What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Antoine Marchand]

This evening another 'new' arrival today in the mail...

... this morning arrived my first package from Abeille Musique! So I'm very busy. 

That Tchaikovsky double-CD came in the package. 

[listener]

ALBINONI Concerti a cinque,  op.5
     12 3-movement works that run under 8 min. at the most.   The final movement for each is a fugue so you can easily tell when a new one starts.  Recorded in 1981 by I Musici, warm sound with vibrato.
Hearing all 12 in a row is a surfeit of goodness, better to have split the session.

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD1 from this set - St Matthew Passion, which just arrived a few days ago ...

[Coopmv]

Now playing this CD from my rather modest Rachmaninoff collection ...

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Bartok
String Quartet 5
Vegh Quartet
Naive

Another nice performance, but I can't help but feel that they smooth the edges out too much in these quartets. I'd be interested to hear what others think about this.

That's generally how I feel, too. Nice playing with a warm 'down home' feel but I prefer the greater drive and bite of either the Emerson or Takacs. 

[SonicMan46]

Here listening to the string quartets by Pyotr Ilyich:

Tchaikovsky - Complete String Quartets and Souvenir de Florence
Borodin Quartet w/ Genrikh Talalyan & Mstislav Rostropovich
2 CDs, digital remastering, 2000  Chandos Historical

Antoine - I have the same group (later in 1993) playing the same works but w/o Rostropovich - the only set that I've owned so no comparison comments w/ the earlier recording or w/ those by others?

At the moment - Gade, Niels (1817-1890) - String Orchestra Works w/ Sinfonietta Koln - another inexpensive BRO purchase - taking a chance - his symphonic output has received some mixed comments, but these string works are quite engaging and melodious, and similar to those by Mendelssohn - so if you like the latter, these sound much alike - 


 

[Que]

Well, I'm surprised of no posts since mine on Boris T. - enjoyed that disc to the end, BTW! 

This evening another 'new' arrival today in the mail - I was extremely LUCKY to obtain the Glen Wilson harpsichord performances of the Bach WTC Bks I & II

Good catch, Dave!

Listening:



Enrico Baiano plays an harpsichord by Ugo Casiglia after an instrument by Giovan Battista Giusti, Lucca 1693.

And a good morning to all.

Q

[listener]

ALIABIEV / ALYABIEV   (1787 - 1851) Trio "for fortepiano, violin and cello"
           That's a modern pianoforte that I hear...
   Romances   2 sets of 6 songs   NO TEXTS OR TRANSLATIONS      nice, sound like they might be bt him
        "Dear Canary" tune is familiar as "Schöne Minka" (I think it's in a Hummel trio)
   Introduction and Theme with Variations for Violin and Orchestra
   Souvenir de Moscou (Two Russian Pieces with Variations)  for violin and orchestra  - virtuoso-sounding double-stops and harmonics

No notes on the two violin and orchestra pieces.  Notes include a description of a third movement of something not on this disc (and 3 lines of the preceding sentence related to a mysterious second movement.

Rather a curate's egg of a release, the Souvenir de Moscou will impress violinists (9:11 out of 75:06)    The Trio is available elsewhere, the other selections are unique to this disc.

[Lethevich]

A various smattering.

[mc ukrneal]

Now playing this CD from my rather modest Rachmaninoff collection ...

I like that one too...

[Christo]

First listen ever to Howells' Missa Sabrinensis, captivated from the start - a more than worthy successor to his great Hymnus Paradisi:

                             

[val]

VARÈSE:         Offrandes, Density 21,5, Octandre, Intégrales   
/ Ensemble Intercontemporain, Boulez

Another aspect of Varese's art. The subtle poetry, the instrumental color and the elegance of Octandre, Intégrales or Density 21,5 - played by Lawrence Beauregard. And the wonderful lyricism of the two songs of Offrandes, one of Varese most beautiful inspirations. The interpretation is superlative.

[Que]

Q

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD2 from this set - St Matthew Passion.  Irmgard Seefried was an excellent soprano who could easily beat out many of the present-day sopranos IMO ...

[Coopmv]

A various smattering.

I have this competing set ...

[Que]

Here listening to the string quartets by Pyotr Ilyich:

Tchaikovsky - Complete String Quartets and Souvenir de Florence
Borodin Quartet w/ Genrikh Talalyan & Mstislav Rostropovich
2 CDs, digital remastering, 2000
Chandos Historical

Antoine, when was it recorded?
And by whom, not Chandos I suppose? Melodiya?

Q

[DavidRoss]

Wish the Brüggen set of Haydn symphonies Lethe cites weren't OOP.   

[Moldyoldie]

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 2 (A London Symphony); Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Bernard Haitink, cond.
EMI
Coming to Bernard Haitink's late '80s rendition of Ralph Vaughan Williams' pictorial A London Symphony is like beholding a great city stupefied as to its post-Victorian destiny.  While the soft tolling of Big Ben is barely perceived upon a peaceful daybreak, our anticipation that the capital of The Empire will eventually spring to life is quashed by a surfeit of soft legato phrasing throughout, all abetted by tempi and dynamics seemingly meant to draw us into this city's collective daylong reverie...or perhaps its living on the edge of a shattered dream filled with self-doubt. 

To the novice listener, instead of exemplifying one of the world's diverse centers of culture and commerce as heard in fine recordings from the likes of Boult, Handley, and Previn; this is London on a solemn and sobering Sunday, perhaps too hungover from Saturday night to ever get out of bed and get dressed for church.  It's probably best listened to in a like state -- don't worry, you won't wake the neighbors.

The appended Tallis Fantasia, a truly great and powerful piece for string orchestra, is given the same downy, yet downtrodden treatment.  Is this supposed to be the antecedent of Britain's forthcoming place in the 20th century?  Was the composer this calmly despondent at the state of the world?  For that matter, was Haitink? 

I'm thinking both these sleepy "new age" performances are more reflectively reactive to Thatcher's world than of Vaughan Williams to his.

[SonicMan46]

A couple of more BRO purchases arriving recently:

Gouvy, Theodore (1819-1898) - Wind Chamber Music - basically 3 works, i.e. septet, octet, & nonet - all w/ solo flute and doubling of the other winds (oboe, clarinet, bassoons, & horns depending on the combination) - just taking a chance because of the use of just wind instruments; never heard of this Franco-German (Alsace-Lorraine born) composer but he apparently wrote well over 200 works (90 or so w/ Opus numbers), much lost, ignored, and not recorded! These wind works are rarities for the period and are enjoyable and well done - excellent sound - 

Korngold, Erich (1897-1957) - Sursum Corda & Sinfonietta w/ Bamert - coming up next and continuing to 'add to' my Korngold collection - the first piece was considered unsuccessful at its premiere in 1920, but Korngold incorporated much into his screen music for Robinhood 18 yrs later (and won an Oscar!) - not bad - 

 

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD3 from this set - St Matthew Passion.  This is actually the third version of SMP by Karl Richter I have.  The other two versions are on LP and DVD ...