What are you listening 2 now?

[Klavier1]

To be fair, this isn't a "new" recording by him--it includes tracks released in 1995 and some unreleased ones from 2000. Still, it's a fine recording.

[Papy Oli]

At various point during the day:

JS Bach
BWV 1
BWV 2
BWV 3
BWV 4

(Harnoncourt/Leonhardt)

[Todd]

Disc two.

[kyjo]

I was going to say no, because I tend not to take my music lessons from Youtube, but then I think you mean Herr Hurwitz and I will happily acknowledge that I hadn't even heard about Skalkottas until he mentioned him in the context of 'driving music' (I think that was his Greek Dances, which I actually found a bit so-so). So yeah, without him, I wouldn't have known of the composer in question. I think that's also true of Geirr Tveitt and Benjamin Frankel. I don't think it's true of any of the other 577 composers in my collection, though I'd be happy to acknowledge it, were it so. I don't have an issue praising Hurwitz to the skies for the way he makes music accessible.

Anyway:

Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda's Symphony No. 5 
    Frieder Bernius, Hofkapelle Stuttgart

I tend to agree with you on Hurwitz. I admire the way he often promotes lesser-known composers and dismantles the "ivory tower" mentality around classical music. *runs for cover from the resident GMG Hurwitz haters*

Also, big thumbs up for the Kalliwoda!

[kyjo]

Daniel Sternefeld: Symphony No.1
A turbulent, powerful and brooding work written, in 1943, when the composer was in hiding in Nazi-occupied Belgium (he briefly and bravely came out of hiding to attend the funeral of his teacher Paul Gilson in Brussels). Stravinsky is clearly an influence (especially 'The Firebird' I think). Overall, this is a great example of the 'despair into defiance' type of work.

A searingly intense work! There's even some rather avant-garde techniques (like string glissandi) incorporated into the overall traditional musical language at some points.

[kyjo]

An American Triplet:

Piston: The Incredible Flutist Suite

Copland: Symphonic Ode

Samuel Jones: Symphony No. 3 Palo Duro Canyon


The Piston is a maiden-listen, and I wonder why I waited for so long to hear this! There's an exhilarating section around the middle of the piece with people's noise and laughing and having fun. A perfect opener in a concert.

My goodness, and how symphonic it is! This is splendidly performed and played.

This is simply glorious stuff! A so atmospheric, stirring, life-affirming and evocative work. There are passages that remind me of Sibelius and Nielsen, but this is 100% American. For any fans of orchestral, colourful and evocative works, this is a keeper and a must hear.

Three stunning pieces of Americana!!

[Linz]

Berlioz Messe Solennelle Hervé Niquet

[kyjo]

Popped this in again, partly because the Feld Concerto for Orchestra fully merits more listening, and partly because the Schulhoff is so peculiar a novelty, I wanted a fresh listen. I think that, barring the odd stentorian passage aside, the piece overall is better than I perhaps allowed after my initial hearing.

Jindrich Feld is a very fine composer in a rather "post-Martinu" vein. So far, I've heard his Flute Concerto and his Musique concertante for flute, harp, viola, and orchestra, both of which are fantastic.

[kyjo]

Love the Grieg and Mendelssohn cello sonatas! Haven't heard Steven Hough's own yet. And Isserlis is one of my very favorite cellists!

[kyjo]

NP:

Tippett
Fantasia on a theme by Handel
Steven Osborne, piano
BBC Scottish SO
Brabbins



I absolutely adore this work, which is, essentially, a sinfonia concertante. The vigorous, rhythmic scoring also gives the music a drive that is unmistakably Tippettian. There are also some wonderful lyrical solo writing, especially in the short cadenza.

I need to hear this work! Glad to see you're giving British composers another chance, John.

[Mirror Image]

A mini Tippett-a-thon and all late works, too:

The Rose Lake
LSO
Davis



String Quartet No. 5
Heath Quartet



Byzantium
Faye Robinson, soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Solti

[classicalgeek]

There's been so little time for listening lately! I think this is my first listen since Sinopoli's Gurrelieder...

Roussel
Symphony no. 2
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Stephane Deneve



This had its moments, but overall, it was merely an OK performance. Beautifully played, of course, but just lacking in fire and excitement. I used to have the Dutoit Roussel cycle, and I remember that being far more compelling. I'm curious about Eschenbach's cycle too.

[Mirror Image]

There's been so little time for listening lately! I think this is my first listen since Sinopoli's Gurrelieder...

Roussel
Symphony no. 2
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Stephane Deneve



This had its moments, but overall, it was merely an OK performance. Beautifully played, of course, but just lacking in fire and excitement. I used to have the Dutoit Roussel cycle, and I remember that being far more compelling. I'm curious about Eschenbach's cycle too.

Good to see you posting again, CG! I've gone through at least 15 avatars since your last post. My experience with this Roussel Denève mirrors your own. It's competent, but these are Roussel performances doused in water. As for Eschenbach, he gets the nod from me. I love his cycle. I also like Dutoit. Of course, there's some great older performances from Cluytens and Martinon that have yet to be topped for me (as good as those aforementioned conductors are).

[classicalgeek]

Good to see you posting again, CG! I've gone through at least 15 avatars since your last post. My experience with this Roussel Denève mirrors your own. It's competent, but these are Roussel performances doused in water. As for Eschenbach, he gets the nod from me. I love his cycle. I also like Dutoit. Of course, there's some great older performances from Cluytens and Martinon that have yet to be topped for me (as good as those aforementioned conductors are).

The Denève cycle won so much critical acclaim when it came out, I expected more out of the 2nd (my first listen to it.) I'll listen to the rest of it over time, but if the 2nd is any indication, I'll want to supplement with other performances.

[Mirror Image]

The Denève cycle won so much critical acclaim when it came out, I expected more out of the 2nd (my first listen to it.) I'll listen to the rest of it over time, but if the 2nd is any indication, I'll want to supplement with other performances.

Yeah, the rewards for his cycle are numerous, but, honestly, they were dull and compared to the afore mentioned conductors' performances, why would I bother with performances that lack the sparkle these works require? Another great example of Denève missing the mark would be compare his performance of the 1st symphony to Dutoit's. Give a listen to each of their second movements:

https://www.youtube.com/v/Mt6LkgfqMzU

https://www.youtube.com/v/kNgZ5o_pLiY

[Todd]

The final disc.  The lion's share of the disc is devoted to Renaissance recorder music from the Netherlands, and the remainder is more robustly scored dance music.  Not the best disc of the set, but nice.  The set as a whole was well worth the money, with probably a 50% hit rate, meaning that the music is supremely good.  That pretty much means extensive vocal contributions.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Vaughan Williams
Symphony No. 6 in E minor
LSO
Thomson



I find this to be an even better performance than Boult's on EMI. The turbulence is handled with aplomb and all of the shifting moods are brilliantly executed. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I do rather like Berglund's on EMI as well. These would probably be my two favorite performances overall.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Pettersson
Symphony Nos. 7 & 11
Norrköping SO
Segerstam



It's too bad Segerstam didn't finish recording all of Pettersson's symphonies as I'm sure his would be the reference cycle if he did. I do love the CPO cycle, though. I can't say I've been impressed with the newer Lindberg performances. They're missing something and I can't quite figure out what exactly.

[Madiel]

Haydn, Symphony No.79



Embarking on the last 3 Haydn symphonies that I haven't heard before, the 79-81 set.  Number 79 is holding up very nicely thank you, though the ending of the 2nd movement is a real surprise.

[Operafreak]