What are you listening 2 now?

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

NP: Adams Shaker Loops

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NP: MacMillan Í (A Meditation On Iona)

[Symphonic Addict]

Dvorak: Symphonies 6 and 7

Wonderful interpretations, save for the ending of the 7th which didn't satisfy me.

[Spotted Horses]

I've been making my way slowly though the Beethoven string quartets with the Takacs, up to Op 74 (The Harp).



Generally satisfying. I wish the audio had a bit more presence and a more concrete sound stage.

Listen to the piece again in the Budapest Quartet's circa 1953 mono recording. Compelling despite the audio limitations. The slow movement, in particular, was more convincing to me than the Takacs.



Maybe I will close by listening to a period instrument version, Chiaroscuro quartet perhaps.

[Spotted Horses]

Finally listened to the forth string quartet of Schnittke. Alternates lento-fast-lento-fast-lento. Generally in the late Soviet grim style.



At some point in the near future I will go back and listen again, probably to the Tale Quartet (for the first three).

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NP: Liszt Totentanz



Totentanz is a stunning example of Liszt's orchestration. I find this work to be quite ahead of its time. It has an almost incessantness about it that brings to mind music found in the 20th Century.

[André]

A varied programme:

- symphony no 1 'The Dance of the Demons'
- an Aria for soprano and orchestra from one of his operas
- a short suite for orchestra
- a cello concerto 'Hymn to the Queen'

Very listenable stuff. Frandsen cultivates a language where short motifs undergo plenty of transformations and colour changes. Less demanding than Norgärd perhaps, with a nod toward late Langgaard.

[Lisztianwagner]

Franz Liszt
Unstern!-Sinistre
Nuages gris
Csárdás macabre
Fantasia and Fugue on the theme B.A.C.H

Pianist: Alfred Brendel



I agree about Brendel's lisztian interpretations on this set being definitely exquisite, they're very imaginative and suggestive performances.

[VonStupp]

Benjamin Britten
Britten On Film
Birmingham CMG - Martyn Brabbins

Documentary film scores from Britten, circa 1935-36.
VS

[ritter]

The piano music if Riccardo Malipiero, played by José Raúl López.

[Symphonic Addict]

Hindemith: Philharmonisches Konzert and Symphonic Metamorphoses on themes by Weber

[DavidW]

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NP: Birtwistle The Moth Requiem



First-listen to this work. The jury is still out. I'm not quite sure how I feel about Birtwistle in general, but he certainly has an ear for some strange sonorities.

[Karl Henning]

NP: Adams Shaker Loops

May be my favorite of his scores.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

May be my favorite of his scores.

Yeah, it's a great piece. Lovely slow movement.

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NP: Bruckner Psalm 150, WAB 38

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NP: Vine Oboe Concerto



Such a wonderful concerto. After Sculthorpe, Carl Vine is the most well-known Australian composer. A shame that he doesn't get much attention outside of his country. It just goes to show how unnecessarily Euro-centric classical music has become and really how it always has been. Anyway, Vine is a composer worth getting to know, IMHO.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

More Vine --- Piano Concerto



I bought this disc years ago just for this PC, because it wasn't found on any other ABC Classics recording. It is coupled with Symphonies Nos. 4.2 & 6, which both symphonies are found in the 2-CD symphonies set that was issued in 2005. Anyway, a fine PC that has some Bartók-like percussiveness, but the real beauty of this concerto is the second movement. So gorgeous.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

NP: Vine String Quartet No. 3

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

NP: Bruckner Mass No. 3 in F minor, WAB 28



There could be a Bruckner-a-thon right around the corner. Also, these Matthew Best recordings of Bruckner's masses and other choral works are exemplary.