What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

Pavaniglia.
Dances and Madrigals from the 17th Century, Italy.
The King's Noyse, David Douglass, Paul O'Dette, and Andrew Lawrence King.

A fine disc, but a warning for all that are allergic to vibrato and legato. The soprano Ellen Hargis is allowed to sing a few things, which I think quite horrible. I skipped those parts. Four substantial songs by the way. For the rest a super programme, lots of variety and interesting compositions. Well played and recorded.

[SonicMan46]

Villa-Lobos, Heitor - Piano Music w/ Sonia Rubinsky - the 8-CD box below - listening today to decide if I need this much of V-L's piano music - yesterday I put together a Spotify playlist of the 4-CDs recorded by Debora Halasz (beautiful cover art!) and went through much of her performances - well I'm liking Rubinsky more plus she has a lot of excellent reviews (attached for the interested).  Dave

P.S. Naxos has packaged separate single jewel cases into a large 8-CD box - for space savers, I took 4 double disc slim CD cases (two booklets fit fine in the front of each), so taking up half the storage area.

[Harry]

Carlo Ambrogio Lonati (c1645 – c 1712)
Sonate da chiesa from XII Sonate a violino solo e basso (Salzburg, 1701).
Ars Antiqua Austria.
Erich Traxler, harpsichord, Organ.
Hubert Hoffmann, Theorbo.
Peter Trefflinger, Viola da Braccio.
Gunar Letzbor, Violin.
Recording: 9-11 March 2017, Augustiner Chorherrenstift St. Florian, Altomontesaal (Austria).
Cover picture: "Vanitas still life" (detail), Jan Davidsz de Heem (after 1623).

Beautifully recorded and performed. Lonati is a fine composer, and should be recorded more often.

[Traverso]

Bach

Motets

[Karl Henning]

NP:

Handel
Concerti Grossi, Op. 3/1, 2, HWV 312 & 313
The English Concert
Pinnock



Handel, for me, has become one of those 'potato chip' composers where I can't just listen to one work. There are always more to follow.

Oh, I need to revisit the Handel concerti grossi.

[JBS]

Bach

There are disturbing developments going on in the world on a global scale, the competition who can pee the furthest has lost none of its popularity. The general interest is again threatened with being subordinated to blunt power politics.
I have to get this off my chest.....

Johannes Passion

Palm Sunday is a month away, isn't it, on the Western calendar?
So close to seasonal no matter what happens in the outside world.
[It seems the American right's dislike of NGOs now means the US is officially against hope?]

[Traverso]

Palm Sunday is a month away, isn't it, on the Western calendar?
So close to seasonal no matter what happens in the outside world.
[It seems the American right's dislike of NGOs now means the US is officially against hope?]

People only wake up when their wallets are empty. Injustice..... injustice....but the indignation is not supported by an awareness of universal values and human rights. Maybe "the Pied Piper" is not a fairy tale after all.

[nico1616]

A Mahler 2 that I don't often see recommended. I am not an expert in Mahler 2 recordings but this one has crystal clear sound with great detail. I listened to the Klemperer EMI Mahler 2 earlier today and that one has quite some distortion in the louder parts.

[VonStupp]

WA Mozart
Concertone, K. 190
Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364

David Oistrakh, violin/viola
Igor Oistrakh, violin
Berlin PO

Perhaps my favorite K. 364, even if no one performs them this way today.
VS

[Karl Henning]

WA Mozart
Concertone, K. 190
Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364

David Oistrakh, violin/viola
Igor Oistrakh, violin
Berlin PO

Perhaps my favorite K. 364, even if no one performs them this way today.
VS

Classic in its own right. 

[Lisztianwagner]

Joseph Haydn
Cello Concertos No. 1 & 2

Mstislav Rostropovich (cello)
Academy of St Martin in the Fields

[Linz]

Richard Strauss Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Op. 28
Don Juan, Op. 20
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Strauss Complete Orchestral Works CD2
Staatskapelle Dresden, Rudolf Kempe

[Mapman]

Bizet: Symphony in C
Ozawa: Orchestre National de France

[Karl Henning]

H/t @hopefullytrusting 

[Mapman]

Beethoven: Symphony #2
Bernstein: New York

One of my birthday gifts. This is a big, exciting performance!

[hopefullytrusting]

Listen to some old favorites: Satie Solo Piano

[JBS]

Listen to some old favorites: Satie Solo Piano

At first glance, I was confused why Satie had been drawn with an elephant's head

Today's listening at intervals

CD 1--Book 1 of Iberia, 12 Piezas Caracteristicas Op 92, and Mallorca (Barcarola)Op 202.*

CD 5 Quartets 13-15 by the Revolutionary Drawing Room

CD 1 Symphonies 4 and 6

*The high opus number is somewhat misleading. It dates from 1891, two or three years after Opus 92.

[André]

Beethoven: Symphony #2
Bernstein: New York

One of my birthday gifts. This is a big, exciting performance!

I should sample Bernstein's NYP set. I used to have his Wiener Phil set on lp, but it's of course gone now. When I sold it I had qualms about Bernstein's way with the works, which I found sometimes ponderous and overweight. I realize some 25 years later that these performances are very much imprinted in my memory. I'm seriously considering buying them again, this time on CD. .

[André]

The 5th symphony from 2002 is somewhat less 'obvious than nos 1 and 4. Like Sibelius (which still looms large over his symphonic production) Butterworth got terser, more economical as he aged. It's still a superb work. Just as fine are his 1958 Three Nocturnes: Northern Summer Nights, op. 18. They remind me of some Delius, but also the more enigmatic Sibelius tone poems (Oceanides, parts of Tapiola). The conductor conducts, so I guess it can't get more authentic than that. An absorbing disc.

[JBS]

I should sample Bernstein's NYP set. I used to have his Wiener Phil set on lp, but it's of course gone now. When I sold it I had qualms about Bernstein's way with the works, which I found sometimes ponderous and overweight. I realize some 25 years later that these performances are very much imprinted in my memory. I'm seriously considering buying them again, this time on CD. .

It's been a while since I've listened to either Bernstein cycle, but I remember the NYP recordings to be less distinctive than the WP recordings, which I liked.

Meanwhile, I'm listening to de Vriend/Metherlands Phil's Sixth; it's definitely not ponderous or overweight. If anything it errs in the direction of being too zippy.