What are you listening 2 now?

[Todd]

[Symphonic Addict]

Paray: Messe pour le 500e Anniversaire du Martyre de Jeanne d'Arc

Roasted Swan was right, an inspiring piece of music. Paray looks like one of those conductors/composers who wrote in a very approachable and attractive style.

[vers la flamme]

William Walton: Symphony No.1 in B-flat minor. Edward Gardner, BBC Symphony Orchestra

Well, damn. This is really interesting and exciting music, just as just about everyone's highly laudatory comments have led me to believe Very good playing from the BBC Symphony, who must be the least represented major London orchestra in my library. I have a few of these more recent Chandos hybrid SACDs, and they all seem to have similar sound—very detailed, very wide dynamic range, but perhaps a little washy at times. This is the first time I've heard anything from this Gardner bloke; I know some folks here do not like his conducting (or was that John Wilson?), but he sounds alright to me.

[JBS]

The Symphonies sound like Eastern-European more than North American. I like them.

I would have expected a less European style (his real expertise seems to have been marches and works for wind band, beyond his Broadway successes). But I've listed it for the future.

TD


Various sets of rather short pieces, many less than one minute long (Numbers 7-10 of Sz71 are grouped together as "Old Dance Tunes" and time out as 0.39,  0.30,  0.13,  0.25)
Three Burlesques Sz47
Seven Sketches Sz44
Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs Sz71
Eight Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs Sz74
Ten Easy Pieces Sz39

[Brian]

William Walton: Symphony No.1 in B-flat minor. Edward Gardner, BBC Symphony Orchestra

Well, damn. This is really interesting and exciting music, just as just about everyone's highly laudatory comments have led me to believe Very good playing from the BBC Symphony, who must be the least represented major London orchestra in my library. I have a few of these more recent Chandos hybrid SACDs, and they all seem to have similar sound—very detailed, very wide dynamic range, but perhaps a little washy at times. This is the first time I've heard anything from this Gardner bloke; I know some folks here do not like his conducting (or was that John Wilson?), but he sounds alright to me.

That is Wilson who is controversial here. Chandos is having Gardner record everything, sometimes too much (Mendelssohn, Schubert, Brahms), but he has really great skill and specialty in the 20th century repertoire, spanning both Brits and not. I love his Walton, his Saint-Saens piano concerto cycle, and his Janacek. His "Peter Grimes" is considered darn near definitive.

[Operafreak]

    Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16/    Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54

Idil Biret (piano)- Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit

[Roasted Swan]

Paray: Messe pour le 500e Anniversaire du Martyre de Jeanne d'Arc

Roasted Swan was right, an inspiring piece of music. Paray looks like one of those conductors/composers who wrote in a very approachable and attractive style.

Phew! - Glad you liked it....  I was so impressed I picked up a quite cheap copy of the other recording with Paray on the podium....



which is also very fine although (not surprisingly) the newer Reference Recording engineering has greater overall impact.  The coupling of the Saint-Saens was a bit of a "oh well another organ symphony" but its actually very good indeed and rather nice to have Marcel Dupre playing.  So all in all another hit!

[Spotted Horses]

Having listened to the first few tracks (Presto in B-flat, Movements pertetuels, Melancolia) I find the Aligreto's positive comments about this set are well justified.



Looking forward to finding time to listen in more depth.

[Harry]

Domenico Scarlatti:
Sonaten für Violin & Harpsichord K.61,77,78,81,88-91.

Alessandro Scarlatti:
Toccata VII for Harpsichord & Cellosonata D minor.

Arsenale Sonoro.
Boris Begelman, Violin.

[Mandryka]

I'm not sure that this has anything interesting to say about the music. It's perfectly OK, if it were a concert I'd probably go back after the interval, maybe not though.

Very arresting, thrilling, music making on a lovely instrument. Turn the volume up, it's better that way. Well worth a butchers. I'm talking about 958, I've not checked the early one (in other words, I've not gone back after the interval. But I enjoyed the first half.)

[Harry]

Ralph Vaughan Williams.
String Quartets No. 1 & 2.

Gustav Holst.
Phantasy Quartet on British Folksongs op. 36.
Tippett Quartet.

[Operafreak]

Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin- Iestyn Davies (countertenor), Joseph Middleton (piano)

[Roasted Swan]

Ralph Vaughan Williams.
String Quartets No. 1 & 2.

Gustav Holst.
Phantasy Quartet on British Folksongs op. 36.
Tippett Quartet.

Just been listening to this too!  Very well played and the 2 RVW quartets are great but the Holst I thought was pretty dreadful - and I usually like folksong influenced music.  It just sounds like he was trying too hard - St. Pauls Suite but without the inspiration....?

[Harry]

Just been listening to this too!  Very well played and the 2 RVW quartets are great but the Holst I thought was pretty dreadful - and I usually like folksong influenced music.  It just sounds like he was trying too hard - St. Pauls Suite but without the inspiration....?

Agreed!

[vandermolen]

Ernest Moeran's
Violin Concerto

Vernon Handley, Ulster Orchestra, Lydia Mordkovitch (violin)

That's a great CD!

[Harry]

The Cello According To Dall'Abaco.

Giuseppe Clemente Dall' Abaco.
Sonatas for Cello & BC & Duettes for 2 Celli.
Elinor Frey (Cello), Catherine Jones (Cello), Michele Pasotti (Lute), Federica Bianchi (Harpsichord)

[Harry]

That's a great CD!

+1

[Lisztianwagner]

Richard Strauss
Ein Heldenleben

[Irons]

Recorded in 1965.
Anyone know the original of the cover art? Google Image Search locks onto the fact that it's an album cover, and insists on showing similarly cover art for LPs/CDs, but nothing about the art itself.

I have the LP and unusually without credit to artist or cover designer listed.

[Harry]

Sergej Rachmaninoff
Piano Trios Nr.1 & 2.
Cello Sonata in G minor Op.19
Morceaux de salon Op.6.
Sorochintsy Fair.
Two Pieces Op.2.

Andrei Korobeinikov (Piano), Pavel Gomziakov (Cello), Tatiana Samouil (Violin)