What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

New acquisition.

Jacques Offenbach.

Orchestral Music.

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Neeme Järvi.

Offenbach is one of the finest tunesmiths I ever heard. In this genre he is master of all.

[SonicMan46]

Lawes, William (1602-1645) - Consort & Viol Works w/ Concordia - used copy which looked new and played perfectly - a recommendation in one of the 'early music' threads just recently.

Playford, John (1623-1686/7) - Apollo's Banquet & Country Capers w/ the performers on the cover art; I've had these two CDs for decades - Playford summary bio below - mainly from his compilation music books.  Dave

John Playford was a London bookseller, publisher, minor composer, and member of the Stationers' Company, who published books on music theory, instruction books for several instruments, and psalters with tunes for singing in churches. He is perhaps best known today for his publication of The English Dancing Master in 1651. (Source)

   

[foxandpeng]

George Lloyd
Symphonies 4, 5 & 8
Philharmonia Orchestra
Edward Downes
Lyrita

Pipe. Slippers. Lloyd.

Following my car incident this week with Aragog's larger relative, we had breakfast this morning at a local Wetherspoon's.

Bigger house spider. ON MY PLATE. ALIVE. NO WORD OF A LIE. ON MY PLATE!!

Honestly, you couldn't make it up. Cue more frantic yelling.

Replacement breakfast brought to fresh table.

FFS.

[André]

The Legendary
In comparison with the most-known Järvi reading, this is more stately, eloquent, also somewhat warmer and less bleak (or raw), but it never lacks presence and impact. The quiet closing section is phenomenally done, utterly atmospheric and consoling. Granted, it's not as in-your-face like the BIS recording. However, I can say it's convincing all around.




Easily my favourite version of the Alfven symphony 

Alfvén: Symphony No. 2

An underrated symphony in my view. I feel a mix between pastoral mood, grandeur, wizardry and compelling counterpoint. It's also melodically generous. How not to love the endearing tunes in the 1st movement?

[Harry]

George Lloyd
Symphonies 4, 5 & 8
Philharmonia Orchestra
Edward Downes
Lyrita

Pipe. Slippers. Lloyd.

Following my car incident this week with Aragog's larger relative, we had breakfast this morning at a local Wetherspoon's.

Bigger house spider. ON MY PLATE. ALIVE. NO WORD OF A LIE. ON MY PLATE!!

Honestly, you couldn't make it up. Cue more frantic yelling.

Replacement breakfast brought to fresh table.

FFS.

My wife has the same issues with spiders, so I know about the yelling, and all sorts of confrontations with crawling insects. Just be happy that they are not so big as Aragog, that was a monster par excellance.
At least the set your playing is top notch.

[André]

While it does not displace at least 15 other versions I know, Jandó and Rahbari provide a very honourable account of this warhorse. The belgian orchestra's solo cello is superb in the slow movement.

[vers la flamme]

My wife has the same issues with spiders, so I know about the yelling, and all sorts of confrontations with crawling insects. Just be happy that they are not so big as Aragog, that was a monster par excellance.
At least the set your playing is top notch.

A few weeks ago while walking through a local nature preserve, I saw a very large red spider pounce upon, wrap, and devour a fly trapped in its web, in real time. While this was an absolutely transcendental experience for me—I couldn't look away—it made me very grateful that there are no Aragog-scale spiders in this world that are large enough to inflict the same horrific fate upon us humans.

[vers la flamme]

Eduard Tubin: Symphony No.6. Neeme Järvi, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Hmm, I'm now detecting a connection between this work and Bruckner's 6th. Both seem to be quite driven by rhythmic motifs—thanks to Symphonic Addict in another thread for pointing out the rhythmic vitality of this symphony, prompting me to revisit the work after some months. Very fine symphonist Tubin was. Great performance from the Swedes under the direction of the world's most famous Estonian conductor.

[kyjo]

Just heard George Lloyd, Symphony no. 6, this time listening with the full score:



I just love Lloyd's music - lively and tuneful, emotionally satisfying, just music for music's sake, straightforward and unpretentious. I particularly love the slow movement in this symphony: poignant and gripping with an unforgettable melody that starts out in muted strings. I'm running out of superlatives!

What a coincidence - I was just listening to this yesterday! I agree, that slow movement is really something special. In its concision and good-humored nature, I feel this symphony is Lloyd's homage to the Classical Era.

[kyjo]

Alfvén: Symphony No. 2

An underrated symphony in my view. I feel a mix between pastoral mood, grandeur, wizardry and compelling counterpoint. It's also melodically generous. How not to love the endearing tunes in the 1st movement?

This symphony is growing on me. I still think the first movement is the strongest with its lovely tunes. The remaining three movements are surprisingly turbulent and even heavy at times compared to the bucolic first movement.

[kyjo]

On a cheerier note - I listened to this disc for the first time in something like 20 years yesterday;



Only half a dozen tracks in but its better than I remembered - big lush (faintly derivative)melodies - oooh who does that remind me of - but very enjoyable to hear.......

I'm not familiar with the majority of the music on this disc, with the exception of the brief tone poem Aurora which is a stunningly gorgeous evocation of the dawn!

[kyjo]

Freitas Branco: Symphony No.4 - easily the finest of his symphonies, with echoes of the music of his student Braga Santos:

I agree that it's easily the finest of his symphonies. I find that the earlier ones are, for the most part, stubbornly conservative and academic "Franck-lite". One can sense in the 4th Symphony that he had sat up and took notice of how wonderful his student Braga Santos' works were and was inspired by them to have a compositional "reawakening"!

[kyjo]

NP:

K. A. Hartmann
Symphony No. 6
Bavarian RSO
Kubelik



For me, this is still the set to beat. There's a spirit in the performances that can't be matched. The Metzmacher on EMI always seemed to be interpretatively uninteresting. Like he's getting the orchestra to play the notes, but that's it. There's no thrust or inner life in his performances. They're all faceless. I haven't done enough listening of the newer Challenge Classics set to make a direct comparison with the Wergo, but I should revisit that set.

A gripping, thrilling work! Btw, the performances I have heard from the newer Challenge Classics set are excellent.

[kyjo]

Jacques Ibert: Diane de Poitiers.

How does this ballet compare to Le chevalier errant and Les amours de Jupiter (from the Timpani CD)?

[Roasted Swan]

I'm not familiar with the majority of the music on this disc, with the exception of the brief tone poem Aurora which is a stunningly gorgeous evocation of the dawn!

Yes indeed "Aurora" is lovely.  One of those composers who does not seem to have a particularly individual let alone unique voice but what he does is very effective and well crafted - and that's no bad thing!

[VonStupp]

Felix Mendelssohn
Psalm 114, op. 51
Psalm 98, op. 91
Lass, O Herr, op. 96
Lauda Sion, op. 74

Soloists
Gulbenkian Orch. & Choir - Michel Corboz (rec. 1987)

Compared to Mendelssohn's first set of multi-movement symphonic Psalms from Corboz in the 70's, Psalms 114 and 98 have a Handelian choral grandness in better recorded sound. Both are written for 8-part chorus, and the a cappella opening of Psalm 98 with soloists is really quite something.

Always good to hear contralto Nathalie Stutzmann away from the podium.

Felix Mendelssohn
Psalm 42, op. 42
Psalm 95, op. 95
Psalm 115, op. 31

Soloists
Gulbenkian Orch. & Choir - Michel Corboz (rec. 1979)

I knew Mendelssohn was a devoted fanboi of Bach and Handel, but these Psalms remind me strongly of Bach's cantatas, structured similarly with movements of chorales, solos, and various combinations of vocal soloist ensembles and solo instrument features. Of course, Mendelssohn goes a little further harmonically and in his orchestrations, but there is a notable devotion to the style of those older masters.

These symphonic Psalm settings are a little of the dusty, Victorian choral-society type, and I hear a little of Mendelssohn's oratorios too, but they are worth hearing nonetheless. I assume hearing these would be a natural progression if you enjoy Bach's cantatas.

[André]

Amarus is one of Janacek's most interesting vocal works IMO.

[aligreto]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 [Schmidt-Isserstedt]

This is a very fine, clear, crisp and exciting presentation of Beethovens' Symphony No. 3. The delivery of the first movement is very fine. It is very well articulated and the pacing instills the requisite sense of excitement and forward momentum very well. It is a powerful presentation and very well driven. The scoring is also very well illustrated here. It is a thrilling rendition. The Marche Funebre is suitably solemn with an interesting sense of reverence. It is neither staid nor forced and it is constantly engaging and rewarding. It is also a very powerful and emotionally engaging presentation: the scoring is very well illustrated here. The Scherzo is appropriately lively and vigorous with a quite powerful presence which is well driven. The presentation of the Trio section is charming. The Finale starts from relatively orchestrally humble beginnings and gradually builds towards a powerfully taught and impeccably delivered and satisfying conclusion.

[Iota]

Dutilleux: Au Gré des Ondes

John Chen (piano)


Enjoyed these six pieces commissioned as interlude music for radio (hence the probable play on the word 'Ondes' (waves) ). Interesting when it got to the penultimate piece 'Hommage à Bach', how the sudden appearance of quasi-Bachian harmonies within the context of a Dutilleux-esque soundworld, made it seem rather dislocated and beautiful in a way that it wouldn't when listening to it separately I think. Though it's an attractive enough pastiche anyway. (Below if anybody interested)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu_hd6Q8kII

[VonStupp]

Amarus is one of Janacek's most interesting vocal works IMO.

Agreed.

Initially for me, Amarus was a case where the story it told was a bit more interesting than the actual music, although Janáček is always a curious listen. Then I realized I always listened to Amarus with the paired Martinů Field Mass on my Mackerras recording, and Amarus always paled for me in comparison. Now I listen to it on its own, and it works much better for me.

VS