What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

Hans Rott. (1858-1884)
Orchestral Works.
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Christopher Ward.


Gustav Mahler said about Hans Rott, that it is impossible to measure what music has been lost in him. And that may well be true. These are examples of his youthful ingenuity and genius so you will, and if there are weaknesses here and there, Ward knows how to conceal them skillfully, and make them  a very rewarding listening adventure. The sound is solid and detailed, but there is little warmth in the recording acoustics thus somewhat hard on the ears.
Beautiful artwork by the way.

[prémont]

Stylus Phantasticus.
The hidden writing.
Recording: Chiesa di S. Ignazio di Loyola (Santo Spirito) Pistoia, Italia, 2021.
Organ by Willem Hermans, 1664. Pitch: a=440 Hz. Temperament?
Irene de Ruvo, Organ.


The organ of Spirito Santo is preserved in excellent condition. Due to the great respect of the organ builders who maintained the organ in the past, it is largely in its original condition, and even the specification has never been altered: the reed stops are the oldest preserved in Italy! I am however in two minds about how it is played by Irene de Ruvo. she has quite an unforgiving tone, maybe augmented by the hard acoustics of this church. And she speeds things up unnecessarily, the drive is one of power and determination, rather then concentrating on the compositions themselves. Maybe I am wrong in my observations, but I doubt it. The recording is clear but hard in tone. Love the instrument though.

An important historical organ with a special sound described on several pages on the internet. None of these however mentions the tuning.

My ear says unmodified meantone.

I agree with you about Ruvo's style, which I find strict and a bit hard driven.

[Harry]

39'45.
Orchestral works.
Grazyna Bacewicz, Lodomir Rozycki.
Sinfonia Varsovia.

Sublimely performed in SOTA sound. And what marvelous compositions, with a star role for Grazyna Bacewicz. Sinfonia Varsovia hit all the right vibes! And remember there are three volumes in this series with a lot of other interesting composers. Recommended.

[prémont]

I'll take your word for it. Isn't that also the reason why some musicians are reluctant to use the recording studio? If you've ever attended an intimate recital where a string quartet is just a few feet away, there's no CD that can replace that. In the case of the organ, the experience of the space itself, the light through the windows, is also important. Despite all these caveats, I enjoy the recordings with Thiry. I can even pause at unexpected moments if I happen to hear something beautiful on a transistor radio. Then I feel no loss, my involvement fills all the gaps. 

I think the organ is the most difficult instrument to "recreate" in ones dining room. It's not only about the balance between the individual pipes in the organ, but maybe even more the acoustic interplay between the organ and the church room. And then there is also the actual feeling (or air) of the church room. No HIFI is able to recreate this. But with time one may learn to compensate mentally for these things - at least to some degree.

[Todd]

D850.

[Madiel]

Vivaldi

Bassoon concerto in A minor (RV 498)
Oboe concerto in C major (RV 451, which appears again in a different volume)



In fact there are two different times when the existence of a recording on this volume seems to have been ignored later on. The other example is a bassoon concerto... where Azzolini did it again! At least with the oboe one it's a different performer each time.

Maybe when I do a direct comparison / read liner notes there'll be an explanation that it's not a full duplication. But today is not the day for that. Good, enjoyable performances here.

[Harry]

I think the organ is the most difficult instrument to "recreate" in ones dining room. It's not only about the balance between the individual pipes in the organ, but maybe even more the acoustic interplay between the organ and the church room. And then there is also the actual feeling (or air) of the church room. No HIFI is able to recreate this. But with time one may learn to compensate mentally for these things - at least to some degree.

True, but one can get pretty close, given a good recording.

[Traverso]

Bach

Transcriptions.....

Sonata in G mineur BWV 1001
Partita in A mineur BWV 1002
Partita in D mineur BWV 1004

[Madiel]

Falla

Cuatro piezas españolas
Fantasía Bética

Original LP cover and the version I have.



This is Side A of the LP, neatly put together on one disc in the reissue. I have Side B as well, but that appears on a different CD set!

It's not that hard to hear why the piezas españolas are dedicated to Albéniz. They were written right around the same time as Iberia, and very fine they are too if not quite on the same scale.

The Fantasía was one of my favourite discoveries when I bought the series of de Larrocha's Spanish recordings for Decca.

[Harry]

Nicola Fiorenza (ca. 1700 -1764)
Concerti & Sonata.
Dolce & Tempesta


As a teacher and colleague, Fiorenza  was evidently anything but a popular figure, and when he threw one of his infamous tantrums during lessons at the Neapolitan Conservatorio di Santa Maria del Loreto, he might even strike the clumsy pupil with his sword. In stark contrast to this is his graceful and catchy music, which contributed significantly to the triumph of the Neapolitan style. Dolce e Tempesta has recorded a selection of his enchanting instrumental music (including five world premiere recordings!), which does not seem to fit its creator at all. Still despite, this is interesting music, of which I could only find one recording, so his popularity is still at a low ebb. No matter I recommend it! The sound is direct but detailed, and the performance needs to be applauded. Be aware of the Flute concerto, keep the volume on a reasonable level, otherwise you may have another piercing in your ear.

[Iota]

After watching Act II of Wagner's Parsifal on DVD, now turning to Claudio Abbado's recording of a suite from Act III (which includes the Good Friday Spell, the transformation music , the knights' procession, and the final chorus). The Berlin Philharmonic is joined by the Swedish Radio Chorus).




One of the few "bleeding chunks" discs I really enjoy, and a great performance of some of the greatest music I have ever encountered (with the finale possibly being the most intense in the operatic repertoire).

Had earmarked that to listen to after your post, and finally got round to listening to the Parsifal Act III suite yesterday, and agree that it's a great performance from Abbado, shame he doesn't seem to have recorded the whole thing. And yes, ecstatically beautiful music.

[hopefullytrusting]

Continuing down the Sullivan path this morning with his Irish Symphony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cczArdA5z7I

Performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra led by Charles Groves - from the start you can hear the orchestral connective tissues between this work and the incidental music I listened to just yesterday - the opening, my favorite type of symphonic - the idyllic pastoral - strong winds with string backing, busking, and bustling when and where needed. I imagine that this piece is underperformed, or, at the very least, underrecorded.

Sullivan is a master of the orchestra - one who has full command and control over every nook and cranny - rarified air, as I think many composers think they know what they are doing, but our just as surprised as the rest of us with their results. Some of the greatest music ever, I suspect, was really nothing but guesswork - same goes for most creative arts though - a lot of accidental shit has to happen for greatness to occur. Perhaps, that is what has held Sullivan back from regular play, if he indeed has been held back - there is restraint in his work - nothing is going to surprise you - it is current-traditional, not dissimilar to other masters of orchestration like Rimsky or Strauss. You know with them that they will deliver consistent, refined music. 

This is music made for the masses. It is tonal, non-confrontational, and melodic. The lines are all clean and nary a note is out of place. This is music where every sound that is meant to be heard in intended. It is a piece that is designed to make you feel safe, and I suppose that is a debate all its own - can any safe music be considered great? I don't know if it it can, but it can most definitely be considered good, and in and as a good - good for goodness sake.

I wouldn't class any of this work as beautiful, but I would say that the work sounds excellent and is led well. I can imagine that scores that demand exactitude can be exhausting to conduct, as any mistake in work like this will be obvious to everyone, as there is no flex, no latitude for an error or a flub, so there can be none - not unlike a Scarlatti sonata (no affordances for error) vs. a Beethoven sonata (significant affordances for error aka interpretation).

I can also imagine as a performer that you want to put your own stamp on a word, and when a composer doesn't allow tat, as I suspect Sullivan did here - I can guess that might be another reason the symphony doesn't get played as often as the loveliest of its sound might recommend, but no flower blooms 24-7. I will also say that it would not surprise anyone listening to this that he is more famous for other work. It sort of reminds me of Corso trying to describe Kerouac - there's three levels - Talent, Genius, and Divine, and Jack was a genius as the only divine was Shelly, but Sullivan, at least in this symphony - is merely a talent, his genius lay elsewhere, and he was a genius.

If you want to start your day out nicely - I highly recommend this work.

[Linz]

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture
Capriccio italien, Op. 45
Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32
Elegy in G Major for String Orchestra, TH 51
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy

[71 dB]

Revisiting this CD I have bought at some point being into contemporary American classical music:

David Winkler - Piano Concerto
Alexander Panizza, Piano
Orquestra Sinfónica de la Universidad de Cuyo
David Handel
Naxos 8.559383

I am not enjoying this! The recorded sound is bad! There is zero warmth in the sound and the soundstage is non-existing. It is like listening to music on a really cheap low quality stereo system. The music itself isn't the greatest ever either.

[Linz]

Josef Suk Asreal op. 27
Iša Krejčí Serenata  für Orchestra
SWR Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks, Karel Ancerl

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Bach

Transcriptions.....

Sonata in G mineur BWV 1001
Partita in A mineur BWV 1002
Partita in D mineur BWV 1004

Nice!

[Que]

Nice!

I like those, recommended.

[Hitch]

Brahms
Hungarian Dances WoO 1 & Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39 for four hands
Duo Tal & Groethuysen
Sony

This is one of those recordings that just sounds happy, as befits piano four hands.

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 3 in D Minor, 1878 Version Ed. Fritz Oeser (Scherzo coda not included) Based on 1880 Stichvorlageàe
BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein
Ferrruccio Busoni Tanzwalzer, Op.53
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein

[Lisztianwagner]

On youtube:

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.8

Hailey Clark, Golda Schultz, Jennifer Johnston, Okka von der Damerau, Giorgio Berrugi, Michael Nagy, Tareq Nazmi,  Miriam Kutrowatz
Netherlands Radio Choir, Choeur de l'Orchestre de Paris, Laurens Symfonisch, Nationaal Kinderkoor, Nationaal Jongenskoor
Klaus Mäkelä & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra