What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Mirror Image]

Now:



This is a killer performance and, while I still love Heller's recording (w/ Renee Fleming), this is a fine, more up-to-date recording.

[listener]

RACHMANINOFF Piano Sonata 2, op. 36
                        Études Tableaux  op. 32                2 Préludes op.32/2 & 12
Hélène Grimaud, piano
Russian Flute and Piano...
PROKOFIEV Flute Sonata op 94      DENISOV Sonata  (1960)  4 Pieces (1977)
TAKTAKISHVILI    Sonata      AMIROV 6 Pieces
Manuela Wiesler, flute           Roland Pöntinen, piano
... something other than Mugams from Amirov

[Bogey]

Exceptional.

[Bulldog]

Handel's Keyboard Suites HWV 426-433 played by Scott Ross; doesn't get better than this wonderful set.

[Sid]

Stanford: Requiem; The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan (Opera excerpts)
Soloists/RTE Choir & Orch./Leaper/Pearce
Naxos (2 cd's)

I have been listening to this great set all week. I bought it a few months back, gave it a cursory listen, so I thought it might be time to explore it in more depth. Well, this has been rewarding, to say the least. Stanford seems to have carried on the classical Germanic tradition of Beethoven and especially Mendelssohn, and combined it with a sense of British directness and clarity (he was Irish, but spent most of his life in England). It seems almost ironic that Stanford being an Anglican could set the words of the Latin requiem mass in such a sensitive and well thought out way. This work was composed in the 1890's in memory of a friend and colleague, the great Victorian painter Lord Leighton. I really like the simplicity of this music, and the thematic wholeness. For example, there is a gentle horn call underpinning the Introit, and it returns in the final Lux Aeterna. My favourite part of this 80 minute long work is the Lacrimosa, where (at first) the mezzo soprano is joined by the soprano in a contrupuntal melody of poignant mournfulness. A valley of tears indeed. On the whole, this is a soothing and contemplative work. I'm sure Stanford would probably not have liked the more hellish fire and brimstone settings of the requiem mass, as done by Berlioz and Verdi. But I'm sure he would have loved and found much inspiration from Mendelssohn's and Beethoven's great choral works. The 25 minute filler on the second disc, an overture, ballet music and an aria from Stanford's so far unrecorded opera The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan again has this Mendelssohnian puckishness (reminding me of A Midsummer Night's Dream). It is meant to be exotic, but is really just simply charming. It doesn't have the sensuousness of say Scheherazade of Rimsky Korsakov, although it was based around a similar story of Arabian inspiration. It's a good filler, but my favourite work of the two by far is the Requiem. I plan to get the Naxos disc of Stanford's settings of the Anglican service (still widely used in churches today, apparently), to get another "take" on sacred music by this very interesting composer...

[Opus106]

Buxtehude was a Baroque composer who was known in some circles at "the Danish Bach."

Which circles were those, I'm curious to know? If anything, Bach should have been known as the "German Buxtehude."

[The new erato]

Buxtehude was a Baroque composer who was known in some circles at "the Danish Bach."

Yeah, and Bach's pastries were known as Bach's Danish.

[The new erato]

Jansons   21:49 4:19 12:03 12:56
Petrenko 22:48 4:00 12:15 12:59

No wonder the whole performance feels similar! Differences/analysis: Jansons's clarinet solo at the start does sound markedly faster, though on return it does not, and I like Petrenko's horns better in the third-movement climax. Gosh darn the Philadelphians are good, though, and Jansons has a really powerful conception of the piece. The andante introduction to the finale is more nervous/tense, and flows better, in Jansons than in any of my other faves. What a glorious oboe solo. I have to say the DSCH timpani figure in the last four bars is not as clear, not as viciously sharp - probably down to the engineers, but a serious flaw when set directly aside Petrenko. (I tried this: played the last 30 seconds of Jansons 3 times and then the last 30 seconds of Petrenko twice.)

Definitely in my top 3, one of three near-equals that is, with Petrenko and Sanderling/Berlin SO. They're only near-equals because they have different strengths; Sanderling is quite distinct from the other two. I do like Jansons as much as Karajan II, and more than Maxim/LSO, Barshai, Skrowaczewski, or Wigglesworth. 

EDIT: Still coming up in my DSCH 10 listening queue: Andre Previn, Neeme Jarvi, Kyrill Kondrashin, Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, all on Spotify or NML. At that point I'll have heard 13 recordings and that seems to be enough for 6 weeks of marathon listening to one symphony! I've already heard the Tenth something like 15 times in 30 days... 

And now there's a new guy in town you need to meet:



Look at all the laurel stickers on the front!

[Que]

Please, do tell!


Listening now:



A few weeks ago I came across this nice Christmas disc.

Good morning everybody!

Q

[mc ukrneal]

Edward German. Symphony No. 2, Symphonic Suite and March Rhapsody on Original Themes perfromed by the BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of John Wilson. Thoroughly enjoyable music! This music always reminds me of a Sunday promenade in the park with the band playing, ladies with parisols, etc.  Wonderful disc. If only these Duttons weren't so darned expensive!

[Harry]

Edward German. Symphony No. 2, Symphonic Suite and March Rhapsody on Original Themes perfromed by the BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of John Wilson. Thoroughly enjoyable music! This music always reminds me of a Sunday promenade in the park with the band playing, ladies with parisols, etc.  Wonderful disc. If only these Duttons weren't so darned expensive!

I have two discs recently bought with music of this composer. Marco Polo it was. What I heard of it I liked very much. It seems that I must raid your collection, you have far to many nice discs to keep for your self my friend.

[mc ukrneal]

I have two discs recently bought with music of this composer. Marco Polo it was. What I heard of it I liked very much. It seems that I must raid your collection, you have far to many nice discs to keep for your self my friend.

I have one from Marco Polo that got me interested in German in the first place (a great starting place if the disc is still available - I think it was just entitled British Light Music). I got the disc above at Tower for like $12, which is about as cheap as I've ever seen a Dutton disc. At the recent presto classical sale on Dutton, I ordered the first symphony for $13 ($14 with the shipping). I think that's about as good as it gets. If I see they have a sale again, I'll let you know.

You must raid my collection?!?! Well, actually quite an honor to have someone say that. But your collection boggles my mind in its diversity and depth.

[The new erato]

The Tom Jones on naxos is pretty good and quite entertaining. My only German disc (as opposed to german disc, of which I have quite a lot).

[mc ukrneal]

The Tom Jones on naxos is pretty good and quite entertaining. My only German disc (as opposed to german disc, of which I have quite a lot).

I knew I was forgetting a recent issue (it's on my wish list at the moment). Glad to hear you like it - it has reviewed well. Searching for German can be tricky on some sites as you get a list of Germanic works instead of Edward German (or a mix, which is even worse).

[jlaurson]

My impression was that it simply couldn't touch Brautigam... especially not as regards the sound of the piano.

Interestingly, between Bart van Oort (Brilliant), Jaroslav Tůma (Praga SACD), Jos van Immerseel (Channel Classics), Aapo Häkkinen (Alba, clavichord), and Ronald Brautigam (BIS), versions on the fortepiano vastly outnumber their available grand piano colleagues John McCabe (Decca) and Walid Akl on a long forgotten and deleted disc (Koch).

[Brian]

SCHUBERT | Symphony No 6
Failoni Chamber Orchestra
Michael Halasz

I forgot to rip the Harnoncourt Schubert 6th before moving, but this Naxos account is actually pretty darn good. Definitely exceeds what you'd expect from a group called the Failoni Orchestra 

[Harry]

Another delightful disc from the big HM box. Excellent sound and fine contributions from the singers and orchestra alike.

Soloists: Marta Almajano, Mieke van der Sluis, John Elwes, Mark Padmore, Frans Hulits, Harry van der Kamp.
Choir and Barockorchestra of the Dutch Bach society, Gustav Leonhardt.

[karlhenning]

And now there's a new guy in town you need to meet:



Look at all the laurel stickers on the front!

Can't read the text. Who's playing, who's conducting?

[The new erato]

mdt to the rescue. To quote the blurb:

SHOSTAKOVICH Complete Symphonies

Beethoven Orchestra Bonn / Kofman

This set of world class performances has been extremely well reviewed and is now available as a limited edition. "This superbly realistic and spectacular new recording from the unlikely source of the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn rather sweeps the board." Penguin Guide

MDG 11cds MDG3371200

[Que]

My impression was that it simply couldn't touch Brautigam... especially not as regards the sound of the piano.

I do agree with your high esteem for Brautigam!
But I hope you don't mind if I don't take your word for it when period instruments - especially fortepianos - are concerned.

The quote below confirmed my hunch that you prefer an as rich, sonorous and full sound as possible - basically as close to a modern piano as possible.

I find the quality of Brautigam's McNulty copy of a 1795 Walter fortepiano superior in every way to the other original instruments—fuller, less clangy and harsh—and Brautigam's playing in inspired. Fluid and with weighty momentum in the "Earthquake" (not the easiest task on a fortepiano), he sets himself apart from the competition.

In lots of (most) cases fortepianos produce a transparent, "bell-like" sound, with a lot of clarity, in which you can hear "wood". A sound I very much like as long as it does not turn into harshness (we have obviously a different definition) - if that is the case it usually means the instrument is not in good condition or too closely recorded.

I checked samples of the Tuma recording and the fortepiano sounds pretty excellent to my ears. It is also a copy after a Walter BTW, but indeed not as sonorous as McNulty's. Actually, most Walter fortepianos or copies after Walter sound much more like the one on Tuma's recording than the McNulty copy on Brautigam's.

Q