What are you listening 2 now?

[Florestan]

The best Goyescas I've ever listened to, both performance-wise and sonically. Highly recommended, expecially to Sarge... 

[Harry]

Joseph Joachim Raff.

Complete Symphonies, and Suites.

CD IX.

Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "Im Sommer" & No. 11 in A minor, "Der Winter".

Bamberger Symphoniker, Hans Stadlmair.

Two very fine Symphonies.

[Operafreak]

Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37b, etc.- Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)

[Florestan]

D929.

This is possibly the slowest performance on record (although I believe at least one ensemble manages a 13 minute slow movement, which I haven't heard) and, like the equally slow Demenga, Schneeberger and Dähler performance on ECM, there's something quite special about it. Perhaps not as special as that recording (this is modern instruments after all) but I always have time for it; there are a few moments in the last movement that make the entire ~57 minute outlay worthwhile.

Hah! I've listened to D898 from precisely that set just last night but don't rememeber anything past the first movement: I fell asleep, though not because of the music or performance. 

[Florestan]

On Spotify



(hat tip to amw!)

Very rhytmically driven, which is not bad for dance music, but a little heavy-handed in the bass. The fortepiano doesn't sound bad at all, although I wished he used the fabulous Nanette Streicher that Jan Vermeulen used in his complete Schubert set.

[Que]

[...] the fabulous Nanette Streicher that Jan Vermeulen used in his complete Schubert set.

A great set! 

[The new erato]

And I've listened to the first 3 volumes in the Chandos Casella series druing the last few days. Vol 4 is lined up for listening as well. Very fine and worthwhile series.

[Harry]

Alexander Glazunov.

Complete Symphonies & Concertos.
CD 8.

Piano Concerto no. 1 in F minor. (Alexander Romanovsky, Piano)
Reverie in D flat major, for Horn and Orchestra. (Alexey Serov)
Concerto Ballata in C major for Cello and Orchestra. (Wen-Sin Yang, Cello)
Meditation in D major for violin and Orchestra. (Rachel Barton Pine, violin)

Russian National Orchestra, Jose Serebrier.

The last CD in this set, with miscellaneous works.  Enjoyed the lot of them, certainly recommendable. The CD's with the Russian orchestra are the best performed and recorded.

[Harry]

I've listened to the first 3 volumes in the Chandos Casella series during the last few days. Vol 4 is lined up for listening as well. Very fine and worthwhile series.

They certainly are!

[Madiel]

Haydn, Missa Cellensis in honorem BVM (the 'Cecilia Mass' nickname being a misnomer)

[Traverso]

Messiaen


Les Offrandes oubliées
L' Ascension
Poèmes pour Mi, song cycle for soprano & piano (or orchestra), I/17b: Premier Livre

[Harry]

Max Reger.

CD IV, from VII.

Sinfonietta in A major for Orchestra.

Gunter Siering, Solo Violin in the third movement.
Dresdner Philharmonie, Heinz Bongartz.

I clearly forgot what a fabulous Sinfonietta Reger composed. I am back on track with my admiration. It gets a very detailed and dedicated interpretation. The recorded sound (1973) is amazingly good.

[Harry]

Rued Langgaard.

Symphonies No. 4, "Fall" & 5, Version I & Version II "Summer Legend Drama/Steppe Landscape"

Danish National SO, Thomas Dausgaard.

[Mapman]

Last night:
Walton: Façade
Ormandy/Philadelphia

This work was my introduction to Walton, when I saw it performed. I hadn't heard it since then. I'd forgotten about the quotes of Rossini's William Tell Overture!



Sibelius: Symphony #3
Segerstam/Helsinki

A good performance of a great symphony. The tempo fluctuations at the beginning of the 3rd movement seemed a bit extreme to me, though.

[DavidW]

I dug into the Segerstam/Helsinki cycle this morning, specifically #4 and the VC.  I love Segerstam/Helsinki's Sibelius without reservation especially in the fourth symphony!  And it is a great compliment (since they are so different) to my gold standard, Vanska/Lahti.

[Harry]

De Leidse Koorboeken.
Volume VI.
CD I.

Johannes Flamingus
Cibavit eos a4 & Crucifixum in carne a3. Secunda pars: Recordamini quomodo predixit.

Lupus Hellinck.
Cibavit eos a4.

Pierre de Manchicourt.
Missa "Nisi dominus", a4.

Franciscus Mergot de Novo Portu.
Regina celi. a4.
Secunda pars: Resurrexit dixit vobis, a4.

Egidius Kwartet & College.

A good close of my listening day.

[Mandryka]

On Spotify



(hat tip to amw!)

Very rhytmically driven, which is not bad for dance music, but a little heavy-handed in the bass. The fortepiano doesn't sound bad at all, although I wished he used the fabulous Nanette Streicher that Jan Vermeulen used in his complete Schubert set.

I knew the name was familiar to me from somewhere -- it's because he did a Musical Offering, dated but nice, he uses some sort of strange sounding keyboard. It looks like there's quite a bit of Bach.

[Spotted Horses]

Continuing with my revisit with Roussel's orchestral music, I listened to the first symphony, in the Eschenbach/Orchestra de Paris recording. (I think I started this listening project after being very impressed with Markevitch's recording of Bacchus et Ariane.)



Roussel's first symphony often gets dismissed as an immature composers infatuation with impressionism, but this time around I find it a substantial work. Roussel wrote a structured symphony using an impressionistic vocabulary and I find he successfully reconciled the superficially conflicting natures of the two schools. Strictly speaking, Debussy's impressionistic symphony La Mer preceded it, but the works were composed more-or-less at the same time.

Eschenbach's approach is somewhat reserved and it is my plan to follow up by listening to Janowski's recording of the work, which I expect will be more extroverted.

[Todd]

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Ulvi Cemal ERKİN: Violin Concerto.
James Buswell (violin),
Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra/Theodore Kuchar.