What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[karlhenning]

"Go to 'H-'", I was once told . . . .

Henning!

[Mirror Image]

Now:

[asin]B0000042DN[/asin]

Listening to Chamber Symphony No. 1. Excellent performance by Mehta and the LA Philharmonic.

[Mirror Image]

Now:

[asin]B0002X4TWU[/asin]

Tortelier is one of the great conductors of Ravel's music. I think he's sadly underrated amongst listeners and admirers of Ravel's music. Listening to Sheherazade right now and he coaxes some of the most beautiful textures I've heard in this work.

[Drasko]

[Mirror Image]

This has to be one of the most distasteful covers I've seen. I mean what moron would design a cover to look like this?

[Mirror Image]

Now:

[asin]B000AC5B16[/asin]

Listening to Ma Mere L'Oye right now. Beautiful performance from Dutoit/MSO.

[Mirror Image]

Now:

[asin]B0000028XU[/asin]

This is a great recording of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto. The Liszt never interested me too much. I would dare to describe this recording of the Schoenberg as beautiful in its own strange way. Ax and Salonen are exemplary.

Next:

[asin]B0046VRR7S[/asin]

Going to listen to Taras Bulba with Mackerras (of course) with the Czech Philharmonic.

[Coopmv]

This has to be one of the most distasteful covers I've seen. I mean what moron would design a cover to look like this?

Exactly.  This is the worst cover I have ever seen, period.

[Sid]

.[asin]B000MRP1TG[/asin]

So typically Arnold: alternately incisive, spritely, bouyant, dark, and full of emotional and compositional content, but self-sabotating somehow - I can't describe these as major works in the repertoire, but they try hard and are rigorously crafted. They also don't aim to be more than the sum of their contents, and as such are an unqualified success.

That sounds like an interesting set of works. I have kind of dismissed Arnold before, but I've only heard a number of his orchestral works. I own a number of the Magginis recordings on Naxos of UK composers' string quartets and they have all been interesting. It's good that they're putting these kinds of works out there for people to discover or rediscover. Their playing is excellent...

[Lethevich]

Indeedie, so far every Maggini recording (bar perhaps their latest with Ronald Corp, who I had never heard of before) is a wonderful presentation - I should finish my collection of them soon. Even in "difficult" music like Arnold, they make it sound worthy.

Arnold's two quartets are more consistent than his symphonies, but also somewhat derivative of Bartók - although Arnold's trademark manic up/down moods give them the feeling of worthy and distinctive works, if lacking the unflinching rigour and confidence of the composer who inspired them

I think the pieces will grow on me, as there's a lot of content there, but its presentation is somewhat alienating - the composer distancing from the listener himself as usual.

[Mirror Image]

Exactly.  This is the worst cover I have ever seen, period.

I would be ashamed to have even released a recording with that cover on it.

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD 6, the last CD - Scherzo and Mazurkas from this set for a first listen ...

[not edward]

This is a great recording of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto. The Liszt never interested me too much. I would dare to describe this recording of the Schoenberg as beautiful in its own strange way. Ax and Salonen are exemplary.

I don't always agree with you on recordings, but I've always thought this was a very underrated performance, actually much more convincing than the couple of times I've heard Ax play the work live.

I'm doing a comparative listening of the Davis and Hickox recordings of Tippett's 3rd symphony. I think Hickox comes out the clear winner--the playing seems more assured, which pays rich rewards, particularly in the finale. I imagine this can be put down more to 20 years of orchestral experience with Tippett's music than to one conductor understanding the language better (Davis' 2nd is still an outstanding performance to my mind).

[Mirror Image]

I don't always agree with you on recordings, but I've always thought this was a very underrated performance, actually much more convincing than the couple of times I've heard Ax play the work live.

I think the performance is strangely ethereal. Quite beautiful. This is my fourth time listening to this performance and it gets better with each listen.

[Que]

This morning back again to the Van Nevel set. The main focus is on the Franco-Flemish School, but here a sidestep to Jacobus Gallus from the Austrian-Habsburgian Empire, born in presentday Slovenia.

 

Q

[listener]

a couple of CDs I took from the shelf for a reference on another thread:
Guillaume LEKEU  Andromède, Burgraves: Symphonic Introduction
Orchestre de Liège      Namur Symphonic Choir    Pierre Bartholomée, cond.
- can also be found in the Liège Phil. 50th Anniversary box, but without notes and text.
DITTERSDORF Sinfonias on Ovid's Metamorphoses nos.4 - 6: The Rescue of Andromeda by Perseus, The Transforming of the Lycian Peasants into Frogs, The Turning to Stone of Phineas and His Friends
Failoni Orchestra,   Hanspeter Gmür, cond.
and a HUMMEL LP
Quintet in D, op. 74
Eugene List, Vermont Festival Players
Concerto in G for Piano, Violin and Orchestra, op. 17
Eugene List, Carroll Glenn (violin), Vienna Chamber Orch.   Ernst Märzendorfer, cond.

[val]

GRANADOS:         Danzas Españolas              / Alicia de Larrocha  (DECCA, 1980)

Minor works in a splendid interpretation, even if I preferred her former version for EMI.

[mc ukrneal]

Now listening to a little Moscheles from the Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto Series - #1,6 and 7. Well performed and played...
[asin]B00008ZZ3H[/asin]

[karlhenning]

Now:


Listening to Chamber Symphony No. 1. Excellent performance by Mehta and the LA Philharmonic.

Is it the original scoring, MI, or the big band arrangement?

[Brian]

.

[asin]B00005MFGY[/asin]

Having just recommended this to Mirror Image, I am now scrambling to make sure it's as good as I remember it. 

(It is.)