What are you listening 2 now?

[André]

Quartet no 3. This late work (1994) is a throwback to the world of the 3rd symphony. It is in 5 movements, an arch-like structure lasting almost an hour. Some people hate Gorecki's 3rd symphony and all such crawling strings compositions. They must be the same kind who figure the hypnotist on the stage can never get them under their spell  . But that's fine, some musics are not for all tastes. Personally I love the atmosphere, the gestures, the sounds made in that quartet. Its textures are subtly varied (pair against pair, solo vs 3 other players etc), so even if it comes across as dirge-like, pessimistic or lugubrious, it only hints at these sonic climates. I also have it with the Kronos, but it might take a while before I make A/B comparisons. It is, after all, very intense stuff.

[Linz]

Bruckner Symphony No. 2 with Horst Stein and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

[aligreto]

Moeran





Rhapsody No. 1
Rhapsody No. 2

[aligreto]

I'll bet that that's a great CD set!  I have a CD on Mercury with him and Minneapolis of Hary Janos and the two dances along with some Bartok.

PD

Yes, PD, I am really enjoying it.

[Artem]

Beethoven's Septet alone with Laura Tunbridge book

[Linz]

CD3 of Hanoncourts set with Symphonies 3, 5 & The 'unfinished' 8th

[Symphonic Addict]

Quartet no 3. This late work (1994) is a throwback to the world of the 3rd symphony. It is in 5 movements, an arch-like structure lasting almost an hour. Some people hate Gorecki's 3rd symphony and all such crawling strings compositions. They must be the same kind who figure the hypnotist on the stage can never get them under their spell  . But that's fine, some musics are not for all tastes. Personally I love the atmosphere, the gestures, the sounds made in that quartet. Its textures are subtly varied (pair against pair, solo vs 3 other players etc), so even if it comes across as dirge-like, pessimistic or lugubrious, it only hints at these sonic climates. I also have it with the Kronos, but it might take a while before I make A/B comparisons. It is, after all, very intense stuff.

Yesterday I took a listen to the 1st SQ Already it is dusk from this set. The music reaches so visceral points of intensity that is like you need to stop because it is just overwhelming. This set is pure gold as far as I am concerned (along with other composers like Schnittke, Penderecki, Lutoslawski, etc.)

[listener]

Marcel DUPRÉ
3 Preludes and Fugues op. 7  Chorales op. 28/7-12, 42-47  'Adeste Fideles' Variations, Te Deum Paraphrase, Méditation
Janette Fishell, Casavant organ of St.George's Epidcopal Church, Nashville
varied program, good selection of Dupré's works
Georg MUFFAT: Part 1 of the Apparatus musico-organisaticus (Toccatas 1-8)
Martin Haselböck, organ of Klosterneuberg Abbey  (Freundt 1642)
CORIGLIANO Chaconne from the film The Red Violin, ENESCU: Romanian Rhapsody arr.Franz Waxman, WAXMAN: Tristan and Isolde Fantasia. John ADAMS: Violin Concerto
Chloë Hanslip, violin,  Royal Philharmonic Orch.,  Leonard Slatkin, cond.

[André]

Yesterday I took a listen to the 1st SQ Already it is dusk from this set. The music reaches so visceral points of intensity that is like you need to stop because it is just overwhelming. This set is pure gold as far as I am concerned (along with other composers like Schnittke, Penderecki, Lutoslawski, etc.)

I agree with you. Coincidentally, as I write I am finishing listening to the Kronoses playing SQ 2 (after SQ 1 of course). They sound more poised, more 'civilized' - maybe more suitable for repeated hearings.The Molinaris really seize the music by the throat and provide a more gripping experience - harrowing would be a suitable epithet, I think.

[vers la flamme]

CD3 of Hanoncourts set with Symphonies 3, 5 & The 'unfinished' 8th

I listened to this today too. Excellent disc, from an excellent set.



William Alwyn: Film music from The Crimson Pirate, Green Girdle, Take My Life, etc. Rumon Gamba, BBC Philharmonic

First listen to this new arrival. Sounds excellent.

[classicalgeek]

Spent the morning and afternoon exploring more Bloch, and a most rewarding journey it was!

Concerto Symphonique
Jenny Lin, piano
SWR Rundfunk-Orchester Kaiserslautern
Jiri Starek

Four Episodes
Soloists of the Israel Philharmonic
Dalia Atlas

String quartet no. 2
String quartet no. 4
Griller Quartet

Hiver-Printemps
Luxembourg Philharmonic
David Shallon

Evocations
Malmo Symphony Orchestra
Andrey Boreyko

Voice in the Wilderness
Wolfgang Schmidt, cello
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Fabrice Bollon
(all on Spotify)



I just loved the orchestral and concertante music - even though it's from different points in Bloch's career, there's real mastery in the evocative and powerful orchestration. I particularly enjoyed the Four Episodes (Bloch at his spiky, neoclassical best), and the Evocations (which brought the Bloch of Schelomo to mind.) The Concerto Symphonique is a real virtuoso showpiece, splendidly played; Hiver-Printemps is early Bloch, perhaps owing a debt to Debussy (the influence of Prélude a l'après-midi d'un Faune is apparent) and various Russians (I thought of Rimsky-Korsakov and Liadov), but it's no less enjoyable for that! I found Voice in the Wilderness really moving as well, though I might have wished for a better contribution from the orchestra. As with most composers, the chamber music didn't "stick" with me on first hearing as much, but the performances by the Griller Quartet are excellent - I definitely want to return to these pieces (and the other quartets as well, in addition to the impressive First Piano Quintet.) There are several more pieces on my "Bloch Party" Spotify playlist (including the Symphony in C# minor and the Three Jewish Poems) which I'll listen to later, probably on Monday.

[JBS]

CD 21
Songs and some a capella choruses.
One of the songs is the original version of Danse Macabre. Only one is for voice and orchestra, Le Rossignol et la Rose, which allows Natalie Dessay to sound like a nightingale.

[Karl Henning]

Marcel DUPRÉ
3 Preludes and Fugues op. 7  Chorales op. 28/7-12, 42-47  'Adeste Fideles' Variations, Te Deum Paraphrase, Méditation
Janette Fishell, Casavant organ of St.George's Epidcopal Church, Nashville
varied program, good selection of Dupré's works
Georg MUFFAT: Part 1 of the Apparatus musico-organisaticus (Toccatas 1-8)
Martin Haselböck, organ of Klosterneuberg Abbey  (Freundt 1642)
CORIGLIANO Chaconne from the film The Red Violin, ENESCU: Romanian Rhapsody arr.Franz Waxman, WAXMAN: Tristan and Isolde Fantasia. John ADAMS: Violin Concerto
Chloë Hanslip, violin,  Royal Philharmonic Orch.,  Leonard Slatkin, cond.

Leonard Slatkin is 77, God bless him.

TD: Out on the sloop John B

CD 1

Purcell
The Married Beau, Hornpipe on a Ground, Z 603
"Wolferl"
Serenade in G, K. 525 « Eine kleine Nachtmusik »
"Papa"
Symphony № 104 in D, Hob I:104 « Lomdon »
Elgar
Introduction and Allegro for strings, Op. 47

Recorded 1928 & 29, Studio C, Small Queen's Hall, London

[Symphonic Addict]

Spent the morning and afternoon exploring more Bloch, and a most rewarding journey it was!

Concerto Symphonique
Jenny Lin, piano
SWR Rundfunk-Orchester Kaiserslautern
Jiri Starek

Four Episodes
Soloists of the Israel Philharmonic
Dalia Atlas

String quartet no. 2
String quartet no. 4
Griller Quartet

Hiver-Printemps
Luxembourg Philharmonic
David Shallon

Evocations
Malmo Symphony Orchestra
Andrey Boreyko

Voice in the Wilderness
Wolfgang Schmidt, cello
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Fabrice Bollon
(all on Spotify)



I just loved the orchestral and concertante music - even though it's from different points in Bloch's career, there's real mastery in the evocative and powerful orchestration. I particularly enjoyed the Four Episodes (Bloch at his spiky, neoclassical best), and the Evocations (which brought the Bloch of Schelomo to mind.) The Concerto Symphonique is a real virtuoso showpiece, splendidly played; Hiver-Printemps is early Bloch, perhaps owing a debt to Debussy (the influence of Prélude a l'après-midi d'un Faune is apparent) and various Russians (I thought of Rimsky-Korsakov and Liadov), but it's no less enjoyable for that! I found Voice in the Wilderness really moving as well, though I might have wished for a better contribution from the orchestra. As with most composers, the chamber music didn't "stick" with me on first hearing as much, but the performances by the Griller Quartet are excellent - I definitely want to return to these pieces (and the other quartets as well, in addition to the impressive First Piano Quintet.) There are several more pieces on my "Bloch Party" Spotify playlist (including the Symphony in C# minor and the Three Jewish Poems) which I'll listen to later, probably on Monday.

Wow, you took the Bloch thread seriously! Good to see you've enjoyed the marathon. All of these works show Bloch like a multifaceted figure.

His other chamber music and even his opera Macbeth contains glorious music too (I haven't heard that opera, though).

[Symphonic Addict]

Ludolf Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 in C major

If you like Atterberg and Mahler, you'll probably love this great piece. It's funny that the styles between both Danish Nielsen are so clearly discernible.




Schulhoff: Concerto for string quartet and winds

A fascinating and unique combination of forces. This piece is pure genius and wit.

[Symphonic Addict]

And this:

Bach: Violin Partita No. 2

Phenomenal in every possible way.

[Daverz]

Night of the Blochheads



Bloch: Violin Concerto

Listening to this after a long while, the only problem I have is that the modal harmonies bring to mind the Hekawi tribe more than ancient Israel.  But that's more a comment of the hours of garbage TV I consumed as a kid.  Otherwise, it's a beautiful concerto.  I've not heard of this conductor before or since, but he gets the Ukrainian orchestra to commit and the sonics are fabulous.

By the way, the Lees is a barn-burner of a concerto, but I think the only connection between the composers is that they were both Jewish and worked in the US.

[JBS]

Night of the Blochheads



Bloch: Violin Concerto

Listening to this after a long while, the only problem I have is that the modal harmonies bring to mind the Hekawi tribe more than ancient Israel.  But that's more a comment of the hours of garbage TV I consumed as a kid.  Otherwise, it's a beautiful concerto.  I've not heard of this conductor before or since, but he gets the Ukrainian orchestra to commit and the sonics are fabulous.

By the way, the Lees is a barn-burner of a concerto, but I think the only connection between the composers is that they were both Jewish and worked in the US.

Amazon lists four CDs he recorded with this same orchestra on Naxos: all of them American music.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=John+McLaughlin+Williams&i=digital-music&ref=dm_aw_ps_adp

TD
The next CD from the Saint Saens set
Mass for 4 voices (arranged for soloists, chorus, small organ and grand organ by Leon Roques)
Three arias from Samson et Delilah sung by Maria Callas
An aria from Henry VIII sung by Veronique Gens

[Madiel]

Beethoven, the 'Archduke' piano trio op.97

[Karl Henning]

CD 47

Stravinsky
Orpheus
Danses concertantes