What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Mirror Image]

Now:

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Finishing up Act II.

Next:

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A new acquisition. I'm going to be listening to Debussy's La Mer and Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition orchestrated by Ravel. I haven't heard either of these performances.

[Sadko]

More Rachmaninov:

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Preludes etc (Horowitz, S. Richter, Gilels, Sofronitsky)

Piano Transscriptions (Garrick Ohlsson)

Études-tableaux opp. 33 & 39 (Nikolai Lugansky)

[TheGSMoeller]

Good evening friends, hope all is well 

Listening now...

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Most of the disc is a re-recorded version of music from the soundtrack to Drowning by Numbers, which was music based on Mozart tunes.

[listener]

Peter WARLOCK (Philip Heseltine)  26 Songs
Norman Bailey,  bass-bar;   Geoffrey Parsons, piano
not nearly as dreary as I feared, rather pleasant in fact.  It must be someone else whose songs are like watching stale flowers droop that I was thinking of.
No texts included, but unnecessary for English-speaking listeners. Very clear diction.
MOZART  Concerto for 2 Pianos & Orch. K.365
Hephzibah Menuhin, Fou T'Song, pianists    Bath Festival Orch.
              Concerto for 3 Pianos & Orch. K.242
Hephzibah, Yaltah &  Jeremy Menuhin, pianists
London Philharmonic Orch.      Yehudi Menuhin cond.

[DavidW]

The Tchaikovsky is a piece that really ought to be included in the top chamber music game, but that could be said for many others too In hindsight I should've picked it over one of my other choices.

Well the list will go to 100 so plenty of time!

I like that too, but since my favorite Tchaikovsky chamber work is on the board... I'm happy.

Now for listening Mozart Symphony No 35 calls!

[prémont]

Bach Italian Concerto, French Overture, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue performed by Belder... and WOW I love it!  I hate this Thursdays pays off again, I no longer hate the harpsichorder, it was the performer.  Belder's WTC featured zany fast playing (can't hear the structure), and strange rubato on top of it, doesn't even sound Bachian.  My previous harpsichord experience was years before when I wasn't enthusiastic for PI.  I didn't even give the English Suites a fair try after the Belder WTC fiasco... and I just falsely generalized to harpsichords sound clanging, banging, too fast and unmusical... and you know what?  It's all hogwash.  I just don't like Berben.

Belder's performances of those works (Italian Concerto, French Overture, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue) are eye opening.  Fantastic!  The harpsichord is a musical instrument and the performers can make Bach sing.

Supposedly you mean Berben (bold types in the quote of your post). Yes, Berbens horrible WTC was the reason why I  (and our Toñito) avoided Berben for a long time, but he has improved considerably since then and made a number of interesting Bach recordings lately. I agree with you about Belder. For some reason artists recording for bargain labels almost always are underrated, Jando is another example of this tendency.

[Mirror Image]

Now:

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A new acquisition. Listening to Brenzin right now. Riisager is like a cross between Ravel and Stravinsky. A curious mixture for sure, but this is just fun music!

[prémont]

re Dowland Lachrymae:  Performance style is a bit towards Stokowski with the warm string sound, tempos seemed a bit more brisk and I did not feel like falling asleep. 

A most surprising association. I have heard many Dart recordings from the 1950es, and he never made me think of Stokowski.

[Que]

Revisiting this disc.

Good morning.

Q

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Revisiting this disc.

Good morning.

Q

That is indeed a very fine disc, its waiting for me to be played again, which will be very soon.

[Que]

That is indeed a very fine disc, its waiting for me to be played again, which will be very soon.

Relistening confirms my previous impression that it is pretty good stuff: inventive and original.  Noticable influence of earlier English viol music.

Q

[mc ukrneal]

Here is something entirely new, from a period that I don't listen to all that much:
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This is Crecquillon's Missa Mort m'a prive and Oeil esgare. The harmonies are haunting and the performances are dazzling. It will take some time for me to take it in I think.

Thanks to thsoe who recommended it!

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Here is something entirely new, from a period that I don't listen to all that much:
[asin]B000FI902Q[/asin]

This is Crecquillon's Missa Mort m'a prive and Oeil esgare. The harmonies are haunting and the performances are dazzling. It will take some time for me to take it in I think.

Thanks to thsoe who recommended it!

Somehow I never took at heart the performances of this Dutch ensemble, I did not find the balance of voices ideal. But most agree with you Neal, that what they do, they do well in the ears of the musical world.

[mc ukrneal]

Somehow I never took at heart the performances of this Dutch ensemble, I did not find the balance of voices ideal. But most agree with you Neal, that what they do, they do well in the ears of the musical world.

Happens. I think the parts I find surprising are the sonorities and harmonies. I don't listen to music from this period that often, and it reminds me that there was a lot more talent than I realize. Anything that you (or Que or others) would recommend from this period that you enjoy? I probably won't get it right away with all the discs I already have waiting for a listen, but I would be interested to get more.

[listener]

switch to cd's
Bernard HERRMANN film music: Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Fahrenheit 451, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Gulliver's Travels, The Day the Earth Stood Still
Herrmann conducting the National Philharmonic Orchestra
and HOWELLS organ music
Organ Sonata, 6 Pieces -
Robert Benjamin Dobey, Roosevelt-Schantz organ, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Syracuse, NY  (1892, rebuilt 1980)

[Antoine Marchand]

Supposedly you mean Berben (bold types in the quote of your post). Yes, Berbens horrible WTC was the reason why I  (and our Toñito) avoided Berben for a long time, but he has improved considerably since then and made a number of interesting Bach recordings lately. I agree with you about Belder. For some reason artists recording for bargain labels almost always are underrated, Jando is another example of this tendency.

It happens and I don't exactly know the reason why. It's like if some people needed to see the price tag to decide if they are listening to a great artist or not. Belder is a great harpsichordist (he also plays another keyboards: fortepiano, organ and so, but I think he is basically a harpsichordist) and his Bach, Scarlatti and Soler as a soloist are mandatory. I think his ensemble Musica Amphion is first-rate too (especially in Telemann, although not so in Corelli, IMHO). If any time I was relatively disappointed, it was with his Rameau and his Bach harpsichord concertos. I hoped a definitive version of those Bach works from a sort of Dutch "dream team" (Belder, Menno van Delft, Siebe Henstra and so), but unfortunately it was not the case (although it's a good version anyway).     

[Luke]

Good evening friends, hope all is well 

Listening now...

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Most of the disc is a re-recorded version of music from the soundtrack to Drowning by Numbers, which was music based on Mozart tunes.

More precisely than that, it's based on two short sections of the slow movement to the violin/viola Sinfonia Concertante. It's one of Nyman's best works, I think, admirably inventive...but it's the first movement which is simply one section of the Mozart with all appogiatures repeated three times, which is most effective of all, I think. A very strange, thought-provoking piece, that one.

[AnthonyAthletic]

Very good to see this back in the catalogue again via Musical Concepts (slimline box, paper sleeves, decent booklet, no Dr Cooper conversation just the fragment of what wasn't ever to be a 10th). 

I had the original jewel case issue is a smartbox, must be 15 years out of print on the old Pickwick IMP label.  What a stupid decision on hindsight to sell it on about 12 years ago!!

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This is one set which allows me to relive old, happier memories and Beethoven anew.  Not saying its the greatest, far from it but the whole set to me means Beethoven nostalgia, on a par with Barbirolli's Mahler 5th, 'you have to like this, you have to like this'...some do, some don't.  I'm in the 'do' camp.  Real shame there's not more of Wyn Morris in the catalogue.

Disc 1: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 'Eroica'
Disc 2: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6 'Pastoral'
Disc 3: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 7
Disc 4: Symphonies Nos. 5, 8 & 10
Disc 5: Symphony No. 9 'Choral'

London Symphony Chorus, Alison Hargen (soprano), Della Jones (contralto), David Rendell (tenor), Gwynne Howell (bass)

Trudging solemny through the Eroica now, mvt 2   

[Lethevich]

IMP was such a good label, wasn't it? Wyn Morris churned out quite a lot of excellent performances, which the label recorded in rather excellent sound. I have only heard his "10th" in the Beethoven cycle, though.

[AnthonyAthletic]

IMP was such a good label, wasn't it? Wyn Morris churned out quite a lot of excellent performances, which the label recorded in rather excellent sound. I have only heard his "10th" in the Beethoven cycle, though.

Yes, it was a good label with some decent recordings.  Mahler 8 with Wyn Morris being very high up as 8th's go.  And a couple of Mahler song cycle discs inc Klagende...marvellous.