What are you listening 2 now?

[Mister Sharpe]

Le Ménétrier (the Minstrel) : Embraced this work from the very first moments of hearing it (on Bru Zane) and purchased the CD tout de suite.  Endearing melodies, picturesque and moving background story, all adding-up to a wonderful, memorable listening experience. 

[Lisztianwagner]

Arthur Honegger
Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher

Serge Baudo & Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

[ritter]

Arthur Honegger
Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher

Serge Baudo & Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

What a superb work! One of my all-time favourites (Honegger's music and Claudel's libretto).

How are you liking it, Ilaria? E buona sera a te...

[DavidW]

[ritter]

Chamber music by Riccardo Zandonai: the early (1904) String Quartet in G major, the Trio - Serenata for violin, cello and piano (the composer's last completed work, from 1943), and an arrangement (not by the composer himself) for string trio of a section of the soundtrack to the film La Principessa Tarakanova (from 1938). The performers are soloists of the Orchestra da Camera di Trento "Ensemble Zandonai" and the Trio Guarino.

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 3 in D Minor, 1873 Original Version Ed. Leopold Nowak
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Georg Tintner

[brewski]

From 2019, live from Houston, Texas, the combined Dover and Escher Quartets in octets by Shostakovich, Mendelssohn, and Enescu.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Saeya-Saeya. Consuelo Giulianelli, voice and harp.

[foxandpeng]

John Corigliano
Phantasmagoria
VC 'The Red Violin'
Joann Falletta
Buffalo PO
Naxos

Second run at these today. Really positive, to be fair. The VC, in particular.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Scriabin: 24 Preludes, Op. 11
Evgeny Zarafiants (piano)

I didn't want to stop listening to the Op.11 Preludes, so captivated by their charms did I feel, so opted to continue with this Zafariants recording, a pianist unknown to me, and what a world apart from Gavrilov he is. He does not have the intensity of Gavrilov, but in all other matters I find him far preferable. The music opens up beautifully in his hands, with a more measured yet always sensitive approach, and the music feels like it's able to take a good, deep breath for the first time  post-Gavrilov.
I continue to be struck by the how similar early Scriabin is to Chopin, yet how completely different. Scriabin seems altogether a freer spirit, judging from the character of the music.

I personally like Igor Zhukov, Elena Kuschnerova, and Valery Kastelsky.

[foxandpeng]

John Corigliano
Oboe Concerto
Humbert Lucarelli
Kazuyoshi Akiyama
RCA Victor

Second hearing of this also, after a break of a couple of weeks. My experience with Corigliano has been broadly very engaging thus far. I enjoy the unpredictability, changes of pace, intrusions of sound rather than melody...

[Symphonic Addict]

Litolff: Concertos Symphoniques 2 and 3

It's been ages since my last listen to these works. Simply formidable in every way. I'm very glad that Hyperion recorded these superb works. The 2nd movement from the 3rd Concerto is a real earworm. If there's any truly irresistible music in the whole definition of the word, it has to be that movement.

[VonStupp]

Benjamin Britten
Cello Suite 1, op. 72
Cello Suite 2, op. 80
Cello Suite 3, op. 87
Rohan de Saram, cello

I am winding down my Britten listening for a while, but, with a helpful reminder from @Der lächelnde Schatten , am finishing with his Cello Suites and soon the Cello Sonata.

The late Rohan de Saram was the cellist in the Arditti Quartet.
VS

And just to follow up:


Benjamin Britten
Cello Sonata, op. 65

Pieter Wispelwey, cello
Dejan Lazić, piano

VS

[foxandpeng]

John Corigliano
String Quartet, 'Farewell'
Corigliano Quartet
Naxos

Continuing to revisit recent listens with some profit.

[Linz]

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op.17 "Little Russian"
Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29 "Polish"
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski

[foxandpeng]

Nordic Concertos
Karin Rehnqvist
On a Distant Shore
Martin Fröst
BIS

Outstanding clarinet music.

[foxandpeng]

Alfred Schnittke
Cello Concerto 1
Matt Haimovitz
MDR Leipzig RSO
Dennis Russell Davies

New release.

[Symphonic Addict]

Stravinsky: Orpheus
Grieg: Piano Sonata

Other two works whose last listen was long ago. The opening of Orpheus is quite beautiful, soulful, of the utmost subtlety and eloquence. Glad I revisited it today.

Grieg's only piano sonata has memorable thematic material and gracefulness aplenty. I especially loved the 2nd and 4th movements, featuring Grieg at his best.

[Cato]

This morning I offered the entire short opera of Robert Kurka's The Good Soldier Schweik .

Here is a YouTube offering of the Suite in the classic recording by Robert Whitney conducting The Louisville Symphony Orchestra.

The entire suite is offered in links on the right: skip the hour-long ads!   

[Mister Sharpe]

Recorded in the fall of '59, this is reportedly the only performance on record by Monteux of Dvořák. Even if outside of the conductor's playing field, it's a most affectionate interpretation, if arguably a tame one.  On LP, NM, and appropriately enough a French pressing.