What are you listening 2 now?

[Lisztianwagner]

Franz Liszt

Pastorale – Schnitter-Chor aus dem Entfesselten Prometheus S508
Einsam bin ich, nicht alleine – Volkslied aus dem Schauspiel Preciosa von Carl Maria von Weber S453
Fantasie über Motive aus Beethovens Ruinen von Athen S389

[DavidW]

[JBS]

I don't know much of Rorem's music. In fact, I ask myself if I know any...?

This SQ 4 is good, although I remember the Meyer Quintet as better; used copies seem fairly cheap. So win win win all around.


TD

Taken from radio broadcasts. The Benjamin (Halle) is from 1948, the RVW (BBC SO) from 1950. On the actual CD, the order of the works is reverse of the cover--Benjamin then RVW.

I've never heard the Benjamin, and it strikes me as very good. The RVW is just beginning as I post.
Only real problem is the sound, which sounds exactly like a radio broadcast of the era might be expected to sound.
There seem to be two stereo recordings, one on Marco Polo/Naxos, the other on Lyrita. Any suggestions as to which is better?

[classicalgeek]

Vítězslava Kaprálová: Military Sinfonietta Op.11
University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Kiesler

I've seen this disc appear here a number of times, and decided to dip in today with the Military Sinfonietta, which I must say seems very well done by the UMSO and Kiesler. And the work itself was a delight, full of shifting orchestral colours and youthful energy. She was quite some talent. Tragic she departed this life so young (25). Looking forward to working my way through the rest of the cd.

I quite enjoyed that Kapralova disc (on Spotify), and in particular the Military Sinfonietta. Such a fascinating composer, and very sad that she didn't live to write more.


TD:
Frank Martin
Petite Symphonie Concertante
Six Monologs from 'Jedermann'
Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments, Timpani, and Percussion
various soloists
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Armin Jordan
(on Spotify)

[Karl Henning]

This SQ 4 is good, although I remember the Meyer Quintet as better; used copies seem fairly cheap. So win win win all around.

Thanks! The mp3 album for $8 suits me nicely.

[Karl Henning]

I quite enjoyed that Kapralova disc (on Spotify), and in particular the Military Sinfonietta. Such a fascinating composer, and very sad that she didn't live to write more.

Probably courtesy of your esteemed self, I've made note of that disc. One of these days....

[Karl Henning]

This likable set has Rorem SY1 (listed as SY3), and it sounds pretty good.

Bought the mp3 album today. I may reserve Rorem for First-Listen Friday.

[Mapman]

Today I played along with Karajan's late EMI recordings in Berlin of Sibelius Symphony #1 and Finlandia.

[JBS]

CD 1
Symphonies 1 and 3

[classicalgeek]

Winding up the workday with this:

Szymanowski
Violin Concerto no. 1
Jennifer Koh, violin
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar
(on Spotify)



Ten minutes after the recording ended, I'm still speechless. What a work, and what a performance... just otherworldly... and gorgeous...

[kyjo]

Taken from radio broadcasts. The Benjamin (Halle) is from 1948, the RVW (BBC SO) from 1950. On the actual CD, the order of the works is reverse of the cover--Benjamin then RVW.

I've never heard the Benjamin, and it strikes me as very good. The RVW is just beginning as I post.
Only real problem is the sound, which sounds exactly like a radio broadcast of the era might be expected to sound.
There seem to be two stereo recordings, one on Marco Polo/Naxos, the other on Lyrita. Any suggestions as to which is better?

To the bolded text: Certainly the Lyrita recording with the LPO under Barry Wordsworth - a great recording of a smokingly powerful wartime symphony. It breathes the same heady air as RVW 4 and 6, Prokofiev 5 and 6, and the Korngold Symphony, and is not far inferior to any of those masterworks either.

[JBS]

To the bolded text: Certainly the Lyrita recording with the LPO under Barry Wordsworth - a great recording of a smokingly powerful wartime symphony. It breathes the same heady air as RVW 4 and 6, Prokofiev 5 and 6, and the Korngold Symphony, and is not far inferior to any of those masterworks either.

It comes across as powerful, and being discmate to RVW 4 doesn't hurt it at all.
The Lyrita will go on the list, thank you!

TD
Change of pace

First listen.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Bought the mp3 album today. I may reserve Rorem for First-Listen Friday.

Imho, the entire album is fun. Enjoy!

Vítězslava Kaprálová: Military Sinfonietta Op.11
University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Kiesler

I've seen this disc appear here a number of times, and decided to dip in today with the Military Sinfonietta, which I must say seems very well done by the UMSO and Kiesler. And the work itself was a delight, full of shifting orchestral colours and youthful energy. She was quite some talent. Tragic she departed this life so young (25). Looking forward to working my way through the rest of the cd.

Nice!

[Operafreak]

Louis Lortie Plays Chopin, Vol. 7

[amw]

Put a bunch of Kairos albums on shuffle tonight and apparently we're starting with this:



It's chill and sort of ambient. Nothing particularly attention-getting, I guess, but it's nice to listen to.

[Roasted Swan]

To the bolded text: Certainly the Lyrita recording with the LPO under Barry Wordsworth - a great recording of a smokingly powerful wartime symphony. It breathes the same heady air as RVW 4 and 6, Prokofiev 5 and 6, and the Korngold Symphony, and is not far inferior to any of those masterworks either.

a plus 1 for either recording actually.  The Lyrita is dependably fine but in fact the Marco Polo is good too and with diferent couplings there is an argument to get both!  Generally speaking Benjamin deserves to be better known.  The Dutton disc of concertante works is very fine too;



and features the Romantic Fantasy for Violin, Viola & Orchestra.  Back in the day when I used to help out when Oscar Shumsky was in the UK this was a work he spoke of very highly and wished to perform,  If its good enough for Shumsky everyone else should take note!  Its dedicated to Bax and quotes from one of the older composer's works right at the start.

[Harry]

J.S. Bach.
CD I & II.

The Four Orchestral Suites & Sinfonia from Cantata No. 42,209,29.
Concerto movement in D major.

The Brandenburg Consort, Roy Goodman.

Splendid performances and superb sound.

[aligreto]

Desprez: Missa super malheur me bat [Gottwald]





This is a relatively large scale work coming in at just over forty minutes. The music and the harmonies are wonderful. The counterpoint is always interesting and engaging. The vocal presentation of the work is very pleasant. The recorded acoustic is warm and reverberant which is eminently suitable in this situation.

[Operafreak]

Michael Haydn: Symphonies

Capella Savaria (on period instruments), Pál Németh

[Irons]

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 [Furtwängler]





Straight off, this is a recording which suffers from relatively poor sonics, because of its age [1951]. It is therefore not one for those who can only tolerate sonic perfection.

However, it is a wonderfully noble and expansive live presentation. This reading of the opening two movements is all of ruminative and contemplative yet it also has a somewhat light and optimistic tone and atmosphere. It is also a very lyrical reading and being expansive, the music breathes freely without ever sagging. It also retains all of the tension and drama inherent in the work.

The slow movement is taken at an extremely slow pace; perhaps the slowest that I have ever heard. I do not usually like this movement to be taken particularly slowly as it usually leads to saccharine sweet readings. But this is definitely not the case here. The tone is more one of yearning here. It is both elegant and enchanting without being overly intense or melancholy. It never falters and still retains all of the intensity and passion inherent in the music. I cannot remember hearing another interpretation of this movement quite like it. Remarkable!

So, what of the final movement? Well following the tone of the slow movement this opened in a declamatory way, announcing itself as having arrived. The orchestra sounds rich and opulent in the lower registers. The build up in the first two sections is initially suitably slow and steady until we hit the big theme. Then the intensity kicks in. All of the solo vocalists perform very admirably. The choir is also explosive in the requisite places. The big regret here is that the magnificence of the choir is not fully captured in the recording. It is too recessed and "muddy" in the recording and suffers as a result for it. This imbalance is such a pity given, even with these restrictions, how powerful it still sounds and the impact that it still has. It is still a magnificent performance.

What an occasion that performance must have been!

Excellent review, Fergus. Moonlighting at MusicWeb would not be beyond you.