What are you listening 2 now?

[Iota]

She was one hell of a character -- you MUST watch this!

Interesting! Particularly when backed up by such magnificent playing.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Hovhaness: Symphony No 46 "To The Green Mountains" & Symphony No 39 Symphony for Guitair & Orchestra KBS Symphony Orchestra / Vakhtang Jordania  Koch cd



It has been said that a little Hovhaness goes a long way and it's true to say that I gradually whittled my pile of 20 odd Hovhaness cds to about six that I do find myself returning to when I'm in the mood for his brand of mystical murmurations. When he does get it right there's no doubt his music is very individual. I can imagine some ageing hippies or new age minded folk going into raptures if they were introduced to this music. At it's very best like one of those relaxation tapes but not as boring. These two symphonies strike me as among his most enjoyable efforts and apart from his "Exile" Symphony the only symphonies he composed that I find myself returning to. They remind me very much of his "Mountains and Rivers without End",which is one of my favourite of his numerous (!!) compositions. In fact they are pretty much in the same vein. Particularly No 46. If you want tightly hewn symphonic argument best to avoid though!

Ordered the disc!

[Belle]

Haydn, "The Creation".  Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir/Simon Rattle.  Recorded in the last days:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe2Rs8WRk2w

[cilgwyn]

Ordered the disc!

I didn't expect that!   I just had a listen to Mountains & Rivers without end and it is a bit noisier than the symphonies I posted about here (!) but I think it has a similar atmosphere  (or soundworld) there,somewhere. The track titles seem to back me up here anyway!! As I said  (posted) while I do like Hovhaness at his best,I've got to admit that I gradually whittled my Hovhaness collection down to about 6 cds and I'm not sure if listening to a boxed set of every Hovhaness symphony (if such a collection existed) would end in my being stretchered out?! At his best his music is very individual,though.

[Bachthoven]

This is an enjoyable new release.

[Linz]

Johann Strauss II; Josef Strauss An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314
Frühlingsstimmen, Op. 410
Pizzicato-Polka
Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Op. 214
Cleveland Orchestra , George Szell
Johannes Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15, Artur Schnabel
London Symphony Orchestra, George Szell

[AnotherSpin]

I have listened to a lot of recordings of op. 109 lately - actually inspired by you, but not Lefébure's recording. Thanks for the link to the YouTube recording.

Which versions of the Op. 109 have seemed the most interesting to you at this stage?

[Que]

[Wanderer]

[Madiel]

Sullivan (and Gilbert): Trial by Jury

It's on OperaVision, a double bill with a modern piece that I'm yet to listen to. Trial by Jury is very short, and pretty silly even by G&S standards.

[AnotherSpin]

Bach - Clavier-Übung III

Matthew Wilkinson

[Christo]

Almost half a century ago, I thought this LP was brilliant, and I still think so today:

[Irons]

Mature are only the No 7 and 9. The other quartets are in the process for him finding his true North, youthful works but already with a quality that keeps one listening. How many are there in total...good question. Recently I played the Quartets No. 10-13, by the Tippett Quartet which I recommend highly I might add. I am presently reading my way into his chamber music and the things he wrote, still an ongoing project for me. For now I count 13 SQ, a few of them only a single movement.

All very confusing as 1,2 & 3 are the mature quartets the later numbers are early.

[Traverso]

Indeed, I'd like to invite her to my house for dinner.

And who is do the talking if that golden opportunity may arise? Or maybe sing together at the piano....

[Que]

You could listen to this music by Christopher Tye (ca. 1505 - ca. 1572) performed on viols (Phantasm), but I enjoy this version for recorder consort in equal measure. 

[Harry]

Abbonda di virtu.
800 years of Italian Music with the Recorder.
Marion Ferme, Elisabeth Seitz, Johanna Seitz, Isolde Kittel-Zerer, Martina Schänzle, Gerhart Darmstadt.
Recorded: 2003 ? or 2011. No PDF file attached.

An excellent recording, and as a performance it ticks every box. Ferme is an accomplished Recorder virtuoso, and gets superb backup from the other participants on this CD. I love her tone and presentation which is fine art in abundance.

[Traverso]

Bach

Just in time I reckon.

I've always had a soft spot for this  performance. The Suzuki release in the big box will have to wait a while. Perhaps not everyone's favorite, but I enjoy it.

[Que]

 

[Harry]

The Harp of Luduvico.
Fantasias, Arias and Toccatas by Frescobaldi and his Predecessors.
Andrew Lawrence King, Baroque harps.
Recorded in St Andrew's Church, Toddington, Gloucestershire on 18–20 February 1991.
Front illustration: The Adoration of the Shepherds (1638/9) by Francisco de Zurbaran (1598–1664).

A recording by Hyperion from 1991, and in stunning SOTA sound, yes even that can happen. John Hadden was a brilliant sound engineer and it shows. I remember clearly a phrase about this recording that was written in Gramophone, "This is a quite stunning record. Treat yourself to it, even if it means pawning something you can live without", and to this day that is the undeniable truth. The music is also something which you cannot do without, it's a adventure from beginning to end! Music for all seasons and moods.

[71 dB]

Locatelli - Concertos Nos. 1-4 from L'Arte del Violino, Op. 3.
Elizabeth Wallfisch, violin
The Raglan Baroque Players
Nicholas Kraemer
Elite Classics

I bought this 3 CD set of which this is CD 1 long ago cheap. It was quite disappointing. Now I revisited it and I still don't like it. Everything just feels wrong. The music is performed as if the composer was Paganini. The recorded sound is harsh and just ugly. Too much high frequencies, not enough low frequencies. A good example that if it is cheap it is probably bad.