What are you listening 2 now?

[nico1616]

Two Beethoven symphony cycles I have in my collection are the Chailly and Thielemann. Tonight I compared the Eroica and Chailly wins on all fronts. Both have superb sound and great orchestras but what has Thielemann done with the tempi? His 3th is almost 15 minutes longer than Chailly and sounds mannered. I don't believe Thielemann follows Beethoven's markings, his fluctuations in tempi are destabilizing. Chailly sounds full of fire and exciting, I will be returning to that one, next to the Cleveland Szell Eroica.

[prémont]

Despite being something like a Beethoven symphony semi-completist I have stayed away from Thieleman which people rarely say something good about. On the other hand I have considered Chailly but have not acquired it yet. During the last two months I have purchased four cycles: Manacorda, Savall, Weller and Jansons (yes @Traverso I succumbed to your unconditional recommendation) so this must be enough Beethoven symphonies for the moment.

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major, 1878/80 Version (1880 with Bruckner's 1886 revisions) - Ed. Leopold Nowak
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam,  Riccardo  Chailly

[Wanderer]

[VonStupp]

In case you missed my review of the "Maria Theresia" here in Boston.

What a curious, yet compelling program. Was the Boston SO reduced for the Haydn? I would assume so, but I can't say I know Alan Gilbert for his Classical Era performances.
VS

[VonStupp]

Hugo Alfvén
Synnøve of Solbakken: Suite, op. 50
A Country Tale: Suite, op. 53
Elégie (At Emil Sjögren's Funeral), op. 38
Norrköping SO - Niklas Willén

Lush, pastoral countryside film settings pervade these concert suites.
VS

[Karl Henning]

What a curious, yet compelling program. Was the Boston SO reduced for the Haydn? I would assume so, but I can't say I know Alan Gilbert for his Classical Era performances.
VS

More substantially reduced for the earlier, but yes.

[Karl Henning]

[Karl Henning]

[DavidW]

I wish I had this one, not available anywhere...

I'm glad that I bought the third when I did. It is the best third that I've ever heard. The record label does have difficulty keeping physical media in print.

[DavidW]

Despite being something like a Beethoven symphony semi-completist I have stayed away from Thieleman which people rarely say something good about. On the other hand I have considered Chailly but have not acquired it yet. During the last two months I have purchased four cycles: Manacorda, Savall, Weller and Jansons (yes @Traverso I succumbed to your unconditional recommendation) so this must be enough Beethoven symphonies for the moment.

Except for R. Strauss and Wagner, I stay away from Thieleman.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

René Gerber: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Flute Concerto - Violin Concerto - Trumpet Concerto.

[JBS]

Despite being something like a Beethoven symphony semi-completist I have stayed away from Thieleman which people rarely say something good about. On the other hand I have considered Chailly but have not acquired it yet. During the last two months I have purchased four cycles: Manacorda, Savall, Weller and Jansons (yes @Traverso I succumbed to your unconditional recommendation) so this must be enough Beethoven symphonies for the moment.

Thielemann's cycle is one of those that makes you wonder why anyone bothered to record it. His Parsifal with Domingo is good, but I've heard nothing else from him I wanted to hear again except Strauss songs he recorded with Renee Fleming.

OTOH, Chailly's cycle is possibly the best 21st century (so far). I urge you to get it the next time you go looking.

[JBS]

TD
A revisit
The three Opus 145 quartets

[Linz]

Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2 & 4
Berliner Philharmoniker, Eugen Jochum

[steve ridgway]

Berio - Sequenza I For Flute

[steve ridgway]

When Spohr became court conductor at the court in Kassel in 1822 after his virtuoso period as a famous violinist, he also had a choir at his disposal. Spohr himself knew the old choral repertoire from Telemann, Graun and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach from his own singing experience, so he did not have to rediscover the old sacred choral tradition like the next generation of Mendelssohn and Schumann. So he was interested in composing and performing an oratorio when, in 1825, he received a libretto he had written himself from Friedrich Rochlitz, the longstanding editor of the Leipzig Allgemeine Musikzeitschrift, which effectively arranged a selection of exclusively biblical quotations on the existential theme of the 'last things'. Despite the biblical texts, however, neither Rochlitz nor Spohr intended to create a liturgical work for church services. Rather, they wanted to address each person individually, especially at the beginning of the 19th century during the difficult turning points of the Enlightenment, the upheaval in the understanding of the Bible, the French Revolution, the Congress of Vienna and the Restoration. Music in the Romantic sense made it possible to skilfully recreate how the existential questions of death and the afterlife affected the individual's inner life. In this respect, Spohr's oratorio 'The Last Things' is an example of an artistic religion that emancipated itself from worship or sought to complement it autonomously for the bourgeois self-image.

More cf.:
https://www.discoveringsacredmusic.ch/19th-century/spohr

An artistic religion is a very interesting idea, thanks for posting!

[AnotherSpin]

Despite being something like a Beethoven symphony semi-completist I have stayed away from Thieleman which people rarely say something good about. On the other hand I have considered Chailly but have not acquired it yet. During the last two months I have purchased four cycles: Manacorda, Savall, Weller and Jansons (yes @Traverso I succumbed to your unconditional recommendation) so this must be enough Beethoven symphonies for the moment.

Years ago, I often found Thielemann's interpretations rather appealing — perhaps owing to their absence of outward show and their restraint from exaggerated rhythms or excessive dynamism. Additionally, his loyalty to a time-tested repertoire and his dedication to preserving the German tradition resonate with me completely. That said, it's been quite some time since I last listened to him.

[steve ridgway]

As many know, Christian Tetzlaff cancelled his 2005 U.S. tour, citing 'utter anger' and discomfort with the political climate there. He also expressed serious concerns about Trump's cozying up to Russia. Now, I'm well aware that politics isn't exactly welcome on this forum, especially when it's aimed against all things Russian. Still, I do hope Christian Tetzlaff doesn't become a persona non grata in the playlists of the forum's respected members.

Cancelling one's tour, or for the consumer, not buying tickets or products seems a perfectly valid way for an individual to express disapproval nowadays and feel one has had at least a little impact on the political situation.

[steve ridgway]

Hmm, random shuffle gave me another performance of Berio - Sequenza I.

What does it mean? Well, 1 indicates the start of a sequence, the very beginning that comes before everything else, and, more fundamentally than any meaning decided upon by the human mind, comes recognition of a pattern 💡.