What are you listening 2 now?

[Madiel]

Symphonic Psalms and Prayers

Bernstein • Schoenberg • Stravinsky • Zemlinsky

David Allsopp (countertenor)

Tenebrae, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Nigel Short

Ohh, that looks quite interesting.

Thread Duty: Haydn op.33/5



I now own 2 copies of this recording... if the 2nd one (from the box set) is fine then I can dispose of the 1st.

[MusicTurner]

Henry Purcell's The Fairy Queen 
    Benjamin Britten, English Chamber Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Jenniver Vyvyan,
    Mary Wells, Norma Burrowes (sopranos), James Bowman (countertenor), Peter Pears (tenor),
    John Shirley-Quirk (bass)

It's very nice, I think ...

[Biffo]

Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony - Halle Orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder - beautiful!

[Lisztianwagner]

Alexander Zemlinsky
6 Songs to poems by Maurice Maeterlinck

[Spotted Horses]

Maconchy, String Quartet No 8.



A work witih an unusual organization, built on a chord consisting of two perfects fifths separated by a dimished fifth. It is stated at the onset and aparently underlies further development of the music. Satisfying. Only concern is a strange technical noise in the final movement (a "crinkling" sound), other movements not affected. CD rot, perhaps.

[Todd]

Disc 23, some Mozart sonatas.

[DizzyD]

Definitely. It's about as authentic* as my Roman centurion's outfit (don't ask!), but it's rollicking good fun, with some very touching moments. Shout out to John Shirley-Quirk in particular.

* As in, these days, you'd be doing full HIP-type performances, and this style of mid-20th Century playing of Baroque music would be considered wildly inappropriate. But back in the 1950s and 60s, if you were going to hear any Purcell at all, it would have to be via 'realisations'. Which Britten was masterful at, of course.

Yes. The Britten-directed recording of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas is one of my all-time favorites since I borrowed the LPs from the local library when I was a teen. It's probably opening up a can of worms, but I don't care all that much about this pointless search for "authenticity". I'd agree with Taruskin that HIP is more modernist than anything. Which is not to say that there are no HIP performances that I like. There are many that I love. It's just another possible approach.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Copland
Rodeo
Morton Gould & His Orchestra



Such a fabulous performance.

[Traverso]

Bach


Vol.9

So far I am very satisfied with the recording quality of these Kooiman recordings, there is always something that leaves something to be desired.
I remember how great the differences can be in perception, such as in the Weinberger recordings. Some people, for example, find the Messiaen Latry recordings the absolute top, however impressive they are, they are not my preference. Living room conditions are incomparably different from the concert hall or church. Recordings are prepared for living room use through all sorts of tricks. I wish Rübsam had chosen other organs in his Philips recordings. Sometimes due to the zeal of the organist the tempo is too high and we benefit more from a somewhat calmer approach that allows us to follow what is implied in the musical notation. An approach such as Beekman that appeals to me very much but also makes me long for a more temperamental approach without losing oneself in tempo and then we arrive at Kooiman.
All we have to do is to have a lot of performances in our house.
Sometimes Walcha has my preference in a piece globally, but I would like a different articulation.
There will always be something to be desired.
The most beautiful performance is the one I hear in my head and that too is subject to change.
It is not the organ that is central here, but the entire conception of the piece in terms of character and emotional depiction applies to that extent.

[DizzyD]

The Cello in Wartime
Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih

[Mirror Image]

Maconchy, String Quartet No 8.



A work witih an unusual organization, built on a chord consisting of two perfects fifths separated by a dimished fifth. It is stated at the onset and aparently underlies further development of the music. Satisfying. Only concern is a strange technical noise in the final movement (a "crinkling" sound), other movements not affected. CD rot, perhaps.

No, not CD rot. This is a technical issue that permeated ALL issues of this set.

[Spotted Horses]

No, not CD rot. This is a technical issue that permeated ALL issues of this set.

I have listened carefully to the first two volume, it only affects the last track of disc 2. I haven't heard disc 3 yet.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Diamond
Rounds
Seattle Symphony
Schwarz

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Fernando Lopes-Graça: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2.
Eldar Nebolsin/Bamert.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

NP:

Copland
Rodeo
Morton Gould & His Orchestra

Such a fabulous performance.

Nice!

[Traverso]

Mozart Miniaturen


CD 2

[André]

It does sound live, you can hear the turning of the sheets.  But no audience, no coughs, no applause.  The BPO sounds note perfect.  I don't really get the point of it being live.  I think I prefer the RCO, but it has been awhile.

Here is my favorite live Schubert 9th:


And my over all favorite:

Yup.

[Mirror Image]

Before heading off to work:

Dvořák
The Wood Dove, Op. 110
Czech PO
Zdeněk Chalabala



One of the great Dvořák recordings of the symphonic poems. It actually sounds pretty good, too, given its vintage. This is apparently the only CD issue of these Chalabala performances and it's OOP. I bought it last year (I believe) off of Discogs from someone in Poland. Glad to own it.

[Mirror Image]

I have listened carefully to the first two volume, it only affects the last track of disc 2. I haven't heard disc 3 yet.

As I said, you're not the only one with this issue and it's never been fixed and has affected every reissue as well.

[Roasted Swan]

NP:

Copland
Rodeo
Morton Gould & His Orchestra



Such a fabulous performance.

Morton Gould as a conductor - let alone composer! - is seriously underated