What are you listening 2 now?

[Que]

While the items of my recent orders of Franco-Flemish repertoire are slowly trickling on, I'm taking the opportunity to return to THE set in the genre:

 

A gorgeous first disc with stunning works by a range of known and lesser known names.

Review by Stephen Midgley: Surely they can't keep this up .....

Interested parties for the set are advised to check various European Amazons.
The Italians want €47 for it, which is a steal...

[Que]

Found the composer, and the ensemble, a real find! 

[Mandryka]

One of the more interesting Josquin mass recordings IMO. My only reservation concerns the sound. It needs speakers which can play quietly. But the interpretation has no fireworks, no explosions - that's good!

[71 dB]

If you can find it affordably (I think it's a Brilliant release) Sandro Ivo Bartoli's Busoni disc is very nice

Well, thanks for this Karl. Since I just made the "big" order from JPC I won't be buying classical music much in a long time.
(yes, it is Brilliant Classics)

[Que]

One of the more interesting Josquin mass recordings IMO. My only reservation concerns the sound. It needs speakers which can play quietly. But the interpretation has no fireworks, no explosions - that's good!

I'll put it on the playlist. 

Thread duty:



I'm not a fan at all of alternative instrumentations of the Art of Fugue, which I firmly believe was written for the harpsichord.

But this... I find it absolutely captivating....

[aligreto]

Beethoven: Overture - Egmont [Schmidt-Isserstedt]





Great atmosphere, drama and tension greets us from the opening bars. A combination of one or all of these elements continues throughout the presentation. The orchestra sounds wonderfully full throughout and the music sounds very rich as a result.

[aligreto]

I nave that CD, Que, and I have always found it to be different, interesting and very fine.

[vandermolen]

Bernstein: Symphony No. 2, "The Age of Anxiety"


Not being in the mood for much musically today, this arrived at the eleventh hour, with a kaleidoscopic array of timbres, melodies and moods, and saved the day. Much appreciated and enjoyed.

It's a work that I have increasingly come to appreciate.

[Madiel]

There's a reasonable chance I'm going to become obsessed with figuring out the best way to complete my collection of Haydn string quartets. Short of buying one the single complete boxes of course. And in between deciding whether to buy a house...

I'm trying the Auryn quartet in the super early 'divertimenti'. They're certainly highly enjoyable in op.1/1, and not giving me the sense of being a fraction too smooth and stately that I got in whichever one of the later quartet collections I tried.

[Tsaraslondon]

Grieg's Concerto has some special resonances for me and this is a superb performance, slighty better, I think, than the Schumann, good though that is.

[vandermolen]

Finishing up the work week with an outstanding Shostakovich 8:

Shostakovich
Symphony no. 8
London Symphony Orchestra
Andre Previn
(on Spotify)



My preferred Shostakovich 8 has been Haitink and the Concertgebouw on Decca, but Previn is at least as good - he does the shattering climaxes perfectly (in the first movement, linking the third and fourth movements [which is particularly terrifying], and about halfway through the finale). I love the way he characterizes the trio of the scherzo (the vibrato in the trumpet solo is spot-on). I could have used a touch more desolation and detachment in the fourth movement and throughout the symphony, but all in all, a really excellent performance. I've been eyeing the Previn Warner Box - I'm not sure if it's OOP yet or heading in that direction - but this is one more reason to get it if I still can!

That's my favourite recording by far (Previn). I purchased the Japanese reissue mentioned by John (MI) as I wanted the old LP cover which is one of my favourites:

[vandermolen]

Peter Warlock: The Curlew.



A dark masterpiece.

Totally agree Lol - and that is the greatest recorded performance.
NP
VW Symphony No.8
This is a very good performance, harder-driven than most but still with a very eloquent third movement. I like the other works on the CD as well. I'm a fan of Thomson's VW cycle:

[vandermolen]

Havergal Brian
Symphony #10
Martyn Brabbins
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Dutton

One of the greatest HM symphonies IMO, stormy, turbulent and culminating in a 'hard-won, though enduring sense of triumph' as one writer noted. The old Leicestershire Schools SO version was also excellent (Cond. James Loughran):

[vandermolen]

I had that fine Symphony on LP. That CD is now rather expensive but Symphony 1 'War' features (with a much less interesting cover image) in this enjoyable 2 CD set:

[Traverso]

While the items of my recent orders of Franco-Flemish repertoire are slowly trickling on, I'm taking the opportunity to return to THE set in the genre:

 

A gorgeous first disc with stunning works by a range of known and lesser known names.

Review by Stephen Midgley: Surely they can't keep this up .....

Interested parties for the set are advised to check various European Amazons.
The Italians want €47 for it, which is a steal...

I bought mine more than double this price,at that time it was considered almost oop,maybe it finally is now.

[Traverso]

Triste Plaisir


A beautiful recording

[Que]

Triste Plaisir


A beautiful recording

Very interesting, thnx for posting! 

[Traverso]

Very interesting, thnx for posting! 

Dear Que,you responded also when I posted this recording for the first time.Still not listened to it? 

Susanne Ansorg  has a voice very suitable for this type of music.Everything sounds effortless and involved,I like it very much.The instrumental pieces are also first class.

[TheGSMoeller]

Atlanta Symphony has announced their new music director, French conductor/contralto Nathalie Stutzmann. Stutzmann will officially begin her role with the ASO in the spring of 2022. It was time for a change as Robert Spano had been ASO's MD for 20 years, and I think is a good decision for the orchestra, and hope that Stutzmann finds great success! I found a video of Stutzmann conducting Tchaikovsky 5th on YouTube which I found exciting and liked her interpretation, but mostly found her vocal work streaming online, so I chose this disc to listen to...

[Pohjolas Daughter]

André,

How did you like that album?  What did you think of the violin concerto in particular?

Totally agree Lol - and that is the greatest recorded performance.
NP
VW Symphony No.8
This is a very good performance, harder-driven than most but still with a very eloquent third movement. I like the other works on the CD as well. I'm a fan of Thomson's VW cycle:

Love that LP cover!

Atlanta Symphony has announced their new music director, French conductor/contralto Nathalie Stutzmann. Stutzmann will officially begin her role with the ASO in the spring of 2022. It was time for a change as Robert Spano had been ASO's MD for 20 years, and I think is a good decision for the orchestra, and hope that Stutzmann finds great success! I found a video of Stutzmann conducting Tchaikovsky 5th on YouTube which I found exciting and liked her interpretation, but mostly found her vocal work streaming online, so I chose this disc to listen to...

Good to see more women getting appointed as music directors.    I haven't heard any recordings/concerts with her conducting before, but am looking forward to it.

PD