What are you listening 2 now?

[vers la flamme]

Einojuhani Rautavaara: Symphony No.3, op.20. Hannu Lintu, Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Rautavaara's "neo-Brucknerian" symphony. Well, I don't know if that's quite what I hear, but that's what I've been kindly asked to look out for by the critics. Definitely great brass writing, in any case. Quite accessible for a late-20th-century symphony.

[Madiel]

Sibelius, Danses champêtres (Rustic Dances) op.106



EDIT: One of the dances quite definitely references the 6th symphony.

[San Antone]

Roslavets: Music for Cello and Piano - Cello Sonata No. 2
Lachezar Kostov (cello), Viktor Valkov (piano)

[Biffo]

The Art of Courtly Love - The Court of Burgundy - The Early Music Consort of London directed by David Munrow - secular music from Dufay and Binchois

[aukhawk]

Does anyone here know of any difference in sound between the Musical Heritage Society bootleg of this release, and the DG "Originals" series, ie. the official issue? I have the MHS, and by God, do I hate MHS. But I don't know if there is a real sound difference to justify upgrading to the official DG. In any case I am also strongly considering the EMI Karajan/Sibelius box.

I have the HR "Transferred from a 4-track tape" of the Karajan 6th and 7th, from HDTT which I got mainly because although I do like Karajan's 6th I've never been at all satisfied with the sound on the DG releases (not even the vinyl) - searching in vain for some evidence that the BPO strings included any cellos and basses.  The HDTT transfer certainly sounds no worse, but not significantly better either - I guess its just that music which has a very airy texture to it.
(On visual analysis I can see more bass on the HDTT transfer - but I can't really hear it.)
The 7th is top-notch in every way - no argument there.

[Carlo Gesualdo]

Nice Biffo I have this too Courtly pleasure of Burgundy , It's super duper!

[Biffo]

Nice Biffo I have this too Courtly pleasure of Burgundy , It's super duper!

I have the set on LP and haven't listened to it for quite some time - very enjoyable

[vandermolen]

Ruth Gipps: Piano Concerto (1947)
Somm issue some very interesting material.
I think that anyone who enjoyed her marvellous 4th Symphony on Chandos or her Second Symphony would enjoy this as well. She liked fast cars and to drive around in a Morgan sports car - the booklet features a nice photo of her in one. My cousin had one too when I was a child.
Here she is:
Added later. I've enjoyed both the PC and 'Ambarvalia' so much that I've had to repeat them immediately. Two very warm-hearted, inspiriting and engaging works.

[SonicMan46]

Gernsheim, Friedrich (1839-1916) - Piano Quintets & Violin Sonatas - just left a post in the dormant Gernsheim Thread, updating my own CDs of this composer and also showing images of some of the 'newer' offerings on Amazon USA - the thread was started over a dozen years ago and his discography has dramatically improve; plus, about a dozen of these recordings are available on Spotify for a listen - 19th century romanticism.  Dave

 

[Mirror Image]

Villa-Lobos
String Quartets Nos. 1-3
Cuarteto Latinamericano

[Mirror Image]

Wonderful set indeed.

+1

Karajan's Sibelius recordings on DG are stupendous in every way. Much, much better, IMHO, than his EMI remakes.

[Papy Oli]

Good afternoon all,

Some Moeran for now :

[asin]B00GK8P1HI[/asin]

[JBS]

Two discs of Haydn Piano Trios at once? More than I can take.

I sometime find it amusing to think what was happening in the U.S. when various compositions were written. As Mozart was composing his mature piano concerti, Americans were arguing about the constitution. I wonder if he had any idea what was going on here.

He would have been aware of the American Revolution, but his attention in 1788, as much as it focused on affairs outside Austria and the Holy Roman Empire, would have been probably given to France, where the French Revolution was in the process of starting up.

[vandermolen]

Good afternoon all,

Some Moeran for now :

[asin]B00GK8P1HI[/asin]

A lovely programme IMO.

[Papy Oli]

A lovely programme IMO.

indeed Jeffrey, love the rhapsodies on this one.

[Karl Henning]

Here earlier in the week:



Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Scherbakov

I also have Melnikov (Harmonia Mundi) and know the Nikolayeva, both are excellent, but for me Scherbakov outshines them all. His  imagination seems more probing and the pieces' charismatic inner lives and dreamlike qualities emerge very vividly.

I do greatly enjoy the Scherbakov, as well.

[André]

The Verdi Requiem, recorded live in 1951. With Herva Nelli, Fedora Barbieri, Giuseppe di Stefano and Cesare Siepi. A very intense performance. First degree communication is the order of the day (belt it out to the rafters). Not much time for nuance and interiority, but that's probably not what the Carnegie Hall audience paid for. What they got is incredible excitement and lots of decibels (that bass drum is a killer). The sound is clear and detailed except in the loud moments with massed chorus and orchestra. No distortion.

[Karl Henning]

Sibelius
Symphony # 3 in C, Op.52
Symphony #4 in a minor, Op. 63
Helsinki Phil
Berglund

[Mirror Image]

Sibelius
Symphony # 3 in C, Op.52
Symphony #4 in a minor, Op. 63
Helsinki Phil
Berglund

Nice! I prefer his earlier Bournemouth cycle, but this Helsinki one is quite good. Berglund recorded three Sibelius symphony cycles in total.

[Papy Oli]

Lennox Berkeley...conducts himself...

[asin]B000027QWJ[/asin]