What are you listening 2 now?

[Linz]

Bruckner Symphony No. 2, Weber Euryanthe Overture and his Aufforderung zum Tanz (Invitation to the Dance), op.65 Conducted by Horst Stein

[Traverso]

Eclipse


Hamza El Din  oud master of the Sudan


​

[DavidW]

The great Schubert 9th (8th depending on how you count)!  A glorious performance from Harnoncourt's what third outing?

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Feldman
Coptic Light
ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Michael Boder

[SonicMan46]

The great Schubert 9th (8th depending on how you count)!  A glorious performance from Harnoncourt's what third outing?

 

Hi David - not sure 'how many' complete/partial Schubert cycles he has recorded (at least three), but I own the one added above w/ the RCO - if you've heard both performances, how does this new one compare - the few reviews that I've read state 'live performances' but no evidence of an audience on the recordings - true?  Thanks for any thoughts or others who may know both recordings. Dave

[Karl Henning]

DVD - viewed yesterday
Simon JEFFES: Still Life at the Penguin Café   -  ballet
music is new age cross-over with folk and other.   Not as irritating as most other new age I've heard but soporific.

I enjoy this very much.

[Linz]

Bruckner Symphony No. 3 in D Minor Karl Bohm conducting

[SonicMan46]

Shostakovich - String Quartets - I've probably owned a half dozen sets of these works over the years, but now have just the two below, i.e. Borodin Quartet (of all SQ pieces, plus more) and the Pacifica Quartet (I bought the individual volumes as released) - picked out just 2-3 discs per set for an afternoon listen.  Dave

 

[prémont]

Bach

What to say, I'm now on CD 8 and everything sounds fantastic. Hands down one of the best organ performances I have and I prefer them to the Aeolus recordings which, however fantastic they sound, are not one of my favorites because of the organ choice.
Of course that is a personal view.

Concerning A and JA Silbermann organs I was surprised that one of the most important scholars as to Bach's organ music chose to plan a complete Bach set on these. Others have recorded some Bach on similar organs (W Jacob, W Kraft eg.) and Lionel Rogg's set for Harmonia Mundi is exclusively recorded on the JA Silbermann organ in Arlesheim. But even so I admit that the distinctive French A and JA Silbermann sound is an acquired taste in Bach. Never-the-less I find the artistic standard of Kooiman so overwhelming, that minor issues seems less important. Others (Rübsam, Isoir, Chapuis eg.) have recorded Bach on neo-baroque organs, which I think are even less appropiate for Bach than French Silbermann organs. But also here the high artistic standard compensates for the choice of organ IMO. I have recently relistened to Kooiman's Coronata AoF and CÜ III, and conclude that my main problem is caused by bad engineering. And I wonder if it adds to this, that Kooiman seems to opt for some kind of ideal choice of stops, which doesn't take the character of the organs (Gabler, Weingarten and Schnitger, Alkmaar) and maybe also the acoustics of the churches sufficiently into account. I have heard that the Sint Laurens Kerk was restored and got a new coating of the walls which changed the acoustic properties drastically - maybe in the late 80es or early 90es.

[VonStupp]

Ralph Vaughan Williams
Dona Nobis Pacem
Sancta Civitas

Yvonne Kenny, soprano
Philip Langridge, tenor
Bryn Terfel, baritone

St. Paul's Cathedral Choristers
London SO & Chorus - Sir Richard Hickox (rec. 1992)

I consider VW's Dona Nobis Pacem  the perfectly conceived 20th Century cantata. Not a wasted moment or excess note exists in the work, and each line of music contains meaningful import.

I love Yvonne Kenny's soprano, as I did in Bryden Thomson's A Sea Symphony recording, and I generally enjoy Terfel's youthful baritone. I REALLY like Hickox's deliberate, markéd pacing of 'A Dirge for Two Veterans' here! Very effective for this listener.

Sancta Civitas is not one I visit too often; it rambles a bit, its form befuddles me some, and poor Philip Langridge has to wait until the very final moments of the 34 minute runtime to sing for all of 15 seconds.  I will revisit it for sure when I am not so tired, though.

VS

[aligreto]

Holst: A Moorside Suite [Braithwaite]

[DavidW]

Hi David - not sure 'how many' complete/partial Schubert cycles he has recorded (at least three), but I own the one added above w/ the RCO - if you've heard both performances, how does this new one compare - the few reviews that I've read state 'live performances' but no evidence of an audience on the recordings - true?  Thanks for any thoughts or others who may know both recordings. Dave

It does sound live, you can hear the turning of the sheets.  But no audience, no coughs, no applause.  The BPO sounds note perfect.  I don't really get the point of it being live.  I think I prefer the RCO, but it has been awhile.

Here is my favorite live Schubert 9th:


And my over all favorite:

[Lisztianwagner]

Ralph Vaughan Williams
Symphony No.9

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Feldman
Cello and Orchestra
Siegfried Palm, cello
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken
Zender



A towering achievement of late-20th Century music, IMHO.

[Lisztianwagner]

Great to read, Ilaria! You've got to give a listen to The Excursions of Mr. Brouček at some point. Give a listen to the František Jílek recording if you can.

Thank you for the suggestion, John, I don't know if I can find Jilek's recording, but I'll certainly give a listen to the opera anyway.

[Mandryka]

Concerning A and JA Silbermann organs I was surprised that one of the most important scholars as to Bach's organ music chose to plan a complete Bach set on these. Others have recorded some Bach on similar organs (W Jacob, W Kraft eg.) and Lionel Rogg's set for Harmonia Mundi is exclusively recorded on the JA Silbermann organ in Arlesheim. But even so I admit that the distinctive French A and JA Silbermann sound is an acquired taste in Bach. Never-the-less I find the artistic standard of Kooiman so overwhelming, that minor issues seems less important. Others (Rübsam, Isoir, Chapuis eg.) have recorded Bach on neo-baroque organs, which I think are even less appropiate for Bach than French Silbermann organs. But also here the high artistic standard compensates for the choice of organ IMO. I have recently relistened to Kooiman's Coronata AoF and CÜ III, and conclude that my main problem is caused by bad engineering. And I wonder if it adds to this, that Kooiman seems to opt for some kind of ideal choice of stops, which doesn't take the character of the organs (Gabler, Weingarten and Schnitger, Alkmaar) and maybe also the acoustics of the churches sufficiently into account. I have heard that the Sint Laurens Kerk was restored and got a new coating of the walls which changed the acoustic properties drastically - maybe in the late 80es or early 90es.

Interesting about the sound engineering. That was my reaction when I listened with 44 Litre speakers - stand-mounts - Spendor SP1s. But on the big system, ESLs and subs, listening to the start of CU3 this morning, the problem had pretty well vanished. I also had reservations about the stops in AoF CDI (not heard CD II)

[Linz]

Karl Bohm with Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major

[Mapman]

Ralph Vaughan Williams
Dona Nobis Pacem
Sancta Civitas

Yvonne Kenny, soprano
Philip Langridge, tenor
Bryn Terfel, baritone

St. Paul's Cathedral Choristers
London SO & Chorus - Sir Richard Hickox (rec. 1992)

I consider VW's Dona Nobis Pacem  the perfectly conceived 20th Century cantata. Not a wasted moment or excess note exists in the work, and each line of music contains meaningful import.

I love Yvonne Kenny's soprano, as I did in Bryden Thomson's A Sea Symphony recording, and I generally enjoy Terfel's youthful baritone. I REALLY like Hickox's deliberate, markéd pacing of 'A Dirge for Two Veterans' here! Very effective for this listener.

VS

I fully agree about the greatness of Dona Nobis Pacem! I did some comparison a few years ago, and if I remember correctly Terfel is among the best in Reconciliation.

[prémont]

Interesting about the sound engineering. That was my reaction when I listened with 44 Litre speakers - stand-mounts - Spendor SP1s. But on the big system, ESLs and subs, listening to the start of CU3 this morning, the problem had pretty well vanished. I also had reservations about the stops in AoF CDI (not heard CD II)

When I listened to CÜ III today it was on my rather newly upgraded NAIM system, which reproduces the sound in a rather objective manner - sometimes too objective - and my two Ruarc Prologue II floor speakers and an Audiovector QR subwoofer. My listening room is too small for more advanced equipment than this. The listening to day made me more aware of Kooiman's registrations and the balance, but still I think the engineering isn't optimal. The Gabler organ is notoriously difficult to record, but I own several recordings with this organ, which definitely surpass the Coronata recording as to presence and definition of the sound. It's the same with the Alkmaar organ, which I on my upgraded system found even worse engineered than before. However both vol. II of the CÜ III and vol. II of the AoF sound better than vol. I, because the registrations for the most part are less problematic.

[Mirror Image]

Thank you for the suggestion, John, I don't know if I can find Jilek's recording, but I'll certainly give a listen to the opera anyway.

Well, there's Bělohlávek, too. I haven't heard nor own this one, though.