What are you listening 2 now?

[vers la flamme]

William Alwyn: Lyra Angelica. Suzanne Willison, David Lloyd-Jones, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

This is probably one of the best harp concerti ever written. It's also far and away my favorite of Alwyn's works (a somewhat distant second being the Odd Man Out Suite). What a piece!

[Daverz]

I am Listening to Haitink conducting Strauss's Alpine Symphony

Listened to this darkhorse recording of the Alpine Symphony yesterday:



The Liverpool orchestra plays beautifully and the recording is excellent.  Gerard Schwarz seems to have made a lot of recordings under the radar.

Currently playing:

Printemps

[classicalgeek]

In a Mozartean mood! What can I say - the music brings a smile to my face and makes my heart happy.

Mozart
String quintet in C major, K 515
String quintet in D major, K 593
Grumiaux Trio (with Arpad Gerecz and Max LeSueur)
(on Spotify)



Amazing works in amazing performances. K 515 might be my favorite piece of Mozart chamber music - the duet between first violin and first viola in the slow movement is beyond gorgeous, and I just **love** the finale's main theme. It's just so carefree, so... happy.

[SonicMan46]

Well, decided to put on 3 more discs from the 'box' below, i.e. the described Lire & Notturni - just wonderful music and performances - if a Haydn fan and interested in this 'side light of his composing', then highly recommended.  Dave

Haydn, Joseph - Baryton Octets w/ Manfred Huss & Haydn Sinfonietta Wien from a 6-CD double jewel box (w/ a lot of extra storage inside!), including the Concerti a Due Lire and Notturni (for the King of Naples) - have a number of versions of these works - a LOT of discussion in Gurn's Haydn related threads and in his blog, for those interested.  Dave

[André]

From the advertising blurb on Presto's website one can read this bit from the Gramophone:

« As to where Kerson Leong stands in the comparative stakes, fairly near the top, that's for sure – his version could be a happy first choice for any discerning listener »

I guess I don't belong to Gramophone's definition of a 'discerning listener'. While I find Leong to be a fine, strong soloist I also fail to discern any special insight into these extraordinary works, which are now recorded as often as Bach's sonatas and partitas. The sound of his instrument and the recording are superb, it's just that at no point did Leong make me sit up and take notice. I probably have 10 recordings of the sonatas, and I can readily name half that number that are more characterful. Ysaÿe's sonatas are arresting, mind-boggling, insanely beautiful. I guess that's what attracts every violinist, veteran and newcomer alike to the challenge.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Wagner
Wesendonck Lieder, WWV 91

Mahler
Rückert-Lieder

Yvonne Minton, mezzo-soprano
LSO
Boulez

[André]

Only the mezzo's name is known to me. Never heard of the other three, but that soprano and tenor are fully up to the task, with plush, warm, creamy singing. Tabakov is known to GMGers mostly as a composer of some bold, very original symphonic music. He conducts very well, orchestra and chorus are fine but not outstanding. The sound is okay. I was curious to hear Mr. Tabakov as a conductor in some familiar music.

[classicalgeek]

It's been a Mozart day! More of my favorite performances:

Mozart
Piano concerto no. 18
Piano concerto no. 20
Mitsuko Uchida, piano
English Chamber Orchestra
Jeffrey Tate
(on Spotify, though I really need to get this on CD!)



Uchida/Tate has long been my recording of choice for all the Mozart concertos. Uchida plays these with a sensitivity and thoughtfulness that few have matched, while still bringing plenty of virtuosity to the moments that call for it. And the accompaniments are immaculate; Tate has the ECO at the top of their game. No. 18 is a delight, of course; the slow movement is a remarkable set of variations. No. 20 is my favorite Mozart piano concerto, and Uchida and Tate give a nearly perfect performance, from the barely-contained turbulence of the first movement, to the absolutely gorgeous slow movement, to the finale with its surprise (but totally satisfying) happy ending! Just great music-making all around.

[Cato]

I am having a Strauss day now I am listening to Metamorphosen with Gundula Janowitz and Richard Stamp

You might consider Zemlinsky's Orchestral Songs, especially the Sechs Maeterlinck-Lieder



https://www.youtube.com/v/DusZQm-7uLE

[Mirror Image]

Indeed! Sometimes you just need some Mozart in your life!

Not for me! Mendelssohn...YES! Mozart...NO!

[SonicMan46]

Not for me! Mendelssohn...YES! Mozart...NO!

So John, you have no Woflie in your presumbably huge collection of CDs?  Dave

[JBS]

Only the mezzo's name is known to me. Never heard of the other three, but that soprano and tenor are fully up to the task, with plush, warm, creamy singing. Tabakov is known to GMGers mostly as a composer of some bold, very original symphonic music. He conducts very well, orchestra and chorus are fine but not outstanding. The sound is okay. I was curious to hear Mr. Tabakov as a conductor in some familiar music.

His Mahler cycle is OOP (Amazon lists it as unavailable)


TD
Faure: Penelope

[Mirror Image]

So John, you have no Woflie in your presumbably huge collection of CDs?  Dave

I think I do own a few recordings of his Requiem and I had a box set of his symphonies (w/ Böhm on DG), but I gifted it to a friend. That's about it I believe.

[Todd]

From the freshly landed big box.  Exactly as expected, and heard, just not in 16/44.1 sound - flawless if garish execution that thrills for that reason, even if other things go missing.  Had to start here.

[JBS]

I think I do own a few recordings of his Requiem and I had a box set of his symphonies (w/ Böhm on DG), but I gifted it to a friend. That's about it I believe.

If I may make a suggestion, try the string Quintets or the Quartets (the set dedicated to Haydn especially).  They may be more on target for you.

[Mirror Image]

If I may make a suggestion, try the string Quintets or the Quartets (the set dedicated to Haydn especially).  They may be more on target for you.

Thanks, Jeffrey. If I ever want to explore Mozart's music, I'll keep these works in mind. But, to be honest, I have enough music to keep me busy for 10 lifetimes.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Rachmaninov
The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29
Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
LSO
Previn

[vers la flamme]

George Frideric Handel: Delirio amoroso, HWV 99. Magdalena Kožená, Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre

Good to revisit this recording, and Handel's secular vocal music, after spending much of the past week with his sacred music.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Langgaard
Symphony No. 2 'Vaarbrud' (Awakening of Spring), BVN 53A
Anu Komsi, soprano
Wiener Philharmoniker
Oramo

[Karl Henning]

So John, you have no Woflie in your presumbably huge collection of CDs?  Dave

As for me, Dave, the day I stop listening to Mozart is the day I have tired of life.