What are you listening 2 now?

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, 1891 Vienna Revision by Bruckner himself. Ed. Guenter Brosche
Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, Günter Wand

[Peter Power Pop]

British Light Music Discoveries 4 (Royal Ballet Sinfonia / Gavin Sutherland)



[Details at Discogs]

[Linz]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 23 in D Major, K.181
Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E-Flat Major, K. 364
Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K.425 "Linz"
Rainer Kussmaul violin
Wolfram Christ viola
Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado

[André]

Brahms, piano concerto no 2





I had not listened to these performances in a long time. Reacquaintance proved slightly surprising.

Unchanged: Backhaus/Böhm. One of the most magisterial, naturally authoritative, deeply felt versions ever recorded (in excellent Sofiensaal Decca sound). Amazing performance by the 83-year old pianist, superbly attentive accompaniment by the conductor. Both artists are of a single mind about the work. If you're of the mind that this concerto thrives on a 'masculine' approach from all concerned, it can't be done better than here. It certainly swept me off my feet. 9.5/10

Down a notch: Bishop/Davis. Very fine overall, but Bishop's tone doesn't have the density of Backhaus' and neither is his delivery of the long paragraphs as leonine and assured as the older man's. Davis' LSO accompaniment sounds a tad soft-grained, but I blame the backward placing of the mics for that. The orchestra is definitely not as 'in the picture' as on Decca. Superbly inward solos from the cellist in III, the kind of artistry that makes me forget to breathe. 7/10

On the rise: Gilels/Jochum. This pair's concerto no 1 stormed the heavens to a degree no other collaboration has attained. Maybe it put their second concerto in the shadow ?  And of course d minor has a lot more potential for stress and strife than the beguiling, noble key of B flat. In any event this proved a lot more affirmative, probing and sheerly noble than I remembered. Gilels commands the keyboard like a king lording over his realm and Jochum provides the most vibrant, patrician accompaniment of this trio of recordings. 9/10

[JBS]

Re Nutcrackers

I find that I would rather watch than listen to the complete Nutcracker.  I used to watch the ABT performance with Baryshnikov when PBS broadcast it every year. Now I usually go with this DVD, although there's more than a few interesting looking alternatives.
Anyone have a favorite DVD version?


TD
CD 3
Hillier Variations
Ballet Suite
Bamberger Symphoniker
Horst Stein conductor

[(poco) Sforzando]

Re Nutcrackers

I find that I would rather watch than listen to the complete Nutcracker.  I used to watch the ABT performance with Baryshnikov when PBS broadcast it every year. Now I usually go with this DVD, although there's more than a few interesting looking alternatives.
Anyone have a favorite DVD version?

Unquestionably the Balanchine with the NYC Ballet! I've also seen it live a number of times!

[Brian]

The complete Nutcracker would be a Desert Island work for me - I love it to an almost irrational degree.

Any favorite performances, or a favorite tier of them, or performances you like for different reasons (most danceable, most exciting, etc.)? I have Previn, Bonynge, Ozawa, and Tilson Thomas.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

William Walton: Varii Capricci.

[AnotherSpin]

Woke up to the thud of explosions and the hum of a drone passing nearby. It's still a bit early to get out of bed, but sleep feels far away now. I'll put on some music.

[Madiel]

Vivaldi

Concerto in G minor, La Notte (chamber version)
Elvira, anima mia



I believe I've now heard all the different variations of the 'La Notte' idea, and they're just as pictorial as the (in)famous Four Seasons. And more unconventionally structured.

The track listing claims Elvira as a cantata for contralto, but the RV catalogue and the liner notes give away that it's actually one of the ones for soprano. Laura Polverelli does occasionally strain, but it's not nearly as bad as the one she did on a later volume. Either she had better range in this slightly earlier recording or the work just doesn't sit as high in her voice. Perfectly acceptable - though the liner notes acknowledge that you don't come to these Vivaldi cantatas for the quality of the poetry.

[Madiel]

Vivaldi: Trio sonatas op.1, numbers 12, 9 and 1.



The music is good, the performances are good. The 2 violins dance around each other in appealing ways.

It's an odd duck of an album, though. First up, it's only three-quarters of op.1 which is bound to be frustrating for people like me who want sets.

Secondly, it's not anything to do with the Vivaldi archive in Turin. This does get acknowledged in the liner notes in one part, and it's a sign of how the series started moving away from that original idea. But unlike the "New Discoveries" albums, this one gets erroneously listed as a volume in the "Treasures of Piedmont" series. This is before they completely changed the numbering system and retrospectively renumbered all the previous volumes.

Thirdly, what doesn't seem to be acknowledged anywhere is that this is Naive's reissue of a recording from a small Italian label. And for reasons best known to themselves they've rearranged the order of the sonatas.

[AnotherSpin]

Johann Sebastian Bach: Orgelmesse - Dritter Teil der Clavierübung

Ullrich Böhme

[Que]

[...]Breathtakingly beautiful, really quite a surprise, that Arianna Savall could sing so well and on pitch. I heard other things of her that were to say it mildly, not pleasant. [...]

I always thought she was the better singer compared to her mother.

Woke up to the thud of explosions and the hum of a drone passing nearby. It's still a bit early to get out of bed, but sleep feels far away now. I'll put on some music.

Hope you are safe and things quiet down soon.

[Que]

Once I start this series, it often immediately pulls me in...

So this morning the 2nd disc, which has the mass "Je prens en grets" by Thomas Crecquillon no less.

Amazon review

[AnotherSpin]

I always thought she was the better singer compared to her mother.

Hope you are safe and things quiet down soon.

What is, simply is. Without alternative, without opposite, without the possibility of being otherwise. I hold no images in my mind; they merely pass through.

Thank you.

[AnotherSpin]

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis

Bach-Collegium Stuttgart
Gächinger Kantorei

Helmuth Rilling

[Roasted Swan]

William Walton: Varii Capricci.





Bizarre that this remains the only recorded version of this attractive work.......

[Madiel]

Poulenc: Chansons Villageoises

Starting off with the orchestral version (the one Poulenc intended), which I might not have heard before. Idagio only has this one recording of it from (I think) the 1960s.

[Harry]

Hina & Fiona Khuong-Huu.
"Dear to us" (Debut recording)
Fiona Khuong-Huu, Hina Khuong-Huu, Rohan de Silva, Piano.
Recorded at Bowes Center for the Performing Arts Studio G, in San Francisco,
2024 and at Elmwood Road Studios, South Salem, in New York. 2025.

An interesting program, well performed and in stunning SOTA sound. Both Hina and Fiona are well trained and accomplished violinists, and set a standard here in the works they play. Their tone is immaculate, and perfectly on pitch. Rohan de silva fits like a glove into their sound. The compositions are varied, from Halvorsen to Manuel Ponce, all played with warmth and commitment. The sisters' extraordinary synchronicity creates a musical experience that is both intimate and exhilarating.  Their playing together reveals a deep bond characterized by lifelong collaboration, honest artistic dialogue and complementary interpretations.  A balm for one's senses, and a great start in the early afternoon.

[Madiel]

Cantique de Jean Racine



This choir really does make an absolutely gorgeous sound. I don't know how much of that is due to the recording being a little soft-focused. But gosh it's nice to wallow in.