What are you listening 2 now?

[Symphonic Addict]

Matthews: Symphonies 7 & 8

These two works featuring moments of outstanding inspiration. Only the No. 9 is missing and I can say this is a satisfying cycle already.

[vers la flamme]

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.29 in B-flat major, op.106, the "Hammerklavier". Rudolf Serkin

Read along with the score, as well as I could anyway. I think I've taken for granted how incredible it is that so many pianists are able to execute this piece successfully in the present day. Looking at the score, it looks... insanely hard, to say the least. Anyway, it's an incredible piece, one of the late Beethoven works of transcendent brilliance, and I always enjoy hearing it. Incredible performance from Serkin, a favorite of many but new to me.

[brewski]

Lutoslawski: Subito (1992) (Theo Elwes, violin / Alber Chien, piano) - Near the end of tonight's Young Artists Concert at Bowdoin, this gem appeared, just 4 minutes long, and apparently one of the composer's last works. You can hear it at about the 2:49:00 mark.

-Bruce

[vers la flamme]

Charles Wuorinen: Time's Encomium

Am I mistaken in my recollection that Miles Davis was into this piece around the time he was recording On the Corner? That's what I think of whenever I hear it.

[JBS]

Charles Wuorinen: Time's Encomium

Am I mistaken in my recollection that Miles Davis was into this piece around the time he was recording On the Corner? That's what I think of whenever I hear it.

Miles was nothing if not a Very Cool Cat.

TD

Sonatas 24-28 (including no 26 "Les Adieux")

[Mapman]

Bruch: Violin Concerto #1
Goosby; Nezét-Séguin: Philadelphia

This is a beautiful performance, beautifully recorded. Goosby's tone and intonation are flawless on the high notes. I'm impressed.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Lourie, Roslavetz, et al.

[Que]

Morning listening:



A gorgeous recording that focuses on the Southern Netherlands and its artistic ties with Italy, and the music at the Brussels court in the early 1600's.

https://earlymusicreview.com/the-ear-of-theodoor-van-loon/

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/the-ear-of-theodoor-van-loon

[Irons]

Interesting!

PD

p.s.  Was the record label wanting someone else to play it?  David himself? Or?

David himself would be the obvious choice as Igor was quite capable of playing the viola part as he did in a 1971 Melodiya recording of Sinfonia Concertante. Typical of David to allow his son the violin part.

[Irons]

Poulenc: Concert Champetre (with Robert Veyron-Lacroix, harpsichord).

Landowski: 2nd Symphony and Piano Concerto No.2.



Best all-round CD so far. Some contrast between tongue in cheek wit of Poulenc and seriousness of Landowski. A genre I tend to avoid but I enjoyed the Landowski Piano Concerto greatly. A highly original concerto set in a traditional form. Annie d'Arco plays superbly. 

[AnotherSpin]

Interesting!

PD

p.s.  Was the record label wanting someone else to play it?  David himself? Or?

You may be interested to listen to Igor's recording with his son Valeriy, David's grandson.

[Florestan]

Lachenmann comes with a political agenda too. He wants to shake up the concert going bourgeoisie by showing them that they were totally closed minded, narrow minded -- they never realised the enormous potential of their precious violins and pianos and stuff.

You have to see it, for this political agenda to be effective. Otherwise you won't realise all those wacky noises are coming from your sacred and expensive Strads and Steinways. You won't realise how narrow minded you have been, until Lachenmann opened your eyes.

Did he say that, either on record or in print?

[Florestan]

This morning, courtesy of Dayton Classical Radio: Haydn Symphony #13



The attraction in this work is Movement II, an Adagio with a marvelous solo for the cello.

+ 1.

[vandermolen]

Eric Fogg 'Merok' (1929)

[Mandryka]

Did he say that, either on record or in print?

I think so, or at least some of it,  give me some time to find it. The place to start looking is the paper "The 'Beautiful' in Music Today"

https://www.jstor.org/stable/946043

[Mookalafalas]

[AnotherSpin]

Charles Wuorinen: Time's Encomium

Am I mistaken in my recollection that Miles Davis was into this piece around the time he was recording On the Corner? That's what I think of whenever I hear it.

The way Miles Davis played electric keyboards in the 70's is indeed reminiscent of what can be heard on Time's Encomium. By the way, the most interesting material from On the Corner sessions was included on another Miles Davis album, Get up with It, in particular the composition He Loved Him Madly, probably Davis' highest achievement of the electric period.

[Que]

Picked up where I left of:



The concept of this recording was to look for suitable repertoire for a reconstructed Thuringian harpsichord c.1715. Besides the playing it is for me the great selection by Charlston that makes the recording. Some interesting and rare pieces by the Krieger brothers and Johann Christian Bach.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2016/Jan/Harmonious_Thuringian_DDA25122.htm

[Mookalafalas]

  I've never quoted my post before, but need to say, this is really fine stuff. I expected it to be good, but it's exceeding my expectations. Mature and restrained for the most part, but where passion is called for, it is there.

[brewski]

Helmut Lachenmann: String Quartet No.1, "Gran Torso". JACK Quartet

Certain effects sound REALLY cool. Others are rather grating, and I can't really make heads or tails of how these sounds are all pieced together. For that and other reasons I find this a challenging work, but overall aesthetically pleasing to my weird ears.

This was the first Lachenmann piece I ever heard—not this recording, but in the 1990s by members of Ensemble Sospeso—and it was initially grating to me, too. (To be fair, the acoustics of the room likely didn't help matters.) But as the years went by, the JACK players performed all three quartets fairly often, and now I think they are miraculous. Just heard the second one again in January, "Reigen seliger Geister," and it still sounds revolutionary.

-Bruce