What are you listening 2 now?

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Berg
Vier Lieder, Op. 2
Mitsuko Shirai (soprano), Hartmut Holl (piano)



Absolutely wonderful. In deciding which recording of Berg's lieder to purchase, I ran across several interesting recordings, but none of them matched the beauty that Shirai and Holl brought to the table.

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I'm in! This is a magnificent account!

Indeed and of all the performances I've heard, it may very well be my favorite amongst them.

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Berg
Lyrische Suite
Schoenberg Quartet



A stupendous performance from the Schoenberg Quartet. This entire recording is worth checking out, especially to those who love this quartet's performances of Schoenberg and Webern (also on Chandos).

[SonicMan46]

Clementi, Muzio (1752-1832) - Keyboard Sonatas this afternoon - Shelley on modern piano vs. Mastroprimiano on a variety of fortepianos - own 7 2-CD sets w/ Shelley and the 18-CD PI box - I've gone through both in the past on initial purchase, now doing some side-by-side listening - is this duplication necessary?  Does one need both MI/PI performances?  Both are well done - Dave

 

[Symphonic Addict]

This is some colourful music with 'curious' Oriental touches appearing here and there. The Bulgarian Dances are the most entertaining stuff on this CD. The other works are nice but nothing particularly striking.




Hovhaness is a very special composer to me. The spirituality he prints on the music is inspiring, relaxing, thought-provoking, despite some claim his music is repetitive. Another feature I find uncanny is how close some works sound similar to VW's style. That kind of pastoral/spiritual feel to it permeates both outputs. It's a pity that the 2nd SQ is not complete as only 3 (short) movements were recorded, and they sounded intriguing. A very interesting CD in my view.

[Symphonic Addict]

Symphonies 2-4

I thought it was going to be a consistent cycle, but alas, it is not. Sym. No. 2 is not as gripping as Sym. No. 1. The No. 3 was much more engaging and focused. I found the No. 4 tedious with a rather weak musical discourse. So far, Nos. 1 and 3 are great.

[SimonNZ]

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Britten
Violin Concerto, Op. 15 (revised version)
Little
Gardner
BBC Philharmonic



Tasmin Little is outstanding in the Britten VC! I've never felt a strong connection to this work until I really started listening to other performances besides Britten's own recording of the concerto (with violinist Mark Lubotsky on Decca). I always found the Lubotsky/Britten performance to be overrated (I feel the same way about the Richter/Britten recording of the PC). Britten was always a strong advocate of his own music, but not in these two concerti, IMHO.

[Mirror Image]

Hovhaness is a very special composer to me. The spirituality he prints on the music is inspiring, relaxing, thought-provoking, despite some claim his music is repetitive. Another feature I find uncanny is how close some works sound similar to VW's style. That kind of pastoral/spiritual feel to it permeates both outputs. It's a pity that the 2nd SQ is not complete as only 3 (short) movements were recorded, and they sounded intriguing. A very interesting CD in my view.

I've written this composer off in the past as I found him to be nothing more than a one-trick pony, but I wouldn't mind revisiting some of his music to see if my opinion has changed at all. The only work which I thought was 'kind of' cool was Symphony No. 2, "Mysterious Mountain", which, from what I understand, is his best known work.

[Daverz]

Symphonies 2-4

I thought it was going to be a consistent cycle, but alas, it is not. Sym. No. 2 is not as gripping as Sym. No. 1. The No. 3 was much more engaging and focused. I found the No. 4 tedious with a rather weak musical discourse. So far, Nos. 1 and 3 are great.

Thanks for the Fricker reports.  Have you heard his Violin Concerto?  It's quite accessible.

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TD: Bruckner Symphony No. 8

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A fine performance by the Netherlands band in spectacular sonics (though I'm still only stereo-capable.)

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First-Listen Tuesdays -

Bernstein
Trouble in Tahiti
Nancy Williams (mezzo-soprano), Michael Clarke (tenor), Julian Patrick (bass baritone), Antonia Butler (soprano), Columbia Wind Ensemble, Mark Brown (baritone)
Leonard Bernstein



Man, this is jazzy fun! I'm digging it.

[Karl Henning]

I've written this composer off in the past as I found him to be nothing more than a one-trick pony, but I wouldn't mind revisiting some of his music to see if my opinion has changed at all. The only work which I thought was 'kind of' cool was Symphony No. 2, "Mysterious Mountain", which, from what I understand, is his best known work.

If you can find it, give his Symphony of Metal Instruments a try, John.

[HIPster]

Hovhaness is a very special composer to me. The spirituality he prints on the music is inspiring, relaxing, thought-provoking, despite some claim his music is repetitive. Another feature I find uncanny is how close some works sound similar to VW's style. That kind of pastoral/spiritual feel to it permeates both outputs. It's a pity that the 2nd SQ is not complete as only 3 (short) movements were recorded, and they sounded intriguing. A very interesting CD in my view.

Thank you for this!  I agree completely with what you wrote Symphonic Addict, though I confess to knowing very little about VW.  Hovhaness is a favorite of mine as well. 

This disc looks very interesting.

Cheers!

TD:

Jean Rogister: Symphony for String Quartet and Orchestra

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Arrived in today's mail and so a first listen.  Recommended some time ago by Andre.

Thanks, buddy! This is as good as you said it was - and you've never steered me wrong yet with any of your recommendations! 

[SimonNZ]

Excellent. I look forward to hearing more of Cantor Lontano

[San Antone]

An experiment ...

[JBS]

An experiment ...

TD
[asin]B07S86JR6Y[/asin]
Started a run through of this set yesterday. Tonight, CD 2,  Bournemouth Sinfonietta conducted by Harold  Farberman
Symphonies 18 in C, 23 in D, 28 in C, MH numbers 188/287/384
Much of this could in fact be ascribed by an unwary listener to his brother.

[Daverz]

TD
[asin]B07S86JR6Y[/asin]
Started a run through of this set yesterday. Tonight, CD 2,  Bournemouth Sinfonietta conducted by Harold  Farberman
Symphonies 18 in C, 23 in D, 28 in C, MH numbers 188/287/384
Much of this could in fact be ascribed by an unwary listener to his brother.

  Came out in October, apparently.  I should pay more attention to all these Brilliant issues.

I wonder if this has all the Farberman Michael Haydn recordings.  I was never able to find them all.

TD: Magnard Symphony No. 1, via Qobuz



No 1 may not be quite as magnificent a work as No. 3 or 4, but still quite lovely.  I've been really impressed with this Magnard series,  though Ansermet is still the best recording of No. 3, I think.

[André]

Clementi, Muzio (1752-1832) - Keyboard Sonatas this afternoon - Shelley on modern piano vs. Mastroprimiano on a variety of fortepianos - own 7 2-CD sets w/ Shelley and the 18-CD PI box - I've gone through both in the past on initial purchase, now doing some side-by-side listening - is this duplication necessary?  Does one need both MI/PI performances?  Both are well done - Dave

 

Thanks, Dave! I have 2 integral sets, the Mastroprimiano (PI) and the Spada (on a modern piano). Both are very fine but I have a feeling that Mastroprimiano is more to my liking (no side by side comparison for me though  ). In any case, it's the works that count and I cannot recommend dipping into any set - or individual disc - enough.

[André]

The Khatchaturian concerto. Superb.

[JBS]

  Came out in October, apparently.  I should pay more attention to all these Brilliant issues.

I wonder if this has all the Farberman Michael Haydn recordings.  I was never able to find them all.

CD 1 has Farberman Bournemouth recordings of five symphonies, but every thing else is from different forces. So probably not.