What are you listening 2 now?

[Mister Sharpe]

Unpacking boxes and what a joy to see (some of) my CDs again, an archival box full of 'em, ones that start with S, as it happens. S for Super.  There's Strauss (the whole fam damily) and Sibelius and Sumi Jo, and Igor.  It's Christmas morning, here!

 

[Lisztianwagner]

Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No.10

Herbert von Karajan & Berliner Philharmoniker

[Florestan]

Haydn's early symphonies almost immediately put me to sleep

I probably said it before but it's worth stressing: in my book music that cures insomnia is better than music that provokes it.

[Linz]

Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 8 in C minor Op. 65
Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Sladkovsky

[Todd]

Op 28.

[JBS]

Mahler's Third apocalyptic?  Truly you are from Mars and I'm from Venus. 

But then again, de gustibus non disputandum est, therefore etc. 

The underlying meaning of apocalypse is unveiling or revelation.  Which can certainly apply to at least some parts of M3.

@hopefullytrusting
In the case of Webern, restraint and limitation was an expression of ego.

TD
The power of music: a rather improbable plot becomes a believable interplay of humanity.

[hopefullytrusting]

@hopefullytrusting
In the case of Webern, restraint and limitation was an expression of ego.

Then, that is the kind of ego I can get behind.

My next 6-pack, but this one will take a lot longer to get around to: Alphabetical order

Bernstein's Birds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InftCsDv4oY
Copland's Lincoln Portrait: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dW1pFvbnNk
Gunning's Symphony No. 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGUBU_kF8Q
Harris's Symphony No. 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dr_jg-hl0g
Skirvin's Sandburg Songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrQ2MAhvynQ
Webern's Six Bagatelles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWt5GaWBb5I

[steve ridgway]

Penderecki - The Dream Of Jacob

[AnotherSpin]

Seymour Bernstein's American Pictures at an Exhibition (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHKZrLic-m4

Played by Bernstein, himself, at the piano, with Owen Lewis reading poetry and paired with numerous, intentionally selected, paintings.

This is what Wagner never achieved - a gesamtkunstwerk - Bernstein is meticulous, and nary is anything not marked by his  strictures. This is, in my estimation, the most American piece of music I have ever heard - perhaps Ives's Piano Sonata No. 2 competes or a work by Nancarrow or Partch, but Ives slips in and out because he was somewhat of a dilettante, and Nancarrow and Partch had grand, all-encompassing visions but often devoid of hope, and hope, especially ironic hope, is about as American gets. What's that European joke? How can you find the American on the street? They are the only ones smiling. American irony turns irony, as it is normally understood, on its head.

Obviously, it borrows its structure from Mussorgsky - at least infrastructurally, and both place great demands on the pianist to actually perform - a rarity when it comes to piano pieces, as most can just be played - like Beethoven, you just play Beethoven, you don't perform it, at least I've not see anyone do that, and I've listened to a lot of Beethoven. Sonically, it is wonderful - crisp and clear, musically, it is extraordinary, especially if you know the "American songbag."

Wagner's hardly in Bernstein's league, whoever that is.

[steve ridgway]

Berio - Sinfonia

[steve ridgway]

Kagel - Nordosten

[steve ridgway]

Pierre Henry - Fragments Pour Artaud

Skipped a piece by Dukas - would rather listen to incomprehensible French poetry and noises LOL.

[hopefullytrusting]

Turina's Sanlucar de Barrameda played by Alicia de Larrocha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPLjxg8z-3A

Turina never disappoints - what an impressive feat of composition - lively, vigorous, vital.

A life force.

[Irons]

Hartmann: Symphony No.4 for strings & Symphony No.5 "Symphony concertante".

Rafael Kubelik conducting Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Two contrasting symphonies in scope as well as length. Orchestral music for strings can be lighter fair, not here! Pain and sorrow etched behind every note, resigned and other times aggressive.
Symphony concertante, less heartfelt. With a highly original orchestration of an array of wind instruments plus only cello and double base string section.
Not in the habit of listening to symphonies by the same composer back to back. Hartmann's 4 & 5 are an exception to this as they could not be more different.

[Que]

Delving into early English Polyphony a bit more with the return to an old favourite:



https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-8995/

[Que]

Throwing in an unfamiliar lute recording found on Spotify:

.

Quite nice. In several pieces lutenist Michel Cinquina is joined by Francesca Cassarini, singing the upper voice (Superius).

[Que]

Another run of this set, and this time I'll do some of the organ pieces as well.



https://earlymusicreview.com/kerll-complete-harpsichord-and-organ-music/

https://www.musica-dei-donum.org/cd_reviews/BrilliantClassics_94452.html

[Selig]

Intense!

[Mister Sharpe]

Prokofiev's 4th Piano Sonata, is dedicated to a close friend, the pianist Maximilian Schmidthof, who suicided (Prokofiev's 2nd Piano Concerto is also dedicated to him). It's my favorite of the Piano Sonatas and also, arguably, the most peculiar of them, certainly the most brooding, maybe even the most un-Prokofiev-like of the lot. But of all composers, Prokofiev is a quick-change-artist; he's almost back to his normal self in the last movement.  Not quite, though, nor is anyone who misses someone who dies in that manner. From the Box: 



 

[Todd]

It's been a minute since I last listened to this humdinger of a Liszt recital.  It remains as fantastic as ever.