What are you listening 2 now?

[Symphonic Addict]

It is probably one of my favorite 10? 20? symphonies - definitely if I only had to listen to one Bruckner symphony for the rest of my life, it would be the Seventh. I've never heard of that nickname, though it fits!

My second choice would be the 9th. This farewell, swansong-like work never fails to take me to a troubled, cathartic and eventually consoling journey.

[Symphonic Addict]

Philip Sawyers: Cello Concerto.

May be gobbledygook but after repeated listens I get the strong impression that Elgar's Cello Concerto is lurking in the DNA of Sawyers' work. They share the same emotional envelope. The richness of tone from Bogdanovic's cello is spine-tingling, I have heard few recordings as good. Highly recommended.

Most interesting. The work that has impressed me the most so far is his Symphony No. 1. Echoes of Mahler and Vaughan Williams appear on the scene. I must listen to the rest of works he has composed.

[Symphonic Addict]

One of the great advantages to owning a large classical music collection is I can pull out a recording like this one:



Of which, I'm currently enjoying.

Superb and outstanding indeed.

[Symphonic Addict]

Call it "meets expectations," but I'm finding this Okay, but nothing to write home about.

Perhaps that's not as magical as La mort de Tintagiles, in its new recording released recently. Now, that's something else. Great stuff!

[Symphonic Addict]

Schumann's Cello Concerto is actually quite a frequently performed work amongst cellists today. Myself and most of my cellist colleagues have all learned the work at some point. I used to not like it very much, but it's grown on me quite a bit recently.

I've also appreciated his Piano Concerto much more lately. I'm realizing more and more that it does deserve its reputation as a classic in the repertoire.

[Symphonic Addict]

Creston SY2. Jarvi/Detroit.

This is fuuuun! Creston is one of my favorite American symphonists with good reason. All of his symphonies are nothing less than vital and eloquent.

[Symphonic Addict]

Miaskovsky: String Quartet no. 13



Undoubtedly one of my favorite works of his, due in no small part to the marvelously fresh performance it receives here. I especially love the folksy rhythmic energy of the 2nd and 4th movements. It would make a great companion work to Kabalevsky's 1st SQ (also in A minor).


Hummel: Septet no. 1 in D minor



Hummel seems to get very little mention on this forum, and I think that's a real shame. At his best, he could produce some really engaging and inventive works that are key products of the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. There's not a single dull note in this delightful septet which is filled to the brim with catchy tunes and marvelous part-writing.


Webern: Passacaglia



An powerful, 10-minute fireball of an Op. 1 that already foreshadows the strange directions Webern's music would later take. To me, it sounds in parts like a twisted/distorted version of the finale of Brahms' 4th Symphony. Great stuff!


Taneyev: Piano Quintet



My high opinion of this masterwork has already been stated multiple times on this forum. Absolutely, astoundingly epic in every sense of the word, with a performance that does it full justice.


Vasks: Cello Concerto no. 2 Presence



One might argue that many of Vasks' compositions follow the same "formula" - meditative and lyrical outer movements (the last one ending with a rising trill evaporating into stratosphere) surrounding a fierce, toccata-like one. I say, no use in criticizing Vasks for this because he pulls it off so well every time! A very touching and accessible work, not as overwhelmingly intense and cathartic as his first cello concerto but none the worse for that.

Excellent, Kyle. I liked your comment related to Brahms about the Webern. It makes sense to me as well.

[Symphonic Addict]

Samuel Barber: Symphony No.2
Why Barber withdrew this fine symphony mystifies me:

Me too. Would he be feeling depressed at that moment? Incredibly powerful work. The 1st is not far behind in greatness.

[Mirror Image]

Here's one I've been enjoying recently, one of the exceptional ones maybe - an exceptional instantiation of the winning formula 

Cool, thanks. This one is in that Glass Sony set I have coming.

[Symphonic Addict]

Klami: Violin Concerto

I've never paid much attention to this rather engrossing piece. It possesses a haunting lyricism makes it quite eloquent, mostly in the slow movement. It reminded me of Berg's Violin Concerto, somehow.




Scriabin: Prométhée

Atonal, twelve-tone music can be so engaging when it comes from an impressionist vein like Scriabin manages to bear here. Rediscovering these works has been of enormous pleasure to me.

[Mirror Image]

Debussy: Jeux

A ballet in the form of a tone poem. My favorite Debussy orchestral work. A quite tricky piece to get played succesfully. Fascinating textures and haunting harmonies. A masterpiece from the early 20th century.

A beautiful work, but as you pointed out, it's a difficult one to get right. There are an inordinate amount of tempo changes throughout the work. What is also worth noting is how basically this music never stops progressing. It's pretty much non-stop. Although the ballet didn't make much an impression as months later it was quickly forgotten in the wake of Le sacre du printemps, I consider it as innovative as anything Stravinsky has composed. My opinion may be a little biased as you well know by now that Debussy is numero uno.

[Que]

Another round, since I have more time this morning:



All in all a wonderfull recording - despite the hooty counter tenor - with rare repertoire, which is conveniently complimentary to the recording by Dialolus in Musica/Ensemble Clément Janequin on Bayard Musique.

[vandermolen]

Miaskovsky: String Quartet no. 13



Undoubtedly one of my favorite works of his, due in no small part to the marvelously fresh performance it receives here. I especially love the folksy rhythmic energy of the 2nd and 4th movements. It would make a great companion work to Kabalevsky's 1st SQ (also in A minor).

Mine too Kyle and that's a fine recording of it.

[Symphonic Addict]

A beautiful work, but as you pointed out, it's a difficult one to get right. There are an inordinate amount of tempo changes throughout the work. What is also worth noting is how basically this music never stops progressing. It's pretty much non-stop. Although the ballet didn't make much an impression as months later it was quickly forgotten in the wake of Le sacre du printemps, I consider it as innovative as anything Stravinsky has composed. My opinion may be a little biased as you well know by now that Debussy is numero uno.

I did read about the constant shifting rhythm throughout and the situations around its premiere in times when Le sacre had drawn all the attention. It's fair to be biased when the music is so enthralling. 

[Harry]

Good morning all on this very rainy morning, so me thinks something to make me feel more comfortable is going in the CD player.

Anthony Holborne..
The Tears of the Muses (1599)
Pavans, Galliards, Almains.
Elizabethan Consort music, Volume II.
Hesperion XXI, Jordi Savall.

There is much to like in this music. Its easy going but by no means easy music to bring off. Savall takes his customary concentration to the job at hand, and he does it well. There are some recordings by him that I do avoid, but most of his output I have in my collection.

[Symphonic Addict]

Roussel: Symphony No. 2

Dark, brooding, his most challenging symphony, but not for that lacking enormous attractive. The more I listen to it, the more impressed I get.

[Que]

Good morning all on this very rainy morning, so me thinks something to make me feel more comfortable is going in the CD player.

Anthony Holborne..
The Tears of the Muses (1599)
Pavans, Galliards, Almains.
Elizabethan Consort music, Volume II.
Hesperion XXI, Jordi Savall.

There is much to like in this music. Its easy going but by no means easy music to bring off. Savall takes his customary concentration to the job at hand, and he does it well. There are some recordings by him that I do avoid, but most of his output I have in my collection.

I decided to join you - on Spotify.

[Harry]

I decided to join you - on Spotify.

Cool!

[Irons]

Most interesting. The work that has impressed me the most so far is his Symphony No. 1. Echoes of Mahler and Vaughan Williams appear on the scene. I must listen to the rest of works he has composed.

The appeal of the Cello Concerto was immediate. Sawyers' 2nd Symphony not tough by any means, requires more of my concentrated listening which I am more then happy to devote.
You are right about Mahler, Sawyers' works I have heard so far are essentially dramatic. 

[Harry]

Josquin Desprez, included in Tielman Susato's Septiesme livre, Antwerp 1545.
Josquin the Undead.
Laments, deplorations and Dances of Death.

Graindelavoix, Bjorn Schmelzer.

For me the Counter tenor is just acceptable, it must not go any further or I stop buying records made by them. This trend to use counters instead of women is getting on my nerves, and I deeply lament the loss of female voices.