What are you listening 2 now?

[kyjo]

No love for the Chamber Symphony, Quintet, 2nd Piano Quartet, Cello Sonata No. 2 or Oedipe?

I don't yet know the Chamber Symphony, 2nd Piano Quartet, or Oedipe. The Cello Sonata no. 2 has a mysterious, nocturnal atmosphere with a zesty, folksy finale. I don't recall much about the Piano Quintet except that it has a cool ending. You probably won't agree with me, but my favorite work of his is the astonishingly imaginative and memorable String Octet, a superb achievement for a 19-year-old!

[kyjo]

Saygun: Piano Concerto No. 2

If you like Bartók and Rachmaninov, you'll enjoy this quite a bit, I'm pretty sure.

One of my favorite CPO releases ever. This series is nothing but essential stuff!!!

Edit: The closing seconds are hair-raising!!!

Yep, a sensational disc! Saygun at his most "Romantic" but not without his characteristic folksy spiciness/spikiness.

[kyjo]

They're compelling works, very worth listening overall.

Which Myaskovsky quartets do you particularly recommend besides No. 13 (which I enjoy very much)? I haven't investigated them too much because I'm not a great fan of the Taneyev Quartet's playing, and they're the only game in town for these quartets except for No. 13.

[Mirror Image]

I don't yet know the Chamber Symphony, 2nd Piano Quartet, or Oedipe. The Cello Sonata no. 2 has a mysterious, nocturnal atmosphere with a zesty, folksy finale. I don't recall much about the Piano Quintet except that it has a cool ending. You probably won't agree with me, but my favorite work of his is the astonishingly imaginative and memorable String Octet, a superb achievement for a 19-year-old!

I LOVE the Octet, Kyle. It's a fine work, indeed. Good to hear that you know a good bit of his music. Do give a listen to the Chamber Symphony, Piano Quartet No. 2 and Oedipe (it's an opera so I don't know how you feel about the genre, but I think it's an amazing work).

[Mirror Image]

Which Myaskovsky quartets do you particularly recommend besides No. 13 (which I enjoy very much)? I haven't investigated them too much because I'm not a great fan of the Taneyev Quartet's playing, and they're the only game in town for these quartets except for No. 13.

You and I are of a same mind when it comes to the Taneyev Quartet. They're competent, but that's about it. I wish a modern quartet would record this cycle as I probably would like these works better if I heard a more musically interesting ensemble performing them.

[kyjo]

Atterberg: Symphony No. 6

Holy smokes... and really, really well gotten 

A scandalously epic symphony. I get why this work could be considered a Huh?-like work: all the best was vanished before the quasi banality of the 3rd movement. I wish Atterberg had written a more noble and heroic ending 3rd movement, very in the vein of his 3rd ravishing and glorious Symphony No. 3.

I used to feel the way you do about the finale of the Sixth, but recently I've come to love it for what it is: a deliciously witty, catchy, light-hearted, even sarcastic movement. Of course, one can't miss the reference to the finale of Schubert's String Quintet in the second theme. And the ending never fails to make me chuckle! Whilst browsing YT I came across this jazzy arrangement of it: great fun! https://youtu.be/n4W518xnpgc

[kyjo]

Fantastic, just fantastic!! Those symphony and passacaglia are amazing!! The way they unfold gives an impression about an edifice, expertly crafted and builded. Orchestral blocks of sound arranged masterfully.

+1 From the opening bars of the Symphony, you know you're in for something really impressive. A pity Irgens-Jensen was so unprolific!

[kyjo]

Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 2 in F major

Impeccable rendition, if a little polished.

This version revealed to me the greatness of the work:



It's definitely my favorite of his three quartets - full of contrast and character. The famous First is nice and pleasant but just a bit lacking in something for me. The Third I've haven't been able to "get" yet - I find it one of Tchaik's most unappealing works.

[kyjo]

I LOVE the Octet, Kyle. It's a fine work, indeed. Good to hear that you know a good bit of his music. Do give a listen to the Chamber Symphony, Piano Quartet No. 2 and Oedipe (it's an opera so I don't know how you feel about the genre, but I think it's an amazing work).

Glad to hear you love the Octet, too! I'll give those works a spin, for sure. I've heard great things about Oedipe, and I enjoy opera more than I sometimes think I do, it's just usually such a time commitment for me to sit down and listen to one in its entirety.

[kyjo]

You and I are of a same mind when it comes to the Taneyev Quartet. They're competent, but that's about it. I wish a modern quartet would record this cycle as I probably would like these works better if I heard a more musically interesting ensemble performing them.

Glad that we're on the same page here.

[Mirror Image]

Glad to hear you love the Octet, too! I'll give those works a spin, for sure. I've heard great things about Oedipe, and I enjoy opera more than I sometimes think I do, it's just usually such a time commitment for me to sit down and listen to one in its entirety.

Yes, I know all too well about time restraints. Can't hear everything unfortunately!

[Daverz]

Shchedrin: Piano Concerto No. 1



Fun work that brinks Prokofiev and Le Six to mind.

[JBS]

First listen to this, which landed a couple of days ago


Currently at the start of the 3rd movement.

The sonics are excellent at least, with every instrument heard when it comes to the front of the musical stream.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Dvořák
Biblical Songs, Op. 99
Jindřich Jindrák, baritone
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic Choir
Václav Smetácek

From this set -

[T. D.]

Which Myaskovsky quartets do you particularly recommend besides No. 13 (which I enjoy very much)? I haven't investigated them too much because I'm not a great fan of the Taneyev Quartet's playing, and they're the only game in town for these quartets except for No. 13.

[/quote]

You and I are of a same mind when it comes to the Taneyev Quartet. They're competent, but that's about it. I wish a modern quartet would record this cycle as I probably would like these works better if I heard a more musically interesting ensemble performing them.

Have to agree with you on the Taneyev Qt. I recently bought their sets of Myaskovsky quartets and Taneyev chamber music. Found their playing OK on the Myaskovsky but disappointing on the Taneyev (only listened to the quartets so far). I enjoy the Myaskovsky quartets, but haven't listened enough to make recommendations. Doubt there'll be recorded alternatives to the Taneyevs for those, unfortunately.

[kyjo]

Beethoven: Selections from Scottish, English, Irish, and Welsh folksong arrangements



I can't believe this area of Beethoven's output is so little-known compared to all his other stuff!! These absolutely delightful folksong arrangements for voice, piano, violin, and cello show the lighter, humorous side of Beethoven, what a charming side it is! Not to mention some of the more serious songs convey some depth of feeling. Performances are uniformly excellent, with none other than Yo-Yo Ma on cello!


Kabalevsky: Symphony no. 1



Totally smoking stuff!! I find the way Kabalevsky develops his music to be so consistently engrossing and thrilling. And what a great performance and recording it receives here!


Miaskovsky: Symphony no. 6



His most epic symphony, and one of his that I hold in the highest esteem. As others have noted, the trio section of the scherzo is extraordinarily haunting and beautiful. I also love the way Myaskovsky weaves the Dies irae theme into the work.


Martin: Mass for Double Choir



Now I understand the high esteem often given to this sublime work. Without a doubt, one of the most stunning works of a cappella choral music I've heard (not that I've heard that many)! Martin's sense of harmony and polyphony here is just completely unique and captivating.


Jadassohn: Symphony no. 4



Prompted by a video by our good friend who need not be named.... I thought the first movement was very good, with some memorable ideas and fresh harmonic "twists". I can't say my attention was really held by the rest of the work, however. I'm surprised our friend liked these symphonies so much, considering that he's trashed far more interesting music...

[kyjo]

NP:

Dvořák
Biblical Songs, Op. 99
Jindřich Jindrák, baritone
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic Choir
Václav Smetácek

From this set -

Great stuff! Dvořák's vocal music is so underrated.

[Mirror Image]

Great stuff! Dvořák's vocal music is so underrated.

Absolutely, Kyle. All of these "color coded" Supraphon box sets are worth their weight in gold.

[listener]

Slavonic Opera Arias
DVORAK, JANACEK, SMETANA, PROKOFIEV and TCHAIKOWSKY represented
sung by Lucia Popp with the Munich Radio Orchestra
a pleasure!

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Stravinsky
Concerto in E-flat "Dumbarton Oaks"
London Sinfonietta
Chailly



Such an infectious work. Never heard this performance before from Chailly/London Sinfonietta. Sounds sprightly so far.