What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

George Lloyd.
Complete Symphonies.
CD III.
Symphony No. 4 in B minor "Arctic" (1945-6).
Overture 'John Socman' (1951)

(Symphony No. 4 Albany Symphony Orchestra,  Recorded in Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, NY 1987.
Overture to 'John Socman' BBC Philharmonic,  Recorded by arrangement with the BBC in Studio 7, New Broadcasting House, Manchester 1988)

Rerun, a joy!

[DavidW]

[Brian]

Jumping in on a widely recommended new GMG favorite, apparently!

[nakulanb]

Beethoven - Symphony 1 - Analekta

[nakulanb]

Jumping in on a widely recommended new GMG favorite, apparently!

Giving this a listen now!  I love classical guitar arrangements.

[Mandryka]

We've lost someone very close, so family came over from Scotland to be together. The power is still off 11–13 hours a day, but the rocket and drone attacks have quieted down a little. The worst of it feels like it's easing.

When the electricity returns, I play music constantly; the house fills with sound and warmth again.

In the end, the real sadness never lingers in the present moment itself; it only lives in our thoughts. The now is always gentle, and peaceful.

Sounds very sad.

Let me ask you something. What do you do for heating when there's no power? Do you have solid fuel?  It's a bit colder than London in Odesa now, and even here it wouldn't be comfortable without some hearting.

[Brian]

Jumping in on a widely recommended new GMG favorite, apparently!

I was worried because of the extremely slow playing of the aria, but this is as wonderful as everyone says. The interplay and rapid dialogue between instruments is excellent, and it shines a light on Bach's contrapuntal genius. But the more dance-like or virtuosic variations also have a great sense of fun.

[DavidW]

[prémont]

We've lost someone very close, so family came over from Scotland to be together.

Very sad. You have my full symphaty.

The power is still off 11–13 hours a day, but the rocket and drone attacks have quieted down a little. The worst of it feels like it's easing.

When the electricity returns, I play music constantly; the house fills with sound and warmth again.

In the end, the real sadness never lingers in the present moment itself; it only lives in our thoughts. The now is always gentle, and peaceful.

But it's our thoughts which make us "us". The thoughts of what has been and what may come.

[Karl Henning]

No wonder I felt like a 1st grader who discovered a calculus textbook...
Oh. Looked like Tchaikovsky so I assumed him, but I was confused about why he would be there. The booklet mentions Levi, but I didn't make the connection, because this production seems to assume people have PhD in Wagner's operas. 
That would explain the weird symbolism such as large jewish heads.
Well, I tried! The problem here is the archaic poetic language that isn't very "compatible" with my autistic logical mind. Almost everything is said in a suggestive/symbolic manner translated into English from 19th century German emulation 14th (I assume) century German and English isn't even my first language! Sure, I am quite good in English, but more so with engineering English (things are expressed directly, logically and precisely) rather than this vague operatic language! The booklet has the synopsis and that helped a lot, but the synopsis is VERY concise. It doesn't tell everything that happens in the story.
Yes, this is a great opera even if I struggled to understand this production. I'm glad I decided to explore this work.

I enjoyed it, too.

TD: A first listen, prompted by @DavidUK 

[Karl Henning]

First listen to A Child of Our Time by Michael Tippett, and liking it a lot. Though most pals recommend versions conducted by Colin Davis (e.g., the 1975 recording with stellar soloists, including Jessye Norman), I'd also heard good things about this one, with the composer at the helm. The libretto, penned by Tippett, is sober, piercing, prescient.

I should revisit this. Yes, I liked it a good deal better than I expected.

[Spotted Horses]

I've gotten through the first half of Bach's Well Tempered Clavier, Book I, Jill Crossland.



So far I find it satisfying. She is not sacrificing everything for clarity of voice leading, and she is not trying to sound like a harpsichord. It is pianistic and brings out different aspects of the music.

Beethoven Piano Sonatas 19, 20 (Op 49) the study sonatas the Beethoven did not intend to publish. I find them rather dull, except for the charming tempo di menuetto from the Sonata No 20.



Finally, A Fairy-Tale of Goldilocks, Martinu. This is not children's music. The notes suggest it could be a metaphorical representation of an unhappy love affair that Martinu experienced. The first movement is particularly striking in an expressionistic style.

[Karl Henning]

TD: A first listen, prompted by @DavidUK

A less sympathetic ear might demean the "typical Mennin gestures," perhaps, but the excellence of the result is all the argument needed.

And so:

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I enjoyed it, too.

TD: A first listen, prompted by @DavidUK

Nice!

[AnotherSpin]

Very sad. You have my full symphaty.

But it's our thoughts which make us "us". The thoughts of what has been and what may come.

Thank you very much, Poul.

[AnotherSpin]

Sounds very sad.

Let me ask you something. What do you do for heating when there's no power? Do you have solid fuel?  It's a bit colder than London in Odesa now, and even here it wouldn't be comfortable without some hearting.

The heating in the house is partly water-based and partly electric. The water heating system runs on gas, and the gas is not a problem as per now, but the boiler switches off if the power is out for a long time. In the last few days we also use the fireplace, even though we don't really keep firewood. We just burn branches from the garden, old bits of wood, whatever we have at hand. In the end, we get by just fine.

[AnotherSpin]

Please accept my condolences, @AnotherSpin , and I wish you strength in these very difficult circumstances.

Thank you.

[brewski]

I should revisit this. Yes, I liked it a good deal better than I expected.

Was prompted by @knight66 elsewhere, who saw a live performance recently. I don't recall seeing it programmed here, but then Tippett doesn't seem to be on the radar much in the U.S.

[brewski]

We've lost someone very close, so family came over from Scotland to be together. The power is still off 11–13 hours a day, but the rocket and drone attacks have quieted down a little. The worst of it feels like it's easing.

When the electricity returns, I play music constantly; the house fills with sound and warmth again.

In the end, the real sadness never lingers in the present moment itself; it only lives in our thoughts. The now is always gentle, and peaceful.

Adding my condolences. It's a bit incredible to me that you are able to find time to be here in the first place, given what you're going through, but I hope being here provides some distraction and sustenance. Wishing you peace and comfort, wherever you can find it.

[DavidW]

Now this is charming music: