What are you listening 2 now?

[Mirror Image]

https://www.youtube.com/v/PpXA8MpkogM

Nice!

[Karl Henning]

Nice!

Digging it!

[Mirror Image]

Digging it!

Good to read. You remind me, Karl, I need to make a report in the 'Pieces That Have Blown You Away' thread concerning a work from Panufnik.

[T. D.]

The "Razumovsky" quartets

[Symphonic Addict]

Darius Milhaud
Pacem in Terris, op. 404
L'Homme et son désir, op. 48

Utah SO - Maurice Abravanel

A crunchy, not very likeable choral symphony. Even the dense Latin text is not very approachable. Pass!

Désir is better under Abravanel than the one I heard on Naxos. All the humidity is here, with a lot of fun percussion features and sung ululations.

Agreed on Pacem in Terris, which is one of the least interesting works by Milhaud as far as I am concerned, and I have zero interest to hear it again.

[André]

Two compositions with the same title, Le Cortège d'Amphitrite, inspired by the Albert Samain's poem, in succession:


Philippe Gaubert's orchestral piece is very much in the French "marine" style of its time (1910), which is perfectly fitting, as in Greek mythology Amphitrite was a Nereid (or Oceanid). and Poseidon's wife. Very enjoyable, I must say (and much better than the piece I actually bought this CD for, the diptych Au Pays Basque, which is a bit too picture-postcard for my taste).

Le Cortège... is the second movement of Koechlin's purely orchestral Études antiques, op. 46. It's inclusion in this disc of orchestral songs seems to be justified by the fact that the material is based on a song (with piano) that the composer had composed earlier. Be that as it may, the good impression this triptych made on me when I first heard it sometime ago, is now confirmed. Lovely piece.

The poem by Salmain is delightful, and this "thematic" listening reminds me of Raoul Dufy's depiction of Amphitrite:


A huge oil on canvas (one of several paintings on the same theme)

Sorry for editing and not quoting your post in toto, Rafaël, but I wanted to have Dufy's Amphitrite in all its coruscating glory. What a painting ! It's fabulous ! In 2019 I visited an exhibition of post-impressionist paintings here in Montreal. Dufy's La Martiniquaise was one of my favourite sights:

[JBS]

Tonight's program
CD 1 of this

Symphony 1 seemed more of a hodge-podge than most other performances.
Symphony 15 was excellent.

Will need to mull over this one. The Mehul is a pleasant dessert.

[André]

An excellent Soler recital containing a few of his best works. Ross is very good except that he underplays Soler's impetuous dancing style (Fandango, sonatas 84 and 90). The harpsichord is well caught but its low register less than ideally sonorous. Still, a firm recommendation for anyone wanting to dip a big toe in Soler's oeuvre.

[Mirror Image]

Finishing this recording from earlier today:

Berlioz
L'Enfance du Christ, Op. 25
Véronique Gens, Paul Agnew et. al.
La Chapelle Royale
Collegium Vocale Gent
Orchestre des Champs-Élysées
Herreweghe

[kyjo]

I cannot get enough of Florent Schmitt's music as of late, and even if the composer doesn't have much of a following here on GMG, I must say: MASTERPIECE ALERT!



This disc, very well played by the hitherto unknown to me Alain Raës, includes piano music from almost 40 years of Schmitt's career. One of the pieces of Crépuscules dates from as early as 1898, and Schmitt's triptych Chaine brisée, op. 87, is from 1936-37. It's the latter that has blown me away. The first piece, Stèle pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas, sounds very late-debussyesque to me, but could IMO not have been composed by anyone else that good old Florent, with its attractive melodic material (which as usual with the composer, is elusively treated but sounds perfectly coherent) and subtle harmonic twists. BTW, Schmitt had already written, some 15 years earlier, a remarkable musical memorial to Debussy, Tristesse de Pan, included in the diptych Mirages. The second piece of Chaine Brisée, Barcarolle des sept vièrges is very good too, even if perhaps less memorable. But then we reach the closing Branle de sortie (the branle or bransle is a French dance, perhaps known to admirers of Stravinsky's Agon), which with its syncopated rhythms is stunning. The piece moves towards a quieter middle section, but then reverts to the joyous dance theme. Some useful (as always) comments on this work can be read in Philip Nones' blog on the composer.  IMHO, Chaine brisée is a worthy summation of Schmitt's considerable achievements in the solo piano genre, and a pinnacle of French 20th century piano music.

Here's Alain Raës performance of the Branle de sortie:

https://www.youtube.com/v/XLvGYx7fq4c

It's great to read your enthusiasm for Schmitt, Rafael! He's certainly quite a fascinating composer. I haven't heard any of his solo piano music, but I just might have to!

[kyjo]

Melartin - Fourth Symphony (another first listen)

What did you think?

[kyjo]

Inspired by MI: Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra (Cleveland/Dohnanyi)



Okay, I enjoyed this a lot more than the last time I had listened to it! That's due in no small part to this magnificent performance by the Cleveland Orchestra under Dohnanyi. It's such an imaginative and unique work, full of atmosphere but also a sort of suppressed anger. I particularly liked the way Schoenberg uses xylophone and celesta in his orchestration. Is a (cautious) Schoenberg exploration in the near future? We shall see.

[Mirror Image]

Inspired by MI: Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra (Cleveland/Dohnanyi)



Okay, I enjoyed this a lot more than the last time I had listened to it! That's due in no small part to this magnificent performance by the Cleveland Orchestra under Dohnanyi. It's such an imaginative and unique work, full of atmosphere but also a sort of suppressed anger. I particularly liked the way Schoenberg uses xylophone and celesta in his orchestration. Is a (cautious) Schoenberg exploration in the near future? We shall see.

Fantastic to read, Kyle. I'll definitely be interested in reading more about your Schoenbergian journey.

[kyjo]

Alnaes: Symphony no. 1 in C minor



This work is chock full of superb ideas, convincingly put together. Alnaes really had a way with writing slow movements of depth and pathos - they have a truly distinctive touch.


Carpenter: Symphony no. 2



An interesting and compact work from the 1940s. It opens brusquely, almost angrily, but the remainder of the symphony is predominantly good-natured. The slow movement isn't terribly compelling, but the finale is a fun ride filled with interesting twists and turns. I particularly liked the prominent role the piano plays throughout the work. His equally capricious 1st Symphony is also well worth hearing.


Karlowicz: Symphony in E minor Rebirth



An example of a work that I thought very highly of the first time I listened but, upon revisiting it a few years later, was more critical of it. I won't deny that the first movement has some very fine, dramatic music in a Tchaikovskian vein. But my presiding impression was of the young composer more or less going through the motions of writing a "darkness-to-light" Romantic symphony, without adding many personal or unique elements to the mix. My favorite work by Karlowicz undoubtedly remains his lovely Violin Concerto.


Lloyd: Symphony no. 11



I would place this substantial work just a notch below nos. 4-7 in quality. It's really an exciting, engaging work by any standard - a near-masterpiece, I'd say - even if it lacks one of the killer "big tunes" that makes his middle symphonies so endearing. Though it does skirt dangerously close to banality at times (e.g. the opening theme of the finale, not one of his finer inspirations!), there's more than enough great material to make up for it. One defining feature of the work is its active and colorful percussion writing, which helps build quite a head of steam in the finale!


Beethoven: Piano Concerto no. 4



Okay, enough obscure symphonies! It had been way too long since I'd listened to this glorious work. I love Beethoven in his more "lyrical" mode (also exemplified by, say, the Archduke trio), and this work is undoubtedly one of his crowning achievements.

[Que]

Morning listening  (Spotify):

[Que]

Que - a 2-CD set, I believe?  Added the Telemann TWV numbers above, all from the 55: catalog numbering - I have about a dozen works in that category but not the ones there - assume that you are enjoying?  Now rare for me to add a GP disc w/o some overlap but will look around.  Dave

Hi Dave, yes, two discs but I listened on Spotify.
Yes, I enjoyed it. Excellent performances, the repertoire was written for a small orchestra - strings and oboes, no brass. Nicely done, but not as eventful as the "grand concertos" series.

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-10882/

[Irons]

Alnaes: Symphony no. 1 in C minor



This work is chock full of superb ideas, convincingly put together. Alnaes really had a way with writing slow movements of depth and pathos - they have a truly distinctive touch.


Carpenter: Symphony no. 2



An interesting and compact work from the 1940s. It opens brusquely, almost angrily, but the remainder of the symphony is predominantly good-natured. The slow movement isn't terribly compelling, but the finale is a fun ride filled with interesting twists and turns. I particularly liked the prominent role the piano plays throughout the work. His equally capricious 1st Symphony is also well worth hearing.


Karlowicz: Symphony in E minor Rebirth



An example of a work that I thought very highly of the first time I listened but, upon revisiting it a few years later, was more critical of it. I won't deny that the first movement has some very fine, dramatic music in a Tchaikovskian vein. But my presiding impression was of the young composer more or less going through the motions of writing a "darkness-to-light" Romantic symphony, without adding many personal or unique elements to the mix. My favorite work by Karlowicz undoubtedly remains his lovely Violin Concerto.


Lloyd: Symphony no. 11



I would place this substantial work just a notch below nos. 4-7 in quality. It's really an exciting, engaging work by any standard - a near-masterpiece, I'd say - even if it lacks one of the killer "big tunes" that makes his middle symphonies so endearing. Though it does skirt dangerously close to banality at times (e.g. the opening theme of the finale, not one of his finer inspirations!), there's more than enough great material to make up for it. One defining feature of the work is its active and colorful percussion writing, which helps build quite a head of steam in the finale!


Beethoven: Piano Concerto no. 4



Okay, enough obscure symphonies! It had been way too long since I'd listened to this glorious work. I love Beethoven in his more "lyrical" mode (also exemplified by, say, the Archduke trio), and this work is undoubtedly one of his crowning achievements.

How apt for Chandos to place a mountain range as a background for their Karlowicz recording.

[Que]

Mentioning this cycle - which I knew of, but never actually heard - made me realise I never checked Spotify to see if it was available for streaming.

And so here it is:



Since this is an earlier recording by Van Asperen I was a bit apprehensive that it might be on the "drier" side.
But none of that: this bubbles and sparkles - I love it. 

[Roasted Swan]

A rhetorical question!  Was there ever a major work by a major composer that is less identifyable to an innocent ear than Ives' Symphony No.1?!  Its quite lovely (who'd have guessed - Ives can write a good original tune) but does sound like Dvorak and Brahms' American love-child......  By no means the finest version but I listened to this performance



because it pitches up as part of this absurdly good value download set;



To be honest, its a work I've not listened to in years so I might have to check out more highly regarded performances

[Que]

The usual musical lunch:



Very nice!