What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Lethevich]

A belated thanks to Luke for suggesting this - the Amazon Marketplace price turned out to be more than worth it. I've listened through several times but haven't really internalised it yet. When played on piano the movements sound like quite standard (but very good) character pieces, but the lute-harpsichord adds a quality that I don't feel I've fully come to terms with yet. It sounds gorgeous though, I haven't heard anything else written for this instrument after it had become obscelete.

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to Passacaglia right now. Beautiful composition.

[Sergeant Rock]

Szymanowski, Violin Concerto #1, played by a member of the Munich violin mafia, the lovely Arabella Steinbacher:



Sarge

[AndyD.]

Thank you very much, all, I'll be getting the Levine!

For now:

Schoenberg String Quartet no.3 (Vienna)


The most "Extreme Metal" of Schoenberg's string quartets. The first movement in particular is disturbing, violent, jagged dissonance. It is the aural equivalent of ripping you a new one.

[Sergeant Rock]

The most "Extreme Metal" of Schoenberg's string quartets. The first movement is particular is disturbing, violent, jagged dissonance. It is the aural equivalent of ripping you a new one.

Elegantly put, Andy 

Sarge

[Lethevich]

Pärt - Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka


Anybody who thinks Spiegel im Spiegel sounds like a juvenile exercise in scales would think it a tone poem when compared to these. I adore the little things.

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to Im Sommerwind  right now. It's simply gorgeous.

[Keemun]

Excellent choice my friend, it was my first Borodin, and after all those years I still love it.

Thank you.  After an extended break, I am now listening to the second quartet.

[SonicMan46]

Like you, Dave, I have some issues with the sound or rather the extraneous (pedal?) noises from the piano. It's less noticeable through my speakers, I have noticed. This is not one for headphones. I have put this set on again tonight and find his playing too fast and too "straight" for me. The sound of the Playel is not to my liking either.

RE:  Chopin Nocturnes on an 1836 Pleyel piano

Hi George - glad that I have some 'back-up' listeners w/ similar concerns - I've listen to this set at least 3x now (office computer speakers and at home on my regular stereo) - and even alternating between speakers & headphones; I agree completely that this is not for 'headphones' - the extraneous piano noises and the low level rumbling are just annoying - in some recording venues I think that even outside traffic noise can be a factor?

As to the piano, the liner notes state the instrument was restored but the original 'elements' were present - a problem? Not sure?  Plus,  I'm not sure that I enjoy the broad 'dynamics' of this recording (I guess that more mellow nocturnes suit me better) - finally, I agree that the piano can sound somewhat strident in certain works.  I would assume that my MP3 recording faithfully reproduces the original so I'll keep the disc as an 'alternative' but will likely listen to others more often.  Dave 

[DavidRoss]

[Sid]

This electronic piece by Xenakis is an amazing journey. It starts off quietly then slowly proceeds to a series of crescendos and then ends quietly. The 46 minute work is symphonic in scope. It was written for the opening of the Georges Pompidou arts centre in Paris in the late '70's. One of the things that strikes me is the multilayered apect of this work (it's for 8 track tape, whereas Varese's Deserts of more than 20 years before was for 2 tracked - I think - so he had to use a small orchestra to generate most of the sounds). One thing that is fairly obvious after a few listens is the strong sense of structure in Xenakis' work. No wonder, he studied engineering and was an architect before he became a full time composer. Anyway, this is really great stuff, and I aim to get into more electronica - guys like Kagel and Lachenmann are next on my list.



I'm really getting into the Mozart Clarinet Quintet as I will be seeing it live in a few weeks. What strikes me about this work, now that I've listened to it several times, is the prominence of the first violin. The clarinet and violin have several duos, and in the last movement there is an extended solo for both of them. I'm not sure if this was convention or an innovative thing Mozart did. One thing is for sure, Mozart writing this and other works for the clarinet was innovative as it was a new instrument at the time.



I'd describe this music as haunting, intense and uncompromising. In the Piano Quintet, the pianist's part is minimal but still somehow dominant. The other players appear almost as ghosts. In the final movement, Schnittke uses a phrase from Beethoven's Pastoral symphony to create one of the most poignant endings in the C20th chamber repertoire. The String Trio quotes a much more mundane tune, "Happy Birthday To You." A homage to the city of his student days, Vienna, it also has reminiscences of Schubert, Mahler and Berg. I can also hear bits of the Cello Concerto No. 1 in there. This can be a harrowing work, which is very close to the bone, but whenever I listen to it, I hear new associations between it's disparate elements. This is a great recording done by Naxos here in Queensland, Australia with local as well as Russian musicians (including Irina Schnittke, the composer's widow, who plays piano in the first work)...

[Coopmv]

Sure - Covers for my Jacottet WTC Discs:

Thanks.  It looks like there may be other releases of the same recordings IIRC.

[Coopmv]

Outstanding!

Absolutely.  My favorite version in my Bach collection - 10X better than the version by Hilary Hahn and Kahane.

[George]

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD1 from this set from my Chopin collection ...

[kishnevi]

I've hesitated on getting that one, I read some bad reviews. Inspiring composers, all three. What's your opinion, Sarge?
I wonder if the Rattle is getting recorded. Wish I could check it out!

Strauss Metamorphosen (Karajan DG)

EMI is listing among its "coming soon" releases a box set of Rattle's Second Viennese School recordings, although, at least at the moment, there's no tracklisting to show what works are included. 

[Scarpia]

Absolutely.  My favorite version in my Bach collection - 10X better than the version by Hilary Hahn and Kahane.

10 times better than the worst version ever recorded doesn't say much.  I can't believe it could exceed Grumiaux.

[listener]

BARTÓK  44 Duos for Two Violins  Sz.98
Sándor Végh, Alberto Lysy
Really quite pleasant after all, not what I had expected.  The playing is as if there were a "don't scratch" written at the front of the album.
Here's a disc that does show an advantage that CD's have.   The 22 tracks on each side are unbanded on the vinyl, on a CD one could watch track numbers to keep track of the pieces and easily repeat individual ones.

[Mirror Image]

Now:



I listen to this 2-CD set at least once a month now. It's just that good. Listening to The Lark Ascending right now. This set also features some seldom heard works by RVW like his Concerto Grosso, Violin Concerto, Concerto for Two Pianos, and Toward the Unknown Region.

[Sid]

Ligeti - Ramifications (versions for string orchestra & 12 solo strings)



I'm beginning to really dig this work. It's good to have both the versions on this disc. Half the instruments are tuned up a notch, to create some high pitched sounds (particularly at the end, there is a striking one which sounds very electronic, it almost comes out of nowhere). I feel that the version for string orchestra has a more aggressive, almost brutal edge, and the one for 12 solo strings is more lyrical. But I would probably have problems working out which one was which if I was subjected to a "blind" test. Whenever I listen to this work, I feel as if I'm listening to something from the Baroque period slowed down to a snail's pace. Ligeti said that he reworked the tuning because he wanted to make an impression of tonal decay, but I get more of an impression of the dissolution of the music due to the very slow tempos throughout the work. When I first heard it, I thought that it was nothing much, but now I appreciate it much more...