What are you listening 2 now?

[JBS]

CDs 4 and 5
Opus 59 Numbers 1 and 2
Opus 74
Opus 131

Opus 59 Number 3 is placed on CD 7 in this set. I suspect Brilliant was trying to replicate the order in the original Philips issues, which coupled 74 and 131.

[Symphonic Addict]

Yet another winning recording featuring works for violin and orchestra by Jeno Hubay. His 3rd VC in G minor has all the merits to be regarded as a remarkable input to the repertoire. A brilliant piece. In some respects, Hubay is like a Hungarian Saint-Saëns, I perceived certain similarity between both composers.

From the other disc I only listened to the Quintet. One can't tire of this pinnacle of human art, it bowled me over once again, much more so when it's rendered as impressively as Coppey and the Prazák Quartet did. My only quibble regards the tragic section of the 2nd movement which was played a little rushed, without enough drama to grip me as I wanted. Otherwise, an exemplary performance and recording.

[hopefullytrusting]

My next 6-pack: Alphabetical order

Bernstein's American Pictures at an Exhibition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHKZrLic-m4
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 32: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp7wk3jkuqU
Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0Tk3sliZ0U
Ravel's Introduction and Allergro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYD7L9PjYRw
Schubert's Variations on Trockne Blumen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7CH4dBQNeM
Spendiaryan's Three Palms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ugNLtiy3nk

[Selig]

Suite III in C

[Que]

In addition to their Adriaen Willaert recordings, Singer Pur also did this recording of his Italian pupil and successor, Gioseffo Zarlino, who in his turn taught Claudio Merulo and Vincenzo Galilei. Zarlino was a famous music theorist that as a composer stayed loyal to polyphony and his technically highly sophisticated (abstract, but certainly not boring) music is a perfect match for Singer Pur.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/May14/Zarlino_modulationes_OC873.htm

[Florestan]

[Selig]

This is his 2nd recording. Normally I'd like to start with the 1st recording, but unfortunately it seems to be LP-only.

[prémont]

This is his 2nd recording. Normally I'd like to start with the 1st recording, but unfortunately it seems to be LP-only.

While I love Rachel Mercer's and Martin Burkhardt's sets of the cello suites, I find Böttcher's second set relatively forgettable. Don't know his first set.

[Selig]

While I love Rachel Mercer's and Martin Burkhardt's sets of the cello suites, I find Böttcher's second set relatively forgettable. Don't know his first set.

I'm on the same page, liking Mercer more than Böttcher so far. I'm especially enthusiastic about Burkhardt though - a hidden gem!

[Madiel]

Vivaldi violin concertos, consisting of...



RV 243 in D minor, 'senza catin' (without the top string): an instruction to the soloist that leads to the violin having a different, somewhat muffled timbre as well as just making life more difficult; and

RV 368 in B flat, the one described in the notes as 'the most gratuitously unplayable piece ever composed by Vivaldi'. And yes it's pretty nuts, there are a lot of insanely high passages.

So ends the "challenging" violin concertos album. I'll be interested to explore the theme of the next one (2 down, 7 to listen to, 2 to still hunt for).

[Traverso]

French Harpsichord Masterpieces - Gustav Leonhardt, harpsichordist

[Mister Sharpe]

Woke-up at dawn this morning, thinking: Nights in the Gardens of Spain, but as that disk is inaccessible at the moment (I'm too prehistoric to think immediately of YouTube, even though I know full well my favorite performance is on there, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and de Larrocha; also, I don't count that medium as a true listening experience).  Still, faute de grives, on mange des merles, eh?  Maybe later.  But this is by no means a come down, the Poulenc and Ibert especially.  Poulenc's Sinfonietta was a BBC commission and that imp has sneakily snuck in some Haydn references to appeal esp. to Brits. Ibert also has some fun with music history.    

[Karl Henning]

[Karl Henning]

Oh, I do love this!

[SonicMan46]

   

Hi Andrei - I already own the three volumes of Simon Standage (III shown above) and Ruhadze (MP3 DL - 3 discs burned to one CD-R) in these works - but will listen to Degand and her group on Spotify - your thoughts so far, especially compared to other recordings you own or have heard.  Dave

[Karl Henning]

[Madiel]

Vivaldi: concerti da camera (specifically RV 99, 91 and 101)



Volume 1 of the whole project (at least as things are now numbered, let's not get into that) is already a bit of a known quantity to me, because the concerti half of the later "concerti e cantate" discs were actually recorded at the same time as this. Though having this many of them on one disc helps me appreciate the pattern of these works. There's either a flute or recorder (which in many cases gets to be the 'main' soloist), usually but not always an oboe, and a violin and bassoon, plus the basso continuo.

The playing has a nice elegance to it, there's some energy but nothing is hard-driven.

One of the interesting things is that the liner notes of this first volume are exceptionally detailed about the source in the Turin library. For the relevant set of papers in the library collection, it doesn't just tell you about the chamber concertos found in there, it also lists all of the other concertos in the set - bassoon, flute double concertos, group concertos etc. So it's almost a checklist for looking for some of the other recordings in the Vivaldi Edition, particularly from the earlier years.

[hopefullytrusting]

Schubert's Variations on Trockne Blumen
Flute played by John Wummer paired with Seymour Bernstein on the piano. This is a cassette recording from the 1960s rediscovered by Bernstein and posted on his YouTube, and it is a lovely work. The recording has that lovely fuzzy warmness that all cassettes grant, but I also recognize that not everyone is a fan of that, but it does hum throughout, much like a basso continuo or a contemporary piece with a tape accompaniment – making Schubert modern, lol. Bernstein, as a pianist, is as graceful and thoughtful as they come, and because the flute is so flighty to begin with you need a pianist with exceptional touch so as to not overpower the melodic lines that the flute is carrying. Of course, it is Schubert so it is expertly balanced, you can feel the ebb and flow as the music flows between flute and piano. My sole critique, and it is not unique to this work – it feels like it overstays its welcome – I feel this most often in symphonic works, but even a piece of this size suffers from it, and I know of no major composer who doesn't suffer from this – maybe it is an ego thing. To compose/etc. you need to have an ego.

Ravel's Introduction and Allegro
Laura Newell on harp, Wummer on Flute, Ralph McLane on clarinet with the Stuyvesant String Quartet. Now this is one spot in which I respect Ravel considerable – he never lingers too long – see the prior snippet. He has a great understanding of economy, and is one of the supreme masters of orchestration – see also Berlioz and R. Strauss. The music is delicate, gentle, tender. The sound itself is dull or flat – it does have warmth, so be forewarned there, as it is a recording from 1940, but whoever mastered the levels did a superb job. The music feels spring-like, and almost as if it is out of a fairytale. The clarinet adds a nice woodiness to the piece, but is not foregrounded enough for my liking. I enjoy the hollow sound of the clarinet. The harp was the most prominent instrument, and while I like it – it is probably my least favorite instrument in the orchestra, but it is a good pairing with the flute and the strings and clarinet backing.

Spndiary's Three Palms
A symphonic poem played by the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Maluntsyan. The orchestration, in the early movements, especially between the strings, which ae backing, and the winds, mainly flute, is grounded is layered and levelled. Springy, pastoral, with birdsong lifting and lofting as it roils and toils in the air before landing in our ears. It does blend, bleed, and blur, and, in that sense, it becomes almost lethargic – I had to struggle against the song to keep myself keenly aware of it. It is interesting to a degree, but not enticing or intriguing – nothing draws you into the music. Ultimately, for me, it is forgettable, and I can't recommend it.

[Karl Henning]

[prémont]

I'm on the same page, liking Mercer more than Böttcher so far. I'm especially enthusiastic about Burkhardt though - a hidden gem!

I acquired Burckhardt's set about twenty years ago, but forgot about it because so many new recordings of the suites were released since then. Only two months ago I revisited it, and I fully share your enthusiasm.