What are you listening 2 now?

[vers la flamme]

For me, the CD transfers of Kempff solo recordings have been an improvement, compared to the old LPs and their sound, also making them musically more rewarding.

Great sound, I think, especially for the time. I only have one LP of his Beethoven, with the Waldstein and Appassionata, and I'm inclined to agree that the CD sounds better. But it's quite rare that I listen to classical music on vinyl.

[Karl Henning]

I'm afraid so. Johannes Klumpp has taken over.




Sarge

Terribly sad about Fey. Good to see they're carrying on, though.

[VonStupp]

Round two this weekend with this recording:

I wonder if this recording I have is the same recording as yours? They are both live with the same orchestra under Wand on RCA, but the recording location looks like it may be different?

[vers la flamme]

I wonder if this recording I have is the same recording as yours? They are both live with the same orchestra under Wand on RCA, but the recording location looks like it may be different?

I believe that's a different recording, live at the Hamburg Musikhalle, whereas the one I posted is at the Lübeck Cathedral. I believe Wand has recorded Bruckner's 9th something like 4 or 5 times. The one I have is the only one I've heard.

[VonStupp]

Arnold: Symphony No.1

Andrew Penny/National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland


For whatever reason, I've not really paid much attention to Malcolm Arnold, but Radio 3 tossed up a Wind Divertimento the other day which I found very captivating, and deciding to look further I ended up listening to the first symphony as above, which on first hearing seemed to me really quite a weird creation. Quite apart from anything else it seemed noticeably unsymphonic, not really feeling like it moved an inch in any dynamic symphonic sense. More like a series of arbitrary utterances.
But something good must have been happening as my interest didn't flag for a moment. It being a first hearing I may have missed a larger cohesion which is there, but really the main thing was that I felt fully drawn in. He seems compulsively creative, with an incredibly natural ability to rustle up colour and character from any number of sources, and has an unpretentious and distinct voice, whichever part of the emotional spectrum he's in.

I love your description of your first listening. I had a very similar start to Arnold's symphonies, but I decided to walk away from moving too far into his symphony cycle until years later. Hopefully your ambiguous feelings urge you forward.

VS

[Todd]

[aligreto]

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

Cheers and understood.

[André]

I believe that's a different recording, live at the Hamburg Musikhalle, whereas the one I posted is at the Lübeck Cathedral. I believe Wand has recorded Bruckner's 9th something like 4 or 5 times. The one I have is the only one I've heard.

Of the 4 Wand B9 I know, this Hamburg version (in Hamburg) is the one I prefer. I find the Lübeck performance on the lugubrious side, with its cavernous acoustic and looooong reverb time, whereas the Cologne one is more mainstream (faster) but also less majestic - closer to earth than to heaven, I guess. I've heard the Berlin Phil only once but didn't think it topped the Hamburg in intensity. More decibels perhaps, but that's not all there is to the work.

[foxandpeng]

Peter Maxwell Davies
Naxos Quartet #1
Maggini Quartet
Naxos

More PMD to close out Sunday. I very much like the sparse nature of his writing in this quartet. After the swells and turbulence of the first couple of symphonies, this is less taxing on my concentration, but no less interesting.

[JBS]

My turn to listen to this CD


Things learned from liner notes: there is a town called Wahoo in Nebraska.

[vers la flamme]

Had to listen to this piece after hearing it in the first episode of the show Squid Game...:

https://i.postimg.cc/59vpnQRq/image.png

Joseph Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major, Hob.7E/1. Mark Bennett, Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert

A brilliant work.

[Mirror Image]

Your parents have impeccable taste, John!

Are you sure? They asked me what I'd like and I told them the Chopin Complete DG set. But all jokes aside, they do have great tastes in music.

[Symphonic Addict]

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

Nice on a grey, cold autumnal day here.

I have this version, and it's utterly glorious. One of my very favorite Villa-Lobos works.

[Symphonic Addict]

A solid edifice of a symphony.

[MusicTurner]

I have this version, and it's utterly glorious. One of my very favorite Villa-Lobos works.

Yes, this has been recommended too, and it is probably quite different from Fleming/Heller; I haven't heard it. It's a fine, at times quite cinematic work - parts of the end section obviously reminding of the famous 'Bachiana' for soprano & cellos.

[Irons]

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.

Well said! Fergus can acquire the whole set on vinyl for pennies. A big mistake not to.

[Artem]

Good disk.

[MusicTurner]

Yes, I think that Turnabout didn't finish the Vox Box project set of the Faure complete chamber music though, in the old LP days - only some of the music in a single 3LP box. The sound is quite good, also on CD.

[Mandryka]

I started listening at op 27/1. It is very strong stuff. What I'd say is that these nocturnes have the feeling of eloquent and sincere orations - clearly articulated sections which seem to lead the listener through an inevitable argument to their conclusion. This is a concept which in a way is familiar from baroque music, the idea has never crossed my mind in Chopin before - so I guess in a real sense Irena Mejoueva's recording is for me a revelation.

Live, well recorded live. Nice modern piano.

[Mandryka]

I started listening at op 27/1. It is very strong stuff. What I'd say is that these nocturnes have the feeling of eloquent and sincere orations - clearly articulated sections which seem to lead the listener through an inevitable argument to their conclusion. This is a concept which in a way is familiar from baroque music, the idea has never crossed my mind in Chopin before - so I guess in a real sense Irena Mejoueva's recording is for me a revelation.

Live, well recorded live. Nice modern piano.

And I want to add (I'm writing this while listening) that her approach seems to get tested in the later music, I'm not sure that op 62/i is successful, for example. She's not the first to find late Chopin difficult of course, and listening to it has made me reflect a little on how Chopin's style evolved - which is good.

Still there's enough of interest in these nocturnes for me to suggest that it's worth the time hearing on Spotify.