What are you listening 2 now?

[Karl Henning]

Viola Quintets, Opp. 1 & 97

[DavidW]

I felt in need of 'the long struggle towards the sunrise'

I feel that every morning when my alarm gets me up at 5:30 and sunrise is after 7:00! No Petterson required.

[Daverz]

That's a stupendous performance. Recorded in Berlin's Titania Palast (a movie theater and the only 2000-seat place in Berlin left standing after the War). On some labels the previous night's performance (March 14, 1949) appears. It's NOT as good. It was a semi-public performance in the Gemeindehaus that served as a general repeat for the 'real' performance at the Palast. The intensity of the March 15 concert is incredible.

Ugh, I already have 3 Furtwängler recordings: 1944 (M&A box), 14.MAR.1949 (Testament), and 1954 (Andante). 

[Linz]

Debussy Images, Printemps, La Mer CD1 Concertgebouw Orchestra, Eduard Van Beinum

[Number Six]

Dowland: Complete Lute Works, Vol. 1
Paul O'Dette

[Cato]

Concerning the Latvian composer Imants Kalnins:

The unusual Symphony #3:

And...

[JBS]

This album is on Qobuz. If you're seriously interested in Wagner, you can't do without Knappertsbusch. If not that serious, Solti and Karajan will suffice.

There's a whole bunch of Knappertsbusch doing chunks of Wagner in this box.

The earliest were for Polydor in 1928. For some reason Decca used the DG cover you posted for as the jacket image for the CD the box collects them on.
TD

[AnotherSpin]

[vandermolen]

William Alwyn: Piano Concerto No.1

[Harry]

Michele Mascitti 1664-1760.
Sonate a violino solo e basso, Opera Nona (Paris, 1738).
Quartetto Vanvitelli.
Recording: 2019 San Medardo Church, Peli (Coli, Piacenza, Italy).

Very impressive.

[Irons]

It's decades, perhaps, since I've listened to this:

Walton
Variations on a theme by Hindemith
Bournemouth Symphony
Andrew Litton

I took this snap from Walton's study in Ischia.

[Harry]

Josef Holbrooke (1878–1958)
Symphonic Poems III.
The Birds of Rhiannon.
Poem op.87.
The girl I left behind me.
Symphonic Variations op.37 No.2.
Symphony No. 3 op. 90 "Ships".

Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Howard Griffiths.

A fine rediscovery from my CD collection.

[Que]

This recording by this (here) all male choir was recorded in 1992 and issued on the tiny Italian label E Lucevan Le Stelle, but reissued on Pan Classics  (2018).

Not much is known about Dutch Ghiselin Danckerts (1510-1567). He was trained in Liège, Southern Netherlands, and was a composer, well known music theorist and singer at the Vatican. Famous in life, but quickly forgotten. Little of his music has survived. His style is conservative, very much in Vatican fashion. This recording is interesting as an example of that style - it is special in its own way - and the performance by (all male) Cantar Lontano is very convincing, with low basses and all. Even though it is not spotless.

Opinions on musical merit vary:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2018/Jul/Danckerts_mass_PC10327.htm

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/danckerts-missa-de-beata-virgine

[Que]

A bit dry in sound and understated in approach. Certainly has its charm, but I think I'll stick with O'Dette.

[Madiel]

Arrived today, on the 2nd eBay attempt (I will never buy from "World of Books" again, ugh).



I'm starting with some of the sonatas by Soler. The similarity to Domenico Scarlatti is clear. Interestingly, the original album most of these sonatas is drawn from was a Soler/Scarlatti combination, but the Scarlatti sonatas were apparently not "Spanish" enough for these compilations even though the great majority of them were written in Madrid.

EDIT: In this case the translator of the liner notes into English should have been fired. None of the set are great in this regard, but this time around the keys of the Soler sonatas are repeatedly mistranslated, with D and G swapped!

SECOND EDIT: I should probably mention that Alicia de Larrocha's playing is sparkling.

THIRD EDIT: Turns out the last sonata here is the only piece by Soler that I already know. I've got the sheet music!

[Que]

François D'Agincour(t) was organist at the Cathedral of Rouen, contemporary of F. Couperin and Rameau, teacher of Jacques Duphly.
This is the first of two discs covering D'Agincourt's complete harpsichord output. I always thought of D'Agincourt's music as rather conservative and formal, and this recording doesn't change much.

Performances by Rebecca Pechefsky are quite fine, but I feel Hervé Niquet infused a bit more demaclatory power and elegance into the music on his single disc selection of harpsichord music (Glossa).

[Harry]

Joseph Lauber.
Symphony No. 1 & 2.
Sinfonie Orchester Biel Solothurn, Kaspar Zehnder.
Recorded: 2020.

Superb.

[Que]

Not sure this was never issued on disc and only digitally available, because it is quite good.

[Traverso]

Dowland

CD 3

[vandermolen]

Bloch: Trois Poemes Juifs