What are you listening 2 now?

[Todd]

The first Corboz recording of Monteverdi's Vespers.  My personal reference remains Paul McCreesh's take, and I fancy Simon-Pierre Bestion ridiculously OTT take as an alternate, and if this Corboz recording does not better them, it nonetheless works very well.  Broad, coming in at over two hours, there's grandness and intimacy where needed, and the old fashioned approach yields nothing to HIPsters generally in terms of enjoyment. 

[vers la flamme]

I'm joining the Symphonia Serena listening party with this recording:

Hey, I have that CD too. I will join you three:



Paul Hindemith: Symphonia Serena. Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Philharmonic

So far so good; I really don't know anything about these works.

[vandermolen]

I dont't know how much the Lancaster University was involved in the commission, I may be wrong, but I read the Arts Council of Great Britain asked Alwyn a composition to be performed at the the Cheltenham Festival. In any case, Alwyn's Sinfonietta is marvelous, such a dramatic, deeply moving piece, also very inventive for its imaginative textures and brilliant orchestration; it is one of my favourite Alwyn's works along with Symphony No.3 and Lyra Angelica.

Maybe I got that wrong although I'm sure that there is some Lancaster connection - I'll check.

[foxandpeng]

Allan Pettersson: Symphony No.6
'The long struggle towards the sunrise'

Wooooo... Pettersson 6!

I do find him compelling.

[classicalgeek]

Great new album of Takemitsu's music for guitar & orch, along with Twill by Twilight

I just finished listening on Spotify, and found it absolutely spellbinding! There's no one quite like Takemitsu. He's a master orchestrator too, using the most delicate and subtle effects to maximum effectiveness. I especially enjoyed Vers, l'arc-en-ciel, Palma - I thought the guitar and oboe d'amore made a lovely pair as solo instruments. It's been a while since I listened to Takemitsu, and I'm glad I did!

[Cato]

Fartein Valen
Pastorale
Sonetto di Michelangelo
Cantico di ringraziamento
Symphony no. 1
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
Christian Eggen
(on Spotify)

Fartein Valen!!!

I discovered him in the mid-1980's when a reviewer wrote that he could not really review any of the symphonies, since he understood not a bit of what was happening with the music! 

So my brain said: "DUDE! YOU MUST GET THAT SET!"  It was the set conducted by Aldo Ceccato.

Yes, Valen is an all-around fave!

[foxandpeng]

William Alwyn
Symphonies 1 and 3
David Lloyd Jones
RLPO
Naxos

More nighttime Alwyn. Familiarity is beginning to help my appreciation.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

‎Vesselin Stoyanov: Grotesque Suite "Bay Ganyo". Varna Philharmonic Orchestra.

[Symphonic Addict]

The works that are not mentioned on the front cover were the most enjoyable: Scène Picaresque (Spanish Serenade) and Basque Serenade. Sheer loveliness.

[Mapman]

Coleridge-Taylor: Ballade, Op. 33 and African Suite, Op. 35
Chineke! Orchestra

I purchased this after seeing the DSO perform Ballade. It's a great piece, somewhat similar in style to Dvořák's symphonic poems. The African Suite is a pleasant but unremarkable dance suite that doesn't sound African.

[vers la flamme]

Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold. Christoph von Dohnányi, Cleveland Orchestra

I really like this performance! Too bad the cycle was never completed, though I believe there is also a Walküre, which I should probably hear.

[Symphonic Addict]

Among the tens of CDs devoted to this Hyperion series, this has to be one of the most remarkable, chiefly for Alexander Dreyschock's substantial Piano Concerto in D minor. I'd say it doesn't lack anything to be considered a masterpiece.

[vandermolen]

Pettersson: Symphony No.6 (again!)
Fortunately my wife is out otherwise this would never be tolerated 

[Traverso]

Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold. Christoph von Dohnányi, Cleveland Orchestra

I really like this performance! Too bad the cycle was never completed, though I believe there is also a Walküre, which I should probably hear.

I also have  Die Walküre, if you are happy with Das Rheingold you will certainly not be disappointed. The impression I have is that the critics have judged these recordings badly with poor sales as a result. This is a pity because there are is much to enjoy.
I hope you will find a nice copy for a friendly price.

[foxandpeng]

Pettersson: Symphony No.6 (again!)
Fortunately my wife is out otherwise this would never be tolerated 

I experience a very similar reaction. The joy of headphones!

[Traverso]

Georg Böhm

CD 2

[Iota]

Debussy: La Mer

Time and tide waits for no man except perhaps for Celi. He certainly keeps both hanging around in this piece. As with so many Celi performances it's unlike any other, but you hear so much and often in such gloriously broad dimension. And the added electricity of live performance certainly doesn't detract from the magic.

[Todd]

[Lisztianwagner]

I have never listened to the complete opera Lulu, just the suite, so:
Alban Berg
Lulu

Pierre Boulez & Orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris

[Cato]

Pettersson: Symphony No.6 (again!)

Fortunately my wife is out otherwise this would never be tolerated

Dude!      You are in the club!