What are you listening 2 now?

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Last work for the night --- Silvestrov Postludium

[SimonNZ]

[Florestan]

The d minor violin concerto and the double (violin and fortepiano) concerto were written when Mendelssohn was a boy of 12-13. Amazing stuff. Both works show amazing brio in the concluding pages of their respective finales. Solid, superbly crafted stuff from a middle school boy. Of particular note is the superb clarity and fine tone of the fortepiano, an 1845 Bösendorfer. Irnberger confirms his status as a superb violinist.

Don't know this particular recording but I completely agree with your assessment of the music. Superb stuff.

[Madiel]

Albeniz: Iberia (etc.) - de Larrocha's 1970s recording (sometimes using streaming of the digitised LP, sometimes my CD reissues that contain 95% of the same)



One of the things that strikes me, as I keep listening to Iberia rather a lot, is just how often Albeniz is writing 3 or even 4 different lines of music. The fact that it's possible to hear the different elements out of the mass of notes is a testament both to the skills of the pianist and to the miracle of the human ear.

[Iota]

His [Wyn Morris] Beethoven symphony cycle is possibly my favourite modern-instrument one.  But he seems to have been the Richard Burton of Welsh music - brilliantly talented, but difficult to work with for much the same reasons that Burton was.  He was born just a few miles from where I live in Monmouthshire, although I don't think we have any sort of memorial to him.

Yes, I think drink certainly played its part, an interesting character though.

When I was younger I worked with Isabella Wallich for a bit (a pretty extraordinary person in her own right I think), who recorded a few Mahler symphonies with Wyn Morris on her Delyse label, I think she had been or still was in a relationship with him, and she would often wander in, always impeccably polite and friendly, but exhibiting a certain battle-worn look at times when his name was mentioned. Although I knew very little, I felt kind of sorry for her, surrounded as she seemed by a group of ambitious, unsympathetic business men.

[Traverso]

Bach

Vol.3 CD3

[Roasted Swan]

Yes, I think drink certainly played its part, an interesting character though.

When I was younger I worked with Isabella Wallich for a bit (a pretty extraordinary person in her own right I think), who recorded a few Mahler symphonies with Wyn Morris on her Delyse label, I think she had been or still was in a relationship with him, and she would often wander in, always impeccably polite and friendly, but exhibiting a certain battle-worn look at times when his name was mentioned. Although I knew very little, I felt kind of sorry for her, surrounded as she seemed by a group of ambitious, unsympathetic business men.

Prompted by this post I'm listening to Morris' Mahler 5 - it really is very fine.  I remember having the old double LP gatefolds.  There was a player list and "The Symphonica of London" really was a who's-who of the finest London players of the time.  Worth considering too that Mahler was so less frequently performed so any performance/concert of this epic music was an "occasion" for both players and audiences.  These days it can feel like a-n-other-Mahler-cycle.......

[Traverso]

Bruckner

Symphony No.1

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Today feels like a Sibelius kind of day --- now playing both recordings of tone poems with Alexander Gibson leading the Scottish National Orchestra

[Roasted Swan]

Today feels like a Sibelius kind of day --- now playing both recordings of tone poems with Alexander Gibson leading the Scottish National Orchestra

great set!

[Spotted Horses]

Ruth Gipps, Forth Symphony, Gamba.

This is a symphony with the traditional four movement form. More forceful in its conception than the second symphony, with passages of intense dissonance at key moments.

I continue to find the Chandos sound less than ideal. It sounds thin during soft passages.

[Irons]

Ruth Gipps, Oboe Sonata No 2, Juliana Koch. An interesting work in the early 20th century British style, Tonal/Modal, rhapsodic, with clear but idiosyncratic form.



Listened to a few minutes of the second symphony to refresh my memory. First listen left me puzzled. It makes more sense on repeat exposure. Not something that hits you over the head, sort of a tour of a garden of sound.



My problem with both is that I am not attracted to the recent Chandos house sound. Orchestral music too bright and glassy, soundstage with not enough presence. On the oboe sonata the piano is too wan and distant for my taste. Maybe optimized for $30,000 speakers, but not ideal for my fairly fancy headphones.

Out of the three on my shelves (2,4 & 5) the second symphony I find the most interesting, although I'm listening to the (inferior?) Bostock recording. Outstanding fife-and-drum march section which is toe-curling good! Sonics of the Chandos Gipps recordings through my system are pretty faultless, a far cry from the harsh sound of the early digital Thomson Bax recordings.

[Harry]

Ruth Gipps, Forth Symphony, Gamba.

This is a symphony with the traditional four movement form. More forceful in its conception than the second symphony, with passages of intense dissonance at key moments.

I continue to find the Chandos sound less than ideal. It sounds thin during soft passages.

I have no idea what kind of equipment you are using, but that statement of yours, does not tell the truth. This CD made by Chandos, goes with SOTA sound, even on my less expensive setup, even on my BOSE speakers attached to my computer.

[Roasted Swan]

Out of the three on my shelves (2,4 & 5) the second symphony I find the most interesting, although I'm listening to the (inferior?) Bostock recording. Outstanding fife-and-drum march section which is toe-curling good! Sonics of the Chandos Gipps recordings through my system are pretty faultless, a far cry from the harsh sound of the early digital Thomson Bax recordings.

NB:  NOT the Ulster Hall recordings which still sound remarkably fine.  But I agree that the All Saints Tooting/Bax recordings are far less impressive (technically).  Odd given that some of Chandos' very first Tooting recordings were the Geoffrey Simon/Philharmonia/Respighi diecs and they were pretty wonderful

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

great set!

Absolutely!

[Brian]

Unfortunately I am liking Borisova-Ollas' music less after repeated listens. It is very filmic and in the manner of contemporary film, which is a little too static and rooted unchangingly in each episode. My phone, listening in, misidentified the composer as Hans Zimmer.

[Spotted Horses]

I have no idea what kind of equipment you are using, but that statement of yours, does not tell the truth. This CD made by Chandos, goes with SOTA sound, even on my less expensive setup, even on my BOSE speakers attached to my computer.

My comments relate to my reaction to the recording, so if you are claiming I do not tell the truth you are saying I liked the recording but am pretending I didn't.

Due to circumstances outside of my control my listening is 100% using headphones, either Sony WH-1000XM4, Apple AirPods Max, Shure SRH1540 or Beyer T1 (with Schiit Audio DAC and amp). This hardware gives me great listen pleasure over a wide spectrum of recordings. Maybe this Chandos recording would sound great on colossal speakers, I have no way of knowing.

[Linz]

Renaissance Dance Music CD 6
Collegium Aureum

[Traverso]

Buxtehude

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Now playing Bartók Piano Sonata Sz. 80