What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Antoine Marchand]

This superb disc of Bach's flute sonatas:

[karlhenning]

First listen! – not surprising, as it is the world premiere recording:

Nielsen
Cantata for the Opening Ceremony of the National Exhibition in Aarhus, FS 54 (1909)
Chorus of the Danish National Opera
Aarhus Cathedral Choir
Aarhus Symphony
Bo Holten

Nielsen – Cantatas

[Keemun]

Braga Santos
Symphony No. 4
Alvaro Cassuto
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland

[Keemun]

Schumann
Symphony No. 2
Kubelik
BPO




I hope to someday like Schumann as much as other major Romantic composers.  So far, only this symphony appeals to me.  But I keep trying. 

[Scarpia]

Schumann
Symphony No. 2
Kubelik
BPO




I hope to someday like Schumann as much as other major Romantic composers.  So far, only this symphony appeals to me.  But I keep trying. 

The first step is throwing away that horrible recording!

[Keemun]

The first step is throwing away that horrible recording!

What don't like about it?  I'm not challenging your assessment, I really want to know.  The only recordings of Schumann's symphonies that I have are this one and Bernstein/NYPO.  Thank you for recommending other sets.

Thread duty:

Beethoven
String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132 - III. Holy Songs
Quartetto Italiano

[Scarpia]

What don't like about it?  I'm not challenging your assessment, I really want to know.  The only recordings of Schumann's symphonies that I have are this one and Bernstein/NYPO.  Thank you for recommending other sets.

I found the audio engineering an obstacle, totally opaque, you hear the first violin line with everything else a homogeneous mass of sound underneath.   With some skill from the conductor and engineers, Schumann's orchestration can sparkle.

I also liked this series:



and this



and uncharacteristically,



(Paray, Harnoncourt and Bernstein/VPO, who doesn't do his usual slow-motion treatment here.)

[listener]

STENHAMMER   Piano Sonata 4 in G minor  (1890)
      3 Fantasies p.11    Impromptu in G      3 Small Pieces     Late-Summer Nights
      Niklas Sivelöv, piano
The piano sonata has some character, if only to remind you that Stenhammer premiered the Brahms Piano Concerto in Sweden as pianist in 1892   and may have been learning it when he wrote the g minor sonata.   The other pieces are all pleasant but sound as if they come from the same set.

ALKAN    Receuils de Chants (2 sets) op. 38    - interesting studies in rhythm opposition between the hands and miniature tone-poems with Mendelssohn-like melodies
             Trois anciennes mélodies juives   from his small vocal output
             Deux chants  for choir 4-voices   from Jewish hymnals

[PaulR]

Not horrible, but not great either.  It has it's moments, but it's not very interesting music.  It's not horrible music by any means, but it's very clean, dry, dull music. At least that's what I got from the initial hearing.  Maybe on another listen, I'll think better of it, but it is what it is for now.

[Keemun]

I found the audio engineering an obstacle, totally opaque, you hear the first violin line with everything else a homogeneous mass of sound underneath.   With some skill from the conductor and engineers, Schumann's orchestration can sparkle.

I also liked this series:



and this



and uncharacteristically,



(Paray, Harnoncourt and Bernstein/VPO, who doesn't do his usual slow-motion treatment here.)

Thanks.  I forgot I also have Marriner/Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, but it's been a while since I listened to it.

[listener]

Martinů The Marriage   (Zenitba)
    short 2-act comedy after a play by Gogol
Brno Janáček Opera Orchestra       Václav Nosek, cond.
recorded for radio in 1958 with a very noticeable low frequency hum in the background - a poor ground somewhere?  The hum disappears in the short dialogue sections.  The "stereo" is questionable.
The performers bring out the fun in the piece, moving along at a good pace, the writing seems kind to the voices, not requiring straining to get to extremes of range.
Two booklets: noes in one, text and translations in the other.
A nice addition to the library if the drawbacks of the recording quality are not an issue.   Maybe, since it fits onto one disc, there is a chance for a new version.

[Que]

Music of the Paris School, or Notre Dame School. As with their Dufay album(s) Grueber and his ensemble deliver sterling perfromances.

SAMPLES  REVIEW

Good morning!

Q

[Christo]

First listen. Symphony 1 & 2. Fantastic!

Are you sure? I never read anything positive on Gordon Jabob's two symphonies before - all reviewers describing them as `weak' and a buyer at Amazon was "deeply disappointed by this issue".  Should I yet invest in them?

Edit: I see that the indomitable David Hurwitz on Classicstoday is more positive as well. "He was .. a composer of substance, as these two symphonies amply show. ...  In short, this is good music that anyone who collects the early 20th century "English school" will surely want to own, but I was hoping for something just a little bit more distinctive.  --David Hurwitz "

[Harry]

Are you sure? I never read anything positive on Gordon Jabob's two symphonies before - all reviewers describing them as `weak' and a buyer at Amazon was "deeply disappointed by this issue".  Should I yet invest in them?

Edit: I see that the indomitable David Hurwitz on Classicstoday is more positive as well. "He was .. a composer of substance, as these two symphonies amply show. ...  In short, this is good music that anyone who collects the early 20th century "English school" will surely want to own, but I was hoping for something just a little bit more distinctive.  --David Hurwitz "

I don't care a bit about what others say or think in this respect, I think the first Symphony is a amazing piece of work, and the second going in a totally different direction but equally fine.  Werther you want to invest in it or not, is based on how much trust you have in my opinion. He is very high on my list, and I will try to obtain the score of the first symphony, so good I think it is.

[mahler10th]

This morning I decided to take a trip to heaven.  To help me to this end I put this on whilst killing mjyself to get there.
I can't say much about choral works until I understand what the words are, but all I can say is I went to Heaven right enough, but I couldn't transfigure, so I came back to my workstation and said a prayer instead.

Maybe BACH will take me to heaven...

[Harry]

Third listen

A excellent release, that will please many Baroque lovers.

[Harry]

Third listen.

Again a release by Accent that will not disappoint Baroque lovers.

[Lethevich]

Karl - what is Dallapiccola's music like?

[Florestan]

Reynaldo Hahn

Piano Concerto in E major

Stephen Coombs / Jean-Yves Ossonce /  Glasgow BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

[mc ukrneal]

Reynaldo Hahn

Piano Concerto in E major

Stephen Coombs / Jean-Yves Ossonce /  Glasgow BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

(raises hand with an oooh oooh oooh (as if to say pick me)). I've got that one! Err, can't remember how it goes just now, but I must have liked it, because I recently ordered his Le Rossignol Eperdu. I'm sure it will be a (Earl) Wild one!

(runs to see which concerto this was - runs back to type some more)

Ah hah! It's the one with Massenet. Yes, I liked the Hahn, but was having more difficulty with the pairing (Massenet).