What are you listening 3 now?

[Harry]

PHILIPPE GAUBERT. 1879-1941.
Orchestral works.
Volume I.
See back cover for details.
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Marc Soustrot.
Recorded, Luxembourg, Philharmonie, 2008.

Not many people will be familiar with the name of the flautist, conductor and composer Philippe Gaubert, because of his effective flute pieces, but as a composer of symphonic music he is probably only known to a few, even in his home country. That should change with this recording, because what is unearthed here  are outstanding works by a composer who can certainly be measured against the great composers of his time in terms of his wealth of ideas and orchestral colors and his masterful command of great forms. There is no doubt that this is a great musical discovery in every sense and well worth listening too. Excellent sound and performance, the Luxembourg musicians clearly enjoy themselves, as I did.

[Traverso]

Bach

CD 5

[Madiel]

Mozart: Serenade in D major, K.204 (with opening March too)



Composed in 1775. This one gets called "Serenade no.5", no helpful nickname. It's got a sort of mini violin concerto in it, same as the "Colloredo" serenade K.203 from the previous year.

Very enjoyable, as are all the Serenades from this era. Some of Mozart's best Salzburg work in my opinion.

[Madiel]

Mendelssohn: Psalm 115, "Nicht unserm Namen, Herr", op.31



Volume 6 (or disc 6 of the box set) focuses on works for chorus and orchestra. Though in op.31 (the only work here that Mendelssohn oversaw publication of) there's a fair bit of variety. The 2nd movement starts off as a duet for soprano and tenor before the chorus joins in, the 3rd movement is a bass aria, and the 4th movement starts off with an a capella choral section.

[Harry]

Felix Woyrsch (1860-1944)
Symphony No.1 & 6.
Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Howard Griffiths.
Recorded 2013 Studio der Württembergischen Philharmonie Reutlingen, Germany.


At last! It has taken a long time to complete the cycle of the six Woyrsch symphonies. Now it's done! The orchestra and conductor were changed for the last installment. For whatever reason but not to the detriment! The high standard was maintained. Good things take time I guess. The orchestra from Reutlingen is certainly not first class, but under the proven baton of Howard Griffiths it finds remarkable form. There is a huge compositional gap between the first symphony and the last one he wrote,  and it is remarkable to hear how Woyrsch evolved. The sound is good, as is the performance, a worthy close.

[Harry]

Sergei Prokofiev: Violin sonata No.1 op.80; 5 Melodies op.35.
Arvo Pärt, Spiegel im Spiegel.
Alfred Schnittke: Gratulationsrondo.
Duo Gazzana. Violinist Natascia and Pianist Raffaella Gazzana.
Recorded, 2025, Reitstadel Neumarkt.

This disc is absolute bliss for me. The Violin sonata by Prokofiev gives me every time I hear it a energetic thrill which creates a huge amount of goosebumps. I like the vehement drive in this music. His melodies do the same albeit by a different route. Pärt "Spiegel im Spiegel" is a piece that gets under my skin, never mind how often I have heard it, it digs itself into the very fabric of my soul. Schnittke's Gratulationsrondo, is almost a strange item, for it is written in a different style as you expect, less acerbic and therefore more approachable. Duo Gazzana is a marvelous team,  their musical unity is perfectly balanced. Breathtakingly so. ECM made a stunning recording, SOTA with 5 stars.

[Linz]

Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No.15 in A major, op.141
London Symphony Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich

[Harry]

Les Sentiments. French Baroque Masterworks.
See back cover for details.
Francesca Torelli, Lute.
Recorded, Reggio Emilia, Italy 2024.

Well played and recorded. That concludes my journey through her recordings, as far they appeared on Qobuz. It's fiendishly difficult to get the covers from somewhat older recordings. I found a back cover of this CD, which with the older recordings is near impossible.

[Todd]

[Irons]

Thanks for this: can you explain the WARNING on the cover? 

PR gobbledygook.

[Cato]

PR gobbledygook.

Yes, gobbledygook, for which somebody was paid!    

[Iota]

Stravinsky: Threni
Cappella Amsterdam, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Daniel Reuss

More spellbinding, ascetic late Stravinsky. I find these Cappella Amsterdam recordings very good.

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major, 1874 First version - Ed. Leopold Nowak
Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Kent Nagano

[Justice Roberts]

Ibert: Le chevalier errant & Les amours de Jupiter.

[Bachthoven]

[JBS]

My Presto package landed today.  First into the CD player
.

Roge is pianist in the Cello Sonata, first pianist in the Sonata for Piano Four Hands, second pianist in the Sonata  for Two Pianos. Ms. Font, besides being the partner pianist in the two Sonatas, performs the solo works, which  are 3 Movements perpetuals, the Nocturne in C, and three of the Improvisations.
(She's also his partner in the performance of Dolly Suite that appears on his new Faure recording from Decca.)

[Brian]

A streaming find: the only recording of Catalan-Cuban composer Joaquin Nin-Culmell's piano concerto. The outer movements have a bubbly, festive neoclassical vibrancy in C major, but the slow movement begins by taking a page from Ravel's concerto and then veers into a rather cheesy "feel good" territory. (You may know his older sister, Anaïs Nin.) It's all over in 18 modest, cheerful minutes.



The same pianist appears here in another Catalan short work, Joan Manén's Rapsodia. Lots of nationalistic fun with folk melodies.

I hope our resident Hans Rott Society reads the rest of the disc contents for a surprising work written by a composer born in 1993...

Moving on now to another streaming disc, and another first listen, that I would never find in the wild...

[Linz]

Joseph Haydn Symphonies CD 28
Symphony No.91 in E flat major
Symphony No.92 in G major "Oxford"
Sinfonia Concertante in B flat major
Austro-Hugarian Haydn Orchestra, Adam Fischer

[Justice Roberts]

J.S. Bach: Works for Cello & Harpsichord (Live).  János Starker & Zuzana Růžičková.

[Lisztianwagner]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No.36

Herbert von Karajan & Berliner Philharmoniker