What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Mark]

Finzi's Five Bagatelles, arranged for clarinet and strings. Sumptuous.

[wintersway]

Good morning/day to all!

[Harry]

Paul Hindemith.

String Trio No 1 & 2. (20:37 + 24:23)

Deutsches Streichtrio.

Hindemith is high on my list, and in the last 8 months I worked my way through his complete Orchestral output, with great pleasure.
Now his chambermusic is beginning with these Trios. Marvelous pieces, composed in a very tense style, with gorgeous string writing.
Never heard a movement like the second one from the first trio, "Langsam und mit grosser Ruhe", this dense emotion, and concentration on the melody line, it takes quite some time before I recover from that.
The performance is par excellance, as is the recording. The disc is 45:23 in running time, a bit short, but then, it was cheap.

[Daverz]

Bruckner, Symphony No. 7 - Ormandy/Philadelphia on one RCA Lp. 

[Maciek]

Henryk Melcer's Piano Concerto (1895). A virtuoso work with lots of bravura piano writing, but also some truly succulent themes and an excellent treatment of the musical material. I've listened to this a few times lately and it grows on me each time.

That's a gem, isn't it? One of the pieces I stumbled upon completely accidentally (years ago now) - and, boy, am I glad I did!

[Harry]

Hans Pfitzner.

Violin Concerto opus 34. (32:03)

Duo for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra opus 43. (13:40)

Scherzo for Orchestra. (10:38)

Saschko Gawriloff, Violin.
Julius Berger, Cello.
Bamberg SO/Werner Andreas Albert.

I am into Pitzner at the moment. Have almost all recorded works from him, and working my way through his oeuvre with great pleasure.
This time his wonderful Violin Concerto, and a Duo, that confirms again and again the greatness of this composer. Touched I am by his wonderful way of writing, highly romantic and yet very precise. Gorgeous melodies, fine solo writing.
The performance from all involved are superb, as is the recording.

[Harry]

Benjamin Frankel.

The Aftermath opus 17.
Song cycle to words by Robert Nichols, for Tenor, Strings, off stage Trumpet, and timpani.

Robert Dean, Tenor.
Northwest Cahmber Orchestra Seattle/Alun Francis.

Fine words, horrible music, not to be repeated by me!
Tenor and Orchestra doing just fine, and recording is superb.

[Harry]

Benjamin Frankel.

Music for Strings.

Solemn Speech and Discussion, opus 11.

Three Sketches for Strings, opus 2.

Concertante Lirico, opus 27.

Youth Music, opus 12.

Northwest Chamber Orchestra Seattle/Alun Francis.

Great pieces. I like the idiom created by Frankel.

[karlhenning]

Heaven protect us from pieces with titles like "Solemn Speech and Discussion" 

[Harry]

Heaven protect us from pieces with titles like "Solemn Speech and Discussion" 

Yes the title is rather silly, but the music is fine, I assure you my friend.

[Florestan]

Heaven protect us from pieces with titles like "Solemn Speech and Discussion" 

[karlhenning]

Makes me want to write a string ensemble piece . . . "Minutes of the Meeting of the Budgetary Sub-Committee" . . . hmmmmmmm.

Good day, friends Harry & Andrei!

[Harry]

Well here is a little explanation of this title.
This piece was written in the early 1940s,
Frankel like many contempories had been drawn to the Communist Party. The music itself suggest a political debate, reflecting the composer's early enthusiasm. However in 1951, events in Czechoslovakia caused him disillusionment and outrage, prompting his public resignation from the party.
Good day to you too comrade Karl!

[Florestan]

Makes me want to write a string ensemble piece . . . "Minutes of the Meeting of the Budgetary Sub-Committee" . . . hmmmmmmm.

Good day, friends Harry & Andrei!

Makes me want to hear that piece.

Good day, Karl!

[orbital]

Tchaikovsky - Piano Trio with Rubinstein, Heifetz and Piatigorsky.

I like the bit in the liner notes where it is mentioned that there was some disagreement as to whose name would appear on top on the album cover. Heifetz insisted that his name should be on top, since the trios feature the violin much more prominently than the piano. Rubinstein said, "No, it is a Piano Trio. The pianist comes first. Even if God was playing the violin, it would still read Rubinstein, God and Piatigorsky" 

[karlhenning]

Heifetz insisted that his name should be on top

Oh, humility is so overrated.

Wait! We could take this to the self-aggrandizement thread, couldn't we? 

[Bogey]

Listening to this 5 cd set today:



Track listing and samples here:
http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Wind-Concertos-Klaus-Thunemann/dp/samples/B00000410Q/ref=dp_tracks_all_1/102-7134284-2880939?ie=UTF8&qid=1184859447&sr=8-2#disc_1

[SonicMan46]

A couple of 'odds & ends' in a recent order from BRO:

Missa Mexicana w/ Lawrence-King; 17th century Mexican baroque music w/ a twist!  CLICK on the image for a more thorough description & some excellent comments; I have a number of these 'cross-cultural' Spanish-Native CDs from this era - all are interesting!

Nativity: Christmas Music from Georgian England w/ Holman w/ Parley of Instruments et al - I know - WRONG time of the year, but hey a $7 deal from BRO!  Will go into my 'Christmas pile' for listening 5-6 months from now! 

 

[rubio]

Tchaikovsky - Piano Trio with Rubinstein, Heifetz and Piatigorsky.

I like the bit in the liner notes where it is mentioned that there was some disagreement as to whose name would appear on top on the album cover. Heifetz insisted that his name should be on top, since the trios feature the violin much more prominently than the piano. Rubinstein said, "No, it is a Piano Trio. The pianist comes first. Even if God was playing the violin, it would still read Rubinstein, God and Piatigorsky" 

How is this recording?

[SonicMan46]

This morn, a couple of more BRO bargins:

Scriabin Piano Sonatas w/ Robert Taub; recordings from 1988/90, re-issued by H. Mundi in their bargin 1+1 package (and even cheaper from BRO!); I own the Ashkenazy set also and will do some comparing later - guess we've discussed these works in other threads, and there does not seem to be any one 'outstanding' complete set; the two Amazonian Commentors, who seem quite familiar w/ these compositions, and own multiple sets, bascially have put together their favorites; there is also a Classics Today review which is pretty good (8/7 overall ratings) - I enjoyed listening to these performances - 

Holst The Planets + John Williams Close Encounters & Star Wars w/ Zubin Mehta & the LA Phil Orch - older recordings from the '70s but excellent performances & sound - a 'steal' at the price paid!