What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

Hermann Gradener.

Violin concertos No. 1 in D major & No.2 in D minor.

Karen Bentley Pollock, Violin.
National SO of Ukraine, Gottfried Rabl.

As beautiful as the Brahms violin concerto, it deserves a place in everyone's collection. The fact that he is forgotten and largely ignored is not justified. Performances are lovingly done, full blast romantic as it should be. Pollock knows how to swing the bow, and coaxing beautiful tones from her instrument. A labour of love. Recording and performance are superb.

[vandermolen]

I was tempted by eClassical's offer of a hi-res download of this new release from BIS;



The Klami & Madetoja have appeared on other discs in other versions but this is a unique coupling and stunningly played/recorded.  If you enjoy your music having an almost cinematic energy and colour you should hear this.  The previously unrecorded 2nd version of one of the Sibelius Lemminkainen Legends is also intriguing if slightly for Sibelius obsessives only (of which I am one......!)

I'm really looking forward to receiving the CD of this.

Now playing: Roy Harris Quintet for Piano and Strings (1936)
This is marvellous - very much in the spirit of the 3rd or 6th symphony. I owned an LP featuring it many decades ago. I had to order the CD from the USA, so it was more expensive than usual but not prohibitively so and I'm delighted to have this fine work on CD. I like the atmospheric cover art as well:

[Florestan]

Behind that seductive and passional countenance lies a tender heart. Bogdanova's playing leans towards the introspective, favoring the songlike and lyrical side over the virtuosic and dramatic one. She even manages to make Rachmaninoff sound genuinely frolicsome and humorous, as in the Polka de VR or the Valse Op. 10 no. 2. In the Corelli Variations, though, she delivers drama and turbulence in spades while the more intimate and lyrical parts are heartmeltingly played. She caresses the ear and touches the soul. The sensuous sound of the Fazioli piano fits her style perfectly. A treasure-island disc.



Amazon Editorial Review: The Secret Garden offers a voyage of discovery into the songs of Alexander Dargomyzhsky a much admired Russian composer of the 19th century. His chamber vocal compositions, some of which are written to original French and Italian texts, provide an illuminating insight into the evolution of the Russian composing style from a distinctly European style to one uniquely Russian, based upon a national archetype of Russian people. Dargomyzhskys Romances, a genre in which his talent flourished particularly generously, belong to the finest pages in Russian music of the 19th century. These works of indelible charm, refinement and elegant proportions, delicate transparent textures, glowing with gracefulness and emotional warmth are stylishly performed by Anastasia Prokofieva, a native Russian whose lively and flexible voice lends itself perfectly to this fine repertoire. Sergey Rybin accompanies her on the piano with finesse and delicacy and also provides enlightening booklet notes, full of fascinating background information, detail and historical context.

[Tsaraslondon]

This is a superb performance of Korngold's Symphony with the LSO in fantastic form, espeicalluy the brass who are so important in this work.

Coupling is the lovely Suite from Much Ado About Nothing.

[Biffo]

I was tempted by eClassical's offer of a hi-res download of this new release from BIS;



The Klami & Madetoja have appeared on other discs in other versions but this is a unique coupling and stunningly played/recorded.  If you enjoy your music having an almost cinematic energy and colour you should hear this.  The previously unrecorded 2nd version of one of the Sibelius Lemminkainen Legends is also intriguing if slightly for Sibelius obsessives only (of which I am one......!)

I succumbed but haven't listened to it yet.

[Roasted Swan]

Behind that seductive and passional countenance lies a tender heart. Bogdanova's playing leans towards the introspective, favoring the songlike and lyrical side over the virtuosic and dramatic one. She even manages to make Rachmaninoff sound genuinely frolicsome and humorous, as in the Polka de VR or the Valse Op. 10 no. 2. In the Corelli Variations, though, she delivers drama and turbulence in spades while the more intimate and lyrical parts are heartmeltingly played. She caresses the ear and touches the soul. The sensuous sound of the Fazioli piano fits her style perfectly. A treasure-island disc.

Your review of Bogdanova's playing makes the disc very tempting - an interesting and relatively alternate take on Rachmaninov.  But WHO in their right minds thought that was a good cover picture.  I wish we could get away from the "sex sells" approach to marketing.  Especially when she looks more drugged than alluring......

[Madiel]

Despite the name, the group sounds rather mellow.

Here is supposed to be one of their biggest hits, which to my ears channels The Everly Brothers.

https://www.youtube.com/v/UrIiLvg58SY


https://www.youtube.com/v/tbU3zdAgiX8

Oh man, folks talking about Extreme like this is kind of funny.

Part of the reason this was their biggest hit was because they changed their style for it.

[Traverso]

Bach

[Harry]

Pjotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Symphony No. 5 in E minor.
The Voyevoda, Symphonic ballad..
Capriccio Italien.

Gothenburg SO, Neeme Järvi.
SACD.

As yet this is the best set of Tchaikovsky's symphonies. I wish Gergiev would record them with the Mariinsky Orchestra, like the 4th (SACD). That would be the ultimate blast.

[Florestan]

Your review of Bogdanova's playing makes the disc very tempting - an interesting and relatively alternate take on Rachmaninov.  But WHO in their right minds thought that was a good cover picture.  I wish we could get away from the "sex sells" approach to marketing.  Especially when she looks more drugged than alluring......

Inside the booklet there's another picture of her and she looks differently, much more normal --- actually, that picture fits her playing much better. 

[Traverso]

Your review of Bogdanova's playing makes the disc very tempting - an interesting and relatively alternate take on Rachmaninov.  But WHO in their right minds thought that was a good cover picture.  I wish we could get away from the "sex sells" approach to marketing.  Especially when she looks more drugged than alluring......

It would be comical if a man was photographed in this way. Sex sells despite the "me too" movement with its sometimes fanatical features. 

[Roasted Swan]

Pjotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Symphony No. 5 in E minor.
The Voyevoda, Symphonic ballad..
Capriccio Italien.

Gothenburg SO, Neeme Järvi.
SACD.

As yet this is the best set of Tchaikovsky's symphonies. I wish Gergiev would record them with the Mariinsky Orchestra, like the 4th (SACD). That would be the ultimate blast.

I was hugely disappointed in this set!  I am/was a big fan of Jarvi and enjoyed so many of his discs.  But I just feel too many of his later recordings - and these are a prime example - are brilliantly played but with too little engagement from the podium.  Just a sense of "here we go with Tchaikovsky again".  I found that especially true of the Tchaik ballets he did for Chandos in Bergen - brilliant but heartless.......  That said I thought the No.5 was one of the better in the set.  But no Manfred another nail.....

[vandermolen]

This is a superb performance of Korngold's Symphony with the LSO in fantastic form, espeicalluy the brass who are so important in this work.

Coupling is the lovely Suite from Much Ado About Nothing.

Arguably the greatest performance on disc of Korngold's Symphony. Fine cover art as well.

[foxandpeng]

Great symphonies but there are much better performances I think. Tjeknavorian and the LSO for No.1 (LP only) and Gauk with the USSR SO and Stokowski or Glushchenko for No.3.

Sadly, this is the only version currently available via Spotify for #1. How frustrating. In other news, I think I have an Amazon Music account as part of my Amazon Prime. We shall see what that throws up!

Thread duty...

Benjamin Frankel
Complete Symphonies
Symphony #1
Werner Andreas Albert
Queensland SO
CPO

I like what I've heard of Frankel over the years in occasional dabbling. Symphony #2 made a particular impact, but despite his serial approach, I find his works accessible and listenable without too much effort. #1 is a fine work.

[Brahmsian]

Rimsky's work is a big favourite of mine. Although it's very good I find Kondrashin's account of it slightly too controlled. It lacks the unbridled joy of Ormandy's version, not to mention the heft and glow of the Philadelphia strings. I've read that the recording is percussion shy - the conductor's balances or the engineer's reticence may be to blame here. That may account for the relative soberness. Kondrashin's control of dynamics though is an object lesson in the art of conducting.

The Franck symphony is another work I never tire of. It is ingeniously constructed and intricately laid out, with a wealth of beautiful themes. I tend to prefer fast performances, like those of Munch, Toscanini or van Otterloo to slow ones - Bernstein, Karajan, Furwängler, Giulini. In between are the classic accounts of Monteux, Ansermet, Maazel, Stokowski or Beecham and the more recent Bartholomée and Langrée versions.

Kondrashin's is a dynamic but not rushed account of great power. It is much more controlled and classical in feeling than the other 'soviet' version I have, Svetlanov's, who showers the listener with hail and brimstone in some sections. This is a very fine account of the work.

Wow, two of my most favourite works on one disc!! 🙂

von Matacic for the Russian Easter Overture and Monteux for the Franck D minor Symphony.  Those are my favourite performances.

[Harry]

I was hugely disappointed in this set!  I am/was a big fan of Jarvi and enjoyed so many of his discs.  But I just feel too many of his later recordings - and these are a prime example - are brilliantly played but with too little engagement from the podium.  Just a sense of "here we go with Tchaikovsky again".  I found that especially true of the Tchaik ballets he did for Chandos in Bergen - brilliant but heartless.......  That said I thought the No.5 was one of the better in the set.  But no Manfred another nail.....

It goes to show, how different we react to a performance. His approach to Tchaikovsky tends to be analytical and focusing on detail. Sentimental he is not, and I applaud that, but I think his engagement is of a different character as we normally expect. In this he was taught in the best environment  one could wish. On the soil of  Russia, the birthplace of Tchaikovsky, his basis for this approach was born. I have listened several times to the performances of his symphonies, (Gothenburg SO) and the ballets from the Bergen SO, and in my experience I find plenty of commitment, engagement, and a non conformist attitude towards all the music recorded by Jarvi in regard to Tchaikovsky. But if you would like more commitment, try the Gergiev recording on the Mariinsky label, a riveting 4th symphony, it blew my socks off, I can tell you that!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, they are most interesting to me.

[Harry]

Richard Wagner.

Parsifal, and Orchestral Quest.
Overture and Venusberg, Ballet scene from Tannhauser.
Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin, Concert version.

Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi.
SACD.

Well this is certainly one of the best in this series. The sound is State of the Art, and the performance idem ditto.

[Papy Oli]

Good afternoon all,

Muffat
Armonico Tributo
(Parley of Instruments)

[Spotted Horses]

Kokkonen, Quartet No 2.



Another engaging work. The high point for me is the last movement, epilogue, which is tranquil and sensuous.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Scriabin SY2. Inbal/Frankfurt RSO.