What are you listening 2 now?

[Todd]

From my Z collection.

[Linz]

Paavo Berglund Sibelius with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Symphonies 1 and 4

[SonicMan46]

 

From my Z collection.

Todd - you'll need to edit and add Zavateri to Wiki's Z List - I have just a half dozen discs of Jan Zelenka (believe that I culled out a few discs of Zipoli and Zemlinsky) -    Dave

[Karl Henning]

I find Nielsen's chamber music to be almost uniformly fantastic, just a small notch below his symphonies in sheer brilliance.

Heartily agreed, Kyle!

TD: And somehow this is the perfect day for me to reach this 'un.

CD 46

Mahler
Symphony № 9 in d minor
Berliner Philharmoniker
recorded in January of 1964 in the Jesus Christuskirche

[André]

Second listening to these excellent performances, lucidly recorded and played with great feeling by the Bambergers (winds and timpani in particular). The brass section offers a smooth ensemble sound but when playing individually horns or trumpets are very personable. Hrusa had been their MD for just one year when these performances were taped in Bamberg's Joseph Keilberth Saal - one with audience, one without. I suspect a degree or two of spontaneous give and take will grow out of their collaboration.

A highlight is the Brahms 4th's first movement, as beautiful as I can ever hope to hear it. The oboe and clarinet first desks are incredibly luscious. Movements 2 and 4 are superb as well, but the scherzo registers a curious drop in energy, as if they were reluctant to make it sound pugnacious or brash. In the New World I couldn't find any fault. No the most confident or rustic account I've heard, but one imbued throughout with feeling and optimism. Once again winds cover themselves with glory and the engineering is splendidly transparent. The recordings were handled by the Bavarian Radio engineers and are a model of presence and detail.

Classicstoday gave a generally positive review of the companion release of symphonies 3 (Brahms) and 8 (Dvorak), noting the splendid technical results, but lamenting the low level of energy in the finale of the D8. From what I gather hearing this set and reading that critic's response about the other I think Hrusa adopts a lyrical, even elegiac view of the works. I heard him conduct Dvorak's 5th and was wowed by the alertness and precision of the performance (with another very good german orchestra) as well as the emphasis on winds and brass contributions. The affection he shows for Dvorak is unmistakable.

[Mirror Image]

A Georgian, Turk and Armenian go into a bar...okay, I don't have a punchline.

NP:

Kancheli
Twilight for two violins and orchestra
Gidon Kremer (violin), Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin)
Kremerata Baltica



Saygun
Symphony No. 4, Op. 53
Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic Orchestra
Ari Rasilainen



Khachaturian
Festive Poem
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Loris Tjeknavorian

[SonicMan46]

Eberl, Anton (1765-1807) - Piano Trios, Solo KB works & Violin Sonatas - period instruments for the first two below; Luca Quintavalle uses a Paul McNulty fortepiano (2009) after Walter & Son c. 1805.  Own about 10 discs of Eberl's music, friend of Mozart (and his wife and SIL) and Beethoven; short bio below - died at 41 years from scarlet fever - his works seem to be re-appearing (for better or worst depending on the critics read) recently - looking on Amazon a 'String Quartet' CD is to be released next month.  Dave

Pianist and composer Eberl may have been a student of Mozart. His first stage work was praised by Gluck. The compositions by Eberl demonstrate a keen awareness of the Classical medium and easily can be perceived as prototypical Romantic music. A number of Eberl's piano compositions were often attributed to Mozart (Mozart is said to have employed one of these compositions as his own favorite teaching piece). The "Symphony in Eb-dur" was performed with the premiere of Beethoven's "Eroica" and was considered the better. As expressed in his music, Eberl did overcome the influence of his teacher and his "Piano Sonata in G-mol" contained characteristics similar to those qualities found in the later music of Franck, Chopin, and Liszt. (Source)

   

[aligreto]

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 






Don't you think that the opening movement of this work is wonderfully bittersweet and poignant? I know that there is a large element of drama there too but for me the musical language shouts yearning and longing. The dramatic element is for me, the voicing of the lament. This presentation, for me, has a somewhat wonderful dark and disconcerting element to it. The second, Scherzo-like movement is a jaunty affair. Its Trio-like section is quite charming. I find the slow movement to be emotionally charged and this is augmented by the wonderful scoring in this movement and the underlying tension and intensity throughout the movement. The final movement is buoyant and ebullient with an underlying drive that is unrelenting. Weller drives it well here.

[Todd]

Finished up another go of Brendel's digital era Schubert, for the first time in I don't know how many years.  Good, better than his Beethoven, relatively speaking, with D959 still a formidable highlight that compares to any version out there, and a better than remembered D850.  Not a top five set though.  Top Ten?  Don't know for sure.

[Linz]

Sibilius 1 and 4 this time wit Colin Davis and the Boston Symphony Orchestra

[aligreto]

Bridge:





Summer: The music has all of the correct ingredients but it just did not connect with me for some reason.
Cherry Ripe: This I would call a ditty or a lollipop.
Lament: I find this overly sentimental.


I am afraid that I am not having much success with the music of Frank Bridge.

[SonicMan46]

Eberl, Anton (1765-1807) - Chamber Works on period instruments (clarinet, fortepiano, violin, cello) w/ the Trio Van Bruggen-Van Hengel-Veenhoff - enjoying these pieces and performances but I've never seen such a discrepant pair of reviews for the 'Grand Sextetto' recording from MusicWeb ('Recording of the Month'!) to a downright condemnation from Fanfare's Jerry Dubins (attached for some chuckles) -    Dave

 

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

A Georgian, Turk and Armenian go into a bar...okay, I don't have a punchline.

NP:

Kancheli
Twilight for two violins and orchestra
Gidon Kremer (violin), Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin)
Kremerata Baltica



Saygun
Symphony No. 4, Op. 53
Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic Orchestra
Ari Rasilainen



Khachaturian
Festive Poem
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Loris Tjeknavorian

I didn't know about Kancheli. Thank you for the post.

[classicalgeek]

Sibelius 1 and 4 this time with Colin Davis and the Boston Symphony Orchestra

Excellent choice! Probably my favorite overall Sibelius cycle.

TD: a deeper dive into Einar Englund:

Symphony no. 2 "Blackbird"
*Piano concerto no. 1
Symphony no. 4
*Niklas Sivelöv, piano
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra
Jorma Panula



Fine performances overall, though I like the piano concertos on Ondine (with Raekallio) a bit better than Sivelöv. I can hear Shostakovich's influence on Englund clearly in the Fourth Symphony - the scoring for strings and percussion calls to mind Shostakovich's Fourteenth. I really enjoyed the Second Symphony as well.

Symphony no. 4
Symphony no. 5
The Great Wall of China - suite
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
Eri Klas
(both on Spotify)



I think I prefer this performance of the Fourth to Panula's - mainly owing to better playing by the orchestra. I think of all of Englund's Symphonies I've heard so far, I'm most impressed by the Fifth - here the influence of Sibelius and Nielsen is really apparent. But it's never derivative - Englund's own unique voice shines through, and it's stunningly orchestrated. And 'Great Wall of China' is just a lot of fun - Englund at his most humorous. He may have been strongly influenced by Shostakovich, but that doesn't prevent him from poking a little gentle fun at the latter's Ninth Symphony in 'March a la Shostakovich'! All in all, two satisfying and rewarding discs by (in my opinion, at least) a major composer.

[DavidW]

Klemperer M2

Enough said.

[Mirror Image]

I didn't know about Kancheli. Thank you for the post.

You're welcome, but you never heard of Kancheli before? He's awesome! His symphonies are truly something else.

[bhodges]

Listening to the Quatuor Ébène in Mozart, Shostakovich, and Schumann, live from Carnegie Hall:

Program:
https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2022/03/30/Quatuor-Ebene-0730PM

Listen here:
https://www.wqxr.org/streams/

--Bruce

[Mirror Image]

Now playing Weinberg SQs Nos. 7, 11 & 13 with the Quatuor Danel

[Todd]

Not sure why it took me so long to get to this recording, what with Holliger's fine Schumann cycle, and Kopatchinskaja's and Lonquich's overall awesomeness.  An excellent recording.

[Linz]

Walton A Centenary  Celebration