What are you listening 2 now?

[bhodges]

Looks like a nice recital, Bruce! 

I first heard Bejun Mehta in Written on Skin, the unnerving opera by George Benjamin. This is apparently the first live recital he has done in a year (like many musicians), and I'm happy to report that he sounds excellent. He must have been practicing a lot during quarantine. 

--Bruce

[Mirror Image]

Double dip of Bartók Dance Suite, Sz 77 from these recordings:

[André]

Is that the recording André where Svetlanov transposes the end of the first movement on to the end of the finale? If so, I know that it's sacriligious but I think that it works very well! 

No, it's the regular quiet ending. Svetlanov also used a big bang final chord on Dvorak's New World symphony. It's a live performance, so maybe he tampered with scores in concert and not on disc.

[aligreto]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 [Morris]





Power, drama and tension abound.
I like Morris' Beethoven.

[SonicMan46]

Double dip of Bartók Dance Suite, Sz 77 from these recordings:

 

Hey John - I've had that Kocsis box for 14 years or so but have listen to it only a few times, likely because I don't enjoy all of the works (and probably has been a dozen years since my last spin) - need to play again and jot down what I do enjoy and possibly rip my favorites - sad that Zoltan died at the age of 64 years (1952-2016) - Guardian Obit for those interested.  Dave

[Mirror Image]

Hey John - I've had that Kocsis box for 14 years or so but have listen to it only a few times, likely because I don't enjoy all of the works (and probably has been a dozen years since my last spin) - need to play again and jot down what I do enjoy and possibly rip my favorites - sad that Zoltan died at the age of 64 years (1952-2016) - Guardian Obit for those interested.  Dave

Actually Dave, I just used that set as an image to post here because it was more convenient, but I actually own that set within this Complete set:



Kocsis was a hugely talented musician and spectacular pianist. I hold his Debussy and Bartók in high esteem.

[Karl Henning]

Again, ostensibly because this still makes only three times I've listened to the wonderful Harris, but also because, with all the discussion in the Dvořák thread, I knew that the e minor symphony would be perfect morning music.

Dvořák
Symphony № 9 in e minor, « From the New World »
Harris
Symphony № 3 (in one movement)
NY Phil
Lenny

[Karl Henning]

Bernstein
Symphony № 1 « Jeremiah »
Jennie Tourel, mezzo
NY Phil
The composer conducting

[Mirror Image]

NP: Berg Three Fragments from "Wozzeck" (Fleming/Levine)

[Irons]

Moeran rated that work very highly and I agree.

One of, if not the best of his chamber works, Jeffrey. The Watkins brothers CD was delivered this morning. Choosing between the spine-tingling authenticity of Peers Coetmore and the undoubted greater musicality of Paul Watkins is easy - get both!

[vandermolen]

NP: Ben-Haim Evocations, Op. 32 (Zorman/Bach)



Ben-Haim is one of those composers who Jeffrey (Vandermolen) turned me onto or, at least, encouraged me to check out and I'm glad I did as his music is excellent. As a result, I ended up buying A LOT of recordings of his music. This particular BIS recording is one of my favorites.

Mine too John - delighted that you like it. I caught the end of 'Evocations' on the car radio one day and immediately knew that it was one for me 

[vandermolen]

Bernstein
Symphony № 1 « Jeremiah »
Jennie Tourel, mezzo
NY Phil
The composer conducting

Pounds the table! That's the best version IMO.
I was just reading about Jennie Tourel (with whom I share a birthday). She fled from Paris just before the Nazis invaded and arrived at New Your via Lisbon (sounds like something out of the film 'Casablanca'). Leonard Bernstein read the eulogy at her funeral, saying 'When Jennie sang God spoke'.

[vandermolen]

One of, if not the best of his chamber works, Jeffrey. The Watkins brothers CD was delivered this morning. Choosing between the spine-tingling authenticity of Peers Coetmore and the undoubted greater musicality of Paul Watkins is easy - get both!

Definitely Lol! 

[Karl Henning]

Pounds the table! That's the best version IMO.

Cheers, Jeffrey ... and now, of course:

Bernstein
Symphony № 2 « The Age of Anxiety »
Philippe Entremont, pf
NY Phil
The composer conducting

The Age of Anxiety is my favorite of Lenny's symphonies, but Jeremiah comes a close second

[Irons]

Definitely Lol! 

The other two works not bad either, Jeffrey. I feel volumes 1&2 coming on!

[Mirror Image]

Mine too John - delighted that you like it. I caught the end of 'Evocations' on the car radio one day and immediately knew that it was one for me 

Yes, indeed. There's something magical about so many of these 20th Century Jewish composers, although as we know, Ben-Haim was a German who turned to Judaism.

[Mirror Image]

Following Karl:

NP: Bernstein Symphony No. 1, "Jeremiah" (Tourel/Bernstein)

From this marvelous set:

[Mirror Image]

NP: Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130 (Takács Quartet)

[Brahmsian]

NP: Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130 (Takács Quartet)

A superb set, especially for the late quartets IMHO.

[André]

The Art of Svetlanov box on Scribendum contains 2 versions of this symphony. The first is a 1967 studio recording, this one is a live one from 1978. Curiously, both orchestra and recorded sound are superior in the earlier release. That is actually one of the most searing performances of any Shostakovich symphony I've heard - breathtaking in its intensity. The 1978 version is quite fine, but not a match for 1967.

Throughout the box the recorded sound (Melodiya releases from 1966 to mid-1980s) is uneven. Some old ones are superb, some more recent ones blowsy and blasty, and vice-versa. The common denominator is the formidable intensity and honesty of the playing and conducting. There are very few uninteresting performances (Beethoven 5, Saint-Saens 3, Elgar 2), some flawed but involving ones (Respighi, Tchaikovsky 5, Brahms 1), some unexpectedly excellent (Beethoven 3, Tchaikovsky 1-2, Bruckner 8, Stravinsky, Franck, Khrennikov), some really terrific (the 1967 Leningrad, Tchaikovsky 3). A mixed bag then, but even the flawed performances are interesting.