What are you listening 2 now?

[Cato]

While in the car somewhere in Utah, U.S.A...


The original version of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #4

The more I hear this version, which was the one first performed by the composer, the more its intricacies and richness enthrall me!

[Irons]

I have that recording on LP. Rather good I thought.

[Irons]

Armstrong Gibbs.
Complete Piano Trios.
London Piano Trio.
Recorded: probably between 2004-2007.
The members changed over the years, and their website is defunct.

The performance of the Piano trios is well done. They are committed and clear cut in their approach of these beautiful works. An underrated composer, who has to tell much more as is currently recorded. The sound is good.

I have a soft spot for Armstrong Gibbs, despite the fact his image reminds me of a headmaster of a bygone age. I return to his Guild recording of complete chamber works for violin a lot so your recording of Piano Trios is of no little interest.

[Spotted Horses]

Enjoyed the Frank Martin string quartet even more on second listen.

[Harry]

Einar Englund.
See back cover for details.
Recorded: 2000, Tampere Haal, Tampere, Finland.

What is there not to like about this composer? I always strived to get as much recordings together with the Symphonies as possible, but somehow labels do not find it the effort to record this music. I love almost every note I hear from his hand, and this present recording is one you should have! For it's Englund at its best. Performance and sound wise you could not do any better. I just get such a kick out of his music.

[Harry]

I have a soft spot for Armstrong Gibbs, despite the fact his image reminds me of a headmaster of a bygone age. I return to his Guild recording of complete chamber works for violin a lot so your recording of Piano Trios is of no little interest.

Yes me too, I cherish that recording as well.

[Harry]

Adolphe Blanc.
Chamber Music.
See back cover for details.


This is a debut album with string quintets by Adolphe Blanc. A fresh, and dynamic recording, in which the musicians had a lot of fun and which definitely has everything to go for. This music puts a smile on your face.
Not really well known, this music deserves a hearing, for these compositions are original and captivating. There is never a boring moment in this excellent interpretation. Original and well projected. Sound is good too.

[Mandryka]

I like Sigrun Richter in French music a lot. Her Reusner has never caught my attention in a positive way.

I regret saying this now, or at least it's no longer true. I find myself very much appreciating her relaxed and joyful music making in Reusner. What is really odd is how much Sigrun Richter's rather distinctive style has touched my aural G spot these past few days, like never before. You have to be open and ready for music I guess - that's why I hate critics who give stars and such like.

Anyway, Richter is a fine musician - and typically, her recordings are hard to find it seems.

[Spotted Horses]

After really enjoying the Braunfels string quartets (particularly No 1 and 2) I've been taking a meandering path through the mud-lady series (and some other recordings of orchestral works). The first time I wasn't impressed, but the second time I enjoyed the Prelude and Fugue.

[Todd]

[Florestan]

Adolphe Blanc.
Chamber Music.
See back cover for details.


This is a debut album with string quintets by Adolphe Blanc. A fresh, and dynamic recording, in which the musicians had a lot of fun and which definitely has everything to go for. This music puts a smile on your face.
Not really well known, this music deserves a hearing, for these compositions are original and captivating. There is never a boring moment in this excellent interpretation. Original and well projected. Sound is good too.

Interesting. Never heard about him before..

[aukhawk]

Yes, those. A friend of mine in Switzerland wanted to sell me a pair, but the import duty into the UK made it prohibitive. There was one pair on eBay, but at the last minute he decided to keep them for himself. 

Nice article that! I was happy to learn that I have speaker cabinets with assymetrical insides! 
...

I used to have one of those GEC metal-coned speakers mentioned on page 2 of that article.  Housed in a bulky octagonal bass-reflex cabinet that I (aged about 15) proudly placed in the corner of my parents' living room.  (Google image search:)  It was willed to me by a favourite uncle so my parents could hardly say no.


Ported in the bottom, and filled with long-fibre wool, the speaker very soon became home to a family of mice.

[Linz]

Muzio Clementi Andreas Staier

[Que]

 

[DavidW]

On repeat:


SQ #4 is great imo and #16 is very good.  The fourth is angry, the sixteenth is more subtle.  Both possess a pervasive melancholy.

My favorite listen all week was Dausgaard's LvB Eroica, always love that recording.  So driven and forceful!

[Lisztianwagner]

Arnold Schönberg
String Quartet No.2

Schoenberg Quartet

[Linz]

Bruckner Symphony No. 8 in C Minor,1890 Version. Ed. Leopold Nowak, Wiener Philharmoniker, Georg Solti

[AnotherSpin]

Op. 106 (live rec. 1959, Germany)

[ritter]

Víctor de Sabata conducts the combined Rome and Turin EIAR (Italian Radio) Choruses and Orchestras, and vocal soloists Pia Tassinari, Ebe Stignani, Ferruccio Tagliavini and Ítalo Tajo in the Mozart Requiem. Recorded in Rome in 1941.

CD4 of this set:


Gloriously grand, Italianate and old-fashioned. 

[Linz]

Hermann Bischoff Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 16, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Werner Andreas Albert