What are you listening 2 now?

[vers la flamme]

Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.98 in B-flat major. Colin Davis, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

I have a really hard time choosing a favorite among the London symphonies; they're all so damn good. But for some reason this one sounds especially so, right now. Maybe my favorite is whichever one I happen to be listening to at the time. This Philips Duo set is a gem, as is its companion with the rest of the Davis/RCOA Haydn London symphonies. I would love to hear a HIP/period instruments recording of these symphonies, but it seems there are none available.

[JBS]

Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.98 in B-flat major. Colin Davis, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

I have a really hard time choosing a favorite among the London symphonies; they're all so damn good. But for some reason this one sounds especially so, right now. Maybe my favorite is whichever one I happen to be listening to at the time. This Philips Duo set is a gem, as is its companion with the rest of the Davis/RCOA Haydn London symphonies. I would love to hear a HIP/period instruments recording of these symphonies, but it seems there are none available.

Minkowski's set is available secondhand. (I think it's much better than the lead Amazon review makes it out to be.) There are also some individual recordings by McGeghan and Norrington of 2 symphonies each.

TD

Settling in for the afternoon with this, last of my thrift store finds from last week

Now on the last act
The sound is not impressive, and the music isn't that great either. The singers do a good job but the composer doesn't give them much to work with. It's probably no accident that the most famous scene from this opera is the ballet.  I'm glad I paid only $4.99 for this.

[ritter]

A rather special historical document I revisit every now and then with great pleasure: Georges Enesco conducts Béla Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (French National Orchestra, live at the Besançon Festival, 6 September 1951),

[VonStupp]

Franz von Suppé
Requiem

Gulbenkian Chorus & Orch. - Michel Corboz

Suppé's Requiem ranks high on the Godfather list, and certainly takes its cues from opera, with fire and brimstone to boot. This is a really wonderful work; an excellent tentpost between Mozart and Verdi's own settings.

Corboz and his Portuguese Gulbenkian forces are good, the soloists a tad big voiced, but solid across the board in a live setting. This recording comes in almost 10-minutes quicker than Gerd Schaller on Profil; timings don't mean too much to me, but that amount of difference makes my head cock to the side.

The Bomtempo Requiem ended up being an awesome pairing. It's too bad the soloists in the Bomtempo weren't used in the Suppé.

[ritter]

And now, Enesco conducts Enesco: the Dixtour, op. 14 (soloists of the French National Radio Orchestra — 1951 studio recording).

[Symphonic Addict]

Symphony No. 3

Thoroughly uplifting work. The similarity with VW's style is really quite curious.

[Symphonic Addict]

Symphony No. 3

Both the performance and sound quality of the recording are top-notch. De profundis clamavi is one of the greatest symphonic slow movements IMO.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Vaughan Williams
Symphony No. 5 in D
BBC Scottish SO
Brabbins



Lovely performance. It's about time for another installment in this series unless COVID has distrupted it, which may every well be the case.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

These are fine recordings

Love the disc. Excellent performance and great recording sound!

An interesting and busy life to be sure. But what I'm not sure of is how I feel about his interpretations. So far, I enjoyed his Sibelius 5th and 7th very much, but, as I mentioned, I'm not sure I hear much individuality in the performances aside from basking in the glorious sound from the Philadelphians.

That's what I hear about Ormandy sometimes.

[Que]

Morning listening:

[Que]

These are fine recordings

It's a pity I wasn't aware of Markevich' fame when this was in circulation...which would have been in my early 20s, if I remember correctly.

[Que]

Inspired by Mandryka recent listings:

   

Those Tactus covers don't look like much... 
A stylish picture of the gorgeous looking and sounding Luca Neri organ, built 1651, in the Oratorio di Sant'Antonio dei Cavalieri de Nardis, in L'Aquila, Italy, would have looked much better!

But It's wonderful recording of wonderful music.
Why this 2nd disc on organ? The booklet doesn't explain. But since the collection of Toccate e Correnti d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo was written for both instruments, I presume Cera selected pieces for either instrument.
Does it sound like Frescobaldi? It sounds similar but more modern to my ears. Which would makes sense, since Rossi was of one generation after Frescobaldi and 20 years his junior. This collection was written in the 1630's, the decade before Frescobaldi's death.

[Traverso]

Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.98 in B-flat major. Colin Davis, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

I have a really hard time choosing a favorite among the London symphonies; they're all so damn good. But for some reason this one sounds especially so, right now. Maybe my favorite is whichever one I happen to be listening to at the time. This Philips Duo set is a gem, as is its companion with the rest of the Davis/RCOA Haydn London symphonies. I would love to hear a HIP/period instruments recording of these symphonies, but it seems there are none available.

There was a nice set with the Paris and London symphonies conducted bv Frans Bruggen.It is hard to fine these days.

[Que]

I have a really hard time choosing a favorite among the London symphonies; they're all so damn good. But for some reason this one sounds especially so, right now. Maybe my favorite is whichever one I happen to be listening to at the time. This Philips Duo set is a gem, as is its companion with the rest of the Davis/RCOA Haydn London symphonies. I would love to hear a HIP/period instruments recording of these symphonies, but it seems there are none available.

There was a nice set with the Paris and London symphonies conducted bv Frans Bruggen.It is hard to fine these days

Brüggen indeed, but OOP.... There is an (pricey) Japanese issue with Sigiswald Kuijken (DHM). And two seperate discs with Bruno Weil and the Cappella Coloniensis (Ars Produktion )

BTW I think Harnoncourt with the RCO would be a step up from Colin Davis.

[Que]

I think Mahan Esfahani, a Watchorn and Růžičková pupil, is an amazing harpsichordist.
I'm ready to explord his Bach recordings! 

And I hope he will find time to continue his Bull series with Watchorn....

[Carlo Gesualdo]

John Tavener '' The Protecting Veil'' That naxos is a blessing

Arvo Part '' DE Pacem"" is holier than holy

Pateris Vask: Laudate Dominum

Has far Has Holy minimalism movement goes this is the best!

[Mandryka]

Inspired by Mandryka recent listings:

   

Those Tactus covers don't look like much... 
A stylish picture of the gorgeous looking and sounding Luca Neri organ, built 1651, in the Oratorio di Sant'Antonio dei Cavalieri de Nardis, in L'Aquila, Italy, would have looked much better!

But It's wonderful recording of wonderful music.
Why this 2nd disc on organ? The booklet doesn't explain. But since the collection of Toccate e Correnti d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo was written for both instruments, I presume Cera selected pieces for either instrument.
Does it sound like Frescobaldi? It sounds similar but more modern to my ears. Which would makes sense, since Rossi was of one generation after Frescobaldi and 20 years his junior. This collection was written in the 1630's, the decade before Frescobaldi's death.

Apel is interesting on this - I posted a link to his book somewhere recently - he points out the thing I'd noticed which made me say that I'd have difficulty telling the two apart - the sectional nature of the toccatas and the originality of the themes. He says that one marked difference between the two is the existence of imitative counterpoint in Rossi (which I hadn't noticed!)

Apel draws connections between Rossi on the one hand, and Merulo and Froberger on the other - so those two will get an airing chez moi this week. I'm not sure I've ever heard any really spacial  Merulo harpsichord recordings though. Bonizzoni maybe.

As far as performance goes, Cera's organ recording is fab. In Bk 1 Cera uses a harpsichord with very limited bass compared with Saint Vartolo, my hero in all things Italian. Vartolo's performances seem more dissonant to me too, though I could be wrong about that. And of course Vartolo is extremely unlinear - the sections of this sectional music are really independent entities like in Frescobaldi.

I think Mahan Esfahani, a Watchorn and Růžičková pupil, is an amazing harpsichordist.
I'm ready to explord his Bach recordings! 

And he will find time to continue his Bull series with Watchorn....

So buy his new recording of partitas and let me know how it is.

[aukhawk]

I don't know much about Respighi's music but this sure is a damn fine work about trees. I wish there were more tree-inspired pieces out there. Great performance from the Philadelphians under Muti, a maestro I wasn't always so sure about, but I now find him to be one of the better living conductors.

The Trees so High....



The tale the pine trees knew......


November Woods / The Happy Forest



and last but not least

Sibelius, Tapiola (I would suggest also, 4th Symphony)
Wagner, Forest Murmurs from Siegfried - see also, Liszt
Smetana, From Bohemia's Woods and Fields from Ma Vlast
Finzi, The Fall of the Leaf
Mahler, Waldmarchen from Das Klagende Lied
Schoenberg, Verklärte Nacht

[Biffo]

Howells: An English Mass - The Choir of King's College , Cambridge & Britten Sinfonia conducted by Stephen Cleobury

[aukhawk]

Ormandy's life and career look very interesting. The violin prodigy in Hungary studied philosophy, as well as music. After moving to the States, he was a concertmaster in an orchestra playing music at a silent movie theatre.

Perhaps that was what he and DSCH were reminiscing about in this picture:



"Remember the old silent movie days Dmitri?  We could do what we liked then, eh?"

"Da! I played the Minute Waltz over Battleship Potemkin. [laughs] "