What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Renfield]

1st Symphony.

Oh yes.

[ChamberNut]

What a coincidence, I just put this on:

Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 3 (Borodin SQ)

Tchaikovsky's string quartets are among my favorites. 

I still don't have the 3rd SQ in my collection.  That must be remedied!   

[Keemun]

I still don't have the 3rd SQ in my collection.  That must be remedied!   

I agree!  It's probably my favorite of the three.

~~~~

Now listening to this:

[Hector]

I PVR'd the transmission of Kennedy's Prom appearance.

What does he think he looks like? A walking black bin bag? Hey, Nige, mate, isn't 'Punk' a tad passe, if you get my drift, man?

However, he managed to squeeze nine hours of rehearsal out of the Beeb and the performance of the Elgar, with Paul Daniel conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra, was magnificent. His stamping of his feet just went to show how totally involved in the music he was.

For the interview afterwards he'd changed into his Aston Villa shirt. That's more like it, Nige, they'll need as much support as they can get this coming season, just like the last and the one before that and the one...

I gave the jazz session a pass

(Personally, I feel that the Canadian, James Ehnes' performance surpasses Kennedy's recordings but that is a personal view).

[karlhenning]

What does he think he looks like? A walking black bin bag? Hey, Nige, mate, isn't 'Punk' a tad passe, if you get my drift, man?

Historical costume. Dude.

[bhodges]

Marc-André Hamelin: Kaleidoscope - One of my favorite Hamelin recordings.

--Bruce

[ChamberNut]

(Personally, I feel that the Canadian, James Ehnes' performance surpasses Kennedy's recordings but that is a personal view).

I'm interested in getting the Ehnes' performance of the Korngold Violin Concerto.  And, I get to see a live performance of Ehnes with the WSO in the 2008/2009 season opener.   

I love Ehnes' performance of the Mozart violin concertos.

[ChamberNut]

Beethoven

Ten Themes with Variations for flute and piano, Op. 107

Patrick Gallois, flute
Cecile Licad, piano

DG

[Lilas Pastia]

I'm interested in getting the Ehnes' performance of the Korngold Violin Concerto.  And, I get to see a live performance of Ehnes with the WSO in the 2008/2009 season opener.   

I love Ehnes' performance of the Mozart violin concertos.

His Paganini Caprices and Bach sonatas (with harpsichord) are a revelation. Ehnes achieves a purity of phrasing that is in a class by itself. He 'spiritualizes' the music instead of making one hear a bow, a violin and a sweating fiddler. He's my current incarnation of ideal violin playing.

Sarge, thanks for that quote on the Stokowski 26th (Brian's, that is). I'm surprised MacDonald could comment on the interpretation in such a way (who is he, anyway ). After all, there is no performing tradition for the work, and no recorded example to judge it by. Johan, I do like 27 a lot, but it's much more classical and less challenging than the 26th. Which may be why I'm so impressed by this strange work.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Sarge, thanks for that quote on the Stokowski 26th (Brian's, that is). I'm surprised MacDonald could comment on the interpretation in such a way (who is he, anyway ). After all, there is no performing tradition for the work, and no recorded example to judge it by. Johan, I do like 27 a lot, but it's much more classical and less challenging than the 26th. Which may be why I'm so impressed by this strange work.

Ah, now I understand - you mean Symphony No. 28! Well, then we have no quarrel, terrific work. Malcolm Macdonald is the Brian authority, having written three books on Brian's symphonies that have set a standard not easy to surpass. Apart from that, he has written excellent books on Schoenberg and Brahms (among other things), and is editor of Tempo, a well-known music journal. Why MM can make this comment? Because he knows the score - Brian often wants the percussion to be played piano where Stokowski lets them play forte or even fortissimo... And he is too slow, sometimes (but gorgeously so, IMO).

Sarge - could you make a picture of MM's classic three-part study and post it here?

Edit: I had missed this (now I know for certain you meant 28 when you wrote 26):

By coincidence, I've been listening to symphonies 27-30 these past few days. For some reason # 27 has by far the best recording, quite suited to the open air  character of the music. I wouldn't go so far as to term it 'pastoral', but it does sound distinctly of the English tradition. By contrast, the Stokowski-led 28th suffers from a noisy recording and restricted dynamic range. It's still good enough to reveal a baffling, now coruscating, now gruff and dementially dissonnant score of great power. I listened to these two twice, and once only to 29 and 30. I haven't made up my mind about them yet. But there's no doubt I'll listen to 28 often.

[Dundonnell]

John Pickard - The Flight of Icarus

This is the work included on the new BIS CD, but in a different (non-commercial) broadcasted performance, and I've reuploaded it here because it's rather amazing, and should be sampled by anybody with a decent connection.

Points of reference are Holst, Strauss and Stravinsky. The most immediate thing about this music is how little of a challenge it is to listen to. There is no having to accustom yourself to a "unique" compositional system, or any extremes in any direction, it's solid orchestral music beautifully written. This is pretty much what I was expecting based on reviews of the BIS CD, but I wasn't anticipating how good the work would actually be. IMO a lot of tonal classical music written recently falls into a few categories:

1. "Traditional" - in something resembling the British mid 20th century style based in familiar movement layouts and with a familiar sound.
2. "Post-minimal" - in some way indebted to or influenced by 60s-70s American minimalism, or the eastern European style from the late 70s-90s.
3. Mood/depictive music, in a similar style used by Hollywood composers. The writing in this can feel slightly two-dimensional or not fully symphonic, rather suite-like.

The interesting thing about The Flight of Icarus is how it does not fall into any of those categories. It keeps ratcheting up tension throughout the first two thirds (presumably corrosponding with the two of three continuous movements that the piece is in - the broadcast rip is all in one movement). The orchestration is both brilliant and confident, percussion is used very liberally without being bombastic. The symphonic momentum throughout is quite masterful, and with this constant forward movement the work never becomes episodic or at any point "sags". When I first called it "easy" to listen to, this referred to the directness with which the composer is able to communicate by writing in a generally tonal style, but obviously without any interest in producing simply "pretty" music. There is a lot going on, and it engages the mind as all good music should.

Essentially, the work ticks all the right boxes. I wasn't sure that music like this was being written anymore, and it's ever so good :3

In a word...."YES"

[calvin]

Wagner's Night

[ChamberNut]

Beethoven (at the age of 15)

Piano Quartet # 1 in E flat, Wo036
Piano Quartet # 2 in D, Wo036
Piano Quartet # 3 in C, Wo036

Eschenbach, piano
Amadeus Quartet members

[SonicMan46]

Strauss, Richard (1864-1949) - Piano Trios w/ Monticello Trio; early works written by the composer in his early teens, i.e. 13-14 y/o; delightful, lyrical, and many influences from earlier composers - but still amazing precocity!

Saygun, Ahmed (1907-1991) - Cello & Viola Concertos w/ Tim Hugh & Mirjam Tschopp - coming up next & just getting into this Turkish composer - a blending of east & west, me thinks! 

 

[Opus106]

Something new...

Balakirev
Piano Concerto No.1
Binns/English Northern Philharmonia/Lloyd-Jones

It's to my liking, and reminds me of Chopin.

[ChamberNut]

Strauss, Richard (1864-1949) - Piano Trios w/ Monticello Trio; early works written by the composer in his early teens, i.e. 13-14 y/o; delightful, lyrical, and many influences from earlier composers - but still amazing precocity!

SonicMan, have you heard his Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 13?  Wonderful!!  It could be mistaken as Brahms 4th Piano Quartet.   

[Peregrine]

[Bogey]

[Drasko]

[Solitary Wanderer]

Disc.1.