What are you listening 2 now?

[Papy Oli]

Good morning all,

Making a start to this set of Mozart String quintets :

[aligreto]

Bax: Nympholept [Thompson]





This is yet another wonderfully atmospheric work from Bax. It is quietly intense in the opening passages where the orchestration contributes substantially to the atmosphere. As the work progresses the intensity levels augment incrementally and the sense of both intensity and atmosphere are developed and portrayed. The music becomes more expansive towards its conclusion and then ultimately concludes in a somewhat subdued tone. It is a fine work.

[vandermolen]

Bax: Nympholept [Thompson]





This is yet another wonderfully atmospheric work from Bax. It is quietly intense in the opening passages where the orchestration contributes substantially to the atmosphere. As the work progresses the intensity levels augment incrementally and the sense of both intensity and atmosphere are developed and portrayed. The music becomes more expansive towards its conclusion and then ultimately concludes in a somewhat subdued tone. It is a fine work.

I totally agree Fergus - I love the opening which, many years ago, I heard used in a TV documentary about J.R.R. Tolkein. I have three recordings but that Thomson CD on Chandos is by far the most atmospheric. Nympholept should be much better known; I prefer it to the much-better-known Garden of Fand for example.

[ritter]

Dipping my toes into the Brilliant Classics Boccherini set with String Sextets, Op. 23, No. 4 in F minor, No. 1 in E flat, No. 6 in F, and No. 3  (G 457, 454, 459, 456). M. Seiler & I. Jura (vn), D. Poppen & W. Dickel (va), R. Lester & H. Penny (vc).


CD 6 (of 37)

A rather auspicious start! 

[Traverso]

Richafort: Missa Pro Defunctis "Requiem" [Cinquecento]





This music is simply divine. The quality of the writing is of the highest order. It is also very well sung here with a wonderful sonic balance within the ensemble. They certainly deliver the quality of the music through a quality vocal presentation. The only issue that I have with the recording is the constant presence of sibilance. I have noticed this before in recordings by this ensemble.

Indeed it is a very fine requiem,the first time I heard it it was sung by the Tallis scholars (Radio broadcast Musica Sacra Maastricht) I only have a recording  with the well known Huelgas Ensemble.

[Traverso]

Bax

Spurred on by previous posts

[Mandryka]

Listening to 280, the adagio mostly. Nice piano, and from that point of view it's good that this CD exists. The performance shows off the piano well, the colours etc. Interpretively it's certainly not disorienting, despite his way with the ornamentation.  I can't say I hear much tenderness or humanity in it, depth sort of thing. He  moves it forward, for good or for bad, it moves forward. It's not that he doesn't smell the roses, he just doesn't find any roses!

I retreated into the adagio of the same sonata on this. Night and day!

[Spotted Horses]

Dipping a toe into this newly arrived set, Mozart Piano Concerti with Zacharias and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra



Concerto No 16 (which was a mistake, I was thinking of Concerto No 17, which I loved in the Brautigam recording). In any case, the performance is just what I want, lithe piano playing, an energetic chamber music texture from the orchestra. Beautiful.

[Lisztianwagner]

Erik Satie
Gnossiennes

Pianist: Reinbert de Leeuw

[aligreto]

Arnold: Symphony No. 8 [Penny]





Comments will be posted in the Arnold thread for those interested.

[aligreto]

I totally agree Fergus - I love the opening which, many years ago, I heard used in a TV documentary about J.R.R. Tolkein. I have three recordings but that Thomson CD on Chandos is by far the most atmospheric. Nympholept should be much better known; I prefer it to the much-better-known Garden of Fand for example.

Cheers Jeffrey. Yes I find Nympholept to be wonderfully atmospheric indeed. The only other version that I have is with Lloyd-Jones on Naxos.

[aligreto]

Bax

Spurred on by previous posts

I do hope that you have enjoyed your Bax listening Jan.

[aligreto]

I have that set and I really like it. That says a lot from GMG's resident solo piano-phobe! 

[vandermolen]

I do hope that you have enjoyed your Bax listening Jan.

+1

[vers la flamme]

Edward Elgar: Falstaff, op.68. John Barbirolli, Hallé Orchestra

First listen to the work.

[Lisztianwagner]

I have that set and I really like it. That says a lot from GMG's resident solo piano-phobe! 

Really, don't you like solo piano music? 
I like Leeuw's set too anyway, his performance of Gnossiennes is simple, but suggestive and atmospheric; though I think unfortunately the 1st Gnossienne is a little too slow.

Edward Elgar: Falstaff, op.68. John Barbirolli, Hallé Orchestra

First listen to the work.

I love Falstaff, it's one of my favourite Elgar's works. What do you think about it so far?

[vers la flamme]

Really, don't you like solo piano music? 
I like Leeuw's set too anyway, his performance of Gnossiennes is simple, but suggestive and atmospheric; though I think unfortunately the 1st Gnossienne is a little too slow.

I love Falstaff, it's one of my favourite Elgar's works. What do you think about it so far?

I liked it! Reminded me a lot of Richard Strauss's tone poems.

P.S. I really like Reinbert de Leeuw's Satie. He definitely takes the music much, much slower than anyone, but it introduces a new layer of meditativeness to the music. Not the only Satie I'd want to have, but indispensable.

[vers la flamme]

Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 in E minor, op.64. Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra

Amazing performance.

[Todd]

Sampling via streaming to determine if I should buy.  Might as well go big.  Roscoe offers no outsize, dramatic gestures, but he plays just a bit quickly overall, in a mostly straight forward manner, and offers little touches, never more so than in the Menuetto of 31/3.  I think I'll have to buy.

[Traverso]

I do hope that you have enjoyed your Bax listening Jan.

I have enjoyed it,especially Nympholept. By the way.this recording was advised by Jeffrey