What are you listening to now?

[TheGSMoeller]

Electronica John Adams. Light Over Water is very relaxing to listen to.

[Draško]

I no longer have the tickets, but did get to see the Christie / Villégier / Les Arts Florissants production of Lully's Atys here in Madrid (at the Teatro de la Zarzuela) in 1992. Breathtaking! 

That's fantastic! That was pretty legendary production, and a corner stone in many ways. Unfortunately the closest I came to it was crummy VHS.



Le Temps et l'Écume

I don't quite understand yet the theory behind it, but I really like how it sounds.

[Zeus]

Of course, otherwise only German-speakers and libretto-readers would bother to listen to the Magic Flute. Most people come for the music, I suppose...

What's a libretto?

[aligreto]

Lully: Atys, Acts II - V [Christie]

[aligreto]

D Scarlatti: Harpsichord Sonatas Nos. K. 485-487 [Rowland]
Vinyl LP
Keyboard label
KGR 1016
Vol. 16 from the series illustrated below.

[André]

Brahms symphonies by Joseph Keilberth. Nos 1 and 3 are played by the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Bamberger Symphoniker, respectively. Interpreted with much flair and total commitment, but the orchestras sound tinny which, curiously, affects more the 3rd than the 1st. The recording of no 1 is in mono and dates from 1951. That explains the slightly wiry, acerbic sound: the orchestra was not yet what it would become in the sixties, lacking plushness and homogeneity of sound. The 3rd is in stereo, but it lacks impact (weak timpani, all-important in this work).

The even-numbered symphonies are played by the Berlin Phil (2) and Hamburg Phil (4). The 2nd is absolutely outstanding. Not only is it superbly played, but Keilberth seems fired up, having that big orchestra doing his bidding at every turn of phrase. Excellent recording, too. In the 4th the tonal qualities of the Hamburg Phil suit the music just right: almost as big in sound as the Berliners, but brighter, leaner. Good 1960 stereo sound.

[aligreto]

Mozart: Piano Sonatas K.279 & K.280 [Klien]

[Traverso]

Luc Ferrari

[aligreto]

Faure: Cello sonata No. 2 [Igloi/Benson]


   

[aligreto]

A selection of songs by Poulenc

[Zeus]

Handel: 'Tu Fedel? Tu Costante?' and Other Italian Cantatas
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Ton Koopman
Challenge Classics

[asin] B01J94DWWK[/asin]

Le Salon de musique de Marie-Antoinette
Sandrine Chatron et al.
Ambroisie/Naive

[asin] B001P9276K[/asin]

Both quite nice.  I think I slightly prefer the latter.

[aligreto]

Schubert: String Quartet D.173 [Amadeus Quartet]

[prémont]

Schubert: String Quartet D.173 [Amadeus Quartet]

Aah, I owned this in my youth. Very nice, but I became rather fast saturated by the music.

[aligreto]

Wagner under the baton of Rickenbacher






The Ride of the Valkyries from "Die Walkure"
Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey from "Gotterdammerung"
Death March from "Gotterdammerung"

[aligreto]

Aah, I owned this in my youth. Very nice, but I became rather fast saturated by the music.

Do you not listen to Schubert's String Quartets still?

[Kontrapunctus]

One of the best performances of the Sonata that I have heard. He plays every piece phenomenally well. Good sound--a little bright and hardens a bit in the climatic passages.

[aligreto]

Babar The Little Elephant


   


A bit of fun 

[Daverz]

Shoatakovich: Symphonies 4 & 11

[asin] B07CXC3311[/asin]

24/96 download from Presto:

https://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/classical/products/8456728--shostakovich-symphonies-nos-4-11-the-year-1905

[André]

The symphony is the minor work here, a tripartite overture-type work that is over in just 9 minutes, much like symphonies 26 and 32. The serenade is the big offering, in 8 movements preceded by a march (K237). Nifty stuff, although not on the Haffner or Posthorn level. Superb playing from the spirited Concentus Musicus, and sound to match. Harnoncourt is sometimes gruff, but that becomes a concern only in the symphony, which surely ought to sound a bit less brash.

[André]

Leitner was one of the great brucknerians (his 6th and 9th are both top contenders in a very crowded field).

Born in 1912, he studied with Karl Muck and Franz Schreker. He was Bernard Haitink's teacher and mentor, giving him his first conducting job. Leitner was especially active in the theatre, devoting much of his career to opera conducting, including modern works (Stravinsky, Orff among others). He preferred to guest conduct, having held only one tenured job as a music director (in Den Hague, from 1976 to 1980).

I wish there were more recordings of his work on the podium available. This 7th was recorded in concert in 1978 at the Komische Oper, Berlin. It's a patient, beautiful, serene recording. Climaxes in the 7th are few and far between, something that often causes tension to sag under less skilled batons. That is not the case here.