What are you listening to now?

[Daverz]

Schumann: Symphony No. 4

[asin] B00000E3RM[/asin]

An old favorite CD.

[André]

Disc 1 of this set, cantatas 147 and 148. No 147 is probably Bach's best known cantata. I was not bothered by the boys' voices in the solo soprano and alto parts. Pacing and articulation are superb. No mushiness whatsoever. It all sounds very fresh and vernal.

[Que]

The Harnoncourt-Leonhardt Bach cantatas series is an old love of mine!

This morning listening to a newly acquired Schütz recording:

[asin]B000004433[/asin]
It came recommended here, but it has been a while ago and I forgot who to thank...   

Q

[Karl Henning]

String quartet in G minor, op. 13



I'm really surprised by the greatness of these quartets. Absolutely coruscating and vigorous!

Excellent!

[Madiel]

I'm wondering what you think my views are, then.

I recall you saying that you'd never heard any music you would regard as atonal. And indeed you are criticising the concept again.

Schoenberg, on the other hand, clearly had heard music that he regarded as atonal and accepted the concept.

(The whole conception of every note being a tonal centre has its own problems, but that's a different issue. The most fun way to explain the problem is to encourage you to see The Incredibles. The first one that is, I don't know whether the same philosophical problem appears in the sequel.)

But the issue with the quote is simple: it shows Schoenberg recognising the existence of atonal music.

[pi2000]

Capucon Beethoven Violin concerto
from here
[asin] B002NZJMQI[/asin]

[Judith]

Started off morning listening to

Bruckner Symphony no 9
Riccardo Muti
Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Can't believe he was still working on this composition the day he died

Finished with

Beethoven Symphony no 8
Riccardo Muti
Philadelphia Orchestra

From box set

One that I don't know as the others but beginning to love it

[Christo]

[Traverso]

Disc 1 of this set, cantatas 147 and 148. No 147 is probably Bach's best known cantata. I was not bothered by the boys' voices in the solo soprano and alto parts. Pacing and articulation are superb. No mushiness whatsoever. It all sounds very fresh and vernal.

It still is  very  good.

[Mandryka]

Disc 1 of this set, cantatas 147 and 148. No 147 is probably Bach's best known cantata. I was not bothered by the boys' voices in the solo soprano and alto parts. Pacing and articulation are superb. No mushiness whatsoever. It all sounds very fresh and vernal.

I started to explore the cantatas only after I was pretty familiar with music by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Sibelius, Shostakovich, Rachmaninov, Wagner, Mozart, Schubert and Mahler. In those days I would have confidently announced that Mahler is the greatest composer! Someone gave me some of these cantatas by Harnoncourt. I remember coming back to my flat early one morning after a night on the town and putting on one of the discs and being completely bowled over by the sounds -- so different from what I'd been used to hearing. There was voice and trumpet and oboe. The textures and the timbres sounded so different and strange. And so fresh.

Anyway inspired your post I just listened to Harnoncourt 147 and the memory of listening at 2 a.m. that morning came flooding back. The freshness remains.

[Madiel]

Barber, Vanessa, op.32

[asin]B0000DKFZ6[/asin]
Streaming per exploration. I actually own a high proportion of Barber's (admittedly small) output, but all I've heard of this opera is one orchestral interlude.

POSTSCRIPT after about 45-50 minutes... I'm not really in the mood for this. I think the 2nd half will wait for another day and/or a purchase.

[Traverso]

Bach

Cantatas



http://www.youtube.com/v/3piZY4M6Bl0

[Harry]

Early Italian Madrigals
Capella Antiqua Munchen, Konrad Ruhland.
CD 13 from this box.

[Karl Henning]

https://www.youtube.com/v/-WCZ77mt2aE

[Karl Henning]

https://www.youtube.com/v/JpI9Zr8rqW4

[Karl Henning]

No surprise:

https://www.youtube.com/v/3mZaW-OEox8

[SonicMan46]

Karl - enjoyed your 3-movement first symphony, and the name: Becalmed Surfaces (Adventures in Sonic Seismography) - liked the combo of a lot of winds w/ percussion - curious how many (and type of) strings were used? I went to your website for some idea of the instruments included (pic below) - thanks for sharing.  Dave

[SonicMan46]

Rolla, Alessandro (1757-1841) - Violin Concertos w/ Paolo Ghidoni & Orch da Camera Mantova - Rolla was known as a violin virtuoso and also a teacher of Paganini - went through most of my Rolla collection a few days ago and no 'Violin Concertos' (he wrote 21), so a new arrival to correct that deficiency -   Dave

 

[Mandryka]

This is a brilliant performance of excellent music, but a mediocre recording, some might say an unacceptably reverbarent recording. There came a point half way through where I was suddenly reminded how poetic Francesco da Milano's later Fantasias are, and how poetic Sandro Volta is. What a shame that Brilliant didn't serve him better.

[Karl Henning]

Karl - enjoyed your 3-movement first symphony, and the name: Becalmed Surfaces (Adventures in Sonic Seismography) - liked the combo of a lot of winds w/ percussion - curious how many (and type of) strings were used? I went to your website for some idea of the instruments included (pic below) - thanks for sharing.  Dave

Many thanks, Dave! Perhaps someday we'll hear it played by people 

The scoring is:

piccolo
2 flutes
2 oboes
2 clarinets
bass clarinet
2 bassoons

2 horns in F
2 trumpets
2 tenor trombone
bass trombone
tuba

timpani
percussion (2 players)

strings (i.e., violins I & II, violas, cellos, double-basses)

So . . . not a large orchestra.