What are you listening 2 now?

[classicalgeek]

More of the Naxos Barber box. Just had time for one piece:

Samuel Barber
Symphony no. 1
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Marin Alsop



A perfectly fine performance, though I once had David Zinman with the Baltimore Symphony on Argo - and I'll confess to preferring that recording. Zinman had that heart-on-sleeve, intense Romanticism that this music demands, and Alsop just misses the mark for me

[SonicMan46]

Vanhal, Johann (1739-1813) - Clarinet Sonatas - two DLs (the second WAV from yesterday) - the recording w/ David Arenas and Belen Gonzalez-Domonte uses modern instruments, while the second w/ Ernst Schlader (clarinetist) and Wolfgang Brunner uses the period instruments described in the quote (from the downloaded PDF booklet). In the latter recording, notes state that 3 original 'clarinet sonatas' and 2 'transcribed violin sonatas' were used; not sure about the MI recording (don't have the booklet) as to whether this is a complete duplication?  In Vanhal's Composition List, 15 Violin Sonatas are listed, but nothing for clarinet, so I suspect that on both recordings the works came from this category?  Dave

ADDENDUM: well, curious as to comparing the two recordings; the PI booklet states 3 'Clarinet Sonatas' + 2 'Violin Transcriptions' (the former boxed in red on the added pic at the bottom) - these boxed works are the same as on the MI recordings, which is just 50+ minutes in length; the other provides 25+ more minutes; if I had to pick one, then the PI seems the best bet (for me).  P.S. click on the bottom image to enlarge!

An original piano built by the Viennese instrument maker Joseph Dohnal (1759–1829) was used for this recording. It combines the clarity and warmth of sound typical of the age. A printed note on the soundboard indicates an earlier address of the workshop: 'in the Kothgasse next to weisse Taube No 55', where Dohnal had his production facility between 1793 and 1797. As was customary at the time, the keyboard extends from FF to G3, and is today stringed in two-string courses up to C sharp2, and from D2 upwards in three-string courses.
The clarinets were reconstructed following the patterns of the Viennese instrument maker Augustin Rorarius (1788–1848) and the Dresden Heinrich Grenser (1764–1813) by Agnès Guéroult and Rudolf Tutz. Due to the small number of valves and light boxwood, these instruments have a light sound rich in overtones.

 

[Spotted Horses]

Fabulous sound, and pretty good performances too. It's good to have the Hardy inspired Egdon Heath too, as it has always been a big favourite of mine.

Egdon Heath is my favorite Holst piece (which I know from this recording).

[ritter]

After listening to David Hurwitz' silly remarks on Boulez (in his video review of the "Charles Rosen Plays Modern Piano Music" box on Sony), I felt the urge to listen to Rosen's recordings of Piano Sonata No. 1 and Piano Sonata No. 3.



From this set (which I'm glad I grabbed when it was released, as it now goes for a small fortune  ):



Rosen's way with the Première Sonate is very engaging  ...let's see how the Troisième goes...

[amw]

Lovely work. Much beauty, but I still have the feeling that too much of the music is performed in a hush. Sometimes I wish for a more full-throated statement of the music.

I mean, the fact that the majority of the first and last movements are marked ppp does indicate that it's probably correct to perform them in a hush.





In the last movement the first dynamic change from ppp is at bar 82—to pp. ppp then resumes at bar 185. There are isolated p indications to highlight solos by various sections and a single f right before the end. The first movement is similar but with crescendos and one isolated ff passage. I would only be concerned if they were performing the second movement in a hushed manner (its dynamics represent a gradual crescendo from f to ffff with no quiet music at all).

[Karl Henning]

Elena Ruehr
Six String Quartets
Cypress SQ
Borromeo SQ
Stephen Salters, Baritone

Interesting, I conducted Triad in a piece of hers, Long Pond Summer, probably our last concert prior to lockdown.

[Papy Oli]

Wrapping up the listening today by going back to Shostakovich's No.1, this time with Jansons.

[vandermolen]

Bliss: 'The Lady of Shalott' (ballet)

[vandermolen]

Fabulous sound, and pretty good performances too. It's good to have the Hardy inspired Egdon Heath too, as it has always been a big favourite of mine.

Mine too. An excellent disc!

[Spotted Horses]

I mean, the fact that the majority of the first and last movements are marked ppp does indicate that it's probably correct to perform them in a hush.

...

In the last movement the first dynamic change from ppp is at bar 82—to pp. ppp then resumes at bar 185. There are isolated p indications to highlight solos by various sections and a single f right before the end. The first movement is similar but with crescendos and one isolated ff passage. I would only be concerned if they were performing the second movement in a hushed manner (its dynamics represent a gradual crescendo from f to ffff with no quiet music at all).

Thanks for finding and analyzing those scores. I was not concerned so much that the performs were ignoring or misinterpreting score indications. It seemed to me that Weinberg had unrealistic expectations for the performance and appreciation of the music. If I set the volume control so that the loud passages are not uncomfortably loud find it difficult to hear anything during the extended ppp passages. (This also applies to the Naxos recordings.) I have to turn up the volume. Admittedly, I might not have the most sensitive ears.

If I were a conductor I would renormalize the dynamic gradations so that the music was always audible.

[Iota]

Mompou: Música Callada, Book 1

Herbert Henck (piano)


A unique and crystalline world. With a perfect exponent in Herr Henck.

[bhodges]

Beethoven: Egmont Overture (Celibidache / Berlin PO, live recording, 1950) - This is from the DVD, The Art of Conducting, which is well worth seeing for its historical content.

I'm watching this because my mother mentioned it. 

--Bruce

[bhodges]

And now, the Danish String Quartet live from Copenhagen...and collaborating with scientists. (Not sure at the moment what that means!)

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135
Schnittke: String Quartet No. 3
Bach: Contrapunctus
Nordic folk songs arranged by the quartet

Link to the livestream on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/danishquartet/live

More info on the tech part:
https://www.uio.no/ritmo/english/news-and-events/events/musiclab/2021/dsq/index.html

--Bruce

[Karl Henning]

Thanks for finding and analyzing those scores. I was not concerned so much that the performs were ignoring or misinterpreting score indications. It seemed to me that Weinberg had unrealistic expectations for the performance and appreciation of the music. If I set the volume control so that the loud passages are not uncomfortably loud find it difficult to hear anything during the extended ppp passages. (This also applies to the Naxos recordings.) I have to turn up the volume. Admittedly, I might not have the most sensitive ears.

If I were a conductor I would renormalize the dynamic gradations so that the music was always audible.

I'm sure that in live performance/in any space, that is pretty much the natural result.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Glière
Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 25
BBC Philharmonic
Downes



Superb!

[vandermolen]

NP:

Glière
Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 25
BBC Philharmonic
Downes



Superb!

Oh, that's a fab work - rather overshadowed by No.3

[Brian]

Hah, I'm also listening to Glière, not inspired by this thread but by another thread on the boards today...

[Traverso]

Shostakovich

Symphony No.7  "Leningrad"

St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra  (Leningrad)

[ritter]

More Saint-Saëns from the big box.

I randomly pulled out CD 13, which includes the late Cavatine, op. 144 (for the unusual combination of trombone and piano), the two Piano Trios (op. 18 and op. 94), and the Caprice sur des airs danois et russes, op. 79 (flute, clarinet, oboe and piano).



Among the many soloists there is Yan Pascal & Paul Tortelier, Renaud Capuçon and Bertrand Chamayou.

[Karl Henning]

Our own weirdears just reconstructed/revised his First Symphony:

https://www.youtube.com/v/BLyTbGK5euw