What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Harry]

Mozart

Church Sonatas.

Bohuslav Matousek, Violin.
Collegium Jaroslav Tuma.

Licensed from Bayer Records.

Fine music well performed and recorded.
Came from the big Mozart box from Brilliant.

[Que]

Tell me more!! 

When was it recorded?

Ah yes, I was last night listening to the Schumann concerto with Istomin on this disc. A truly wonderful performance with some personal nostalgia attached to it, since it was one of the very first classical recordings I've ever listened to.

But I guess your interest was raised by the appearance of the recording of the Emperor concerto by Serkin with the NYPO? It was recorded on 22th December 1941. It's an interesting performance: nicely swift and crisp, amazing clarity in playing and fingerwork by Serkin. Though Serkin can take the music a bit too "straight" and meticulous for my taste. At times I would have liked some more flexibility and poetry. To me Walter's '34 take on the Emperor with Gieseking has more appeal.
Recording is good: full bodied sound with good capture of the tone and depth of the sound of the piano, no distortions but a distant sound picture at times, especially in the last mvt.

Q

[wintersway]

Good morning/day to all! A little Shosty to get the blood moving!

[Harry]

Miklos Rozsa

Violin Concerto, opus 24.
Sinfonia Concertante, for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, opus 29.

Anastasia Khitruk, Violin.
Andrey Tchekmazov, Cello.
Russian PO/Dmitry Yablonsky.

Wonderful music, well performed and recorded. Miss Khitruk is quite a violinist, and has a nice firm tone.
The Orchestra follows suit, and performs really on a high level this amazing music from Rozsa.
For the money this is a steal.

[Que]

Q

[Drasko]

I have another recording of Le Roux' Pièces de clavessin (on Arkadia), and the notes have a rather interesting story about his life: apparently not a single record of the so-called Le Roux exists apart from that score. No concert attendance (very publicized and mundane events), no address, no house, no nothing. The author goes on to mention the strong stylistic affinity between D'Anglebert's harpsichord works and Le Roux' style and further conjectures that he was actually D'Anglebert's own son. Widely known as one of France's foremost harpsichord virtuosos, D'Anglebert Jr was loathed by Couperin because of his court positions (he was "Claveciniste du Roy"). In turn, he was very much in awe of his famous father's renown as a composer and might not have dared publish anything under his own name for fear of comparison. 

I'm not sure about that scenario. Both recordings date from 1993.  Given that the above story is player Iakovos Pappas' own conjecturing, it's very possible that Rousset was unaware or just uninterested in participating in it. But the thesis of a pseudonym seems very logical.

Very interesting, and indeed sounds plausible. Maybe this character was Ravel's inspiration for Gaspard de la Nuit.

I couldn't make stylistic connection to d'Anglebert since haven't heard anything by him yet. There are few french baroque composers who wrote for clavecin and whom I haven't explored yet - d'Anglebert, de Chambonnieres, Duphly, Forqueray's transcriptions of his father viol suites...
Any recommendations?

[sidoze]

chopin preludes bolet carnegie

[George]

Ah yes, I was last night listening to the Schumann concerto with Istomin on this disc. A truly wonderful performance with some personal nostalgia attached to it, since it was one of the very first classical recordings I've ever listened to.

But I guess your interest was raised by the appearance of the recording of the Emperor concerto by Serkin with the NYPO?

Good guess. 

It was recorded on 22th December 1941. It's an interesting performance: nicely swift and crisp, amazing clarity in playing and fingerwork by Serkin. Though Serkin can take the music a bit too "straight" and meticulous for my taste. At times I would have liked some more flexibility and poetry. To me Walter's '34 take on the Emperor with Gieseking has more appeal.
Recording is good: full bodied sound with good capture of the tone and depth of the sound of the piano, no distortions but a distant sound picture at times, especially in the last mvt.
Q

Thanks very much, I hope to track down either of those Emperors at some point in my travels trough the local used stores. 

[johnQpublic]

Arnold - The Roots of Heaven Overture (Sutherland/ASV)
Moeran - Cello Concerto (Wallfisch/Chandos)
Tippett - Songs for Dov (Robson/Virgin)

[Thom]

[greg]

Havergal Brian: Symphonies 20 and 25, Fantastic Variations on an Old Rhyme

after listening to the Fantastic Variations on an Old Rhyme and Sym 20, i realized this guy might end up being one of my favorite-ish composers once i get to know him better. The 25th isn't as good as the others, but overall the music is very very imaginative, and definetely let's you daydream the whole time, which is what i like about it. It can be boring, though, if you let it...

[not edward]

Brahms: Symphony No 2 (WP/Furtwängler, 1945). Wonderful.

[springrite]

Havergal Brian: Symphonies 20 and 25, Fantastic Variations on an Old Rhyme

after listening to the Fantastic Variations on an Old Rhyme and Sym 20, i realized this guy might end up being one of my favorite-ish composers once i get to know him better. The 25th isn't as good as the others, but overall the music is very very imaginative, and definetely let's you daydream the whole time, which is what i like about it. It can be boring, though, if you let it...

Yes Greg (Grieg?), Brian takes a bit of getting used to. But the in the end it can be enormously rewarding.





Now listening: Beethoven Late Sonatas (Gulda)

[Don]

chopin preludes bolet carnegie

Now that's one fantastic performance; think I'll listen to it later today.

[Keemun]

[karlhenning]

Berlioz
Symphonie funèbre et triomphale, Opus 15

[Don]

Andrew Rangell playing Bach's WTC Bk. 1 on Bridge.  From past Bach recordings, I know Rangell to be quite distinctive (sort of a mini-Rubsam).  On this new set, he may have gone overboard.  He often pulls the tempos out of shape and even alters the rhythmic pulse.  My problem with the performances is that the changes he makes are all very emphatic and call attention to themselves.  This is probably an interpretation I'll have to hear many times before becoming accustomed to it, so verdict not in yet.

[Opus106]

Currently, the Pathetique Sonata played by Kempff, and later it'll be Kinderszenen played by Lupu.

[ChamberNut]

Today so far:

DeBussy - String Quartet  (Belcea Quartet)
Ravel - String Quartet (Belcea Quartet)

Brahms - German Requiem

Bach - Violin Concerto BWV 1041, 1042 and 1052  Naxos on-line

Brahms - F.A.E. Sonata II:  Scherzo in C minor Wo02 - Naxos on-line

Brahms - Viola Sonata in F minor, Op. 102/1 Naxos on-line

[karlhenning]

Today so far:

Brahms - German Requiem

Who performing?