What are you listening 2 now?

[vandermolen]

The Third Symphony, 'Westmorland', is a moving, very personal work. Recommended.

+1

[vandermolen]

I always felt that the two volumes of Tone Poems that Thomson did in Ulster alongside his Symphony No.4 (which originally included Tintagel as the filler) were his best Bax discs and indeed some of Chandos' finest bar none.  Both interpretatively and as engineering I find those earlier discs simply superb.  You are right - Thomson's "Woods" are a more threatening tormented experience than Handley and certainly Boult.  As much as I admire Boult in so much repertoire I find his Bax lacking impulsiveness....  You are right - the Thomson recordings were remastered as part of the "Bax Orchestral Works" series differently (usually more generously) coupled than originally.  The Handley Symphonies & Tone Poems post-date that remastering and were completely new recordings.

In reply to a different post - that Armstrong-Gibbs disc is well worth exploring.  The Symphony very poignant as a memorial to his son who was killed in the war.  Probably the finest Armstrong-Gibbs disc there is.  His chamber music is lovely but the bulk of his other writing does not explore such emotional depths.....

Very much agree here although I haven't heard Thomson's 'November Woods' in a long time so will rectify that soon. My favourite Bax disc is the Thomson one featuring the fill-ups from the symphony cycle, in particular the Festival Overture, Nympholept, Pan, Christmas Eve and a fine Tintagel. I didn't like it when they reissued it without Tintagel and included a less interesting work.

[Harry]

New acquisition, first listen.

Karl Goldmark.

Symphony No. 1 & 2.

Singapore SO, Lan Shui.

Everyone is familiar with Goldmark's first symphony "Ländliche Hochzeit", to my ears a work of great beauty, and perhaps his best composition. Never heard a better interpretation as the present one. But no one knows his second symphony, which is every bit worthwhile to listen. Fact is that it is hardly recorded, and therefore not known. I for one, admired Goldmark's skill in orchestrating both works. In this he is one of the greats in this field, and it makes for repeated listening, for it never bores me. BIS delivered a State of the Art recording, for the world class Singapore orchestra. Over the years they assembled the finest musicians from all over the world, and Shui made them into a sublime musical body.

[Irons]

My two favourite tone poems to date.

I never looked closely enough before ordering the Orchestral works Vol.2/3/4/5. Had always assumed that what was on the older Tone Poems Vol.1 & 2 would be part of the Orchestral Works series but that is not the case, is it ? It is mostly Thomson on one and Handley on the other. I'll need to stream Handley again to see if i need another duplication (got the Boult already too)   0:)

When I invested in my first CD player, one of those Philips top loading jobs, my second CD purchase was the Chandos release of the tone poems by Thomson (the first was Haitink's Shostakovich 5). I still have both which must be coming up 40 years old. . I would guess that there have been various remastering's in the interim. Without a doubt Handley is in better sound but from the first time I heard it I have had an attachment to Thomson's "November Woods".

[Harry]

New acquisition, first listen.

Maximilian Steinberg.
Violin Concerto, opus 37.
Symphony No. 4, "Turksib" , opus 24.
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Martin Yates.
Sergey Levitin, Violin.

Much is already said about this recording on GMG, so I add a little of my impressions. The Violin concerto is a well written piece of great art, thoroughly romantic in nature, and so well performed by the Violinist and Orchestra, they form a perfect synergy in this music, and there conversation is well informed. As a whole this symphony is arguing quite a case for this composer, and I love every note of this music. Again well argued, and presented in lush and bold colours. Really a trip to remember, and as a side effect, for my wife was listening too, she exclaimed, ' I join the fanclub' .
This Dutton CD is really one of the best State of the Art recordings I heard so far.

[Todd]

4.  Clearly the best of the symphonies, or at least the most to my taste, it's in league with other death of loved ones inspired works (Suk's Asrael, Berg's VC, Mahler 9), and exceptionally beautiful.  Though I've not heard Mehta's take, the music seems almost tailor made for him.  I may end up buying his take in the next few years.

[Harry]

New acquisition, first listen.

Erkki Salmenhaara.
Suomi Finland.
Tampere PO, Eri Klas.

Well, well, if I would not have been a fan of this composer, the present CD hooked me stock and barrel. What a amazing composer, if you are able to write such gorgeous music. The third movement "Adagietto" is to die for. Salmenhaara's life is told in these four movements, and especially the last movement "Le Bateau ivre" is an eulogy of his journey through his short life. The last 20 bars or so, gave me the shivers as if the boat was drawn into utter darkness that begets darkness. It made me think of the wise words of Lao Tzu.

""The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery."

The 24 bit recording is one of the best I ever heard from this label. The performance is exemplary.

Note to Jeffrey:

My wife wants to join the "unofficial international fanclub of Salmenhaara"

[Traverso]

Dufay

CD3

[Maestro267]

Tippett: Symphony No. 2
Bournemouth SO/Hickox

[ritter]

Bought today for €1,50 at FNAC here in Madrid, and listening to it right now:

[asin]B000I2K9ME[/asin]
So far Jeanette Scovotti sounds great in A Berenice. Let's see how she manages my favourite Mozart concert aria, Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! (with its Viscontian connotations)—it's at the end of the disc. Edda Moser sings the more famous Misera, dove son! and Bella mia fiamma.

[Florestan]

Bought today for €1,50 at FNAC here in Madrid, and listening to it right now:

[asin]B000I2K9ME[/asin]
So far Jeanette Scovotti sounds great in A Berenice. Let's see how she manages my favourite Mozart concert aria, Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! (with its Viscontian connotations)—it's at the end of the disc. Edda Moser sings the more famous Misera, dove son! and Bella mia fiamma.

Edda who? Jeanette who? 

Be they as they may, if it's Mozart it's of the greatest interest to me.

[ritter]

Edda who? Jeanette who? 

Be they as they may, if it's Mozart it's of the greatest interest to me.

The great Edda Moser: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edda_Moser. Her superb Der Hölle Rache (from the complete recording of The Magic Flute under Sawallisch) is literally stratospheric (and much beyond) as it was sent to space in the Voyager 1 probe.

Jeanette Scovotti was perhaps less famous, but a very accomplished coloratura soprano: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanette_Scovotti. I had previously encountered her in the first commercial recording of Strauss's Die schweigsame Frau and in Harnoncourt's recording of Rameau's Castor et Pollux.

BTW, Mme. Scovotti acquits herself wonderfully in Vorrei spiegarvi. A great disc on all accounts (even if 61+ minutes of concert arias for high soprano may be a bit too much for one sitting  ).

[Florestan]

The great Edda Moser: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edda_Moser. Her superb Der Hölle Rache (from the complete recording of The Magic Flute under Sawallisch) is literally stratospheric (and much beyond) as it was sent to space in the Voyager 1 prove.

Jeanette Scovotti was perhaps less famous, but a very accomplished coloratura soprano: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanette_Scovotti. I had previously encountered her in the first commercial recording of Strauss's Die schweigsame Frau and in Harnoncourt's recording of Rameau's Castor et Pollux.

BTW, Mme. Scovotti acquits herself wonderfully in Vorrei spiegarvi. A great disc on all accounts (even if 61+ minutes of concert arias for high soprano may be a bit too much for one sitting  ).

Thanks. Will investigate.

[ritter]

Now revisiting (after IIRC a long hiatus) Florent Schmitt's music, with this (shabbily produced Amazon made-to-order reissue of a) Marco Polo CD.

[asin]B000004630[/asin]

Leif Segerstam conducts pieces spanning more than 40 years of Schmitt's career, from Rêves, op. 75 (1915) to the Symphony No. 2, op. 137 (1957). So far, the first work on the disc, Danse d'Abisag, op. 75, is sounding fantastic, the composer at the top of his "orientalist" game. The real reason to pull out the disc, though, is the Symphony, which I found a tough nut to crack when I first listened to it. Let's see what impression it makes thus time around. The other work included is Habeyssee, op. 110 (another late work, with solo violin).

[Maestro267]

Tishchenko: Symphony No. 7
Moscow PO/Yablonsky

[Mandryka]

Listening to the 6th, it's rather good!

[Christo]

William Alwyn conducting his own Second Symphony (1953) - a very atmospheric recording, one to cherish:

[pjme]

Edda who? Jeanette who? 

Be they as they may, if it's Mozart it's of the greatest interest to me.

I have only one recording that features Edda Moser: Hans Werner Henze's Cantata della fiaba estrema. Coloratura sopranos aren't everybody's cup of tea, I know. But this short (1963 - ca 22 mins.) work is, for me,  pure bliss. Not only Henze found a delicate, shimmering sound (13 instruments + small chorus) to illustrate the love poem by Elsa Morante, but he had the luck that Edda Moser has this incredibly supple voice capable of all the wondrous, surprising inflections and melismata he invented. Quelle artiste!

Fragment:
https://youtu.be/SI9QodWcrtw

[ritter]

I have only one recording that features Edda Moser: Hans Werner Henze's Cantata della fiaba estrema. Coloratura sopranos aren't everybody's cup of tea, I know. But this short (1963 - ca 22 mins.) work is, for me,  pure bliss. Not only Henze found a delicate, shimmering sound (13 instruments + small chorus) to illustrate the love poem by Elsa Morante, but he had the luck that Edda Moser has this incredibly supple voice capable of all the wondrous, surprising inflections and melismata he invented. Quelle artiste!

First listen to H.W. Henze's Cantata della fiaba estrema, on CD 8 of the big DG box:

[asin]B00CTKYO6U[/asin]

Indeed, a fascinating piece (among the best I've heard by the composer).

So...

...to Peter.

[MusicTurner]

Some Busoni orchestral with Järvi/Goerner/chandos and Masini/Swann/agora.

The Indian Phantasy, though not a masterpiece, is more interesting, stringent and modern-sounding in the Järvi-recording, IMHO.