What are you listening 2 now?

[Florestan]

Within my own particular area of interest (lieder), this is a very fine disc:

You just reminded me that I still have to listen to this one. Thanks. 

[aligreto]

Arnold: Overtures [Gamba]





Anniversary Overture
Robert Kett
Beckus The Dandipratt

[aligreto]

I read this article by Marthe about his approach to Wagner.....

https://www.abruckner.com/down/articles/articlesenglish/martheb3/martheb3essay.pdf

Curious that his vision seems not to have translated into any performances by him with major orchestras

Thank you for posting that article. I will give it a read later.

[Harry]

A blast from the past, bought in 1998, played in once.

Alexander Agricola.
Fortuna Desperata, Secular Music of the 15th Century.
Ensemble Unicorn, Michael Posch.

Still a fine disc to listen to. And well recorded. Although the counter tenor Bernhard Landauer is quite prominent on the foreground so much so, I doubt this will stay in my collection, despite the beautiful music.

[Harry]

Bought in 2015, played it twice.

Selected music by Johann Rudolf Ahle.
"Neu-geplanzte Thüringische Lust-Garten"

Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki.

Missa a 10
Herr nun lässest Du deinen Diener
Zwingt die Saiten in Chithara
Magnificat a 7 & a 8
Jesu dulcis memoria
Misericordias Domini
Erschienen ist der herrliche Tag

This is a pleasant encounter, for apart from the fact that Ahle's music is very special, two of my favourite singers are on this disc. Believe it our note, some counter tenors are really very good. Yoshikazu Mera was one of them. for me he is the number one on my list. Sadly he chose to favour pop music, and left classical music bereft of such Incredible talent. I still am very sad about this. And then the Soprano Midori Suzuki, also a highlight on my list. I did not encounter many CD's with her on it, for Masaaki after a while favoured well know singers in this kind of repertoire (probably to boost sales) and dismissed the ones he started with. What came after especially in the Bach cantatas, was never as successful as Midori our Mera and a few others.
Fine music and well recorded.

[Traverso]

Bach

CD1

[foxandpeng]

Anton Bruckner
Symphony #4
Riccardo Chailly

Symphony #4
Eliahu Inbal


Economy of posts. Hearing these back to back as I spend a couple of days reacquainting with #4. Tintner later today, I think.

#4 has always ranked highly for me, as it was possibly the first 'big symphony' I ever listened to, and I was determined to get to grips with it.

[Spotted Horses]

Brahms, Symphony No 3, John Barbirolli, Halle.



This is a mono recording from 1952, and the audio is a limitation - it lacks the transparency needed to fully hear Brahms' complex and subtle textures. However I enjoyed the flow of the music, particularly the slow movement.

[Harry]

From 1991, never played.

Isaac Albeniz.
CD I from 2.
Iberia, Book I-2
Suite Espagnol.

Ricardo Requejo, Piano.
Licensed from Claves.
Awarded Diaspon d'Or.

A really ravishing recording in very good sound.

[Brian]

Happy Friday! Starting with Stenhammar's Serenade.

Within my own particular area of interest (lieder), this is a very fine disc:

You may enjoy the Toccata disc of Liszt songs arranged for bass singer and sung by bass (and my fellow Dallasite) Jared Schwartz. I personally ruined a take at the recording sessions by opening a creaky door. 

[Karl Henning]

https://www.youtube.com/v/Eh31RkKVGxI

[vers la flamme]

Leonard Bernstein: On the Waterfront Suite. Marin Alsop, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

[Traverso]

Les Percussions de Strasbourg

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Something I picked up some time ago as a hi-res download but not heard before today;



Not quite sure what I was expecting but its rather fun.  Quite theatrical (no real suprise there!) and melodramatic in its gestures but played with real verve and attack.  Not sure its a recording that I will play very often but certainly good to have heard if only to explore a different facet of the composer.  Massenet shows himself to be a colourful and imaginative orchestrator even if he ultimately lacks the real individuality of some of his Frenchj contemporaries and successors....  The hi-res recording sounds very good.

Wonderful recording! Some Wagnerian influences. Good performance.

[André]

Don't agree about the Sauguet 'Expiatoire' Symphony which I find marvellous in every respect. I find the finale, especially the coda, to be very moving. There is an earlier recording by Bour which has greater urgency but, actually, I like both recordings. The Schoenberg CD was recently sold off, very cheaply, by the school's Music Dept, although I haven't played it yet.

I'm now listening to Ornstein's Piano Quintet which is terrific and definitely in the spirit of PQs by Bax and Bloch. I think that I have you to thank for alerting me to this one Kyle 

+1 about the Sauguet symphony and this Ornstein disc - a real sleeper IMO. Wish the art cover wasn't so uninviting though 

[André]

What did you think André? I like 'The Sea' enormously and have AFAIK four recordings of it. 

Superb ! Further comments in the Ciurlionis thread.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Ravel
Ma mère l'oye
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
André Cluytens

[André]

Koppel does it again ! I didn't expect much from this disc as I tend to shy away from modern chamber music, which often sounds cerebral to a fault, more concerned with structures and technique than with striking musical ideas. But this well-planned program of trio, quartet and quintet with piano shows Koppel to be a master at grabbing and sustaining interest with musical means only. Although short in duration (under 49 minutes) this gives the satisfying impression of a full course musical meal.

[SonicMan46]

Que and Dave alert!

I just sampled all the remaining tracks I have not listened to yet. Mystery solved: the fortepiano is used only for the very last track on the last CD, namely Adagio in C major for Glass Harmonica, KV 356. All other tracks are on a modern piano.

Now, come to think of it: they put a fortepiano on the cover yet 99.99% of the music inside is played on modern pianos. If that's not a mismatch, I don't know what it is. 

Thank you very much. This also explains why the CD set has only 5 discs: they skipped the bonus LP but added the KV 356 to the 5th disc.

Thanks Andrei & Biffo for the explanation above - so basically, MIs except for the last track on disc 5 - my MP3 CD-R w/ all 5 discs became 'glitchy' early - not sure if it's my old multi-player CD machine or the MP3 recording, now playing on my new 4K Sony player - usually the discs that have this behavior are fine on the new player - will await the LAST track -    Dave

P.S. below a post I made yesterday that was buried quickly - believe I matched up the two fortepianos in the Mozart Birthplace and the one on the Eurodisc cover.

Hi Guys - concerning the piano pic on the Eurodisc (first pic below), I googled Walter-Flügel in Mozarts Geburtshaus (translation 'Walter Grand Piano in the Mozart Birthplace' from a web translation site) - well plenty of pics appeared but the second one below w/ a gal sitting at presumably Mozart's Walter fortepiano (FP), I believe the instruments are the same; the most revealing evidence (to me as a woodworker) is the grain pattern on the top - so I believe the pics are of the same FP; so why would that pic be put on the cover if the FP was not used?  Don't know?  I have the back labels of the discs and as stated by Andrei, just 'piano' is listed - I'm also currently listening to the recording but hard to tell where I'm at on a single MP3 CD-R containing all 5 CDs, the metadata is whacky (as usual -  ) - Dave

 

[André]

The sound of this 1954 recording is still quite beautiful - astonishing, in fact: it's almost 70 years old ! The performance finds Reiner in a relaxed, flexible mood, wallowing in the glorious sounds of Strauss' score. No sign of undue tension. He was never a speed merchant but sometimes his readings could sound cold and rigid. Not so here, thankfully. My only (small) quibble is an overly assertive trumpet (Adolf Herseth) in the 4th section, The Hero at Battle - but then I guess it's justified musically.