What are you listening 2 now?

[JBS]

I've been playing this at least once every day since it landed in mid-week.
Nothing outstanding about the performances, other than managing to get everything just right

[Operafreak]

Vaughan Williams: Ten Blake Songs, etc.

Downshire Players of London, Peter Ash

[SimonNZ]

On the radio:

Mahler's Symphony no.1 conducted by Francois Xavier Roth

Wondering how long it's been since I last heard this work. More that ten years probably.

[Que]

Morning listening: The Music Prints of Christophe Plantin

[Mandryka]

The music in op50  is interesting - like a game of hide and seek with tonality: as soon as you sense home key, it disappears. Naive motifs, piano often used percussively like in Bartok - in fact (pre?) echoes of Bartok occur quite often. There seems to be quite a bit of variety in the music - I mean, I sense a composer with things to say, not just someone blustering or repeating himself. Hamelin seems on good form. Sound is quite listenable for 20 mazurkas, so it can't be bad!

[Mandryka]

wq 65/5 - John Irving singles this out as a high point of classical solo sonatas. Deep and weighty, sort of thing. I'm thinking that maybe CPEB was the classical Beethoven - the one who made the most of the solo sonata form. The ending of this sonata is really surprising - it doesn't end on a clear cadence, there's no feeling of closure.

https://static.qobuz.com/goodies/05/000010750.pdf


. . . and looking at the above Spanyi also has a high view of the five Probestucke sonatas - I am going to dig into CPEB.

[Que]

Since half of the Huelgas Plantin recording is taken up by music by Andreas Pevernage (1542/3–1591), choirmaster of the Antwerp Cathedral, I decided to give this another go (on Spotify):

[vandermolen]

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.5
RPO/Menuhin

A very fine, rather Sibelian, performance. I like the combination of the 5th Symphony with the Concerto for Two Pianos.

The back of the booklet features a nice reproduction of this portrait of the composer by Sir Gerald Kelly (in the Royal College of Music):

[vandermolen]

Thank you for the recommendation, I look forward to it. Hopefully I can find the Dutton Laboratory update floating in the aether before I can secure it physically.

For this afternoon:

George Dyson
Hierusalem
Three Choral Hymns
Three Songs of Praise
Fantasia and Ground Bass
Psalm 150

Valery Hill, soprano (Hierusalem)
Thomas Trotter, organ
St. Michael's Singers
Royal PO - Jonathan Rennert

Looking forward to Hierusalem with the RPO.

VS

 

My pleasure. I remember Hierusalem being a very beautiful work.

[Mookalafalas]

 Mozart on forte-piano. First listen.

[Operafreak]

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23 - Dvorák: Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 33- Justus Frantz (piano), Philippe Entremont (piano)

Leonard Bernstein

[vandermolen]

Bliss: Morning Heroes
Groves/Westbrook/RLPO
From the Groves boxed set
As appropriate for Remembrance Sunday

[Spotted Horses]

The one I have, which delights me, is on ECM with an all-star lineup that includes Heinz Holliger, Thomas Zehetmair, and Christiane Jaccottet.

I noticed that one, and it is interesting. I have Hollliger's old recording on Archive (from the 70's), so I was concerned it would be somewhat redundant. The old recording is a bit staid, sort of semi-pre-HIP.

[Traverso]

Schütz


Der Schanengesang

[Spotted Horses]

Brahms, Serenade No 2, Armin Jordan, Orchestre de Paris.



After being underwhelmed by Fischer/Budapest Festival Orchestra, I found this recording on my hard disk. Much more satisfying, particularly the first and third (slow) movement.

[Papy Oli]

Smetana - Ma Vlast (Ancerl, Live recordings)

[Irons]

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.5
RPO/Menuhin

A very fine, rather Sibelian, performance. I like the combination of the 5th Symphony with the Concerto for Two Pianos.

The back of the booklet features a nice reproduction of this portrait of the composer by Sir Gerald Kelly (in the Royal College of Music):

A fine rendition I enjoyed enormously, Jeffrey. Previn will always be my first choice for the outstanding RVW 5th, but if I wish to hear an alternative view which is not so mainstream Menuhin is the man. As you say an imaginative coupling a bonus.   

[VonStupp]

Howard Hanson
Symphony 5 'Sinfonia Sacra', op. 43
Symphony 6

Seattle Symphony - Gerard Schwarz (rec. 1992)

From this set:

[ritter]

Some Bartók this afternoon in Madrid...

Antal Doráti conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in the Concerto for Orchestra, and the Philharmonia Hungarica in the the Dance Suite, Two Portraits, and Tibor Serly's arrangement of two pieces from Mikrokosmos.

CD1 of this set:

[Todd]

Disc two.