What are you listening 2 now?

[vandermolen]

Fikret Amirov orchestral works. Gorgeous music by the Azerbaijani composer.

That's a rather rare CD now - it is indeed excellent.

[Sergeant Rock]

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major played by Fleisher, Szell conducting the Cleveland




Sarge

[vandermolen]

Shostakovich

Symphony No.8

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

What do you make of the cycle generally?

[MusicTurner]

The first maybe.

Exactly, that's my impression. As far as I remember, for example the Marco Polo disc of symphonies 5+9 with Downes, and others.

[vandermolen]

OK, I'm willing to follow where you are leading 🙂. The Shur, etc, was a pleasant surprise, which I was apparently 'playing too loudly while I'm on calls'.

Streaming is great but it does mean that the oop Olympia is sadly off the table for now, at least.

I'm very familiar with that scenario, although here it's more direct : MUST WE LISTEN TO THIS NOISE?/WORLD WAR 3 etc

[Mirror Image]

Haitink's is the most moving 'Babi Yar' as it is of VW's 'A Sea Symphony' IMO.

I agree, Jeffrey, although I don't think much of Haitink's Vaughan Williams recordings. Sorry!

NP:

Martinů
Symphony No. 2, H. 295
Czech Philharmonic
Neumann



While I don't think Neumann is totally successful in the 1st, 3rd or 4th symphonies, this may be one of the greatest 2nd performances on record. For me, this is essentially Martinů's 'pastoral symphony' of sorts, so a lightness of touch and plenty of atmosphere is what it needs.

[Mandryka]

https://www.youtube.com/v/X8m9Z2tUAk0

I just think this is the most gorgeous realisation of medieval heterophony I've ever heard.

[Christo]

You might enjoy it more that I do Johan. I'm now listening to the 'Stabat Mater' on the same double CD set and enjoying it much more.

Yes, I have that twofer, will duly oblige - hopefully. :-)

[Traverso]

What do you make of the cycle generally?

I like this cycle but I have to admid that I'm not a conaisseur.I have also the Haitink recordings and a download of the Kondrashin. I was aware of a lot of bad reviews before buying this set.
Ashkenazy is a great performer and you can quibble about a lot of things like tempo, articulation, balance and so on, but to my ears they are really fine.

[VonStupp]

Gustav Holst
Hymns from the Rig Veda - Groups 1-4, H 97-100
Hymn to Dionysus, H 116
Two Eastern Pictures, H 112
Royal College of Music Chamber Choir
RPO - Sir David Willcocks

A nice album of rare orchestrated choral music from Holst. I believe this is the closest we have to a full set of the Rig Veda Hymns on record too. I forgot Osian Ellis was here; a harpist who passed earlier this year but left us with a wonderful legacy of music!

[foxandpeng]

I'm very familiar with that scenario, although here it's more direct : MUST WE LISTEN TO THIS NOISE?/WORLD WAR 3 etc

Hehe. We both work in separate home offices, but when I'm not on calls I have music at higher volumes than is probably acceptable.

Now playing at unacceptable volumes:

Hindemith Conducts Hindemith
Symphonia Serena
Mathis Der Maler
Urania Records

I'm beginning to warm to Hindemith.

[vandermolen]

Yes, I have that twofer, will duly oblige - hopefully. :-)

Excellent! 

[vandermolen]

I like this cycle but I have to admid that I'm not a conaisseur.I have also the Haitink recordings and a download of the Kondrashin. I was aware of a lot of bad reviews before buying this set.
Ashkenazy is a great performer and you can quibble about a lot of things like tempo, articulation, balance and so on, but to my ears they are really fine.

Yes, that's why I asked you and thanks for replying. I'm aware of the bad reviews but have just been enjoying the Symphony No.8 on the single release Decca CD. I may have been influenced by having had a great musical evening, whilst at Lancaster University in the North of England c.1975, when the university organised a minibus down to Liverpool to see Ashkenazy conduct Shostakovich's 8th Symphony. I have a number of Ashkenazy recordings that I think very highly of including Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Walton.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Martinů
String Trio No. 2, H. 238
Beethoven String Trio



Such a fantastic disc all-around.

[vandermolen]

Hehe. We both work in separate home offices, but when I'm not on calls I have music at higher volumes than is probably acceptable.

Now playing at unacceptable volumes:

Hindemith Conducts Hindemith
Symphonia Serena
Mathis Der Maler
Urania Records

I'm beginning to warm to Hindemith.

My wife's out working late tonight (although we shall be meeting at the pub later  ). So, it's just me and the cat and Vasks's excellent 'Stimmen' Symphony at top volume 

[Traverso]

Yes, that's why I asked you and thanks for replying. I'm aware of the bad reviews but have just been enjoying the Symphony No.8 on the single release Decca CD. I may have been influenced by having had a great musical evening, whilst at Lancaster University in the North of England c.1975, when the university organised a minibus down to Liverpool to see Ashkenazy conduct Shostakovich's 8th Symphony. I have a number of Ashkenazy recordings that I think very highly of including Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Walton.

I'm glad that you enjoyed listening to the eight,it can't be that bad,some critics have a rigid idea about how things should sound I think.
I have seen Ashkenazy once during a Chopin recital.I remember that he played the Preludes.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Copland
Symphony No. 3
NY Philharmonic
Bernstein



For me, this performance of Copland's 3rd is still the one to beat. It also acts as a remarkable tribute between these two remarkable musicians who had a long-standing friendship up until the end of their lives. Copland's own recordings of his music are outstanding in their own right, but it is Bernstein who championed this composer and gave his music the gravitas it needed and, in doing this, Copland became the greatest American composer of all-time. I don't make this assertion out of lack of knowledge or lack of experience, but it must be said that if any American captured the sights and landscape of this country in sound, it was Copland. This is also acknowledged by Michael Tilson Thomas who, after Bernstein, is one of the most important American conductors of our lifetime and has done so much for this music.

[ritter]

Would have never guessed you'd be a fan of Kodály, Rafael! I particularly love the Peacock Variations - what a colorful and exciting work!

I'm not that familiar with Kodály's music, Kyle, but will certainly explore it further (I'm really interested in the Symphony and the Concerto for Orchestra). The only other disc of his music in my collection (since decades) is the Doráti on Mercury with the Háry Janos Suite, the Dances Of Galánta, and Marosszék Dances—along with some Bartók. These works are enjoyable, but the discovery of the Psalmus and the Peacock Variations much strengthened my appreciation of the composer. I think in these works he achieves a "sublimation" of folk material into really superb music that only a handful of truly great composers reach (Bartók, Falla, late Enesco and a few others).

[Karl Henning]

Haydn Symphony No. 99 "Cat" and No. 94 "Surprise", Norrington conducting the RSO Stuttgart




Sarge

Norrington a good fit with "Papa," Sarge?

[Karl Henning]

A Janáček orchestral double-bill

Sinfonietta
Taras Bulba
Czech Philharmonic
Ančerl



I have to say I don't think I've ever heard any finer performances of either of these works. The Taras Bulba is downright disturbing in the way it should be and the Sinfonietta has all the virtuosity you could imagine. These recordings coming from the Ančerl Gold series are 'gold', indeed.

Classic!