What are you listening 2 now?

[vandermolen]

Bloch: String Quartet No. 1

Ambitious, rigurous, intense, meticulously written. In spite of the recording is in mono, it's astonishingly good mono.

A great work and recording!

[vandermolen]

First listen.

What did you think André? I like 'The Sea' enormously and have AFAIK four recordings of it. 

[Que]

Morning listening:



Recently the Ferrara Ensemble came up. Sofar this is one of my favourite recordings.

[The new erato]

Played a couple of recent arrivals last night:



Stylistically this is very 17th century Venetian and I could not discern any particular Dalmatian coloring. But the music is very fine, and the performance and recording is superb. And lots of composers that I have never heard about, very nice to get ones curiosity satisfied.

[The new erato]

The other disc I played for very late night listening was this:



It has been on my aquisition list for some time after reading a comment on the 3rd trio here quite some months ago, and realising I didn't have any Lalo chamber music I finally bought it. And yes, the 3rd trio stands out as very engaging and fine, whilst the first two are rather generic and nice, but not much more.

[Madiel]

First try I think of Dvorak/Suitner: Symphony No.2



It's been a very long time since I tried any recording of this work, never mind Suitner who is auditioning for a place in my collection.

[Roasted Swan]

Elgar: Piano Quintet (C. Widmann, D. McCarroll violins/P. Sachse, viola/M-E Hecker, cello/M. Helmchen, piano)



An utter masterpiece, and to me, a more interesting work than its much more popular discmate. The eclectic variety of styles and moods found in the work is quite remarkable - just witness the exposition of the first movement alone: a spooky, harmonically ambiguous introduction, a heroic, quasi-Brahmsian main theme, and a sultry, sexy, Spanish-sounding second theme. It all hangs together so well too - the mark of true genius! And this is probably the finest recording it has yet received - remarkably assured and passionate.

Wow - that's a big statement!  Never heard this version but really better than Peter Donohoe and the Magginis let alone John Ogden and the Allegris to name 2 others for starters....?!

[Irons]

My favorite Zarathustra. The opening has the right tempo and meat to leave a strong impression. Karajan had Strauss in his veins.

André and yourself are not alone.  From 10.45 here  https://youtu.be/_vUdTkvB78A

Better then Hurwitz by a long chalk.

[Florestan]

But why would there be a fortepiano on the cover? 

As if it were the only cover in the world mismatching the content.   

[Madiel]

As if it were the only cover in the world mismatching the content.   

That would be a very particular and more unusual kind of mismatch, though.

[Florestan]

Brian alert!


These should be right up your alley, especially the Wallace, salon music of the highest quality, unfailing melodic inspiration and some interesting harmonic twists. As for the overtures, Gounod's La nonne sanglante is the highlight, almost a small, very atmospheric tone poem; but all the others are not half bad either. Both very enjoyable, highly recommended discs.

[Madiel]

Dvorak, Silhouettes



Curious because apparently this includes themes from the first 2 symphonies (which I've listened to yesterday and just now) and also Cypresses which I'm much more familiar with now than last time I listened to Silhouettes.  So I'll be playing "spot the theme".

[Biffo]

Give us the link, please. I'm currently at disc 3 of 5 and I haven't heard any difference whatsoever in the piano sound and definitely no fortepiano sound. I'm very intrigued. 

I bought the Eurodisc set many years ago on LP. According to the notes everything was played on a Bosendorfer except K279, 281 & 284 which are played on a Steinway. The set also contains a bonus LP of K331, 570 & 356 (617a) played on the Walter-Flugel in Mozart's Geburtshaus, Salzburg

[Florestan]

That would be a very particular and more unusual kind of mismatch, though.

Que and Dave alert!

I just sampled all the remaining tracks I have not listened to yet. Mystery solved: the fortepiano is used only for the very last track on the last CD, namely Adagio in C major for Glass Harmonica, KV 356. All other tracks are on a modern piano.

Now, come to think of it: they put a fortepiano on the cover yet 99.99% of the music inside is played on modern pianos. If that's not a mismatch, I don't know what it is. 

I bought the Eurodisc set many years ago on LP. According to the notes everything was played on a Bosendorfer except K279, 281 & 284 which are played on a Steinway. The set also contains a bonus LP of K331, 570 & 356 (617a) played on the Walter-Flugel in Mozart's Geburtshaus, Salzburg

Thank you very much. This also explains why the CD set has only 5 discs: they skipped the bonus LP but added the KV 356 to the 5th disc.

[Harry]

Bought in February 2005. Played it once, so finally after 17 years I got them out of my collection.

Carl Friedrich Abel.

Chamber music.

La Stagione.

Truly wonderful performances and well recorded. Karl Kaiser is an ace on the Transverse flute, but all participants are on the top of their game.

[Roasted Swan]

Something I picked up some time ago as a hi-res download but not heard before today;



Not quite sure what I was expecting but its rather fun.  Quite theatrical (no real suprise there!) and melodramatic in its gestures but played with real verve and attack.  Not sure its a recording that I will play very often but certainly good to have heard if only to explore a different facet of the composer.  Massenet shows himself to be a colourful and imaginative orchestrator even if he ultimately lacks the real individuality of some of his Frenchj contemporaries and successors....  The hi-res recording sounds very good.

[aligreto]

JS Bach: Suite for Violin and Harpsichord BWV 1025





Sparkling!

[aligreto]

Yes I did it is a very interesting version of Bruckners 3rd I listen to it once in a while for the sure pleasure of hearing the most expansive version of that symphony

Thank you for that. The term most expansive has me intrigued.

[The new erato]

Within my own particular area of interest (lieder), this is a very fine disc:

[Roasted Swan]

Thank you for that. The term most expansive has me intrigued.

I read this article by Marthe about his approach to Wagner.....

https://www.abruckner.com/down/articles/articlesenglish/martheb3/martheb3essay.pdf

Curious that his vision seems not to have translated into any performances by him with major orchestras