What are you listening 2 now?

[Lisztianwagner]

Erkki Melartin
Symphony No.1

Leonid Grin & Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra



Absolutely exquisite piece, very lyrical and colourful, with ethereal, melodious passages of strings and woodwinds; there's a measured intensity, with the orchestra sometimes growing in energy, but without bursting out with particular overwhelming strenght; though the atmosphere is always lively and bright, often evocative of pastoral nature. The orchestration is brilliant, it reminds me of Tchaikovsky in the fourth movement. It was a long time I didn't listen to Melartin, it's so enchanting to revisit his music.

[brewski]

Listening live to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Jader Bignamini and pianist George Li:

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Ballade
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2
Brahms: Symphony No. 4

https://www.dso.org/watch/2309732

-Bruce

[Karl Henning]

JSB
BWV 63 « Christen, ätzet diesen Tag »

Myaskovsky
Symphony № 24 in f minor, Op. 63 (1943)
Russian Federation Academic Symphony
Yevgeny Svetlanov

[Symphonic Addict]

I've been listening to Ludolf Nielsen lately. A contemporary of Carl Nielsen, he wrote music that is full of warmth and joy. There's nothing radical, not even in the percussion scoring. But he should be as famous as any other Danish composer.

Besides this recording, I recommend all the releases from the Dacapo label. They've done the major orchestral works, and even the first symphony is a great piece that is as characteristic of Nielsen as anything he wrote.

Now it's on to the string quartets.

Good to know there are more fans of this composer. His 3rd Symphony in C major is his best achievement in the form, a noble and epic work that should be recorded more often. It's a crime that there's only one recording of it, but fortunately it is pretty good. Do you know his exotic ballet Lackschmi? Another real stunner.

[Symphonic Addict]

Erkki Melartin
Symphony No.1

Leonid Grin & Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra



Absolutely exquisite piece, very lyrical and colourful, with ethereal, melodious passages of strings and woodwinds; there's a measured intensity, with the orchestra sometimes growing in energy, but without bursting out with particular overwhelming strenght; though the atmosphere is always lively and bright, often evocative of pastoral nature. The orchestration is brilliant, it reminds me of Tchaikovsky in the fourth movement. It was a long time I didn't listen to Melartin, it's so enchanting to revisit his music.

Agreed 100%, there's much to enjoy from this assertive first symphony. My favorite symphonies are, however, the stirring 3rd and the more visionary 6th. On YouTube there's a different recording of the 3rd with uncut parts and I consider it to be superior to the one on Ondine. Here it is if you want to give it a shot someday:

[Mapman]

Listening live to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Jader Bignamini and pianist George Li:

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Ballade
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2
Brahms: Symphony No. 4

I'm going to tomorrow's performance!

I haven't been listening to as many recordings in the last few days, since I have gone to a couple concerts at my university. There were some excellent new pieces for band. This evening I listened to a few pieces:

Bax: Clarinet Sonata
Bradbury, Cryer

This has incredibly beautiful moments (such as the end of the first movement). I'll need to listen again to get to know it better.



Rubbra: Soliloquy For Cello And Orchestra, Op. 57
de Saram, Handley: LSO



Beethoven: Cello Sonata #4, Op. 102/1
Ma, Ax

I was unable to attend a performance of Sonatas 3-5 last week, so I'm starting to make up for it now. I don't think I'd heard the 4th sonata before. The opening is beautiful! The structure of the sonata is also quite interesting.

[brewski]

I'm going to tomorrow's performance!

Oh how cool! In that case, I won't go on and on, other than to say that Detroit has a damn fine ensemble, and Bignamini was new to me before seeing some of the orchestra's streams.

I have heard George Li before, mostly in smaller works—nothing like the extravagance on display here. The audience clearly enjoyed him and the Rach a LOT, and he responded with a lovely encore (which I didn't recognize).

Anyway, have a great time!

-Bruce

[San Antone]

Bartók : Piano Concerto No. 2
Gyorgy Sandon, Hungarian State Orchestra, Adam Fischer

[Keemun]

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 (Perahia/English Chamber Orchestra)



First listen and I'm really imrpressed with this recording. 

[Symphonic Addict]

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1

A jewel of a concerto. The ethereal ending of the 1st mov. struck me like very well achieved.

[Symphonic Addict]

Langgaard: Symphony No. 4

This live recording is not detailed enough and pales in comparison with Stupel on Danacord and Järvi on Chandos (my most beloved performances of this work; Dausgaard on Dacapo lacks poetry and sounds inconveniently fast to my ears). A pity.

[Que]

Morning listening  (on Spotify):



Bumped into an old recommendation by San Antone.
All male choir, one voice per part, those are definitely plusses!

[Que]

Next up on Spotify:



Never heard of this composer! But he was a pupil of Senfl and a contemporary of Lassus, and was overshadowed by him at the Munich court.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Daser

[Madiel]

Rachmaninoff: The Miserly Knight



And I found a libretto from a different recording, so following along as best as I can handle.

[Tsaraslondon]

These two discs don't include all the RAI material that has survived. We don't get the early Ma dall'arrido stelo from Un Ballo in Maschera, but I think everything else is there, including what I find the least successful item, the Proch Variations. I believe Callas wanted to include it on her 1954 Lyric & Coloratura recital, but Serafin absolutely refused to conduct such an empty piece of vocal display. Apart from using it as a vocal exercise, I can't imagine why Callas ever wasted her time on such stuff. It's amazing her huge instriment negotiates the notes with such skill, but I can't say it affords me much pleasure and I think it's probably best left to piping soubrettes.

The rest is classic Callas, except perhaps for the severly truncated excerpt from Tosca, which is so mercilessly cut that neither she nor George London are really able to get into their stride.

All this material, and more, is included on Warner's digital download of all Callas's Live Concert material, though that is not likely to become available on CD. The sound on these two Gala CDs is actually pretty good.
 

[Mandryka]

Next up on Spotify:




Never heard of this composer! But he was a pupil of Senfl and a contemporary of Lassus, and was overshadowed by him at the Munich court.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Daser

I like the first mass, it has a distinctive face and interesting ideas. Paul van Nevel's on good form.

[Que]

This arrived from the USA:

[Que]

I like the first mass, it has a distinctive face and interesting ideas. Paul van Nevel's on good form.

I thought it was interesting. But Daser seems to be of the same mould as his teacher Ludwig Senfl, and his teacher Heinrich Isaac: technically accomplished but in a rather formal style. It don't find it very engaging.

[Madiel]

Haydn symphony randomiser: No.78 in C minor



One of the first set that Haydn composed for public consumption rather than for the Esterhazy family. I like it, but I have to admit it doesn't blow my socks off.

[Mandryka]

I don't know the music very well, and I confess to having found Gesualdo a challenging composer on the past. However, I think Maletto is irresistible, I love the fluidity and lyricism, the introvert and prayerful style, the luminous textures produced by the balance of high and low voices. I guess I'm a Maletto out and out fan.