What are you listening 2 now?

[SimonNZ]

Beethoven's Kreutzer and Spring sonatas - Wolfgang Schneiderhan, violin, Carl Seemann, piano

[listener]

on DVD
RAMEAU: Les Indes Galantes
Paris Opera Production      Les Arts Florissants     William Christie, cond.
I'm not likely to encounter a live production so this is very useful.  Watching the busy stagecraft is interesting as are the music and performances.
244 minutes is a bit long now but in 1757 a warm theatre for an evening and fewer distractions of modern times would have made this an enjoyable night out.

[Que]

The recent purchase of a few of Niquet's Naxos recordings, brought Marc-Antoine Charpentier back on my radar:

[asin]B000FOTI6I[/asin]
Q

[aukhawk]

Beethoven: Violin Concerto [Oistrakh/Cluytens]


A measured [but certainly not pedantic], light, delicate version that richly rewards. Oistrakh's performance is wonderful.

That was the only recording I knew, until I eventually acquired Faust/Abbado about a year ago!  (Likewise with Brahms, Oistrakh/Klemperer was my only recording until earlier this year.)

[Madiel]

After some outrageously bad refereeing decisions that no-one overseas will understand, I'm in the mood for darkness...

Holmboe, Epilogue

[Traverso]

Bach

[Biffo]

Was there more than what you can see here?

http://www.sonusantiqva.org/i/L/EMCL-Munrow/1974Instruments.html

There was a lot of interest in exotic early instruments at the time, this is another similar recording which I have, presumably responding to the same public interest



There's a story Munrow used to tell of him travelling to some obscure Baltic region to study the indigenous music and on returning to London the customs man asked him what was in his instrument case. He said something like "a sort of violin." The customs man asked to open it, looked at the instrument and said "oh, that's not a violin at all, it's a rebec . . . "

The original LP issue came with a leaflet and a 96 page booklet. The leaflet is a track listing and is identical to the document in the link except it has no colour illustrations just four small woodcuts.

The booklet has descriptions of all the instruments featured in the album, photos of some of the instruments and photos of Munrow and his colleagues playing the instruments. It also has numerous contemporary illustrations of the instruments.

[Madiel]

Beethoven, op.14 piano sonatas

[Madiel]

Bridge, String Quintet



A very early work, but chamber music is Bridge's greatest strength.

[Que]

Rerun:

[asin]B011MICLO6[/asin]
Q

[vers la flamme]

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No.2 in D major, op.73. Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra. I love this performance. Klemperer stands out among his contemporaries in terms of orchestral clarity. There is a unity of sound not uncommon for the time, but one can also hear individual parts much more clearly than one can on a recording by, say, Karajan, or Ormandy. Speaking of Karajan, I have a 1960s recording of him conducting the Brahms 2nd with the Berlin Philharmonic that I really should hear soon. I don't normally get on with his Brahms, but I am curious to see what he does with this symphony.

[Madiel]

Barber, Symphony No.1

[Traverso]

An Englishman Abroad

[Irons]

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 [Boult]





This is a richly melodic and lyrical work which nonetheless has a dark yet enchanting side to it. It is given a wonderfully sensitive, atmospheric and a sometimes haunting presentation by Boult.

Boult is indeed very good in the 5th (Decca and EMI). Along with the 8th the finest of the Previn set which I have a special attachment to. Not to forget the wonderful Barbirolli recording. A marvellous symphony which inspires all three and many more I dare say.

[vers la flamme]

Barber, Symphony No.1

I listened to this recording yesterday, for the first time. Really good.

[Irons]

After listening to a string of recent Glossa aquisitions (Zarlino, Guerrero, Boccherini, Scarlatti) as well as the New Supraphon Praga Rosa Bohemia (excellent by the way) I keep returning to this violent and ultimately lyrical, profoundly disturbing masterpiece:

I have heard so many good things about this recording in one form or other I must invest.

[Todd]

I believe this is the first time I've listened to Arabella Steinbacher.  Not bad.  I'll probably give her another go, either in cheap clearance disc form again, or via streaming.

[Biffo]

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No.2 in D major, op.73. Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra. I love this performance. Klemperer stands out among his contemporaries in terms of orchestral clarity. There is a unity of sound not uncommon for the time, but one can also hear individual parts much more clearly than one can on a recording by, say, Karajan, or Ormandy. Speaking of Karajan, I have a 1960s recording of him conducting the Brahms 2nd with the Berlin Philharmonic that I really should hear soon. I don't normally get on with his Brahms, but I am curious to see what he does with this symphony.

I know people disagree about the merits of Karajan's recordings, especially works he recorded more than once. I vastly prefer his 1960s recordings of Beethoven and Brahms Symphonies to those he made in the 1970s. Best of all in Brahms is a live cycle of the symphonies recorded in 1973. It seems so much more spontaneous than the rather slick studio recordings of the 70s.  For a time it was available to stream in the Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall, not sure if it still is.

[Iota]

This just arrived on Naxos Music Library. Time to try.



In the liner notes, Debargue says that his reference point as an interpreter is Scott Ross, and that he's adopted some of Ross' ideas. He adds that only in certain specific sonatas does he find any pianist to be as convincing as Ross is. The booklet also claims that ten of the sonatas in this package have only previously been recorded by Ross, not by anyone else; I'm not sure whether that is believable.

Just been streaming this on NML also.

Debargue seems to pull off a trick of sounding entirely unostentatious yet setting off an entrancing display of iridescence, refinement and wit. He has all the precision and elan of Pogorelich but with an inner warmth, and seems to play Scarlatti almost as some play Haydn.
Very lovely, on first hearing I'm smitten and it becomes an immediate personal contender for 2019 disc of the year.

[Todd]

Filled with delights.