What are you listening 2 now?

[AnotherSpin]

The fact is that this set was nominated for the German Schallplatten Prize and was also highly praised by many others.
It grieves me to see this set is discussed as something that should not be purchased.

A pity this set isn't available on streaming. I've listened to some other recordings by Pieter van Dijk, overall, a rather good impression.

[Traverso]

You read it the wrong way, I meant in essence for ME Jan, I would never presume to tell others not to purchase this set, far be it from me.

Sorry for misunderstanding your post 

[Harry]

Sylvio Lazzari (1857–1944)
Piano Trio op. 13 in G minor.
 
Wilhelm Kienzl (1857–1941)
Piano Trio op. 13 in F minor.

Wilhelm Jeral (1861–1935)
9 Sérénade Viennoise op.18. (Allegro, ma non troppo)

Thomas Christian Ensemble.
Thomas Christian, Violin.
Attila Pasztor, Violoncello.
Evgeny Sinaiski, Piano.
See back cover for details
Recorded: 2012 at the Bayerische Rundfunk, studio 2 München, Germany.
Streaming: FLAC 44.1kHz/16 bit. PDF file attached.

Two rarely performed piano trios by Sylvio Lazzari and Wilhelm Kienzl form the core of this musically nourishing disc, elegantly served by the Thomas Christian Ensemble. These composers—though largely forgotten today—were admired figures in their time, both eventually gravitating toward opera, yet each leaving behind an evocative chamber legacy.

Lazzari's Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 13, composed in the 1880s, is a dramatic and structurally confident work. Born in Bolzano and later naturalized French, Lazzari studied under Franck and d'Indy, and this influence is evident in his flowing chromaticism and harmonic density. The trio opens with stormy, late-Romantic gestures, but soon delves into more intimate, almost impressionistic textures. Its passionate character is tempered by moments of ethereal calm, as if the spirit of César Franck were walking the Alpine ridges in silence. The Thomas Christian Ensemble render its lyrical breadth with poise and sweep, allowing the piano and strings to alternate between tumult and repose.

Wilhelm Kienzl, a native of Styria, is better remembered today for his opera Der Evangelimann, but this early piano trio, also an Opus 13, speaks with a Schubertian fluency and unbuttoned charm. Written in the composer's twenties, it carries the buoyant freshness of youth while already hinting at the melodic gifts that would later grace his stage works. There is nothing formulaic here: it is heartfelt, tuneful, and sincere—music that wears its heart proudly on its sleeve. The slow movement is especially tender, a hushed conversation between friends, while the finale dances with rustic exuberance.

As a delightful encore, the ensemble present the Sérénade Viennoise by Wilhelm Jeral—an Austrian composer and cellist of Moravian descent who spent his life immersed in the lighter musical idioms of Vienna. This Allegro movement, here arranged for trio, is the musical equivalent of an elegant waltz spun from silver thread—charming, witty, and redolent of Viennese twilight. There's a trace of salon elegance, yes, but also genuine craftsmanship, with a warmth that lingers.

The recording, made at Bayerischer Rundfunk Studio 2, is intimate and natural in balance. Each instrument breathes clearly in a warmly captured acoustic, allowing the ensemble's elegant phrasing and vibrant interplay to unfold with grace.

Epilogue – A glimmer from the vanished parlour

These trios speak from a vanished parlour, where gaslight flickered upon gilt-edged scores and chamber music floated like perfumed breath. In their phrases we glimpse a gentler epoch — a world of postcards and pressed flowers, of autumn salons and whispered confidences at dusk. Kienzl's youthful ardour, Lazzari's restless lyricism, Jeral's charm — all of it like a waltz remembered in the hush after a snowfall.
Here, melody was a mode of friendship, harmony a hearth. And though their names may fade, their music still stirs the dust motes into dance.

[Harry]

A pity this set isn't available on streaming. I've listened to some other recordings by Pieter van Dijk, overall, a rather good impression.

Well I have it for you, just hop on the bike, and knock on the door and the set will be given to you, but alas I cannot give you the stream, but you may hear the mighty roar by Bach through my speakers  

[AnotherSpin]

Well I have it for you, just hop on the bike, and knock on the door and the set will be given to you, but alas I cannot give you the stream, but you may hear the mighty roar by Bach through my speakers  

Thank you, Harry, for the invitation. That would be quite a long bike trip, it's over 2,400 km from Odesa to Holland...

Once I drove from Odesa to Paris, that was my longest trip behind the wheel, but in a car I didn't have to pedal. And that was almost 28 years ago. By the way, I entered central Paris through that very tunnel, just an hour before the well-known tragic event.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Vladimir Sofronitsky. Concert recordings.

[DavidW]

The fact is that this set was nominated for the German Schallplatten Prize and was also highly praised by many others.
It grieves me to see this set is discussed as something that should not be purchased.

That is a horrifically bad take. Everyone has their own taste, and all the prizes in the world don't mean they should spend money on something that doesn't bring them pleasure. And they shouldn't be guilted into it!

[AnotherSpin]

That is a horrifically bad take. Everyone has their own taste, and all the prizes in the world don't mean they should spend money on something that doesn't bring them pleasure. And they shouldn't be guilted into it!

Of course, no award makes a recording outstanding in and of itself. On the other hand, outstanding recordings are often recognised with awards. I recall several LPs and CDs that received the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, and they were always most interesting. I gather this prize is taken seriously in Germany and is not handed out lightly. At least, that used to be the case. So I find the mention quite appropriate.

[Irons]

Wagner & Gounod: Orchestral Works. Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Paris · André Cluytens.

First label issue highly prized amongst vinyl collectors.



An excellent series of Ravel orchestral recordings released on the budget CFP label is also very good. 

[hopefullytrusting]

Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 from this set:

[Irons]

Honegger: Symphony No.4 'The Delights of Basel'
After the unexpected victory of the England Women's Football team ('The Lionesses') in the Final of the Euros in Basel this evening I felt that I had little choice but to play this fine symphony in celebration of their success against Spain. Ansermet's recording is the best I think.

True grit overcome talent.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

First label issue highly prized amongst vinyl collectors.



An excellent series of Ravel orchestral recordings released on the budget CFP label is also very good. 

I like Cluytens' Beethoven. When I visited El Mundo- a classical music cafe in Nara, Japan- in March, madame was playing a vinyl of No. 5. I will check Ravel.

[Irons]

I like Cluytens' Beethoven. When I visited El Mundo- a classical music cafe in Nara, Japan- in March, madame was playing a vinyl of No. 5. I will check Ravel.

Not only Ravel full Beethoven set too. LP collectors are blessed.

[SonicMan46]

Korngold, Erich (1897-1957) - last few days devoted to the Austrian child prodigy who was also one of the greatest Hollywood composers - short bio below - own nearly a dozen discs (see attachment, if interested) - listening to the ones shown; know most of his film scores and have just two recordings, probably should see if anything new has been released recently?  Dave

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austrian composer and conductor, who fled Europe in the mid-1930s and later adopted US nationality. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and composer of classical music, along with music for Hollywood films, and the first composer of international stature to write Hollywood scores. (Source)

   

   

[71 dB]

I was in the mood for this type of music:

Elgar - Pomp and Circumstance Marches Nos. 1-5 / Empire March
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
James Judd
Naxos 8.557273

[Harry]

William Alwyn.
String Quartet No.3
Winter Poems for String Quartet.

Doreen Carwithen.
String Quartet 1&2.

Tippett Quartet.
Recorded in 2018, at the Paris Church of St. Nicholas, Thames, Ditton, GB.
See back cover for details. No PDF file.
Label: Somm.
Streaming: 88.2kHz/24 bit.

Two voices, kindred yet distinct, sing from the same hymnbook in this radiant recording: the husband and wife pairing of William Alwyn and Doreen Carwithen. While Alwyn's name may have drawn more attention over time, Carwithen's music is no less commanding, no less lyrical. Indeed, what this disc captures so movingly is the seamless emotional and spiritual consonance between the two—a musical dialogue spoken in hushed tones, woven from shared experience, creative solitude, and mutual respect.

Alwyn's Third Quartet—his final in the genre—is a luminous tapestry, pastoral and introspective by turns. Composed in 1984, it bears a late-style serenity that belies the complexity beneath. The opening Adagio e tranquillo speaks in softened colours, like a mist lifting over coastal meadows. Its companion piece, Winter Poems, is imbued with emotional nuance: sometimes stark and cold as frost-bitten stone, sometimes radiant with the pale gold of winter sun on snow. Here, the Tippett Quartet evoke its inner world with elegance and precision, never rushing the phrasing, allowing space for silence to speak.

Carwithen's contributions are revelations. The First Quartet, written when she was just twenty-four, is filled with ardour and finely wrought craftsmanship—its outer movements brimming with rhythmic vitality, its central Andante drawing from a deeper well of emotion. The Second Quartet, composed in 1951, is more expansive, harmonically adventurous, and richly lyrical. Her writing here suggests not only deep understanding of the medium, but an intuitive dramatic flair—perhaps inherited from her early training as a film composer.

It is astonishing that music of such grace and substance has lain dormant for so long. Carwithen's quartets deserve pride of place in the repertoire, standing shoulder to shoulder with the works of Frank Bridge, Vaughan Williams, and even Britten.

The Tippett Quartet perform all with unfailing sensitivity and vigour. Their ensemble is tightly knit, and yet flexible—breathing naturally with each phrase, shaping dynamics like sculptors with light. They do not merely perform these works; they inhabit them.

The recording is of reference quality: vivid, warm, full of depth and air. The church acoustic lends the strings just enough bloom, enhancing rather than obscuring. There is intimacy here, but also space—a rare balance.

This disc is not merely a discovery; it is a revelation. You may feel, as I did, that you've wandered into a half-remembered dream, where every page turned is familiar and new, where time slows, and art speaks softly but directly to the soul.

As an afterthought....
"If a voice could reach through snow, if longing could be notated in ink, if a glance across a shared manuscript page could become music—then perhaps this is what it would sound like."

Here in this recording, Alwyn and Carwithen are reunited once more—not just in name or memory, but in sound, in spirit. What one began, the other echoes. What one reveals, the other completes. Let this music linger, as it surely will.

[Cato]

From the beginning and near the end of his career: Alexander Tcherepnin's Piano Concerto I...

and VI !

[Mandryka]

Bach

CD 2

The performance style is somewhat detached and demands more engagement from the listener. Once familiar with his approach, you can enjoy his deeply felt understanding of these works. It's as if you're forced to listen actively because there seems to be little seduction in his delivery.
The resulting sound, however, is far from dull; you get a taste of Bach without the additives, so to speak.
The grandeur of these organ works is abundantly present, unadorned, with an intimacy that seems a certain restraint yet simultaneously expresses everything beautifully and balanced.






 

How can they be both "detached" and "deeply felt"?

Who do you think plays the music more "seductively"

For what it's worth I think you're confusing something about your reaction to the performance this morning with something about the performance itself. 

[Linz]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Serenade in E-Flat Major, K. 375
Serenade in C Minor, K. 388:
Martin van de Merwe; Irma Kort; Johann Steinmann; Remco De Vries; Hans Wisse; Jos Buurman

[Traverso]

How can they be both "detached" and "deeply felt"?

Who do you think plays the music more "seductively"

For what it's worth I think you're confusing something about your reaction to the performance this morning with something about the performance itself. 

Of course, I find Pieter van Dijk's playing seductive, but there's something unadorned about his playing. It often happens that contradictions are perceived where they aren't. In judging Pieter van Dijk's performance, I naturally speak comparatively, and in that respect, his recording sounds more detached. This isn't a disqualification or a description, as I experience it myself. Language proves to be a tricky thing, and besides, English isn't my native language. I wrote a few days ago that this set was becoming increasingly appealing to me; it seems I've made it clear that these recordings also have a seductive effect on me.