What are you listening 2 now?

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Holst: Double Concerto for Two Violins.

[listener]

a first listen to an overlooked older purchase:
ENESCU:  Poème roumain  op. 1,  Voix de la nature  op. posth.
Vox Maris  op. 31
Bucarest Philharmonic Orch. (and chorus and tenor solo in op. 31)
Cristian Mandeal, cond.
WEBER: Chamber music with clarinet
Grand Duo Concertant op. 48, Variations on a theme from the opera Silvana, op. 33,
Introduction, Theme & Variations,  Clarinet Quintet op. 34
Kálman Berkes, clarinet,  Jeno Jando, piano   Auer Quartet

[Todd]

Disc one.

[Mandryka]

Listening to Jerez and I'm impressed by the way he doesn't emphasises melody at the expense of counterpoint - in the later cahiers I think that's  the way it's best played. Came to Orozco by way of Chauzu, who seemed not so interesting to me in Jerez, from the point of view of interpretation.

I remember once being in Jerez in fact, in a bar drinking coffee and brandy, studenty bar, there was a piano, and a girl came in and started to play something from Iberia, sun streaming in from outside, sexy girl on piano, Albeniz, où sont les neiges d'antan.

[SonicMan46]

Finishing off my small Veracini collection today of this late Baroque Italian violin virtuoso and braggadocio - 

Veracini, Francesco (1690-1768) - Overtures, Concertos, and Violin Sonatas, Op. 1 w/ the performers on the cover art below - attached are multiple reviews of Goebel and the Musica Antiqua Köln - reason, the Fanfare reviewer was rather negative while many others were on the positive end of the scale - take a look if interested.  Dave

   

[Traverso]

Beethoven

Symphony No.8

A recording with the extra charm of the recognizable acoustics of the Sofiensaal in Vienna.
This cheerful symphony in the hands of Schmidt Isserstedt with a light touch with enough driving movement and refined articulation. No exaggerated accents or time-bound quirks but a performance that allows the flow of melodies to sing.

[kyjo]

You're approaching to the best stuff in my view and in others too (I guess): Symphonies Nos. 3-5

But besides these fantastic symphonies, please do try his complete ballet Bergakungen (The King of the Mountain) at some point. Very folksy, witty, tuneful, noble. Really good stuff in my view.

I have a fascination with nordic composers, maybe even being the composers I appreciate the most. Most A good portion of my all-time favorite composers come from this geographical area: Nielsen, Sibelius, Atterberg, Melartin, Holmboe, Langgaard, Nystroem, Pettersson, Rosenberg and many others.

Of course, I can't help but agree with all of this!

[kyjo]

The exhilaratingly glorious Symphony No. 3 in this knock-out of a performance and recording.

A very welcome rediscovery. The artistic qualities of this Czech genius appeared very early in his life. He was born to write gorgeous, majestic and optimistic music.

Absolutely! It's my third-favorite symphony of his behind the 7th and 8th. A stunningly imaginative masterpiece of variety and depth (in that solemnly moving slow movement especially). I think some people overstate the Wagnerian influence in the 3rd and 4th Symphonies, often as a way of diminishing their worth. Yes, it's present from time to time, but Dvorak's unmistakable personal stamp has already very much developed IMO.

[vandermolen]

Kinsella: Symphony No.7

[Traverso]

 Schumann

Arabeske
Papillons
Sinfonische Etüden

[kyjo]

To finish up before the weekend:

Korngold
Symphony in F-sharp major
Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg
Marc Albrecht
(on Spotify)



Perhaps my favorite underrated 20th-century symphony! Full of great tunes (even in that strange, somewhat angular first movement) and *stunningly* orchestrated. Sometimes it reminds me of Mahler in spots - is this what Mahler would have sounded like had he lived longer? - but at the end of the day, it's pure Korngold. The slow movement moves me every time I hear it.

You've just been listening to all my favorite music recently! The Korngold is not only one of my favorite underrated 20th century symphonies, but one of my favorite works of all time. I can't live without it! In this work, the contrast between typical Korngoldian late-romantic lushness and a newfound angularity, harmonic "spiciness", and a sense of foreboding is really compelling to me. That's a fine recording IIRC, but then again I love this work no matter what recording I'm listening to.

[bhodges]

And here's a terrific recent reading of the Shostakovich Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11, presented by the Heifetz International Music Institute in 2019.

The outstanding players include two members of the Emerson String Quartet—violinist Philip Setzer and violist Lawrence Dutton—Heifetz artistic director Nicholas Kitchen of the Borromeo Quartet (violin), Antonio Lysy (cello), and Heifetz students Daniel Rafimayeri and Amy Sze (violins) Bowie Ma (viola), and Eliana Yang (cello)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvsPujPG4qo

--Bruce

[Artem]

[André]

Finished listening to this set yesterday.


Sonatas 1-4 and 8-10

[VonStupp]

Reincarnations
Dale Warland Singers

Revisiting these mid-century American choral works:

[SimonNZ]

"La Bella Mandorla: Madrigals From The Codex Squarcialupi" -  Palatino 87

[Que]

"La Bella Mandorla: Madrigals From The Codex Squarcialupi" -  Palatino 87

Really like that recording.

[foxandpeng]

Ian Krouse
Symphony #5 'A Journey Towards Peace'
Fanfare for the Heroes of the Korean War
Symphonies of Strings 1 & 2
Naxos

Nice new release...

[JBS]

"La Bella Mandorla: Madrigals From The Codex Squarcialupi" -  Palatino 87

I seem to remember there's a thread devoted to that Codex somewhere on the forum.

TD
Final CD of the Naxos Arnold set

[André]

First listening ever to this Puccini opera.