What are you listening 2 now?

[Roasted Swan]

Dora Pejacevic.

Piano concerto in G minor, opus 33. (1913)
Symphony in F sharp minor, opus 41. (1916-17, revised in 1920)

Peter Donahue, Piano.
BBC SO, Sakari Oramo.

As please I am with the music, which is a treat quite separate from the rest, I have a minor quibble concerning the SACD recording. There is a lot of detail, but the lower strings sound quite muddy and laboured, and struggle to get enough presence. At the beginning of the Piano concerto the basses give a sound that is quite overbearing and frankly a recording error that should have be corrected. In general I heard far better SACD recordings from Chandos, and this one falls short of expectations. The sound in general is just to pompous, produced by an orchestra that is simply to big for the notes to carry. It needs a Mendelssohnian clarity, instead of hammering away on the piano, and thumping basses. A missed chance I think. In this respect the CPO recording is much better and more in balance with the musical requirements.
Still I am happy with it.

Interesting comments Harry!  I agree completely that this is not Chandos' finest SACD recording.  In recent times they have done some really excellent ones and then others - as you say - oddly muddy.  I suspect the recording venue is part of the issue.  This Pejacevic disc was recorded at the refurbished Fairfield Halls Croydon which is a relatively unfamiliar venue.  Their best discs seem to be from the old Watford Colosseum or St. Augustine's London where they are recording The Sinfonia of London.  As far as I can tell from the liner information the technical spec of the microphones/desk etc are identical.

I don't think the Piano Concerto needs a Mendelssohnian clarity - Rachmaninov seems to be the fairly undigested influence.  But in fairness to Pejacevic it was - apparently - her first full orchestral score.  That said the progress she made on every front technically/musically in the few years between the concerto and symphony is very marked.  The latter is a genuinely fine work.  I must hear the CPO alternatives one of these days - something else I've added to my wish list!

[Lisztianwagner]

Geirr Tveitt
Piano Concerto No.4

[Traverso]

Bach


Continuing with volume 2 of this incomplete set, four different organs are used

CD 1


The Netherlands is a country blessed with a wealth of beautiful historic organs.

[Harry]

Interesting comments Harry!  I agree completely that this is not Chandos' finest SACD recording.  In recent times they have done some really excellent ones and then others - as you say - oddly muddy.  I suspect the recording venue is part of the issue. This Pejacevic disc was recorded at the refurbished Fairfield Halls Croydon which is a relatively unfamiliar venue.  Their best discs seem to be from the old Watford Colosseum or St. Augustine's London where they are recording The Sinfonia of London.  As far as I can tell from the liner information the technical spec of the microphones/desk etc are identical.

I don't think the Piano Concerto needs a Mendelssohnian clarity - Rachmaninov seems to be the fairly undigested influence.  But in fairness to Pejacevic it was - apparently - her first full orchestral score.  That said the progress she made on every front technically/musically in the few years between the concerto and symphony is very marked.  The latter is a genuinely fine work.  I must hear the CPO alternatives one of these days - something else I've added to my wish list!

Yes I tend to agree, the acoustics are in part to blame. What I meant with Mendelssohnian clarity was this: since the score for the Piano concerto is densely written, the recording must by necessity have the clarity to express the notes, but in this instance a lot is drowned by this recording. I have to admit I have the score next to me, and therefore I came to this conclusion. And yes Rachmaninoff is very much on the foreground.
Her Symphony is a work of great beauty, and to attest to that I alternate between the CPO and Chandos recordings many many times. The scoring is in this instance breathtaking.

[VonStupp]

Gustav Mahler
Symphony 8 in E-flat Major
Bavarian Radio SO
Rafael Kubelik (rec. 1970, live)

Continuing on:

Gustav Mahler
Symphony 8 in E-flat Major

Helen Harper, Lucia Popp, Arleen Auger - soprano
Yvonne Minton, Helen Watts - alto
Rene Kollo - tenor, Martti Talvela - bass
John Shirley-Quirk - baritone

Wiener Singverein
Wiener Staatsopernchor
Wiener Sängerknaben

Chicago SO - Sir Georg Solti (rec. 1971)

An infamous account.

In comparison, I notice Solti really pulls back at transitions, where Kubelik finds a natural pace that doesn't necessarily insert an exclamation point at every turn. Chicago really lays it on thick for the finales of both parts.

The soloists are surprisingly not on an equal footing sonically, but Chicago and the Vienna choruses sound great.

VS

[Harry]

I am looking for suggestions regarding the Dvorak symphonies, I quite liked the recording made so far by the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg,  under Marcus Bosch. any comments on that? All help would be appreciated.

[VonStupp]

Hi VS - listened to the entire 2-disc set - sounds excellent for a vintage recording and pleasant but probably only my second listen, so obviously favor his piano music which I listen to more often; and yes, Milhaud wrote the notes; also believe that you were an Amazon reviewer of the recording (attachment) recently (which I included in my reviews attachment on my previous post).  Dave

Ha Ha! My blathering continues! I get soft and gooey feelings anytime Abravanel and Utah show up on recordings, no matter my feelings on the music. 

Agreed. Love the piano music!

VS

[Harry]

Jean Sibelius.

CD II from this set.

Symphony No. 2 in D major.
Finlandia.
Karelia suite.

Philharmonia Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Returning to this set after 12 years I still find it very recommendable. Ashkenazy is in good form, and so were the engineers, for the sound is vintage Decca.

[Traverso]

Deutsche Baroque Kantaten (II)

[Iota]

Thanks again Todd, and also John and Ilaria, for the additional recommendations. I see Ovchinnikov (on Warner) can be had for a song, while Raekkalio's set costs a kings ransom. I'll have to monitor the market and then make a decision...

Raekkalio's is indeed a great set, though I think if I only had one to choose it would be Ovchinnikov, who along with all the fantastical and chimerical, somehow tramps the mud of real life into his recordings in a deeply involving way. It feels very personal, almost blood-stained at times, and is the one that grips me the most.
But there's lots to admire in both sets, as always it's going to boil down to personal taste. I haven't yet heard Anne Marie McDermott or François-Frédéric Guy (mentioned above), but will make space to do so.

[Madiel]

Now playing Nørgård Symphony No. 1, 'Sinfonia Austera' with Oramo/Wiener Philharmoniker:



Hard to believe that Nørgård will be 90 yrs. old in July. Still composing with no signs of stopping or so it seems. This is a fabulous performance of the 1st symphony with Oramo/Wiener Philharmoniker.

I thought we'd established he pretty well had stopped some years ago? The catalogue of his works revised in 2019 still has no works beyond 2014.

[Madiel]

Violin Concerto No.1. I thought I was in the mood for Shostakovich, but this particular work (or recording?) doesn't seem to quite hit the spot. It does in parts, but it hasn't quite gelled for me overall.

[Madiel]

I am looking for suggestions regarding the Dvorak symphonies, I quite liked the recording made so far by the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg,  under Marcus Bosch. any comments on that? All help would be appreciated.

There's a thread here. https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,22244.0.html

[Madiel]

Sibelius: Two pieces for violin and piano, op.2 - both the original 1890/91 versions and the 1911 revisions.

[Todd]

Another go, through headphones.  The isolated sound may actually enhance the listening experience.

[Traverso]

Bach


Piet Wiersma Organ


CD2

[Madiel]

Sibelius, En Saga

[Harry]

Pjotr Ilych Tchaikovsky.

Symphony No. 4 in F minor.

Oslo PO, Mariss Jansons.

This set has many qualities, amongst them clear direction, and a clear soundstage. Jansons has more to offer in regard to Tchaikovsky as I previously thought. I removed the Karajan and the Kitajenko set out of my collection. The first one because of the pomp and circumstance Karajan made, and in my view alien to the composers score, and the second of his insufferable slow tempi.

[Harry]

There's a thread here. https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,22244.0.html

Thank you!

[Operafreak]

Beethoven: Folksongs