What are you listening 2 now?

Started by Gurn Blanston, September 23, 2019, 05:45:22 AM

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Symphonic Addict

A Hindemithian night:

Der Schwanendreher

The peak of wit. Vintage Hindemith. And what a razor-shape performance this is. The best combination, perhaps?




Die Harmonie der Welt (only the last two acts)

Holy cow, this is amazing. A solemn, festive, serious, rigurous, somewhat dour, very in the spirit of a Lutheran scene by a man is perceived here. Hindemith manages to handle these elements to give us a masterpiece. And that's only the last two acts! Very promising to say the least.

Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: foxandpeng on September 24, 2021, 10:17:29 AM
Alfred Schnittke
Cello Concertos 1 and 2
Polyansky
Russian SSO
Chandos


My goodness. This sound world is extraordinary. Complex, moving, unusual, even unearthly. I find this fascinating.

Yes, he is amazing. His sense of bleakness, desolation, desires to live and weirdness are easily perceived at first.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky


classicalgeek

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on September 24, 2021, 06:51:49 PM
A Hindemithian night:

Der Schwanendreher

The peak of wit. Vintage Hindemith. And what a razor-shape performance this is. The best combination, perhaps?




Die Harmonie der Welt (only the last two acts)

Holy cow, this is amazing. A solemn, festive, serious, rigorous, somewhat dour, very in the spirit of a Lutheran scene by a man is perceived here. Hindemith manages to handle these elements to give us a masterpiece. And that's only the last two acts! Very promising to say the least.



Der Schwanendreher is one of my favorite Hindemith pieces. As you say, vintage Hindemith, and I like how the orchestra is primarily winds and brass. It seems to pick up where his Kammermusiken left off. And I'm familiar with the Mathis der Maler symphony, but I haven't heard the full opera yet! Off to Spotify to see if they have it...
So much great music, so little time...

Original compositions and orchestrations: https://www.youtube.com/@jmbrannigan

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: classicalgeek on September 24, 2021, 07:06:40 PM
Der Schwanendreher is one of my favorite Hindemith pieces. As you say, vintage Hindemith, and I like how the orchestra is primarily winds and brass. It seems to pick up where his Kammermusiken left off. And I'm familiar with the Mathis der Maler symphony, but I haven't heard the full opera yet! Off to Spotify to see if they have it...

You are lucky. The opera is on Spotify!

Indeed. The chamber-like sonorities provide a most engaging musical discourse, making use of German folksongs and adapting the impressions in the piece. Hindemith is a firm favorite of mine, in my top 25.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

John Copeland



This past Spring I heard Ivan Fischer on Radio 3 UK conducting Mahler 2 with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.  What a surprise it was, I liked it so much I went out and bought the company two cd set.  It is listed as 'unavailable' on Amazon now, but I got it a few months ago.  This is a really interesting and absorbing take on Mahlers Resurrection Symphony, I'd recommend it to anybody, including Mahler himself, but he has not resurrected yet...

Karl Henning

Quote from: John Copeland on September 24, 2021, 08:54:00 PM


This past Spring I heard Ivan Fischer on Radio 3 UK conducting Mahler 2 with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.  What a surprise it was, I liked it so much I went out and bought the company two cd set.  It is listed as 'unavailable' on Amazon now, but I got it a few months ago.  This is a really interesting and absorbing take on Mahlers Resurrection Symphony, I'd recommend it to anybody, including Mahler himself, but he has not resurrected yet...

John, how delightful to see you!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

classicalgeek

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on September 24, 2021, 07:40:52 PM
You are lucky. The opera is on Spotify!

Indeed. The chamber-like sonorities provide a most engaging musical discourse, making use of German folksongs and adapting the impressions in the piece. Hindemith is a firm favorite of mine, in my top 25.

And it appears the full score is on IMSLP. I'm going to have to carve out some time soon!

And Hindemith is definitely in my top 25 too! My gateway to him may have been some of his more popular works: the Symphonic Metamorphoses and the Mathis der Maler symphony, which are phenomenal. But the Kammermusiken really hooked me on Hindemith. They're works of genius - I love them all, especially the last one, the Organ Concerto! Like Schwanendreher, the orchestra is mostly winds and brass, and it works especially well with the organ.
So much great music, so little time...

Original compositions and orchestrations: https://www.youtube.com/@jmbrannigan

vandermolen

#50108
Sibelius: 'Pelléas and Mélisande Suite'.
This is a very enjoyable CD. I think highly of the Iceland SO conducted by Petri Sakari (I like their Klami CD on Chandos very much as well).
As a British listener I can never hear 'At The Castle Gate' without expecting the late Patrick Moore to appear to present 'The Sky at Night', for which it was the theme music:

Now playing - Copland's 'The Tender Land Suite' which I much prefer to the Appalachian Spring:

Only when I heard the Tender Land Suite on the radio did I realise how good it was; for years I'd had it on the 'B-Side' of my RCA LP of the Appalachian Spring (Boston SO/Copland) but had never played it before  ::)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Traverso

Froberger

Bob van Asperen  Froberger edition Vol.4


Traverso

Quote from: classicalgeek on September 24, 2021, 06:42:18 PM
Thread Duty:

Koechlin
La course de printemps
Stuttgart Radio Symphony
Heinz Holliger




What can I say? The music is excellent - it defies categorization in the best possible way. And I'm simply amazed at the way Koechlin writes for orchestra - I've been able to follow this and the Seven Stars Symphony with a full score - and it's opulent, late-Romantic scoring at its finest. But not in a thick and busy Richard Strauss (or Schoenberg in Pelleas und Melisande or Gurrelieder) sort of way - he actually writes few tutti passages. He's a master of orchestral color - multi-divided strings with generous use of harmonics, evocative writing for solo woodwinds, restrained but pointed use of percussion - I could go on!

It's good to see this recording again,I will listen to it later this day.  :)

Todd

The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

milk

Quote from: Bachtoven on September 24, 2021, 01:19:52 PM
Superb playing and sound. Qobuz 24/44.1. He plays a Chris Maene Straight Strung Concert Grand piano--it certainly sounds clear and even. It even has a bonus work: Thoughts on Bach, which Daan Manneke composed for him. I might get the SACD version at some point. For more information about the piano: https://www.chrismaene.be/nl/the-straight-strung-grand-piano/


I have to have more patience when I listen to this music on the piano but this paid off. I confess I don't hear the difference with this instrument compared to other modern pianos. To me, it's much more about the way grand pianos are recorded that makes the difference. But the performance is solid and there are moments of feeling and sensitivity in this.

Iota

Quote from: vandermolen on September 25, 2021, 01:14:56 AM
Sibelius: 'Pelléas and Mélisande Suite'.
As a British listener I can never hear 'At The Castle Gate' without expecting the late Patrick Moore to appear to present 'The Sky at Night' ..

Haha, so true!


Playing here:



Henze: Piano Concerto No.2

Rolf Plagge (piano), Markson/ND Philharmonie



Something of a behemoth in concerto terms at 50 mins or so, and it certainly feels it. The first 15 mins or so ambles along very engagingly in post-Schoenbergian mode, with various exquisite soundscapes ballooning out of the undergrowth. The music then takes a turn into choppier waters with a marked increases in decibel output, which was fine for a bit, but then wildly outstayed its welcome and rather blotted the copybook for me. Really a movement of two halves as the good Jimmy Greaves might have said.

The second movement continued in not dissimilar territory, but now peppered rather than overwhelmed by a few fairly savage interjections, striking a more successful balance than in the first movement.
Ultimately the piece an intriguing/impressive curate's egg for me, some striking and original music but some lumpy stuff too. Though maybe I just prefer quiet Henze to loud.


Spotted Horses

David Diamond, Romeo and Juliet, recording by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony



An engaging piece with some colorful, vigorous orchestral writing, poignant melodies and harmonies. Beautifully performed and recorded.

Intrigued to read in the recording notes that there was a recording released by Columbia on 78 rpm shellac discs. I wonder if it is possible to track that down on CD or download.
There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind. - Duke Ellington

DavidW

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on September 24, 2021, 03:44:12 PM
I'm not a "you have no business enjoying that version!" kind of guy.

I'm in the camp of it is good to listen to both, and any serious Bruckner fan would not want to be exclusionary even if they have a strong preference.  Just imo.

Todd




Carl Wolf is new to me, and I only bought this disc when it appeared for a few dollars.  The man has skill.  This generous sampler of romantic era starts off with Schubert's D959, and Wolf doesn't dazzle with pyrotechnics, but with finely graded touch.  He's not too the level of Volodos, but he delivers the goods in the controlled opening movement, and then after starting solemn in the Andantino, he builds to a satisfying climax.  The Scherzo is a model of crisp, rhythmically vibrant playing, and the tuneful Rondo boasts incredibly clear voices and subtle dynamics.  It's quite something.  Just when one is content with the very fine Schubert, along comes what may be the true highlight of the disc, monumental Mendelssohn.  The Op 102, No 1 Lied Ohne Worte sounds dark, weight, harmonically rich and lovely, and the Prelude and Fugue sounds like properly romanticized baroque music.  The two Chopin Nocturnes have a rich sound as well, and offer some harder hitting sections without overdoing it.  The B Flat Scherzo that closes the disc displays ample virtuosity and impact, but it also blends in incredibly nuanced, gently controlled playing.  It's a pity Mr Wolf has not recorded much more than the couple discs he has.  Dux provides superb sound.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

aligreto

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 [Schmidt-Isserstedt]

The opening to this work has almost become a cliché but this version offers something different. It has an edge; it is both robust, powerful and raw. The strings are the foundation, the woodwinds add wonderful depth and tonality and the brass adds that defining edge. In the Andante, like every movement in this presentation, there is a wonderful and powerful presence to the music making. The scoring is wonderfully presented here; I specifically note the woodwinds and the brass writing. The lower register strings also play a vital part here. The overriding power of the opening of the Scherzo is particularly wonderful. This is a wonderful, powerful and agitated presentation. The final movement is something of a tour de force with a really wonderfully and powerfully orchestral display. This is a very vital performance. Absolutely terrific stuff here!! Listen and enjoy! This has to be one of the very best of presentations of this work.

aligreto

Quote from: classicalgeek on September 24, 2021, 11:53:35 AM
Still more Poulenc! This time, the chamber music, on Spotify:



A delight from first note to last - Poulenc is one of those composers who I wish I could write like! I seem to remember these chamber works for winds popping up on student recitals when I was in college - they're not too long, wonderful to listen to, and a whole lot of fun! The clarinet sonata (not on this particular recording) was especially a favorite.

I'm familiar with the Naxos series, but apparently Brilliant Classics has their own complete Poulenc chamber music with Italian musicians. Has anyone heard that?

That is a really wonderful CD.

John Copeland

Quote from: aligreto on September 25, 2021, 06:27:16 AM
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 [Schmidt-Isserstedt]

The opening to this work has almost become a cliché but this version offers something different. It has an edge; it is both robust, powerful and raw. The strings are the foundation, the woodwinds add wonderful depth and tonality and the brass adds that defining edge. In the Andante, like every movement in this presentation, there is a wonderful and powerful presence to the music making. The scoring is wonderfully presented here; I specifically note the woodwinds and the brass writing. The lower register strings also play a vital part here. The overriding power of the opening of the Scherzo is particularly wonderful. This is a wonderful, powerful and agitated presentation. The final movement is something of a tour de force with a really wonderfully and powerfully orchestral display. This is a very vital performance. Absolutely terrific stuff here!! Listen and enjoy! This has to be one of the very best of presentations of this work.

Wow.  Just the kind of review I love to read!  It sounds like everything I want it to be.  For that reason...I must listen asap!   ;D