What are you listening 2 now?

[Mirror Image]

The Takács Quartet will be playing a concert at Spivey Hall in Morrow next month. Unfortunately no Britten, but Brahms, Beethoven and Haydn. I don't know how interested you are in such repertoire, but I will definitely be there. Damn fine quartet, they are.

Very nice. I hope you enjoy the concert. I don't have much interest in that concert's repertoire. Maybe if they were to perform some Second Viennese School or Bartók I would definitely consider going for sure.

[Mirror Image]

Dipping a bit into Gielen's outstanding Mahler cycle:

Rückert-Lieder
Elisabeth Kulman (mezzo-soprano)
SWR Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks
Michael Gielen

[mc ukrneal]

Terrific!

Awesome. I like the prologue, but it's the theme that always gives me goose bumps. For me, those chords were a game changer (in life) and opened my world to a lot of music that I had not never seriously considered before.

[Mirror Image]

Now playing:

Mahler
Symphony No. 1 in D major
SWR Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks
Michael Gielen



Spellbinding performance. For me, this is how Mahler should be performed and I'm starting to understand how Mahlerian (I miss this member's contributions) feels about Bernstein's Mahler when he said it was overblown and vulgar. I think there's a time and place for these elements in Mahler's music, but not ALL THE TIME. Gielen understands this and really highlights this symphony's lyricism, but not without those angsty undertones. Oh and I absolutely refuse to call this first symphony the Titan. Mahler never assigned any names to any of his symphonies and I think we should honor the composer by the doing the same.

[Symphonic Addict]

Divertimento for harp and mandoline

What a singular work this is! Delightful. This combination is quite effective. I'll be listening to the rest of the content on the CD these days.




Two very good concertos (violin, flute) and one partly succesful (cello). The VC is a most welcome surprise. There are some passages full of intense expressivity and romanticism. The material is strong enough to hold the attention. And the ending is pure fire! The Flute Concerto is more relaxed and joyous in a very pastoral vein. Very entertaining. The Cello Concerto was somewhat disappointing because of the first two movements, whilst the 3rd one has more spark.

[j winter]

Switching over to the Rachmaninov Preludes, Ashkenazy.  Wonderful recording...

[Daverz]

Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 2

[asin] B079B6KHPS[/asin]

Hard to make in impression in these oft-recorded works, but Vogt does, even in the 4th, where so many other recordings disappoint.  I hear no deficiencies in execution from being "conducted from the piano", and Ondine's sound is excellence as usual.

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 4

[asin] B07DR2DLCV[/asin]

Avoided this for a long time because of the pretentious cover, complete with de rigeur subtitle.  It doesn't help that I usually associate the Rachmaninoff works with shallow glitz.  But these unschmaltzy interpretations make me a believer.  Excellent balances between piano and orchestra.

[Mirror Image]

Britten
String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 36
Endellion String Quartet



Technically accomplished performance (like the SQ No. 3 I heard from them earlier), but nothing more. They certainly don't displace The Britten Quartet or the Emperor Quartet in these SQs for me.

[Mandryka]

Hewitt's developed a way of playing counterpoint on her piano. I'm listening to the 6th. The sound is very well captured. I think this is the best Bach I've heard from Hewitt, apart from her DG recording maybe.

[vandermolen]

Bloch
pf quintet # 1
Martha Argerich & friends

Really like this piece

+1

[vandermolen]

Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 2

[asin] B079B6KHPS[/asin]

Hard to make in impression in these oft-recorded works, but Vogt does, even in the 4th, where so many other recordings disappoint.  I hear no deficiencies in execution from being "conducted from the piano", and Ondine's sound is excellence as usual.

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 4

[asin] B07DR2DLCV[/asin]

Avoided this for a long time because of the pretentious cover, complete with de rigeur subtitle.  It doesn't help that I usually associate the Rachmaninoff works with shallow glitz.  But these unschmaltzy interpretations make me a believer.  Excellent balances between piano and orchestra.

I've also been tempted by the Rachmaninoff CD of my two favourite PCs by him - especially No.4

[vandermolen]

Following André's recommendations from my new Eloquence boxed set of the Bruckner symphonies. Symphony No.6 VPO/Stein. Sounds excellent so far. I remember liking Klemperer's recording which my brother had on LP. I greatly enjoyed the Karl Bohm recording of Symphony No. 3 last week:

[Mandryka]

Listening to this for the first time in about four years. I think it's even better than I'd remembered, a really special set.

[Tsaraslondon]

Shostakovich wrote quite a lot of film music, often in lighter vein, and this is a superb compendium by the Concertgebouw under Riccardo Chailly, an excellent companion to their previous Jazz Album.

[vandermolen]

Goossens Sympony No.2 (Chandos).
Second listen to this dark, powerful and brooding work:

[Harry]

Goossens Sympony No.2 (Chandos).
Second listen to this dark, powerful and brooding work:

You make this release very attractive dear Jeffrey.

[vandermolen]

You make this release very attractive dear Jeffrey.

Sorry about that my friend!
Opinions here are mixed but I really like its brooding and ominous manner, very much reflecting its period of composition I think (1942-45). I don't regret buying it even though I have the excellent ABC set; it is a fine performance and recording under Andrew Davis.

And now for something a bit more gentle before work:

John Foulds' Cello Sonata (1905/rev. 1927)

[Harry]

New arrival, first listen.

Luca Marenzio.
Primo Libro di Madrigali, a cinque voci 1560.

La Compagnia del Madrigale

An absolutely stunning rendition of Marenzio's famous Primo Libro. Takes my breath away.
Perfectly recorded too.

[Traverso]

Schubert

Octet

[vers la flamme]

Listening to this for the first time in about four years. I think it's even better than I'd remembered, a really special set.

I have been listening to a bit of Perlemuter lately. His latter day recordings on Nimbus, as you are presenting here. Definitely a one of a kind pianist. I am going to go back to the record store and get a Perlemuter Chopin CD I passed up on, with a set of the Nocturnes. What I'm most interested in though is his Ravel.