What are you listening 2 now?

[foxandpeng]

To let you all know, all notifications and alerts don't work anymore, I am literally out of seeing what is posted or not. The only resort is "Unread Post" but I am afraid that might be gone too in a while. My whole system has been checked yesterday on any bugs or faults in my computer setup and software, but nothing is found that should block GMG. So if I do not react or miss alerts you know why. Until it will be improvising. I also have some serious ongoing health issues that hamper my pleasure even more. Messages to Rob are bounced back also with no apparent reason. O, well.

Greatly in my thoughts. Hoping for some relief and recovery.

Your presence and posts are significant amongst the reasons I visit this forum.

[Wanderer]

Dipping into some of the Leeds International Piano Competition, which has uploaded a ton of videos on YouTube over the last few days. Here pianist Elizaveta Kliuchereva does Mussorgsky, Ligeti, and Brahms.

The concerto finals are live, happening in about 90 minutes.

-Bruce

I saw the finals, what an amazing rendition of the Rachmaninov Fourth Concerto by Junyan Chen!

In tomorrow's second part of the finals: Brahms 2 and Prokofiev 3.

[71 dB]

Inspired by the Nielsen thread and all the Second Viennese School discussion:

Schoenberg - 5 Orchesterstücke Op. 16
Webern - 5 Orchesterstücke Op. 6
Berg - Lulu Suite

Arleen Augér
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Simon Rattle

[Linz]

Codex las Huelgas, Music from the 13th Century Spain, Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel CD1 A Secret Labyrinth

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

North German Baroque Organ - Bernard Winsemius.

[Mapman]

Dvořák: Symphony #2
Rowicki, LSO

I finally got around to listening to all of Dvořák's symphonies! I'm not as immediately impressed with the first two, but 3-5 don't deserve their neglect relative to the later symphonies.

[Mapman]

Inspired by the recent discussions on the Debussy thread,

Debussy: Jeux
Rattle: CBSO

The plot (as indicated in the score) is ridiculous, but the music is quite interesting. Some sections remind me of the clarinet rhapsody. (I've listened to Jeux before, but not closely or with the score.)

[Symphonic Addict]

Hindemith's three piano sonatas

[Bachtoven]

I finished listening to this excellent set today. A musical and sonic triumph.

[Mapman]

Bruch: String Octet
Ensemble Ulf Hoelscher

A nice work, but very conservative for 1920.

[Symphonic Addict]

Bruch: String Octet
Ensemble Ulf Hoelscher

A nice work, but very conservative for 1920.

A formidable, energetic, superb work, featuring a rather poignant slow movement. In spite of it may sound a little anachronistic, I think it's fabulous.

[Symphonic Addict]

Bridge: String Quartets 1 and 2

Astoundingly good music.

[Mapman]

Bach: Cantata BWV 164, "Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet"
Leusink, et al.

[André]

I've rarely heard performances of anything that attempt to sound so different from all others. These are bracing, excitable, sometimes electrifying performances, with the significant proviso that the amazing x-ray clarity is achieved at the expense of the music's dynamic range. Note values are strictly adhered to, with not a microsecond added for emphasis. Allegro movements are fast and speed up to fever point in the codas. Rests become micro-pauses, and micro become nano-pauses. The music has barely time to breathe but still manages to come across as noble and romantic.

The orchestra achieves marvels of cohesion and precision, with balances that make every strand clearly audible (wind detail is amazing). Big fortissimos usually involve the brass and timpani burying the strings and winds and require a slight expansion of the basic tempo to make their effect. Nézet-Séguin shirks those extra decibels for the sake of clarity and rythmic propulsion. It's like a basketball game played by heavily caffeinated 5'6'' japanese players: it will be lightning fast but those vaulting slam dunks just won't be there. As a supplementary set to a more traditional one, this is a very interesting quartet of performances in which the conductor's focus on rythm blows away the cobwebs.

[Mapman]

Schubert: Symphony #1
Karajan: Berlin

I decided to revisit this as I have no memory of the 1st symphony. That's because it is not very memorable. The 2nd theme in the first movement is similar to Beethoven's Eroica theme (used in the 4th movement, the variations, etc.).

This recording is also a good example of the criticism that Karajan buries the woodwinds. There were many moments where I wished that the winds were more prominent.

[Symphonic Addict]

Kaljo Raid: Symphony No. 2 'Stockholm'

[Le Buisson Ardent]

Hi John - assume you have some duplications of his works.  I've not done any back-to-back comparisons of Lettberg vs. Hamelin in the piano sonatas; their approaches are different so nice to own both.

Now for those who do not know, Lettberg is a 'Scriabin scholar' with a PhD; her thesis (described below) was based on an analysis of his 10th piano sonata (and no, I've not read it and likely would be lost -  )  Dave

Very nice, Dave.

[Le Buisson Ardent]

Now playing after an especially annoying day...something that just warms my heart:

Diamond
Symphony No. 3
Seattle Symphony
Schwarz

[Le Buisson Ardent]

I've rarely heard performances of anything that attempt to sound so different from all others. These are bracing, excitable, sometimes electrifying performances, with the significant proviso that the amazing x-ray clarity is achieved at the expense of the music's dynamic range. Note values are strictly adhered to, with not a microsecond added for emphasis. Allegro movements are fast and speed up to fever point in the codas. Rests become micro-pauses, and micro become nano-pauses. The music has barely time to breathe but still manages to come across as noble and romantic.

The orchestra achieves marvels of cohesion and precision, with balances that make every strand clearly audible (wind detail is amazing). Big fortissimos usually involve the brass and timpani burying the strings and winds and require a slight expansion of the basic tempo to make their effect. Nézet-Séguin shirks those extra decibels for the sake of clarity and rythmic propulsion. It's like a basketball game played by heavily caffeinated 5'6'' japanese players: it will be lightning fast but those vaulting slam dunks just won't be there. As a supplementary set to a more traditional one, this is a very interesting quartet of performances in which the conductor's focus on rythm blows away the cobwebs.

Thanks for the review, André. I haven't heard this Schumann cycle, but I especially like Nézet-Séguin's Mendelssohn cycle with the same orchestra. Top-notch performances --- I'll have to check out his Schumann.

[Le Buisson Ardent]

NP:

Dvořák
String Quartet No. 14 in A major, Op. 105
Panocha Quartet

From this set -