What are you listening 2 now?

[JBS]

Timely, but from the Lifetime on Chandos set

Clocks in at 84 minutes 35 seconds

[kyjo]

Thanks. Stephanescu's is the first symphony ever composed by a Romanian.

Honestly, I'm not that much of a patriot musically speaking. Not even when it comes to Enescu. 

Mirror Image would like a word....

[Mirror Image]

Mirror Image would like a word....

Hah! It's okay. Enescu is a tough nut to crack for many listeners.

NP:

Kodály
Háry János Suite
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Ferenc Fricsay



For me, this is still the best Háry János Suite on record.

[Carlo Gesualdo]

Well good straight foward ness question easy response yet  embelished. Thomas Luis Da Victoria on LINN label and , may I says this, Victoria never reach me , until I would manage to ear this recording after so many album  economic or fancy record, would never been satisfied yet whit this recording this is a most en entries in his music 

[Mirror Image]

Ehhhhhh....Have you heard Vasks' Cello Concerto? Talk about a stunning dramatic narrative and plenty of tension (with some gorgeous lyricism for contrast)!

https://youtu.be/AM8yMerK6ZE

Yeah, it's a nice work, indeed. I guess my problem, and remember it's only my problem, is I don't remember much about a Vasks work after I hear it. It's fine "in the moment" but after that, there's just not much of an impression that's left. He did write lovely music, but I guess I need a bit more dirt thrown into the pot.

[Bachtoven]

She is such an expressive player.

[ritter]

I saw this posted on MusicWeb International the other day. It will have to wait until next year to give it a listen. Glædelig jul!

VS

¡Feliz Navidad, VS!

[ritter]

Ouch! Perhaps the worst insult one could ever bestow on a composer's music! Myself, I like Ibert's music very much. The Divertissement is one of the funniest pieces of music I know (though I realize it may not be to everyone's taste), and the Escales and Symphonie marine are colorful and evocative. Above all, though, I adore his ballets Le chevalier errant and Les amours de Jupiter which are just overflowing with great ideas. And his Flute Concerto is so delightful, too. Your preferences among French composers are quite unpredictable, Rafael!

Le Chevalier errant and Les Amours de Jupiter are certainly more interesting compositions, and I find things to admire in them. And yes, Escales is evocative, but not much more than that, I'm afraid.

Yep, sometimes I don't quite understand my own preferences in French music...

[ritter]

Anna Magnani, the one and only Mamma Roma:

Indeed. That long tracking shot ("travelling" we'd say in French and Spanish), in which Magnani tells her story to different characters that enter and leave the framing, is an interpretative feat for her, and a directorial one for Pasolini. IMHO, one of the great moments in cinema ever...

https://www.youtube.com/v/FZZBruoh7DI

[Que]

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/sept09/Melancolia_cc72321.htm

[Que]

Starting with this set - the last of Books I-III to arrive:

[aligreto]

A Secret Labyrinth [Van Nevel]: CD 14: Features Portuguese Music from the 16th & 17th centuries





There is a variety of types of music on this CD composed by a variety of composers. All of it is interesting and engaging but I am quite partial to the works which have an instrumental presence in them. Some of the vocal harmonies are wonderfully edgy. The singing is, as always, as smooth as silk, however the final track sounds wonderfully colloquial to me.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Rats. One of the discs arrived damaged...plastic spindles broke and CD slid around, incurring scratches so the last track doesn't play. The set'll have to go back.

I hate when that happens!  Hope that you don't have any problems exchanging it.

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Symphonies 2 and 4. The WP never sound better than when Böhm conducts lets them do their thing.

I remember buying that set many years ago; it was back when Tower Records in New York had a used vinyl annex. 

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

To start my day:
Vaughan Williams'
Serenade to Music (orchestral version)
From CD 11 of The Collector's Edition (EMI box set)


A lovely way to start my day. 

PD

[Iota]

That's the recording I've got, picked it up for a couple of dollars. I really must listen to it more and get to know the music better.

A piece I never listen to all the way through, finding I get most listening in concentrated smaller sections, or even individual pieces. The rewards are I find however, very great. Hope you have a fruitful connection.


Here:



Koechlin: Vers La Voûte Étoilée

Holliger, Stuttgart Radio Orchestra


Was there ever a piece that lived up to its title more? Such a beauty. If Koechlin had left us only this, I imagine he would universally be lamented as one of the supreme unrealised late romantics. Holliger is marvellous at the helm.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

NP:

Kodály
Háry János Suite
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Ferenc Fricsay



For me, this is still the best Háry János Suite on record.

I tend to agree.

[vers la flamme]

Johann Georg Weichenberger: Suite in G major, plus an anonymous Siciliana. Toyohiko Satoh

Brilliant recording.

[vers la flamme]

Joseph Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne. Véronique Gens, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Orchestre National de Lille

I know this work is a favorite of many. I'm not very familiar with it, but it is quite beautiful. 

[aligreto]

Cantata BWV 61, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland [Mallon]





I like the more devotional tone in this presentation; it is quite contemplative. This is well reflected in the frequent use of the lower register strings which are well portrayed here. All of the vocalists, solo and choir, make a fine contribution here also and I feel that Mallon gets the mood and pacing just right. This is quite an effective and engaging version of this Bach Cantata.