What are you listening 2 now?

[Tsaraslondon]

Quite but it was only one of the songs but it was a very beautiful 40-45 minutes...mostly 

I'll repeat the exercise with the other songs but on the basis of Beim Schlafengehen alone, the top to bottom would be:


Struder (my favourite voice in that song, the strings really stood out and drew me in too)

Janowitz (a very close second)

Popp / I'd put Schwartzkopf too here I think 

Norman

Isokoski (nonplussed)

Della Casa (lovely singing but that the speedy flaw in comparison to the other versions indeed kills it)

Fleming (God no, too much warble, too "operatic")

From memory mine would be

Schwarzkopf
Norman (it's too slow, but that voice!)
Popp
Fleming (I don't hear any warble in Fleming's beautiful voice)
Janowitz/Isokowski about equal
Studer (not a big fan of her voice)
Della Casa (undone by the fast speed)

[Roasted Swan]

Cross-posted from the "pieces that blew you away" thread;

This is a disc I've owned for ages and always enjoy listening to.  But today it really hit a chord.  What a great piece Bruch's Octet is!  Hilariously "out of its time" given that it was written in 1920 and sounds like Mendelssohn's more muscular brother.  But hell - who cares - there are various performances but this is a cracker and the couplings are pretty damm good too.......

[Papy Oli]

Interesting. My favorites are Schwarzkopf/Szell, Janowitz/Karajan and Studer/Sinopoli, but I also really enjoyed Piau/Verdier (on Alpha) and I've actually been listening to this particular version the most lately.

Thank you for the Piau recommendation, John. I'll add her to the streaming bunch when I do the next song.

[Harry]

Vagn Holmboe.

Complete Symphonies.
CD II.
Symphony No. 2.
Sinfonia in Memoriam.
Aarhus SO, Owain Arwel Hughes.

[Papy Oli]

From memory mine would be

Schwarzkopf
Norman (it's too slow, but that voice!)
Popp
Fleming (I don't hear any warble in Fleming's beautiful voice)
Janowitz/Isokowski about equal
Studer (not a big fan of her voice)
Della Casa (undone by the fast speed)

Appreciate your feedback, Tsaralondon.

I'll see how they all fare in the remaining songs in the coming days. A superb set of songs to explore in any event.

[Karl Henning]

Vagn Holmboe.

Complete Symphonies.
CD II.
Symphony No. 2.
Sinfonia in Memoriam.
Aarhus SO, Owain Arwel Hughes.

What are your thoughts on the symphony cycle, mijn vriend?

[Iota]

NP:

Villa-Lobos
Saudades das Selvas Brasileiras
Sonia Rubinsky

From this set -



This entire box set is a treasure trove of marvelous works. Much of which are either completely unknown or simply forgotten. Villa-Lobos was a wonderful composer of solo piano music.

He was! Have you heard Nelson Freire's final album Brasileiro which is a homage to V-L (and others) celebrating the 125th anniversary of his birth? Such warm, colourful playing and music!


Recently spinning here:



Ravel: Miroirs
Herbert Schuch (piano)


Dazzling playing. His razor-sharp technique seems to operate at almost quantum levels of detail and speed. In the opening Noctuelles for example, the quickness of the moths movements, seem almost like turbocharged moth drones from some technologically advanced future, rather than the fluttering ones of the present, but it's intelligently/sensitively done and not at all mechanical.
He can sing *so* sweetly too, meltingly so in parts of La vallée des cloches . And they're probably the most convincing climaxes in Une barque sur l'océan I've ever heard (and I've heard many), which sparklingly evoke the cascading spray of wind-blown crests of waves, in contrast to the rather emptily virtuosic offerings (by comparison) I sometimes hear from otherwise good performances. A must-hear IMHO.

[Karl Henning]

Two pieces I might never have heard of, let alone listened to, had I not reeled in the box:

CD 8

Jan Klusák
Variations on a Theme by Gustav Mahler for Large Orchestra

Vítězslav Novák
Autumn Symphony for Large Orchestra, Male & Female Chorus, Op. 62

[Harry]

What are your thoughts on the symphony cycle, mijn vriend?

This is the third time I have listened to this set, and my alliance is getting stronger every time. Holmboe is a remarkable composer, for always getting the right balance between affect and effect. I think the symphonies deeply moving, and a spiritual experience that enriches my life and understanding of the world as it is.
He is a perfectionist, and carefully shapes the music to perfection. The sound is the best BIS has to offer, and the orchestra and its conductor brings our all the colours. Van harte aan bevolen Karl.

[Karl Henning]

This is the third time I have listened to this set, and my alliance is getting stronger every time. Holmboe is a remarkable composer, for always getting the right balance between affect and effect. I think the symphonies deeply moving, and a spiritual experience that enriches my life and understanding of the world as it is.
He is a perfectionist, and carefully shapes the music to perfection. The sound is the best BIS has to offer, and the orchestra and its conductor brings our all the colours. Van harte aan bevolen Karl.

I risk errors, since my principal instruction is via Duolingo ... Ik ben dit doos al gekoopt, en ik vind het leuk

[Sergeant Rock]

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 4 in G minor, Jansons/Rudy




Sarge

[Harry]

I risk errors, since my principal instruction is via Duolingo ... Ik ben dit doos al gekoopt, en ik vind het leuk

That was a huge risk, just never use this software again
It must be: "Ik heb deze box al gekocht, en ik vind de muziek mooi".
Of course I knew what you meant, sure I did.

[Karl Henning]

That was a huge risk, just never use this software again
It must be: "Ik heb deze box al gekocht, en ik vind de muziek mooi".
Of course I knew what you meant, sure I did.

I relied on you, both to take my meaning, and mend my mistakes

[Linz]

Bruckner 3 from Cd6 which is the 1874 version with Gerd Schaller

[Symphonic Addict]

I really am - between old favorites and new discoveries, there's enough great music to last several lifetimes!

TD:

Sadao Bekku
Symphonies nos. 1, 2
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland
Takuo Yuasa



I enjoyed both of these works immensely! Cesar/Symphonic Addict compared these works to Prokofiev, and I can definitely see that. I heard a definite French influence, maybe Ravel, Roussel, maybe a little Dutilleux? But totally original all the same, and I found the result delightful! I'll definitely keep exploring the Naxos Japanese composers series, and I want to return to these works (as well as hear the Bekku I found on YouTube!) Thanks again for your recommendations, Cesar!

My pleasure, CG!

[Symphonic Addict]

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto no. 2



Perhaps the cadenza is the first movement is overlong, but otherwise this is just a superb work. The slow movement is basically a "triple concerto" with its prominent, soulful violin and cello solos, and the finale is irresistibly energetic and catchy.


Casella: Suite in C major



Okay, so the main theme of the first movement may come a little too close to that of Mahler 1, and that of the finale may sound like the opening theme of Sibelius 3 goes to an Italian Renaissance Fair, but that can't prevent me from enjoying this colorful and boisterous work, with a solemn Sarabande at its center.


Bartok: Violin Concerto no. 2



After the easily-assimilated, tonal opening theme, this work soon veers off into much wilder, experimental territory. I'll need a few more listens to make sense of it all, but it certainly receives an excellent performance here by Isabelle Faust!


Ropartz: Prelude, Marine et Chansons and Cello Sonata no. 2



The Prelude, Marine et Chansons is one of those glorious, sunny French works for that lovely combination of flute, harp, and string trio. The Cello Sonata no. 2 is a more dramatic, passionate work that's pretty consistently enthralling.


The entire disc:



My first listen to these works, and they're mostly vintage Sibelius, no doubt! The great Finn's inimitable compositional fingerprints are everywhere throughout these three orchestral suites. Great performances and sound, too!

Fine selection of works, Kyle. Ropartz's chamber music is quite worthwhile. Have you ever heard his Piano Trio? I suspect you'll enjoy it.

First listen to those Sibelius works, being you a die-hard fan of this composer? 

[Symphonic Addict]

Myaskovsky: Violin Concerto



Though I'm generally quite critical of this composer, I enjoyed this concerto quite a bit with its Harry Potter-esque main theme. There's some passages of haunting lyricism and the folksy, vivacious finale is a nice change of pace from this very serious composer.

Harry-Potter-esque theme? Interesting. I need to give it a listen then.

[Symphonic Addict]

Goossens: Symphony No.1
This is one of the best symphonies IMO written by someone better known as a conductor. It's quite 'Baxian' and also reminded me at times of Korngold's Symphony. Sadly this was Richard Hickox's final recording before his untimely death aged 60. There are AFAIK three recordings of this fine Symphony, my favourite with David Measham and the Adelaide SO (Unicorn) sadly never made it to CD. Goossens's 2nd Symphony (recorded by Andrew Davis for Chandos) is also well worth exploring:

One of those rare occasions where we are in disagreement. 

[Symphonic Addict]

Rued Langgaard - Symphony No.2

Lovely work. The Oramo/WP recording is as fine or even a little better than this.

[Symphonic Addict]

Cross-posted from the "pieces that blew you away" thread;

This is a disc I've owned for ages and always enjoy listening to.  But today it really hit a chord.  What a great piece Bruch's Octet is!  Hilariously "out of its time" given that it was written in 1920 and sounds like Mendelssohn's more muscular brother.  But hell - who cares - there are various performances but this is a cracker and the couplings are pretty damm good too.......

Bruch at his best indeed. This recording is frankly stunning.