What are you listening 2 now?

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Not much. The Giulini Rigoletto, the Solti Falstaff. Anything else you recommend?

Othello with Karajan/Tebaldi, Del Monaco and Don Carlo with Solti/Bergonzi/Bumbry/Tebaldi/Fischer-Dieskau for starters. 

PD

[Irons]

Agree completely with "definitive recordings" comment - but that is true of so many Lyrita recordings - their "hit rate" is/was absurdly high.  Here's a rhetorical question - is there a "bad" Lyrita recording?  (Bax 6 is about the only one I can think of that sounds relatively ropey....)

Lyrita enjoyed the best British sound team and recording venue of the day. The sound of all recordings are top draw. Performance is more tricky as a good proportion of the catalogue have not been recorded by anyone else. Of course taste comes to play but I prefer Dilkes EMI Moeran Symphony to Boult on Lyrita. But would have to think hard for other examples. Lyrita are unique and British music would be infinitely poorer without it.

[AnotherSpin]

Not much. The Giulini Rigoletto, the Solti Falstaff. Anything else you recommend?

Aida with Milanov, Bjorling, Perlea is fascinating.

[Roasted Swan]

Lyrita enjoyed the best British sound team and recording venue of the day. The sound of all recordings are top draw. Performance is more tricky as a good proportion of the catalogue have not been recorded by anyone else. Of course taste comes to play but I prefer Dilkes EMI Moeran Symphony to Boult on Lyrita. But would have to think hard for other examples. Lyrita are unique and British music would be infinitely poorer without it.

to the bolded - true at the time many/most Lyrita recordings were made but today nearly all of the repertoire has been duplicated but few surpassed....... (for me Dilkes' performance is enthusiastic but technically much rougher than Boult)

[Traverso]

Bach

CD 1

[Karl Henning]

That recording always touches me...a classic.  And Puccini is a favorite of mine. 

My high school chorus teacher hired some pros, and we sang an act from La B. I had a great time! Nowadays, too, I always smile, thinking of Moonstruck.

[Roasted Swan]

My high school chorus teacher hired some pros, and we sang an act from La B. I had a great time! Nowadays, too, I always smile, thinking of Moonstruck.

SUCH a great movie Moonstruck!

[Lisztianwagner]

Elliott Carter
Cello Concerto

Alisa Weilerstein (cello)
Daniel Barenboim & Staatskapelle Berlin

[Pohjolas Daughter]

My high school chorus teacher hired some pros, and we sang an act from La B. I had a great time! Nowadays, too, I always smile, thinking of Moonstruck.

SUCH a great movie Moonstruck!

"Snap out of it!"

PD

[Linz]

Gustav Holst Hymns from the Rig Veda - 4th Group, Op. 26 No. 4 H100 and The Homecoming, H120 (Hardy) Baccholian Singers of London
A Dirge for Two Veterans H121 (Whitman) Baccholian Singers of London. Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Ian Humphris
Six Choral Folk Songs H136, Baccholian Singers of London
Six Choruses Op. 53 H186, Baccholian Singers of London, English Chamber Orchestra, Ian Humphris
Eight Canons, H187, Baccholian Singers of London
Bring Us in Good Ale Op. 34 No. 4 H131, The King's Singers
Vedic Hymns - 1st Group Op. 24 H90, Frederick Harvey baritone, Gerald Moore piano
Three Festival Choruses Op. 36a H134, Richard Seal organ, Choir of ChichesterCathedral, John Birch
Lullay my liking Op. 34 No. 2 H129, London Boy Siners, Jonathan Steele
Three Carols H133, Bach Choir, Jacques Orchester, Sir David Wilcocks
Hymn: In the bleak midwinter, Edwin Bates organ, Rodney Christian Festival Choir, Rodney Smith Bishton

[ritter]

First listen to this new acquisition:



Charles Koechlin: Le Buisson ardent, op. 203 & op. 171. Roger Désormière conducts the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française.This is a live recording of the world première of the piece, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris on Nov. 19th, 1951.

the first part of this symphonic poem (based on Romain Rolland's Jean Christophe) was composed after the second, hence its higher opus number.

Great stuff!

[ritter]

And from another new acquisition:



Elisabeth Lutyens: And Suddenly it's Evening, for tenor and chamber ensemble. Herbert Handt sings and directs members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

This piece was written for the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in 1967 (and performed on the occasion by the same forces that appear on this recording). A very elegant, spare score, with a supeb use of percussion (pitched and unpitched), and a very attractive vocal line in its post-serial style. The setting of Salvatore Quasimodo's beautiful (even in English translation) verses is touching.

I knew tenor Herbert Handt from relatively obscure 1950s recordings of older music (Haydn's Orfeo ed Eurídice and Mozart's Don Giovanni under Hans Swarowsky), but had never heard him in (then) contemporary repertoire.

[vandermolen]

And from another new acquisition:



Elisabeth Lutyens: And Suddenly it's Evening, for tenor and chamber ensemble. Herbert Handt sings and directs members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

This piece was written for the opening of the Royal Festival Hall in London in 1967 (and performed on the occasion by the same forces that appear on this recording). A very elegant, spare score, with a supeb use of percussion (pitched and unpitched), and a very attractive vocal line in its post-serial style. The setting of Salvatore Quasimodo's beautiful (even in English translation) is touching.

I knew tenor Herbert Handt from relatively obscure 1950s recordings of older music (Haydn's Orfeo ed Eurídice and Mozart's Don Giovanni under Hans Swarowsky), but had never heard him in (then) contemporary repertoire.

1967 sounds late for the opening of the Festival Hall. Vaughan Williams's 9th Symphony was premiered there in 1958, in the presence of the composer. I did hear that Lutyens work once and did not enjoy it. I prefer David Bedford as a composer.

[vandermolen]

Agree completely with "definitive recordings" comment - but that is true of so many Lyrita recordings - their "hit rate" is/was absurdly high.  Here's a rhetorical question - is there a "bad" Lyrita recording?  (Bax 6 is about the only one I can think of that sounds relatively ropey....)

Apart from Del Mar's disappointing 'boxed-in' recording of Bax's 6th Symphony the only one that comes to mind is Piers Coetmore's performance of (her husband) E J Moeran's Cello Concerto as, by the time that it was recorded, with Boult conducting, she was no longer performing regularly and her playing was not entirely secure. Having said that, it is by far my favourite version because whatever Coetmore lacked in technical finesse, was rendered insignificant due to the emotional depth of her performance. The climax of the finale is overwhelming, compared to all other versions.

PS I've thought of another one. Norman Del Mar's recording of Rubbra's 4th Symphony is not IMO as good as Hickox's Chandos recording or Rubbra's own fabulous recording on Somm. I have still enjoyed the pioneering Lyrita CD greatly.

[San Antone]

Probably my favorite Puccini box - but one that I haven't listened to in a very long time.  Enjoying it today.

[vandermolen]

David Morgan: Violin Concerto
A long time since I heard this fine work.

[ritter]

And now, as a nightcap, the two versions (solo piano —Margaret Fingerhut— and orchestral —Neville Martiner and the ASMF—) of Florent Schmitt's decidedly un-Fauréan Scherzo sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré.



The piano version was Schmitt's contribution to a homage to Fauré in 1922 by the Revue Musicale (Enesco, Koechlin and Ravel, among others, also contributed). Years later, he orchestrated the scherzo but added another piece, Cippus Feralis, to make the orchestral diptych In Memoriam, op. 72. The complete diptych has been recorded but once, in an impossible to find Cybelia CD conducted by Pierre Stoll. An Amazon UK MP seller was offering a copy last week (used, very cheap), and as soon as I ordered it he wrote to tell me he no longer had it!   

[ritter]

1967 sounds late for the opening of the Festival Hall. Vaughan Williams's 9th Symphony was premiered there in 1958, in the presence of the composer. I did hear that Lutyens work once and did not enjoy it. I prefer David Bedford as a composer.

Apologies, it should have been the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Corrected in my post.

Will explore the Bedford piece soon (he seems to have been a rather eclectic and interesting figure).

Good night, Jeffrey!

[vandermolen]

Apologies, it should have been the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Corrected in my post.

Will explore the Bedford piece soon (he seems to have been a rather eclectic and interesting figure).

Good night, Jeffrey!

Ah, that makes sense (QEH) - thanks.
I must recommend David Bedford's Symphony No.1 (although I don't think that there was ever a No.2). I heard it live amazingly - it has a very 'catchy' last movement - a bit like Mike Oldfield (who Bedford worked with) there is a CD.
Greetings Rafael!
PS OK, here's the last movement!
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=david+bedford+symphony+1&&mid=319BDCF6ED98DAC569F3319BDCF6ED98DAC569F3&&FORM=VRDGAR

[Lisztianwagner]

As much as I love Bach's music, I confess this is the first time I listen to Matthäus-Passion, although I've got Karajan's recording for a while:

Johann Sebastian Bach
Matthäus-Passion, Part I

Herbert von Karajan & Berliner Philharmoniker