What are you listening 2 now?

[vandermolen]

Shostakovich: Symphony 13 'Babi Yar'.
Concertgebouw Orchestra/Bernard Haitink.
Best performance IMO and best cover art:

[Mirror Image]

Shostakovich: Symphony 13 'Babi Yar'.
Concertgebouw Orchestra/Bernard Haitink.
Best performance IMO and best cover art:

I should revisit this symphony at some juncture. I recall thinking highly of it.

[kyjo]

A really excellent disc in the typically slightly rural neoclassical/romantic vein that one can find in so many Swedish composer from this period (Peterson-Berger but with more substance and structure, von Koch, Atterberg but slightly more romantic, Rangstrøm, early Rosenberg, to name some). Really excellent and my first taste of de Frumerie:

Pounds the table! The Symphonic Variations, in particular, is a really special work which is as fine as any other set of orchestral variations out there imo. There are lots of gems in de Frumerie's output - I recently discovered his substantial Variations and Fugue for piano orchestra which is a glorious knock-out of a work! It can be found on this album:

[asin]B00004U4HL[/asin]

[kyjo]

Always an easy pleasure listening ...

Anton Arensky:  Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2 ~ Borodin Trio

Two absolutely wonderful, melodic, and scintillatingly crafted works. Arensky really excelled in chamber music - his two string quartets and Piano Quintet are further proof of that.

[SonicMan46]

Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847) - Songs Without Words (a.k.a. Lieder ohne Worte) w/ the Israeli pianist Daniel Gortler (shown below) - this will replace my Hyperion Dyad w/ Livia Rev - Gortler reviews attached.  Now I have just one set of these 48 works - for those wanting a period instrument, Ronald Brautigam has recorded two discs on a Paul McNulty replica of an 1830 Pleyel piano - I've listened to these recordings once on Spotify and will do another hearing after the Gortler performances are done.  Dave

P.S. Todd has a thread labeled Lieder ohne Worte which discusses many different offerings of these songs along w/ his ranking - as I recall, Brautigam is not in any postings, but I may need to re-look?

 

[Harry]

Vincent d'Indy.
Orchestral Works, Volume VI.

Wallenstein.
Prelude to Act III of Fervaal.
Lied, for Cello and Orchestra.
Suite dans le Style Ancien.
Serenade et Valse.

Bryndis Halla Gylfadottir, Cello.
Iceland SO, Rumon Gamba.

I have listen to all 6 Volumes now, and frankly am mightily impressed with the music and the quality of performance. I always stood a bit shy in regards to this composer, for no logical reason at all, but am converted by these quality performances and the Chandos sound. It doesn't get more detailed as this, for the depth of the soundstage is utterly amazing. There is not a single work I could point out, and say this is the best, its all top notch for me.

[Harry]

Tuomas Kantelinen.
The Snow Queen.
Ballet Suite.
Finnish National Opera Orchestra, Tuomas Kantelinen.
World Premiere at the Finnish National Ballet: 23-11-2012.
Choreography: Kenneth Greve.

I have been impressed by this modern ballet, not only is it written in a tonal fashion, but it connects closely to the ballet world of Tchaikovsky. All in all its brilliantly done, and to be frank I cannot stop playing it, at least twice a week, such is the impact on me. This ballet holds all what you kind of expect of it, a ballet that is accessible full with catching tunes, and heartwarming melodies. And as all falls or stands with the orchestra, it is a great credit to the composer that he was able to convey his energy to this wonderful work, and Ondine for recording it in State of the Art sound.

[Harry]

Alexander Zemlinsky.

Die Seejungfrau, Fantasie in Drei Sätzen fur großes Orchester nach einem Märchen von Andersen.
World Premiere Recording of the New Critical version (2013) by Anthony Beaumont.

Sinfonietta.
World Premiere Recording of Version for Chamber Orchestra (2013) by Roland Freisitzer.

Helsinki PO, John Storgärds.

Why Zemlinsky made two radical cuts in the score of the Seejungfrau of about 5 minutes tops, is not clear, although there are strong rumours why, not because he wanted to! It did not make the work necessarily better, and it influenced the whole structure of the work, and that was the reason adding the missing parts again, for Zemlinsky did not destroy them as rubbish, but gave almost the whole work to Marie Pappenheim. After that, Zemlinsky denied the the work entirely. So now the notes are back again where they belong, and comparing both scores, I can say that it is a worthwhile addition, which makes the work even more coherent, and strengthening the structure as a whole.
This is by far the best performance I have heard so far, for on the level of micro details aplenty in the score, Storgärds makes a huge contribution of bringing the work to a level so far never heard. By carefully choosing the right tempi, that unfolds all in the right perspective, he does not give a flashing performance but a meaningful one. The first and third movement are eyeopeners if it comes to the way Storgärds perceives this work. For me this is the best you can get, but as said, for me. The SACD track is amazingly transparant.
As to the Sinfonietta, I did not see the need for this Chamber version, but it is done, respecting the original score. In this it is quite acceptable.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Strauss
Hornkonzert Nr. 2 in Es
Tuckwell
LSO
Kertész

[Harry]

Einojuhani Rautavaara.

Symphonies No. 1-3.
Leipzig Radio SO, Max Pommer.



When I read Max Pommer and Rautavaara, I was somewhat puzzled to be honest. For me Pommer is for always associated with being the director of the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum which was founded by him. So I thought it would be quite a challenge, but as it turns out, Pommer feels greatly at home with modern music, for he performs all three symphonies with great enthusiasm, and youthful energy. He enters the world of Rautavaara with confidence and insight, and realizes the magical and sometimes wayward emotion with a natural ease. An amazing journey, and I must admit that the Third is a personal favourite with me.
The recording sounds natural and detailed. the Orchestra is committed  to even the smallest note in the score.

[aligreto]

Taneyev: Symphony No. 3 [T. Sanderling]





This is a wonderful sound world; a composer with a distinct voice of his own and he has wonderful things to say. The musical language is very accessible and very appealing and engaging. This is music that is very assertive and is making a very big statement. The orchestration is wonderful. The performances are appropriately ardent. This is a really terrific, free flowing work that is very well presented here. The music just constantly flows. The final movement is really just a joy to hear!

[steve ridgway]

Takemitsu - Dreamtime.

[foxandpeng]

Einojuhani Rautavaara.

Symphonies No. 1-3.
Leipzig Radio SO, Max Pommer.



When I read Max Pommer and Rautavaara, I was somewhat puzzled to be honest. For me Pommer is for always associated with being the director of the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum which was founded by him. So I thought it would be quite a challenge, but as it turns out, Pommer feels greatly at home with modern music, for he performs all three symphonies with great enthusiasm, and youthful energy. He enters the world of Rautavaara with confidence and insight, and realizes the magical and sometimes wayward emotion with a natural ease. An amazing journey, and I must admit that the Third is a personal favourite with me.
The recording sounds natural and detailed. the Orchestra is committed  to even the smallest note in the score.

I enjoyed these performances today as part of hearing the whole cycle. Good to read your comments :-)

[Harry]

Uuno Klami.

Northern Lights
Cheremissian Fantasy.
Kalevala Suite.
Helsinki PO, John Storgärds.



Klami as a composer, is a road a bit harder to travel for me, not necessarily because I find his music not to my taste, but more that the sonorities, and complicated scores are giving me concentration troubles. Rather than listening to the whole CD it would be better for me to listen to one piece every day and so find the attraction in it. The Northern Lights go down well, that is a sparkling piece of orchestral detailing that makes me happy, but to chew over the Kalevala Suite, and to loose one's concentration, and feel the need to start again is bothering me a bit. He was most successful as one of the most original composers in his time, but his musical influences stretch a broad spectrum, and to knit them together is a task ahead for me.
The performance and sound are exceptional.

[Mandryka]

Next:



On an older, London made French style harpsichord, this sounds charming but lightyears away from the performance by Rzetecka-Niewiadomska - who plays a lush sounding copy after Pascal Taskin 1769. Ewa Rzetecka-Niewiadomska plays these suites in a rather robust, Germanic style. The way you would play Händel's harpsichord music, I think.

With Souter these pieces sounds much more French and delicate. The harpsichord is on the drier side and slightly brittle side, the playing subtle but measured.

Q

The Souter is nice enough, but somehow I felt it made the music sound not very interesting. So I took refuge in Egarr.

[Mandryka]

I listened to a handful of capriccios this morning, they sound beautiful. What I felt is that Cera is in touch with the Renaissance side of Frescobaldi - the music sounded well balanced, sweet. There wasn't the a sense of baroque fantasy. But still, pleasant to hear Cera do this music.

[Harry]

Einojuhani Rautavaara.

Cello Concerto No. 2 "Towards the Horizon".
Modificata.
Percussion Concerto "Incantations"

Helsinki PO, John Storgärds.
Truls Mork, Cello.
Colin Currie, Percussion.

Well what is there not to like on this CD. Every work is a gem, thus I love all three of them to bits. The beautiful Cello Concerto with late Romantic influences, and the magical Modificata, amazing really. I do not think that I ever heard a finer Percussion concerto as the "Incantations". The way that it is scored takes my breath away, literally!
The sound is almost state of the Art, and with all the participants on this recording I would say that it is an eclatant success.

[Karl Henning]

Taneyev: Symphony No. 3 [T. Sanderling]





This is a wonderful sound world; a composer with a distinct voice of his own and he has wonderful things to say. The musical language is very accessible and very appealing and engaging. This is music that is very assertive and is making a very big statement. The orchestration is wonderful. The performances are appropriately ardent. This is a really terrific, free flowing work that is very well presented here. The music just constantly flows. The final movement is really just a joy to hear!

Love the Taneyev symphonies.

[Mirror Image]

Now Act III:

Strauss
Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59
Christa Ludwig, Lucia Popp, et. al.
Wiener Philharmoniker, Chor der Wiener Staatsoper
Bernstein

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Op. 109 is dedicated to Maximiliane von Brentano, the daughter of the person now widely considered to be Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved", Antonia von Brentano (dedicatee of several other Beethoven works). Musicologists of the 19th century gossip magazine variety believe Beethoven and Brentano had a brief affair around the time Maximiliane was born, and that therefore she may be Beethoven's unacknowledged daughter. There is, as far as I know, no proof that this is true, nor would obtaining such proof be possible. Another theory suggests that Beethoven intended the sonata to be an easy work for students, such as its nine-year-old dedicatee, but unless she was a child prodigy of enormous talent he did a very bad job at this. The sonata certainly is special regardless.

lovely set!  I believe that there is a way though in terms of using DNA from current living relatives and going backwards (presuming that you can also have access to Beethoven's DNA as he didn't have any children...or perhaps of a sibling?).  Could require a fair bit of research and leg work though.

PD