What are you listening 2 now?

[Pohjolas Daughter]

For the birthday boy:

Sibelius
Nightride & Sunrise, Op. 55
Helsinki PO
Segerstam

Did you enjoy your "ride"?

Sibelius, in honor of his birthday:

En saga
Luonnotar
Finlandia
Spring Song
The Bard
The Dryad
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Sir Alexander Gibson
(on Spotify)

Disc 1 of this set (I'll listen to Disc 2 a little later):


Wonderful stuff! And a particularly great performance of En Saga. I've heard better performances of Finlandia, and the Spring Song (which I hadn't heard before) didn't strike me as that original, but there's no denying Sibelius's greatness!

All I have of Gibson's is his box of symphonies (re Sibelius).  Glad that you enjoyed it though!

I keep meaning to explore more of Messiaen; just haven't managed to get there yet though!   

PD

[Mirror Image]

Did you enjoy your "ride"?

PD

I always do. Sibelius is in my "Top 5".

[aligreto]

I'll have to dig around upstairs as I don't think that I've heard his trios before now.

They are works that are definitely worth hearing, PD.

[aligreto]

Glinka: Premiere Polka in B flat major [Svetlanov]





Light and bright.


The above was a particularly terrific CD.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Bartók
Piano Concerto No. 2, BB 101, Sz. 95
Ashkenazy
LPO
Solti

[Karl Henning]

Alas, I don't know any of the other performances, but I certainly did enjoy this one. 

I'll have to dig around upstairs as I don't think that I've heard his trios before now.

Myaskovsky's Cello Concerto
Rostropovich
Malcolm Sargent
Philharmonia Orchestra
1956
from the Rostropovich:  Complete EMI Recordings set

First time hearing it---enjoyable if very melancholic; it was also written between 1944-45 though!

PD

Brilliant Cello Concerto!

[Karl Henning]

I'm in!

Myaskovsky
Vc Cto in c minor, Op. 66
Sasha Ivashkin, vc
Russian State Symphony
Valery Polyansky

[André]

A titanic performance of the Beethoven 9th. Not because it sinks at the end but because of its sheer might and grandeur. Mono recording of great quality: the RSO Leipzig plays in the Rudolfinum in Prague. The hall's fantastic acoustics accommodate everything splendidly. Even though it's not stereo there is a depth to the sound stage that many modern recordings do not capture. Abendroth was one mean conductor. What you see on that cover pic is what you get: decisiveness and determination. And yet the Adagio is very collected and lyrical, with long singing phrases - and quite a few old-fashioned portamentos.

Abendroth conducted widely in the GDR and there are more than one recording of the 9th around. I have another one on the Archipel label and I know of yet another on Berlin Classics.

[classicalgeek]

A great set! Gibson was in his element in Sibelius. Ah yes, Spring Song is one of those works, like many in Sibelius' oeuvre, that had a fractured genesis, but I'm glad he ironed it out and the piece saw the light of day.

Some information on Spring Song taken from the Sibelius website:

Op. 16 Vårsång (Spring Song). First version (Improvisation) 1894; first performance in Vaasa, 21st June 1894, conductor Jean Sibelius; score missing. Second version (Kevätlaulu / Spring Song) 1895; first performance in Helsinki, 17th April 1895 (Orchestra of the Helsinki Orchestral Society under Jean Sibelius). Final version: first performance in Helsinki, 12th December 1903 (Orchestra of Helsinki Philharmonic Society under Robert Kajanus)

Sibelius wrote an "Improvisation for orchestra" for the Vaasa National Song Festival of 1894. The first public performance was a disappointment for the composer, as the audience preferred Armas Järnefelt's composition Korsholma. In his review Oskar Merikanto praised Sibelius more than Järnefelt, although he commented that the impressive crescendo of the Improvisation was "completely wasted" out of doors.

In Helsinki the following spring the work was called by its present title, Spring Song. Sibelius rewrote the work in 1902 omitting the Spanish-style climax. When the work was published it was given the subtitle La tristesse du printemps.

The piece has stayed in concert programmes over the decades, but recognition has sometimes beein grudging. According to Erkki Salmenhaara the theme itself is excellent and spacious, but "nothing much is made of it". Gustav Mahler heard the work when he was in Helsinki in 1907 but was not particularly complimentary: "Quite ordinary Kitsch spiced up with certain 'Nordic' harmonic mannerisms to create a national sauce."

It is true that the work was "Nordic" and did not have the Sibelian originality of Kullervo or En Saga. Karl Flodin praised its "charming and fresh Nordic tone" and compared the work to those of Grieg and Sinding.

Yet Spring Song is not without merit. The spacious theme arouses one's expectations, and the climax usually inspires the public. Sibelius liked to conduct the work as late as the 1920s, for example in Vyborg in 1923.

Thanks so much for the info! The Spring Song is lovely, but like the article says, not quintessentially Sibelian; it reminded me vaguely of Grieg!

Thread duty: Backtracking to Bliss

Bliss
Piano concerto
Piano sonata
*Concerto for two pianos
Peter Donohoe, Martin Roscoe*, pianos
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
David Lloyd-Jones
(on Spotify)



The Piano Concerto is definitely a big and bold work, full of grand gestures. It seemed a little long at over 37 minutes, particularly the first movement; I think the slow movement really stuck with me the most. I rather enjoyed the virtuosic Piano Sonata, but the highlight of this recording was the Concerto for Two Pianos. Witty and charming with plenty of spiky sonorities, it reminded me in many places of the Concerto for Two Pianos of Poulenc - a work it predates by eight years! One wonders if Poulenc was familiar with Bliss's work.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I'm in!

Myaskovsky
Vc Cto in c minor, Op. 66
Sasha Ivashkin, vc
Russian State Symphony
Valery Polyansky

How did you enjoy that recording Karl?

PD

[kyjo]

I get what you mean. I really like 1st and 4th movements, but the inner ones sound less inspired to these ears. I think I enjoy the lovely and life-affirming First Symphony the best.

Regarding Stenhammar's First Symphony, it's the two middle movements that I like most, especially the scherzo with its endearing main theme which sounds almost like Elgar with a Nordic accent! But overall, I prefer the more mature Second Symphony.

[Linz]

Bruckner Symphony 2  and the Movement I of No. 8  which means I will need to listen to the next disc

[Klavier1]

A wonderful new release with great playing and sound. 24/96 FLAC download.

[classicalgeek]

more Sibelius Tone Poems. Disc 2 of this set:



Pohjola's Daughter
Night Ride and Sunrise
The Oceanides
Tapiola
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Sir Alexander Gibson
(on Spotify)

Four absolute masterpieces, in four excellent performances. I especially enjoyed Pohjola's Daughter and The Oceanides (the latter work is a particular favorite of mine.) Tapiola isn't quite on Karajan's level, but it's still very good. I've been trying to find Gibson's symphony cycle, but it's long OOP, of course - and the price is steep on the secondary market!

[Karl Henning]

How did you enjoy that recording Karl?

PD

Love it, as I do the accompanying 27^th Symphony, PD!


TD:

CD 5
Violin Concerti Op. 6 N^os. 1-6

[Mirror Image]

more Sibelius Tone Poems. Disc 2 of this set:



Pohjola's Daughter
Night Ride and Sunrise
The Oceanides
Tapiola
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Sir Alexander Gibson
(on Spotify)

Four absolute masterpieces, in four excellent performances. I especially enjoyed Pohjola's Daughter and The Oceanides (the latter work is a particular favorite of mine.) Tapiola isn't quite on Karajan's level, but it's still very good. I've been trying to find Gibson's symphony cycle, but it's long OOP, of course - and the price is steep on the secondary market!

It's a shame how Chandos has ignored much of their back catalog of recordings and Gibson's Sibelius comes to mind. They remastered this set of tone poems, but they won't remaster and reissue the symphonies? What is wrong with this label? Anyway...sorry, I'm venting here.

[Roasted Swan]

It's a shame how Chandos has ignored much of their back catalog of recordings and Gibson's Sibelius comes to mind. They remastered this set of tone poems, but they won't remaster and reissue the symphonies? What is wrong with this label? Anyway...sorry, I'm venting here.

I agree they are fine performances but to be fair to a relatively small label like Chandos, what financial benefit would they get from the time and money it cost to re-master/re-release older recordings into a crowded marketplace targeting a tiny minority of dedicated collectors who might be interested.  I wish Chandos would remaster the Bryden Thomson Bax symphony cycle but I ain't holding my breath!

[Mirror Image]

I agree they are fine performances but to be fair to a relatively small label like Chandos, what financial benefit would they get from the time and money it cost to re-master/re-release older recordings into a crowded marketplace targeting a tiny minority of dedicated collectors who might be interested.  I wish Chandos would remaster the Bryden Thomson Bax symphony cycle but I ain't holding my breath!

Perhaps for you Bax fans that would alright. But, yes, I understand that Chandos doesn't have the financial backing in order to do such an endeavor, but I suppose one can always wish.

[foxandpeng]

Alla Pavlova
Symphony #5
Elegy
Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio
Vladimir Ziva
Naxos

I am often surprised that Alla Pavlova's symphonies seem so overlooked on GMG. Her work has real beauty and deserves much greater recognition.

[Mirror Image]

Alla Pavlova
Symphony #5
Elegy
Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio
Vladimir Ziva
Naxos

I am often surprised that Alla Pavlova's symphonies seem so overlooked on GMG. Her work has real beauty and deserves much greater recognition.

I wouldn't she's overlooked, but she is ignored it seems. For me, I just don't care much about her music. I'm stuck in the 19th Century and early to mid 20th Century it seems, but that is where I'm the happiest. Oh well, we like what we like!