What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[TheGSMoeller]

...

[asin]B00000C2JR[/asin]

Inspired by the DSCH best symphonies thread, taking this one out for a spin.

[Brahmsian]

Inspired by the DSCH best symphonies thread, taking this one out for a spin.

That warms the cockles of my heart.  That my thread inspired some listening!   

[TheGSMoeller]

That warms the cockles of my heart.  That my thread inspired some listening!   

It's a great discussion, I've already been questioning my choices I made only a few days ago on it.

[Todd]

Maybe 7-8 years ago, I bought a big chunk of Abravanel's Mahler from BRO.  I ended up selling off most of it a couple years later because I thought it wasn't the best around.  Except for the Fourth, which I kept, because it is arguably the best around.  Well, I decided to resample Abravanel's Mahler and bought the newest incarnation of the cycle, now crazy cheap.  I relistened to the First and Second over the past few days, and sure enough, it's not the best around, but it's quick, comparatively light style is inviting and offers rewards of its own.  Playing and singing is a bit scrappy at times, and sound't great, but those are quibbles.  I'm glad I decided to get to know these recordings again, even if they don't supplant my favorites.

[Brahmsian]

I've already been questioning my choices I made only a few days ago on it.

Shit, me too!  I'm already 2nd guessing some of my choices.  That's the beauty of it.

[Brahmsian]

Mahler

6

Tennstedt
LPO

EMI Classics

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to Dance Suite right now. This is an especially fine recording. It contains one of the best performances of Divertimento for Strings I've heard, though, Solti's is quite good as well.

[listener]

Selim PALMGREN   Piano Cocerto 2, op. 33 'The River'
    Juhani Lagerspetz, piano         
                            Piano Concerto 3, op. 40 'Metamorphoses'
    Matti Raekallio, piano
                            Piano Concerto 5, op. 99
    Raija Kerppo, piaano
Turku Philharmonic Orch.    Jacques Mercier, cond.
Nicholas SLONIMSKY   Studies in Black and White    Suite for Cello and Piano
Variations on a Brazilian Tune       Gravestones of Hancock, New Hampshire
Nicolas Slonimsky, piano     Nancy Bramage, sop;    Jerome Kessler, cello

[Coco]

Webern

Op. 5, Five Movements for string quartet (1909); version for string orchestra (1929)
Op. 9, Six Bagatelles for string quartet (1913)
Op. 10, Five Pieces for orchestra (1911–13)
Op. 11, Three Little Pieces for cello and piano (1914)
Op. 14, Sechs Lieder (Six Songs) for voice, clarinet, bass clarinet, violin and cello on poems by Georg Trakl (1917–21)
Op. 15, Five Sacred Songs for voice and small ensemble (1917–22)
Op. 17, Three Traditional Rhymes for voice, violin (doubling viola), clarinet and bass clarinet(1924)
Op. 18, Drei Lieder (Three Songs) for voice, E-flat clarinet and guitar (1925)
Op. 27, Variations for piano (1936)
Op. 30, Variations for orchestra (1940)

Pierre Boulez, Berliner Philharmoniker, et al

[Dancing Divertimentian]

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Listening to Three Pieces for Orchestra. Wonderful stuff. Hallucinogenic music. Berg had to be on something when he composed a lot of his music.

This recording with Gatti and the Royal Concertgebouw is a must for any Berg fan. These are spirited and lush performances and the sound quality is excellent.

[mc ukrneal]

Oh yeah (Bruckner 9 Haitink):


This one has everything: raw power, lyricism, grace, thunder and lightning, nuance, etc. The sound is outstanding.

[val]

BOCCHERINI:         Chamber Music                               / Europa Galante, Fabio Biondi

A splendid anthology, with the beautiful Sextet in F minor and Boccherini's best string Quintet I listened to until now, the Quintet in C minor. The CD also includes the string Quartet G. 214 and the String Trio G. 98. The interpretations are superlative.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Brian: Symphony No. 1, "The Gothic" (Martyn Brabbins / BBC CO / BBC NOW / soloists, choruses, live from the BBC Proms) - First listen, from the gargantuan performance taped last Sunday, available here through Sunday. (Despite some other commitments this weekend, I was determined not to miss this.)

Hard to assess such a sprawling work on first hearing, but I will say I'm enjoying it. As one criterion, one could ask, "Do you want to hear it again?" and so far the answer is definitely "yes." My initial reaction: a thrilling, ambitious, pleasantly messy melange of many stylistic elements - the energy of these disparate parts feels brilliant on one hand, and on the other, sometimes like an overripe film score. But in much of it, Brian's creativity is undeniably powerful. Now I can understand the wide variety of opinions about the piece and the performance. Nevertheless, it must have been quite something to have been there - and also only increases my admiration for Brabbins, coordinating all of this.

--Bruce

Thanks for this, Bruce. Yes, to have been there was terrific and unforgettable. Because of the bad acoustic of the Royal Albert Hall, though, the radio listeners had the better sound... Still, there were things you could only experience in the Hall itself. 'The Gothic' will seem sprawling on a first listen. Once you know the work well, it's very compact and rather short, the same effect you get when you know your Wagner by heart. At present we have the luxury of 5 performances to listen to. If you ever feel like revisiting the work and trying another interpretation (the Brabbins has its own particular perfections and imperfections), please let me know.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Johann Christian Bach.

Sinfonie concertanti, Volume II.

CW 30/3-30/47-T 284/1-T290/4

Budapest Strings, Karoly Botvay.

Volume II is actually better played, there's simply more pluck to it, and the musicians seem to enjoy themselves much more. Maybe after the first disc they thought, geez, this must be played in a different way, after a few members of this orchestra fell asleep during the playing of these concerti. Sound is good, and the solo contributions are most excellent. Thumbs up this time.

[eyeresist]

Australian Decca Eloquence recently issued some of Marriner's Mozart recordings (1968-73), in two 2-CD sets. I am currently enjoying the Serenata Notturna. Ritter in the Third Ear Guide is at every opportunity scathing about Marriner's Mozart, instead holding up Bohm's Berlin DG recordings as the acme of the possible. But, for me, Mozart must have light, beauty and wit, and I find more of that with breezy, urbane Neville than dour old Karl.

Happy listening!

[ASIN]B00549I3PG[/ASIN][ASIN]B00549I47I[/ASIN]

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Edward Elgar..

The Crown of India, opus 66.
Piano Concerto, (slow movement)
The Spanish Lady, opus 89. (Suite)

Mette Christina Ostergaard, Mezzo.
Peter Hall, Narrator..
Margaret Fingerhut, Piano.
Munchner Symphoniker, Douglas Bostock.
Recorded in 2000.

The Crown of India contains some of the most magical music Elgar wrote, and I feel drawn into the music despite the vocal contributions, which are decently done, no screaming, well thank God its a Mezzo, and not a soprano. The text is somewhat dated and grotesque but apart from that, a fine piece of music. The slow movement from the piano concerto is really fine too, and Fingerhut makes the most of it. I love The Spanish Lady too, finely crafted music. All is well performed, and excellently recorded. This is disc I from 10.

[Conor71]

Dvorak: Slavonic Dances


Now playing the first Disc from this newly arrived set - sounds good so far!


[asin]B000065TV2[/asin]

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Dvorak: Slavonic Dances


Now playing the first Disc from this newly arrived set - sounds good so far!


[asin]B000065TV2[/asin]

As far as I am concerned I consider Kubelik's renderings with the Bavarians as top of the bill, you may also consider the Symphonies he recorded on DGG, where he really gets to the heart of Dvorak. In this respect Otmar Suitners take on them is also a good contender for his excellent blend of speeds and finely detailed music making. could not do without both. Suitners set is a give away for the price, and the sound is most excellent.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Frederic Cowen.

Symphony No 6. in E major, "The Idyllic"

Aarhus SO, Douglas Bostock.
Recorded in 2005.

This is a excellent performance of the 6 th Symphony. Apart from it being a great work, it matters very much how you approach it, and Bostock seems to have his priorities right, and delivering a real insight into the sound world of this composer, of which is far to little recorded. The sound is first class. CD II from the British heritage box.