What are you listening 2 now?

[Symphonic Addict]

Listening to this disc as I type...

The Russell Bennett Violin Concerto has been enormously delectable so far.

[Harry]

Have you heard the FX Richter quartets? They're special.

Yes I actually heard compositions of his hand, amongst them the quartets. Must revisit them.

[Symphonic Addict]

Listening to this disc as I type...

Enjoyed the entire disc very much. The Russell Bennett pieces were my favorites. In spite of the brevity of Hexapoda, those pieces have such charm and personality. The irresistible Violin Concerto was my favorite work of the whole recording. What a gem. The Dukelsky is mildly more serious and spicy, but very good too.

[Brian]

My Monday playlist is 100% copycatting, I am just listening to music other people have posted about in the last few days! Mostly @aukhawk and @Symphonic Addict



The etudes are colorful, entertaining, varied. I love the glowing jazzy cheer of No. 14. I didn't necessarily need the tracks where slow etudes are repeated with string quartet accompaniment.

After that, I dove straight into this duo:

Arnold: Wind Quintet, op. 2
Beethoven: Serenade for string trio in D major

If you thought the Arnold offers abundant wit, you'd be completely right. The moment at 1:46 mark in the 1st movement has a so cool rhythm that I thought Arnold was inspired by Caribbean music, and the 3rd movement is a very mischievous fun march. A delightful and surprising miniature.

Amongst Beethoven's early chamber works, I think this serenade stands out, not only because of the thematic material and sparkling writing, but also because of its rather little-common layout. A particularly curious passage occurred at 3:14 mark in the theme-and-variation movement. One doesn't hear that rhythm so frequently in music from the classical period.

Absolutely agree about the Arnold Wind Quintet! You can almost imagine hearing the percussion section behind the players at that 1:46 mark.

Isn't the first movement of the Beethoven Serenade Op. 8 identical to another Beethoven movement? Maybe an early trio or violin sonata? I know I have heard a version with piano...

[Mandryka]

Have you heard the FX Richter quartets? They're special.

Yes I actually heard compositions of his hand, amongst them the quartets. Must revisit them.

The 5th quartet . . . (Not 5b)

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, 1877 Linz version with revisions - Ed. Robert Haas
Wiener Philharmoniker, Volkmar Andreae

[Brian]

Beethoven Piano Sonata No 16, Op 31, No 1, Badura-Skoda



This is my third listen to this work in recent days, following Annie Fischer and Maurizio Pollini.

This performance is extraordinary The sound of the fortepiano and Badura-Skoda's articulation bring out aspects of the music which I did not hear in the other two recordings. Clamorous passages in the outer movements emerge as intricate counterpoint. Murmuring accompaniment in the second movements emerges as a countermelody. This is a case where Badura-Skoda is indispensable.

Continued my day of copycat listening with this. Just wonderful. The piano sounds great, the performance is perfectly attuned to it, and the whole thing has a natural, Just Right feeling.

[Linz]

Johann Sebastian Bach Goldberg Variations BWV 988
Scott Ross

[Que]

[Linz]

Edward Elgar Symphony No.2 in E flat major, Op.63
Sospiri, Op.70
Elegy for strings, Op.58
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo

[JBS]

Just finishing this


The typical logic of Amazon listings; the re-issue is marked "currently unavailable" while new copies of the original are offered for sale (although not cheaply).

I think I can safely recommend this performance.

[steve ridgway]

Josef Anton Riedl - Leonce und Lena b) - electro-acoustic music for instrumental sounds & noise (electronically altered in parts), along with electronic sounds & noise.

[steve ridgway]

Birtwistle - Three Settings Of Celan (For Soprano And Five Instruments)

[Madiel]

Beethoven: Piano sonata in D major, op.10/3



Oh yeah. This is much better.

First and foremost that's because the 1st movement feels Presto. That's an uncommon tempo marking in an opening movement, so it's worth paying attention to. And Kovacevich does. His tendency to be fast definitely pays off here.

And the second movement Largo... it's a lot faster than Goode, 7:32 versus 9:08. But given the movement is in 6/8, it's really not that fast as a basic pulse. The tempo means that the music flows, and the high treble figure has an agitation to it. Maybe my absolute ideal would be a tiny fraction slower, but I'd prefer this to the drag of Goode's take which feels more like 6 beats a bar.

In the finale, Kovacevich is actually a bit slower than Goode, and once again this actually feels like the better choice because the little pauses register better.

So, another sonata where I'm going to mark my spreadsheet and say I have a clear preference in the recordings that I own (that's 1-1 after 7 sonatas).

[steve ridgway]

Takemitsu - Quatrain

[Madiel]

Haydn

Fantasia/Capriccio in C major (1789)
Adagio in F major (1786?)

[Harry]

Carmina Celtica.
Medieval and contemporary spiritual Songs and instrumental compositions.
Cancy.


World premiere recordings of medieval and contemporary spiritual songs, including James MacMillan Os mutorum and John Tavener Two Hadiths.Carmina Celtica features the world premiere of nine contemporary works commissioned over the course of a decade by Canty,
There are albums that captivate above all through their concept, this is one of them! Scottish female vocal quartet Canty brings together medieval and contemporary sacred works together together, and the skillful selection results in a recording that is easy to listen to, especially as certain folkloristic echoes in the interspersed instrumental Instrumental pieces, provide welcome variety. The singing is near perfect and is shown in this SOTA recording, which is absolutely stunning, jaw dropping in fact. No harsh notes or undue screeching, just perfectly balanced voices. Normally I shun away from modern religious compositions, but this is an exception on the rule. A safe recommendation it will most likely not disappoint.

[Que]

Recordings from the mid seventies I had never heard!

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/apr03/munroe_gothic.htm

[Harry]

Recordings from the mid seventies I had never heard!

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/apr03/munroe_gothic.htm

Curious what you make of them these days. I remember from the olden days that I had quite some reservations about Munrow's exploits. Not   not based on facts but probably on my inexperience in the field of authenticity.

[Que]

Curious what you make of them these days. I remember from the olden days that I had quite some reservations about Munrow's exploits. Not  not based on facts but probably on my inexperience in the field of authenticity.

1st surprise was the quality of the Archiv recordings from the mid 70's - due to the excellence of German sound engineers, I guess. Impressions vary from the odd, and even silly, to surprisingly close to current approaches. Munrow's approach is quite biased towards the instrumental side, but mostly nicely/tastefully done. Even if it was kind of "experimental". The review I linked gives a fair impression as well IMO.