What are you listening to now?

[Irons]

Elgar Piano Quintet in A minor. I put this cd on after 'listening' to Bax's String Quartet No 1. Maybe,it's the mood I'm in? And I like allot of Bax! But Elgar's music is so focused after that. The Bax String Quartet starts of well,but after a while,it just seems to go on and on.........! ! In these two works by Elgar,there's some kind of musical argument,you can follow,as you enjoy the beautiful sounds.

In my view the three chamber works that Elgar wrote at the end of his creative life contain some of his finest music. I do not know the Bax string quartet well enough to make a comparison but I feel many if not all British chamber works would fall short.

I have the Goldner/Lane Hyperion issue and it is very good but if you like this music I do urge you to get hold of the Naxos Maggini/Donohoe recording of the same works. For the Quintet there is not a lot in it, but the Maggini bring an emotional depth to the SQ that shines a new light onto not only the work itself but also the composer.

[Andy D.]

Tchaikovsky is another composer whom only recently clicked for me. Currently listening to the excellent reading of the 6th by Currentzis

[Mandryka]

Listening to this last night and this morning on two different systems - little BBC type monitor speakers, Spendor SP1, listening nearfield, and this morning on the big ESL with subwoofers listening at a normal distance

Why am I mentioning all of this? Because it's extraordinary how much difference that makes to my experience - not surprising really, it's just like the hall and the seat can make a big difference to the live experience I suppose.

I really think that anyone who publishes reviews of a recording should take hifi very seriously, and they should listen in different setups before judging.  I'm guess I'm getting to be pretty experienced with these things, and I can't filter out these effects.

It is a very special recording, by the way, gentle and refined, often attractively languid, always very vital, a living response to the music, and particularly distinctive because of the way Binkley and van Ram complement/contrast  with each other. The way they have dealt with instruments is really special I think. The whole effect is of a Landini who was a genius at expressive contrapuntal music. It's beautifully recorded.

[Madiel]

Sibelius, Pohjola's Daughter



One of the tone poems* I still don't feel entirely familiar with. While recognising it's often considered one of the finest of the lot. I'm certainly finding it satisfying this time around.

*Sibelius actually called it a "symphonic fantasy" which is interesting in itself.

[vandermolen]

Symphony No.2
I've enjoyed this whole CD.
Elegant and rather neo-classical music but IMO not without depth.

[vandermolen]

Sibelius, Pohjola's Daughter



One of the tone poems* I still don't feel entirely familiar with. While recognising it's often considered one of the finest of the lot. I'm certainly finding it satisfying this time around.

*Sibelius actually called it a "symphonic fantasy" which is interesting in itself.

Those are very good performances although I wish that 'Tapiola' had been featured as well. The Oceanides and the Bard are two of my other favourite Sibelius tone poems.

[Madiel]

Those are very good performances although I wish that 'Tapiola' had been featured as well. The Oceanides and the Bard are two of my other favourite Sibelius tone poems.

I already had Tapiola elsewhere so its omission didn't bother me. Vanska included it on an earlier disc with Symphonies 6 & 7.

[Madiel]

Dvorak, Suite in A, "American" (orchestral version)

[Traverso]

Yes I listened to this last night, and the sound is good, but I prefer other performances, like the one on Decca with the Scarlatti and Galupi, which seems more warm and vulnerable.

It is surprising how many unexpected details get meaning in Michelangeli's piano playing.
It gives the listener the chance to go with all kinds of unexpected pearls that (may) delight the listener.
I will now listen to the older studio recording.


Beethoven piano Sonata No.32 Op.111

[Harry]

Johann Gottfried Walther, Complete Organ Music. CD 1.

Free Organ Works.

Simone Stella plays on a Zanin Organ (2006) Church of Sant'Antonio, Abate, Padua.

The moment the first Preludio con fuga in G starts I know exactly why I love Walthers organ music so much. Fabulous counterpoint, Empfindsam, extremely appealing colours in his registrations, and so much more. Stella does so much good to my ears, giving the impression that he is in concord with this composer, and realizing what Walther had in mind when he composed the music. Such a fine organ constructed by Zanin, not for a moment you guess that this is a brand new organ, far from it. It sounds an organ made in the early 18 century from the North of Germany.  The sound is fantastic. What a treat this is.

[Karl Henning]

Tchaikovsky is another composer whom only recently clicked for me. Currently listening to the excellent reading of the 6th by Currentzis

Nice!

[Harry]

Edvard Grieg, Complete Orchestral Works, CD 4.

Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 & 2.
Four Poems from "The Fisher-Maiden, opus 21, No. 1: The first Meeting".
The Mountain Trall, opus 32.
Six Orchestral Songs.

Inger Dam Jensen, Soprano.
Palle Knudsen, Baritone.
Malmo SO, Bjarte Engeset.

This box is for me a winner on many counts. I might not like the many vocal works in this set, but I managed at least to admire the Six Orchestral Songs, sung by the fabulous soprano, Inge Dam Jensen. To be honest I did not expect this. After the Peer Gynt Suites I wanted to end listening to this disc, but I thought, well let's give it a chance, what is there to loose? Jensen has a very natural voice, very little vibrato, and she does not scream the top notes out, what usually happens with these songs. I really liked her warm and mildly expressive voice, so apt for this music, and so well aware is Jensen of the intimacy of these songs. Full marks for making me listen. Not that fond of the Baritone voice, but luckily he has only two songs to absolve
The Peer Gynt Suites are beautifully realized, one of the best interpretations I heard. Engeset does not inflate the works with false romanticism and sentimentality but keeps the musical lines clear and open. It is all detailed and hugely atmospheric.
Sound is excellent.

[Madiel]

Reminds me I was going to work through Grieg's opuses.

No time like the present to try op.1

[Biffo]

Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde - Michael Gielen conducting the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg with Cornelia Kallisch (mezzo) and Siegfried Jerusalem (tenor) - beautifully played, sung and recorded.

[vandermolen]

I already had Tapiola elsewhere so its omission didn't bother me. Vanska included it on an earlier disc with Symphonies 6 & 7.

Yes, I have that CD as well and it's a fine 'Tapiola' I agree. I just like it included with the other tone poems if possible. There's a nice Alexander Gibson double CD set including them all and complete with spooky cover image:

[Harry]

Alexander Moyzes.

Symphony No. 11, opus 79. (1978) & No. 12, opus 83. (1983.

Slovak Radio SO, Ladislav Slovak.

The close of a for me hugely satisfying set of music, by a composer that was virtually unknown to me. I realized his worth when I heard a symphony by him, which had me stunned. His musical language is philosophically deep, spiritual in detail, and a biography of the composer's life. There is not a single note in all his 12 Symphonies that I did not enjoy, not a single movement that did not touch me profoundly, a hunger for more of his music that kept me craving endlessly.
Both works on this disc are no exception to what I wrote. What a marvelous man he was with such vision, and his adherence to the tonal idiom, despite all the modernities around. His work has eternal value, written without haste or pressure, and blossomed into well matured works, that will hold forever.
This disc has the best recorded sound of all the volumes before.

[aligreto]

Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie [Strauss]





It is always interesting to hear how composers present their own work. This one is a quite interesting and successful venture. There are some wonderful lyrical passages along with some thrillingly exciting ones. This is quite an atmospheric performance. The quality of the sound is not quite pristine which is a shame as this version would really shine under better conditions.

[aligreto]

Is this the mono or the stereo?

My version is in mono.

It is wonderful to see all the love for this version.

[Traverso]

Chopin

Piano Sonata No.2
Études Op.25

[aligreto]

Hillborg: Clarinet Concerto [Frost/Salonen]





Both the musical language and the scoring are sparse but the music is sometimes haunting and always intriguing and inventive. The mood is atmospheric, contemplative and the tone is questioning and sometimes disconcerting. The intensity levels range from the tranquil to the exuberant and dramatic and back again. This is a vibrant and compelling work.