What are you listening 2 now?

[Lisztianwagner]

Sunday dedicated to Nordic composers:

Carl Nielsen
Saga-Drøm
Pan og Syrinx
Flute Concerto

[VonStupp]

In addition to this wonderful Schubert, Munch recorded some great Mendelssohn (Symphonies 4 & 5), Tchaikovsky (Symphony 6), Dvorak (Symphony 8 ), Beethoven (a great 9th) and Brahms (Symphony No. 4 on RCA and No. 1 on EMI), as well as unusual items like the Martinu Symphony No. 6.

Ah yes, I actually have the Mendelssohn on another RCA Living Stereo SACD; A great reminder! I will see what I can find of the rest, as I never forked out for the Munch box.

VS

[The new erato]

I'm playing Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky, Pletnev conducting. I seriously doubt I have ever heard the complete work in any version ever.

[Spotted Horses]

In the last two days,

Malipiero, Sinfonia per Antigenic, de Almeida.



In this work Malipiero is said to depict his frustration with the lack of public recognition of his work, through a classical character (Antigenida). It is also said to use an extensive piccolo part to represent this character. That didn't make me too optimistic (piccolo?). But in the end, it was a worthwhile piece which I enjoyed thoroughly (as I did the other works on this disc).

Arnold, String Quartets No 1, 2



I picked up this disc after it was mentioned on this site some months ago and there was a bit of a buzz. Wonderful music, well performed and recorded. Arnold conjure up a wide spectrum of sonorities and moods using the small ensemble, from strident close harmony, dissonant imitative counterpoint, infectious melodies with accompaniment and impressive open harmonies. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Goldberg Variations, Kolesnikov



This performance was inspired by the pianist's work with a ballet choreographer, and is said to emphasize dance rhythms. I didn't find it particularly more dancy than other recordings, but found it interesting nonetheless. As usual, Kolesnikov plays with rhythms and dynamics and produces some variations which I found particularly attractive, and others which I felt missed the mark. A worthwhile listen (done 6 variations at a sitting).

[Biffo]

An interesting combination, did you enjoy both?

Yes, now listening to Hindemith Mathis der Maler Symphony from the same forces.

The Nocturnes are probably my favourite Debussy work

[Operafreak]

Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata-& other  works

Pavel Kolesnikov (piano)

[Todd]

[Tsaraslondon]

I could probably do it with some, such as Scelsi, Penderecki and Takemitsu but the thought of nothing but Stockhausen fails to appeal.

To me also, but then I don't have any Stockhausen in my collection. Nor do I have any Scelsi or Penderecki and only a couple of isolated works by Takemitsu, usually included as fill ups for another work. I do like Takemitsu though.

[Mirror Image]

Sergei Prokofiev
On the Dnieper (complete ballet)
Semyon Kotko Suite

WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne
Michail Jurowski

For this morning:

The Dnieper ballet (Sur le Borysthène) is new to me, as is this recording.

VS

Lovely, VS. I quite like On the Dnieper. It has a beautiful, lyrical flow to it that I find alluring.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Suk
A Summer's Tale, Op. 29
Czech Philharmonic
Libor Pešek

From this set -

[steve ridgway]

The Nocturnes are probably my favourite Debussy work

I thought those were pretty adventurous for the time.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Noriko Ogawa: Japonisme. Various Japanese, and Japanese-themed, music. Quite fun recording.

[Mirror Image]

Noriko Ogawa: Japonisme. Various Japanese, and Japanese-themed, music. Quite fun recording.

Lovely and Noriko Ogawa is so cute. I love her.

NP:

Schnittke
The Glass Harmonica Suite
Berlin RSO
Strobel

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Lovely and Noriko Ogawa is so cute. I love her.

Some people dig her Debussy recordings. I wish the color of pic more bright and vivid since her kimono and the room backside w/ piano present a nice, beautiful contrast. The music is very sophisticated and abstract, and it's not folkish at all.

[Todd]

Until I purchased this recording, I had not even seen the name Mladen Čolić.  I only bought this recording when I decided to buy all extant Naxos recordings of Soler sonatas on piano, part of a big lump of repertoire.  This is much, much more than that.  Čolić's recital offers some of the very best Soler playing I've heard, right up there with Marie-Luise Hinrichs and Frederick Marvin.  Stylistically, he is very different than Hinrichs, who sort of inhabits her own artistic world.  He's closer to Marvin, but then he's not really like Marvin.  Čolić's playing surpasses either Hinrich's or Marvin's in sheerly pianistic terms, and at least matches Borowiak in the Naxos series. 

But Čolić goes further.  There's no way that this obvious contract job of consecutive sonatas represents the pianist's favorite Soler, but you'd never know that from the playing.  From first note to last, he imparts energy, wit, charm, fun - so much fun - with C Major as sunny as the key can get, and a sense of fresh discovery, delivered with felicitous touch after felicitous touch.  There are so many, in every movement of every work, it is impossible to pinpoint any one or ten or twenty.  He does especially well dispatching arpeggios quickly, cleanly, with each note distinct.  In multiple places, he very slightly delays a right hand note just that teeny tiny bit, to excellent effect each time.  His dynamic control is supremely fine and performed within a proper range - there's no hammering out unneeded fortissimo here.  He is content to find shade after shade between mp and mf in extended passages, though he plays louder or softer with ease and panache and a just right feel.  His rhythmic variegation matches his dynamic control. 

Čolić has a thin discography, only three titles, two of them on Naxos.  Some YouTube videos of him playing other repertoire are available.  Though I doubt it happens, I'd love to hear him record a broad array of repertoire, starting with Scarlatti and Mozart, and then moving on to everything else.  I fear he may end up more like Julian Gorus. 

A real find, and in excellent sound, to boot.

[Mirror Image]

Some people dig her Debussy recordings. I wish the color of pic more bright and vivid since her kimono and the room backside w/ piano present a nice, beautiful contrast. The music is very sophisticated and abstract, and it's not folkish at all.

[VonStupp]

Lovely, VS. I quite like On the Dnieper. It has a beautiful, lyrical flow to it that I find alluring.

Yes, I really liked the lyrical opening and the trudging wedding sequence especially. I will have to spend some time with it though, it didn't cohere as a whole ballet very well for me. Probably unfamiliarity on my part.

VS

Sergei Prokofiev
Lieutenant Kijé Suite

Boris Statsenko, baritone
WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne
Michail Jurowski

I went ahead and listened to Kijé as well, mainly because I had never heard the Romance and Troika sung before, only their orchestral guise.

This recording offers two separate tracks of both versions of the Romance and Troika, one sung (Russian) and one instrumental. I really dug the sung version much more than expected, but I think Boris Statsenko makes them go a long ways too. The Cologne saxophone is a bit heavy sounding in the instrumental variant, and even maybe a tad underpitched too, so I am glad the vocal track was of high quality. A nice surprise!

[vandermolen]

NP:

Suk
A Summer's Tale, Op. 29
Czech Philharmonic
Libor Pešek

From this set -

That's a great set John!

[Mirror Image]

Yes, I really liked the lyrical opening and the trudging wedding sequence especially. I will have to spend some time with it though, it didn't cohere as a whole ballet very well for me. Probably unfamiliarity on my part.

Yes, the ballet's weakness is that it doesn't contain any hugely memorable tunes as it's more of an atmospheric work, but this atmosphere has stayed with me since I've heard so many years ago. I also rather like the Rozhdestvensky recording, so check his performance out whenever you get the chance.

[Mirror Image]

That's a great set John!

It sure is, I love it.