What are you listening 2 now?

[André]

IIRC the Hurwitzer drooled about this version of the MS. It dates from 1967, near the end of Szell's tenure in Cleveland. It is indeed quite a performance: dynamic, propulsive, deliciously irascible. Many details stand out as in no other performance: the brutal slashes from the strings in the Crucifixus, the explosive entry of the chorus at Et resurrexit or the wild, almost out of control fugue at Et vitam venturi. The timpani are forceful, more so than what we hear from that orchestra in the studio.

I imagine that in the studio it would have been slightly more settled. The Cleveland Chorus was led by Robert Shaw, no less. The sound is not bad at all, good stereo broadcast quality, much better than their Bruckner Te Deum. My only reservations are about the singers (Sara Mae Endich, soprano, Florence Kopleff, alto, Ernst Haefliger, tenor and Ezio Flagello, bass). The live recording conditions do them no favor. I had the feeling they were struggling to make themselves heard against the massed forces. Also, their timbre is not especially appealing. In the end it's the sheer energy created by chorus and orchestra that register. This is an electric reading, a must for Szell or MS fans 

[Symphonic Addict]

My goodness this composer is amazing! The more time I spend with his music, the more I realize just how unjustly his neglect was during his lifetime. Thanks to labels like Dacapo, Chandos and Danacord for resurrecting this masterful composer's music.

And you shouldn't miss Fra Dybet! (albeit I think it's not included on that set). An absolutely stirring work!!!

[Symphonic Addict]

Had to play on No.2 & No.3. Lovely stuff.

+1

Schumann's endearing quartets have exquisite music.

[Mirror Image]

And you shouldn't miss Fra Dybet! (albeit I think it's not included on that set). An absolutely stirring work!!!

Sure, I know it and love it. It's on the Music of the Spheres Dausgaard recording that I know and love well. Oh and you need to hear Antikrist!!!

[Symphonic Addict]

Sure, I know it and love it. It's on the Music of the Spheres Dausgaard recording that I know and love well. Oh and you need to hear Antikrist!!!

I do know Antikrist, and as you can imagine, I LOVE IT!!!

[Bachtoven]

The early digital audio thins out his tone a bit, but his magnificent playing shines through.

[Linz]

Now for Celibidache With Franck and Hindemith

[Mirror Image]

I do know Antikrist, and as you can imagine, I LOVE IT!!!

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Shostakovich
Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok, Op. 127
Susan Gritton, soprano
Florestan Trio



Of course, this is exquisite per usual with Shostakovich's song cycles. This performance was apparently the last one that The Florestan Trio recorded. Boy, they went out with some stellar performances.

[classicalgeek]

Aho
Timpani concerto
Piano concerto no. 1*
Ari-Pekka Maenpaa, timpani
Sonja Fraki, piano*
Erkki Lasonpalo, Eva Ollikainen*



Both really fascinating works - Aho definitely revels in unusual sonorities, and his climaxes are nothing short of volcanic. He's also not afraid to use unusual instruments in his orchestra (there's a prominent part for contrabass clarinet in the piano concerto!) and an extremely wide array of percussion instruments. He can write beautiful music too (like the 'Intermezzo' of the timpani concerto.) I've heard some of his music before and thought he was very impressive as a composer, and these two concertos confirm that. Good stuff!

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Strauss
Arabella, Op. 79
Lisa della Casa (soprano), Judith Hellwig (soprano), Harald Pröglhöf (bass), Fritz Sengl (singer), Anton Dermota (tenor), Waldemar Kmentt (tenor), Karl Kolowratnik (singer), George London (baritone), Hilde Gueden (soprano), Otto Edelmann (bass), Eberhard Wächter (baritone), Ira Malaniuk (contralto), Wilhelm Lenninger (tenor), Otto Vajda (bass), Mimi Coertse (soprano)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsoper
Solti

[Klavier1]

Just No.4-- an excellent performance.

[vers la flamme]

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

Don't know anything about these musicians, but this recording sounds great. The work itself is dark and mysterious but quite beautiful in a strangely moving way.

[Traverso]

The beer looks hip and cool. I envy you!

This beer, whose fermentation process continues in the bottle, is a beer that I have been drinking for decades. With small sips, tasting the full aroma. As I said, I no longer drink alcohol and have no need for it anymore. I buy  sometimes a few bottles but they remain untouched. I don't miss it......

[Cato]

Just No.4-- an excellent performance.

Is that the original Fourth Concerto rather than the shorter, revised version?

[classicalgeek]

Just No.4-- an excellent performance.

I've always liked the Rachmaninov Fourth Piano Concerto - for me it ranks just behind nos. 2 and 3 and definitely ahead of no. 1. I don't understand why so many people look down on it. It's a *fun* piece, less 'heart-on-sleeve' than most Rachmaninov, but still full of great tunes - and I believe it contains the only instance of a trombone glissando (just before the end of the piece) in Rachmaninov's orchestral output.

Thread duty:

Tchaikovsky
Symphony no. 5
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra
Yevgeny Mravinsky
(on Spotify)



Neurotic, intense, and no-holds-barred, just like nos. 4 and 6 in the same set! Sure, the sound is just OK, the ensemble can turn a bit scrappy at times, and those Soviet horns and trumpets are... an acquired taste (I find the famous horn solo in the second movement loses much of its impact in this recording.) But damn if it's not exciting - Mravinsky maintains tension throughout the symphony, and in the finale sometimes the orchestra sounds like it's hanging on for dear life! It all just works - maybe I wouldn't want these to be my only Tchaikovsky symphonies, but at the same time, they're absolutely essential in any classical music collection (my opinion, anyway ); they're near the top of my CD wishlist.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Stravinsky
Orpheus
Apollon musagète
Chicago SO
Columbia SO
Stravinsky



Stravinsky at his most elegiac, but with a spiritual quality like that found in his choral works. This is a desert island disc for me. I never heard Orpheus or Apollon musagète performed any better.

[bhodges]

Just No.4-- an excellent performance.

Performance aside (and I'm adding this to the very long list), I just love that cover photo. This is exactly the marketing that classical music often needs -- not another photo of a composer's head. 

--Bruce

[JBS]

Dvorak Symphonic Poems Opp 107-110

[Klavier1]

Is that the original Fourth Concerto rather than the shorter, revised version?

The booklet doesn't say which version it is. I'd guess if it were the original, which is not often recorded, then some mention would be made, so I assume it's the 3rd and "final" version.