What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

[Antoine Marchand]

This is on my wish-list. I suppose you can recommend it.

Not necessarily. I just bought it yesterday and the first listening was not especially impressive. I think I will listen to it tonight again... night is a more propitious moment for this kind of music. 

[Antoine Marchand]

Not necessarily. I just bought it yesterday and the first listening was not especially impressive. I think I will listen to it tonight again... night is a more propitious moment for this kind of music. 

On the other hand, this other is captivating from the first note:



Compositions, performance, instruments and sound quality are outstanding. Highly recommended. 

From the back cover:

Andrea Gabrieli, uncle and mentor to the unjustly more famous Giovanni, was the first true genius of the Italian keyboard school. Besides an important corpus of vocal music, this organist of San Marco composed complex monothematic ricercars, turning the form into the ancestor of the fugue; as well as brilliant preambula and toccatas, gorgeously ornamented arrangements of madrigals and chansons, and a sparking passamezzo. Glen Wilson performs a selection of these on copies of a 16th-century Italian harpsichord and spinetta.

Recorded in Monreale, Sicily, Italy, from 5th to 7th June, 2009
Harpsichord and Spinetta after 16th-century Venetian models by Donatella Santoliquido. Tuning: A = 392 Hz
Cover Picture: Grand Canal: San Geremia and the Entrance to the Canneregio by Francesco Guardi (1712-93) (Charles Young Fine Paintings, London, UK / The Bridgeman Art Library)

[Sadko]

Some Boulez conducting:

[ASIN]B000002C04[/ASIN]

Dukas: La Péri
de Falla: El sombrero de tres picos
de Falla: Harpsichord concerto

[bhodges]

Last night, the best performance I've ever heard of Louis Andriessen's Workers Union, at the Tune-In Festival, curated by the group eighth blackbird. They were joined by musicians from red fish blue fish, Newspeak, and around ten more musicians for a total of about 30 people. What made it fascinating: the six members of eighth blackbird began, with the rest of the crew entering one-by-one, or by twos, until the final few minutes had the entire bunch onstage.

Alex Ross posted a tweet saying the sound level reached 97 dB. 

--Bruce

[Brahmsian]

Brahms

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op.83
4 Klaviestucke, Op.119

Karin Lechner, piano
Berliner Symphoniker
Eduardo Marturet, conducting

Brilliant Classics

[MishaK]

For Strauss' Four Last Songs, Karajan is still the man to beat in my opinion:

Janowitz's performance is desert island material, no question. I just mentioned the Harteros performance to note that the filler material to Luisi's Alpensinfonie is very good as well.

[Mirror Image]

Janowitz's performance is desert island material, no question. I just mentioned the Harteros performance to note that the filler material to Luisi's Alpensinfonie is very good as well.

I know, Mensch. I was just pointing out to jlaurson that the Karajan was my favorite and the best version I've heard. That's all I'm saying.

[mahler10th]

I had written quite a lot about this recording and suddenly GMG was gone totally, and my posting was lost. Well I am so pissed of I will not do it again.

Lol.  That has happened to me too.
Meanwhile this is spinning at unnerving speeds in the tray:

Got it from Jeffrey (vandermolen) a while back, and still playing strong.  This is one of the finest Martinu 4's out there by a conductor relatively unknown in the standard reportoire.   
Martinu has a fantastically interesting musical voice, and I think its colourful without trying to be so.

[Mirror Image]

Now:

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Listening to Violin Concerto No. 2 with the great Kyung-Wha Chung on violin. Her approach here is more lyrical than her recording with Solti, but no less endearing.

[Opus106]

It's a bit strange to find the following stanza set to rather upbeat music. (From Pergolesi's setting of Stabat Mater.)

Quae moerebat et dolebat,
pia Mater, dum videbat
nati poenas inclyti.

Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.

[Translation from Wikipedia]

[rubio]

Little time for listening this week, though I've managed these recent arrivals:

What is your opinion about this one, erato? I see some rate it highly here, and I'm always weak when it comes to some latin american/Brazilian flavour.

[MishaK]

This now:

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[The new erato]

What is your opinion about this one, erato? I see some rate it highly here, and I'm always weak when it comes to some latin american/Brazilian flavour.

A little schmaltzy and kitschy at times, but also poetic, colourful and dynamic. Great sound. With Villa-Lobos you get it all.

[listener]

lps
from the DVORAK piano music series with Radoslav Kvapil:
8 Waltzes, op. 54       Silhouettes  op. 8
sublime!
REICHA Fantasia in E, op. 61    Jos. Anton STEFFAN Capriccio 5 in c
HUMMEL Rondo in Eb, op. 11   solo piano
VORISEK  Grande Ouverture in c, op., 10, MOSCHELES Hommage à Handel op.92 for 2 pianos
    Hans-Helmut Schwarz with Edith Henrici
LALO Piano Concerto in f,      PIERNÉ   Piano Concerto in c
Marylène Dosse, piano      Stuttgart Philharmonic       Matthias Kuntzsch, cond.

[Mirror Image]

Now:

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Listening to Hungarian Peasant Songs right now. This is such an outstanding set. Fischer is one of my favorite Bartok conductors along with Boulez and Solti. Rattle is also quite good.

[mahler10th]

Now:
[asin]B000FOQ1A4[/asin]
Listening to Hungarian Peasant Songs right now. This is such an outstanding set. Fischer is one of my favorite Bartok conductors along with Boulez and Solti. Rattle is also quite good.

Fischer and Boulez are so different in their handling of Bartok, the former imo is more extrovert, and Boulez is somehow darker and more 'dangerous.'  They too are my favourite Bartokians.  I have heard Solti, but it was unremarkable to me, so I forgot it - maybe it is better than my first hearing, I may revisit.  And I don't know Rattles Bartok at all, tho' I suspect it is presented in some kind of 'magical' way. 

Meanhwile.  Some stirring stuff from Ransgtrom...
This is mind soaringly OUTSTANDING.

[Brahmsian]

First Listen Friday  from the library

Richard Rodney Bennett - b.1936-

Partita for orchestra (1995)
Reflections on a 16th Century Tune for string orchestra (1999)
*Songs Before Sleep for bass-baritone and strings (2002-2003)
#Reflections on a Scottish Folk Song for Cello and String Orchestra (In memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother- 2004)

*Jonathan Lemalu, baritone
#Paul Watkins, cello

Philharmonia Orchestra
Richard Hickox

Chandos

Quite lovely.  I was impressed, my first listen to this composer.

[Lethevich]

Renewing an obsession with these works. I used to be unable to go a week or two without listening to one or two.

[mahler10th]

Acquired this (Alpine Symphony conducted by Haitink on LSO Live) recently, and finally getting a first hearing of it. The sound is AMAZING! The lows are among the most present that I have ever heard. Just wow! When Night erupts into sunrise, the whole world shakes. This is sunrise on a mountain as it ought to be!!! Good morning! There is a slight moment of confusion later when the horns in the distance enter. Their entry is not heard over the instruments there (and they are a bit too recessed to my taste), but once past the initial moment and the ear adjusts, no real problems.

Entry into the Woods is lyrical and beautiful, progressing the 'story' nicely. I should mention that the ensemble playing is quite good overall. Very crisp. Brings us to the waterfall, and then the meadow and pastures. All of it suitably grand, lyrical. sweet, as approproate.  Are there supposed to be what sounds like cow bells on the pasture? Never noticed that before! And the glacier, which can be awkward sounds quite good for the most part on the approach to some dangerous moments. And then we are at the summit. Beautiful oboe playing - fragile sounding. Never really heard that aspect here so much. Hmm. And the booming vibration of the low brass (stunning really)! This is a mountain in all its glory and the LSO let you know it!  Followed by the summit and I almost feel like it is the first time I'm listening again - I smile with the exhileration, the grandeur, the vision....can this somehow go on forever?
No, (at least not on Richard's mountain), as the mists rise and the sun darkens....
There really is a mournful quality to the elegie. And then the calm...which doesn't really feel all that calm as it develops the whirling winds, the thunder and flashes of lightning. What wonderful playing! It is now ominous and we are enveloped in the storm. and we hear all the parts we heard on the way up cocooned in the sounds of the storm. This storm wasn't the most furious I've heard, but still wonderfully done (and not overdone as some do - you always feel like they have more to give if they need it and that is exactly how I like it). And then we are back to the beauty of sunset, final sounds and night. Such beauty. Really great playing here and I like the fleeter speeds (in final sounds mostly). Not sure how fast this should be, but it seemed a bit swifter, yet still in keeping with the moment. I hate it when this part drags (and it sometimes can), and here it most definitely does not. Finally, we descend back into night. What a great 'dark' sound the orchestra creates, it just vibrates through your very being. it moves you to the core.
PAUSE
I'm back at my desk now, having gotten off the mountain, and I am moved to speechlessness. I really cannot talk even several minutes after this piece has ended. I'm full of contemplation, exaltation, and yet calm despite the haunting darkness that still awaits us.  I don't know if this is the 'best' version or not (I only have Mehta to compare against and I like that one a lot too), but it is special and with fantastic sound. I normally don't buy multiple versions of works I already own (and like), but this one was worth it and I can't wait to listen to this again.

GOOD GOD!  I must buy it straight away...!