What are you listening 2 now?

[André]

Symphony no 7. This one is a one-movement work in multiple sections, relying on metamorphosis techniques. Still tonal, but quite advanced, anticipating middle-period Simpson, if I may suggest a parallel.

[Que]

From time to time there is excited whisper on classical music forums about some mysterious unknown Polish pianist that played amazing Chopin.

Never led me to a hidden treasure.... But this is impressive - hat tip Mandryka!



Q

[JBS]

I pieced together a 6-disc Gesualdo Madrigal set with six different ensembles (one per book). La Compagnia del Madrigale on Glossa was one, but not for the third book.
Haven't heard D. M., but I noticed their tempi on Books 5 and 6 are extremely slow. They take 3 CDs for the 2 books combined, I'd only seen 1 CD per book on other recordings.

The long timing seems to be mostly on Book 6.

Total CD timing for the set

CD 1/Book 1 56:15
CD 2/Book 2 57:12 [2 bonus tracks of instrumental music total 10 minutes, so Book 2 takes up 47 minutes.]
CD 3/Book 3 68:37 [2 bonus tracks of canzonettas total about 9 minutes, so Book 3 itself takes almost exactly 60 minutes]
CD 4/Book 4 68:59
CD 5/Book 5 first 18 madrigals 74:10
CD 6/Book 5 last 3 madrigals and Book 6 first 15 madrigals 67:09 [the Book 5 madrigals take just under 9 minutes]
CD 7/Book 6 last 11 madrigals 41:21
So Book 5 takes up about 84 minutes, just barely over the single CD mark, and Book 6 takes up just under 100 minutes.
ETA The La Venexiana recordings of Books 4 and 5 time out as about 67 (almost the same as DM) and 64 minutes respectively. Longhini's liner notes suggest he views Books 5 and 6 as being darker and expressive of a more emotional state than the first four, so possibly he meant to emphasize the differences in his recording.

[JBS]

NP



A 2020 remaster of a CD originally issued in 1994.

[kyjo]

Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony



Perhaps my favorite Tchaikovsky symphony (though the slow movement is not really one of his strongest). Simply riveting stuff, and played to the hilt here. I didn't quite feel that the sound quality was ideal, though - a bit fuzzy.


Damase: Sonate en concert for flute, cello and piano



It's Damase - what more do I need to say? Absolutely delightful in every way.


Howells The B's - Suite for Orchestra



A rather unappealingly-titled work, to say the least! Each of the five movements was inspired by one of Howells' friends (I believe). The extended first movement is truly wonderful in its rapturous pastoral ecstasy. I didn't feel the remaining four movements quite lived up to its promise.


Bridge - Piano Quintet



Bridge has such a masterful command of harmony, and it's shown to the fullest extent in this sublime quintet.


MacMillan: Symphonies nos. 4 and 5



Two epic, ambitious symphonies from this significant contemporary composer. The 4th is the more "difficult" of the two, with some rather cacophonous passages contrasted with ones of simple lyrical beauty (inspired by the music of a Scottish Renaissance composer). The choral 5th (composed just last year) put me off at first, as it opens with two minutes of ambient breathing noises from the chorus. But I'm sure glad I kept listening, as it turned out to be a truly visionary, ecstatic work of great imagination and communicative power. Really impressive stuff!

[kyjo]

Hahn: Violin Sonata



The work opens with an ineffably lovely recurring theme that you won't be able to get out of your head for days. The only truly fast music in the sonata comes in the scintillating 3-minute scherzo, wittily titled 12 CV; 8 cyl; 5000 tours (I'm assuming this has to do with bicycle racing)!


Bartók: Four Orchestral Pieces, op. 12



The generic title has certainly done this work no favors, which is a shame since it's a really fine early work of Bartók's - very imaginative and atmospheric.


Bliss: Things to Come - Concert Music from the Film



This is fantastic stuff - and not just the famous March! Bliss really ratchets up the dramatic tension in some of the numbers, and the concluding Epilogue with its "big tune" is superbly inspiriting.


Chaminade: Piano Trio no. 2 and Francaix: Piano Trio



The Chaminade is a wonderful discovery - melodious and passionate. The slow movement is really beautiful. Unfortunately, the Francaix simply furthered my existing impression of this composer. Constantly witty, overly "busy", with no melodic "heart". That said, I'll keep trying with some works others have suggested as being his best. Superb playing by the ATOS Trio.


Schubert: Piano Sonata no. 21



It had been too long since I'd listened to this sublime masterwork. The way Schubert uses harmony as a means for expressing raw emotion is truly remarkable.

[Que]

Morning listening:



Again excellent performances of these miniatures led by Ludger Rémy.

Q

[pjme]

Hahn: Violin Sonata
The work opens with an ineffably lovely recurring theme that you won't be able to get out of your head for days. The only truly fast music in the sonata comes in the scintillating 3-minute scherzo, wittily titled 12 CV; 8 cyl; 5000 tours (I'm assuming this has to do with bicycle racing)!

It happens to be a car!

Hahn a une affection particulière pour la Bugatti modèle 10 (1908) à laquelle il dédie le 2e mouvement de sa Sonate pour violon et piano en 1927.
Hahn was particularly fond of the Bugatti type 10 (1908) - he dedicated the second movement of his violinsonata to this car.

Type 10 was to be small, lightweight and agile as well as being sufficiently powerful to win races.
https://newsroom.bugatti/en/press-releases/the-bugatti-type-10-ettore-s-first-car-how-everything-began

[vandermolen]

Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony



Perhaps my favorite Tchaikovsky symphony (though the slow movement is not really one of his strongest). Simply riveting stuff, and played to the hilt here. I didn't quite feel that the sound quality was ideal, though - a bit fuzzy.


Damase: Sonate en concert for flute, cello and piano



It's Damase - what more do I need to say? Absolutely delightful in every way.


Howells The B's - Suite for Orchestra



A rather unappealingly-titled work, to say the least! Each of the five movements was inspired by one of Howells' friends (I believe). The extended first movement is truly wonderful in its rapturous pastoral ecstasy. I didn't feel the remaining four movements quite lived up to its promise.


Bridge - Piano Quintet



Bridge has such a masterful command of harmony, and it's shown to the fullest extent in this sublime quintet.


MacMillan: Symphonies nos. 4 and 5



Two epic, ambitious symphonies from this significant contemporary composer. The 4th is the more "difficult" of the two, with some rather cacophonous passages contrasted with ones of simple lyrical beauty (inspired by the music of a Scottish Renaissance composer). The choral 5th (composed just last year) put me off at first, as it opens with two minutes of ambient breathing noises from the chorus. But I'm sure glad I kept listening, as it turned out to be a truly visionary, ecstatic work of great imagination and communicative power. Really impressive stuff!

Great selection Kyle! That Bax/Bridge disc is very special. Actually I like MacMillan's 4th Symphony just as much or more so than No. 5 which I was privileged to hear live in London (London Premiere I think) last year. Also +1 for 'Things to Come' of which I have every recording  . I tend to agree with you about Howells. Hymnus Paradisi is Desert Island material for me but nothing else of his moves me as much.

[vandermolen]

A nice bracing start to another (rainy) day with John Ireland's 'London Overture' from an enjoyable disc of his 70th Birthday Concert from 1949 with Boult conducting and also featuring the ubiquitous Piano Concerto, the great 'Forgotten Rite' and the moving choral/orchestral work 'These things shall be'. My favourite Ireland concert would feature Mai-Dun, The Forgotten Rite, Legend for Piano and Orchestra and These things shall be.

[MusicTurner]

It happens to be a car!

Hahn a une affection particulière pour la Bugatti modèle 10 (1908) à laquelle il dédie le 2e mouvement de sa Sonate pour violon et piano en 1927.
Hahn was particularly fond of the Bugatti type 10 (1908) - he dedicated the second movement of his violinsonata to this car.

Type 10 was to be small, lightweight and agile as well as being sufficiently powerful to win races.
https://newsroom.bugatti/en/press-releases/the-bugatti-type-10-ettore-s-first-car-how-everything-began

- I didn't know that - it's probably not what you'd immediately associate the music of Hahn with ...

[Florestan]

Not quite anyone else I know, Jeffrey. Harry has commented on another Sterling disc of his music, which prompted me to pull this one off the shelves.

Jacques-Dalcroze has a very striking melodic gift. He doesn't seem to be interested in building symphonic edifices in a classic way. Things happen, recede or disappear and something else comes up. And yet it's never inconsequential. A story is told, just not in the usual way.

Apparently (per the excellent booklet notes) he is mostly known as the inventor of a method called rythmique, which he fostered through the Institut Jacques-Dalcroze. To this day, his work seems to have been seminal (eurythmics, leading to contemporary dance) and is still taught in various Instituts Jacques-Dalcroze around the world, as well as being part of the curriculum in many prestigious schools and universities. Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalcroze_eurhythmics

It's Jaques-Dalcroze, though, not Jacques-Dalcroze. 

I have his complete piano music and it's quite good.

[Florestan]

My very first listen to Rachmaninoff's 1st Symphony. 

I have to say that Cui's (in)famous criticism might not have been entirely unfounded. If it sounds (to my ears) rather dull, tuneless and unattractive under Previn, I imagine how bad it must have been under an allegedly drunk Glazunov. 

One of Rachmaninoff's least inspired works, imo.

[Irons]

A nice bracing start to another (rainy) day with John Ireland's 'London Overture' from an enjoyable disc of his 70th Birthday Concert from 1949 with Boult conducting and also featuring the ubiquitous Piano Concerto, the great 'Forgotten Rite' and the moving choral/orchestral work 'These things shall be'. My favourite Ireland concert would feature Mai-Dun, The Forgotten Rite, Legend for Piano and Orchestra and These things shall be.

Loved the evocative cover shot of Piccadilly Circus. Eileen Joyce was a major artist of her time, I recall she reached further out then just a classical audience.

Reading the Lyrita notes the story behind the middle section of "Legend" is strange. Ireland was enjoying a picnic on Sussex downs when some dancing children appeared in front of him. He glanced away for an instant and the children vanished. He later recounted the event to his friend, Arthur Machen. His offhand reply "Oh, you've seen them too".

I wholehearted agree with your orchestral choices, Jeffrey. In my opinion his chamber music is top drawer, particularly the 1st Violin Sonata and the 3rd Piano Trio. His solo piano music is an acquired taste but does grow on you if given time. 

[vandermolen]

My very first listen to Rachmaninoff's 1st Symphony. 

I have to say that Cui's (in)famous criticism might not have been entirely unfounded. If it sounds (to my ears) rather dull, tuneless and unattractive under Previn, I imagine how bad it must have been under an allegedly drunk Glazunov. 

One of Rachmaninoff's least inspired works, imo.

Have to respectfully disagree with you Andrei. It is my favourite of his symphonies (and I like them all) but it is not best served by Previn IMO - he was much better in nos.2 and 3. Might I suggest that you give a listen to this much better version below before you write the work off. There are also some fine more modern version like Pletnev on DGG and Ashkenazy on Decca:

I'd have loved to have heard the infamous premiere with the drunken Glazunov in charge!

[vandermolen]

Loved the evocative cover shot of Piccadilly Circus. Eileen Joyce was a major artist of her time, I recall she reached further out then just a classical audience.

Reading the Lyrita notes the story behind the middle section of "Legend" is strange. Ireland was enjoying a picnic on Sussex downs when some dancing children appeared in front of him. He glanced away for an instant and the children vanished. He later recounted the event to his friend, Arthur Machen. His offhand reply "Oh, you've seen them too".

I wholehearted agree with your orchestral choices, Jeffrey. In my opinion his chamber music is top drawer, particularly the 1st Violin Sonata and the 3rd Piano Trio. His solo piano music is an acquired taste but does grow on you if given time.

Thanks Lol - yes, I've heard that 'dancing children' story before. Also, I'm familiar with the windmill home of Ireland which has featured on walks that I have done on the South Downs (the pub where Bax lived is not too far away either). I just bought the Ireland Lyrita (Mai Dun, Forgotten Rite, Legend etc) LP, quite inexpensively after you reminded me of it. Somehow it skipped my radar before. I intend to listen to more of his chamber music. I've just got to the end of 'These things shall be' at the end of the CD of the 1949 concert - a moving performance. The work gets criticised, especially for the words but I've always liked it and found it both inspiriting and moving. Yes, that photo of Piccadilly Circus is great!

[pjme]

- I didn't know that - it's probably not what you'd immediately associate the music of Hahn with ...

Hahn was director of the Casino de Deauville orchestra from 1925 to 1929.
Cfr. GMG - Great works 1920-1930 topic: speed, excitement, trains (Honegger), planes (Riisager), electricity (Bacevicius' Poème électrique) were just hot! I don't know if Hahn had a car himself, but when in Deauville (and Paris) he must have seen all the beautiful and expensive cabriolets.
Bugatti or Delage!
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delage_DI

[vandermolen]

Jan Jarvlepp's 'Garbage Concerto':

Very enjoyable and approachable, I especially liked the hauntingly atmospheric central movement 'The Rideau Canal 3 a.m.'

[aukhawk]

No 7. Arguably the best symphony and Kertesz' might be its best performance. Two more to go.

Did you get to No.8 in this cycle?  Unfortunately a rather shrill recording with a metallic sheen to the strings - a tendency they all have but the 8th was the earliest recording in this cycle and the later sessions have things much more under control, up to the point of 'very good indeed' (6th).  The whole cycle has been remastered and marketed in high-rez, but all that has done is to faithfully reproduce the original recordings, not improve on them.

The Belohlavek cycle is much more laid-back than Kertesz in every way - 'warmer' - I enjoy them both very much but generally turn to Kertesz.

[Florestan]

Have to respectfully disagree with you Andrei. It is my favourite of his symphonies (and I like them all) but it is not best served by Previn IMO - he was much better in nos.2 and 3. Might I suggest that you give a listen to this much better version below before you write the work off. There are also some fine more modern version like Pletnev on DGG and Ashkenazy on Decca:

I'd have loved to have heard the infamous premiere with the drunken Glazunov in charge!

I have the Ashkenazy set and I've just downloaded this:



Will listen and report back.

My favorite is the Second Symphony. That is the Rachmaninoff I love!