What are you listening 2 now?

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Welcome back, @Symphonic Addict! Great to see you!

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Closing out the night with this disc:

[foxandpeng]

It must be good! Another recording of one of my favorite Langgaard symphonies is very welcome.

It is a welcome release. I've only listened to #4 so far, but as you say, great to have another cycle.

It is lovely to see you!

[steve ridgway]

Varèse - Un Grand Sommeil Noir

The first piece that made me realise soprano and piano could be enjoyable  .

[Florestan]

That looks like a Dream Box for you!

It is, indeed. At 20 discs, much less daunting than the Hyperion series, which I also have but never tackled in a systematic manner. 

Mend well and quickly, mon cher!

Thank you, Karl. I hope you're fine too and progressing with your own mending.

[Florestan]

The flute concerto is melodious and frothy.

And to think that it was written in 1945 Berlin, amidst bombardments and destruction. The last movement it's even based on a folk tune named Freut euch des Lebens, that is Enjoy your life. Gloom-and-Doom defied and conquered by la joie de vivre --- love it, one of my favorite flute concertos. An unsung testimony to the indomitable power of the individual sanity against collective madness.

[Que]

[AnotherSpin]

Schumann has been a constant presence in recent days, and it seems the moment has arrived when I can never have too much of him. Nearly every performance has its own merits, save for the ever-problematic Richter. Why must his genius, his unparalleled talents, always be accompanied by such perfumed ostentation and mannerism?

At this moment, the serene and quietly joyful Penelope Crawford commands my attention.

[AnotherSpin]

You are most likely far more acquainted with Bach's Cantatas than I am. I must say, I am quite fond of the recording you have just mentioned, BWV 82. How would you compare it to other interpretations of this particular cantata? Are there any version/s that you hold especially dear?

[Elgarian Redux]

NP:

Elgar
The Spirit of England, Op. 80
Teresa Cahill, soprano
Scottish National Orchestra & Chorus
Gibson


I'm sure @Elgarian Redux knows this Cahill/Gibson performance.

Indeed, I've been raving about it for years: there was a lot of conversation about The Spirit of England back in 2009, when I wrote about this particular performance:

Speaking purely personally, and realising that it may seem absurd to anyone else, it's the most essential CD that I own, not just by Elgar, but by anyone. If the Coronation Ode were missing, and only the half-hour of The Spirit of England were there, it would still be the most essential CD I own - the one I would keep if I had to give everything else away.

It sounds like hyperbole, but the fact is that I haven't changed my mind since. Teresa Cahill sings it as no one else can.

[Que]

 

Disc 5, which is recorded on the Renaissance organ (1600/1669) of the Église Saint Jacques-Le-Mineur in Liège and on a harpsichord by Keith Hill after Iohannes (Johannes) Ruckers, 1624.


https://aeolus-music.com/pages/page-liege-eglise-saint-jacques

[Roasted Swan]

Indeed, I've been raving about it for years: there was a lot of conversation about The Spirit of England back in 2009, when I wrote about this particular performance:

It sounds like hyperbole, but the fact is that I haven't changed my mind since. Teresa Cahill sings it as no one else can.

Yes absolutely agree with all positive comments about the Gibson/Cahill/Spirit of England.  She sings "ardent-eyed" in a way that no other performer on disc to date has.  I think the recording location of Paisley Abbey adds a rolling-grandeur to the acoustic impact of the work too.  Madness to think this recording will be 50 years old next year..... (the lovely warm analogue adds to the richness as well I reckon).  I'm not quite so besotted by the recording of the Coronation Ode excellent though it is.  For that work Philip Ledger's Cambridge/New Philharmonia/EMI recording is just remarkable

[Lisztianwagner]

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.9

Leonard Bernstein & Concertgebouw Orchestra

[ChamberNut]

It must be good! Another recording of one of my favorite Langgaard symphonies is very welcome.

Great to see you again @Symphonic Addict!

[Madiel]

The next Alicia de Larrocha album:



Her 2nd recording of Nights in the Gardens of Spain (out of 4 if you count one that was apparently only on video), with her only Chopin concerto recording to come.

I don't know what quite what they've done in the process of transferring this 1970 recording onto streaming, but the Falla is leaping out of my speakers in the most magnificent full-bodied way.

EDIT: Her relatively muscular approach arguably helps make the Chopin a little more interesting than I typically find it.

[Que]

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.9

Leonard Bernstein & Concertgebouw Orchestra

I think the recordings that Bernstein made with the Concertgebouworkest are different and quite special. 

[Karl Henning]

Marcin Stanczyk
Afterhearings (2015) for flute, clarinet, cello, guitar and piano

Listening now!

[AnotherSpin]

String Quintet D. 956

[AnotherSpin]

String Quintet, Op.104

[Karl Henning]