What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Brian]

A first-ever listen I've been anticipating very eagerly!!

[Lisztianwagner]

Bela Bartok
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta

[asin]B000068Q5U[/asin]

[SonicMan46]

I went to a concert a couple of months ago with Mustonen, Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.  That guy can play a piano that makes you re-think the reasons for your existence. That reviewer Hurwitz has most definitely not found the vibe.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/dec/07/bbcsso-brabbins-review

Hi John - thanks for your comments above & the link - Hurwitz from ClassicsToday has had a rather 'roller-coaster' time in reviewing the Mustonen performances of the Beethoven PCs - for PCs 1/2 a 6/9 rating (i.e. performance/sound) HERE; then going to a 9/9 for PCs 4/5 HERE - I was considering buying this entire set but will do some more reviewing and hoping for some more forum comments - Dave

[Mirror Image]

A first-ever listen I've been anticipating very eagerly!!

An outstanding recording. Look forward to reading your comments about it.

[Brian]

John, I loved Harmonielehre. I wasn't expecting the second movement to start with a very direct and very long quote of Sibelius, but the whole piece is phenomenal, and it's warmly compelling in a way I did not fully anticipate after reading a comment, somewhere, that the work is somewhat impersonal. A new favorite, and I hope to listen again this weekend.

Hi John - thanks for your comments above & the link - Hurwitz from ClassicsToday has had a rather 'roller-coaster' time in reviewing the Mustonen performances of the Beethoven PCs - for PCs 1/2 a 6/9 rating (i.e. performance/sound) HERE; then going to a 9/9 for PCs 4/5 HERE - I was considering buying this entire set but will do some more reviewing and hoping for some more forum comments - Dave

I think I asked our Todd about the cycle and he said it was rather uninteresting.

[Mirror Image]

John, I loved Harmonielehre. I wasn't expecting the second movement to start with a very direct and very long quote of Sibelius, but the whole piece is phenomenal, and it's warmly compelling in a way I did not fully anticipate after reading a comment, somewhere, that the work is somewhat impersonal. A new favorite, and I hope to listen again this weekend.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it. This work is far from impersonal if the second movement is any indication. Didn't he also quote Berg in that second movement or it sounds like he used a tone row that sounded like Berg. Anyway, yes, it's a great piece.

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to Florida Suite. A fantastic performance.

[Brahmsian]

Hammertime! 

Beethoven

Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. Nav 'Hammerklavier'

Barenboim
EMI Classics

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

John, I loved Harmonielehre. I wasn't expecting the second movement to start with a very direct and very long quote of Sibelius,

There are a lot of near-quotes in that piece. Also in the 2nd mvt., there's an evocation of the climax of the Mahler 10th Adagio (look for the screaming trumpet). In the 1st mvt. about 13 minutes in, I hear something which sounds like the "Brünnhilde's Sleep" motif from the Ring. But I think these are all suggestions rather than direct quotes.

[Mirror Image]

Now:



My go-to Barber disc. Simply superb in every way.

[Bogey]

More from the Beaux Arts trio tonight:



Op. 70 No. 1: Ghost

[Mirror Image]

Now:

[asin]B00000JMH5[/asin]

Listening to Symphony No. 4. Fantastic performance from Serebrier/LPO.

[Brahmsian]

More from the Beaux Arts trio tonight:



Op. 70 No. 1: Ghost

Such an excellent set, Bill!! 

[Bogey]

Such an excellent set, Bill!! 

Indeed!  It would be interesting to explore other performers (I may have a few on the shelf...not many though) and see how they stack up against BAT.  Their Haydn trio run is great as well, Ray.

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to A Village Romeo & Juliet. A masterpiece IMHO. This could very well be one of the first operas that has a lead voice part for a child. Could I be wrong here? This opera was written from 1900-01. Any other operas prior to A Village Romeo and Juliet to use a child's voice in a lead part?

[Todd]

One of the better Grieg PC recordings.

[kishnevi]

Listening to A Village Romeo & Juliet. A masterpiece IMHO. This could very well be one of the first operas that has a lead voice part for a child. Could I be wrong here? This opera was written from 1900-01. Any other operas prior to A Village Romeo and Juliet to use a child's voice in a lead part?

I've forgotten (I think I've asked this before on GMG, in fact)--did Mozart actually write the parts of the Three Genii (Spirits, or whatever you wish to call them) in Magic Flute for child singers?  Of course, they may not be lead singers, but they certainly have prominent roles. 


Other than that, I can't think of any children having singing roles prior to the 20th century.   They did have silent on stage presences--for instance,  in Norma.   I can't find enough details to verify my hazy memory,  but I think Mascagni has the title character's child appear onstage for a short role in Zaza, which was premiered in Rome in November 1900--but the only cast listing I can find says it's performed by a "recitante"--iow, it's a speaking role, not a singing role. 


Thread duty:
Beethoven, Symphonies 2 and 4,  Dresden Staatskapelle, H. Blomstedt conducting

[Mirror Image]

I've forgotten (I think I've asked this before on GMG, in fact)--did Mozart actually write the parts of the Three Genii (Spirits, or whatever you wish to call them) in Magic Flute for child singers?  Of course, they may not be lead singers, but they certainly have prominent roles. 


Other than that, I can't think of any children having singing roles prior to the 20th century.   They did have silent on stage presences--for instance,  in Norma.   I can't find enough details to verify my hazy memory,  but I think Mascagni has the title character's child appear onstage for a short role in Zaza, which was premiered in Rome in November 1900--but the only cast listing I can find says it's performed by a "recitante"--iow, it's a speaking role, not a singing role.

The child singing part in Delius' A Village Romeo & Juliet wasn't long-lasting at all. Obviously, this has something to do with the plot, but it really beats the hell out of me. I've got to read the synopsis again for this opera.

[listener]

PIAZZOLA: Concerto for Bandoneon     ROTA: Concerto for Strings
WAXMAN: Sinfonietta for Strings and Timpani   HEIDEN: Concertino for String Orchestra
Lothar Hensel, bandoneon    Deitsche Kammerakademie Neuss   Johannes Goritzki, cond.
I guess Piazzola was seen as the most commercially attractive to have gotten the large cover space, but the other works are also of interest.
SAINT-SAËNS:  Études, opp. 52. 111,  Études for the Left Hand op.135
Thème Varié  op. 96
Piers Lane, piano

[kishnevi]

The child singing part in Delius' A Village Romeo & Juliet wasn't long-lasting at all. Obviously, this has something to do with the plot, but it really beats the hell out of me. I've got to read the synopsis again for this opera.

As I recall from my one listen to the opera,  we see in the first act (or at least the first scene) the hero and heroine as children;  then comes an interval of several years (in plot terms, of course), after which the main action of the opera occurs, when the two main characters are in their late teens or early twenties.

Thread duty:
starting in on the Rubinstein plays Brahms budget box that's been in my listening pile for perhaps four months now.

Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1
A. Rubinstein, piano/Chicago Symphony Orch./F. Reiner cond.

filled out by Rubinstein performing various Brahms solo piano works