What are you listening 2 now?

[Todd]

From the Eloquence box, with the Paganini Variations tacked on.

[aligreto]

Early Music for the late watches!

Nice!

[vers la flamme]

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.4 in F minor. Adrian Boult, New Philharmonia Orchestra

Picked this up at a used bookstore today. I was intrigued by the cover, and I don't know much about either of these two symphonies—I only have the Previn, plus the Spano/Atlanta 4th (quite a good recent performance). Boult seems to always take a sober, detail-oriented approach to his interpretations of English music (at least those that I've heard) but he doesn't hold back in this one. The first movement is just as dark and violent as it ought to be. I guess I count myself as a fan of Boult, his recordings of English music especially (did he do anything else?).

[Symphonic Addict]

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1

Glad I revisited this work, it's better than I initially had thought.

[Traverso]

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.4 in F minor. Adrian Boult, New Philharmonia Orchestra

Picked this up at a used bookstore today. I was intrigued by the cover, and I don't know much about either of these two symphonies—I only have the Previn, plus the Spano/Atlanta 4th (quite a good recent performance). Boult seems to always take a sober, detail-oriented approach to his interpretations of English music (at least those that I've heard) but he doesn't hold back in this one. The first movement is just as dark and violent as it ought to be. I guess I count myself as a fan of Boult, his recordings of English music especially (did he do anything else?).

He did a Brahms cycle.

[JBS]

From the Solti London set.

[Symphonic Addict]

Alfvén: Symphony No. 2

Just started...

[JBS]

More Solti, in harmony with Monday's events

The Enigma Variations are with the CSO, and was recorded in Chicago, so its inclusion in a set of Solti's London recordings is a bit of an enigma in its own right.

[Karl Henning]

More Solti, in harmony with Monday's events

The Enigma Variations are with the CSO, and was recorded in Chicago, so its inclusion in a set of Solti's London recordings is a bit of an enigma in its own right.

(* chortle *)

[JBS]

Sticking to Solti

Symphonies 100/102/104
I've always felt the Solti/LPO set is the best MI cycle of the London Symphonies.

[Operafreak]

John Adams: Naive and Sentimental Music & Absolute Jest

Doric String Quartet, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Peter Oundjian

[Roasted Swan]

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.4 in F minor. Adrian Boult, New Philharmonia Orchestra

Picked this up at a used bookstore today. I was intrigued by the cover, and I don't know much about either of these two symphonies—I only have the Previn, plus the Spano/Atlanta 4th (quite a good recent performance). Boult seems to always take a sober, detail-oriented approach to his interpretations of English music (at least those that I've heard) but he doesn't hold back in this one. The first movement is just as dark and violent as it ought to be. I guess I count myself as a fan of Boult, his recordings of English music especially (did he do anything else?).

Boult had a big repertoire.  Famously as the Musical Director of the BBC he conducted a genuinely extraordinarily wide range of music giving many important first performances in the UK of works including Mahler symphonies and operas such as Wozzeck.  The BBC at the time had a strict rule that empoyees had to retire a 65 so they got rid of Boult in his prime.  At which point the LPO snapped him up and alongside EMI created the body of recorded work on which his enduring fame rests.  Most of that IS of British music (record labels do like to pidgeon-hole artists don't they!) but he did fine other recordings too - his Brahms cycle was for many years considered one of the finest.  But he also recorded interesting music for lesser labels (often with the LPO masquerading as things such as "The London Promenade Orchestra" for contractual reasons) so he did good Sibelius and Tchaikovsky and his discs of Wagner orchestral excerpts on EMI are very good.  Basically he was a fine musician and conductor.  Decca are releasing 3 boxes of his "legacy" - look at the listing for this one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sir-Adrian-Boult-Century-Music/dp/B0BCX3BD1F/ref=sr_1_3?crid=29FSXSLORYQ0V&keywords=Adrian+boult&qid=1663570978&s=music&sprefix=adrian+boult%2Cpopular%2C68&sr=1-3

to get an idea of his range.......

[Irons]

Edward Elgar: Symphony No.1 in A-flat major, op.55. John Barbirolli, Philharmonia Orchestra

First listen to this recording, so far so good. This is a very, very expansive work that I have not yet been able to make much sense of, but I think I'm making some progress.

A magical moment when the opening theme reappears at the end of the symphony.

Barbirolli's measured style is best suited to the 1st Symphony and Boult's for the tighter 2nd Symphony, I feel.

[Irons]

Walton: 2nd Symphony.

[Irons]

He did a Brahms cycle.

And Bach Brandenburg Concertos.

[vandermolen]

Sir Arthur Bliss 'Processional' composed for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. I'm very fond of this music and find it appropriate for today.
VW, Elgar, James MacMillan and Judith Weir's music will feature during today's funeral of HM at Westminster Abbey.
On the radio this morning the presenter commented that the then Princess Elizabeth had met Elgar at the recording of his 'Nursery suite' and speculated if she had been the last living person to have met Elgar.

[vandermolen]

Bliss 'Soon it is dawn' from A Song of Welcome (for HM The Queen 1954)

[Que]

Appropriate morning listening on Spotify at my vacation in central France, in the western part of a region called Puisaye:



Les Accords Nouxeaux, published by Pierre Ballard in 1638. Pierre came from a long line of French lutenists and music printers. Gorgeous playing by Claire Antonini.

[Traverso]

Bach


Vol 5


CD 1

[Spotted Horses]

+1 -    After decades of buying and culling Wolfie's PCs, down to just two boxes on the modern piano (Anda inserted above) - will be happy w/ those; of course, have two boxes on fortepiano for a 'balance' -     Dave

Oddly enough, despite being a Mozart super-fan, I've never heard the Anda set, despite it's reputation.