What are you listening 2 now?

[DavidW]

I can't recall whose performances I first heard of these concertos. I only remember that I first heard the Sibelius concerto on the radio. The Previn and Chung version must be a very good one.

This was my introduction, purchased from a CD shop back in the day:


That recording was amazing, instantly making it one of my favorite violin concertos.

[Daverz]

I can't recall whose performances I first heard of these concertos. I only remember that I first heard the Sibelius concerto on the radio. The Previn and Chung version must be a very good one.

Heifetz/Hendl was the first one I heard, which makes a rather dominating impression on ones memory.

Previously played a few times here: Elgar Violin Concerto - Vilde Frang, Deutscher Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Robin Ticciati

I love her forthright, almost husky tone here.

[Symphonic Addict]

Martinu: Spalicek

A complete outpouring of masterly ideas regarding everything. For me, this is Martinu's best and most remarkable ballet.

[Symphonic Addict]

Penderecki: String Trio

Thirteen minutes of intense, visceral music that often resembles Shostakovich's style, but without the irony. Phenomenal!

[steve ridgway]

Xenakis - Phlegra

[steve ridgway]

Falla - Nights In The Gardens Of Spain

[AnotherSpin]

[steve ridgway]

Birtwistle - Nomos

[Que]

More masses by De la Rue. Of his 31 surviving masses (excluding attributions), which is a surprising high number, I have now a grand total of 12 masses on record.

[pjme]

Ned Rorem, William Schuman...I know, .... but who is Louise Talma!?

https://www.macdowell.org/special-projects/legacy-louise-talma

"Born in Arcachon on October 31, 1906." This is what Louise Talma always claimed, it's probably what her mother told her. But ultimately, nothing is less certain! She may have been born in France, perhaps in the United States; according to the 1920 New York census, she was born in New York. As for her year of birth, according to various archives, we find 1905, 1906, or 1907... We have little information about her father, the name Talma being a pseudonym taken by her singer mother at the beginning of the century... It's difficult to find your way around... But the most important thing is that little Louise was certainly very gifted; at 16, she entered the Institute of Musical Arts (now the Juilliard School) where she studied piano and composition. In 1926, at the age of 20, she spent her first summer at Fontainebleau, at the American Conservatory; it was there that she met Nadia Boulanger, who would become a sort of mentor for her, and certainly a role model..."

[Que]

Heifetz/Hendl was the first one I heard, which makes a rather dominating impression on ones memory.

Same. I still think the Sibelius is Heifetz' signature concerto - his earlier recording with Beecham is amazing as well.

Everybody has his/her own favorites, but for the Tchaikovsky concerto my favourite is Leonid Kogan/Silvestri.

Which doesn't mean I'm not open to more recent recordings! Just haven't come across  any that sweep the board... 

[Cato]

The more I listen to the soundtrack by David Shire for the unjustly maligned and usually misunderstood movie Return to Oz, the more I am impressed by its perfection, i.e. the composer perfectly understood the movie's essence in every way, and captured that essence in his music.

A melancholy, nostalgic longing, a wistfulness for something that could never be, but seemed like it did exist, at least for a while:

e.g.

These two from the beginning are especially evocative of the movie's soul:

Listen to how the "Dorothy theme" arches above the trotting of the horses and the wagon's rolling toward a mental hospital:

[Traverso]

Bach

[Harry]

Francesco Maria Veracini – Sonate Accademiche: An Anthology
From Sonate Accademiche a Violino Solo e Basso Op. 2 (London/Florence, 1744) – Nos. 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12
Eva Saladin, Violin.
Daniel Rosin, Violoncello.
Johannes Keller, Harpsichord.
Recorded: 2024, Church of St. Pantaleon, Nuglar-St. Pantaleon.
Streaming: 96kHz/24bit. SOTA sound.

Veracini is a composer who seems to saunter into one's musical path again and again — and with good reason. There's always a trace of wizardry in his work, a hint of the fantastical, and occasionally, a moment of sheer befuddlement. His Sonate Accademiche (Op. 2), published in London in 1744, are nothing if not fertile ground for such alchemy. They combine dazzling virtuosity with an intellectual flair, all delivered with a theatrical dash — very much in keeping with Veracini's own flamboyant persona.

These are no conventional sonate da camera or da chiesa. Instead, Veracini opens his preface with a liberty that says much: "Two or even three movements, chosen at will, suffice to form a sonata of reasonable length." The result is a collection brimming with contrasts — spirited gigas, introspective adagios, sprightly allegros — composed not to fulfil a template, but to express ideas freely, academically even, hence their name.

Eva Saladin plays with enviable command — her tone is both vigorous and warm, her bow arm nimble and articulate. She captures Veracini's eccentric brilliance without ever sounding mannered. The continuo, with Daniel Rosin and Johannes Keller, supports and sparks with precision and character. Together, they make music that is alive, alert, and undeniably stylish.

Veracini may have aimed his sonatas at connoisseurs of the "academic" kind, but this recording makes their eccentric beauty accessible to all — a little perplexing at times, yes, but deeply rewarding for those who follow the path. Well worth the detour.

[Mister Sharpe]

There's also this Vox CD set full of good stuff: 

Thanks, I've got that and concur! They were bigger than the Dale Warland Singers (admirable themselves), far more adventurous, and turn up in places you might not expect them.

[steve ridgway]

Stravinsky - Ragtime For 11 Instruments

Interesting tune  .

[AnotherSpin]

[Harry]

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644–1704)
Complete Violin Sonatas – 1681
Bojan Čičić, Violin.
The Illyria Consort.
Recorded 2024, St Martin's Church, East Woodhay, Hampshire.
Streaming: 96kHz/24bit. SOTA sound.

Among the great treasures of 17th-century violin music, Biber's 1681 Sonatae Violino Solo occupy a singular place. These eight sonatas, along with the two appended partitas, are his earliest published works and already show the extravagant inventiveness, fiery virtuosity, and rhetorical boldness that would define his later masterpieces like the Mystery Sonatas. In 1681, the violin was still shaking off its courtly image, and Biber's bold scordatura techniques, striking contrasts, and free-form movements helped to shape the instrument's expressive future.

I've heard a fair share of interpretations of these sonatas, but Bojan Čičić and his Illyria Consort truly leave the others in the dust. The concentration is total, the phrasing alive with dramatic insight. Čičić's bowing is simply glorious—fluid, clean, and effortless in articulation—and the tone, pure and warm, never loses tension or focus. He moves through Biber's labyrinthine twists as if the music were pouring from his very breath.

The ensemble matches him at every step: alert, sensitive, and never ornamental. They breathe the music as one, making the architecture shimmer from within. The result is not just historically informed performance—it is historical imagination realized.

The recording quality is nothing short of state-of-the-art. With remarkable depth, detail, and intimacy, it presents the musicians in a soundstage that is both expansive and close-knit. You hear not just notes, but intentions. A triumph on every front—this is Biber played with heart, brains, and no small dose of fire.

Biber's sonatas, like the finest architecture of their time, are built to awe and endure. But brilliance alone does not suffice—it must be animated, humanised. That is precisely what Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort achieve: not simply executing the notes, but releasing the spirit within. It is a kind of resurrection, really. The kind only music affords.

[prémont]

The Vici organ, later and somewhat brasher in tone, felt less suited to some of the pieces, at times bordering on the overbearing. But that is, of course, my own impression—others might find its clarity invigorating.
All in all, this is a valuable release, especially for those drawn to the textures and temperaments of early Italian organ craftsmanship. And perhaps my fellow organ aficionado Poul might weigh in here—no doubt with a keener ear for registrations and pipe voicing than mine?

I agree fully with your assessment of the two used organs. The (anonymous???) Nacchini / Daci organ (1762) sounds more period in relation to the music than the Stefano Vici organ (1782). This relates to the character of the organs, but also to the temperament (which the booklet doesn't mention). In my ears The Nacchini / Daci organ is tuned in meantone 1/4 comma or something very similar, while the Vicci organ seems to be tuned in a more "modern" modification, just how you suppose.

The booklet from the label's home page:
https://www.discantica.it/img/discantica/libretti/libretto318.pdf

[steve ridgway]

Stravinsky - Threni

Totally different to the jazzy music but I enjoyed this strange choral piece very much  .