What are you listening 2 now?

[Mirror Image]

Last work for the night:

Koechlin La méditation de Purun Bhagat, Op. 159 (Bedford)

[Mookalafalas]

The French Suites, the first three English Suites, and this, which I don't think I've heard.

Other than the Partitas (and I see that Madiel found them very dull) I wouldn't suggest them to anyone.

  I really liked this when it came out, and am listening again now. Ashkenazy's legendary chops are not what they were, but I find it the most human and moving version of these pieces that I know. His relative frailty may be a turnoff for some (many? most?) but I'm surprised to hear them called dull.

[Madiel]

  I really liked this when it came out, and am listening again now. Ashkenazy's legendary chops are not what they were, but I find it the most human and moving version of these pieces that I know. His relative frailty may be a turnoff for some (many? most?) but I'm surprised to hear them called dull.

They weren't. That isn't the album I was listening to. As has been stated I was listening to the Partitas.

[Que]

Morning listening on Spotify:



Just two tracks of it, since the entire recording doesn't seem to be on Spotify - only recent reissues by this ensemble...
It's nice, done in Greek Orthodox style. If I can find the original issue with full notes & texts, I might get it.

And then switched to this:



PS Well, that is interesting since I've had this OOP recording on wishlist forever....
My high expectations were not met - quite unexpected dissapointment. The jumble of choruses and added instruments in murky sound, the mixing in of music by other composers in a performance style that doesn't like anything Spanish at all.
I'm going to let it play till the end, scrap it from the list and then move on. Thank you Spotify! 

[Madiel]

Bach, Perahia, Partita no.6



I can tell you within 2 minutes that I like this Toccata way, way more than Ashkenazy's. Is this exactly how I would play it? No, although there are times where it's not far off. Is it interesting to listen to? Yes. If you're going to play this on a piano, this is how you make use of the shape and colour available to you.

EDIT: the final gigue is dazzling.

[Que]

From my own collection.
I actually bought this recording on a visit to Lisbon in the spring of 2019. How time flies...

   

José Carlos Araújo plays the organ of the Mosteiro (Monastry) de São Bento da Vitória in Porto, built in 1719 by Fr. Manuel de São Bento.

[vandermolen]

Ibert: Symphonie Marine

[Madiel]

Chopin, Perahia, 24 Preludes.

[vandermolen]

Sibelius: Pohjola's Daughter

The lovely Daughter has made more sense this time to me, and there are memorable melodies I wasn't catching other occasions. Quite an evocative performance




Taneyev: Piano Quintet

A towering masterpiece. The intensity of this work and rendition move me strongly.




Rawsthorne: Piano Concerto No. 2



A fine work, if less quirky than the PC No. 1. There are many eloquent moments throughout.

Rawsthorne's PC No.2 is a favourite of mine Cesar. That CD is arguably the best one of Rawsthorne's orchestral music, not least because it features John Pritchard's unrivalled recording of the 'Symphonic Studies', which is arguably Rawsthorne's masterpiece.

Now playing: Honegger 'Pacific 231':

[aligreto]

Dufay: O Gemma Lux - The Complete Isorhythmic Motets [van Nevel]






The music is always totally engaging. The quality of the singing from the Huelgas Ensemble is totally captivating and continually of the highest order, unsurprisingly. Where there is a musical accompaniment the forces used are minimal and the mix is reasonably well balanced with the vocalists. The sound is excellent and the recording is made in a warm and moderately reverberant acoustic.

[aligreto]

Anton Bruckner
Symphony 0 'Nullte' (ed. Nowak)
Mario Venzago
Tapiola Sinfonietta

It has been a while since I've heard any Bruckner. I appreciate the prompt from the enjoyment of others 🙂

Bruckner's music can be a whole world of enjoyment unto itself.

[kyjo]

Have you actually heard this recording?



This performance is smoking and I'm sure will give the Trio Wanderer a run for its money. But there's no need to turn this into a competition. There are many fine performances available for those who want to hear it.

This recording presents an elegant, "French" view of the trio which is very nice. But personally, I prefer the fiery passion of the Trio Wanderer's version. Both interpretations are valid, of course.

[kyjo]

    Egon Wellesz's Symphony No. 3 
    Gottfried Rabl, Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien

Magnificent work!! Its disc-mate, the 5th Symphony, is tremendously arid and disappointing by comparison....

[kyjo]

Most of these works are wildly different from the symphonies I listened to a few days ago: firmly of their period, the turbulent, experimental 1920s. Merikanto was quite the innovator, not afraid to ruffle feathers. Fascinating stuff.

Indeed, there's a Stravinskian/Blochian wild range of styles to be found in Merikanto's output - from the late-romantic early works through the modernist mid-period works to the more neoclassical late works. A fascinating figure!

[vandermolen]

Janis Ivanovs: Symphony No.5 (1945)
One of the most impressive I think:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2018/Apr/Ivanovs_sy5_LMIC062.htm

[Karl Henning]

This is one of the few Gesualdo recordings I Have.It is sung by some of the best singers in the field.Ik like it very much.It is one of the very few recordings Parrott made on the Sony label.

Nice, thanks!

[Maestro267]

Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2
Stern, Istomin, Rose

[kyjo]

Casella: Triple Concerto

Glad to revisit (and impressed by how good it is) this quite characterfully neoclassical concerto.

A stupendous disc. Both works represent a full-blooded, emotional brand of neoclassicism which is so appealing to me. They both boast wonderfully heartfelt slow movements, in particular. Casella never disappoints!

[kyjo]

I confirmed various ideas and thoughts about this composer (to some extent) regarding why I don't enjoy his music as much as I should:

- He wasn't a good tunesmith, nor was he a distinctive or appealing rhythmic composer. The melodies on these symphonies are rather flat, there is no spark, and it was curious because then I immediately listened to an excerpt of Sibelius's Kullervo and I noticed how easy for Sibelius was to put a memorable melody in any of his works, if all.

- His use of the orchestra is not too much appealing to me. It's like he was trying too hard to achieve instrumental colour and cohesiveness.

- He can be annoyingly anticlimactic, and I say this about the more-extended 4th movement. There are several moments that seem to reach cathartic and powerful moments, and those passages just don't occur. Sort of frustrating.

I can understand the fact that he was self-taught and it gave him a lot of merit and pride, of course. And I'm not meaning he's not or he wasn't a good composer or 1st rate musician or something like that. In any case, I do find interesting some of his symphonies and some miscellaneous orchestral works.

Thanks for sharing your observations, Cesar. While I'm far from intimately familiar with Brian's music, I pretty much concur with your opinion based on what I've heard. It's almost like he was "trying too hard" to be original or quirky in many of his works.

[kyjo]

Camargo Guarnieri: SY3. Neschling/Sao Paolo.

A cracking disc!