What are you listening 2 now?

[Mirror Image]

I do like that one. Crazy and weird but sufficiently short to cope with. 

Yeah, it's a pretty cool work. Nørgård is a composer I need to spend more time with. I like how he isn't a slave to a particular compositional style. He's almost like a punk classical composer and I mean this in terms of how rebellious he is.

[Symphonic Addict]

Arnold's Clarinet Concerto No. 2 and Stravinsky's Concerto for two pianos

Two fantastic works. I think it's my first listen to the Stravinsky. Quite interesting it is.

[Mirror Image]

Bax is a composer largely unknown to me except for his string quartets, should I spend more time on his symphonies? ( or other suggestions ? )



I purchased yesterday a CD box ( 30 £ ) and I have to pay 10 for import charges,that's what I call progress.

You didn't ask me, but, yes, Bax's symphonies are most definitely worth getting to know. If I were you, I would try and track down the Thomson set of symphonies on Chandos. It's much better than Handley's, IMHO.

[Mirror Image]

Sibelius' 5th from this set:

[Madiel]

Yeah, it's a pretty cool work. Nørgård is a composer I need to spend more time with. I like how he isn't a slave to a particular compositional style. He's almost like a punk classical composer and I mean this in terms of how rebellious he is.

I'm still doing my chronology thing with him... the 1980s is tough sometimes...

I actually really like his percussion works (of which there are quite a few).

[not edward]

Nørgård
Symphony No. 4
Oslo PO
Storgårds

Nice disc. I really like Storgards' reading of the 5th, which I've always felt was by far the most difficult of all of the symphonies. Now it's one of my favourite works by this composer.

[Mirror Image]

I'm still doing my chronology thing with him... the 1980s is tough sometimes...

I actually really like his percussion works (of which there are quite a few).

Nice disc. I really like Storgards' reading of the 5th, which I've always felt was by far the most difficult of all of the symphonies. Now it's one of my favourite works by this composer.

Very nice, gents. I still have much exploring to do with this composer.

[André]

M first version ever, back on LP days. All these years (and dozens of other interpretations) later, it still stands tall as a superb performance. Barbirolli's Mahler 9 is deeply-felt, lyrical, consolatory. No earth-shaking, heaven-moving, carpet-chewing statement. The conductor simply lets the singing line (inherited from Bruckner's 9th symphony's  gesangperioden ?) lead the musical argument.

[André]

2 discs, 150 minutes of Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night's Dream), acted/spoken in German, with occasional musical bits. Sounds like time you'll never gain back? Well, I for one thoroughly enjoyed it - past the first 15 minutes of intense doubts  . The rythm of the play soon establishes itself, the familiar story is very well acted (even if the words are mostly unintelligible, I never lost the plot's thread) and there is plenty of musical interest, some of it pure delight. Excellent production values. For those unfamiliar with MND, a good synopsis will come in handy. An unexpected pleasure.

[Todd]

Another spin.  The superb Decaux and Faure anchor the disc.  Kudritskaya even manages to make sound Satie sound modestly better than mediocre.  Sweet.

[Madiel]

Nice disc. I really like Storgards' reading of the 5th, which I've always felt was by far the most difficult of all of the symphonies. Now it's one of my favourite works by this composer.

I know some people prefer the earlier Chandos recordings, but I'm very much fond of the Da Capo series. For me it was the 4th where I did a direct comparison and felt that Storgards was preferable.

[Mirror Image]

NP: Nørgård's 1st SQ

[Symphonic Addict]

One of those Naxos discs that often goes unnoticed to most of people. A real shame.

[JBS]

The final CD of this set.


I'm fairly certain that except for Orchestral Set #1 and Unanswered Question, I've never heard any of the works on this CD.
Its original incarnation btw was this

[Mirror Image]

NP: Holmboe's 3rd symphony (subtitled 'Sinfonia Rustica')

[Madiel]

Nørgård, Light of a Night (Paul meets Bird).

Notable because it turns out to be based on Paul McCartney's song 'Blackbird'.

[Symphonic Addict]

The Symphony No. 2 is an interesting orchestral exercise. It has some gestures that reminded me of Janacek, mostly in the 4th movement. Her Symphony No. 1 made a stronger impression on me when I listened to it, though.

Simply Largo is rather Mahlerian. Very sorrowful and poignant.

[Mirror Image]

The 2nd -

[Mirror Image]

NP:

[Madiel]

Brahms, 4 Quartets op.92