What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

New acquisition. First listen. (September 2020)

Bohuslav Martinu.
Early Orchestral Works, Volume II

Stin. (The shadow) 1916)
Ballet in one act, H. 102.
First recording.

Sinfonia Varsovia, Ian Hobson.

I recently discovered this series on the label Toccata and ordered forwith all three volumes, for it holds music from Martinu's early years, and are mostly unrecorded and grossly ignored. I was surprised that Martinu wrote a ballet, and a beautiful one at that. I was a virtual feast for me to hear it, and totally absorbed all the notes. Such quality all packed in this ballet. A most welcome surprise, and also another negative not so welcome surprise!!! In the second movement screams a soprano and lashes out in a grotesk way. Still have that unpleasant ringing in my head, so best avoid it.
Performance, music and recording are first rate.. looking forward to the other two volumes.

[Harry]

Arnell 1 & 6

First rate music, all of it. Have all the recordings by this composer.

[vandermolen]

Agree with all comparisons you make, The First Symphony reminds me of all of them (and was clearly influenced by RVW's Pastoral, which is rare in itself.) 

Am tempted by this CD which features in the Chandos sale.

[Todd]

Starting in on Vladar I.

[aligreto]

Kinsella: Symphony No. 3 [Ó Duinn]





I have always thought that Symphony No. 3 is a particularly noteworthy work and that it has a wonderful and impressive sound world.

[Brian]

Starting in on Vladar I.

A tiny part of me misses the days when Naxos thought it was a good idea to put the catalogue number, year, track timing, and "DDD" on every single cover.

[Madiel]

Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite



As good as this work is, I can't help but think that the accompanying tone poem The Wood Nymph is the stronger work.

Quoting again...

I don't know how much of it is the performances as opposed to the music, but after listening to this album again tonight I'm inclined to agree with you.

[Papy Oli]

Kinsella: Symphony No. 3 [Ó Duinn]
I have always thought that Symphony No. 3 is a particularly noteworthy work and that it has a wonderful and impressive sound world.

I have that CD courtesy of Jeffrey. Two cracking symphonies, those.

[Biffo]

Schutz: Symphoniae Sacrae III - Musica Fiata & Kammerchor Stuttgart conducted by Frieder Bernius

[Mookalafalas]

The Suites as thoughtful essays...

[Harry]

New acquisition. (September 2020)

Julius Bittner.
Orchestral Music, Volume I.

Vaterland: Symphonic Poem. (1915.
Symphony No. 1 in F minor. (1923)

Siberian SO,   Dmitry Vasiliev.

It is always exciting to discover a new composer, especially if he is as good as Julius Bittner. In his time he was quite a figure, and well respected for his music, and counted as one of the very greats, but he was quickly forgotten. I cannot comprehend why, for the quality of his works is such, that one cannot wonder why he slipped out of sight. The symphonic Poem, Vaterland, is a gorgeous constructed score, full of surprises, and all of them original and sublime in expression. In this you hear clearly the distinguished voice of a composer, sure in his steps, and magnificently suited to open all eyes and ears of those people that had fallen asleep due to all the mediocre composers that graced the world in his time. And if that is not enough, he presents us with a "First Symphony" that even carries the uniqueness of his compositions  further to the sublime bliss that I felt. Beautiful brass writing, melodies galore at every 10th note, beautiful tonal transitions, and a plethora of ideas and the grace to write them down. So you might assume I am flabbergasted at what I heard today. On top of this you get State of the Art sound and a topnotch performance......what could be better huh?

[Todd]

[listener]

Catching up on the "misc" that I can't remember having heard:
Ron NELSON:  Holidays and Epiphanies  - music for winds
Dallas Wind Symphony      Jerry Junkin, cond.
PIZZETTI: Canti della stagione alta (piano concerto), Prelude to Fedra,
Oleg Caetani, cond.  Robert Schumann Philharmonie, Susanna Stefania Caetani, piano
Boris LYATOSHYNSKY: Symphonies 4 & 5 "Slavonic"
Ukrainian State S.O.,  Theodore Kuchar, cond.

[aligreto]

I have that CD courtesy of Jeffrey. Two cracking symphonies, those.

I know that Jeffrey is a fan and I am pleased that you enjoy them.

[Iota]

Schumann: Piano Sonata No.1 in F sharp minor, Op.11


Quite an impulsive reading and maybe at times a bit unkempt, perhaps not surprising in live circumstances, though neither of those qualities necessarily bad things in Schumann's solo piano music I think, particularly the former. Perahia on Sony certainly brings out more of the piece's many virtues for me, in his more self-contained way.

But it's a piece that has so many beauties bubbling up to its surface, I'm happy to hear anyone with a bit of wherewithal and natural spark throw their hat in the ring.

[Traverso]

Scheidemann & Scheidt

CD 17

[Papy Oli]

First listen to Kinsella's 6th (RTÉ NSO)

[SonicMan46]

Hopkinson Smith doing the Bach Suites, plus several other discs w/ him - Spotify playlist for the morning/afternoon listening.  Dave

[André]

A rather silly art cover for what is one of the most searching, passionate performances of the 9th ever. The 1963 EMI stereo version with the WP has always had wide currency, but I feel the Adagio is rushed. 3 Years before in Hamburg, Schuricht paced the symphony in broader strokes (2 minutes more in I, 4 minutes in IV), to shattering effect. The first movement exceeds 27 minutes in length, a rare occurence for that work. And yet minutes and seconds don't tell the story. Schuricht won't have the movement as a towering mountain range, daunting and inaccessible. Instead he wrestles with it like Jacob with the Angel, heaving and pulling, coaxing the orchestra to rise to passionate outbursts of orchestral might.

He and the Hamburg orchestra don't make heavy weather of the score, they simply pay it the homage of treating it like one of the great post-romantic symphonies. The performance is live (almost totally silent audience) and the mono recorded sound is wide-ranging and clear.

I have over a dozen performances of Bruckner symphonies by Schuricht (14 I believe) and he (or the orchestras) could be variable. But at his best he conducted some of the best Bruckner performances ever. This is one of them.

[Christo]

First listen to Kinsella's 6th (RTÉ NSO)