What are you listening 2 now?

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I like everything he composed, except for Divertissement.
His music is elegant and unique.
The EMI 2 disc set or Dutoit set would be a good recording to start.

[Todd]

My first full-length disc of music solely by Wolfgang Rihm.  In my experience, his music falls into the dense, modern category, and while this music does, too, it's fairly easy to get into, no doubt because it's for a duo.  When young hot shot players like Yang and Rimmer play the notes, that helps, too.  Some slow and quiet playing may erupt into forte outbursts, and some music may sound more tuneful and even emotive than expected, and all comes across pristinely, in SOTA sound.  Neat.

[vers la flamme]

My first full-length disc of music solely by Wolfgang Rihm.  In my experience, his music falls into the dense, modern category, and while this music does, too, it's fairly easy to get into, no doubt because it's for a duo.  When young hot shot players like Yang and Rimmer play the notes, that helps, too.  Some slow and quiet playing may erupt into forte outbursts, and some music may sound more tuneful and even emotive than expected, and all comes across pristinely, in SOTA sound.  Neat.

I have and enjoy this disc too. Something about Rihm's music intrigues me. While his music is definitely dense and modern, I seem to sense stronger ties to the German Romantic tradition than some of his contemporaries.

[Mandryka]

I have and enjoy this disc too. Something about Rihm's music intrigues me. While his music is definitely dense and modern, I seem to sense stronger ties to the German Romantic tradition than some of his contemporaries.

I just find nearly everything he wrote just a bunch of notes and zero inspiration. Some of those violin pieces are  listenable, that's the best I can say.

[Mirror Image]

Before heading off to work (thank god it's my Friday):

Chopin
Ballades Nos. 1-4
Zimerman

From this set that my parents gave me as a Christmas gift last year -

[SonicMan46]

Telemann, GP - Complete Wind Concertos w/ Michael Schneider and Camerata Köln/La Stagione Frankfort (latter pictured below) - 8-CD box - well, I decided to spend a Sunday w/ some of the discs in this marvelous box which has been enjoyed by others in the GMG forum.  Dave

 

[aukhawk]

Schonberg: Verklarte Nacht (for sextet) - Quatuor Ebene & friends


Quatuor Ebene: assorted works on a 'night' theme

The Ebene bring their trademark overheated sound to this late-Romantic classic, where it fits like a glove.  This is a quite analytic reading, if you want to listen to it like chamber music and follow the individual instruments.  It's less impassioned overall than the searing recent recording by Isobel Faust & friends, or the much older one by Pierre Boulez' Ensemble Intercontemporain.

Shocking and unnecessary appropriation of the enduring classic jazz song title, by the way.  Thelonious Monk will be squirming in his grave.

[Florestan]

Before heading off to work (thank god it's my Friday):

Chopin
Ballades Nos. 1-4
Zimerman

From this set that my parents gave me as a Christmas gift last year -

Your parents have impeccable taste, John!

[Traverso]

Beethoven

String Quartets Op.18 No.3 & 4

[vers la flamme]

I just find nearly everything he wrote just a bunch of notes and zero inspiration. Some of those violin pieces are  listenable, that's the best I can say.

You've made a 180 from something like this time last year, when you were listening to Rihm nonstop  Your posts about him are what prompted me to check out his music.

[MusicTurner]

Villa-Lobos, Forest of the Amazon /Heller, Fleming, Moscow RSO etc. /CD

Nice on a grey, cold autumnal day here.

[71 dB]

Buxtehude - Wacht! Euch zum Streit Das jüngste Gericht - La Capella Ducale - Musica Fiata / Roland Wilson

(Disc 1)

It is amazing how little I like this. It is Buxtehude, it should be a fine performance and I listened to it on five speakers (SACD 5.0). For Buxtehude the music seems avoid of emotion, ambition and depth. For a modern multichannel recording the sound is weird and thin. The singers are too loud compared to the instruments. The sound doesn't have a 17th century feel to it. It has a 19th century feel. I bought this maybe 5 years ago and it was a massive disappointment. Now I am trying again to see if I just don't get the greatness of this or if it really is that bad. 

Now listened to the second disc. The problem with this recording is the lack of balance. Singers and brass instruments are too loud compared to basso continuo and strings. Organ, harpsichord and string instruments are masked by singers and brass section making the music sound "stupid." Also, the reverberation is too prominent making the sound muddy. Less reverberation compared to direct sound and early reflections and better balance between instruments would do good for this recording. I was able to enjoy this a little more by turning the volume up a lot to make the basso continue come out, but some of the brass became wall shaking... 

[Klavier]

[Mandryka]

You've made a 180 from something like this time last year, when you were listening to Rihm nonstop  Your posts about him are what prompted me to check out his music.

Yes, it was through listening to Rihm that I came to the conclusion that most of what I was hearing wasn't very inspired, just note spinning. How else are you supposed to know?

The more interesting music is vocal, I think. Maybe some quartets, and piano trios. But there's a lot of his music, he churns out music by the ream. Or should I say, by the Rihm?  So in a way it wouldn't be surprising if most of it is a bit pony.

(For you https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pony_and_trap )

But he clearly has fans. À chacun son goût.

[vers la flamme]

Yes, it was through listening to Rihm that I came to the conclusion that most of what I was hearing wasn't very inspired, just note spinning. How else are you supposed to know?

The more interesting music is vocal, I think. Maybe some quartets, and piano trios. But there's a lot of his music, he churns out music by the ream. Or should I say, by the Rihm?  So in a way it wouldn't be surprising if most of it is a bit pony.

(For you https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pony_and_trap )

But he clearly has fans. À chacun son goût.

Thank you for the definition  I'm a sucker for these Cockney rhyming terms.

[aligreto]

Faure: Piano Quartet No. 2 [Nash Ensemble]





Faure's Piano Quartet No. 2 has a thunderous, even angry opening. This is soon tempered however and is followed by more tension and ennui filled music. It is quite questioning and unsettled music and it is wonderful for that. The tone and mood of the second movement is the same as that of the first movement and is probably a bit more accentuated, more agitated and darker. It is exciting music to listen to and is wonderfully performed here. The slow movement is conversational in nature with the same tone and mood as before being carried forward. The final movement is another turbulent and agitated piece of music and it is well driven here which enhances the atmosphere. This is not a work to listen to in order to calm your soul but it is wonderful nonetheless.

[MusicTurner]

Faure: Piano Quartet No. 2 [Nash Ensemble]





Faure's Piano Quartet No. 2 has a thunderous, even angry opening. This is soon tempered however and is followed by more tension and ennui filled music. It is quite questioning and unsettled music and it is wonderful for that. The tone and mood of the second movement is the same as that of the first movement and is probably a bit more accentuated, more agitated and darker. It is exciting music to listen to and is wonderfully performed here. The slow movement is conversational in nature with the same tone and mood as before being carried forward. The final movement is another turbulent and agitated piece of music and it is well driven here which enhances the atmosphere. This is not a work to listen to in order to calm your soul but it is wonderful nonetheless.

Agree, it's a great work indeed, and one of Faure's most impressive, IMO. There's an old recording with Kehr, Eymar etc. that I'm particularly fond of.

[aligreto]

Agree, it's a great work indeed, and one of Faure's most impressive, IMO. There's an old recording with Kehr, Eymar etc. that I'm particularly fond of.

OK, thank you for that.

[MusicTurner]

OK, thank you for that.

I'm not suggesting a replacement, but that's a fine one too.

[vers la flamme]

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.30 in E major, op.109. Wilhelm Kempff

Always a pleasure to return to Kempff's Beethoven. Have not been spending particularly much time with Beethoven's piano sonatas this year.