What are you listening 2 now?

[André]

[Daverz]

Love that recording of the Colour Symphony, and Adam Zero is great, too.

Now playing:

Hermann Koppel: Piano Concerto No. 3

[asin] B082PQMKT3[/asin]

[JBS]

Second listen
[asin]B07ZWBPMM9[/asin]

[Todd]

Liszt playing so good that even the composer himself may have been jealous had he been able to hear it.  Unabashedly virtuosic and supremely well executed throughout, the Sonata is a scorcher, the Legendes are industrial strength (more so than in person!), as is the intense and super-heated, if not especially romantic Dante Sonata.  The Csardas obstinee makes for a fine closer.  Having heard Moog play Liszt in person, including the Legendes, and the fiendishly challenging Hexameron, I can say that what's on this disc is more or less what one would hear in person.  While my ultimate preference in Liszt interpretation includes a bit more flexibility and romanticism, for this style of approach, Moog simply cannot be faulted. 

[Karl Henning]

A Shostakovich Romance, because even a Gadfly deserves some happiness.

[Symphonic Addict]

A great performance, indeed. I also absolutely love Boulez's earlier account on Columbia with the New York PO. Another favorite is Dohnányi with the Wiener Philharmoniker (an unlikely orchestra for this composer) on Decca. I'm not sure if you've heard this one, but it might be OOP.

I know that Boulez, but the Dohnanyi don't. Do you refer to this recording?

[SimonNZ]

[Mirror Image]

I know that Boulez, but the Dohnanyi don't. Do you refer to this recording?

Yes, that's the one. It's been reissued a few times, so it's good to see it's still in-print after all.

A direct link:

[asin]B07RJ9MFPK[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

Shostakovich
Symphony # 7 in C, Op. 60, Leningrad
Leningrad Phil
Mravinsky

[Mirror Image]

Boulez
Le Marteau sans maître
Hilary Summers (alto)
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Pierre Boulez



I have several problems with this particular performance: 1. I don't like the up-close audio quality --- there's no sense of space whatsoever and 2. I don't think the performance was as inspired as the one Boulez conducted earlier for DG. I'll stick with the earlier performance.

[San Antone]

Liszt playing so good that even the composer himself may have been jealous had he been able to hear it.  Unabashedly virtuosic and supremely well executed throughout, the Sonata is a scorcher, ...

I have to disagree.  His performance of the B Minor Sonata, a work for which I've invested a lot of listening time, is superficial and overly fast without any musical command of the work.  For recordings of this work that are technically and musically far superior, listen to Zimerman, Argerich or Demidenko.

[Carlo Gesualdo]

Tonight yes dear kind folks, I will be revisiting Hyeronymus Praetorius, a great German of late renaissance, whit three album two on CPO one on Arisis Label two great offering on CPO and a marvelous work on Arisis what else can I say, I don't know why I left him out in my huge library for so long, he a super composer coming from a family of musicians.

Germany can be proud of the Praetorius, all do not my favorite composer he an interresting composer to have if you like late renaissance.

You know deprofundis by now he stock in renaissance and late renaissance, I'm an old soul I guess. Who as these please and cherish his works.

[Mirror Image]

Boulez
Le Marteau sans maître
Hilary Summers (alto)
Ensemble intercontemporain



Much, much better.

[Todd]

For recordings of this work that are technically and musically far superior, listen to Zimerman, Argerich or Demidenko.

I've not heard Demidenko, but have known both Zimerman and Argerich for decades.  I prefer Zimerman to Moog, but Moog to Argerich.  I prefer Freire and Angelich to all names listed.  I've listened to enough Liszt to know what I like and why I like it.

[Mirror Image]

Penderecki
The Dream of Jacob
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Krzysztof Penderecki



A fantastic piece. I don't know what it is but early Penderecki always sounded better to me than anything written by Xenakis. There's a beating heart in this music.

[Mirror Image]

Reich
Music for 18 Musicians
Steve Reich Ensemble



Has there ever been a better recording of this acknowledged Minimalist masterpiece other than this recording? Not to my recollection. Of course, I can call something a 'masterpiece' and still have ambivalent feelings about the music --- I recall turning a friend onto Reich back in '01 or '02. I guess you could say that Reich was one of the first classical composers I ever got into.

Edit: Okay, I turned this work off. I now have a headache.

[Mirror Image]

One last work for the night:

Janáček
Pohádka
Paul Crossley (piano), Christopher van Kampen (cello)

[Harry]

The storm has started in the Netherlands. She has a name "Ciara". It's a heavy one, and a lot of damage is expected. Wind speeds up to 140 kilometers, heavy rains, up to 30 mm. Let's hope we stay safe. I am still repairing damages from the last storm in 2019. Pray for us if you can, and those that cannot, keep your fingers crossed that all goes well.
So no listening for me today.

[vandermolen]

The storm has started in the Netherlands. She has a name "Ciara". It's a heavy one, and a lot of damage is expected. Wind speeds up to 140 kilometers, heavy rains, up to 30 mm. Let's hope we stay safe. I am still repairing damages from the last storm in 2019. Pray for us if you can, and those that cannot, keep your fingers crossed that all goes well.
So no listening for me today.

Keep safe Harry - it's going on here in Southern England too. Sounds like the wind machine from Sinfonia Antartica out the back window.

[vandermolen]

Love that recording of the Colour Symphony, and Adam Zero is great, too.

Now playing:

Hermann Koppel: Piano Concerto No. 3

[asin] B082PQMKT3[/asin]

+1 for the Bliss CD. I love both works and that's a great coupling.