What are you listening 2 now?

[Papy Oli]

Hello all,

Langgaard

symphonies

15
12
13

[Madiel]

Dvorak: Dumky for piano trio, op.90



This set does not label it as "piano trio no.4", and I have some sympathy for that view (edit: and another source indicates that Dvorak himself deliberately didn't refer to it as a "piano trio"). It is a different beast entirely from all of Dvorak's classically conceived trios, quartets, quintets and the like.

It's also a rare case where I think the Florestan Trio on Hyperion is outshone (though I admit it's a fair while since I listened to that recording). This performance by Guarneri Trio Prague really engages me.

[LKB]

Up to an hour ago ( when my boss walked in ), Marriner's recording of Bach's Mass in B Minor ( l was too lazy to seek out Rifkin or Koopman on YouTube ).

[Todd]

[DavidW]

[Mandryka]

I see from the website they're alternating individual pieces from the Bach and Shostakovich, but they don't say if each pianist sticks with one composer or not. I assume there'll be two pianos on stage. Looks like a potentially excellent concert, I've found Kolesnikov an interesting pianist, but don't know Tsoy.

The chopped and changed composers, indeed they sometimes split the voices in a piece and made a duet, sometimes one played the prelude and the other played the fugue. And they changed piano.

The concert was one of the most memorable this year -- and not only because of Kolesnikov, Tsoy is excellent  -- he can really make some beautiful sounds come from the piano, and his conception of the music was also attractive to me.

https://blog.thoroughlygood.me/2023/06/15/review-tsoy-and-kolesnikov-play-bach-and-shostakovich-at-aldeburgh-festival-2023/

Here's their programme note


This programme was conceived as a metaphor or a ritual celebrating mutual illumination. It revives and relives the poignant dialogue between Johann Sebastian Bach and Dmitry Shostakovich through their preludes and fugues, a music form that is itself intrinsically dialogic in nature, in a way that has never been done before.

Bach's double collection of preludes and fugues in every key, comprising two volumes of 24 and completed in the first half of the 18th Century, is revered by musicians as one of the greatest monuments of Western music. Though ironically introduced by Bach merely as a didactic and entertaining collection for musicians and amateurs ('for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study'), it is truly a universe in its own right. The themes, emotions and inventions found in these 48 pieces seem infinite, not to mention their formal beauty and perfection of Bach's polyphonic technique.

In turn, Shostakovich's cycle of 24 preludes and fugues, written in 1950-1, serves as a direct response to Bach. Since the rediscovery of Bach in the 19th Century, he has been a subject of ever-growing admiration, with many musicians paying tribute to him in one way or another. Shostakovich, in particular, was possibly the first major composer to openly 'converse' with composers of the past through his work. His pieces, especially in the late period, are full of quotations, references (both direct or hidden, and sometimes even mocking) from Bizet and Rossini to Wagner and Ustvolskaya.

However, Shostakovich's relationship with Bach seems more profound, respectful, intense and, ultimately, closer. In his cycle of preludes and fugues he doesn't 'play' with references, doesn't 'use' Bach's work to enrich his own. In a way, he does the contrary: entering the domain of Bach knowingly and respectfully while bringing in his very own sensibility and technique. There is no sense of rivalry or competitiveness here, nor, interestingly, a sense of worship. Shostakovich's cycle is distinctly his own - written in his own language, his own style, exploring subjects and emotions that are recognisably his. It feels encouraged, inspired, perhaps even initiated by Bach, with a wonderful warmth and purity in this interaction across centuries. Despite the gentle use of techniques reminiscent of Bach's and a nod to their influence, Shostakovich's cycle is remarkably independent. Powerful in its own right, it doesn't necessarily make one think of Bach. It is only when the two are brought together that their deep-rooted kinship becomes apparent.

In this recital the preludes and fugues of two great composers will be played with two pianos, sometimes individually, sometimes passed between two pianists, and sometimes shared. There is even a moment when a prelude of one composer is matched with a fugue by the other. While some may find this gesture unnecessary and even eccentric, we think of it as a beautiful and meaningful symbol of a dialogue transcending time.

[Traverso]

The last Concert Wilhelm Backhaus

CD 37

Beethoven "Waldstein"

Schubert

6 Moments Musicaux D 780

[Lisztianwagner]

Sergei Rachmaninov
Symphonic Dances
The Isle of the Dead

Vladimir Ashkenazy & Concertgebouw Orchestra

[SonicMan46]

Vanhal, Johann (1739-1813) - String Quartets - how many? Estimates are 50-100, but the first quote below suggests about 78 (see source for a listing) - pics show the 4 recordings that I own which have 15 works (i.e. eliminating some duplication) - certainly a lot unrecorded, unpulished, unfounded or lost?  There is a Weinmann catalog from 1987 (I cannot find online - any help?) which I've used in the list from what was available in the liner notes.  Dave

...Vanhal is believed to have written more than seventy string quartets. Many also reported to be over 100+, but this figure may be exaggerated. Yet the complete list will probably never be known. I try to find more information on this subject and only found this by the moment I write. Vanhal most popular works is his Op. 33 quartets, and  his late non-opus number for 'Hoffmeister' publisher, therefore known as Hoffmester quartets. In records, there are 12 Opuses with 6 string quartets, and then registered 6 quartets with no opus number. Total is 78 string quartets of Johann Baptist Vanhal. (Source)

String Quartets Owned (Weinmann catalog)
5a:A4 (Op. 33 No. 2, 1785)+=
5a:A?=
5a:A? (Op. 6 No. 5)^
5a:B5 (Op. 6 No. 6)*^
5a:B9 (Op. 2 No. 3)*
5a:C? (Op. 6 No. 3)^
5a:c2 (Op. 1 No. 4, 1769)+
5a:E1 (Op. 6 No. 2)*^
5a:Es 2 (Op. 13 No. 1)*
5a:Es 11 (1786)+
5a:F?=
5a:F14 (Op. 6 No. 1)*^
5a:G? (Op. 6 No. 4)^
5a:G6 (Op. 1 No. 3)*
5a:G8 (1780)+

+Lotus SQ - CPO 777 475-2
=Camesina Quartett - MusikBerlin 419
*Kubin Quartet - Multisonic 0583-2
^Eybler Quartet (MP3)

"W" numbers are cited from: Alexander Weinmann, Themen-Verzeichnis der Kompositionen von Johann Baptiste Wanhal (Wien: Musikverlag Ludwig Krenn, 1987) (Source)

     

[Linz]

Nicolas Gombart Music From the Court of Charles V, Motet - Chansons - Mass for 6 Voices - Regina Coeli - Magnificat Secundi Toni
Huelgas Ensemble, Paul Van Nevel

A Secret Labyrinth CD10

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

The Classic Melodies of Japan. Isaac Stern, Hozan Yamamoto & Shakuhachi Ensemble Nipponia.

[Kalevala]

The Classic Melodies of Japan. Isaac Stern, Hozan Yamamoto & Shakuhachi Ensemble Nipponia.

Interesting!  I've never come across that album before now.  How is it?

K

[Florestan]

Listened to this an hour ago.

The Huss is eminently enjoyable and eminently forgettable. It belongs to that vast majority of works written during any period, of which one is at a loss to remember one single melodic, harmonic or rythmic idea just five minutes after it's over.

The Schelling is quite different, its jocularity places it above the Huss in my book. The Hungarian flavor in the 1st movement is unmistakable, the Scherzo is quite Mendelssohnian all things considered, the slow Intermezzo is a nocturne which I felt like a clarinet's dream and the Finale is a romp built around that (in)famous Confederation tune whose name I can't remember right now.

Bottom line, would I listen to these works again? Definitely Yes to Schelling, probably No to Huss.

[Traverso]

Bach

Gott ist unsere Zuversicht...

[Florestan]

It is certainly not perfect in a technical sense but that does not matter, the result is one that takes you by the hand and creates a romance between performer and listener and all in the service of Mozart of course.

Very well put, Jan.

You might want to check this set as well:



and this, which might come as a surprise to many:



Both exceptional oldies but goldies.

[Traverso]

Very well put, Jan.

You might want to check this set as well:



and this, which might come as a surprise to many: 



Both exceptional oldies but goldies.

Hi Andrei, this one I have... The Beethoven seems very rare..wich company has recorded these sonatas?

[Florestan]

The Beethoven seems very rare..wich company has recorded these sonatas?

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Violin-Sonatas-Boskovsky-Kraus/dp/B00MUDPGE0

Never mind the outlandish price. Just PM me if you want them.

[Linz]

Bruckner Symphony No. 3 in D Minor, 1889 Version (aka 1888/89) Ed. Leopold Nowak, Bruckner Orchester Linz. Markus Poschner

[Iota]

The chopped and changed composers, indeed they sometimes split the voices in a piece and made a duet, sometimes one played the prelude and the other played the fugue. And they changed piano.

The concert was one of the most memorable this year -- and not only because of Kolesnikov, Tsoy is excellent  -- he can really make some beautiful sounds come from the piano, and his conception of the music was also attractive to me.

That's quite bold in a way. But sounds like it worked well, good to hear. I remember when we were younger, my brother and I also used to make duets of the fugues for no particular reason other than it was fun and made them easier to play. But actually I found it rather illuminating too, hearing the individuality of each voice was just much easier and clearer. And perhaps even at concert pianist level it can affect the projection of the counterpoint.

[Mandryka]

That's quite bold in a way. But sounds like it worked well, good to hear. I remember when we were younger, my brother and I also used to make duets of the fugues for no particular reason other than it was fun and made them easier to play. But actually I found it rather illuminating too, hearing the individuality of each voice was just much easier and clearer. And perhaps even at concert pianist level it can affect the projection of the counterpoint.

Absolutely. I don't know if you're aware of it but I kept thinking of Rubsam's work on creating independent voices in Bach counterpoint  -- there was a little bit of that idea in some of the music they played. But without a doubt the most special things were Kolesnikov in Shostakovich -- the C minor and D minor  preludes and fugues, really once heard, impossible to unhear.