What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

But nobody needs CDs anymore! 

Also true, still I am happy I have it. We do not need CD'S but we/I sure need the music, in whatever  form.
Good morning Rego!

[ritter]

Henze: Heliogabalus imperator and Telemanniana

Both those discs look very interesting. Particularly (for me), Heliogabalus Imperator, since I read it is based mainly on Héliogabale, ou l'anarchiste couronné by Antonin Artaud (an author I find fascinating).

[Harry]

Robert Schumann.
Violin Sonatas, 1-3.
Ulf Wallin, Roland Pöntinen.
Recorded:  2009 Nybrokajen, in the former Academy of Music, Stockholm & 2010 at the Studio Gärtnerstrasse, Berlin, Germany.

Its a bit strange that the Violin sonatas by Schumann never got the attention they deserve. They are fine pieces, very worthwhile to listen to. But it is as it may be, it belongs to Schumann's oeuvre, and has the same qualities as may be expected. They were highly appreciated by his peers, but quickly forgotten. This is by all means a performance to like and appreciate, for Schumann's genius appears at every corner. Well recorded too.

[71 dB]

It's a bit strange that the Violin sonatas by Schumann never got the attention they deserve. They are fine pieces, very worthwhile to listen to.

This would be strange if the appreciation of classical music correlated very highly with the quality of the compositions, but there is a random component to this. There is a limit to how much attention can be given to things. If there is too much great music composed in the world to have all the attention it deserves, a lot of works, such as these Violin Sonatas, simply get less attention than they deserve. At least you give them the attention. I also appreciate them.   

[Harry]

Edvard Grieg.
Orchestral Works, Volume II.
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Eivind Aadland.
Recorded: 2009.

The sound world of  Grieg is in good hands with this Orchestra. Aadland is placing much emphasis on a folk-music interpretation, and the Orchestra follows in this mode. It is funny to notice that Aadland is totally dispensing with vibrato in the strings, no sentimental journey, but a straightforward interpretation without fizzles and artefacts, clean and free of enhancing the music into a romantic overdose. You get a balanced and more truthful Grieg as in overblown interpretations of his music.
The dynamic range of this recording is mind blowing, as all the details you get, but you need a very good HIFI as not to blow your speakers to smithereens. Amazing SACD recording. The first volume in this series was not done well in this respect, but the second volume is.

[Mandryka]

By the way, about that Vartolo version I had on again today morning. What's your take on the vocal bit in Variatio 30?

Well from the point of view of informed performance, there are other keyboard pieces with voice obligato, in Frescobaldi and Hassler for example.  And of course that is a song.  It seems to me eminently justifiable to read Bach's inclusion of a popular song as an invitation to sing along - what could be more natural?

From a more general critical point of view, it reminds the listener of the presence of the harpsichordist, it is like a jolt which desacralises the whole performance. The singing makes the music more human, more earthy and less disembodied.

(The tuning of Vartolo's harpsichord - presumably equal - doesn't help the performance IMO. It makes it too "straight", and I don't think the rubato can compensate for that. Compare the harmonies in Var 1 with the wonderful Egarr.) 

[Iota]

Britten: Miniature Suite (1929), Three Divertimenti (1936)
Emperor Quartet

Prompted by discussion of the String Quartet in D, had a listen to the Miniature Suite, a charming, deftly written little suite by the fifteen-year-old Britten, exhibiting nothing of his later style. Followed by the Three Divertimenti fizzing with his natural grace and imagination, the Burlesque particularly so.

[Harry]

In the rerun.

.

[Mandryka]

Robert Schumann.
Violin Sonatas, 1-3.
Ulf Wallin, Roland Pöntinen.
Recorded:  2009 Nybrokajen, in the former Academy of Music, Stockholm & 2010 at the Studio Gärtnerstrasse, Berlin, Germany.

Its a bit strange that the Violin sonatas by Schumann never got the attention they deserve. They are fine pieces, very worthwhile to listen to. But it is as it may be, it belongs to Schumann's oeuvre, and has the same qualities as may be expected. They were highly appreciated by his peers, but quickly forgotten. This is by all means a performance to like and appreciate, for Schumann's genius appears at every corner. Well recorded too.

Peak 19th century violin sonatas IMO, all three. The second is a great favourite of mine. The third is strange music!

They get played here not too infrequently, twice or thre times a year at Wigmore Hall.

[brewski]

How far are you into the set?   

Maybe 30% of the contents? Skipping around, not going in chronological order, and I don't expect to get through all of it. Plus, not everything is really of interest, which is one way of saying that Ormandy's range was enormous.

[Traverso]

Bach

Vol.4 CD 5

[Harry]

Béla Bartók (1881 – 1945)
Works for Violin and Piano, Volume 2.
See back cover for details.
James Ehnes. Violin.
Andrew Armstrong. Piano.
Recording venue Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk; 2–4 June 2012.

There is little I can say about music and performers, that is without doubt top bill. SOTA sound too. What does one need more, well after this volume III.

[Traverso]

Mozart


String Quartets 1-5

Quartetto Italiano

[brewski]

Béla Bartók (1881 – 1945)
Works for Violin and Piano, Volume 2.
See back cover for details.
James Ehnes. Violin.
Andrew Armstrong. Piano.
Recording venue Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk; 2–4 June 2012.

There is little I can say about music and performers, that is without doubt top bill. SOTA sound too. What does one need more, well after this volume III.

Thanks! Big fan of both Ehnes and Armstrong, but haven't heard them in Bartók.

[Madiel]

Can we be spared these endless Latin flirtations from now on? What must the less romantic Americans here think of it? 

They must think that the internet is a place where one interacts with people from a variety of cultures.

[Linz]

Maurice Ravel CD 8
Introduction and Allegro
Francis Poulenc Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, FP 43, Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon, FP 32a
Jean Francaix 2 Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet & Bassoon
Darius Milhaud Suite du Voyageur sans bagage, Op. 157b
Gervase De Peyer, Emanuel Hurwitz, Lamar Crowson, Melos Ensemble

[Madiel]

Mozart: 6 German Dances, K.509



These are striking me as very well-judged performances, there's a nice pace and lilt to the dances without anything feeling rushed. It very much feels like music you can dance to.

[AnotherSpin]

Well from the point of view of informed performance, there are other keyboard pieces with voice obligato, in Frescobaldi and Hassler for example.  And of course that is a song.  It seems to me eminently justifiable to read Bach's inclusion of a popular song as an invitation to sing along - what could be more natural?

From a more general critical point of view, it reminds the listener of the presence of the harpsichordist, it is like a jolt which desacralises the whole performance. The singing makes the music more human, more earthy and less disembodied.

(The tuning of Vartolo's harpsichord - presumably equal - doesn't help the performance IMO. It makes it too "straight", and I don't think the rubato can compensate for that. Compare the harmonies in Var 1 with the wonderful Egarr.) 

I like Vartolo's version, and today it actually sounded even better than I remembered from past listens—really quite a treat.

I'm not someone who insists on strict rules or sticking rigidly to tradition; if anything, I tend to lean the other way. That said, I just don't think that slightly jittery, a bit off-kilter vocal adds much. Honestly, the interpretation feels plenty human and relaxed without it.

[Madiel]

Mozart: Rondo in A minor, K.511



I don't think I've ever heard this work before. I have Uchida's set of Mozart piano sonatas, but I didn't know some of the original albums had couplings (EDIT: It seems there were 7 discs, as opposed to the 5 in the later compilation of sonatas). And this is quite a substantial coupling, over 10 minutes long and with definite substance.

[foxandpeng]

Yes, having a structure of some kind, especially when doing a deeper dive into a composer's oeuvre is always a good thing or, at least, I'm speaking from my own experience.

Have you got to Henze's SQs yet? I recall enjoying these works, but, as I mentioned previously, I'm long overdue for a Henze-a-thon.

Always happy to observe and participate in a Heze-athon. Never heard a single SQ of his!