What are you listening 2 now?

[vers la flamme]

Alfred Schnittke: Piano Quintet. Constantine Orbelian, Moscow String Quartet

[André]

André Laporte's opera Das Schloss (The Castle), after Kafka's novel.

I recently listened to Poul Ruders' take on Kafka's The Trial. Now it's the turn of another modern opera of the absurd. Composed from 1981 to 1985, the score is resolutely modern, but not aggressively so. Dodecaphonic atonality and tonality mingle. As per the notes, (they) « do not conflict, but rather complement each other ». There are references to Wagner and Berg. Laporte wears his Darmstadt schooling lightly.

It is a very mobile opera: characters constantly interact, creating a flow populated by the tones of a very active orchestra. The libretto is 25 pages of densely written text in very small font. Unfortunately the libretto is unilingual (German), making it hard to appreciate Kafka's prose. The booklet contains an analysis of the work and a synopsis. Although I know the storyline, I haven't read the novel. Be that as it may, Laporte's score buzzes with interesting sounds and the conversational vocal line helps get into the spirit of the work.

Excellent sound, with voices and orchestra in good balance in a clear acoustic. 1995 production.

[bhodges]

Janáček: Jenůfa (Royal Opera House, archived livestream from October) - Not sure how long this will be available FREE, but for anyone who loves the piece, definitely check it out. Asmik Grigorian sings the title role, Karita Mattila is Kostelnička, and all conducted by Henrik Nánási.

https://stream.roh.org.uk/free-titles/videos/jenufa

--Bruce

[Mirror Image]

NP:

[Mirror Image]

Yes, there is a lot of really good stuff in the Stupel set. Favourites of mine there are 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 15, 16, probably more, and the various orchestral pieces, including the impressive Antichrist-Prelude. However, some of the Polish, vocal participants are singing an unknown language, that is supposed to sound like Danish. One is reminded of what they say about Hans Christian Andersen: as a teenager, he taught himself English through reading, but nobody educated him concerning the correct pronunciation, so when he started talking it, not a soul understood a word, since he'd use a Danish way of saying the spelled words, including all the syllables. That, though not very important for non-natives, and an at times somewhat sketchy 1st Symphony, are probably the main objections to be had. Overall, Langgaard orchestral recordings tend to be unusually different from each other, resulting in very varied experiences of the works ...

Thanks for the feedback, MusicTurner. I, in fact, enjoyed Stupel's performance of the 1st very much. Much more than Dausgaard's (who is very good of course). As for the vocal parts, yeah, I'm sure you'd know a lot more about this than I would, but it didn't bother me that much, although if I was Danish I'm sure I might be whistling a different tune.

[JBS]

First listen to this music:

(yes, Scherbakov has recorded the cycle twice, for Marco Polo and then for Steinway & Sons in a two-CD set with the Liszt Etudes to form a fully complete cycle).

It's possible Steinway merely re-issued the Marco Polo recording as part of the larger set. One of their first offerings as a label was a fancily boxed-up re-issue of the Liszt Beethoven Symphonies recordings Scherbakov did for Naxos (and which now seem to have been boxed up by Naxos itself).

TD

Final CD of this set.

[JBS]

Admittedly the cover is somewhat obscure. 39'45 is the title of a series of 3 recordings that « Had they been released at the time the repertoire was created, would have been forbidden(...) This new Sinfonia Varsovia album is the third and last volume of the series 39'45, presenting works created in times of war, occupation, and – on this album – also Stalinism, ZSRR and PRL(*)

(*) ZSRR is the polish acronym for USSR. I couldn't find what PRL meant, though I surmise the P stands for Polskie (Polish).

RL would be Republika Ludowa, People's Republic.
So Polish People's Republic (which is what you probably expected).
When I asked Google to translate the English phrase into Polish, it returned, very simply, PRL.

[Mirror Image]

NP:



A sensational disc all-around. This is Bartók played with a Boulezian clarity, but perhaps a bit more rustic in color.

[Linz]

I am listening to CD3 of this set

[Irons]

Vlado Perlemuter: Ravel Piano Works, Record Two.



Miroirs.
Sonatine.
Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn.

[Tsaraslondon]

Landowski (1915-1999)
Mouvement pour orchestre à cordes
Souvenir d'un jardin d'enfance - Laurent Decker - oboe
Concerto pour ondes Martenot - Françoise Deslogères - ondes Martenot
Concerto pour basson - Gilbert Audin - bassoon

Ensemble Orchestral Harmonia Nova - Didier Bouture

I really like the ondes Martenot concerto, but the rest I'd say is pleasurable without being particularly memorable.

[Roasted Swan]

The Smetana Trio (the ensemble not the work!) are absolutely one of my favourite groups.  Individually they are true virtuosi but as an ensemble they have a fantastic "collegiate" approach and feel for the music they play.  This disc is such a good example;



Goodness me the Dvorak Trio - its the early Op.21 one - is just gorgeous.  How on earth does a composer come up with so many good tunes - its absurd!  But the the way these players interact is a joy too - such a good balance between energy and lyricism, primary and secondary material.  But then the same can be said of the rest of the disc too - what an all-round interesting programme.  Life-enhancing stuff.

And now for something completely different..... Not a disc I listen to often but in the light of recent chats about Malcolm Arnold I chose this.....



This is the famous live/premiere of this piece where Arnold conducting the moody RPO told them in a few choice expletives to basically get off their high-horses and play!  Of course this is theoretically Jon Lord's Concerto for orchestra but listening to this performance I do wonder how much help Arnold gave with the orchestration.  Is it just me or do some bits sound rather Arnold-ish in terms of how the orchestra is used.  I'm never that keen on these kind of fusion pieces but in fact this is definitely one of the best.  Because the orchestra are given a decent/interesting part which does compliment the band's playing.  The downside is that - of course - its not a real concerto.  Why not call it just "3 pieces for band and orchestra" (I like the Russo Siegel Street Music on DG with Ozawa if folk remember that...).  The use of "concerto" creates an expectation that the work can't fulfill.  I was also struck how well-behaved the audience is!  Barely a cough let alone any other interaction during the sections of music.  Also, the band play really well - these guys can really fly around their instruments!  So not a piece for my weekly play-list but certainly worth an occasional visit

[VonStupp]

William Walton
Antiphon
Jubilate Deo
4 Christmas Carols
Where Does the Uttered Music Go?

The Bach Choir - Sir David Willcocks

I'm not sure if I have heard Walton's a cappella choral music before. Uttered Music (video below) seems a mite more substantial than the rest here, channeling a Britten-esque language.

I love Sir David's time with The Bach Choir. 

VS

https://www.youtube.com/v/apMbRdMYZzg&ab_channel=BachChoir-Topic   

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Vlado Perlemuter: Ravel Piano Works, Record Two.



Miroirs.
Sonatine.
Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn.

Nice recording!

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

MASSENET, J.: Brumaire. Royal Scottish National, Tingaud.

[Papy Oli]

Mozart - Requiem (Gardiner)

[Mirror Image]

Continuing on with my traversal of the Langgaard symphonies (plus other orchestral works):

[Irons]

Nice recording!

I think so.

[SonicMan46]

Beethoven, LV - Sonatas Fortepiano & Violin w/ Ian Watson & Susanna Ogata for those who may want a recent period instrument recordings (done 2014-2017); the instruments are shown below (click to enlarge); but the fortepiano is by Paul McNulty (2000) after Walter and Sohn pianos from the early 1800s; the violin was built by Joseph Klotz in 1772 (Germany); the bow is an original, unlabeled pre-Tourte style model, likely French - reviews are attached.  Dave

 

[foxandpeng]

Dmitri Shostakovich
Hamlet
King Lear
Yablonsky
Jurowski

Film scores by DSCH. New territory for me, but excellent so far.