What are you listening 2 now?

[Traverso]

Bach

CD 1

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Pavel Kukhta - Guitar Recital.

[Karl Henning]

Benjamin Britten
Cantata Academica, op. 62
Missa Brevis in D, op. 63
Rejoice in the Lamb, op. 30
Hymn to St. Cecilia, op. 27
Gloriana: Choral Dances
Hymn to the Virgin

Jennifer Vyvyan, soprano
Helen Watts, contralto
Peter Pears, tenor
Owen Brannigan, bass

Westminster Cathedral Choir (Missa)
Purcell Singers (Rejoice)
London SO & Chorus - George Malcolm

I soloed one of the movements of Cantata Academica at a recital long ago, but have never heard the whole work. What a blast!

Too bad nobody seems to want to have anything to do with it on record - This one sounds superb regardless of its lack of popularity, and I am overjoyed at having become acquainted with it.
VS

It may suffer from the adjective academica. Like RVW's Concerto accademico.

[Number Six]

Mahler: Symphony No. 7
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Sir Simon Rattle

[Madiel]

Currently trying Francois-Xavier Poizat in Ravel.

Jeux d'Eau and Ondine are both exquisite. So if nothing else this guy can do water brilliantly. I will keep going!

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Mendelssohn and Chopin cello sonatas, Starker. Mercury forever!

[Linz]

Antonin Dvorák String Quintet for 2 in G major, Op.77
Intermezzo (Nocturne) for string quintet
String Sextet in A major, Op. 48
Chamber Works, Panocha Quartet, Suk Trio CD 2

[Lisztianwagner]

Ralph Vaughan Williams
Symphony No.3

Sir Adrian Boult & New Philharmonia Orchestra

[vers la flamme]

Bedřich Smetana: The Moldau; Felix Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream, op.61. George Szell, Cleveland Orchestra

[André]

Works for string orchestra. Sutermeister's Divertimento no 1 and Killmayer's Grande Sarabande are substantial pieces, the latter being especially impressive. Françaix' offering is also a good one, but very pithy, 6 pieces lasting some 16 minutes. It buffers the other two works nicely.

 A fine disc of rarely encountered music.

[André]

The 6th. Quite unlike any other version I've heard.

[foxandpeng]

Edmund Rubbra
Symphony 4
Richard Hickox
BBC NoW
Chandos

What's not to love? I often don't value these highly enough...nice to revisit such familiar and affirming Works.

[Mapman]

Beethoven: Kreutzer and Spring Sonatas (Op. 47 and Op. 24)
Szeryng, Rubinstein

[JBS]

Finishing De Vriend's Beethoven set


The first movement cadenza is the Schneiderhan con timpani cadenza, while that of the third is the one created by Kreisler.

[AnotherSpin]

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

NP:

Beethoven
Violin Concerto in D, Op. 61
Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Orchestre des Champs-Elysées
Herreweghe

[Madiel]

More sampling of this beauty:



On streaming there was actually a whole series of "singles" released over a period of about 8 months before the whole box came out. And goodness there's some good stuff in there. I've moved on from the solo works to revel in the G major piano concerto. The real test will be the trying the songs, as that's where I actually have a "need" for a little bit of the repertoire that might justify a purchase according to some kind of unspoken rule.

Nothing I've tried has been less than good, but time and again what's really outstanding is playing in the quiet passages. Poizat has an absolutely superb control of tone and colour, and when he wants to do something quiet and delicate it's simply ravishing. Le Gibet is actually a bit fast for my current tastes, but there's a passage where the "main" music goes to ppp behind the tolling bell's pp and he does it perfectly. Or try the Forlane in Le Tombeau de Couperin - much of the piece is quiet anyway, but the pp passages are beautifully elegant. And on streaming at least, the recorded sound is everything I'd wish for in a modern recording.

Gramophone's review (Jed Distler) says that no Ravel lover should miss this. I might have to concur. I just need to try those singers...

EDIT: Okay, all 4 singers are pretty good. One of the men is a touch more 'operatic' than I like in piano-and-voice repertoire, but not to the point where I can't handle it.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Last work for the night:

Schubert
Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 100, D. 929
Rachmaninov Trio Moscow

[ritter]

More sampling of this beauty:



On streaming there was actually a whole series of "singles" released over a period of about 8 months before the whole box came out. And goodness there's some good stuff in there. I've moved on from the solo works to revel in the G major piano concerto. The real test will be the trying the songs, as that's where I actually have a "need" for a little bit of the repertoire that might justify a purchase according to some kind of unspoken rule.

Nothing I've tried has been less than good, but time and again what's really outstanding is playing in the quiet passages. Poizat has an absolutely superb control of tone and colour, and when he wants to do something quiet and delicate it's simply ravishing. Le Gibet is actually a bit fast for my current tastes, but there's a passage where the "main" music goes to ppp behind the tolling bell's pp and he does it perfectly. Or try the Forlane in Le Tombeau de Couperin - much of the piece is quiet anyway, but the pp passages are beautifully elegant. And on streaming at least, the recorded sound is everything I'd wish for in a modern recording.

Gramophone's review (Jed Distler) says that no Ravel lover should miss this. I might have to concur. I just need to try those singers...

EDIT: Okay, all 4 singers are pretty good. One of the men is a touch more 'operatic' than I like in piano-and-voice repertoire, but not to the point where I can't handle it.

Thanks for the gerat review!

The last thing I need is another set of Ravel's piano music, Madiel, but you are making me want this! 

[Madiel]

Thanks for the gerat review!

The last thing I need is another set of Ravel's piano music, Madiel, but you are making me want this! 

Well you can probably try sampling it online somehow, but be warned. 

Part of why it got my attention was the interesting concept - putting together everything that's with piano, including chamber music and songs. It gives you a large chunk of Ravel's output in one hit.