What are you listening 2 now?

[vandermolen]

Probably first listens to the Glazunov works, not totally certain.



Inspired partly by Harry's purchase of the Järvi box on Chandos, but I decided to make a playlist of streaming albums that I would have personally wished to see in the box, to make it a better deal for me to buy 

I like the 'Middle Ages' music and Glazunov's music generally.

[Mirror Image]

John, happy to see you diving into your Raekallio set! 

Yeah, Ray. This is so good I must say. This is so much better than the cold detachment of Frederic Chiu's survey of Prokofiev on Harmonia Mundi. Raekallio is more in-tune with the composer's mood swings and the fidelity of the recording is also miles better than the hardness that Harmonia Mundi got for Chiu.

[aukhawk]

Does anyone have any ideas about the form of these bird pieces, especially the long ones seem really elusive because of the episodic structure?  Something to read on this would be good. I was listening to La Rousserolle Efarvatte this morning - not Loriod but Peter Serkin.

"The Reed Warbler, the half-hour work at the centre of the original Catalogue and therefore the magical seventh piece (of thirteen) is an excellent example of how the world of nature has determined the structure of the work.  It covers a period of 27 hours - from midnight until 3 a.m. on tbe second day - in the most lively environment with the utmost possible number of species, namely a wet landscape with little ponds, marshes, reedbeds, water meadows and bushes.  The composer can create tone paintings of a nocturnal mood, of sunrise and sunset; his personal habit of relating tones and combinations of tones with colours leads him to produce sounds of the greatest refinement."

(What a load of tosh!)  From the booklet to the Dominique recording on BIS, downloadble (as many other Oiseaux booklets) from eClassical:
PDF linky

[Harry]

Probably first listens to the Glazunov works, not totally certain.



Inspired partly by Harry's purchase of the Järvi box on Chandos, but I decided to make a playlist of streaming albums that I would have personally wished to see in the box, to make it a better deal for me to buy 

I have heard that they are planning a second box, same amount of CD'S, part two.

[Mirror Image]

All of this talk of Messiaen's Cataloque d'oiseaux, I should give this work another go. I own several recordings of it due to having several Messiaen box sets, but it seems the Muraro is the safest bet. Of all of Messiaen's piano works, I have to say that Visions de l'Amen is still my favorite.

[Brahmsian]

Yeah, Ray. This is so good I must say. This is so much better than the cold detachment of Frederic Chiu's survey of Prokofiev on Harmonia Mundi. Raekallio is more in-tune with the composer's mood swings and the fidelity of the recording is also miles better than the hardness that Harmonia Mundi got for Chiu.

Have you listened to the War Sonatas yet?  They are dynamite!

[Mirror Image]

Have you listened to the War Sonatas yet?  They are dynamite!

I've heard all of the sonatas several times, but not from Raekallio. I also own Ovchinnikov on EMI (Warner) which is outstanding and the set I cut my teeth on.

[Harry]

Music from eighteenth century Prague.

Frantisek Jiranek & Antonio Vivaldi.
Concertos.

Oboenkonzerte B-Dur JK 17 & F-Dur KK 15; Fagottkonzert G-Dur JK 20; Flötenkonzert D-Dur JK 11; Tripelkonzert A-Dur für Flöte, Violine, Viola d'amore, Streicher, Bc JK 22
Vivaldi: Violinkonzert RV Anh. 8.

Collegium Marianum.

I am very impressed with the music by Jiranek, very. Italian influences all around. Good music and expertly played it must be said! The recording quality is also of the highest order. This whole series have been complete success. I am really happy with it. The booklet carries some interesting facts and figures about this elusive composer, worthwhile reading material.


The Czech Vivaldi

The Prague composer Frantisek Jiránek visited Venice as a young musician and most likely also received lessons from Antonio Vivaldi. His music, especially his sparkling, high quality concerts, have only recently been rediscovered. With wonderful verve, first-class musicians such as Xenia Löffler and Sergio Azzolini share their joy of discovery with us here.

[Brahmsian]

I've heard all of the sonatas several times, but not from Raekallio. I also own Ovchinnikov on EMI (Warner) which is outstanding and the set I cut my teeth on.

Oh yes, that is what I meant (Raekallio).  I knew you were familiar with the sonatas themselves.

[Mirror Image]

Oh yes, that is what I meant (Raekallio).  I knew you were familiar with the sonatas themselves.

Ah, not yet, but in due course.

Thread duty -

Milhaud
Petites Symphonies Nos. 1-6
Orchestre de Radio Luxembourg
Milhaud

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Mahler
Symphony No. 9
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Klemperer



Nicht zu glauben!

[Sergeant Rock]

Shostakovich String Quartet No. 2 in A major op.68 played by the Zapolski Quartet, a snyprrr recommendation




Sarge

[Brahmsian]

Shostakovich String Quartet No. 2 in A major op.68 played by the Zapolski Quartet, a snyprrr recommendation




Sarge

I love Shostakovich's 2nd string quartet.  Especially that gorgeous Recitative and Romance second movement.

[Sergeant Rock]

I love Shostakovich's 2nd string quartet.  Especially that gorgeous Recitative and Romance second movement.

It's one of my favorites too.

Sarge

[SonicMan46]

Farrenc, Louise (1804-1875) - Chamber Works with the performers on the cover art below - French composer, virtuoso pianist, and "in 1842 she was appointed to the permanent position of Professor of Piano at the Paris Conservatory, a position she held for thirty years and one which was among the most prestigious in Europe."(Source) - see link for more on her and a list of compositions; own several solo piano recordings and a number of orchestral discs.  Dave

     

[Mandryka]

(What a load of tosh!)  From the booklet to the Dominique recording on BIS, downloadble (as many other Oiseaux booklets) from eClassical:
PDF linky

Thanks for that. I noticed one recording on Qobuz, by Liisa Pohjola, actually breaks the thing up into short tracks each of which is given an impressionistic title - solemnity of the night, sunrise etc etc. I vaguely remember Messiaen wrote a commentary for each piece along these sort of lines. It makes me think that each bird is like a cycle of impressionist preludes à la Debussy, and that it's wrongheaded to look for coherence in the whole. I've got a book by Harry Halbreich on Messiaen which goes into these things in some detail if I remember correctly - I'll dig it out later.

[Brahmsian]

Inspired by Sergeant's listening:

Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68

[Sergeant Rock]

Inspired by Sergeant's listening:

Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68

The Fiztwilliam box was my first set on CD. Still think very highly of it.

Sarge

[Brahmsian]

The Fiztwilliam box was my first set on CD. Still think very highly of it.

Sarge

I have this set and the Borodin Quartet set (Melodiya "Cow and Fiddle" box set).  In general, I prefer the Borodin for most part.  They tend to have brisker tempos (with some exceptions).  However, I do enjoy the Fitzies and don't think I'll ever part with these.

[vandermolen]

Dag Wiren: Symphony No.3 (1943-44)
Ages since I listened to this and I'd forgotten what a fine work it is.
There are a number of Swedish composers whose work means a lot to me including Wiren (especially symphonies 3 and 4), Rosenberg, Pettersson, Peterson-Berger, Atterberg, Nystroem (Sinfonia del Mare) and Alfven (Symphony No.4). Wiren was probably done no favours by the late Robert Layton who, erroneously in my opinion, described his symphonies as 'short-breathed' - he did much the same for Pettersson with his oft-repeated 'rampant self-pity' description of his music: