What are you listening 2 now?

[SimonNZ]

[vers la flamme]

Leoš Janáček: String Quartet No.2, "Intimate Letters". Stamitz Quartet. OK, I think I am beginning to understand the appeal to Janáček's music. This is actually an awesome quartet. Shimmering, radiant music. It strikes me more as music of images and colors more so than the literary associations invoked by the epistolary title. But this is one to explore. I confess that Janáček's music never made much sense to me until this point. I had pegged him as one of those great composers who is mostly known for his opera, which means it will be some time before I ever get into his music because I generally can't stand opera. But as it turns out, some of this instrumental music is well worth exploring too. I'll try the Sinfonietta again soon too. I've heard it half a dozen times and somehow always found myself bored with it.

[Carlo Gesualdo]

what I,m listening well 2 album  set of Franco-Flemish composers by all mighty Edigius quawrtet, we got on this lot lupus Hellinck, Pierre de Manchicourt, Semirsy ect.

Solid delivery or performance by the ensemble, devoted to the flemish masters works, than after this I,m listening to composers of Wallonia, hello Belgium, Dutch & French speaker, edigius qwartet and De Orto a Josquin  et Jessy Rodin Curt Circle ensemble. Are both smart very sharp polyphony here, I had some of there works in the past, they never deceive.

So Franc-Flemish and Northern France for tonight, greeting folks!

[vers la flamme]

Leoš Janáček: Sinfonietta. Michael Tilson Thomas, London Symphony Orchestra. So I'm enjoying this a little more than I normally do, especially the expansive second movement. But outside of that, I've gotta admit it's not doing much for me. I'm not much of a concert-band kinda guy. I find the brass kind of grating, I suspect this might not be a good recording. I might check out the Kubelik on DG. Until then I may need to stick to the two string quartets, plus I just ordered a disc of his piano music, so I will check that out when it arrives.

[Carlo Gesualdo]

Listening over and over, Gombert 1 missa Pulchra es, the sound & the fury paradise regain edition.

Wow, this is the stuff you don't hear often, perfect rendition of polyphony, by prestigius ensemble on ORF recordings, I guess , will listen to the Gombert 2 same label Missa  sur tout les regrets, II have the third Gombert of Motets in cd media rip it in my library.


p.s Super Flumina Babylonis

Awesome albums, needful things. 

[vers la flamme]

Einojuhani Rautavaara: Piano Concerto No.1, op.45. Laura Mikkola, Hannu Lintu, Royal Scottish National Orchestra. I have been listening to this a lot lately. I have been listening to a ton of piano concertos in general, and this one really stands out. It sounds like nothing else. A dark, Nordic, impressionistic masterpiece, and an insanely virtuosic showpiece for the soloist. Would recommend to any fan of 20th century piano concertos, or anyone interested in the music of Rautavaara, which I am only slowly discovering.



Einojuhani Rautavaara: Icons for piano, op.6. Laura Mikkola. Little bit more Rautavaara for the night. An interesting, Debussyan work. Mikkola is a killer pianist, I would like to hear more of her work.

[Karl Henning]

Anne-Sophie Mutter lets her hair down in a programme of violin pops. The playing on this disc is simply staggering.

André Rieu, eat your heart out! 

[Karl Henning]

A marvellous recording Karl. I was lucky to attend the first performance of the 1913 version probably since the 1920s when Hickox was given permission by VW's widow Ursula for a one off performance and recording. However the 1920 version has been recorded three times I think. I'll be interested to hear what you think of it. Nice to couple it with the Butterworth work as the symphony is in his memory and he encouraged VW to write it.

I am as yet an insufficiently subtle listener for this recording, Jeffrey, in that I should need to peruse a score, to learn how this version differs from the work as I knew it. That said, though, I enjoy this performance entirely, and certainly suffer no feeling that it need be in any way abbreviated. At some point, I will make a proper study of the piece!

[T. D.]

Unearthing more Feldman CDs I haven't listened to in ages.

[Karl Henning]

Vaughn Williams symphonies 3 & 4, Haitink   First trip through this box, these are beautifully recorded...

That was the first Haitink/RVW I heard, and I was hooked.

[Karl Henning]

Morton Feldman: Why Patterns? for piano, glockenspiel & flute. California EAR Unit. I do not understand how Feldman's music has a way of stretching my attention span far beyond its usual reach, but I will take it. This is a phenomenal CD. I would recommend it to anyone curious about this composer's music.

Yes!

[Karl Henning]

RVW
Sinfonia antartica
LSO
Thomson


Love this!

[SimonNZ]

[Symphonic Addict]

König Lear - Tone poem

Stormy and brilliantly written music, it does capture the essence of the tragedy. Great stuff.




Drapa, for large orchestra

I know several works of this composer, but this had escaped to me. Sounds magnificent, grand, celebratory. I'm really amazed by both the sound engineering and the vivacity of this rendition. Top-notch.

[JBS]

Finishing this set tonight with the last two CDs, Fiori Musicali, supplemented by three Magnificat settings that  are actually part of  the Second Book of Toccatas (put here apparently for reasons of space/CD length)

[asin]B07RPX4S1S[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

Leoš Janáček: Sinfonietta. Michael Tilson Thomas, London Symphony Orchestra. So I'm enjoying this a little more than I normally do, especially the expansive second movement. But outside of that, I've gotta admit it's not doing much for me. I'm not much of a concert-band kinda guy. I find the brass kind of grating, I suspect this might not be a good recording. I might check out the Kubelik on DG. Until then I may need to stick to the two string quartets, plus I just ordered a disc of his piano music, so I will check that out when it arrives.

That's a great recording, vers la flamme. Janáček wrote some incredible pieces of music, but, strangely enough, I'm not too fond of his operas. I prefer his chamber and piano music, but also love the Sinfonietta, Glagolitic Mass, Otče náš, and Taras Bulba.

[Mirror Image]

Leoš Janáček: String Quartet No.2, "Intimate Letters". Stamitz Quartet. OK, I think I am beginning to understand the appeal to Janáček's music. This is actually an awesome quartet. Shimmering, radiant music. It strikes me more as music of images and colors more so than the literary associations invoked by the epistolary title. But this is one to explore. I confess that Janáček's music never made much sense to me until this point. I had pegged him as one of those great composers who is mostly known for his opera, which means it will be some time before I ever get into his music because I generally can't stand opera. But as it turns out, some of this instrumental music is well worth exploring too. I'll try the Sinfonietta again soon too. I've heard it half a dozen times and somehow always found myself bored with it.

Yes, the Janáček SQs are amazing works. I particularly like the recording with the Panocha Quartet on Supraphon.

[Mirror Image]

Bartók
Bluebeard's Castle
Jessye Norman (soprano), László Polgár (bass)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Pierre Boulez

[Mirror Image]

One more work and then off to bed:

Malipiero
String Quartet No. 3 'Cantari alla madrigalesca'
Quartetto d'Archi di Venezia

[vandermolen]

I am as yet an insufficiently subtle listener for this recording, Jeffrey, in that I should need to peruse a score, to learn how this version differs from the work as I knew it. That said, though, I enjoy this performance entirely, and certainly suffer no feeling that it need be in any way abbreviated. At some point, I will make a proper study of the piece!

Hi Karl,
The first movement never changed in any version. The most significant change is just before the Epilogue of the last movement. In 1936 VW cut out about two minutes of IMO intensely moving and poetic music, which I think was a great shame. After all it survived all his previous cuts to the symphony. Whatever the symphony gained in tightened structure it lost in poetry. He was rather in thrall to Sibelius at the time and this, I suspect, influenced him. Bax was disappointed by the cut of a rather discordant section in an earlier movement and Bernard Herrmann also remonstrated the composer not to cut that section of the last movement.

TD
Last night listened to this CD right through with much pleasure: