What are you listening 2 now?

[aligreto]

What a fine looking set.

[Traverso]

Messiaen

Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant-Jésus  (1944)

CD 2-3  Yvonne Loriod piano

[vers la flamme]

Just finished:



Olivier Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps. Reinbert de Leeuw, Vera Beths, Anner Bylsma, George Pieterson

Just started



Max Reger: Clarinet Quintet in A major, op.146. Karl Leister, Vogler Quartett

Damn fine work, one of Reger's best perhaps.

[Stürmisch Bewegt]

The delightful wind quintets of the delightfully internal-rhymed Franz Danzi. With a little imagination, listening to them can make you think of twentieth century French wind ensembles, they are that sprightly and harmonically adventurous . (Often, he starts a movement away from the tonic).  But they are formally quite rigid and slightly repetitious - the proliferation of 2-, 4-, 8-bar phrases would annoy if the melodies themselves weren't so much fun.  Would like to hear his symphonies and one of his operas. 

[Madiel]

Schubert, D.664 in A major, Leonskaja (1st version)

[pjme]

Messiaen

Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant-Jésus  (1944)
CD 2-3  Yvonne Loriod piano

Possibly in 1977 or 1978, I attended a concert of Loriod and Messiaen playing the Vingt regards at Leuven/Louvain university. Loriod may have played one or two solo pieces -that I don't remember and I didn't keep the program. After ca 43 years my memory is vague. Messiaen, I suppose, was at the height of his notoriety and the concert had an aura of importance and urgency.
Later I learned that Loriod did compose some works aswell. I wonder if we will be able to discover them ever...

From https://www.oliviermessiaen.org/yvonne-loriod

Yvonne Loriod was born 20 January 1924 in Houilles (Seine et Oise) [Parents Simone and Gaston Loriod and two sisters, Jacqueline and Jeanne Loriod].She began studying the piano at the age of six with her godmother Madame Eminger-Sivade and by the age of fourteen her repertoire included all the Mozart concertos, all the Beethoven sonatas, the Bach '48' as well as the standard classical and romantic works. When she entered the Paris Conservatoire she also studied harmony, fugue, orchestration and composition enabling her to proof read Messiaens' scores and compile the vocal score for Saint Francois d'Assise. Her teachers were Isidor Philipp, Lazare Levy, Marcel Ciampi, Simone Caussade, Joseph Calvet, C. Estyle as well as Messiaen and Milhaud. During her time at the conservatoire she had won seven premier prix.
Although Loriod wrote several works including Grains de cendre (1946) for Ondes Martenot or flute, piano and voice, Pièce sur la souffrance, pour orchestre, probably the only one to be performed in public was Trois Mélopées africaines for flute, ondes Martenot, piano and drum. This was performed with Ginette Martenot, Jan Merry, flute, and percussionist Jacques Boucher on 24th March 1945 at the Société Nationale.

[Artem]

First half of the programme of this disk. Not an easy going journey.

[Biffo]

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 4 in F minor - London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano - enjoyed this even more on second listening, possibly because I was less apprehensive about what I was going to hear

[Harry]

J.S. Bach.
Complete Organ Works XIV.

Passacaglia & Fugue in C minor, BWV 582
Chorale Prelude Jesus Christus, unser Heiland (VI), BWV 688
Die Kunst der Fuge BWV 1080.

Ewald Kooiman plays on a Frans Caspar Schnitger, 1722-25./Hagerbeer organ 1639-46.
Equal temperament. Pitch=A= 415 Hz.

In itself it is a very fine organ, but the recording does not do it justice, but rather a disservice. To forward, mixtures are hurting my ears, and in general the sound gets on my nerves.  The Contrapunctus is to my ears really not acceptable, too pushy and played with too much drive, the notes get no time to unfold at all. Again a rather nervous Kooiman misses the point completely, and again have the feeling that he is not at ease with this organ and music. I have turned down the volume, but even that is not enough, I stopped disc 14. I have better recordings than to suffer through this.

[Madiel]

Schubert, D.537 in A minor, Schiff

[Traverso]

J.S. Bach.
Complete Organ Works XIV.

Passacaglia & Fugue in C minor, BWV 582
Chorale Prelude Jesus Christus, unser Heiland (VI), BWV 688
Die Kunst der Fuge BWV 1080.

Ewald Kooiman plays on a Frans Caspar Schnitger, 1722-25./Hagerbeer organ 1639-46.
Equal temperament. Pitch=A= 415 Hz.



In itself it is a very fine organ, but the recording does not do it justice, but rather a disservice. To forward, mixtures are hurting my ears, and in general the sound gets on my nerves.  The Contrapunctus is to my ears really not acceptable, too pushy and played with too much drive, the notes get no time to unfold at all. Again a rather nervous Kooiman misses the point completely, and again have the feeling that he is not at ease with this organ and music. I have turned down the volume, but even that is not enough, I stopped disc 14. I have better recordings than to suffer through this.

Too bad Harry, it all started so enthusiastically, too bad that there are a number of setbacks. 

[Harry]

Too bad Harry, it all started so enthusiastically, too bad that there are a number of setbacks. 

Well Premont warned me about it, so not really unexpected. The majority is more than excellent.

[aligreto]

Varèse: Poème électronique [Chailly]





I find this to be an intriguing work but not nearly as interesting as what has preceded it thus far. I admire it for what it is and I do find it mildly interesting. I certainly find it challenging, which I do not mind. It belongs, for me though, in the realm of pure electronic music to which this set of ears has not yet acclimatized or tuned to.

[vandermolen]

Sallinen: The sibelian 'Shadows' op. 52
Now on to Symphony No.8 'Autumnal Shadows' - impressive.
The title references the age of the composer (now 85) and the events of 9/11 in USA.

[Biffo]

Sibelius:

Pohjola's Daughter, Op 49
The Bard, Op 64
The Oceanides, Op 73

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste

[Traverso]

Mozart

Orchestre du Domaine musical  Pierre Boulez

[Mirror Image]

What a fine looking set.

Yes, indeed. These Warner Classics sets are all really great looking --- Debussy, Ravel, Berlioz, Stravinsky, Messiaen, etc.

[Mirror Image]

Continuing this work from last night:

Berlioz
L'Enfance du Christ, Op. 25
Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor), René Schirrer (baritone), José van Dam (baritone), Gilles Cachemaille (baritone), Philippe Bernold (flute), Michel Fockenoy (tenor), Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano), Jules Bastin (bass), Gilles Cottin (flute), Chantal Mathieu (harp)
Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon
Monteverdi Choir
Gardiner

[North Star]

Shostakovich
Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147
Kim Kashkashian & Robert Levin

[Sergeant Rock]

Sibelius The Tempest complete, Vänskä conducting the Lahti




Sarge