What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[ChamberNut]

How can I see? My eyes are plastic!  

[Opus106]

How can I see? My eyes are plastic! 

Yay, we can stick to 300px^2 now!

[karlhenning]

Henning
Fragments of « Morning Has Broken », Opus 64a (2002)
Radiant Maples, Opus 59 (2001)
Peter H. Bloom, fl
the composer, cl
Mary Jane Rupert, hp
Paul Cienniwa, pf

[DavidW]

Poetically put!

Thread duty:

Henning
The Angel Who Bears a Flaming Sword, Opus 94a (2008)
Peter H. Bloom, alto flute

I thought you were listening in your mind until you mentioned performers.  Do you have recordings lying around?  If they're studio recordings you should totally sell them!

[George]

Yay, we can stick to 300px^2 now!

*rolls plastic eyes*

[karlhenning]

I thought you were listening in your mind until you mentioned performers.

Do you have recordings lying around?  If they're studio recordings you should totally sell them!

I have nine discs, nine against the rings for mortal men doomed to die, sitting here in the cubicle.  Most of them are promised out already.

My engineer has some space she can upload these to, but it's much easier for her to see to when she returns to school next week.

[Dana]

Dvorak American Quartet, by the Concord Quartet. What a fun, jaunty performance!

[Lilas Pastia]

César Franck: symphony in d minor (plus the Variations symphoniques payed by Aldo Ciccolini). Both from 1953, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, André Cluytens (Pathé Marconi recordings).

The main draw here is the symphony. I was somewhat surprised to find Cluytens in high voltage, let-it-all-hang-out mood. This version takes 2 minutes less than the highly charged CSO Monteux (timings shaved by some 50, 30 and 40 seconds in each movement). An I thought Monteux was high on champagne and cognac! Not that Cluytens is insensitive or hasty. By one of those magic tricks of conducting, he makes the work sound big and majectic, yet crackling with electricity and hell-bent for that last big outburst and guillotine-like last chords. The french orchestra play in a totally different manner from the american one. Orchestral sections are sharply individual in sound and I suspect that speed allied to highly individual choir voicing within the orchestral mass combine to achieve that surprising mix. It reminded me of the surprise I had some 30 years ago when I heard a Munch performance of the work (Rotterdam Phil ??). The orchestra was at sea but roamed together for Munch as if their lives depended on it. In any case, this Cluytens is as impressive as Monteux' or Toscanini's (the latter being unforgettable in the slow introduction to I, after which he seems to lose interest somewhat). Good sound, 1953 Pathé vintage.

Footnote: the Variations splendid, but the sound quality weights it down a bit.

[Christo]

           

[Fëanor]

Schubert:  Quintet for Piano & Strings, D.667, Trout -- Belcea Quartet + Thomas Adès (p)

To my not especially experienced ear this performance is a bit overly polite and a times languid.  I have yet to listen to Adès' Piano Quintet that's included.

[RussellG]

1955/59:

[Bogey]

1955/59:

Is the '55 stereo as well, Russ?

[RussellG]

Is the '55 stereo as well, Russ?

Hi Bill, it sure is.  The '55 is a two-track recording while the '59 is three-track.

[Coopmv]

Is the '55 stereo as well, Russ?

I have this SACD as well.  It would not have made any sense to release a monaural recording under the Living Stereo brand ...

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD1 from this set, which arrived today with the Kempff's mono Beethoven PS set.  I got these two sets at such bargain prices ...   

[Coopmv]

Hi Bill, it sure is.  The '55 is a two-track recording while the '59 is three-track.

I think all the SACD's issued under Living Stereo are three-channel ...

[George]

Now playing CD1 from this set, which arrived today with the Kempff's mono Beethoven PS set.  I got these two sets at such bargain prices ...   

You're a lucky man. 

What do you think of Backhaus?

[Coopmv]

You're a lucky man. 

What do you think of Backhaus?

So far so good, he was a first rate piano virtuoso.  Thanks for recommending this set to me ...     

[George]

So far so good, he was a first rate piano virtuoso.  Thanks for recommending this set to me ...     

It took me awhile for his Beethoven to grow on me, like Kempff he has a unique style that required some repeated listening for true appreciation to set in.

[Coopmv]

It took me awhile for his Beethoven to grow on me, like Kempff he has a unique style that required some repeated listening for true appreciation to set in.

I am not a subscriber to the notion that the newer the better.  No doubt I upset the HIP crowd on this forum when I only have lukewarm reception for some of the supposedly hot HIP recordings.  But I like recordings by Kempff and Walcha, the old school ...      0:)