What are you listening 2 now?

[Symphonic Addict]

Mathias: Symphony No. 3

For some reason, Mathias reminds me of a darker Bax. This work is so haunting and atmospheric!

[Symphonic Addict]

George Lloyd
Symphony no. 8
Philharmonia Orchestra
Edward Downes



Delightfully tuneful, and a really moving slow movement (a Lloyd specialty). I only wish a score were more readily available - I know the George Lloyd Society has several typeset scores available, but the Eighth isn't one of them.

Nos. 3-8 are my favorites. No dull works altogether.

[foxandpeng]

Dmitri Shostakovich
Complete String Quartets
SQ #2
Borodin Quartet
Decca

Pēteris Vasks
Fourth String Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Nonesuch Records


Remarkable works. No real connection other than economy of posting. I did have a double take moment this evening rewatching an episode of The Young Pope when it was obvious that the music was Vasks SQ #4. Weird. Took Soundhound to realise it for certain.

[Klavier1]

No.5 & 6.

[Mirror Image]

Igualmente, compadre! 

[Mirror Image]

I have only just begun to listen to the set and already I look forward to listening to the rest of it.



Thank you for the recommendation.

My pleasure, Fergus.

[classicalgeek]

Nos. 3-8 are my favorites. No dull works altogether.

I don't think I've heard No. 3. No. 7 is on Spotify; it's one of the scores that the Lloyd Society has available, so I'm waiting for a time when I can sit down with the score on my laptop and listen away (it's pretty substantial at over 50 minutes.) My favorite so far is No. 5 - pastoral, serene, and full of great melodies!

TD: More Lloyd, my first foray into his piano music:

George Lloyd
The Road Through Samarkand
St. Antony and the Bogside Beggar
An African Shrine
Martin Roscoe, piano
(on Spotify)



Three really striking works, especially An African Shrine, which is full of contrasting moods and textures, and contains some surprisingly virtuosic keyboard writing (as does The Road Through Samarkand.) I was reminded occasionally of the piano music of Debussy and Ravel, perhaps Arnold Bax, but Lloyd really doesn't sound like any one of these. Quite a discovery.

[Mirror Image]

Now playing Disc 1 from Henze's Voices --- the composer conducting:



There are several recordings now of this work, but this one seems to be the most highly regarded. I bought it quite some time ago when I went on a Henze shopping spree.

I own the CD release pictured above (which is the only time this recording has been issued on CD I believe), the original release on LP looks like this:

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Saint-Saëns
Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61
Kyung Wha Chung, violin
LSO
Lawrence Foster

[Mirror Image]

I don't think I've heard No. 3. No. 7 is on Spotify; it's one of the scores that the Lloyd Society has available, so I'm waiting for a time when I can sit down with the score on my laptop and listen away (it's pretty substantial at over 50 minutes.) My favorite so far is No. 5 - pastoral, serene, and full of great melodies!

TD: More Lloyd, my first foray into his piano music:

George Lloyd
The Road Through Samarkand
St. Antony and the Bogside Beggar
An African Shrine
Martin Roscoe, piano
(on Spotify)



Three really striking works, especially An African Shrine, which is full of contrasting moods and textures, and contains some surprisingly virtuosic keyboard writing (as does The Road Through Samarkand.) I was reminded occasionally of the piano music of Debussy and Ravel, perhaps Arnold Bax, but Lloyd really doesn't sound like any one of these. Quite a discovery.

I hope your Lloyd traversal doesn't last too long!

[André]

I confess to have trouble relating to Williamson's music. Some of it I liked immediately (the beautiful Epitaphs for strings), while the two symphonies proved harder to evaluate. I'll need more listenings before I get a grip on this composer's language. 

[Symphonic Addict]

I hope your Lloyd traversal doesn't last too long!

Shorter than the one dedicated to Ives it sure is.   

[classicalgeek]

I hope your Lloyd traversal doesn't last too long!

Well, I listened to a bunch of his symphonies around September and October, and I really enjoyed his music: unpretentious, tuneful, unapologetically tonal. I'm revisiting his music after a few months off, including another listen to some of his symphonies - and I figured I'd try out his piano music for good measure. So no, I don't plan an in-depth exploration of Lloyd like my recent one with Charles Ives, but I did want to remind myself that Lloyd was worth listening to (in my opinion, of course )!

I confess to have trouble relating to Williamson's music. Some of it I liked immediately (the beautiful Epitaphs for strings), while the two symphonies proved harder to evaluate. I'll need more listenings before I get a grip on this composer's language. 

I kind of came away with a similar opinion of Williamson after I initially heard him - I found some of his work engaging and enjoyable (like the Santiago de Espada Overture), but some of it hard to figure out (like the Organ Concerto). I'll definitely give him another listen when the mood strikes.

Shorter than the one dedicated to Ives it sure is.   

Definitely this time around!  

[Mirror Image]

Well, I listened to a bunch of his symphonies around September and October, and I really enjoyed his music: unpretentious, tuneful, unapologetically tonal. I'm revisiting his music after a few months off, including another listen to some of his symphonies - and I figured I'd try out his piano music for good measure. So no, I don't plan an in-depth exploration of Lloyd like my recent one with Charles Ives, but I did want to remind myself that Lloyd was worth listening to (in my opinion, of course )!

Yeah, I've got some Lloyd recordings and his music isn't really my cup of tea, but we all hear different things and, more importantly, are moved by different kinds of music. I should revisit Ives more in-depth, but it'll probably be some time before I get back around to his music since I'm so busy with so many other composers at the moment.

[Symphonic Addict]

Two composers at their earnest:

Braga Santos: Symphonic Sketches and Variations for Orchestra (not the Alentejo ones).

If you don't enjoy the "too-much-happy" Braga Santos, this is the perfect antidote then. It's threatening, hostile, much more dissonant. I mean, quite a change from those sunny days of Symphonies 3 and 4, Alfama, etc.

One of my favorite B-S CDs!





Wirén: String Quartet No. 5

Succinct. That is the best term I could associate with Dag. An austere and rewarding quartet..





And this whole CD:



Holy... a killer recording (as someone would say). Hugely impressed. Kudos Naxos for this exceptional series of Polish composers!

[Symphonic Addict]

Novák: String Quartet No. 3

Why is not this masterpiece better known and more recorded? Thoroughly eloquent piece. That 2nd. movement Lento doloroso is something else.

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Henze
Symphony No. 3
Berliners
Henze



I gave the newly reissued Henze DG box set (w/ LP over art) to my dad and I ended up buying the Henze Collection set (14 CDs in all) from a reputable seller in Spain (Barcelona to be exact) and I was happy to have found a copy of it for a good price considering it had long been OOP, but now the reissued set is OOP, too. Yay for UMG! Aren't they the best? Anyway, outstanding set. Henze's music has really grown on me.

Next up:

Milhaud
String Quartet No. 16, Op. 303
Quatuor Parisii



I LOVE the Milhaud SQs --- again, this is from an OOP set that's long been gone. If anyone is interested in getting the set, all you have to spend is $200 (€176).

[Mirror Image]

NP:

Pierné
Ramuntcho Suites No. 1 & 2
BBC PO
Junjo Mena



A delightful work, which I believe (if I remember correctly) takes its inspiration from Basque folk music. This isn't a first-listen, but it's been such a long-time since I've heard this work that it feels like it. I'd like to get more of Pierné's music on disc (I own quite a few recordings of his music), but there's still much to explore.

[Symphonic Addict]

Schoenberg: Piano Concerto

It's the first time this work makes sense to me.

[Mirror Image]

Schoenberg: Piano Concerto

It's the first time this work makes sense to me.

And it's my favorite performance it! Great stuff, Cesar. Glad you enjoyed it.