What are you listening 2 now?

[Lisztianwagner]

C.P.E Bach
Four Symphonies Wq. 183

Gustav Leonhardt & Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

[VonStupp]

Benjamin Britten
String Quartet 1 in D Major, op. 25
String Quartet 2 in C Major, op. 36
String Quartet 3, op. 94
Takács Quartet

I am not overly familiar with Britten's quartets, but he certainly makes the genre his own.
VS



Red Hot Suffolk Winter by Mita Higton

[Mister Sharpe]

Looking forward to listening to this because 1.) I really like Szymanowski, and I've yet to hear any of these songs; and 2.) The composer had an interesting take on his ability to grasp the poems he sets, feeling that while he lacked the intellectual ability to fully fathom them, he was able to do so "intuitively," "an attainable shortcut between the innermost experience and the mathematical exact formula of words." I think he rather exaggerated verbal logic (indeed the power of poetry comes as much from its ambiguity as its precision - think of Dickinson's "Tell the truth but tell it slant..." the better to set into bolder relief a world in which he felt more comfortable, of transcendent musical emotivity. Eager to hear the result of his thoughts on the matter. 

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major, 1878 Version Ed. Leopold Nowak
Bruckner Orchester Linz, Kurt Eichhorn

[Brian]

Another hidden gem from Naxos' "cheap era". The Joachim Trio was, contrary to the name, British: Rebecca Hirsch, Caroline Dearnley, and John Lenehan. Excellent engineering. I might need to check out their other albums: they also recorded the trios of Dvorak, Saint-Saens, and on one disc Debussy, Ravel, and a miniature by Florent Schmitt.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

NP: Bernstein Symphony No. 3, "Kaddish"



From this set -



A fascinating work. Normally, I don't like narration, but the narration here is done quite well and there's not a whole lot of it, which is even better.

[Que]

[Linz]

Joseph Haydn Symphony No. 88 in G major, Berliner Philharmoniker, Eugen Jochum
Symphony No. 91 in E flat major, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Eugen Jochum
Symphony No. 98 in B flat major, Berliner Philharmoniker, Eugen Jochum

[brewski]

My first encounter with Chamayou was just a few months ago, when he and Barbara Hannigan did a superb recital here. After that, would be eager to hear him in almost anything. How do you like this?

[brewski]

Kodály: Dances of Galanta (Ormandy/Philadelphia). Just a knockout all around, especially considering when it was recorded.

I'm listening to the version on the Internet Archive, an invaluable resource for many reasons. The surface noise, not unpleasant, reveals that the recording was taken from an LP, i.e., prior to later remastering.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Some before dinner Feldman --- NP: Voices and Cello

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 6 in A Major, 1881 Version. Ed. Leopold Nowak
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig. Herbert Kegel

[Karl Henning]

Jean Sibelius
Symphony № 1 in e minor, Op. 39
NY Phll
Lenny

It's never one of the pieces which come to mind when I have a Sibelius itch, and it always surprises me just how damned good it is.

[JBS]

Britten
Spring Symphony Op 44
BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales
Elizabeth Atherton, Jennifer Johnston, Andrew Kennedy soloists
David Atherton conductor

From the May 2025 BBC Music Magazine

Which, as I heard the opening movement, and check the Amazon listings, I realized I've never heard this work before...

Also on this CD, Walton's Gloria. I've never heard that one either, but I knew that ahead of time.

Also Copland'sFanfare for the Common Man and Coates' Dam Busters March.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

An anti-operatic double-bill!

Schoenberg
Erwartung, Op. 17
Jessye Norman, soprano
MET Opera
Levine



Feldman
Neither
Sarah Leonard, soprano
Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt
Zoltán Peskó

[Symphonic Addict]

The Fünf Stücke für Streichorchester is my favourite piece by Hindemith - probably for sentimental reasons, it was on the very first LP that I ever bought. I was lucky enough to hear it live, this winter in Utrecht. 

Great! Yet again, I haven't even heard the first work by Hindemith live. 

[Symphonic Addict]

@Symphonic Addict A delight indeed, vol. 2 follows later

Nice! If I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere that this ensemble is going to release the third volume the next November or December.

[Symphonic Addict]

Beethoven: Symphonies 3 and 4

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Continuing with a Samuel Beckett theme --- NP: Kurtág Samuel Beckett, What Is The Word, Op. 30b

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Feldman
Neither
Sarah Leonard, soprano
Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt
Zoltán Peskó

Some criticism for this performance of Feldman's Neither: I'm not fond of Sarah Leonard's voice which is too shrill (and not in an eerie, good Feldman-like way), but I love the orchestral performance a lot. The other recording on Col Legno is more to my own taste and the soprano in this recording Petra Hoffmann has a better timbre and blends with the orchestra more naturally to my ears. YMMV of course.

The Col Legno recording in question:



The main issue with this Col Legno recording is its a live performance and there some audible noises from the audience. I remember reading some review (it might've been from David Hurwitz) where he complained that it broke the spell this work is supposed to weave, but the reality is you have to take the good with the bad sometimes and the audience noises aren't that bad. I mean it's not like some Soviet Era recording or something where there's someone in the audience who sounds like they're losing a lung.

Anyway, 2.5 stars for the Neither on the Hat Hut label (w/ Sarah Leonard and Peskó).