What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[listener]

RESPIGHI   Suite in E,  Symphonic Variations, Burlesca, Ouverture Carnevalesca,
                Preludio, Corale e Fuga
Czecho-Slovak Radio S.O., Bratislava  /Adriano, nfn    (no first name)
Locomotive-Music - inspired by rail travel:  Waltzes, Galops, Polkas and a Quadrille
by Eduard STRAUSS, Joh. STRAUSS Jr., Josef STRAUSS, LANNER, Frans BOYER, Jean MEYER
and Traugott GRAHL
Slovak State Philharmonic O., Kosice / Mika Eichenholz
a nice companion to Marco Polo's sets of the Strauss family's music, and with a similar set of good program notes.

[The new erato]

The two Alan Bush symphonies (and the first really is more interesting though the scherso in no2 is earcatching), thentime to break out this set:

[asin]B000050IU2[/asin]

Disc 1; complete ouvertures, vol 1.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

.[asin]B00005NY5D[/asin]

Llibre Vermell de Montserrat: A Fourteenth Century-Pilgrimage

The major drawback of this set (besides its ridicoulous size.. ) is the lack of texts and linernotes with each individual disc.

Could anyone please tell me if the situation on the liner notes is any better with recent reissue?



Q

I just looked at it Que, it has liner notes, but not much to go on, just the usual tracking, and some general explaining. The set is very good though! No text!

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

I was wondering about that.   The BSC box lists the composer as Alan Bush, but without liner notes it was easy to imagine alternative names or something. 
-------------------------------


Yes my bad, I wasn't properly awake when posting it-Alan and Geoffrey, Geeshh.

[springrite]

Well, at least no one thought we were talking about George W.


Now listening:
Janacek:
Danube
Incidental music to Schluck und Jau
Slovak Phil, Pesek

[Que]

I just looked at it Que, it has liner notes, but not much to go on, just the usual tracking, and some general explaining. The set is very good though! No text!

Thanks, Harry! And I agree that it is a beautiful set indeed. 

(For those interested an extensive description & review HERE)

I'll check if anything is available online - it's a disgrace that it is still not standard practice for record companies to put up the texts for free download.

Q

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

I wrote about this disc in very favourable terms ( 24-3-2012) and my impression only deepens if it comes to the excellence of the music and performance. If interested in this time frame and music, try it!

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Another disc that made a huge impression on me. Well Que recommended it, so I knew it was safe But honestly Ablitzer's talent is abundantly in the forefront, delivering a mesmerizing performance of Praetorius Organ music. Little enough recorded, this disc is more than welcome. The third time I play it, and it still feels like a new discovery! The Organ used is quite impressive too, being restore back to its original building specifications.

[Conor71]

Haydn: String Quartet No. 28 In D Major, Op. 20/4, H 3/34


Haydn back to back play - Disc 8 from both box-sets, the Beaux Arts Disc for a first listen

[Que]

Harry, glad you like the Prætorius/ Ablitzer!! In that early organ repertoire a must-have I'd say.

Staying with the Early-Spanish Music theme myself:

[asin]B000MQCA2I[/asin]

This French ensemble sings absolutely perfect - clear, balanced, varied, not too sweet - yet for Morales their sound seems a bit light.  I miss a bit of Spanish earthiness, solemnity and gravitas here, though I would be very much in for some Franco-Flemish repertoire by them!  

Q

[jlaurson]

Earlier:



E. Melartin
The Six Symphonies
L.Grin / Tampere PO
Ondine
Another overdue addition to the roster of neglected late-romantic symphonies. Beautiful stuff, reasonably well performed.

now:




J.S. Bach
"The RIAS Bach Cantata Project"
K.Ristenpart, RIAS Ensembles
(29 Cantatas, rec. 1949 - 1952)
Audite
The first ever attempted Bach Cantata cycle... Planning and first recordings started in 1946 (!); 1948 the project really got going when the young Fischer-Dieskau arrived. 1950 was busy, but by 1952 the US government (understandably) pulled the plug on the RIAS financing and the restructuring left the chamber orchestra that Ristenpart was using by the wayside. Last productions were in 1953. 78 Cantatas were recorded, 25 of them twice. Of the total 107 recordings, only 29 (apparently) survive. Partly due to neglect but apparently also because at the time there were plans to use new versions of older, less satisfactory on-the-spot recordings.

[marvinbrown]

  I am mid-way through this set and am amazed at how much I am enjoying it! 

  [asin]B0000501PC[/asin]
  My past experiences with Haydn have been mixed but here I find a continued sustained interest- perhaps my fondness of these interprations has something to do with it. 


  Currently listeing to CD12 Op.50 No.4, 5, and 6 "The Frog".

  marvin

  I don't know exactly how this happened but I have become addicted to Haydn's string quartets.  Last night I played and replayed and replayed and replayed  Haydn's Op.50 No.6 "the Frog", with its playful finale featuring the quickfire bariolage which mimics a froglike croaking effect.  The 2nd movement adagio is filled with such tender sweetness....

  No need to move onto Op.54 tonight, I think I'll spent one more day listening again to the Op.50 sets.

  What a wonderful investment this set is:
 
  [asin]B0000501PC[/asin]

  marvin
   

[Que]

  I don't know exactly how this happened but I have become addicted to Haydn's string quartets.

I'm not surprised.

I personally find his SQ's one of the highpoints of his output - as far as I know it up till now. I feel this repertoire shows Haydn's personality at his most authentic.

Q

[marvinbrown]

I'm not surprised.

I personally find his SQ's one of the highpoints of his output - as far as I know it up till now. I feel this repertoire shows Haydn's personality at his most authentic.

Q

  How do you feel about his symphonies?  My first reaction to the symphonies were mixed, but that was 4 years ago.  I fear I might have misjudged them.

  marvin

[The new erato]

  I fear I might have misjudged them.

  marvin

That sentence may save you confronting the bazooka.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

The second Volume of the complete Orchestral music by Andrzej Panufnik, and it is as satisfying as the first volume. He has very quickly become one of my favourite composers from that era. His works are very tightly written, economically too, not a note too much. Knitted together like a Flemish tapestry, evoking all kinds of emotions, from the deepest meditation, to joy, and melancholy, a fierce kind of longing for what's beyond, packed in genius writing for brass and strings. Sinfonia Rustica, Symphony No. 1, is a example of the amalgam of emotions Panufnik is employing. Virtual every movement is a picture of human toil. The beautiful second movement "Con grazia", is just that, if you want to know his forte, this is the movement to listen. The quirky writing for brass, woodwinds and strings is awe inspiring. The "Con espressione" movement is ethereally gripping, it flows in such a way, that it works its way in your mind, and you become part of the tides and waves of the music. Often very unreal, but very addictive!  The Fourth movement shakes you out of that world, a almost Stravinskian vigour attacks you full force. Added is a extra bonus track of the third movement, a first version, a minute or so longer, and it is as espressione as the second version. A tad more sinister, a clouded sky that is threatening. The recording is top notch, and the performance is equally so.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

That sentence may save you confronting the bazooka.

Absolutely true, I was getting ready to load the thing!

[jlaurson]

now, onward and upward in that set.



J.S. Bach
"The RIAS Bach Cantata Project"
K.Ristenpart, RIAS Ensembles
(29 Cantatas, rec. 1949 - 1952)
Audite
The first ever attempted Bach Cantata cycle... Planning and first recordings started in 1946 (!); 1948 the project really got going when the young Fischer-Dieskau arrived. 1950 was busy, but by 1952 the US government (understandably) pulled the plug on the RIAS financing and the restructuring left the chamber orchestra that Ristenpart was using by the wayside. Last productions were in 1953. 78 Cantatas were recorded, 25 of them twice. Of the total 107 recordings, only 29 (apparently) survive. Partly due to neglect but apparently also because at the time there were plans to use new versions of older, less satisfactory on-the-spot recordings.

[Karl Henning]

  I don't know exactly how this happened but I have become addicted to Haydn's string quartets.

Oh, it happens just with listening to them, Marvin, believe you me : )

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Sinfonia Concertante for Flute, Harp & Strings by Andrzej Panufnik,is another fascinating piece of music. It starts with a very endearing "Molto cantabile" which quickly turns into a byroad, and gets slightly unhinged, but in friendly way. He plays around with tonality, but the stretching is genial. I like this piece very much.

Anna Sikorzak-Olek, Harp.
Lukasz Dlugosz, Flute.