What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Harry]

My first ever listen to an Ives symphony! 

TTFN.
Me.

I never connected to Ives, funny enough....

[Harry]

Good morning/day to all!

I love the artwork of this recording!
When women were still women.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I love the artwork of this recording!
When women were still women.

And men were still men? 

[johnQpublic]

LPs

Mozart - Benedictus sit Deus (Lavergne/Turnabout)
Beethoven - Wind Sextet (Brymer/London)
Schubert - Two Scherzi (Gulda/Mace)
Haydn - Symphony #93 (Beecham/Angel)

[Harry]

I was playing this morning a cd from the composer Kurt Atterberg, who was living from 1887-1974. A romantic composer, that in essence rejected the 20th century modernisms. He composed in the late Brahms era when romanticism was in its most intense stadium. He was a excellent craftsman, and his scores read like poetry, and his works are fluent as honey. In his time he was rejected as a man that lived to far in the past, and his genius was not recognized, but that has changed rapidly in the 1990, when a complete recording was made of his Symphonies on the label CPO, that are well worth considering. Today I play the Sonata for Cello and Piano opus 27, which is a masterwork in all respects. The writing for cello is concise intimate, warm, and accessible. Especially the second movement "Adagio Molto, lasting 10:49, has long legato lines in a dreamy fashion, that brings up images painters  pre-Raphaelite in nature, with a hint of sensual passion that defeats description, culminating into the third movement "Allegro Energico, poco pesante". It is played by a very apt Cello player called Werner Thomas-Mifune, who has a excellent bowing of great beauty, and aided by Carmen Piazzini, that has a fair share in this piece that shows off her capabilties in a glorious light. A recording made by Koch Schwann in 1997, and a State of the Art Recording. Recommended

[karlhenning]

Earlier this morning, on the Fuze:

Igor Fyodorovich
Le sacre du printemps
LSO
Doráti

Sibelius
Luonnotar
Dame Gwyneth Jones
LSO
Doráti

Now:

Wolferl
Vesperae solennes de confessore, K.339
Colin Davis conducting

[Florestan]

Good day all!

Leos Janacek

In the Mists
Sonata 1.X.1905
On an Overgrown Path 1
On an Overgrown Path 2
On an Overgrown Path - Paralipomena
A Recollection

Andras Schiff

[DavidRoss]

I love the artwork of this recording!
When women were still women.

And what do you think they are now?

Now playing:  Lorraine Hunt Lieberman (a woman!) singing Bach cantatas

[Harry]

And what do you think they are now?

Ahum, yes, that's really very funny monsieur.
Up in heaven I am sure, waiting for me.......

[Fëanor]

This morning, (a holiday here in Ontario), I listened with a great deal of enjoyment to Elliott Carter's String Quartet No. 4 played by the Arditti Quartet.  I had a couple of thoughts.

I've heard it said of Brahms, in effect, that his every note seems inevitable.  I'm not a musically trained person so I can't speak to the technical accuracy of the statement but it does strike me as reasonable.  It seems to me, subjectively, that the same can be said of Carter's music.  I don't know whether it is more or less technically plausible for Carter's atonal music versus Brahms' music.

Also, I was reminded of the time a good many years ago when I gave a young lady who wasn't into classical music, a cassette of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and suggested she listen at two or three times before passing judgement.  This she did, she said, but found the music uninteresting.  I told her that one didn't have to like Bach but that if not, the shortcoming was one's own, not Bach's.  She was a bit miffed: too bad about that.  But I feel it is the same with Carter's music.  (As for me, I'm not actually so interested in Brahms: the shortcoming is mine, I'm sure).

Carter is in his hundredth year.  That's a blessing given he continues to compose.  I hope he makes his centenary.

[Keemun]

[scarpia]

Freude/Joy (2005) for 2 Harps (41'00)
The 2nd hour from the Klang cycle. Two harpists play and sing words from a medieval hymn in one of the most striking and beautiful of Stockhausen's late creations.

What you're describing sounds like a Monte-python sketch.

[Keemun]

Chausson: Symphony in B flat (Tortelier/BBC Philharmonic Orchestra)

[George]

And men were still men? 

Mr. we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again... 

[Renfield]

Do you mean the stereo track instead of the 5.1 surround or another source altogether?

The former. I think (or hope) it is the original track, as the re-recording was only done in 5.1 surround IIRC. Which isn't generally bad: I found it nice for certain Beethoven symphonies out of the 80's cycle, for instance, but it does sound muddled in others.

Hence, I've decided to go through the original tracks at this point, and contrast them with the re-recordings later.

[scarpia]

Chausson: Symphony in B flat (Tortelier/BBC Philharmonic Orchestra)

That is very nice indeed!

[Harry]

Chausson: Symphony in B flat (Tortelier/BBC Philharmonic Orchestra)

O, perfect cover art......

[Keemun]

That is very nice indeed!

It's the only Chausson I have, but I like and am considering getting more. 

[Lethevich]

Nørgård - Symphonies 4 & 5 (Chandos)


Let's see if these are less impossible to get into than the 6th

[bhodges]

Zemlinsky: Die Seejungfrau ("The Mermaid") (Chailly/RSO Berlin) - Glorious.  I suspect that anyone who loves late-Romantic tone poems would adore this score.

--Bruce