What are you listening 2 now?

[Traverso]

Fricassée Parisienne

 

[foxandpeng]

Bedřich Smetana
Ma vlást
Rafael Kubelik
Boston SO
DG

Stunning, as ever. I want to love everything Smetana has written because he is amazing, but his operas just leave me cold.

Because they are operas.

[foxandpeng]

Lou Harrison
La Koro Sutro
Suite for Violin with American Gamelan
Gill Rose
Boston Modern Orchestra Project

Never heard a piece, to my knowledge, with an American Gamelan...

Cool.

Works for me.

[Madiel]

Beethoven: Serenade for string trio, op.8



I should have paid attention to the liner notes. While the op.3 trio has enough movements to be a divertimenti or serenade, it doesn't necessarily have the right character for it. Whereas op.8 is absolutely in that serenade style. And very enjoyable as presented here. Half an hour of Beethoven at his most genial.

[Madiel]

Poulenc: Les Biches



Coming to this via the route of a Poulenc exploration rather than going through the box, ballet seems like a perfect medium for Poulenc. His lightness and vivacity are just right for dance.

I've just realised, I don't think I've ever heard the 2 other ballets he wrote. Hopefully I can rectify that.

[foxandpeng]

Randall Thompson
Symphony 2
James Ross
National Orchestra Institute Philharmonic
Naxos

Enjoyable jaunt.

[DavidW]

[Todd]

[71 dB]

Yesterday:

Weinberg - Symphony No. 19 'Bright May', Op. 142
St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra
Vladimir Lande
Naxos 8.572752

Today:

Boccherini - Cello Sonatas Vol. 1
Christian Benda, Cello
Sebastian Banda, Fortepiano
Naxos 8.554324

[foxandpeng]

Stuart Hancock
Variations on a Heroic Theme
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Raptures – Suite for Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
Levon Parikian
Orchid Classics

This is a really attractive disc of orchestral music from a composer who is predominantly a writer of film and incidental music. Influences of John Williams, it seems. Good ones.

Raptures is extremely accessible but is by no means alone in its attractiveness. I don't know his film music well, but this speaks good things.

[Mandryka]

CPE Bach on the clavichord. Wonderful stuff. The Suite in e minor is a peach of a work, with a mesmerizing saraband at its heart.

The Sarabande is cute, but it's the allemande which has caught my attention more. Complex music, the booklet notes say it uses style brisé, kind of clear once said and it works nicely on clavichord because the timbre of the lower voice contrasts with the upper.

https://static.qobuz.com/goodies/62/000168326.pdf

[Brian]

Mostly very, very good, but the timpani is nearly inaudible except when it is at its loudest. With so much competition, this is a major flaw. The Most Controversial YouTuber singled out Fischer's pacing of the finale for special praise, and ... I did not really notice. Or at any rate it did not sound much different to me.

[DavidW]

[Pohjolas Daughter]

"Okeanos" must be quite hair-raising and even hair-blowing in concert! The wet woman on the cover is the organist. Excellent playing and very good sound.

And she's thinking "I went through hair, makeup, and wardrobe for this?!"

PD

[JBS]

Poulenc: Les Biches



Coming to this via the route of a Poulenc exploration rather than going through the box, ballet seems like a perfect medium for Poulenc. His lightness and vivacity are just right for dance.

I've just realised, I don't think I've ever heard the 2 other ballets he wrote. Hopefully I can rectify that.

Then you need this, because it seems to be the only recording of the full Les Animaux Modeles. All the other recordings I see, including Dutoit and Pretre, are only the suite.


And since it's coupled with the music he wrote for the collaborative ballets, it would be one-stop shopping for you.

TD
Franck's Violin Sonata
Lorenzo Gatto violin
Julien Libeer piano.

This is inspiring me to start a thread...

[foxandpeng]

Always excellent!

[Symphonic Addict]

Well, the recycling is understandable when he wasn't getting works performed or published. There was material that he liked which he was giving another chance.

Now that's a good reason. Poor Rued, not infrequently I think he was born in the wrong epoch.

[Symphonic Addict]

Then you need this, because it seems to be the only recording of the full Les Animaux Modeles. All the other recordings I see, including Dutoit and Pretre, are only the suite.


And since it's coupled with the music he wrote for the collaborative ballets, it would be one-stop shopping for you.

There's also this recording of the complete ballet (a wondrous work, by the way):

[Symphonic Addict]

The overtures are shown on the front cover, but not the tone poems which are Aphrodite and Angel of Death.

[Spotted Horses]

CPE Bach on the clavichord. Wonderful stuff. The Suite in e minor is a peach of a work, with a mesmerizing saraband at its heart.

I look at this and it seems attractive, then I notice that they are up to volume 41 (not to mention ~20 volumes of keyboard concertos). If I step into this ocean of trills and one six four chords, how will I find my way out?