What are you listening 2 now?

[Traverso]

...but not another recording (the 200th?) of PCs 1 and/or 2, please...

Good to see you in such good humor, she seems to be in awe of Uncle Ludwig and does not dare to play some pieces.

[Biffo]

A short Straussian interlude chez ritter, with the a capella choral piece An den Baum Daphne.



This is a curious piece. Joseph Gregor, the much-maligned librettist of Strauss's opera Daphne (whom I must admit I find perfectly serviceable) envisaged to close that one-acter with a choral comment on the lead's transformation into a laurel tree, but the composer wisely opted for an orchestral piece (with vocalises by the soprano) instead—and giving us, as a result, one of those beautiful scenes for soprano and orchestra in which he excelled. Several years later, he decided to set Gregor's text for unaccompanied chorus, as a sort of epilogue to the opera, and using some of the musical themes of the original work. The result is attractive, and listening to the familiar tunes in a completely different sound world is quite interesting, but (lasting 15 minutes) it outstay its welcome a bit.

EDIT:

Well, the Straussian diversion won't be that short. I followed An den Baum Daphne with the closing scene of the opera, in the classic 1964 live recording from Vienna recording with Hilde Güden under the work's dedicatee Karl Böhm. Daphne is a favourite of mine, and this recording has been on my shelves—in one or another incarnation—for almost 40 years now.



And now, the Strauss soprano-fest continues with this beautiful recital disc:

[asin]B0084MD3NW[/asin]
Anne Schwanewilms is IMHO a straussian soprano of the highest rank, with a fragile but well projected, nuanced  and expressive voice. The whole program here showcases her abilities.

I had the chance to see Schwanewilms live in the Four Last Songs; she regrettably announced that she was indisposed, and after September I noticed conductor David Afkham indicate "four" with his fingers to the orchestra, which meant that Beim Schlafengehen was skipped and we only had "Three Last Songs"  . Still, what we got was very good (followed by an excellent rendition of Bruckner's Seventh).

I have a Chandos disc of Strauss choral works (Danish National Radio Choir) and it has almost the same programme as the one above. I bought it because I was intrigued by the Deutsche Motette - supposedly the most challenging choral work ever written. I found all the items outstayed their welcome, especially Die Gottin im Putzzimmer - cloying in the extreme.

[vandermolen]

VW: Concerto for Bass Tuba and Orchestra (Previn/Fletcher), from the boxed set above.

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Very nice John (as you would say )

Now playing: Vaughan Williams: Three Portraits from 'The England of Elizabeth'. I've always had a soft spot for this atmospheric and poetic work:

In the Previn boxed set it's coupled with Symphony No.5 and the Tuba Concerto, making a great programme.

Vaughan Williams' Tuba Concerto is surprisingly well-done. I would've loved to hear a trumpet concerto from Vaughan Williams or how about a concerto for brass band and orchestra? Now that would've been something. The British do the brass instrument family proud.

P.S. Previn's 5th is my favorite performance of this symphony, which happens to be my favorite symphony from RVW. Even after all of these years.

[Biffo]

Vaughan Williams' Tuba Concerto is surprisingly well-done. I would've loved to hear a trumpet concerto from Vaughan Williams or how about a concerto for brass band and orchestra? Now that would've been something. The British do the brass instrument family proud.

P.S. Previn's 5th is my favorite performance of this symphony, which happens to be my favorite symphony from RVW. Even after all of these years.

RVW wrote a number of works for brass band - see the appropriate section here -

https://rvwsociety.com/list-of-works/

Several have been orchestrated but there doesn't seem to be anything for brass band and orchestra

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RVW wrote a number of works for brass band - see the appropriate section here -

https://rvwsociety.com/list-of-works/

Several have been orchestrated but there doesn't seem to be anything for brass band and orchestra

Yeah, I want to hear the brass band and orchestra work. That's what I want to hear.

[Mirror Image]

Now playing: the 3rd

[kyjo]

Pierne: Cydalise et le chèvre-pied

[asin] B002EYBOCI[/asin]
This is the full ballet.  Very fine performance and recording.

Was just listening to this the other day - a delightful work (I know Christo is also a fan ). It takes a little while to get going perhaps, but there is much characterful and inspiriting music, especially in Act II. I especially loved the ingenious inclusion of a harpsichord at one point! One can hear the occasional influence of Daphnis (which been written a few years before) in some of the atmospheric sections with wordless chorus.

[kyjo]

Well, this arrived super-quick from Germany this morning, faster than most stuff I order from the UK.
This is powerful stuff, dark, craggy, tonal. Here are some extracts from the notes to set the tone:
'My depair for the future is infinite' (Eklund) as the note writer puts it 'This view is mirrored in his music,. Unsurprisingly perhaps, we are told that 'Ekland was one of the few that the great Swedish composer Allan Pettersson accepted to meet now and then. They have in common the deep feelings of despair'. 'The music is very serious and gnarly [I like that expression - must start using it myself as an alternative to 'craggy'  ], with many eruptive episodes...' That was a description of Symphony 3 'Sinfonia rustica' (1967-8). Both that and Symphony 5 'Quadri' have a similar level of dissonance and the music is often loud and turbulent. However, my attention was held throughout and I detected a strong feeling of nature. Composers that came to mind were Blomdahl and Kokkonen. The opening of the 11th Symphony 'Piccola' (1994-5) which is actually the longest of the three reminded me a bit of Bartok or Lutoslawski - it is in memory of Eklund's teacher Lars-Erik Larsson. Good to see Gunnar de Frumerie mentioned in the notes. This is all sombre and serious stuff but, as I said, my attention was held and I shall be returning to this CD. I hope that they record some more Ekland. I especially liked Symphony No.6, despite the atrocious recording, on You Tube and am sorry that it was not included here:

Added later. I enjoyed all these works on first hearing but probably the No.11 tribute to Lars-Erik Larsson is my favourite. I found the last movement rather moving.

Thanks for the report, Jeffrey! Sounds most intriguing.

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Thanks for the report, Jeffrey! Sounds most intriguing.

+1

[kyjo]

Now playing - Gabriel Rodo, Symphony No.2:

Oooooh! What do you think?

[kyjo]

Pounds the table! A fantastic recording.

[kyjo]

Henri Tomasi - Symphonie du Tiers monde

Stupendous!

Very cool, Cesar. I've been meaning to investigate more of Tomasi's music as I enjoy his concerti for horn and trumpet very much.

[kyjo]

I actually listened to these symphonies back to back the other night:

[asin]B005Z4D2EW[/asin]

[asin]B000027E48[/asin]

Both surprisingly compelling for such long early works.  Even after being primed by Brian's massive opus, the Bloch work is really loud.

I much prefer the Bloch! That said, I haven't heard the Brabbins recording of the Gothic.

[ritter]

Revisiting Henri Dutilleux's music, via this recent purchase:

[asin]B014E89QBW[/asin]
CD 1 (Symphony No. 1 conducted by Paavo Järvi, and Symphony No. 2, "Le double" under Charles Munch).

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The Tale of Tsar Saltan Suite

[SonicMan46]

Weiss, Silvius (1687-1750) - London Manuscript w/ Michel Cardin - 12 CD box - the 'complete' liner notes (53 pages) are too large to attach but are located HERE, for those interested.  Dave

 

[vandermolen]

In the event of a hypothetical fire the one recording I would grab first.

Good to know Lol. It is indeed fabulous in all respects.

Oooooh! What do you think?

Enjoyable but nothing special,

Now playing: Mossolov SQ No.1 - an extraordinary work:

[Symphonic Addict]

Irving Fine - Symphony

Seriously speaking, this is a very engaging, succinct, somewhat dramatic, impressive and fine symphony (pun intended). It was written by using serialist techniques according to what I read about it. I would rank it among the best American symphonies.

Moreover, this orchestra play incredibly wonderful.

[Symphonic Addict]

Two highly attractive works, maybe I prefer the String Quartet No. 1 by a small margin, but both pieces don't disappoint at all. I know John bought this disc recently, so he will surely enjoy it as well.