What are you listening 2 now?

[Mirror Image]

Enescu
Sonata in C major for cello and piano, Op. 26, No. 2
Valentin Radutiu (cello), Per Rundberg (piano)

[j winter]

Brahms 4, Carlos Kleiber conducting the Vienna Phil

Sarge

Now that's a classic.

Currently, Haydn 63, 38, 37, & 9. Heidelberger Sinfoniker, Benjamin Spillner.  Very nice.

[staxomega]

Béla Bartók: String Quartet No.1, op.7. Keller Quartet. I have not been very receptive to Bartók lately but I feel the obligation to give a composer of his immense stature some listening time every now and then. The Keller Quartet here are quite impressive, lyrical in that trademark Hungarian SQ fashion. Quite a contrast from my other Bartók SQ cycle, from the Emerson SQ. I love those recordings, though I have heard many say that they don't believe the Emersons have what it takes to pull off these complex quartets.

Fully agree with you on Emerson and Bartok. I've made it through Keller a couple of times, I need to listen some more to formulate an opinion, I did like what I heard.

Some of my listening from today- some Beethoven Piano Sonatas from Andrea Lucchesini (Op, 78, 79, 111). Shostakovich String Quartet 13, Borodin's first cycle.

Lastly queued up for after dinner, Rimsky-Korsakov's first symphony (Svetlanov, Russian Anthology of Symphonic Music Vol. 1)

[kyjo]

The 3rd (and last) Symphony No. 3 for today:



An incredibly vivid reading and interpretation by Borowicz and his orchestra. I'm not familiar with this work, but I think this recording surpasses the others available. I didn't recall how beautiful, uplifting, even idyllic this work was, not to say the 2nd slow movement, simply endearing. The sound engineers of CPO once again did a formidable job because the recording is so clear and detailed.

Indeed, a great new recording of a beloved work of mine! It's my favorite Alfvén symphony (though the deeply atmospheric 4th is wonderful as well), with one great tune following another. It's simply one of the sunniest, most uplifting works I know - hardly a single cloud passes by for the whole duration of the work (which is not a criticism). And yes, the slow movement is simply glorious and unforgettable; one of my favorite slow movements of all time.

[Christo]

Indeed, a great new recording of a beloved work of mine! It's my favorite Alfvén symphony (though the deeply atmospheric 4th is wonderful as well), with one great tune following another. It's simply one of the sunniest, most uplifting works I know - hardly a single cloud passes by for the whole duration of the work (which is not a criticism). And yes, the slow movement is simply glorious and unforgettable; one of my favorite slow movements of all time.

Always thought the wonderful Fourth to be the ultimate Alfven, hate to be wrong & to be forced to play his Third now. 

[kyjo]

Always thought the wonderful Fourth to be the ultimate Alfven, hate to be wrong & to be forced to play his Third now. 

Do give it a spin, Johan! It seems that the Fourth is almost universally agreed upon to be Alfvén's finest symphony, though I happen to love the Third even more.

[Daverz]

Always thought the wonderful Fourth to be the ultimate Alfven, hate to be wrong & to be forced to play his Third now. 

We are dispatching our official listening monitors to your home now. <whistle> Ears forward and stop squirming!

I concur on the quality of the Borowicz series so far.  The "Mountain King" suite coupled with the 3rd is also very good.  I think I'll listen to the Uppsalla Rhapsody now...

[Todd]

From the Firkusny big box.  Op 81 is the draw, of course, and it's in much better sound than the recording with the Juilliard.  The playing is more relaxed, more flexible, more romantic, and filled with much more vibrato by the strings and more rubato by the pianist.  I probably prefer the recording with the Juilliard, but only slightly.  Op 5 is not as good - the music that is.  The artists do good work.  The three encores are all well done, but being taken from a recital, the sound is not as good.  It does give a glimpse of what Firkusny could do only months before his passing, and with Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma in the Dumka movement encore, the listener is assured of fine playing.

On the evidence of this recording, it's a pity the Ridge didn't record more.

[Mirror Image]

Béla Bartók: String Quartet No.1, op.7. Keller Quartet. I have not been very receptive to Bartók lately but I feel the obligation to give a composer of his immense stature some listening time every now and then. The Keller Quartet here are quite impressive, lyrical in that trademark Hungarian SQ fashion. Quite a contrast from my other Bartók SQ cycle, from the Emerson SQ. I love those recordings, though I have heard many say that they don't believe the Emersons have what it takes to pull off these complex quartets.

My personal favorites in the Bartók SQs are the Takács and the ABQ. Both approaches these quartets make with these works couldn't be more different: the Takács get in touch with the folkish side of the composer while still keeping a Modern edge to their playing while the ABQ play these works with a certain Viennese rigor a la Schoenberg or Berg and gives the music a completely different hue altogether, but, still, totally valid. I need to get around to listening to this set:

[asin]B07K138V1L[/asin]

I haven't heard the Keller cycle, but I do have the Emersons and I can't I'm too fond of it.

[JBS]

Re Bartok
I first got to know his string quartets in the recording by the Nowak Quartet, and think they are very worthwhile to hear.

TD
From the Naxos/Maggini Quartet British String Quartets set


The lady on the cover is Rubbra's second wife, Antoinette, as painted by her sister Elizabeth.

[André]

Do give it a spin, Johan! It seems that the Fourth is almost universally agreed upon to be Alfvén's finest symphony, though I happen to love the Third even more.

Universally? Not by me. I prefer the 2nd  .

[André]

TD

[Madiel]

Faure, 2 songs op.87

First Varcoe/Johnson on Hyperion.



Then Beuron/Eidi.



Stephen Varcoe is one of the better singers in the Hyperion set for late songs. So in this case I'm not sure that the brighter and faster rival version (Beuron and Eidi seem to be faster in almost every single song compared to Hyperion) is any kind of improvement. If anything it sounds slightly glib.

[Mirror Image]

Drinking some coffee and listening to Trois Chansons de Bilitis from this recording (w/ Véronique Gens and Roger Vignoles):

[Mirror Image]

Faure, 2 songs op.87

First Varcoe/Johnson on Hyperion.



Then Beuron/Eidi.



Stephen Varcoe is one of the better singers in the Hyperion set for late songs. So in this case I'm not sure that the brighter and faster rival version (Beuron and Eidi seem to be faster in almost every single song compared to Hyperion) is any kind of improvement. If anything it sounds slightly glib.

Would you say the Hyperion series is worth acquiring, Madiel? Sorry if I've asked you this before.

[Madiel]

Drinking some coffee and listening to Trois Chansons de Bilitis from this recording (w/ Véronique Gens and Roger Vignoles):

Sounds like a very pleasant Sunday evening.

[Mirror Image]

Sounds like a very pleasant Sunday evening.

It certainly is. I have to say after much back and forth between the Warner and DG sets, I've come to prefer the Warner set, but this is because of it's thorough documentation and scholarly like work that went into assembling the set. But this would mean nothing if the performances weren't fantastic throughout the set, too, of course. Although, the DG set contains my favorite Pelléas et Mélisande performance with Abbado (and the Wiener Philharmoniker), but I've known this performance before this DG set was released and I'm still rather enthralled by it. My other favorite Pelléas is with Serge Baudo (on RCA). Fellow GMG member, Dancing Divertimentian, turned me onto it.

[Madiel]

Would you say the Hyperion series is worth acquiring, Madiel?

To be honest I'm less inclined to say yes to that the more I listen to rival versions. I'm becoming quite fussy about Faure I think.

But there are still lots of decent things on it, and I would say the earlier songs are generally done well.

The big glaring problem is Jennifer Smith - however good she might have been at an earlier point in her career, she sounds pretty bad and she gets assigned 2 of the major late song cycles. And there are other places where I think Johnson sets an approach that is a touch staid, lacking flow.

But then, some rival versions I try aren't any better, and are sometimes worse!

So what am I saying?... I guess I feel like it's still worth hearing and is generally decent, but is not something I would you need to rush out and get. The kind of thing it wouldn't hurt to get if it was cheap (is Hyperion ever cheap?).

I'd recommend particular volumes perhaps, but it's ages since I listened to any of the albums through in that way. I tend to go by opus, and Johnson splits many of the opuses. I know volume 4 is the weakest though.

[Madiel]

I have a nasty feeling that my future self is going to want to listen to every Faure song recital known to streaming services and give them a star rating...

(Veronique Dietschy 5 stars no question)

[Todd]

Ending the musical portion of the weekend with something fairly relaxing yet entirely engaging.