What are you listening 2 now?

[Madiel]

Don't remember Pierne exciting me all that much in the French listening thread... which Olivier seems to have abandoned in favour of AFL fandom or something...

Now listening to Vivaldi (disc 10 of this box equals volume 9 of the original series of issues).

[Bachtoven]

An amazing musician and interesting repertoire--Nicholas Maw's "Music of Memory" is one of my favorite contemporary guitar works.

[bhodges]

Watching this concert from 17 January, part of the long-running Music Mondays series, filmed at Advent Lutheran Church in Manhattan with some of New York City's best musicians.

Schubert: Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667 ("Trout")
Bongani Ndodana-Breen (b. 1975): Intlanzi Yase Mzantsi (The Fish From South Africa)
Judith Weir: A Song of Departure
Vaughan Williams: Piano Quintet in C Minor

Tai Murray, violin
Melissa Reardon, viola
Raman Ramakrishnan, cello
Doug Balliett, double bass
Aaron Wunsch, piano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R02iCohOFik

--Bruce

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Respighi
Piano Quintet in F minor
Patrizia Prati, Quartetto di Venezia



This performance is so much better than the other one I own on Chandos (w/ The Ambache). This performance is warmer and is played with more lyricism.

[vers la flamme]

Robert Schumann: Fantasy in C major, op.17. Maurizio Pollini

Phenomenal performance of one of the greatest piano pieces that anyone ever wrote. The deep yearning of the music resonates with me and the circumstances of my life at this time.

[Madiel]

Simpson, Symphony No.4



I'll be streaming a different version later. However this was always one of the ones where I thought the Hyperion set was pretty successful. It has plenty of zip and bounce when it needs it.

[JBS]

First and maybe last listen to this


Either the two [period] pianos and [not truly period] harmonium are too weak, or were recessed too far from the soloists and chorus--but they just aren't loud enough to mix with the voices in any balanced way.
The singers at least are excellent but not good enough to save this recording.

This was meant to be an intimate liturgical work (in so far as a grand Parisian salon could be intimate) but intimacy still requires the music to be heard

ETA
For some reason I'm having trouble posting the cover images, so I've made them attachment files

[Karl Henning]

First and maybe last listen to this


Either the two [period] pianos and [not truly period] harmonium are too weak, or were recessed too far from the soloists and chorus--but they just aren't loud enough to mix with the voices in any balanced way.
The singers at least are excellent but not good enough to save this recording.

This was meant to be an intimate liturgical work (in so far as a grand Parisian salon could be intimate) but intimacy still requires the music to be heard

ETA
For some reason I'm having trouble posting the cover images, so I've made them attachment files

Too bad!

TD:

CD 4

LvB
Symphony № 8 in F, Op. 93

Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony № 4 in A, Op. 90 « Italian »

Richard Strauss
Don Juan, Op. 20

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Respighi
Vetrate di Chiesa
Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège
John Neschling

[Karl Henning]

Now:

CD 8

Louis-Hector Berlioz
Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14

Gioachino Rossini
La gazza ladra—Overture

Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61—Scherzo

Engelbert Humperdinck
Hänsel und Gretel—Overture

Gabriel Fauré Shylock, Op. 57—Noicturne

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Debussy
String Quartet in G minor
Danses sacrée et profane
Marielle Nordmann (harp), Yann Dubost (double bass)
Quatuor Debussy

[JBS]

Now:

CD 8

Louis-Hector Berlioz
Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14

Gioachino Rossini
La gazza ladra—Overture

Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61—Scherzo

Engelbert Humperdinck
Hänsel und Gretel—Overture

Gabriel Fauré Shylock, Op. 57—Noicturne

CD 22
RVW
A London Symphony
Symphony Number 8 in d minor
Halle Orchestra

Recorded 1957 and 1956 respectively. I haven't checked but I suspect this is the world premiere recording of the Eighth. There's another recording of the Second from a decade later in the box but no other recording of the Eighth.
Performances are excellent.

[Madiel]

Simpson, Symphony No.4, alternate recording



Honestly? This is off to a really, really bad start.

EDIT: Okay, the basic thrust of the music is okay, but the playing just is not up to scratch. The string tuning is highly variable. This is too much like having wandered into a concert of a community orchestra. The ambition of playing this is laudable, and sure it might be a pretty good community orchestra that can even tackle this, but I don't need to pipe this into my home.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Janáček
Jenůfa
Gabriela Beňačková, Anna Barová, Vilém Přibyl et. al.
Brno Janáček Opera Chorus & Orchestra
František Jílek



Upon ripping Janáček opera recordings to my HDD drive, I was going to go with the Charles Mackerras set, but decided to go with all of these Supraphon recordings (of which Mackerras did conduct Káťa Kabanová --- which was his second recording of this opera and better than the one on Decca, IMHO) that I bought at various points over the past 4-5 years. I was content with Mackerras Decca set (the bluish purple one), but I started to get curious about Supraphon's own catalog of Janáček and what they actually had that I might be interested in buying. It turns out it was a lot! Anyway, this is a superb performance.

[JBS]

Another first listen to a new arrival

[Spotted Horses]

CD 22
RVW
A London Symphony
Symphony Number 8 in d minor
Halle Orchestra

Recorded 1957 and 1956 respectively. I haven't checked but I suspect this is the world premiere recording of the Eighth. There's another recording of the Second from a decade later in the box but no other recording of the Eighth.
Performances are excellent.

Actually it is not the premier recording. The Premier on May 2, 1956 was recorded live by the BBC and released on record. The recording on the set was made on June 19, 1956 for the Pye label. It is the first studio recording.

[JBS]

Actually it is not the premier recording. The Premier on May 2, 1956 was recorded live by the BBC and released on record. The recording on the set was made on June 19, 1956 for the Pye label. It is the first studio recording.

Thanks for the clarification.

[Mirror Image]

Closing the night out with Janáček's SQs with the Talich Quartet from this recording:

[Harry]

CPE Bach.

The Symphonies for Strings, Wq 182.

The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock, on Authentic instruments.

Still going strong after all those years. It was recorded in 1979 and very well recorded. Trevor Pinnock is still producing a blazing trail that tells the youngsters which way to go.

[Mandryka]

I'm going to have me my own private Scheidt festival, Vol 2 yesterday inspired me  - this Vol 1 has some fabulous music, elaborate and substantial constructions based on hymns and suchlike, full of imaginative rhythmic variations, Scheidt was a real master at that sort of thing. The organ, a Treutmann at Harbke in Saxony, is very good and very satisfactorily recorded. Tasteful magisterial playing by Reinhard Knuth IMO.