What are you listening 2 now?

[Symphonic Addict]

Gubaidulina: Offertorium



Really splendid stuff reminding me that I should take a chance on "modernist" music more often! I had heard some excerpts of works by Gubaidulina before and they'd been rather off-putting, but Offertorium turned out to be a thoroughly engrossing and haunting work that I thought was quite accessible despite its mostly atonal idiom. It receives a stunningly committed performance here.


Medtner: Violin Sonata no. 3 Epica



Absolutely one of my favorite violin sonatas of all time. Not only is it epic, but it is also sublimely lyrical and infectiously rhythmic - almost jazzy - in places (as in the second movement). His other two violin sonatas are also wonderful.


Kabalevsky: String Quartet no. 1



It's hard to resist the earthy, folksy energy of this work, especially in the 2nd and 4th movements. I can't get enough of this composer!


Bax: Oboe Quintet and Finzi: Interlude for oboe and string quartet



The Bax may not be quite on the level of his masterful Piano Quintet or Harp Quintet, but it's an entirely characteristic and engaging work with an infectious Irish-gig like finale. The Finzi is his most substantial chamber work (I wish there were more!), and it's a poignant work not without some darkly troubled passages.


Kalinnikov: Symphony no. 2



The first two movements are very good, but it is the final two (scherzo and finale) which make this symphony so cherishable to me. The whirlwind scherzo is contrasted with its sweetly lyrical trio, and the finale is possibly one of the most well-written symphonic finales of the Romantic Era IMO. It's an unstoppable tidal wave of festive joy, ingeniously referencing themes from previous movements in a wonderfully satisfying summing-up.

The Gubaidulina looks good. Her string quartets and some orchestral works have impressed me a lot.

The others are quite fabulous too, of course.

[Symphonic Addict]

I assume you mean "this work is not famous for nothing"?

Yes, I blame the self-corrector of my phone. 

[Symphonic Addict]

I don't follow how performing Tchaikovsky at slow tempo makes it Mahlerian, or how bending the tempo like taffy makes it Sibelian. In fact, around the same time Bernstein applied his self indulgent slow-motion style to Sibelius Symphony No 2. I expect you'll claim it makes the music Tchaikovskian.

I meant Bernstein in this particular performance makes the movements sound Mahlerian in terms of being long, slow and heavy, like some of the movements by the Austrian composer. And, somehow, the introduction and final section of the work brought Sibelius's 4th to my mind.

[Symphonic Addict]

Again, the amazing String Trio

This is an incredible work. The 1st movement is a masterpiece in itself, wealthy in several respects (rhythm, harmony, counterpoint). The closing seconds are insanely intense!

[SonicMan46]

Another Salonen fan?  Or just a Sacre fan?

Thread duty:

A few selections from this set (on Spotify):

Howard Hanson - Gerard Schwarz



Enjoyable for what it is, but I'm on the fence as to whether this is great music - not that music has to be truly great to be worthwhile, though! Not sure the Seattle Symphony (even though they're my hometown band) were a great orchestra when these recordings were made in the early-to-mid 1990s (they've vastly improved in the intervening years.) The First Symphony owes a lot to Sibelius (maybe that's the reason for its subtitle?) and it sounds like it's trying too hard to be 'heroic'; it had its moments, though. In the Fifth Hanson asserts himself as a more distinctive composer; I didn't take to it at first listen, but I'll definitely try it again. The greatest piece of these three for me was the Elegy - very beautiful, poignant and heartfelt. I'll definitely continue to work my way through the symphonies and the other orchestral works.

Well, a few days ago I posted on Delos' release of these works on two double-discs sets, i.e. 4 CDs - appears that Naxos has licensed and repackaged these works - I cannot disagree w/ some of the comments above, e.g the works do vary in their quality; the performances and sound recording are generally quite good - not sure that such a package of all of these works will appear in a future release, so might be the only deal in town?  For a MUCH MORE in depth analysis of these works and the recordings under discussion check the attachment w/ several extensive reviews, if interested.  Dave

[Mirror Image]

I meant Bernstein in this particular performance makes the movements sound Mahlerian in terms of being long, slow and heavy, like some of the movements by the Austrian composer. And, somehow, the introduction and final section of the work brought Sibelius's 4th to my mind.

I never much cared for Bernstein's Tchaikovsky performances on DG. I do like his Columbia cycle a lot, though. Lenny could be hit/miss as he got older.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Shostakovich
Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77
Mordkovitch
Scottish National Orchestra
Järvi

[classicalgeek]

Great fan of Le sacre! It blew my mind long ago, and my mind has never really been un-blown since.

Exactly how I feel about it! It's one of THE great works of genius in Western music. What even comes close? Beethoven's Ninth, the Bach B minor Mass... not much else!

[Symphonic Addict]

I never much cared for Bernstein's Tchaikovsky performances on DG. I do like his Columbia cycle a lot, though. Lenny could be hit/miss as he got older.

The last statement is spot on. It's rather weird why he adopted those "sluggish" tempos in his late life.

[classicalgeek]

Well, a few days ago I posted on Delos' release of these works on two double-discs sets, i.e. 4 CDs - appears that Naxos has licensed and repackaged these works - I cannot disagree w/ some of the comments above, e.g the works do vary in their quality; the performances and sound recording are generally quite good - not sure that such a package of all of these works will appear in a future release, so might be the only deal in town?  For a MUCH MORE in depth analysis of these works and the recordings under discussion check the attachment w/ several extensive reviews, if interested.  Dave

Thanks, Dave! I'll definitely read this. Hanson is definitely a composer I want to get to know in depth.

I wouldn't be surprised if Naxos licensed most or all of the recordings Schwarz made in Seattle. They seem to pop up here and there, and last year Naxos issued a 30 CD Gerard Schwarz Box! I think most of the contents were originally on Delos.

[Mirror Image]

The last statement is spot on. It's rather weird why he adopted those "sluggish" tempos in his late life.

I like his Mahler DG cycle a lot, but even here some of his choices were odd. Like the boy soprano in the 4th symphony for example. A great performance marred by the last movement. Some listeners may have welcomed this, but I never cared much for it.

[Mirror Image]

Last work of the night:

Adams
Harmonielehre
Berliners
Adams



Listening to this performance for the second-time. It's still stunning. I sensed a little unease in the first movement, but this was soon ironed out. I can't imagine the Berliners have much experience with this work or with Adams' work in general, but they perform incredibly well.

[vandermolen]

Loeffler 'A Pagan Poem' - a better remastering than I recall from an old EMI CD.
Very enjoyable with occasional 'Hollywoodish' moments:

[Que]

Morning listening is a return to this, since yesterday morning I was interrupted:



On the menu are the Missa Nisi dominus by Pierre de Manchicourt and on the 2nd disc the Missa Philomena praevia by Claudin de Sermisy, interspersed with hymns, chants and responsories to form a full-scale Mass celebration.

I wished the time to return to this set, it has a prominent place in my collection, so every time I walk into my music library I see the box making eyes at me, as if saying, come get me and have a smashing time. But then again I have so much new stuff to discover.........

Its rewards are rich! 
In Early Music this set, The Secret Labyrinth set with the Huelgas Ensemble and the Sweelinck Edition are my most treasured possessions. 

I totally understand the attraction of the new and unknown. I am trying to find a new balance between the "thrill of the chase" and  delving into the depths of the riches I discovered sofar on my journey. Even though I'm more than another decade away from retirement...

But I have no illusions: the process of revisiting and reevaluating passions of the past will grow new ones and open new musical windows. 

[classicalgeek]

Some late night listening before bedtime. My first foray into Haydn from the Colin Davis symphonies box:

Joseph Haydn
Symphony no. 82
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Sir Colin Davis



Sprightly and vital modern-instrument Haydn, especially the outer movements. A real winner after "just OK" Beethoven and Mozart and fine but not exceptional Stravinsky.

[Irons]

Vaughan Williams: Job.

A dynamic and dramatic performance with recording quality to match - Timpani rolls from Handley are barely audible. The (concrete) floor of my listening room shook with Wordsworth.

A perfect Perfect Fool too.

[Harry]

Vaughan Williams: Job.

A dynamic and dramatic performance with recording quality to match - Timpani rolls from Handley are barely audible. The (concrete) floor of my listening room shook with Wordsworth.

A perfect Perfect Fool too.

Handley merely is polite, that's all

[vandermolen]

Vaughan Williams: Job.

A dynamic and dramatic performance with recording quality to match - Timpani rolls from Handley are barely audible. The (concrete) floor of my listening room shook with Wordsworth.

A perfect Perfect Fool too.

You can also find that performance here Lol (with interesting notes  )
I actually suggested the release to Alto as Collins Classics no longer exists and, as you say, its a fabulous performance, which shouldn't be allowed to disappear from the catalogue:

[vandermolen]

Delius Piano Concerto.

The PC has a unique atmosphere which I find very appealing.

[Mandryka]

I think this is really challenging music, in that it challenges your conception of what Dufay's music is like, and indeed what music from the middle of the 15th century is like.  Totally unexpected twists and turns, vigorous phrasing - it is highly virtuosic extrovert stuff.

Two on a part, which is probably authentic but I can't help but wish it were one on a part. Recording quality is OK, without having quite the excellence of sound that their more recent recordings have. It's an unatmospheric, somehow neutral, sound - no sense of hall, and that seems a shame to me. The thing sounds more like a very good rehearsal than a fabulous concert.

The result is that, while acknowledging that musically this is very interesting, listening to it somehow doesn't add up to a great poetic experience for me.

One interesting factoid is that the whole mass is arguably attributable to Dufay, propers and ordinarium.