What are you listening 2 now?

[kyjo]

Hovhaness refers to :
Gregory the Illuminator (c. 257 – c. 331), the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He was a religious leader who is credited with converting Armenia from paganism to Christianity in 301.
Respighi draws a portrait of San Gregorio Magno:
Pope Gregory I (Latin: Gregorius I; c. 540 – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great. He was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregorian Mission, to convert the then-pagan Anglo-Saxons in England to Christianity. Moreover, the mainstream form of Western plainchant, standardized in the late 9th century,was attributed to Pope Gregory I and so took the name of Gregorian chant. And, as we all know: Respighi was very responsive to Gregorian chant!
(Sources: Wiki).

Thank you for the clarification!

[ritter]

Always nice to have one's good taste recognized by others of good taste 
...

May I join the club?  Not that long ago, I was incensed by David Hurwitz dismissing, with a wave of the hand, Karl Böhm's glorious valedictory recording of the Beethoven Ninth.   

[MusicTurner]

Holmboe? Famous? I wish!

+1

Well, they are the most well-known, due to early LP versions of nos. 7, 8 and 10, the 10th got a Swedish LP release, and the 8th even got one on Turnabout.

The 7th or 8th were often regarded as the best some decades ago; my big, old Larousse classical music encyclopedia (ed. N. Dufourcq, Danish translation 1965 but written by many international experts, in two very large and comprehensive volumes) highlights the 7th especially, as "a masterpiece". It also recommends nos. 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9.

[vandermolen]

Hovhaness' and Respighi's depictions of this St. Gregory fellow certainly couldn't be more different!

Absolutely, although I like them both very much!

[vandermolen]

Hovhaness refers to :
Gregory the Illuminator (c. 257 – c. 331), the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He was a religious leader who is credited with converting Armenia from paganism to Christianity in 301.
Respighi draws a portrait of San Gregorio Magno:
Pope Gregory I (Latin: Gregorius I; c. 540 – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great. He was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregorian Mission, to convert the then-pagan Anglo-Saxons in England to Christianity. Moreover, the mainstream form of Western plainchant, standardized in the late 9th century,was attributed to Pope Gregory I and so took the name of Gregorian chant. And, as we all know: Respighi was very responsive to Gregorian chant!
(Sources: Wiki).

Thanks so much for the clarification from me too. Their musical depictions by Hovhaness and Respighi do make them sound kind of different!

[Crudblud]

Two recordings of Stravinsky's Requiem Canticles, first Knussen, then Gielen.

[vandermolen]

Benjamin Frankel - Curse of the Werewolf

Jeffrey has constantly recommended this work. I'm really pleased he has done so because this is formidable film music! My kind of work: dramatic, fierce, exciting, even thought-provoking. Thanks, Jeffrey.

Woohoo! Delighted to hear this - the 'doomed processional' at the end (and it really is doomed in this case) is quite something. I bought the DVD of the film after hearing it and it's great fun in its Hammer-Horror type way. Oliver Reed's performance is uncharacteristically nuanced. Delighted that you like the score Cesar.

[pjme]

I just started listening to Frankel's Curse of the werewolf on YT.

https://youtu.be/twjcRUA7VGA

Great stuff! Sound/performance seem to be outstanding.

This short fragment (bad sound alas!) from Humphrey Searle's score for "The abominable snowman" may interest you...and needs a first class recording.

https://www.youtube.com/v/SZQr95DLj40
Peter

[ritter]

Two recordings of Stravinsky's Requiem Canticles, first Knussen, then Gielen.

Both top-notch, IMHO. BTW, some friends of mine had a lengthy conversation with Gielen after he had conducted a concert here in Spain  (he was fluent in Spanish, having been raised in Burnos Aires), and when one of them asked the conductor what his favourite requiem was, he answered (after some meditation), "probably Stravinsky's".

[vandermolen]

The Ballad of the Gnomes:

[Crudblud]

Both top-notch, IMHO. BTW, some friends of mine had a lengthy conversation with Gielen after he had conducted a concert here in Spain  (he was fluent in Spanish, having been raised in Burnos Aires), and when one of them asked the conductor what his favourite requiem was, he answered (after some meditation), "probably Stravinsky's".

I agree, although I have a preference for Gielen's recording because I think the playing/singing is just that bit better. Also that's a really cool anecdote, thank you for sharing.

[ritter]

Ernest Bour conducts the SWF Symphony Orchestra in an all-Debussy program (La mer, Khamma and Jeux)

CD 1 of this set:

[Karl Henning]

Ernest Bour conducts the SWF Symphony Orchestra in an all-Debussy program (La mer, Khamma and Jeux)

CD of this set:

Looks nice, Rafael!

TD:
Hindemith
Music for Piano (LH) & orch, Op.29

[ritter]

Looks nice, Rafael!
...

Sounds nice as well! 

Good day, Karl!

[Mirror Image]

First-Listen Mondays -

Vasks
Viola Concerto
Maxim Rysanov, violin & conductor
Sinfonietta Rīga

[JBS]

From the From box
Ben Weber
Fantasia (Variations) for piano Opus 25
Concertino for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and String Quartet Opus 45
Serenade for Strings Opus 46
William Masselos piano
Galimir String Quartet
Julius Baker flute
Harry Shulman oboe
Alexander Williams clarinet



Once again, some works by a composer unknown to me which seem to have never been recorded by anyone else.  Which is outrageous, I think. They are on the borderline of atonal/tonal, and nice to listen to.

[Brian]

What is the background on that picture? A grill pan? A truck bed? 

[vandermolen]

Last listen before bedtime.
Otar Taktakishvili (Georgian 1924-1989)
Symphony No.2

Here's a review:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Mar11/taktakishvili_rdcd00768.htm

[TheGSMoeller]

One of my favorite recordings of the 7th. Harnoncourt's shaping of the finale is perfection to my ears.

[Symphonic Addict]

Woohoo! Delighted to hear this - the 'doomed processional' at the end (and it really is doomed in this case) is quite something. I bought the DVD of the film after hearing it and it's great fun in its Hammer-Horror type way. Oliver Reed's performance is uncharacteristically nuanced. Delighted that you like the score Cesar.

Indeed, Jeffrey. I enjoyed it very much, especially the doomed-processional ending.

BTW, I like your new look. Nice new avatar!