What are you listening 2 now?

[Papy Oli]

Poulenc - Gloria
Poulenc - Piano Concerto

[VonStupp]

César Franck
Psyché
Le Chasseur maudit
Morceau symphonique from Rédemption
Nocturne for contralto and orchestra - Christa Ludwig

Paris Orchestra - Daniel Barenboim (rec. 1976)

Les Éolides
Suisse Romande - Ernest Ansermet (rec. 1967)

Barenboim treats Franck like Bruckner, but for most of this, that approach works pretty well. Particularly with his famous symphony (not included here), I always thought Franck sounded a bit Teutonic. Less so with Psyché though.

The Accursed Huntsman is a favourite.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Massenet, Visions, etc.  Cond. Jean-Luc Tingaud.

[Mirror Image]

Enescu

Suite 1-2 & 3

Sweet! I love those works and Borac is a superb pianist and interpreter of Enescu.

[Mirror Image]

I'm not going to list all what I'm been listening to in this set as I've basically been jumping around and sampling everything from concerti to chamber works to solo piano, but I have truly impressed with many of the performances I've heard so far:



I will say that the only thing that I wasn't completely allured by were some of the performances of the solo piano works, but mainly this is because the fidelity is rather dry. Thankfully, the solo piano recordings have better fidelity depending on the pianist, but it's not consistent in the way say Kocsis' recordings were on Decca, which is still the gold standard as far as I'm concerned.

[Papy Oli]

Intrigued by the Three-word posts thread :

Serenata in vano

Nielsen - Serenata in Vano



Followed by Piano music for Young and Old Op.53

[SonicMan46]

Bruckner, Anton - Symphonies 4 & 5 w/ Heinz Rögner/Berlin Radio SO (analog recordings from the early 1980s) - Brilliant box of the numbered symphonies w/ 4 different conductors, one each on Nos. 1-3, and Rögner on Nos.4-9; MusicWeb reviews attached for those interested.  Dave

 

[Traverso]

Bach

I like to champion these performances that have lost none of their value.
These performances have a liveliness (for those who want to hear it) that does not arise from fast tempos. What is also striking is that the text comes first, the music serves it. The music is aimed at emphasizing the message of the text. without compromising her movement. The use of boy sopranos allows the penetrating beauty to be heard unimpeded.
Perhaps many people abhor the odd intonations, but it is the concept that is decisive, the pursuit of a performance that can only be dreamed of.
It's miles from a certain slickness I hear from Maasaki.
This rough stone that is unfinished but reveals much of its intentions.

[Traverso]

Sweet! I love those works and Borac is a superb pianist and interpreter of Enescu.

I'm waiting for the sacd twofer (Borac) , maybe tomorrow 

[SonicMan46]

Faure, Gabriel (1845-1924) - Piano Quartets w/ Domus; Piano Quintets w/ Le Sage/Quatuor Ebene; and Cello Sonatas w/ Bruns/Ishay - actually, I own alternate recordings of each of these works (second row below) - all quite good as I recall - Dave


   

     

[SonicMan46]

Boy, where is everyone today?  Rare for me to post consecutively (unless someone else jumps in) - 

Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847) - Piano Concertos & Cello Sonatas, both w/ Ronald Brautigam on a reproduction fortepiano after Pleyel 1830 by Paul McNulty (2010):

Piano Concertos performed w/ Michael Willens and the period instrument orchestra Die Kölner Akademie - back in 1994/95, Brautigam recorded these works on a modern piano (Fazioli) w/ Lev Markiz and the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam (a disc in my collection); numerous reviews are attached, all excellent except for Hurwitz who basically concludes that McNulty's fortepiano stinks!  So if interested in this release, read the comments and try to listen on a streaming service (available on Spotify); also, a pic of the piano and quoted description - check link for more.

Cello Sonatas w/ Brautigam on the same fortepiano and Christian Poltéra on a 1711 Stradivari cello named 'Mara' and using an 1825 bow by Francois Tourte, Paris - several reviews in the attachment, for those interested.  Dave

CC - f4 after Pleyel op. 1555, 1830. Sustaining and una corda pedals, mahogany. French polished mahogany, decorations. Pleyel (1757-1831) started piano making in 1805, aged 52. When Chopin arrived in Paris in 1831 he rated Pleyel's pianos "non plus ultra" (nothing above that!). Liszt described the sound of Chopin's Pleyel as being "the marriage of crystal and water." The McNulty instrument is built after Pleyel op. 1555, 1830, from the Paris Museum of Musical Instruments. (Source; edited)

ADDENDUM: Fascinating story of the 'Mara' Strad cello HERE!

[Que]

[Karl Henning]

Myaskovsky
String Quartet in f minor, OP. 33 № 4 (1909)
Taneyev Quartet

[Karl Henning]

https://www.youtube.com/v/Ldo30nD9q84

[Traverso]

Prokofiev

Symphony No.5

To put it simply, an impressive rendition, great ensemble playing, excellent recording and above all wonderfully uplifting music.

[vers la flamme]

César Franck
Psyché
Le Chasseur maudit
Morceau symphonique from Rédemption
Nocturne for contralto and orchestra - Christa Ludwig

Paris Orchestra - Daniel Barenboim (rec. 1976)

Les Éolides
Suisse Romande - Ernest Ansermet (rec. 1967)

Barenboim treats Franck like Bruckner, but for most of this, that approach works pretty well. Particularly with his famous symphony (not included here), I always thought Franck sounded a bit Teutonic. Less so with Psyché though.

The Accursed Huntsman is a favourite.

Massenet, Visions, etc.  Cond. Jean-Luc Tingaud.

Hmm, both of these discs look awesome. Can't say that 19th century French Romantic music is my strong suit, but I'm intrigued.

[vers la flamme]

George Frideric Handel: Water Music Suite in F major, HWV 348. Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Love this recording... I have a soft spot for older pre-HIP chamber orchestra recordings of Baroque music. I may have mentioned this before but it all reminds me of the kind of Baroque music one sometimes hears in Wes Anderson's films. Warm nostalgic feelings for times and places I was never really a part of.

[Karl Henning]

Myaskovsky
String Quartet № 5 in e minor, Op. 57 (1938-39)
Taneyev Quartet

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Lutosławski
Paroles Tissées (Woven Words)
Piotr Kusiewicz, tenor
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Antoni Wit



I love so much of Lutosławski's oeuvre, but will admit his song cycles are in a world of their own. He was an absolute master in this particular genre.

[Que]

Morning listening on Spotify:



As might have been apparent from my recent listening, I'm curently exploring music of the French Reformation.
Which is not a large task, since there is preciously little recorded.

This recording flew totally under my radar. It has very interesting programming.
Unfortunately the singing is unsatisfactory. This doesn't sound like a professional Early Music ensemble but rather like a bunch of amateurs. Sloppy, unsteady and with vibrato.