What are you listening 2 now?

[VonStupp]

Is he as fast was Solti was? [Which is my favorite precisely because he's so zippy.]

Solti's 1st movement (with the CSO) comes in at 18 1/2 minutes. The one I just heard brings it in at sub-17 minutes. Those constantly dotted rhythms in the opening mvt. really fly by.

I am not enraptured by his fleet 2nd (slow) movement (Solti's 10 minutes vs this one's 8 minutes), but everything else works out pretty well. The RPO sounds really nice too.

VS

[ritter]

And now, some Boulez: Sonate No. 1 and No. 3, played by Claude Helffer (whose book of conversations with Philippe Albéra is turning out to be a fascinating read).

[JBS]

Solti's 1st movement (with the CSO) comes in at 18 1/2 minutes. The one I just heard brings it in at sub-17 minutes. Those constantly dotted rhythms in the opening mvt. really fly by.

I am not enraptured by his fleet 2nd (slow) movement (Solti's 10 minutes vs this one's 8 minutes), but everything else works out pretty well. The RPO sounds really nice too.

VS

Sounds promising. i just ordered the set of Numbers 4-6. I don't usually buy used online, but that seems to be the only option .

[foxandpeng]

Peter Maxwell Davies
Naxos Quartets 7 and 8
SQ #7
Maggini Quartet

Paul Hindemith
Complete String Quartets
SQ #5
Amar Quartet


Chalk and cheese for this evening. From the relative accessibility (ish) of Hindemith #5 (pretty new to me still) to the uncharacteristic lack of density of PMD's 50+ minutes in #7, these are great works.

[Carlo Gesualdo]

Ockay so I find strange to hear ensemble Clément Janequin, an ensemble  directed  by Dominique Visse, the ensemble did receive hard critics for other works but, from what I heard in French Chanson genre there excellent, like Janequin La Chass et autres chansons, just like Fricassé Parisienne by same ensemble I subject get both, so there you have it, Ensemble Clément Janequin not that bad, somes releases are strong.

[Linz]

CD1 of Dvorak's String Quartets from this set

[André]

Haydn Nelson Mass with Trevor Pinnock

His most glorious Mass and the best version of it. Priceless.

[vers la flamme]

Nikolai Myaskovsky: Cello Sonata No.1 in D major, op.12. Marina Tarasova, Alexander Polezhaev

First listen. I don't know much about Myaskovsky but I like what I've heard, and this is no exception; it sounds great.

Almost Brahmsian, no?

[prémont]

Ockay so I find strange to hear ensemble Clément Janequin, an ensemble  directed  by Dominique Visse, the ensemble did receive hard critics for other works but, from what I heard in French Chanson genre there excellent, like Janequin La Chass et autres chansons, just like Fricassé Parisienne by same ensemble I subject get both, so there you have it, Ensemble Clément Janequin not that bad, somes releases are strong.

+ 1.  Their French chansons are very much to my taste.

[JBS]

Another first listen to a new arrival

[Madiel]

With the help of discogs, I've decided to listen to Ashkenazy's original Chopin albums reconstructed from the box.



Interestingly, almost all the original albums had a chronological basis rather than a genre one.

Tonight I've decided to go for "Volume 3", which was:

Sonata no.3 (op.58)
Berceuse (op.57)
Mazurkas op.59
Nocturnes op.55

There were distractions last night, so I went back and did this again this morning (and made sure that the Berceuse/Mazurkas/Nocturnes sequence could play through just like on the LP.

God it was so good. And the op.55/2 Nocturne is such a wonderfully radiant way to end. But everything was a delight.

[VonStupp]

Sounds promising. i just ordered the set of Numbers 4-6.

Nice!

[André]

Most of these works are wildly different from the symphonies I listened to a few days ago: firmly of their period, the turbulent, experimental 1920s. Merikanto was quite the innovator, not afraid to ruffle feathers. Fascinating stuff.

[JBS]

There were distractions last night, so I went back and did this again this morning (and made sure that the Berceuse/Mazurkas/Nocturnes sequence could play through just like on the LP.

God it was so good. And the op.55/2 Nocturne is such a wonderfully radiant way to end. But everything was a delight.

Asking out of curiosity:
Did you ever hear his recording of the Bach Partitas? Because he played them as if they were by Chopin. It was certainly a different approach than the usual.


Ulf Hoelscher violin
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Pierre Dervaux conductor
Concertante works for violin and orchestra
Concerto 1 in A Major Op 20
Concerto 2 in C Major Op 58
Romance in C Major Op 48
Romance in D Flat Major Op 37
Morceau de Concert in G Major Op 62
Caprice Andalou in G Major Op 122
Prelude pour "Le Deluge" in D Major Op 45

Getting the image off the Amazon page, I discovered Jeff Bezos lists this set as [I bleep you not]:
#1 New Release in Traditional Folk

[Daverz]

Variations for Orchestra recently got a modern recording on Ondine's Ameriscapes CD.  The recording here from 1968 is in good stereo, and the Polish National Radio Orchestra plays very well.  It took 3 tries to get Qobuz to play the whole 18+ minutes through, though.  The other recordings are in very good mono.  I don't understand the neglect of this music.

And now:

Hendrik Andriessen: Violin Concerto



A magical work.  I did not know I had this recording as it got mis-tagged as "Concerto for Cello and Orchestra".  A cautionary tale for the era of digital media.  So I'm out one cello concerto but have gained this wonderful recording of the Violin Concerto.

[Symphonic Addict]

Another American here, albeit not Henry, but Aaron:

Copland: Symphony No. 3

An assured and accomplished performance, one that convinces me to consider the piece a masterwork.




Ravel: Piano Trio

Just a glorious rendition. How I adore this work.

[Carlo Gesualdo]

The following perhaps so perhaps not or gonna know single old release but it  fair to say very prodigious, very well done double album  CD wise Virgin Veritas Series The Hilliard Ensemble English and Italian Renaissance Madrigals.

[Madiel]

Asking out of curiosity:
Did you ever hear his recording of the Bach Partitas? Because he played them as if they were by Chopin. It was certainly a different approach than the usual.

I don't believe I've heard Ashkenazy play Bach, no. But now you've got me curious.

[Symphonic Addict]

And starting this 6th here:



Flawless and warm, as usual with Böhm.

EDIT: An immaculate and vibrant-but-not-too-much (not bombastic, IOW) 6th. It's full of color and sentiment.

[Spotted Horses]

Asking out of curiosity:
Did you ever hear his recording of the Bach Partitas? Because he played them as if they were by Chopin. It was certainly a different approach than the usual.

I have listened to his recording of the Partitas and the WTC. I would not characterize it that way. I didn't have the impression that he was "romanticizing" the music. I just felt that his tone was generally unpleasantly uniform and heavy. I found it was a relief to go back to the Bach "specialists" such as Hewitt and Schiff.