What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

Postcards From Ukraine Vol. 2 - Chamber Music.


A worthy follow up. The first volume made quite an impression on me. Known and unknown composers, they deserve to be played and recorded. Well recorded and performed. Toccata does us a great service with these series.

[Madiel]

Ravel

À la manière de... (beautifully done)
Trois poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé (Oh God, yes! YES!)
Prélude (very nice)
Piano Trio (a fine performance full of passion)



Some explanation of my ecstasy over the Mallarmé might be required.    To me, this work has such a specific and unusual sound. The high string harmonics in particular are hard to pull off, especially in the first half of the first song Soupir. I've sampled many performances where the seams show.

And they nail it here. They absolutely nail it, not just at the beginning but throughout all 3 songs. It feels like they understood perfectly how these songs need to flow, in a way somewhat similar to many Fauré songs but with Ravel's distinct sense of harmony. It's exquisite. I already have a very fine performance with Dawn Upshaw, but I'm thrilled that this set supplies me with another.

There are so many good things in this box. After a rather lousy day, spending time listening to these works tonight has really turned my mood around.

[AnotherSpin]

[prémont]

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.

Someone on another forum once mentioned the "military" way the four-part organa are performed. This may be true, but I think the performing style on the other hand paves the way for some kind of (religious?) extasis.

[Harry]

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.

Thank you Que, so I was not far of the mark with the impression I had.

[brewski]

What a joy it must have been to be in the audience for this performance of Mahler's Fifth, on Dec. 25, 1986, with Haitink and the Concertgebouw. The woodwind playing alone is astonishing, but so is everything else.

[Todd]

K309.

[Todd]

K310.

[Mandryka]

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.

This album was apparently very popular, part of a sort of early music craze. There's a story that Munrow used to tell about when he flew somewhere, maybe Holland in fact, I can't remember. Anyway, the guy at  customs asked him what was in the box and he replied a shawm, and the customs man said "Ah, yes, wonderful, a sort  of medieval pipe isn't it!"

[San Antone]

Haydn Symphony No. 31 "Hornsignal"
Il Giardino Armonico | Giovanni Antonini
(Haydn2032, Vol. 13)

For my money, the Haydn 2032 Project is (along with All of Bach) a godsend.

[Todd]

K311.

[hopefullytrusting]

First classical in a few days, Denise See's performance of Debussy's Estampes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wL7OYo8J68

This is not normally something I would have listened to, but while I was reading the Rimsky-Korskaov Wikipedia page, it notes that he described this work in his diary as "Poor and skimpy to the nth degree; there is no technique, even less imagination." Demonstrating that even the greatest of us can often not see beyond the nose on our faces, although, unlike Einstein, he doesn't seem to have ever recanted his indiscretion.

Harmonically, this is far beyond the scope of Rimsky, so that might have been one of the things that bothered him, as he was quite current-traditional, especially as he entered the last phase of his life. For me, the work feels flat, by intention, and flitty - designed to impress, as in impress upon, and thereupon express. The piece is exciting, with constant and consistent buildup, but it pays it all off - you aren't left wanting, this is clearly not romantic - as the romantics were edgers - this is music meant to fill your cup, and if you allow it - cause it to overflow, but overflow only enough to where the dew droplets condensate, poetically.

High recommend, especially this performance of these works. :-)

[Brian]

Intrigued by the idea of this, as there are not many recitals mixing the two Scarlattis together.

you aren't left wanting, this is clearly not romantic - as the romantics were edgers - this is music meant to fill your cup,

     

[SimonNZ]

om the radio:

Tarrega's Recuerdos de la Alhambra

...which seems to include what used to be a common ringtone

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 3 in D Minor, 1876 Adagio only Ed. Leopold Nowak
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf

[Brian]

Intrigued by the idea of this, as there are not many recitals mixing the two Scarlattis together.

Bold choice to end the recital on a slow minor key sonata (K. 466). This is excellent.

[Linz]

Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 10 in F-Sharp Major (Unfinished) - Ed. Deryck Cooke
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Riccardo Chailly

[hopefullytrusting]

Cakewalk in C major by Claude Debussy aka La Petit Negre!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zJ59tV6bO1M

You will be hard-pressed to find a cuter video on YouTube. Look at how tiny her hands are. Look at how she crosses them. Look at how she does octaves. Just look. She is so tiny.

The music is as delightful as the player playing it, and the player playing it is as delightful as delightful can be.

It is adorable

Highest recommendation - the thing is only like a minute long - its value far exceeds the time investment.

[JBS]

[Kalevala]

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Snow Maiden, Op. 12
Detroit Symphony )rchestra, Neeme Järvi

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Snow Maiden, Op. 12
Detroit Symphony )rchestra, Neeme Järvi

That's a great recording!

K