What are you listening 2 now?

[Roasted Swan]

Robert Russell Bennett (1894– 1981).
Orchestral works.
Concerto (1941) in A major, ('In the Popular Style') for Violin and Orchestra.
Hexapoda (1940), Five Studies in Jitteroptera, for Violin and Piano.

Vernon Duke [Vladimir Alexandrovich Dukelsky] (1903– 1969).
Concerto (c. 1941 –43), for Violin and Orchestra, Violin part edited by Ruth Posselt.

Chloë Hanslip, Violin.
Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton conductor & Piano.

What can I say other than spectacular! It would cover all other things I could say, and that would do full justice to the music on this disc. First thing I would like to add to that, is the SOTA sound, produced by Chandos. I can't possibly get any better as this. It is as if you are sitting in the concert hall itself, acoustically in the best place possible. There is not a crumble of detail, however small, that you will miss, every punch of the timpani resides in your stomach. Both Violin Concertos on this disc, are to my ears belonging to the top tier. I thoroughly enjoyed them, and could listen endlessly to them. They encompass all spheres on the musical cosmos, and believe me the whole gamut is passing by it which there are so many expressions, that every moment becomes a precious moment even if it lasts only a few minutes, like in the Hexapoda's. Chloe Hanslip is a violinist to treasure, she sails through the difficult scores with ease and confidence, without as much as batting her eyelashes. And Litton is to be applauded for running this orchestra to the top of their possibilities, they deliver and how!
Recommended, of course!

Hanslip is one of my favourite violinists but of course Litton is absolutely at home in this idiom too.  Add the excellent Singapore SO and top drawer Chandos SA-CD sound its no real surprise this is a total success.  The Bennett is content with being a happy-go-lucky piece, the Duke aspires to more and is very good but any better than similar works by Piston/Barber/Schuman I'm not sure?  Certainly worth hearing though......

[Mister Sharpe]

Inspired by the noted Baxian, vandermolen's listening.  And CDs starting with B being now eminently accessible to me... Nevertheless, I'm not without some concerns as there are risks associated with this music, Bax addiction being the least of them.  So consulted AI on the topic. This information is provided as a public service: 

"Drawing on Celtic folklore and ancient traditions, being in the faery hills is considered dangerous due to the unpredictable and non-human morality of the fae, which can lead to abduction, madness, and a potentially fatal manipulation of time. The "faery hills" themselves are often identified with real-world ancient burial mounds, which are believed to house the fairy folk or the souls of the dead.

Dangers associated with faery hills:
1.) Time distortion: The most common and frightening danger is the unpredictable passage of time. Mortals who wander into a faery hill may spend what feels like hours dancing or reveling, only to return to find that years or centuries have passed in the human world and their loved ones are long dead.
2.) Abduction and entrapment: The fae are known to abduct humans, especially children, and may replace them with a changeling. Those who eat or drink anything in the faery realm become permanently bound to that world and can never return to their own.
3.) Disruption of life: Offending the faeries by disturbing their sacred places, like a faery hill, fort, or tree, can bring misfortune or even death upon a person's family, livestock, and crops.
4.) Psychological effects: Even those who return from an encounter may be "elf-addled," experiencing long-term psychological effects like melancholic withdrawal, vacant-mindedness, or a constant pining for the supernatural world.
5.) Cruel tricks and violence: The fae can be both mischievous and malevolent. Even seemingly benevolent fairies can be dangerous if angered. They may play cruel tricks, lead travelers astray, or inflict serious harm.

Rules to follow to stay safe
Traditional folklore offers a set of precautions for those who enter a place believed to be a faery domain:
1.)Leave gifts, but refuse theirs. Leave offerings of milk, honey, or shiny objects to appease the fae. However, refuse any food or drink they offer to avoid being trapped in their realm.
2.) Show respect and avoid thanks. Treat the fae with politeness, but do not thank them. Giving thanks is sometimes interpreted as owing a favor, which can create a binding, and potentially dangerous, obligation.
3.) Never give your true name. Giving your name can provide the fae with power or control over you. If asked, provide a nickname or a made-up name.
4.) Carry protective charms. Iron is considered a strong deterrent to fae. Other protective items include salt, bells, and specific plants like St. John's Wort.
5.) Avoid certain places and paths. Do not enter a faery ring (a circle of mushrooms) or walk on a known faery path, especially at night.
6.) Do not disturb their homes. Leave any prehistoric burial mounds, ringforts (raths), or isolated hawthorn trees undisturbed. Damaging or removing anything can lead to retaliation."

[Karl Henning]

[hopefullytrusting]

Transitioning into the afternoon with Olga Lazurenko's playing of Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVGogMl3-sc

This has always been my favorite sonata of his ever since I first heard it. it is so dynamically rich and rhythmically complex that you cannot be bored, and the allusion to insects is a perfect picture - you can hear their buzzing in all the trilling. Interestingly, this was the only sonata I needed to use headphones with because of how soft it starts - I could see the sound but not hear it, even though I knew it was there.

The pianist, piano, recording - all top notch - I feel in this day and age it is pretty hard to miss of these three things. The viewership might not be wide but the quality is consistently spread. Thinking here of Tier 3, which is by and large, the largest tier in the tier system - given the nature of the bell curve, and all of those pianists - are excellent - can't miss or go wrong - they simply aren't outliers, but that is true for pretty much all of us - most of us, if not all of us, are inside the curve.

This is the piano which is the most out there, even beyond 6 and 8, which existed at the outer extremity of the realm - this one goes past the post, and I imagine that is one of the many reasons he moved beyond the sonata form - he had taken it as far as he could conceivably go - even genius is limited by the time they happen to be born in. I would have loved to see what Scriabin would have made of Barraque's monumental and seminal Piano Sonata.

Oh, that ending, so perfect - one last breath - then silence.

This is definitely up there for the argument of best ad/or perfect piano sonata.

Highest recommendation.

[Symphonic Addict]

Mahler: Symphony No. 6

A ponderous reading which I think makes sense, above all for certain clarity in some passages. Nevertheless, the slow movement didn't sound as profound as I like (Karajan/BPO did it better). The gigantic last movement was done quite well despite I didn't hear the tam-tam in the last hammer stroke (it would have been much more shattering). That final movement simply is one of the most impressive things that any composer has ever made. Its density of ideas, forward momentum and real sense of drama/tragedy are second to none. It leaves me in sheer awe whenever I listen to it.

[Karl Henning]

Mahler: Symphony No. 6

A ponderous reading which I think makes sense, above all for certain clarity in some passages. Nevertheless, the slow movement didn't sound as profound as I like (Karajan/BPO did it better). The gigantic last movement was done quite well despite I didn't hear the tam-tam in the last hammer stroke (it would have been much more shattering). That final movement simply is one of the most impressive things that any composer has ever made. Its density of ideas, forward momentum and real sense of drama/tragedy are second to none. It leaves me in sheer awe whenever I listen to it.

Interesting. I haven't yet spent time with that box.

[Todd]

It's been a minute since I last listened to this.  Hard to think of a better Schubert symphony disc.

[Linz]

Claude Debussy Petite Suite, L'Orchester de la Suises Romande Ernest  Ansermet
Deux Danses, Vera Badings, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Marche ècossaie
La Cathèdrale
Premiére Rapsodie
Clair de lune
Khamma, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Riccardo Chailly
Danse: Tarantelle styrienne

[ritter]

Listening to Francisco Mignone's Fantasias Brasileiras No. 1 to 4, and the Burlesca e toccata. Fabio Martino is the piano soloist, and Giancarlo Guerrero conducts the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra.


Great fun, and very enjoyable so far (I'm halfway through the second Fantasia Brasileira).

At some points of the Fantasia Brasileira No. 1, though, I was half expecting Carmen Miranda to burst dancing into my living room. 

[AnotherSpin]

[Linz]

Gioacchino Rossini Piano Works Vol. 8
Stefan Irmer

[Mister Sharpe]

Saturdays and Sundays have always seemed to me to be primo opera listening days, but sometimes I enjoy a shake-up of routine and plop down in front of the speakers for multiple hours in rapt wonderment of operatic creativity. This afternoon:

 

[JBS]

[Brian]

Joining the party, first listens to all this music:



Just one minute into the Bennett and...this is not what I expected!

[ritter]

Listening to Francisco Mignone's Fantasias Brasileiras No. 1 to 4, and the Burlesca e toccata. Fabio Martino is the piano soloist, and Giancarlo Guerrero conducts the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra.


Great fun, and very enjoyable so far (I'm halfway through the second Fantasia Brasileira).

At some points of the Fantasia Brasileira No. 1, though, I was half expecting Carmen Miranda to burst dancing into my living room. 

Well, the Mignone Fantasias Brasileiras became more refined over time (i.e. from No. I in 1929 to No. IV in 1936), but without losing any of their freshness and vitality. Great stuff!

The Fantasia Brasileira No. 4 became a ballet (titled, very originally, Fantasia Brasileira  ) choreographed by Balanchine for his and Lincoln Kirstein's Ballet Caravan.

Now, revisiting John Cage's The Seasons, another ballet commissioned (and dedicated to) Kirstein. The choreographer on this occasion was Merce Cunningham.


Dennis Russell Davies conducts the American Composers Orchestra.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Paul Creston Symphony No. 5.

[Harry]

Joining the party, first listens to all this music:



Just one minute into the Bennett and...this is not what I expected!

Good huh, isnt't it?

[Daverz]

The opera orchestra doesn't come close to matching the San Francisco Symphony brass in the classic Nonesuch recordings of the Adams works, but they don't embarrass themselves either, and this makes for a nice program.  Sumera's Symphony No, 2 is a beaufiful work, and the kinship with Adams is most obvious in the Spirutoso movemement.  The spacious surround sound is probably the main attraction of this disc.

[springrite]

Joining the party, first listens to all this music:



Just one minute into the Bennett and...this is not what I expected!

Just added to the basket.
Harry, as expected, ruins more than one budget...

[JBS]

Just added to the basket.
Harry, as expected, ruins more than one budget...

I can't blame Harry because it was already on my list.