What are you listening 3 now?

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NP:

Tansman
Piano Concerto No. 1
Julia Kociuban (piano)
Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic
Paweł Przytocki

[Symphonic Addict]

Gubaidulina: Double Bass Sonata
Grieg: Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major

Two works that inhabit opposite poles each.



The site is getting slow again.

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Now playing Adams Guide to Strange Places

[Linz]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Concertos for Piano and Orchestra Vol. 5
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra KV 246 in C major
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra KV 488 in A major
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra KV 175 in D major
Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Christian Zacharias

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NP: Barraine Song-Koï

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Study Symphony in F Minor, 1863 One version only - Ed. Leopold Nowak
Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Georg Tintner

[Symphonic Addict]

I hadn't listened to a so impetuous symphony in F minor like this one in a long time. It embodies the Sturm und Drang movement perfectly well (if we extend it beyond the 1800s). The Symphony in C minor also has its merits, a pretty good classical piece, but the one in F minor stands out.

[André]

So much listening, so little time to report, so, en vrac:

- 3 CPO discs of Beethoven's incidental music to König Stephan, Geschöpfe des Prometheus, Ruinen von Athen, plus all 4 overtures to Fidelio. Marcus Bosch. Not bad, but not revelatory either. The many spoken parts of König Stephan outstayed their welcome quickly. An old Hungaroton White Label disc of Stephan and Ruinen revealed what was missing: an experienced conducting hand and well-rehearsed musicians playing all the musical numbers (sans all the snippets of spoken verses) in a truly wonderful acoustic.

The König Stephan numbers feature a big concluding piece with the narrator speaking over the orchestra - and in between orchestral phrases: tediously grandiloquent on the CPO issue (as was probably the intention in the first place) - I wanted to shut him up after 30 seconds. The Hungaroton release has the immensely characterful voice of Sandor Solyom-Nagy singing his lines, rather like the spoken vs sung dialogues in Bizet's Carmen (can't tell where the difference originated though). No contest in any case: get this disc if you can find it - an authentic gem.



The CPO Prometheus disc has the complete ballet numbers (62 minutes of it) and, to tell the truth, most of it past the famous Overture is nothing more than mildly efficient background stuff. Had IA existed ca. 1800 I think Beethoven would have used it here.

Being in a paring down mode I decided to keep only the Prometheus disc. For now.

[André]

The 1834 version of the Italian symphony is different from the familiar one from 1833 in its last two movements mostly (Wikipedia includes the second movement as part of the revised score, but I didn't detect anything different).

In most cases 'final' versions tend to hold sway over their initial ones. History has favoured the original instead. I prefer the 1833 in the third movement, but the 1834 (revised) one in the finale. The latter sounds beefier, more 'Scottish' in its 1834 revision. But really it's all swings and roundabouts - nothing substantial enough to make one prefer one over another. 

The crux of the matter lies in the playing/interpretation and, in this particular case, I must say Gerd Albrecht and the Hamburg orchestra are quite wonderful advocates. This is a splendid interpretation of this perennial favourite.

Hellen Kwon is the excellent soloist in Felix Mendelssohn's bravura 'Infelice' aria. It's very much in the standard mould of the Sturm und Drang 'abbandonata' aria: Haydn's Arianna a Naxos, Beethoven's Ah Perfido! and countless others of the period. I recall hearing it sung by Edda Moser and being transfixed by the singer's dramatic delivery and over the top vocalism. Kwon does not demerit, but hers would be more appropriately described as a 'Medium' vs Moser's 'Xtra-large account.

49 minutes only, but still a very valuable disc: excellent musicological and artistic values.

[brewski]

Kodály: Concerto for Orchestra (Antal Dorati / Philharmonia Hungarica). First listen to the recording, loving it. First time hearing the piece was the Ormandy/Philadelphia version, also excellent, but this one will do perfectly fine.

[Bachthoven]

[Symphonic Addict]

Bridge: Dramatic Fantasia for piano

Rather far from being dramatic to be honest. It feels more eloquent, actually.

[JBS]

Final CD of the Piano Classics Spanish Edition




Amazon blurb for the CD

A Catalan contemporary of Scarlatti, Manuel Espona (1714-1779) is known now, if at all, as the teacher of Antonio Soler, one of the fathers of Spanish keyboard literature. Melani Mestre's recording, the only modern album dedicated to this composer, reveals that Espona was a fine composer in his own right. Like Soler, he composed in both sacred and secular genres, but much less of his work has survived. He lived and worked at the famous monastery of Montserrat, having taken holy orders there in 1733. He shared the post of maestro de capilla at the monastery's renowned choir school (which Soler would in time direct) with Benet Esteve. There are 27 surviving single-movement sonatas for keyboard, which Melani Mestre has edited for publication, and selected 14 of them for this new recording. Mestre's sonatas are notably individual in nature, leaving behind the typical Italian-influenced tradition of the first half of the 18th century, as exemplified by Joan Baptista Cabanilles. This is reflected not only in the way Mestre develops a highly original musical discourse, but also in his choice of key for each sonata, his modulations, his painstaking and elaborate ornamentation, his innovative rhythmic textures and a whole host of personal touches that lift these sonatas above the keyboard music of his contemporaries. Like many of those written by Soler, Espona's sonatas are characterized by their galant style, without foregoing moments of virtuosity, brilliance and restrained lyricism. Espona's own instrument would have been the harpsichord, but the modernity of his idiom translates well to the modern piano, according to Melani Mestre: 'the piano allows the whole range of dynamics, articulations and ornamentations that make up the Espona style and brand to be heard in even sharper focus.'

If Volume 2 was ever released, it didn't make it to Amazon.

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NP: Price Sonata in E minor (Kirsten Johnson)

From this 2-CD set -



I've really come under the spell of Price's music these past couple of months. She continues to impress me more and more. Her orchestral works, chamber and solo piano music have been a truly wonderful discovery.

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NP: Holst The Planets, Op. 32 (Pappano/LSO)



This really is a first-rate account of an oft-recorded concert staple.

[vandermolen]

Saygun: piano concertos (CPO)

NP: Holst The Planets, Op. 32 (Pappano/LSO)



This really is a first-rate account of an oft-recorded concert staple.

What's the Bax like John?

[vandermolen]

Saygun piano concertos 1 and 2 (CPO CD).

[Harry]

Arca de Música.
Instrumental Music In New Spain, Vol. II: Late 18th Century.
La Fontegara Mexico.
Recorded: 2017, Saia Xochipilli, FaM, UNAM.

This is a totally delightful recording. Unhurried and balanced performances of music that will not be known to all. The first volume was quite a good begin, and the second volume adds more laurels to their reputation. Meridian was right to trust their instincts, and made excellent recordings. Have to mention that the Forte piano sounds excellent. Normally I shy away from this instrument.

[AnotherSpin]

Girolamo Frescobaldi

Yoann Moulin

[Traverso]

Bach

Vol.5 CD 4