What are you listening 2 now?

[MusicTurner]

I am now listening To Yo-Yo Ma playing Kabalevsky's Cello Concerto No. 1 With Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra

Am a fan of that disc, including the Shosty 1st there, underrated IMO.

[classicalgeek]

The last of Alfvén's Symphonies:

Hugo Alfvén
Symphony no. 5
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic
Neeme Järvi
(on Spotify)



The Bergakungen suite is delightful, of course - the Shepherdess's Dance is so much fun! And the Fifth Symphony is a dark, turbulent work (though it ends quasi-heroically), again richly scored like most of Alfvén's later works. I definitely connected with the Fourth Symphony (and to a lesser extent the Fifth), as well as 'Legend of the Skerries' and the Rhapsodie, and of course Bergakungen is a masterpiece! Still warming up to the first three symphonies and some of the earlier orchestral works. At his best, Alfvén is a gifted melodist and a splendid orchestrator with a lot to say!

[prémont]

Nielsen
Symphony № 4, « Det uudslukkelige » Op. 29 FS 76
Royal Phil
Menuhin

How is this? And the violin concerto with Tellefsen?

[Que]

[vers la flamme]

Ennemond Gaultier: Suite in F-sharp minor. Toyohiko Satoh

Thanks to Mandryka and DBK for alerting me to the existence of this fascinating artist, the Japanese lutenist Toyohiko Satoh. Damn, what a plaintive instrument is the lute.

[foxandpeng]

Peter Maxwell Davies
Naxos Quartets 9 & 10
Maggini Quartet
Naxos

[Sergeant Rock]

Havergal Brian Symphonies Nos. 22, 23, 24




Sarge

[classicalgeek]

Inspired by Jeffrey listening to Dello Joio... couldn't find Meditations on Ecclesiastes on Spotify, but I did find this:

Norman Dello Joio
The Triumph of St. Joan Symphony
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Gil Rose
(on Spotify)



Tuneful, pleasant, and thoroughly tonal, if not particularly memorable on first hearing.

[André]

Looks interesting!

TD:

Sibelius
Symphony № 5 in E^b, Op. 82
Lahti Symphony
Vänskä

Well, it took me two listenings to figure I much prefer Krenek in a tonal vein vs his dodecaphonist method (the Pallas Athene symphony). Mind you, the 7 Orchestral Pieces are atonal but in a more aphoristic, pointillist way - much like those by Webern or Schönberg, actually. The symphony is actually a suite from a late opera. Rather dour and heavy going for my taste.

So yes, an interesting program with some challenging music and some very approchable pieces. It's like listening to two entirely different composers.

[Daverz]

Bruckner: Symphony No. 1



Very good performance, but the acoustic is rather barn-like.

[Symphonic Addict]

Well, it took me two listenings to figure I much prefer Krenek in a tonal vein vs his dodecaphonist method (the Pallas Athene symphony). Mind you, the 7 Orchestral Pieces are atonal but in a more aphoristic, pointillist way - much like those by Webern or Schönberg, actually. The symphony is actually a suite from a late opera. Rather dour and heavy going for my taste.

So yes, an interesting program with some challenging music and some very approchable pieces. It's like listening to two entirely different composers.

I listened to that disc the last year, but I couldn't come to grips with the music. My feelings are similar to yours. There are few works of this composer I can say I enjoy.

[Symphonic Addict]

The last of Alfvén's Symphonies:

Hugo Alfvén
Symphony no. 5
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic
Neeme Järvi
(on Spotify)



The Bergakungen suite is delightful, of course - the Shepherdess's Dance is so much fun! And the Fifth Symphony is a dark, turbulent work (though it ends quasi-heroically), again richly scored like most of Alfvén's later works. I definitely connected with the Fourth Symphony (and to a lesser extent the Fifth), as well as 'Legend of the Skerries' and the Rhapsodie, and of course Bergakungen is a masterpiece! Still warming up to the first three symphonies and some of the earlier orchestral works. At his best, Alfvén is a gifted melodist and a splendid orchestrator with a lot to say!

The last statement is quite true! I do enjoy the symphonies 2-5, though.

[JBS]

Thoughts on the Ballet Suite? (none of whose numbers, I have heard, I don't think.)

24 hours later I hardly remember anything from it. Perhaps it was too light a pendant for the symphony. Three movements (Introduction, Waltz, Scherzo), composed in 1953, just under 13 minutes in length total.
TD

One of the three CDs in this set is devoted to French composers. So tonight I listen to works by Poulenc, Ferrenc, Roussel, and Caplet.

[Symphonic Addict]

Popov: Quartet-Symphony

The work is up to the expectations, but I'll need more listens to have a better idea about it. It's truly an ambitious piece full of striking moments. A very fine new release so far.

[classicalgeek]

Malcolm Arnold
Electra (complete ballet)
BBC Philharmonic
Rumon Gamba
(on Spotify)



It's only 15 minutes long, but wow, is this packed with intensity and passion! There's other good stuff on this disc that I'll listen to tomorrow.

[classicalgeek]

The last statement is quite true! I do enjoy the symphonies 2-5, though.

It really is! He reminds me of Dvorak in that way, able to write the most gorgeous tunes seemingly effortlessly. I'll keep listening to the first three symphonies - I quite enjoyed the Third, actually, but I felt the end of the symphony (as well as the end of the first movement) were anticlimactic. But I can see there's a lot to love. And of course the complete Bergakungen is a complete revelation, one of the favorite things I've listened to in quite some time!

[classicalgeek]

Well, it took me two listenings to figure I much prefer Krenek in a tonal vein vs his dodecaphonist method (the Pallas Athene symphony). Mind you, the 7 Orchestral Pieces are atonal but in a more aphoristic, pointillist way - much like those by Webern or Schönberg, actually. The symphony is actually a suite from a late opera. Rather dour and heavy going for my taste.

So yes, an interesting program with some challenging music and some very approchable pieces. It's like listening to two entirely different composers.

I listened to that disc the last year, but I couldn't come to grips with the music. My feelings are similar to yours. There are few works of this composer I can say I enjoy.

I need to have a fresh listen to Krenek - I do seem to remember preferring his earlier works to his later, serial and atonal phase.

[Karl Henning]

24 hours later I hardly remember anything from it. Perhaps it was too light a pendant for the symphony. Three movements (Introduction, Waltz, Scherzo), composed in 1953, just under 13 minutes in length total.

I wondered if that might be the case.

[Mirror Image]

Rachmaninov

My favorite recording of this concerto

Piano Concerto No.2

Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra  (1959)
Kurt Sanderling

I'll have to give this one a listen as it came in the Rachmaninov Collection that was released on Melodiya some years ago.

[Mirror Image]

Wonderful!

It truly is, Karl. I love Shostakovich's song cycles.