What are you listening 2 now?

[SimonNZ]

"Danserye 1551: Dances From The Susato Collection"

[Karl Henning]

I think so. Big, bold almost Beethovian interpretations. No vibrato but the strings still sound sweet. Some of the "slow" movements are played rather quickly (94, 101) but not, I think, out of character. And the Stuttgarters play incredibly well (all live recordings). The sound is spectacular, the brass especially prominent. Very exciting. This is actually my favorite set of complete Londons.

Sarge

Nice!

TD:

Taneyev
String Quartet № 2 in C, Op. 5
The Taneyev Quartet

[Carlo Gesualdo]

What should I listen , what about Cantigas de Santa-Maria, maybe later on but wich one?

There are zillions and I have them all... 
Nope for me tonight right F word now it'S a CD on ATMA classique, I can read your mind, know what your think, pfff deprofundis ATMA a cheap label from canada you won't impress us, Wanna try me, I got this super CD, L'Homme Armé La Cour De Bourgogne et la musique, studio de musique ancienne de montréal, support your local town ensemble ?? what about it, jeez it's a great idea, we got the best program ever lot's of Johannes of various familly name, do I read Ockeghem, Josquin, Agricola, Busnois wow that a hell of a CD let'S pop it in...



Cool Purple I am a big fan of this color, just like navy blue, you don't understand, I like indigo too? does it mean I'm a mental case if I have a fetish of perticulars colors

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Janáček
On an Overgrown Path
Rudolf Firkušný



Has there ever been as good an interpreter of these solo piano works as Firkušný? Not to these ears.

[Symphonic Addict]

Alfano: Symphonies nos. 1 and 2



Wow, I really enjoyed these two immensely colorful works! While they might not be completely structurally convincing, Alfano more than makes up for it with truly bejeweled orchestration (including lots of piano, harp, and celeste) and some emotional depth in the slow movements especially. I thought the 2nd Symphony was especially impressive, with its brilliantly joyous, life-affirming finale.


Georg Schumann: Symphony in F minor, Overture to a Drama, and Lebensfreude



Georg Schumann (no relative to Robert) doesn't get much mention even here on GMG, but he composed some really accomplished music. The Symphony in F minor (his second, I believe) is a dramatic work which boasts a gorgeous, rather Brucknerian slow movement and an agitated Scherzo that resembles what Brahms might have written had he composed a symphonic scherzo in the manner of, say, that of his Piano Quintet (I wish he had)! The two overtures are rather less distinctive, heavily inspired by Wagner and R. Strauss respectively, but still enjoyable at that.


Kalliwoda: Symphony no. 7



I seem to recall Cesar saying he was unimpressed with Kalliwoda's symphonies - well, either he had only listened to some of the earlier ones or we'll have to disagree! I found this symphony to be riveting, imaginative work, unlike the Mendelssohn-and-water concoctions other composers of the time were composing. Of particular note is the regal slow movement, which sounds quite unlike any other "slow movement" I've ever heard. I can't recommend this splendid disc highly enough, as the 5th Symphony and Overture no. 16 (!) are also wonderful, as are the vigorous performances they receive. A special shoutout to the timpanist of Das Neue Orchester - he plays the hell out of Kalliwoda's active timpani parts! (Like Cesar, I was also highly impressed by Kalliwoda's SQs.)


Florence Price and Amy Beach: Piano Quintets



I had never been particularly impressed by Florence Price's music before, but I think that may be because most recordings of her music I've heard are not particularly satisfying from a performance perspective (e.g. the Naxos disc of two of her symphonies). This fabulous new Chandos release breaks that pattern, revealing her Piano Quintet to be a gorgeous work full of lyricism and infectious character (especially in the Juba dance third movement). Unusually, the work ends with a brief "scherzo", but it's quite compelling in its mad dash to the finish. The Beach quintet has received a fair number of recordings, and its highlight is undoubtedly its sublime slow movement. This time around, I wasn't particularly convinced by the outer movements of the work, though. I hope to hear more recordings from the "Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective" in the future! (BTW, this album also includes Barber's Dover Beach; he did not write a piano quintet, unfortunately.)


Clara Schumann: Piano Concerto



I thought the first movement lacked personality and distinction; fortunately, matters improve after that with a lovely slow movement featuring a prominent cello solo (which no doubt inspired the analogous movement of Brahms' PC no. 2) and a characterful finale with some harmonic twists and turns.

Great selection of works, Kyle. As to Kalliwoda's symphonies, well, in my experience exploring his symphonies, I found Nos. 3, 6 and 7 the most compelling overall, the others didn't attract me that much, and that was partly due to the peformances with period instruments, which provide a rather unappealing sound to my ears. In general I'm not a fan of performances like that. Instead, give me performances with modern instruments every day of the year.

[Symphonic Addict]

These days I finished my exploration of Krommer's symphonies, a composer new to me. At first I thought that the Sym. No. 1 was pretty good, with plenty of energy, but listening to the others I realized these works kind of sounded almost the same, the same formula repeated, the material is not memorable to hold my attention, and there is little contrast of fast-slow in the movements. I mean, the music is well-written, pleasant, but in the end it becomes a little tiresome and nothing sticks to the memory. I do admit that the performances are incredibly energetic and convincing, so it's not a problem of the performances, but of the music itself. In my very personal opinion, this is the kind of composers who don't deserve much attention.

[Mandryka]

These are well enough played, but what makes the disc special for me is the balance between keyboard and piano, which brings out the piano.  It's a recording well worth a listen if you're interested in the music. Oh - the early sonatas too make it valuable, I wouldn't normally have bothered with the andante of K10 for example - but I'm glad I did.

[MusicTurner]

These days I finished my exploration of Krommer's symphonies, a composer new to me. At first I thought that the Sym. No. 1 was pretty good, with plenty of energy, but listening to the others I realized these works kind of sounded almost the same, the same formula repeated, the material is not memorable to hold my attention, and there is little contrast of fast-slow in the movements. I mean, the music is well-written, pleasant, but in the end it becomes a little tiresome and nothing sticks to the memory. I do admit that the performances are incredibly energetic and convincing, so it's not a problem of the performances, but of the music itself. In my very personal opinion, this is the kind of composers who don't deserve much attention.

I really like the Clarinet Concertos, but haven't explored the symphonies. You're probably in accordance with my own preferences.

[amw]

These are well enough played, but what makes the disc special for me is the balance between keyboard and piano, which brings out the piano.  It's a recording well worth a listen if you're interested in the music. Oh - the early sonatas too make it valuable, I wouldn't normally have bothered with the andante of K10 for example - but I'm glad I did.

I'm annoyed that this became my preferred Mozart integral, just because all the hype and marketing and so on were always a turn off, but it really is very good.

[Mirror Image]

One last work for the night:

Barber
Cello Sonata in C minor, Op. 6
Christian Poltéra, cello
Kathryn Stott, piano



My understanding is Barber disliked this work and was unhappy with it, but I think it's a beautiful work. He must have not completely disliked it as he gave it an opus number and didn't go to his publisher and demand it be destroyed like he did his Symphony No. 2.

[SimonNZ]

[vandermolen]

One last work for the night:

Barber
Cello Sonata in C minor, Op. 6
Christian Poltéra, cello
Kathryn Stott, piano



My understanding is Barber disliked this work and was unhappy with it, but I think it's a beautiful work. He must have not completely disliked it as he gave it an opus number and didn't go to his publisher and demand it be destroyed like he did his Symphony No. 2.

That's a great CD for which I have you to thank 

[vandermolen]

Hope it was a pleasant evening! We ended up doing something similar. The Vasks is a great work which gets better with each play.

Yes, it was very nice thanks - agree about the Vasks.

[Harry]

These days I finished my exploration of Krommer's symphonies, a composer new to me. At first I thought that the Sym. No. 1 was pretty good, with plenty of energy, but listening to the others I realized these works kind of sounded almost the same, the same formula repeated, the material is not memorable to hold my attention, and there is little contrast of fast-slow in the movements. I mean, the music is well-written, pleasant, but in the end it becomes a little tiresome and nothing sticks to the memory. I do admit that the performances are incredibly energetic and convincing, so it's not a problem of the performances, but of the music itself. In my very personal opinion, this is the kind of composers who don't deserve much attention.

Well I am happy to report that that my opinion is contrary, I like his symphonies enormously, memorable, much contrast of the fast slow movements, , tiresome, hell no!  Sounding the same, geesh my ears are telling me a story much different. This composer deserves much attention, and is of prime importance in music history. Maybe you had a bad day my friend!

[Que]

Morning listening on Spotify:



Just two sampler tracks ("singles") yet, but sounds good.

[Irons]

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 not a prolific concert-goer but attended an Ashkenazy concert at G Live Guildford, which I enjoyed very much. His conducting technique reminded me of a boxer punching air preparing for a fight. 

[Irons]

Dvorak: Sextet.

[listener]

Two new discs
A. REICHA  L'Art de varier ou 57 variations pour piano
Ivan Ilic, piano
almost 86 minutes.
Joby TALBOT: Ink Dark Moon -  concerto for guitar and orchestra
Howard SHORE: The Forest (or First? - a really awful typeface) Concerto for guitar and orchestra
Miloš Karadaglic, guitar
BBC S.O.    Ben Gernon = Talbot   National Arts Centre O., Alexander Shelley  = Shore

[Roasted Swan]

I think so. Big, bold almost Beethovian interpretations. No vibrato but the strings still sound sweet. Some of the "slow" movements are played rather quickly (94, 101) but not, I think, out of character. And the Stuttgarters play incredibly well (all live recordings). The sound is spectacular, the brass especially prominent. Very exciting. This is actually my favorite set of complete Londons.

Sarge

Avoid Mr Hurwitz's recent "critique" of this set.  To say he "takes no prisoners" is a bit like saying the Mongul Hoarde were just on a day trip and things got a bit out of hand.....

[aligreto]

Victoria: Missa Gaudeamus [Noone]





Divine.