What are you listening 2 now?

[Traverso]

Kodály

Radio Symphonie Orchester Berlin

[Harry]

Seconde Stravaganze.
Venetian & Neapolitan music for Viol consort.
See back cover for details.
Ensemble L'Amoroso, Guido Balestracci.
Recorded: 1999.

I have just one word for it to sum it all up...Marvelous!
A pristine recording, the music constantly surprises in whatever corner it disappears and re-emerge again. A constant flowing of musical ideas painted in fine colours, and very pleasing to the ear plus soothing to the soul as well. A fine close of my listening days. Recommended!

[Spotted Horses]

Bacewicz, Piano Sonata No 2



Fantastic!

[ChamberNut]

Bacewicz, Piano Sonata No 2



Fantastic!

A fabulous disc indeed!

[Spotted Horses]

A fabulous disc indeed!

Kupiec is also brilliant in this music, if memory serves.

[Traverso]

How the World Wags.....

[ritter]

Cross-posted from the Opera board...

Act II of Tristan und Isolde, in this 1971 live recording from La Fenice in Venice, conducted by Kurt Masur, and with Hermin Esser and Gunilla af Malmborg in the leads, and Grace Hofmann as Brangäne.



One usually doesn't associate Masur with the operatic repertoire (as his most important positions were with the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the New York Philharmonic), but he started out his career as musical director of provincial (East) German opera houses. Late in life he recordad excerpts of Tristan with Jessye Norman, which I found terribly boring, but here he does a rather impressive job (with an orchestra which is certainly not the pinnacle of finesse, and what we can only call a "B list cast"). Gunilla af Malmborg (great name!) is virtually forgotten today (ans AFAIK was not that well known in her day either), but she is a strong Isolde. Esser did supporting roles in Bayreuth, and here gets the opportunity to tackle one of the summits of the repertoire. He is unfortunately drowned by the orchestra and by Malmborg.  The sound is poor, but tolerable, and there are several cuts to the score —this is more a "halbe Stunde der Liebe" than a "Nacht der Liebe"  ).

[Cato]

Kodály

Radio Symphonie Orchester Berlin

An excellent work!

Which reminds me:

[Linz]

Carol of the Bells,  The Sixteen, Alexandra Kidgell, Edward McMullan, Mark Dobell, Robert Macdonald, Ben Davies; Rob Macdonald, Katy Hill, Tim Jones, Charlotte Mobbs, George Pooley

[Iota]

Bach: "Leipzig Chorals", No. 9, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 (Transcr. Busoni for Piano)
Bach: French Suite No. 5 in G major, BWV81

Andrew von Oeyen (piano)

Didn't get to the end of Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland I'm afraid, von Oeyen's (new name to me) rubato seemed to rub me up the wrong way. The French Suite was fine, nimble, no-nonsense kind of playing. He clearly has chops aplenty, but how convincingly I feel he employs them is something that will become clearer as I progress through the album.

[Que]

I did not really like this recording to be honest!

Same!

This recording and the Daser recording  by the Huelgas Ensemble were issued close after each other. But the Cinquecento recording confirms my earlier impression, despite the superlative performance: Ludwig Daser was just an unremarkable composer.

[Linz]

Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E Major, 1885 Version. Ed.Leopold Nowak, Wiener Pilharmoniker, Lovro von Matačić

[vandermolen]

My favourite piece of Christmas Music, Finzi's In terra pax, in what I believe is its best recording. Norma Burrowes, John Shirley-Quirk and the City of London Sinfonia under Richard Hickox.

I agree and had the original LP.

[Christo]

Last Friday, there was a concert with RVW, Rutter, Bach, and 'In Terra Pax' around here -- but I had to perform in another Christmas concert -- with a terrific Ukrainian orchestra -- at the same time:

https://oratoriumcastricum.nl/concertagenda

[hopefullytrusting]

Ingram Marshall's September Canons



Doing so much, with so little.

[vandermolen]

Last Friday, there was a concert with RVW, Rutter, Bach, and 'In Terra Pax' around here -- but I had to perform in another Christmas concert -- with a terrific Ukrainian orchestra -- at the same time:

https://oratoriumcastricum.nl/concertagenda

Great Christmas concert!

[AnotherSpin]

Last Friday, there was a concert with RVW, Rutter, Bach, and 'In Terra Pax' around here -- but I had to perform in another Christmas concert -- with a terrific Ukrainian orchestra -- at the same time:
[..]

Which one?

[Harry]

Carlo Farina (ca 1600 - 1640).
Capriccio stravagante & Sonate.
Ensemble Clematis, Leonardo Garcia-Alarcon.
Recorded: Beaufays, église Saint-Jean l'évangéliste, novembre 2008.

There is no doubt about the quality of the music and neither about the performance, or sound, all that is perfect. I only wish the CD was twice as long, for these compositions are largely unknown to the world. 
Capricious, moody, sometimes downright bizarre effects of the works are everywhere. There is a fascinating palette between rustic and folk-like and courtly-elegant moods, and and that reveals the truly extravagant features of the work to the full. All in all a wonderful recording that deserves to be listen to.

[Florestan]

[Harry]

Ukrainian Christmas.
Arranged by Bohdan Kryvopust.
See back cover for details.
Solomiya Ivakhiv, Violin.
Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Serhii Khorovets.
Recorded: 2023 & 2024 at the Liudkevych Hall, Myroslav Skoryk Lviv National Philharmonic, Lviv, Ukraine.

To remember my Ukrainian Brothers and Sisters in perilous times. I share their pain, the pain of this European nation.