What are you listening 2 now?

[Madiel]

Nielsen: Little Preludes for organ



Not bad as far as organ works go (not a favourite genre of mine). Each prelude really is quite little, about 2 minutes at most and many of them are less than 1 minute.

[steve ridgway]

Koenig - Funktion Blau

Gently grating electrical gear.

[steve ridgway]

Varèse - Hyperprism

[Que]

   

[Harry]

Ostinato.
See back cover for details.
Ars Antiqua Austria & the Salzburg Lute Consort, Gunar Letzbor.
Recording: Altomonte Saal, Stift St. Florian, (Austria), 2021.
Cover picture: "Documents of the Amsterdam Treasury" by Cornelis Brizé (1656).

This performance is a bit salt & sweet. Letzbor lets more antics running a free reign as he normally does, with results that are not always pleasing or historically justified. But okay, there is still enough to enjoy. Good choice of composers, and I like the combination with the Salzburg Lute consort, for they are responsible for producing the more interesting bits in the performance as a whole. The recording is clear, detailed and pleasing for the ear.

[Traverso]

Bach

Vol.5  CD 3

[Traverso]

Albinoni

CD 6

sonata 7-12

[foxandpeng]

6th rerun

Nice choices today, Harry!

[vandermolen]

Nielsen: Symphony 5 RSNO Alexander Gibson

PS I like all Gibson's Nielsen and Sibelius recordings.
This is a fine performance of Nielsen's Symphony No.5
Although the anarchic side-drummer is not as manic as some (try Barbirolli or Horenstein) it is still very effective and moving in context.

[Harry]

Joseph Lauber.
Symphony No. 4 & 5.
World Premiere Recordings.
Sinfonie Orchester Biel Solothurn, Kaspar Zehnder.
Recorded: at the Diaconis Kirche Bern, 9.–14.August 2021.

This composer is neglected by most classical music lovers, At GMG there was one member who said, "Music of no consequence". I beg to disagree vehemently. For me he is a true master in the most literal sense. And that goes for all his 6 Symphonies, which are luckily for me recorded. I am truly amazed, that no one would pick this up. Lauber surprises in both works: with odd time signatures, exotic instrumentation (xylophone, tambourine, etc.), a wealth of melodic ideas—and he even includes a carillon melody. A symphonist between worlds and cultures—a Frenchman in his sound, German in his motivic interpretation, and thoroughly Swiss in his emotional interiority. They found the manuscripts of Lauber's work in the Lausanne University Library, under dust and negligence. Superb recording and performance.

[Harry]

Otto Nicolai.
Orchestral Works, Volume I.
Symphony No.WoO in D major.
Südwestfälische Philharmonie, David Stern.
Recorded: April 1997, Hilchenbach.

For most people Otto Nicolai is a great unknown, and again a composer of no consequence, which in a sense I understand, but since I have an incurable weakness for neglected composers, I nevertheless like him for his sheer optimism, and his ability to make music with a message even out of tiny morsels of inspiration. This Symphony is just such a work, which you either like, or will heavily dislike. Well I am in the first camp. The performance is acceptable, for this Orchestra tries to make it sound like a masterwork, which it is clearly not, but still. MDG almost always makes good recordings, well this is not one of them, it's just so so.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Now playing Ligeti Violin Concerto

[Harry]

Victor Bendix (1851–1926)
Symphonies 1 & 3.
Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Joachim Gustafsson.
Recorded at Malmö Live Concert Hall, on 7–10 June 2022.

This is also an unknown composer for me. If I am right Brian played this a couple of days ago, and he was not negative about it. I just started listening to it, and I like his musical stance to start with.  I am in the process of burning a power cable in my system and it is resisting me at times, but it's slowly getting there. What I clearly hear though is that this live recording is quite decent, but a bit out of balance, there is some smearing in the brass and some details are clearly lost in the acoustics. I know that this venue can do better. I will in a later stadium post more of my impressions.

[Spotted Horses]

Finished my revisit of Weinberg String Quartet No 4.

Years ago I had acquired the Danel Quartet cycle on cpo and failed to get through it. I returned to the 4th quartet in the Danel cycle and again found it unsatisfying. But then I discovered there is another (almost) complete cycle from the Arcadia Quartet on Chandos. DavidW pointed out that the Silesian Quartet also have a cycle. I tried both and found much enjoyment in both, the Arcadia a bit more expansive with more reverberant sound, the Arcadia more brisk with a drier recording perspective. The audio in the cpo set sounds congested and unpleasant to my ears, and it was a barrier to appreciating the music. And the music itself? I'd characterize it as acerbic and intense.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Continuing on with the Arnold symphonies --- now playing Symphony No. 8, Op. 121

[Cato]

I just finished listening to the Martin Scherber Symphony #3:

It may be something of an acquired taste: it is certainly conservative, in that you will not hear much innovation in harmonic or polyphonic techniques.

But the style (which Scherber called "metamorphosis") is certainly intriguing enough to keep you listening!

I am enthusiastic about this work and want to hear the first two: sadly, the information is that Scherber suffered for a very long time from tuberculosis, as well as suffering under the Nazis and then the post-war situation, with Communists controlling the Russian sector of Germany.

As a result, his output was not what it might have been.

But...give this work a chance!

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Now playing Korngold Piano Quintet in E, Op. 15

[Brian]

I keep trying John Pickard's music, because I like his basic musical language, work titles, interest in scientific/space themes, and friendly personality (in his booklet notes, which are always good reads). But so far the actual music itself hasn't made much impression on me. I keep wishing it was more. Let's see if this disc changes my mind.

Symphony No. 5 may remind us superficially of Nielsen's Fourth: it's about the same length, the four movements play continuously, and it calls for three (!) sets of timpani, stationed on the left, center, and right. The music is basically traditionally tonal but built on motifs rather than melodies, and it's all about conflicting/interlocking orchestral sections and contrasts between faster and slower music. Pickard says he wants you to sometimes be uncertain whether you're listening to fast or slow music at a given time.

It's somewhat arid music - actually, space is a good comparison, because there isn't a lot of warmth or comfort in space, but there is a lot of beauty and drama. The Symphony is like that. In the early going, there are only flashes of heart, including a very well integrated quote from Sibelius' Symphony No. 6 to end the first movement. That leads directly into a sort of quiet woodwind toccata scherzo. Hurricane-like winds and swells affect the first few moments of the finale. There are plenty more storms and climaxes, and the orchestra makes some almighty impressive noises, although the three sets of timpani are used with restraint for color, and do not duel outright with each other like Nielsen's two sets. Especially around 7' in the finale, there's a climax that simultaneously recalls Shostakovich's Fifth and a really scary disaster movie. Like so many of these extremely frenetic, fast, exciting, virtuosic contemporary pieces - Dieter Ammann's Gran Toccata is another example - the piece ends quietly because the composer has already written so many big climaxes that he doesn't know how to top them anymore.

The orchestration is deliciously good and worth the listen alone. I just don't know whether it's supposed to have any meaning. It's a very very impressive Bunch of Stuff Happening, but the pleasure for me is aural only, not emotional or mental. I wouldn't dissuade anyone who likes complex, contemporary tonal scores from giving it a try to see if they feel differently. Everyone's got a different set of emotions.

Sixteen Sunrises is a tone picture imagining the view out from the International Space Station, which does indeed see the sun rise 16 times a day. Here Pickard's gift for color and in-the-moment aural spectacle is really used to its best. Don't expect the typical musical sunrise; there's a pretty extensive tuba solo, even. Truth be told, there are times when Pickard's particular color palette and range makes this sound like an extension of the symphony.

Concertante Variations is a very casual piece for wind quintet soloists and small orchestra; it almost feels like Pickard has taken off all his formal clothes and slipped into a pair of comfy pajamas. The music is more melodic, too, to suit the wind solo players. A charming piece and, at 13 minutes, almost a miniature.

The album ends with a true miniature, a glittering arrangement for full orchestra of a Monteverdi toccata from Orfeo.

[Traverso]

Stravinsky



 

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Now playing Bartók Piano Concerto No. 3, SZ 119