What are you listening 2 now?

[Symphonic Addict]

Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani (acts I-III)

It sounds quite effervescent!

[Lisztianwagner]

E che me pensi, cara Ilaria?

Good evening to you!

Good evening to you too, Rafael!

I absolutely appreciated it, it's a beautiful composition, very thrilling and colourful; like other Walton's works, it shows great expressiveness and intense harmonies, as well as dense, refined textures in the development of the themes and frequent changes in rhythms and dynamics (especially in the first and third movements, while the second makes a fine contrast with an insisting, lively pace overall, apart from the quiet, contemplative ending) which create a varied, capturing atmosphere, but with a melancholic shade on the background that can always be perceived. Terribly good anyway, no doubt.

Now:
William Walton
Cello Concerto



Robert Cohen (cello)
Andrew Litton & Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

[vers la flamme]

Gustav Holst: The Planets, op.32. William Steinberg, Boston Symphony Orchestra

Wow, lightning fast Planets. Absolutely amazing brass and percussion playing. I just got this but I can see it becoming a favorite.

[vandermolen]

Walton: Spitfire Prelude and Fugue (from the BBC Music Magazine CD above). This is the best recorded version I have heard of this stirring work (BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Tadaaki Otaka)

[vandermolen]

Gustav Holst: The Planets, op.32. William Steinberg, Boston Symphony Orchestra

Wow, lightning fast Planets. Absolutely amazing brass and percussion playing. I just got this but I can see it becoming a favorite.

That's my favourite recording of the Planets - an absolute classic.

[vers la flamme]

That's my favourite recording of the Planets - an absolute classic.

I can see why. It certainly contains some of the very best orchestral playing I've ever heard, bar none. I'm not sure whether I prefer it to the Boult/LPO or Ormandy/Philadelphia (being the two other recordings I have) but it is certainly unique, and quite a bit more detailed than either.

[Mapman]

Rachmaninoff: The Rock
Andrew Davis: Royal Stockholm Philharmonic

I can hear influence from Tchaikovsky in this early work. It's a nice piece.

[Todd]

[Symphonic Addict]

Mignone: Maracatu de Chico Rei

Music to lift the spirits, it's so infectious in places.

[Karl Henning]

Rachmaninoff: The Rock
Andrew Davis: Royal Stockholm Philharmonic

I can hear influence from Tchaikovsky in this early work. It's a nice piece.

It's a beauty!

[vers la flamme]

Edward Elgar: Introduction & Allegro for Strings, op.47. John Barbirolli, Sinfonia of London, Allegri Quartet

I can't stop listening to Elgar lately. My admiration for him only grows with each listen. I don't think I was ever fully convinced before, but he was certainly one of the greatest English composers.

[Peter Power Pop]

Edward Elgar: Introduction & Allegro for Strings, op.47. John Barbirolli, Sinfonia of London, Allegri Quartet

I can't stop listening to Elgar lately. My admiration for him only grows with each listen. I don't think I was ever fully convinced before, but he was certainly one of the greatest English composers.

I have the 2010 release of that album. Great playing, great sound. Great!

[aligreto]

Dvorak: The Water Goblin [Mackerras]





This is an atmospheric and powerful presentation of this work. However, one should not be surprised as Mackerras is consistently good in Dvorak's music, I find. It is also performed by the Czech PO who have the likes of this music in their blood. I enjoy both the enchanting and dramatic elements of this music. There is great tension created by those shimmering strings along with the brass.

[aligreto]

Gustav Holst: The Planets, op.32. William Steinberg, Boston Symphony Orchestra

Wow, lightning fast Planets. Absolutely amazing brass and percussion playing. I just got this but I can see it becoming a favorite.

A very special recording and interpretation indeed!

[Mapman]

Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet
Ormandy: Philadelphia

An exciting performance. I felt like the English horn solo got a little lost.

[JBS]

Tonight's main event is Bartok's Mikrokosmos

[Linz]

Walton Symphonies 1 and 2 with Siesta Charles Mackerras and the London Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra

[Karl Henning]

Edward Elgar: Introduction & Allegro for Strings, op.47. John Barbirolli, Sinfonia of London, Allegri Quartet

I can't stop listening to Elgar lately. My admiration for him only grows with each listen. I don't think I was ever fully convinced before, but he was certainly one of the greatest English composers.

Nice!

[Karl Henning]

Tonight's main event is Bartok's Mikrokosmos

Nice, too!

[Symphonic Addict]

Milhaud: Le Boeuf sur le toit