disc to go. So far this box has unearthed an unexpected winner, a superb 1962 Concertgebouw performance of Petrushka, coupled with excellent performances of music by Boris Blacher.

A perfect example of less is more in Rosbaud's Petrushka. My far and away favourite version.

[Irons]

I'm in, Jeffrey! It is far too long since I listened to it. IIRC, he composed it for Hindemith.

Walton
Viola Concerto
Paul Neubauer
Bournemouth Symphony
Litton

There is a bit of a story behind that. Walton composed it for Lionel Tertis who took one look at the manuscript and said he wouldn't perform it. Hindemith came in at the last minute and offered to play the first performance which he did.

[Mandryka]

I'm starting a little project of exploring Corina Marti's art by exploring this recording.

[aligreto]

Stanford: Sonata Celtica No. 4 Op. 153 [Dexter]