What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[SonicMan46]

Brahms, Johannes - Piano Trios/Wind Trios w/ the Gould Piano Trio - second time around & excellent group!

Farrenc, Louise (1804-1875) - Piano Trios & Sextet w/ Linos Ensemble; this is my 4th CD of this composer's works (love the Piano Quintets); recommendation on the GMG Forum (Harry IIRC) & also a strong endorsement by Scott on Amazon HERE - this 19th century French lady was an outstanding composer; for those into 'chamber music' of the era, she is not to be missed! 


 

[ChamberNut]

Tchaikovsky

Symphony No. 2 in C minor, op. 17 "Little Russian"

Muti
Philharmonia Orchestra
Brilliant Classics

[MN Dave]

Kempff makin' with the Schubert.

[Keemun]

Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Gerhard Oppitz, piano; Colin Davis; Bavarian Radio SO)

[MN Dave]

Mass in B minor by JSB

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD1 from this set, which just arrived today from an Amazon MarketPlace vendor ...

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD2 from this set ...

[Antoine Marchand]

Beethoven #2 Paul Lewis

Now playing CD3: Sonatas No. 27 in E minor, 25 in G major ("Alla tedesca") & 29 in B flat major ("Hammerklavier")

On the enthusiastic side:

Paul Lewis's traversal of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas may just become one of the indispensable recorded versions of these unique works. He tackles the Hammerklavier without attacking it; his interest is textual clarity, and he never fails in that approach. If you listen to the last movement of No. 25, "Alla tedesco," you'll be amazed by the formality and forward propulsion which underpins the seeming merriment in the piece, the abrupt ending suddenly quite a puzzle. Similarly, the first movement of the Waldstein is imbued with a darkness that makes you think you're hearing much of it for the first time. Lewis's is a serious--some might say grave--approach to these works, but it is not heavy; indeed, his touch remains light when it ought to be, without making the music seem trivial. Each movement lets us in on another one of Beethoven's secrets, and the lyrical moments have never seemed lovelier. This is a very special set, highly recommended. --Robert Levine.

On the disappointed side:

This is a disappointment, especially in the light of its enthusiastic critical reception on both sides of the pond. It is cautious, careful, circumspect, earnest, responsible and dull. There is no sign here that Beethoven is dealing out bold strokes. Instead the composer comes off as plain and palatable. And that we know he was not. Fine sound of an exceptional instrument: wasted. Increasingly I find myself turning to pianists of the past for Beethoven, though Kuerti and Goode are still with us and are well worth our attention. --Frank W. Barham, from his review on Amazon.

I see clearly the problems pointed out by the second reviewer, when he says: "There is no sign here that Beethoven is dealing out bold strokes"; but even so I have enjoyed these recordings, especially for the Apollonian clarity in the exposition of the sonatas, the beautiful Lewis' tone and the great SQ. But probably people searching for risky angles or more passionate performances will be disappointed.

[MN Dave]

[Papy Oli]

good morning  

Maiden listen of Villa Lobos' complete music for solo guitar (Norbert Kraft / Naxos). bought a few tracks after reading about it in the guitar thread

Now playing the Popular Brasilian Suites.

Loving it.  

[Lethevich]

So far I think I have only listened to the Brian on this disc, which was both truly excellent and quite unaccessable (as expected) - it took several listens to comprehend the symphonies (as with all the others), and then somehow I feel like slapping my forehead as by then they have become so logical and melodic that I feel amazed they didn't sound this way on the first listen. If I have heard the Cooke, I cannot remember it. Looking forward to this, because I have a soft spot for the kind of neoclassicism he apparently specialises in.

Edit: and now the second disc -

The opening overture on the EMI twofer works well after Cooke's symphony - both are in a similar style, although as a result I find Cooke to be a bit of a throwback. The dazzling first movement has the devil-may-care attitute of a lot of 40s film scores. The lyrical central movement was unexpected, and is more in tune with other British composers of the time.

[Wanderer]

Brahms: Serenades opp. 11 & 16 (BPO/Abbado).

Utterly delightful. Good morning, everyone!

[Harry]

Brahms: Serenades opp. 11 & 16 (BPO/Abbado).

Utterly delightful. Good morning, everyone!

Good morning Tasos!
Yes that is a delightful recording to start with.

[Lethevich]

(Kabalevsky - Symphony No.4)

I only have this on mp3 due to its total OOPness, but the horrible sound can't be mostly due to the format - it is both thin and with an awkwardly large dynamic range. Really grating to listen to, and this may account for my initial very bad impressions of the work. I guess I'll give up again and wait for a decent recording to emerge, if it ever does.

Np; Vanhal.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

So far I think I have only listened to the Brian on this disc, which was both truly excellent and quite unaccessable (as expected) - it took several listens to comprehend the symphonies (as with all the others), and then somehow I feel like slapping my forehead as by then they have become so logical and melodic that I feel amazed they didn't sound this way on the first listen. If I have heard the Cooke, I cannot remember it. Looking forward to this, because I have a soft spot for the kind of neoclassicism he apparently specialises in.

Edit: and now the second disc -

The opening overture on the EMI twofer works well after Cooke's symphony - both are in a similar style, although as a result I find Cooke to be a bit of a throwback. The dazzling first movement has the devil-may-care attitute of a lot of 40s film scores. The lyrical central movement was unexpected, and is more in tune with other British composers of the time.

Even a Brian fan like myself has had to struggle with (some of) his symphonies. Their trajectory is so unpredictable and the discourse (in the later symphonies) often so clipped and curtailed, you have to pry open these treasure chests yourself. But if you succeed, the problems evaporate. After that, the music is as clear as can be. The next stage in your voyage of discovery, once you have cracked the code, is to see in which works the Brianic style works best, and why. Not every symphony is a masterpiece, but most of them are masterly in the strict sense of the word. Brian's most compelling symphonic statements for me are, at this stage: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 17, 22, 27, 28, 30, 31. But the difficulty is that the symphonies have been performed too little to really get an idea of what they are 'capable of', so to speak.

[Harry]

Even a Brian fan like myself has had to struggle with (some of) his symphonies. Their trajectory is so unpredictable and the discourse (in the later symphonies) often so clipped and curtailed, you have to pry open these treasure chests yourself. But if you succeed, the problems evaporate. After that, the music is as clear as can be. The next stage in your voyage of discovery, once you have cracked the code, is to see in which works the Brianic style works best, and why. Not every symphony is a masterpiece, but most of them are masterly in the strict sense of the word. Brian's most compelling symphonic statements for me are, at this stage: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 17, 22, 27, 28, 30, 31. But the difficulty is that the symphonies have been performed too little to really get an idea of what they are 'capable of', so to speak.

So long as they are capable of moving you emotionally, all is well my friend, believe me.

[Papy Oli]

Tallis - Spem in Alium

off this album :

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

So long as they are capable of moving you emotionally, all is well my friend, believe me.

Oh, but they do, Harry, they do. And not only the symphonies I mentioned. I simply love Brian. Can't help it (but I'm not looking for a cure).

[Lethevich]

The next stage in your voyage of discovery, once you have cracked the code, is to see in which works the Brianic style works best, and why. Not every symphony is a masterpiece, but most of them are masterly in the strict sense of the word. Brian's most compelling symphonic statements for me are, at this stage: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 17, 22, 27, 28, 30, 31. But the difficulty is that the symphonies have been performed too little to really get an idea of what they are 'capable of', so to speak.

Indeedie - until they're more recorded - either in studio (cue hearty lol) or from broadcasts of any concert that may occur in future - I can't successfully try to judge their relative merits. At the moment I feel that Brian's cycle can be split into two parts - the "famous" ones (extremely relative) which have been widely released on CD, and the obscure ones available in unoficial broadcast rips only. So far my only real finding from the latter group is how well I connected with no.27 from the beginning. Unlike, say, no.31, it feels brilliantly cohesive and 'symphonic' to me, wheras 31 often takes me by surprise when it finishes, it feeling more like a wide-ranging opening movement.

[Drasko]