What are you listening 2 now?

Started by Gurn Blanston, September 23, 2019, 05:45:22 AM

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ritter

More not so unknown Richard Strauss: the Parergon zur Symphonia Domestica and Panathenäenzug. Anna Gourari (pf —left hand—) and the Bamberger Symphoniker conducted by Karl Anton Rickenbacher.

CD 6 of this set:


kyjo

Quote from: classicalgeek on November 27, 2021, 11:37:46 PM
As recommended by Kyle above:

Arthur Bliss
Meditations on a Theme by John Blow
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sir Andrew Davis

(on Spotify)



Totally agree with Kyle that this is a masterpiece! Again, a really unique and innovative compositional process is paired with masterful orchestration and the result is astounding, and some of the music is just **gorgeous** (The Lambs and In Green Pastures.) Again I've discovered a composer whose music I've listened to, but not taken the time to fully appreciate previously; just in the last few months it's happened with Lloyd, Koechlin, Barber, Poulenc, Arnold, Stenhammar, Alfven - and now Bliss. And that's thanks in large part to fellow GMG-ers - so keep the recommendations coming!  ;D

No surprise that you enjoyed it so much, considering how similar our tastes are! Those sections you mention are indeed mesmerizingly gorgeous, and for effective contrast there's also darker sections of the work such as the startlingly creepy Interlude: Through the valley of the shadow of death with its "bone-rattling" percussion effects. When the "sun bursts through the clouds" in the final section it's all the more moving considering the journey that's come before. Oh, I could talk about this work all day! :)
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Traverso

Bruckner

From the last to his first symphony wich I like very much,I think I feel at home with Bruckner.  :)


aligreto

Stanford: Irish Rhapsodies Nos. 5 & 6 [Handley]



Mirror Image

Quote from: Traverso on November 28, 2021, 07:08:03 AM
Bruckner is more universal.less personal,less sorrowful ego exhibitionisme.For this reason alone Harnoncourt refused to direct or recorded a Mahler symphony.Bruckner is a more open space.

I'm not attacking Mahler but it is what it is.

I won't argue that Mahler's idiom is one of personal emotionalism that is experienced through a large spectrum of varying moods, but this doesn't detract from the music's ingenuity and really the sense of purpose and occasion it projects unto the listener or, at least, this listener. :) I don't care anything about a composer being more "universal" --- I only care how the music affects me and I'm continuously blown away by his works.

A little side note: I came to love Mahler later on and was a more steadfast Brucknerian in my earlier listening, but listening to Mahler's 5th one evening many years ago really broke me down and did something to me. I wept for at least 10 minutes straight after the Adagietto ended and, for this, Mahler will always be more important in my life. I'm not one to cry when I hear music, but Mahler broke me down unexpectedly and I simply lost control for that brief amount of time.

ritter

Cross-posted from the Opera sub forum:

Quote from: ritter on November 28, 2021, 08:23:31 AM
Revisiting Stravinsky's Le Rossignol after a long hiatus.


This was the works's first recording ever (it's from 1955), in French translation, and is utterly charming. The cast includes some of the most distinguished French vocalists of the time (Janine Micheau and Jean Giraudeau are outstanding), and André Cluytens' handling of the score is, as could be expected, masterful.

Very enjoyable!  :)

vers la flamme



Jean Sibelius: Kullervo, op.7. Osmo Vänskä, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki University Chorus

So far so good.

vandermolen

Quote from: vers la flamme on November 28, 2021, 09:18:40 AM


Jean Sibelius: Kullervo, op.7. Osmo Vänskä, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki University Chorus

So far so good.
It's a very fine recording, although Kullervo is generally well-served on disc.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Todd

The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

vandermolen

Quote from: kyjo on November 28, 2021, 07:20:38 AM
No surprise that you enjoyed it so much, considering how similar our tastes are! Those sections you mention are indeed mesmerizingly gorgeous, and for effective contrast there's also darker sections of the work such as the startlingly creepy Interlude: Through the valley of the shadow of death with its "bone-rattling" percussion effects. When the "sun bursts through the clouds" in the final section it's all the more moving considering the journey that's come before. Oh, I could talk about this work all day! :)
Totally agree. For decades it was described as 'amiable but rambling' in the Penguin Stereo Record Guide. They have a lot to answer for.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

This is one of the few of my CDs that my wife likes as well:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

aligreto

Glinka: Prince Kholmsky - Overture & Entr'Actes [Svetlanov]





This is fine music that is atmospheric and which contains its fair share of tension and drama. I also like the rich colour and drama of those big orchestral chords.

Mandryka



Whatever happened to Andrezej Wasowski?
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

premont

γνῶθι σεαυτόν

Bachtoven

He's a fiercely virtuosic yet passionate/sensitive player.


SonicMan46

Well, I have 2 storage bins (holding up to 30+ CDs each that contain mostly classical music arranged by performer or possibly composers when multiple are present on a disc - have not touched in a long time - arranged roughly alphabetically - first ones up:

Anderson, Muriel - saw her live decades ago which prompted the purchase of this early CD; she actually performs in many different genres - from her Wiki bio "Muriel Anderson (1960-Present) is an American fingerstyle guitarist and harp guitarist.... She is the first woman to win the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship.(Source)

Amsterdam Guitar Trio - another early purchase after a local live performance - seem to be mainly into classical transcriptions but I've not explored their more recent efforts.

Aurora Borealis w/ a half dozen+ composers from the chilly north - I've always enjoyed this album but has been a while!  Dave :)

   

Bachtoven

#54916
Quote from: SonicMan46 on November 28, 2021, 11:03:02 AM

Amsterdam Guitar Trio - another early purchase after a local live performance - seem to be mainly into classical transcriptions but I've not explored their more recent efforts.

They (along with The Groningen Guitar Duo) made at least one recording of contemporary works:



It was also released with this cover:


Mandryka

#54917
Quote from: (: premont :) on November 28, 2021, 10:38:41 AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrzej_Wasowski

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read this

QuoteOf his own playing, he said "In my conviction, Chopin is not a sentimentalist. On the contrary when I am at the piano I feel his power and anguished revolutionary might."

Because nothing could be further from the truth about his Chopin nocturnes! It's the most heavily tearful maudlin Chopin ever. I can't listen to it. Maybe he was talking about his mazurkas - which do seem less sentimental.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Roasted Swan

First listen today to;



I'm struggling with this.  I understand, appreciate and applaud the struggle against adversity and oppression that this music encapsulates but strip away that context and of itself its really not that good.   The symphony has some interesting moments but in the main its overscored and not a match for the vast majority of comparable music written at the time.  Even Joplin's Treemonisha (which predates it significantly) seems more 'significant' to me in its treatment of its musical roots.  But at the moment everyone seems to be queuing up to play Florence Price!  From the Proms to the Philadelpia Orchestra.  Do they hear something I'm missing or is it just a convenient "look how inclusive CM can be" thing.......

Spotted Horses

Quote from: kyjo on November 28, 2021, 07:20:38 AM
No surprise that you enjoyed it so much, considering how similar our tastes are! Those sections you mention are indeed mesmerizingly gorgeous, and for effective contrast there's also darker sections of the work such as the startlingly creepy Interlude: Through the valley of the shadow of death with its "bone-rattling" percussion effects. When the "sun bursts through the clouds" in the final section it's all the more moving considering the journey that's come before. Oh, I could talk about this work all day! :)

I've not heard the Meditations on a theme of John Blow, despite being an admirer of Bliss. I find I have the piece on a Lyrita recording with Hugo Rignold. A good recording to discover the piece, anybody?
There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind. - Duke Ellington