What are you listening 2 now?

[steve ridgway]

Since today is the composer's birthday:

Richard Wagner
Siegfried

Herbert von Karajan & Berliner Philharmoniker

I don't have any complete operas so will play these excerpts 🎂🥳.

[Cato]

I blame @Symphonic Addict for this...

NP:

Braunfels
Piano Concerto
Victor Sangiorgio, piano
BBC Concert Orchestra
Johannes Wildner



As far as I know, this is the only recording of this PC. Thank goodness it's a great performance. A gorgeous work with a slow movement that really pulls on my heartstrings.

YouTube has it with the score...if you can endure their advertising!   

[Cato]

Martinu / concerto nr 5 . A work that I cherish. There is joy, but at its core lingers sadness and nostalgia.

Here it is!

(Apparently Rafael  BOHUSLAV never had that hair under control!    )

[DavidW]

Out of my listening last night, my favorite was a first listen:

[Florestan]

Here it is!

(Apparently Rafael never had that hair under control!     )

You mean Bohuslav, right?

[Cato]

You mean Bohuslav, right?

OH!  Now I am not sure: I thought that was Rafael Kubelik in his younger years! 

I guess not!

[Spotted Horses]

I found this one in a charity shop this morning; will get it ripped later .

I recall Janowicz vocal timbre having a unique, ethereal quality in those recordings.

[Florestan]

OH!  Now I am not sure: I thought that was Rafael Kubelik in his younger years! 

Actually, it's Bohuslav Martinu in 1943. 

[Spotted Horses]

I rarely reach for symphonies with vocal content. I appreciate that it is a personal preference or peculiarity, but like you, RVW #1 does little for me. Same with Pettersson, DSCH, Holmboe... I love their music, but I am less interested in choral/vocals styles.

Not always, just usually.

I also find select vocal music enjoyable, but typically not "vocal symphonies," which strikes me as s distinct genre from "symphony." I am confident I will never hear Mahler's 8th, Vaughan Williams' Sea symphony, etc. But I do like some works usually on a smaller scale, Melodie by Faure and Debussy, Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms. I'm struggling to think of others.

[brewski]

Mendelssohn: Octet (Norwegian Chamber Orchestra). The earlier of the two NCO performances on YouTube. Despite a bit of shrillness in the sound quality — not a dealbreaker — excellent.

Really love this piece.

-Bruce

[foxandpeng]

I also find select vocal music enjoyable, but typically not "vocal symphonies," which strikes me as s distinct genre from "symphony." I am confident I will never hear Mahler's 8th, Vaughan Williams' Sea symphony, etc. But I do like some works usually on a smaller scale, Melodie by Faure and Debussy, Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms. I'm struggling to think of others.

This makes sense to me 🙂

[Le Buisson Ardent]

Great avatar, John! I hope you'll keep it for a longer while than usual. 

Thanks, Andrei. Yeah, I'm hoping Puccini will be around for the long haul.

[Le Buisson Ardent]

I found this one in a charity shop this morning; will get it ripped later .

Great stuff. A fantastic recording all-around and an absolute must-buy for any Strauss fan, IMHO.

[Le Buisson Ardent]

Now I'm coming to an end of my Guarnieri symphonic survey:

Vila Rica Suite
Symphony No. 6
São Paulo SO
John Neschling

[pjme]

I am confident I will never hear Mahler's 8th,

ah, ....les goûts et des couleurs .... in music, for me, little is less glorious than the combination of voices and (many) instruments. 
Surely, not all choral/vocal symphonies/oratoria/cantatas are to my "taste" and understanding but those 23 minutes of Mahlers superhuman setting of the "Veni creator spiritus" are  "hors concours". What an extatic feast!
The same applies to Daphnis et Chloé. The complete ballet, with chorus, is indeed a magnificent "symfonie chorégraphique" - the suites ..I find "OK".

[pjme]

So, I'll listen to some Nicholas Maw! three female voices and a large orchestra. Maw wasn't yet 30 when he wrote this very lyrical scene for soprano, mezzo and alto voice. The wonderful lyrics (Franco-english / 14th century?) are a delight.

Milners Salutatio angelica is very different (= tonal) but equaly moving, gripping.

[vers la flamme]

ah, ....les goûts et des couleurs .... in music, for me, little is less glorious than the combination of voices and (many) instruments. 
Surely, not all choral/vocal symphonies/oratoria/cantatas are to my "taste" and understanding but those 23 minutes of Mahlers superhuman setting of the "Veni creator spiritus" are  "hors concours". What an extatic feast!
The same applies to Daphnis et Chloé. The complete ballet, with chorus, is indeed a magnificent "symfonie chorégraphique" - the suites ..I find "OK".

Couldn't agree more!

[Le Buisson Ardent]

ah, ....les goûts et des couleurs .... in music, for me, little is less glorious than the combination of voices and (many) instruments. 
Surely, not all choral/vocal symphonies/oratoria/cantatas are to my "taste" and understanding but those 23 minutes of Mahlers superhuman setting of the "Veni creator spiritus" are  "hors concours". What an extatic feast!
The same applies to Daphnis et Chloé. The complete ballet, with chorus, is indeed a magnificent "symfonie chorégraphique" - the suites ..I find "OK".

An aversion to vocals in Mahler, will mean that so much of what he wrote will never be listened to --- like, for example, I couldn't imagine my life without his 2nd, 3rd and 4th symphonies, Das Lied von der Erde or the song cycles. I mean think about all of the choral works that one will miss out on like Duruflé's Requiem or Brahms' Alto Rhapsody.

I just can't imagine my own life without all of this glorious music.

[Le Buisson Ardent]

NP:

Brahms
Alto Rhapsody
Ann Hallenberg, mezzo-soprano
Collegium Vocale Gent, Orchestre des Champs-Elysées
Philippe Herreweghe

From this OOP recording -

[Spotted Horses]

Brahms, Serenade No 1.



Nice performance, and the Czech Philharmonic Winds are always a pleasure to hear.

I haven't listened to the Serenades as often as other Brahms Orchestral music. The first Serenade seems to channel the mood of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, particularly in the opening movement and the second Scherzo. I am recalling that the second Serenade is the one that really sounds like mature Brahms. I recently enjoyed the Armin Jordan recording of the second Serenade, and perhaps will follow with the Belohlavek recording.