What are you listening 2 now?

Started by Gurn Blanston, September 23, 2019, 05:45:22 AM

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vers la flamme



Franz Liszt: Années de pèlerinage, Première année: Suisse, S 160. Lazar Berman

First listen to this very famous recording. It sounds so good.

Karl Henning


Bartók
Music for Strings, Percssion & Celesta, Sz. 106
CSO
Boulez
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Lisztianwagner

Arnold Schoenberg
Violin Concerto


"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

Todd



First listen.  I have high expectations for every Pavel Haas Quartet release, and they deliver every time.  They do so here.  Both recordings boast vitality aplenty, superb ensemble playing, vigorous attacks by the strings, and the resonant recording allows for satisfying dynamic range with an almost palpable sense of music swelling to fill the room, especially in the Piano Quintet.  (This requires listening at immoderate volume, which is highly recommended.)  More listens are needed to confirm, but all indications are that this will be a purchase of the year.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

André



The main theme of the symphony's first movement is so catchy it sticks in the memory instantly. The Suite is excellent, too. Love that disc !

VonStupp

#70005
Sergei Prokofiev
Ivan the Terrible, op. 116
(Palmer)

Linda Finnie, contralto
Nikita Storojev, bass
Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus
Neeme Järvi
(rec. 1990)

The only other version of Ivan I have heard is Riccardo Muti with Russian spoken narration. Järvi's has no narration at all and seems quite forceful from the orchestral front.

VS

"All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff."

André

Quote from: ritter on May 26, 2022, 12:58:06 PM
Let's start at the beginning...

First listen to this performance of Goffredo Petrassi's First Concerto for Orchestra (of the eight he composed over a span of almost 40 years).



I bought a secondhand copy of this hard-to-find set online, and it arrived yesterday. I already knew (and admired)  these works from Zoltán Peskó's earlier recordings on the Fonit Italia label, but had heard very laudatory comments about Arturo Tamayo's traversal. Well, those comments were not exaggerated: this performance of the neoclassical(ish) First Concerto (composed in 1934-34) is vigorous and detailed, and it's quite fantastic! Great stuff!

Truly a gem of a set: fascinating works and excellent interpretations.

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: VonStupp on May 28, 2022, 04:12:34 AM
Sergei Prokofiev
Eugene Onegin, op. 71 (Albrecht)
Egyptian Nights, op. 61

WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne
Gerd Albrecht


I didn't realize Prokofiev had so much reconstructed music, but I suppose it is probably true of most famous composers who were working on music around their deaths, or abandoned projects for whatever reason and never returned to them.

I actually don't mind narration in classical music, but Eugene Onegin could use less. At just over 40 minutes, Gerd Albrecht really cuts back this work to its bare essentials, and still I think the speaking could use dumping. Here, the dialog is in Russian.

Albrecht also confusingly cuts a short movement out of the Egyptian Nights Suite. I am not entranced with any of this music, but the Cologne ensemble satisfyingly digs in old-school style.

VS



Certainly, Egyptian Nights is one of Prokofiev's least-inspired works. Rather unmemorable and pedestrian for such a giant of a composer!
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Roasted Swan

First listen today to:



I thought this is one of Wilson's better discs.  But why he has decided to rerecord nearly EXACTLY the same repertoire as here;



I have no idea.  Literally just the Overlanders on the earlier disc swapped for the Downland Suite and the Holy Boy on the new one.  As with other Sinfonia of London discs the orchestral playing is superb.  Here the style of the music suits Wilson's rather analytical approach well.  He's good on snappy rhythms and energy.  Less good on subtle phrasing or musical rubato.  A London Overture lacks humour and wit but passages of the tone poems are extremely effective.  The Epic March always sounds like Ireland outside his comfort zone and doing Elgar (or Walton) badly.  Always glad to get another disc of Ireland's orchestral works but not sure this displaces Boult or Hickox even though the actual playing and engineering is top drawer.

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: André on May 28, 2022, 12:19:29 PM


The main theme of the symphony's first movement is so catchy it sticks in the memory instantly. The Suite is excellent, too. Love that disc !

Excellent, André! The another Sterling disc devoted to his music is also very good.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

André



A surprisingly stimulating disc. The violin concerti's slow movements are played a bit indulgently but all the outer movements are sprightly and dance along beautifully. The Chaconne and the Gavotte are played in an arrangement by Mendelssohn (with strings discreetly supplying a beautiful basso continuo cushion).

Symphonic Addict

Ginastera: Ollantay

Terrific!

Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Symphonic Addict

Casella: Symphony No. 1 in B minor

Even though his Symphony No. 3 is his masterpiece in the genre, I can't live without the first two either.

There is something about symphonies in B minor that just touches a sensitive and epic fiber on me: Atterberg 1, Langgaard 1, Tubin 2, Glière 3, Tchaikovsky Manfred, Paderewski Polonia, Myaskovsky 22, etc. Wonderful pieces all of them.

Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Prokofiev PC3. Leinsdorf/Boston. Fire! 🔥 🔥🔥



Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 28, 2022, 01:42:26 PM
Casella: Symphony No. 1 in B minor

Even though his Symphony No. 3 is his masterpiece in the genre, I can't live without the first two either.

There is something about symphonies in B minor that just touches a sensitive and epic fiber on me: Atterberg 1, Langgaard 1, Tubin 2, Glière 3, Tchaikovsky Manfred, Paderewski Polonia, Myaskovsky 22, etc. Wonderful pieces all of them.



Nice recording!


Quote from: André on May 28, 2022, 12:19:29 PM


The main theme of the symphony's first movement is so catchy it sticks in the memory instantly. The Suite is excellent, too. Love that disc !

Interesting! I will check it out.

vandermolen

#70015
Hendrik Andriessen: Symphony No.3
Jean Fournet, Netherlands Radio PO:

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Symphonic Addict

Quote from: Buster Machine on May 28, 2022, 02:57:51 PM
Alexander Mosolov: First Piano Concerto
Rusudan Khuntsaria / USSR State Symphony - Vladimir Kozhukar (1981)

Ludwig van Beethoven: Fourth Symphony
Leipzig Gewandhaus - Franz Konwitschny (1961)

Arthur Honegger: Baselian Delights
Romand Switzerland Orchestra - Ernest Ansermet (1968)

Franz Liszt: Tasso. Lament and Triumph
Budapest Symphony - Arpad Joó (1985)

Constantin Dimitrescu: Second Cello Concerto
Marin Cazacu / Romanian Radio Chamber - Horia Andreescu

Don't know the Dimitrescu yet, but thumbs up for the others!
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Symphonic Addict



Pfitzner: Symphony in C charp minor, Op. 36a

Both the original version (for string quartet) and this one for symphony orchestra show two convincing conceptions. I prefer the original one, though, this orchestration doesn't lack punch and impact either.
Part of the tragedy of the Palestinians is that they have essentially no international support for a good reason: they've no wealth, they've no power, so they've no rights.

Noam Chomsky

Allegro feroce

#70019
Quote from: Symphonic Addict on May 28, 2022, 03:03:56 PM
Don't know the Dimitrescu yet, but thumbs up for the others!

You can listen to it in the Romanian classical radio station's website for a couple days: https://www.romania-muzical.ro/emisiune/polifonii/polifonii/271621/4611 It's really nice, it somewhat reminds me of Dvorák's Concerto but with its own national flavor and more modest and gentle. I especially liked the finale, I found it just as charming as it is catchy.