What are you listening 2 now?

[vers la flamme]

In my opinion, it certainly is, Barbirolli's interpretation is excellent, for a very glorious and expressive recording. About Elgar's Symphony No. 1, Solti/London Philharmonic and Elder/Hallé are very beautiful too anyway.

Solti is the other one I was looking at. Thanks!

P.S., you presumably already have it all but the Barbirolli Elgar recordings are now available in an extremely cheap box:

[Lisztianwagner]

Solti is the other one I was looking at. Thanks!

P.S., you presumably already have it all but the Barbirolli Elgar recordings are now available in an extremely cheap box:

Very nice! Yes, I have most of them, but this box set you linked also includes The Dream of Gerontius, Dream Children, Lullaby and 2 Arias from Caractacus. If it's really super cheap, it's a very good deal.

[vers la flamme]

Very nice! Yes, I have most of them, but this box set you linked also includes The Dream of Gerontius, Dream Children, Lullaby and 2 Arias from Caractacus. If it's really super cheap, it's a very good deal.

The one I'm looking at is $17 with free shipping. I must admit it's very tempting, though I've never really been an Elgar guy.

[vers la flamme]

Jean Sibelius: Symphony No.5 in E-flat major, op.82. Osmo Vänskä, Minnesota Orchestra

One of the works I don't tire of. Don't know this recording all that well (though it was the first one I ever heard actually), but it sounds great.

[classicalgeek]

More Haydn from Orpheus:

Symphony no. 53
Symphony no. 73
Symphony no. 79
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra



As fine as the rest of this series; I may have enjoyed this one least, but this is more the works than the performances (I'm less fond of Symphonies nos. 53 and 79, although no. 73 is great fun.)

[vers la flamme]

Round two in as many days with Mravinsky's Pathétique



Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 in B minor, op.74, the "Pathétique". Yevgeny Mravinsky, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra

A thrilling performance, with great brass. Hell, great orchestral playing from every section. Mravinsky might have been the Soviet George Szell.

[Karl Henning]

Worth having? I'm still looking for a good recording of Elgar's 1st; the ones I have I don't like (Barenboim/London Philharmonic and Sinopoli/Philharmonia)—of course, it could be that it's Elgar's 1st that I don't like.

I'm fine with the Sinopoli (don't know the Barenboim) ... you might try the Solti/London Phil recording, which I like, but not everyone seems to ....

[Peter Power Pop]

Round two in as many days with Mravinsky's Pathétique



Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 in B minor, op.74, the "Pathétique". Yevgeny Mravinsky, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra

A thrilling performance, with great brass. Hell, great orchestral playing from every section. Mravinsky might have been the Soviet George Szell.

That performance is jaw-dropping.

[vers la flamme]

That performance is jaw-dropping.

Isn't it?!

[JBS]

Funny how many people have such a strong aversion to narration in works. I've never really thought about it; I guess I haven't heard enough music with narration to know better.

The problem there is not the fact that there's a narrator, but how Ustinov narrates it, in a way that is typical of how he did this sort of thing. You might love how he does it; you might hate it: there's no way to predict your reaction.

[Symphonic Addict]

Continuing with Jongen and his Harp Concerto:

This man wrote some really beautiful music.

[Karl Henning]

The problem there is not the fact that there's a narrator, but how Ustinov narrates it, in a way that is typical of how he did this sort of thing. You might love how he does it; you might hate it: there's no way to predict your reaction.

Indeed, specific performances of narration can be divisive.

[vers la flamme]

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.6 in E minor. André Previn, London Symphony Orchestra

The 6th is quite similar to the 4th, although I like it a lot more. Though it is likely that when I revisit the 4th (probably soon) I'll like it a lot more than before, because everything RVW is making a lot more sense lately. I'm coming to appreciate him as a composer greatly. He's always been a composer I've respected and admired more than I appreciated his music, but that may be starting to change. Stay tuned. 

[vers la flamme]

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Five Variants on Dives & Lazarus. Barry Wordsworth, New Queen's Hall Orchestra

This is one of RVW's more bucolic works, but one of his more epic ones with gorgeous melodies and luscious string textures. Ah, I'm a sucker for this stuff.

[vers la flamme]

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No.2 in D major, op.73. Eugen Jochum, London Philharmonic Orchestra

I don't spend as much time with this great Brahms cycle as I should. (Probably because I like the cycle Marin Alsop did with the same orchestra so much.)

[Symphonic Addict]

Ireland: Legend, for piano and orchestra

[JBS]

Does a recording of the Bath Abbey Organ count as English music?

ResphigiSuite in G for Organ and Strings
Poulenc Concerto in g minor for organ, strings, and timpani
Rheinberger Concerto no 1 in F for organ, strings, and three horns Opus 137

[vers la flamme]

Edward Elgar: Cockaigne (In London Town), op.40. Daniel Barenboim, London Philharmonic Orchestra

Very good performance. I'm curious, though, what is Barenboim's connection to Elgar? An Argentine Jew whose primary focus is German music, should have no business being such a sympathetic Elgar conductor. Or am I wrong? After all he has recorded both symphonies multiple times to much acclaim.

[vers la flamme]

Claude Debussy: La mer. Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic

One of the best I've heard, I think.

[JBS]