What are you listening 2 now?

[Mirror Image]

I'm a little surprised by myself to have patience enough with the whole work (83 minutes). This is rather spiritual, a balm for soul, but it tended to be monotonous (hence my patience). It reminded me of Rachmaninov's Vespers.

I love Pärt's music but this work isn't one I'm crazy about. I'm with you on this one, Cesar. I'm not fond of Rachmaninov's Vespers either.

[Christo]

I'm a little surprised by myself to have patience enough with the whole work (83 minutes). This is rather spiritual, a balm for soul, but it tended to be monotonous (hence my patience). It reminded me of Rachmaninov's Vespers.

I love it, the musical equivalent of Tarkovsky's Andrei Rubljev, heard a very good live performance in my hometown and was deeply moved. Only Pärt's Te Deum (just 25 minutes, with ensemble) equally good, IMHO (hope to perform that one with our chamber choir one day).

[Mirror Image]

Bernstein
Symphony No. 3, "Kaddish"
Jennie Tourel (mezzo-soprano), Felicia Montealegre (speaker)
Columbus Boychoir, New York Philharmonic, Camerata Singers
Leonard Bernstein



Wow...I'm rather impressed with this work now. I don't like narration in any music and I'm still rather ambivalent about it, but, for some reason, I don't mind it in this work. I suppose because I find it's better interwoven in the fabric of the music itself. I doubt this performance could be topped, but I would interested in hearing how Pappano did in his new(er) Bernstein symphony set.

[Mirror Image]

Fauré
Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45
Domus

[San Antone]

I'm a little surprised by myself to have patience enough with the whole work (83 minutes). This is rather spiritual, a balm for soul, but it tended to be monotonous (hence my patience). It reminded me of Rachmaninov's Vespers.

Fantastic work and that is IMO the best recording of it.

[vers la flamme]

Fauré
Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45
Domus

I just got this. Damn good chamber performances from the Domus Ensemble.

I need to hear more of Pärt's choral music. I haven't heard the whole Kanon Pokajanen, but I do love the Prayer after the Canon. I like the 2018 revision for chamber orchestra and mixed choir. And then I like the Passio, but it takes patience to get through it all. I want to hear more – apparently the Stabat Mater, Te Deum, and Magnificat are good.

[Mirror Image]

I just got this. Damn good chamber performances from the Domus Ensemble.

I need to hear more of Pärt's choral music. I haven't heard the whole Kanon Pokajanen, but I do love the Prayer after the Canon. I like the 2018 revision for chamber orchestra and mixed choir. And then I like the Passio, but it takes patience to get through it all. I want to hear more – apparently the Stabat Mater, Te Deum, and Magnificat are good.

A fine disc, indeed. Stabat Mater is one of my favorites from Pärt.

[San Antone]

[Madiel]

Schumann,

Overture to Julius Caesar op.128
Overture to Hermann und Dorothea op.136

Streaming from:

[vers la flamme]

A fine disc, indeed. Stabat Mater is one of my favorites from Pärt.

Is there a recording that you like?

TD:



Benjamin Britten: Ballad of Heroes, op.14. Richard Hickox, London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, w/ tenor soloist Martyn Hill.

[Mirror Image]

Nice! Love those works.

Is there a recording that you like?

TD:



Benjamin Britten: Ballad of Heroes, op.14. Richard Hickox, London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, w/ tenor soloist Martyn Hill.

This one:

[asin]B0000260TR[/asin]

A thumbs up for listening to Britten's Ballad of Hereos. I love that work and the Hickox performance is the best I've heard of the few performances that I've heard.

[Mirror Image]

Bernstein
Symphony No. 2, "The Age of Anxiety"
Zimerman
Rattle
Berliners



First impressions, this is a more nuanced performance and the lyrical aspects of the music are brought to the fore. This isn't to say there isn't some fireworks happening, but it seems the work is on a completely different scale than I previously imagined. San Antone mentioned on the Bernstein thread that a pianist can 'make or break' a performance of this work, well, let me say that Zimerman delivers the goods in spades. Rattle and the Berliners also sound at home in this idiom. I'm not sure how much the Berliners have played Bernstein's music in the past, but it can't be too much. Between the recent Rana/Pappano recording and this one, I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. They're both so damn good.

[JBS]

Repeat listen to this recent purchase
[asin]B07CLPHZ4P[/asin]
I'd forgotten how opulently gorgeous and lush Flos Campi is.

[Madiel]

Brahms, 3 Duets op.20



It's a bit of a mystery why the fairly detailed notes of this set would make the explicit point that the first opus on the recording was written/published for soprano and alto, and how this was a common social setting... and then deliver me a performance by soprano and baritone.

You should have used one then! It's one thing for a pair of singers to perform a recital disc, but when you're presenting a complete set of a composer's works it's just dumb to not utilise one of the other singers on your roster to do it properly.

[San Antone]

Alfred Schnittke: Psalms of Repentance
Swedish Radio Choir, Tõnu Kaljuste

Superlative performances of Schnittke's most personal music: the composer's soul seems to be laid bare in the 'Psalms of Repentance'. These choral pieces, based upon 15th century poems and written to commemorate 1,000 years of Christianity in Russia, reveal none of the sardonic distancing or irony that is often characteristic of Schnittke's work. This is music from the heart, of direct emotional expression. The work takes on a special poignancy in the light of Schnittke's death in August 1998, and the Psalms can also be heard as threnody for him.

[JBS]

Repeat listen to this recent purchase
[asin]B07CLPHZ4P[/asin]
I'd forgotten how opulently gorgeous and lush Flos Campi is.

And after Flos Campi, the CD moves on to the Piano Concerto, which at least in this coupling, sounds positively Shostakovian.  Totally different side of RVW. But I guess that just shows how great a composer he was.

[Karl Henning]

Buxtehude, Dietrich (1637-1707) - Organ & Harpsichord Works w/ the performers on the cover art - concerning the Simone Stella harpsichord recordings, there seems to be some debate on the recording quality/extraneous noise - see the attached reviews that address this issue - at the moment, I've been listening to the first 2 discs w/ headphones and am not detecting what has been described (especially by one of the Amazonians - last short statement in the PDF file).

Lars Ulrik Mortensen & Ton Koopman have also been recording multiple CDs of Buxtehude's harpsichord works - Mortensen has 3 Naxos discs listed at JPC (not sure if more are available and/or planned?); Koopman seems to have recorded the most, but not boxed and expensive (unless someone knows a source not found by me) - in general, Stella's reviews have been quite good and the price is right.  Would appreciate any comments from those who own any of these discs/sets - thanks.  Dave

 

Nice, Dave!

[Karl Henning]

Like Buxtehude quite a lot but more Sweelinck, do you guy's dig Sweelinck as well, he a fine at keyboard, he introduced me to Buxtehude and many other.

Aye, though I should listen to Sweelinck more.

TD:

LvB
Hammerklavier
Korstick

[Mirror Image]

Playing this yet again:

Bernstein
Symphony No. 2, "The Age of Anxiety"
Zimerman
Rattle
Berliners

[JBS]

Lyric Pieces Books 5, 6 and 7
[asin]B07W8LHKVB[/asin]

For some reason I associated the melody of March of the Dwarves with Kabalesvky.  I kmow better now.

BTW, this set is not a straight re-issue of Austbo's 7 CD set of Grieg piano works. This is a five CD set. The main omission seems to be transcriptions of Grieg's songs.