What are you listening 2 now?

[Harry]

Gordon Jacob.
Viola Concerto No. 2.
Passacaglia for Stereophonica.
See for details back cover.

I was unfortunately disturbed yesterday, so I resume where I left off. Wonderful performances, excellent sound, not to be missed music.

[Karl Henning]

[Roasted Swan]

Gordon Jacob.
Viola Concerto No. 2.
Passacaglia for Stereophonica.
See for details back cover.

I was unfortunately disturbed yesterday, so I resume where I left off. Wonderful performances, excellent sound, not to be missed music.

Such a shame Dutton delete their back catalogue so quickly.......

[Roasted Swan]

As an appendix to my comment about the Dutton back catalogue - just been listening to this crackinbg twofer from EMI/Warner....



3 magnificent vintage recordings all from the 1970's, recorded in the Kingsway Hall in superb analogue sound.  OK I know Warner is much bigger than Dutton but I imagine there must be some economic value in retaining hard copies of old recordings?  And that is quite apart from the artistic value......

[Traverso]

Schubert



pianosonatas  D.537 D.664 D.784

16 German Dances D.783

[Harry]

Such a shame Dutton delete their back catalogue so quickly.......

Yes so true, I lament this daily, especially when I cannot find a recording. Their motto should be , "gone, gone, for always gone"    

[Karl Henning]

[Karl Henning]

[Karl Henning]

[Harry]

Ciacconas, Canzonas & Sonatas.
Violin music from the collection, »Partiturbuch Ludwig« (1662).
All details are on the back cover.
Recorded: 24-28 May 2010 at Christuskirche Brühl (Germany).

The funny thing is that the performances are almost a spiritual experience of sorts. At the one hand it is life affirming jolly music with a quality tag to go with, on the other side there is some deep diving in the nether world, also quality driven, and just this mix defies description. Harmonie Universelle is an ensemble unknown to me, but they have an internal balance that fits the music to a T. Well thought out interpretations, bend on squeezing all detail out of the music without apparent struggle, and in my view create a recording that needs attention. Once in, you hardly get out again, there is even a need to repeat the experience several times, such is the addictive value. It's also a good choice to insert some works by Bertali, a composer that should be more often recorded.
SOTA sound as a bonus. I would say, go for it!

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

And now I've reached the end of the Glass symphonies --- Symphony No. 14, "Liechtenstein Suite"

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

NP: Shostakovich String Quartet No. 6 in G, Op. 101



There are some parts in the first movement of this Shostakovich SQ that brought to mind Gentle Giant's Dog's Life from their 1972 album Octopus.

[Traverso]

Haydn

Symphony No.45 & 101

[Brian]

In memoriam, now.

I've been jamming out to these sets ever since. Brendel's Haydn is so darn good: witty but not cartoonish, full of charm and personality. His Liszt can be virtuosic and headlong (Dante Sonata is playing now), and when it's poetic it is tastefully so, not sentimental cheese. I'm starting to think I was as guilty of underrating Alfred Brendel as many others were.

[Harry]

Lovers and Mourners.
Variations and Sonatas from 17th-Century Germany.
Dorian Komanoff Bandy, Baroque Violin.
Hank Knox, Harpsichord.
Elinor Frey, Viola da gamba.
Recorded: Église Saint-Augustin De Mirabel, Québec, 2022.
Label: Leaf Music, Canada.

Variations and Sonatas from 17th-century Germany, offers a glimpse into the lives of virtuoso composer-performers like the ones on this CD.  They all drew upon the "stylus phantasticus," a 17th-century Italian idiom whose features were marked by jagged shifts of affect and intended to display the player's technical command and expressive abilities. And thus it is exactly what you get, unfiltered and keeping your attention without fail. A really bright recording, direct but detailed, and well performed. An intense listen, not usable for background entertainment. The line up of composers is cleverly done. Enjoyable but taken in certain quantities. Keep the volume low.  The  recording itself is a bit on the bright side, which in this case actually enhances the playfully biting character of the baroque violin very well, but unpleasant is another term I would use.

[Iota]

Albéniz: Iberia, Books 1 & 3
Rafael Orozco (piano)

It's very hot at the moment in old Albion, and Iberia just seemed the perfect music to put on. First time hearing Orozco in it and so far at least, he excels beyond anything I've heard.
The combination of poetry and vibrancy in his playing makes the music just leap off the page. In Evocación e.g (Bk 1), the promise of the title is fulfilled intoxicatingly and I felt effortlessly transported to Albéniz' beloved Spain. And the opening bruyant section  of Fête-Dieu à Seville and its later incarnation, was absolutely magnificent, I felt like I was finally hearing it as it should be! Mention too for the colour and rampant, chaotic energy of Lavapiés (Bk 3), in which the notes roar off the page like a landslide at times! Thrilling, very much looking forward to what he does with Books 2 & 4.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

NP: Adams Shaker Loops

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

NP: MacMillan Í (A Meditation On Iona)

[Symphonic Addict]

Dvorak: Symphonies 6 and 7

Wonderful interpretations, save for the ending of the 7th which didn't satisfy me.

[Spotted Horses]

I've been making my way slowly though the Beethoven string quartets with the Takacs, up to Op 74 (The Harp).



Generally satisfying. I wish the audio had a bit more presence and a more concrete sound stage.

Listen to the piece again in the Budapest Quartet's circa 1953 mono recording. Compelling despite the audio limitations. The slow movement, in particular, was more convincing to me than the Takacs.



Maybe I will close by listening to a period instrument version, Chiaroscuro quartet perhaps.