What are you listening 2 now?

[Traverso]

Telemann

CD 16

Suite "Don Quichotte"
Viola Concerto
Overture in D major
Overture "Hamburger Ebb und Flut"

[Roasted Swan]

A couple of first listens.  One a new release;



intelligent programme impressively played.

Then an old disc but one I've only just bought;



I'm no David Hurwitz fan but he strongly recommended this version in his recent comparative survey of Job and he's right.  Its an excellent, dynamic performance.  Produced by the great Paul Myers for Naxos.  Well worth hearing even if you know other versions.....

[Harry]

Again, thank you all for the well wishes. Operation on eyes is always a gamble, alas. But if I do nothing, driving my car will be impossible, so thats not an option.

[Karl Henning]

Again, thank you all for the well wishes. Operation on eyes is always a gamble, alas. But if I do nothing, driving my car will be impossible, so thats not an option.

Warmest vibes, mijn vriend!

[Symphonic Addict]

Let's hope that it this time is more succesful.

+1

[Brahmsian]

Again, thank you all for the well wishes. Operation on eyes is always a gamble, alas. But if I do nothing, driving my car will be impossible, so thats not an option.

Best wishes for a complete success and swift recovery, Harry!

[André]

Discs 2 and 3. More solo violin works (sonata 3 and Phantasie). Sonatas, suite and 2 rhapsodies for solo cello. Duo and Variations&Finale for violin and cello. Once again the inventiveness of these works is astonishing. Röntgen writes in a conservative, resolutely tonal idiom. His forays into bitonality are not to be found here. Most of the works here are of the hausmusik kind - literally: they were written for domestic consumption, to be played by the Röntgen household. Two of Röntgen's sons were talented cellists, for whom he composed numerous sonatas and concertos. Anyone with a liking for the kind of solo instrument or chamber music by Reger and Hindemith will find this set to be a treasure chest.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Some Sibelius whilst doing stuff around the house:  Disc 7 (The Wood Nymph & Lemminkainen Suite and Disc 9 (Suite from Kung Kristian II, Suite from Pelleas and Melisande, and Incidental Music to The Tempest)...Disc 9 whilst decorating the tree.

PD

p.s. From The Essential Sibelius on BIS

[Brass Hole]

18 No 1:

[Traverso]

Shostakovich

Symphony No.6

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

[Todd]

[Mirror Image]

The Requiem.

There's no mention anywhere that these recordings have been remastered. They date back 1949-1961. Most are in stereo, as is the case here. This was taped in Symphony Hall in April 1959, all of 60 years ago. Much to my surprise the sound is very, very good. Uncluttered, with well-spaced stereo, no peaking, no distortion, no fizz, no hiss, no pre-echo. There is a nice spatial spread to the voices: basses and sopranos to the left, mezzos and tenors to the right. Very easy to follow the choral lines. Of course the dynamic range may be slightly less wide than on more modern recordings, but in all conscience I can only say that, as a recording, this is very successful. So far I had this only as a download transferred onto cdr, so no match for this fine product.

Munch's interpretation is legendary, and justly so. I also have his later BRSO recording, a rather different kind of interpretation. In Boston he is on home turf, working with his own orchestra and the well-honed New England Conservatory Chorus and its fabulous director Lorna Cooke de Varon. Collectively they could start working on fine points of expression instead of going through the more lengthy and arduous process of starting from scratch. This is a very intense interpretation, extraordinarily focused, unfurling at what seems a quite steady pace. Munch's Offertory is an urgent plea, with beautiful wind curls. In all the other movements he leans slightly on the slower side of average.

The participation of Léopold Simoneau in the Sanctus has always been praised to the skies and rightly so. This is a hugely difficult solo. The top of the voice must sound honeyed, sweet and utterly free of any strain. In the Book of Isaiah the words of the Sanctus are thundered forth by a bunch of six-winged seraphims whose voice move the foundations of heaven. Not exactly what Berlioz offers ! No matter, this is a moment of pure beauty and I wouldn't want it any different.

Colin Davis recorded the work multiple times (4 or more) and I still consider his first, LSO recording as the most formidable of all. Munch's BRSO account is almost as good as the Boston, except for his tenor and the last degree of passion in the playing. McCreesh is a spine tingling affair, dramatic in the extreme. Still, this BSO version retains my affection and I simply can't find anything to detract from my enjoyment.

I've become a bit of a Berliozian and that McCreesh sounds right up my alley. I just bought it!

[Maestro267]

Adams: Scheherazade.2
Josefowicz (violin)/St. Louis SO/Robertson

Norman: Sustain
Los Angeles PO/Dudamel

Adams: On the Transmigration of Souls
Atlanta SO/Spano

[Karl Henning]

I've become a bit of a Berliozian and that McCreesh sounds right up my alley. I just bought it!

This was the first box I ever bought. Love it still.

[Mirror Image]

This was the first box I ever bought. Love it still.

Ah, dear Karl, I was referring to the McCreesh recording of the Requiem and not Munch. I think I do have this Berlioz Munch set, though, but in an older iteration.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Walton
Sinfonia concertante
Eric Parkin (piano)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Jan Latham-Koenig

[André]

I've become a bit of a Berliozian and that McCreesh sounds right up my alley. I just bought it!

I think you'll like it, John !

[Carxofes fregides]

[Mirror Image]

I think you'll like it, John !

Excellent!

[André]

This disc is dynamite ! Although recorded sound leaves a bit to be desired in the 1st symphony (mono), this is as urgent and passionate a performance as Stokowski-National Philharmonic. Pohjola's Daughter is absolutely perfect: spooky, dangerous, harrowing. As good as Barbirolli's Hallé, and better played. The 5th is on the same level, Sargent tightening the screws in the big crescendos to stunning effect. I only wish he had let the timpani go banshee in the coda of the first movement. This joins my favourite version (Rozhdestvensky) on top, followed by Davis-Boston and Karajan-BP on EMI.

Edit: big hat tip to Jeffrey for his unwavering advocacy of these classic performances