What are you listening 2 now?

[ritter]

First listen to this new arrival:

 
I already know Milhaud's delightful La cheminée du roi René from another recording, but the other works (IIRC) will be new to me.

[vandermolen]

Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony (1936 version)
LPO, Handley
I prefer this recording to Handley's later Liverpool version and was glad when these earlier recordings were finally issued on CD:

[Biffo]

Haydn: Symphony No 82 in C major L'Ours - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan - a pleasant surprise, not as heavy as I expected it to be. I have saved the set on Spotify for further listening.

[Traverso]

Bach

"Hohe Messe"  BWV232

[vers la flamme]

Scheidt is a good name to explore. There's a lot of it, high quality.

Just speaking personally, the thing which years and years ago tickled my ears so much that I decided to invest time exploring early baroque keyboard music was Delphin Strungk's toccata. This

https://www.youtube.com/v/aeXp_frkOnU

As far as the Eugene Oregon organ goes, I think Julia Brown manages it. Why don't you write to her and ask if there are any recordings which capture it specially well? She'll  be pleased to get an enquiry like that, I'm sure. She studied with Rübsam, so I think you may enjoy Rübsam's Naxos organ recordings e.g. The Leipzig Chorales (that's a hint.)

Not a bad idea! I'll have to see if I can find her contact info.

I've never heard of Delphin Strungk, but I'll have to check this out. I have heard of Scheidt, but I've heard very little. I'll look into it.

Anyway I've been meaning to check out Rübsam's Bach on the organ, so I'll look into the disc you mentioned. Thanks.

[Que]

Yes it's very good for that. (I'm not sure I rate that Josquin CD This is what I said last year about the CD, which is exactly what I felt just now when I started to play it

Agreed with your assessment of the recording.
I'm also not sure if the voice + accompaniment treatment works for Josquin.
Although I enjoyed listening to it, it's not a keeper.

[Traverso]

Biber-Muffat-Rosenmüller-Scheidt &Schmelzer

CD 16

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Mercadante: Theme and Variations for flute and orchestra
Verdi: Canto di Virginia with variations for oboe and orchestra
Rossini: Introduction, Theme and Variations for clarinet and orchestra
Reicha: Theme and Variations for bassoon and orchestra




I created a program with concertante works for different wind instruments in form of variations, and it was a great idea I must say. To discover works like the Rossini and Mercadante gave me quite pleasant listens, above all the Rossini, what a piece!

What a clever idea!   Do you play a wind instrument yourself?  Or just interested in exploring them further? 

PD

[Todd]

Disc four equivalent.

[Brian]

Last week I listened to a big ol' pile of music from my collection which hadn't gotten played in a long time. Specifically, I listened to everything from the letter T-Z. This week, the whole week is devoted to the letter S.

Still going in reverse alphabetical, here's the week's playlist!

Stravinsky: Two piano music including Rite (Andsnes, Hamelin, Hyperion)
Stravinsky: Firebird, Jeu de cartes, Apollon musagete (Chailly, Decca)
R. Strauss: the Blomstedt disc of waltzes and Burleske, the Dohnanyi/Vienna/Decca disc with Tod und V and Metamorphosen, the Honeck/Pittsburgh opera suites
Smetana: Piano recital (Ohlsson, Hyperion)
Smetana: String quartets and piano trio (Prazak!)
Smetana: Ma vlast (Kubelik in Prague 1990)
Silvestrov: Two discs on ECM, piano music with Lubimov and chamber music
Sibelius: Violin Concerto (Haendel/Berglund on UNESCO)
Sibelius piano recitals by Janne Mertanen, Leif Ove Andsnes, Folke Grasbeck
Shostakovich and Kabalevsky: Cello Sonatas (Isserlis/Mustonen, Hyperion)
Shostakovich 10 (Mravinsky live)
Scriabin: recital by Alexander Melnikov
Schumann: String Quartets 1-3 and piano quintet (Leipzig, Zacharias, MDG)
Schumann and Schubert recital by Vera Gornostaeva
Schumann: Davidsbundlertanze and Kreisleriana (Eugen Indjic)
Schumann: Quartet 1 and piano quintet (Prazak and Koroliov)
Schubert: Winterreise (Trekel/Eisenlohr, Naxos)
Schubert: Quintet D956 (Emerson with Rosty)
Schubert: Octet (Consortium Classicum, MDG)
Schubert: Arias and overtures (Daniel Behle and HIP orchestra on DHM)
Schubert: Unfinished and Great (Mackerras in Scotland on Telarc)
Scarlatti "recreated" (transcriptions and piano arrangements, recital by Sandro Russo
Scarlatti on guitar (Marchionda on MDG)
Scarlatti piano recital with Sudbin (I)
Saint-Saens: Piano etudes (Piers Lane, Hyperion)
Saint-Saens: Woodwind sonatas (Canadian artists on Naxos)

[ritter]

First listen to Florent Schmitt's mélodies:


The opening Chansons à quatre voix, op. 39 are a sort of Gallic Liebesliederwalzer, and the title of each song ("Vehement", "Nostalgic", etc.) reflects its mood (although I cannot figure out what is particularly boreal in Boréale. In any case, they're quite pleasant. Let's see what the rest of the CD has in store, but this is quite promising, and the performances are beyond reproach.

[kyjo]

Ireland: Piano Concerto
Walton: Viola Concerto



The Ireland is a very nice piece, but I thought the slow movement was uninspired. There are some quite subtle and beguiling impressionist traces here.

I regard Walton's Viola Concerto as a fine work. However, this work lacks warmth, a soul. It's rather cold in expressiveness.

The Ireland PC is an enjoyable enough work, though I feel it's "missing" something - can't quite put my finger on what. I prefer his darkly atmospheric Legend for piano and orchestra.

I'm rather surprised to hear your verdict of the Walton Viola Concerto! I've always found it an engaging work filled with lyrical warmth. Maybe that performance you listened to isn't very good?

[not edward]

Denisov's Requiem. I find some of his later music a bit same-y (particularly with the overuse of his motto theme) but it hits all the right spots for me. Some wonderful use of orchestral colour (pitched percussion, oboe and electric bass being particularly important), and a fascinating contrast with Schnittke in the way that they use polystylism to completely different ends.

[asin]B00002545K[/asin]

[vandermolen]

The Ireland PC is an enjoyable enough work, though I feel it's "missing" something - can't quite put my finger on what. I prefer his darkly atmospheric Legend for piano and orchestra.

I'm rather surprised to hear your verdict of the Walton Viola Concerto! I've always found it an engaging work filled with lyrical warmth. Maybe that performance you listened to isn't very good?

I agree with you Kyle and now much prefer the 'Legend' to the Piano Concerto, which I've become rather over-familiar with.

[André]

40 years hence the novelty effect has lost a bit of its edge, but I still find this a quite formidable performance. The cataclysmic timpani in the adagio retain their power to jolt the listener. That being said, I seem to remember HvK's previous version (1966) as even more powerful. I used to have it on LP decades ago.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Listening for me today included watching too.  Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes on Kultur DVD (1981, ROH, Vickers, Harper).  Further comments in the opera section.

Short summery for here:  loved it! 

PD

[Traverso]

Schönberg-Berg-Strauss

CD60

Dohnányi

[André]

Disc 7. This set offers performances of works of all genres, lifted from various sources, each disc having its own program.

This one brings together the powerful and moving Epithalame for organ (Bernard Foccroulle), 3 trombones and strings, Chanson de mai for tenor and piano, Chant lyrique for chorus and orchestra and the large-scale cantata Andromède for soloists, chorus and orchestra. The latter is quite impressive despite its conventional origin (it was Lekeu's entry for the Prix de Rome - he won second prize). It is more concise and dramatic than Gouvy's efforts in the genre (beautifully crafted but admittedly old-fashioned).

All the performances are top notch, from tenor Guy de Mey to baritone Philippe Huttenlocher, as well as the excellent Choeur symphonique de Namur. No texts alas, although I have them for Andromède from the Ricercar disc it was culled from. I wish I also had them for Chant lyrique. High-lying soprano lines make them all but undecipherable in places.

[Karl Henning]

Chas Rosen playing Boulez.

[Irons]

I have a Klemperer live recording of this work from Köln, which I haven't listened to so far.

Hopefully you get to listen. Not aware of any other Hindemith recordings by Klemperer.