What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

Jean-Michel Damase.
Symphony. (1952)
BBC Concert Orchestra, Martin Yates.
Recorded: 2013 at the Abbey Road Studio No.1, London.

[Madiel]

I just finished watching a brand new opera on OperaVision (well, it was brand spanking new at the time of recording and broadcast late last year).

The Marriage, by Zygmunt Krauze.

And... I moderately liked it. The music is modern but felt quite approachable. The plot is a bit deranged but I gather that's faithful to the source material, a play written just after World War II. From the synopsis of the play it seems the opera follows it quite closely.

It held my attention quite well and I certainly wasn't regretting trying something new.

[Mandryka]

@Que @Harry

The one the cognoscenti seem to rave about is the tombeau for his father. I think it's really for solo viol, I'm not sure why Joubert-Caillet adds others.

[foxandpeng]

Jeajoon Ryu
Symphony 2
Seoul International Music Festival Orchestra
The National Chorus of Korea
Suwon City Choir
Ralf Gothoni

Pleasant enough, albeit a little traditional for my usual taste. Something different for Saturday afternoon, though 🙂

[VonStupp]

Hugo Alfvén
The Lord's Prayer, op. 15

Storkyrkans Choir
Stockholm Motet Choir
Norrköping SO - Gustav Sjökvist

Having recently listened to Sterling's series of Alfvén's cantatas, this one is probably my favorite among the five I have heard. Lyricism is balanced better across the work and the choral singing is less operatic in this recording.
VS

[Kalevala]

I've been having a horrible headache whenever it rains, including yesterday. I think it might be due to mold or maybe a pressure change.

I suspect that it might be a combo of things including a susceptibility to mold allergies [Note:  I'm not a doctor!]  I'm guessing that I could do more inside my house to deal with mold spores though I do also have to deal with what I think are outdoor allergies--particularly during certain times of the year [And I love to garden, etc.].

Have you tried to talk to an allergist or an ENT?  Just some thoughts.  Feel better!

Best wishes,

K

[foxandpeng]

Paul Reale
Cello Concerto, Live Free or Die
Yale Symphony Orchestra
William Boughton
Naxos

Working and listening to new music is a real joy. Just enough concentration needed to pick up the threads and themes. Again, listenable music - not too dissonant, and not too intrusive.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

NP: Vaughan Williams String Quartet No. 2 in A minor

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Before heading out --- NP: Takemitsu Nostalghia

[DavidW]

I had a marathon of listening yesterday!



Vol 7:


All three are recent favorites of mine, so I had a great evening.

[Karl Henning]

[Florestan]

Luminous, mellifluous, life-affirming music.

[JBS]

One instrument, two very different programs


I might mention the Corogliano is far more gnarly and much less lyrical than the Carter.

[Mandryka]

Thanks to a mention by @Mandryka in another thread, I came across an album of music by Toshio Hosokawa and found it deeply engaging. It's gentle, exquisitely subtle, in a way that feels profoundly rooted in Japanese culture.

The soprano, Eiko Hiramatsu, left such a distinct impression that I began seeking out more of her recordings. And there, another quiet surprise awaited me: Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde.

This cycle is rarely associated with fragility or delicacy, even in piano-only arrangements. Yet Eiko Hiramatsu brings exactly that—an effortless, fragile clarity that feels both unexpected and entirely natural.

Thanks for mentioning this Lied von der erde. I'm very fond of the music with piano,  this is a pleasure to hear.

The pianist, Ichiro Nodaira looks interesting. He's a composer in his own right - string quartets on spotify. And lots of other music as pianist, including a recording with Arditti Quartet.  His playing on the Mahler seems to complement Hiramatsu's singing - introspective, fragile.

[Kalevala]

I had a marathon of listening yesterday!



Vol 7:


All three are recent favorites of mine, so I had a great evening.

Fricsay and Dvorak...heaven!

K

[Linz]

Bedřich Smetana Má Vlast My Country
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Rafael Kubelik

[ritter]

Gian Francesco Malipiero: I Dialoghi. Vocal and instrumental soloists, Orchestra Nuova Filarmonia, Domenico Molinini (cond.).



I Dialoghi is a set of 8 pieces for varying forces (ranging from piano duo to full orchestra), some of the concertante, and two with a vocal part. They were composed between 1955 and 1957.

The first, Con Manuel de Falla (in memoria),  for small orchestra, is Malipiero at the top of his game, and a perfect synthesis of his style, which I'd describe as a sunny, Mediterranean neoclassicm with Bartókian and Stravinskian influences, but with a very appealing (to me at least) nostalgic tone. Superb!

[foxandpeng]

Charles Tournemire
Symphony 3, Moscou
Liege PO
Pierre Bartholomée

Considering how very enjoyable Tournemire is as a symphonist, it is criminal that I haven't listened to him for years!

#3 has always stood tall amongst the sheaves, for me. I've not heard this version, due to automatically reaching for the Marco Polo. I think I prefer it, because the MP versions were never THAT great...

[André]

Charles Tournemire
Symphony 3, Moscou
Liege PO
Pierre Bartholomée

Considering how very enjoyable Tournemire is as a symphonist, it is criminal that I haven't listened to him for years!

#3 has always stood tall amongst the sheaves, for me. I've not heard this version, due to automatically reaching for the Marco Polo. I think I prefer it, because the MP versions were never THAT great...

A superb work in an excellent recording !

[foxandpeng]

Charles Tournemire
Symphonies 5 and 8
Liege PO
Pierre Bartholomée

More Tournemire! Superb versions yet again.