What are you listening 2 now?

[Karl Henning]

New name for me, but your and Steve's comments prompted me to listen to a quartet on Naxos, rather good, very good in fact.

Lovely!

Myself, now: a first listen. High time I listened through this box.

Kabeláč
Symphony № 8, Op.54 (1969-70)
Lucie Silkenová, soprano
Přmysl Kšica, organ
Junko Honda, David Řehoř, Karel Fingl, Ivan Hoznedr, Tibor Adamský, David Ružička, percussion
Prague Philharmonic Choir
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Marko Ivanovič

[Karl Henning]

Myself, now: a first listen. High time I listened through this box.

Kabeláč
Symphony № 8, Op.54 (1969-70)
Lucie Silkenová, soprano
Přmysl Kšica, organ
Junko Honda, David Řehoř, Karel Fingl, Ivan Hoznedr, Tibor Adamský, David Ružička, percussion
Prague Philharmonic Choir
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Marko Ivanovič

What a magnificent performance, and what a cool piece!

[Karl Henning]

And, another first listen:

Kabeláč
Symphony № 7, Op.52 (1967-68)
Lukáš Hlavica, reciter
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Marko Ivanovič

[listener]

I've been watching some of the Orthodox services for the Easter season this week from Podolsk, what a fine choir that cathedra has!   
and endurance for the congo too, some services are 4 hours long.
For various reasons my other listening is this pair of Dutton recordings of orchestral music by WIDOR and John Alden CARPENTER

[Sergeant Rock]

Stravinsky Scènes de ballet and Symphony in C, Bernstein conducting the Israel Phil




Sarge

[Karl Henning]

Sibelius
Symphony № 1 in e minor, Op. 38
Symphony № 6 in d minor, Op. 104

NY Phil
Lenny

Not for the first time, I hear resonance with Tchaikovsky in the e minor symphony. Sure we can say that Sibelius "expresses" Finnish Nature in his music, and that Tchaikovsky "expresses" courtly Russia in his.  Whether or not (or the degree to which) either assertion is The Case doesn't change commonalities of musical language between the two composers.

The fact is, I hear quite a bit of material in the Andante (ma non troppo lento) which would feel perfectly at home in a Tchaikovsky score. Which detracts exactly nothing from Sibelius. There are other passages in the movement which are pure Sibelius, and completely alien to Tchaikovsky. Oh, and gosh, the opening of the Finale quasi una Fantasia is pure Tchaikovsky. I should almost wonder at the listener who doesn't perceive so.

Again, these resonances are elements which I enjoy, and denote (in my view) nothing to the discredit of either the composer or the piece.

[Karl Henning]

I should also call the closing gesture of the fourth movement Tchaikovskian, and not Sibelian.

[kyjo]

Early morning listening before work:
Bloch 'From Jewish Life' for Cello and Piano (1925) - new release.
'This is nice music' (unusual comment from my wife on walking through the room) 
I suspect that Kyle would enjoy this disc:

I haven't heard that exact disc, but I can confirm that Bloch wrote some wonderfully soulful music for the cello!

[SonicMan46]

Lefèvre, Jean-Xavier (1763-1829) - Clarinet Sonatas, Quartets, & Concertos w/ the performers on the cover art below - a Spotify playlist setup this afternoon (about all that was available there) - reading the 'Classical' chapter in the Eric Hoeprich clarinet book (more in the old instruments thread) - the instrument had evolved and became extremely popular in the last half of the 18th century w/ innumerable and widely varied compositions written for the clarinets of that time - Hoeprich mentions MANY composers/players/or both, including Xavier Lefèvre - Swiss born but Paris bound - virtuoso, composer, and academic (Professor at the Conservatoire) - short bio below - believe that Eduard Brunner is on a modern instrument in 3 of the 4 recordings below.  Dave

Lefèvre, (Jean) Xavier, Swiss-born French clarinetist and composer; b. Lausanne, 1763; d.Paris, 1829. He studied with Michel Yost in Paris, and first appeared as a soloist at the Concert Spirituel (1783). He played in the Paris Opéra orch. (1791–1817), and was also principal cellist in the imperial (later royal) chapel from 1807. He was a prof, at the Cons. (1795–1824). He wrote a clarinet method (1802). Among his works were 7 clarinet concertos, as well as trios, duos, sonatas, and other works for his instrument. He popularized the sixth key of the clarinet, although he did not invent it. (Source)

     

[bhodges]

Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 (Nicolas Altstaedt / Arcangelo, live from the Maribor Festival, September 6, 2016) - Excellent, sprightly, and put me in a very good mood. Altstaedt is sizzling, and the group (new to me) is superb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvCP5BN4Zag

--Bruce

[André]

The two symphonies are short 4-movement works, over and done with in 20 and 17 minutes respectively. They feel more like amiable suites or sinfoniettas. Das Fest is made up of 3 orchestral preludes to a play. The first one is a substantial piece in its own right and quite the most interesting work on the disc.



The 3 works here are cantatas for soloist(s), choir and orchestra. There's also an organ part in 2 of them. These works sound a lot more like what I expected from Pfitzner. His magnus opus in the genre is the mammoth cantata Von deutscher Seele. I love that work. Das dunkle Reich (The Dark Kingdom) is much in the same mould: dark-hued, with wafts of themes emerging from the depths and floating up like musical smoke rings. Choir and orchestra are up to the task but I found the performances a bit limp. The solo soprano in Der Blumen Rache (Flowers' Revenge) is beautifully pure of tone, a real asset to the performance.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I think that 'Curse of the Werewolf' is a much better score than Battle of the Bulge:

Great music 

[Symphonic Addict]

Symphony No. 2

This work is pure charm and great melodies. It's curious to notice some touches of Sibelius here and there.

[Symphonic Addict]

Symphony No. 21

The blend between poetic melancholy and heroic passages makes this compact symphony very special to me. Is it me or did I hear a few passages that sounded close to VW's style? The cover art is terrific, too.

[SimonNZ]

[Daverz]

The symphony is a red-blooded Romantic work in the vein of Tchaikovsky.  The other works are charming.  A very good disc.

[Carlo Gesualdo]

Hello good news are bad ones?, since I am an optimist, good one I  demand a small pressing for one of my projects Total Annihilation, I pay so in 5-1weeks I am getting my work analogue,It's not for sale it's for my own pleasures, the tracks, four of them absolutely astonishing, loud dark-ambient/art-skronk/advantaged, noisy,eerie and drone gently. Minor pa ranthesis to this post, wanted to rant add to tell ya fellas, friends, followers,affectionado of deprofundis. AI want to tell y'a the bad news my comment uter laptop blew up so, I am writing this,thus said from my phone cell 😢...RIP, Bought Lully cycle of motets vol1-3 this means of course threeCDs album's on Naxos excellent French Baroque composer also purchased Les Grands Motets of Lalande excellent other composer of France too on Glossa no wonder it's that good 😌. P.S tomorrow I am receiving a quality friend,  the guy a great buddy; I promise to cook him a great meal epic DIner, marinated styrfries, grill, seem great go some: Lima beans, one half of big Spanish white onion slice thin, spinach's, little bit of ham,zucchini and good crisp panure, three eggs, extra Virgin olives oil, Garlic butter,a Pilsner beer, a tip of salt & pepper. Red spicy 🌶 sauce. Whit spaghettini red sauce Classico pork & beef,served whit a Glass of Grand Marnier A French Orange whit deseit cognac liquor, bemused buddy bringing fancy big stout beers, cool dude. We gonna listen to classical and various my sic genres he like electronic music 🎵 and he is open mind behave polite honnest, guess that it for tonight;take care folks. LP

[Symphonic Addict]

The symphony is a red-blooded Romantic work in the vein of Tchaikovsky.  The other works are charming.  A very good disc.

His symphonies 1 and 2 are superb. No. 3 is less so, though.

[Symphonic Addict]

Rosenberg - Symphony No. 1

A very interesting symphony. I feel echoes of Sibelius pervading it throughout, but my impression is that Rosenberg didn't intend to be derivative.

https://www.youtube.com/v/ZlmaWL-112k


Hisato Osawa (or Ohzawa) - Symphony No. 1

https://www.youtube.com/v/TV300I8Sc04

Tumultuous, dense, hard to follow, unmemorable. A very apt candidate for the worst first symphony ever.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Vaughan Williams
Five Mystical Songs
Thomas Allen, baritone
English Chamber Orchestra
Matthew Best



Absolutely exquisite.