What are you listening 2 now?

[DavidW]

Many thanks for that from me as well. Will listen and report.

If Que wanted indulgent though, Talich Q is not it. They're just not aggressive like some of the modern ensembles. They are swift, understated, but still lyrical.

[Harry]

Since I am in the burn in stadium I have played these sets complete in the last couple of weeks/months.

[Harry]

And these ones too!

[DavidW]

Thread duty:

Martinu's 5th and 6th (esp. like the 6th) and Bartok's SQs:

[SonicMan46]

Dvorak - continuing w/ his chamber music this morning - Piano Quartets, the older Domus recording vs. a newly acquired WAV DL with the Busch Trio + Miguel da Silva (viola) - some excellent reviews attached on the Busch performance (could not find much on Domus which I've owned for probably decades?).  Dave

 

[DavidW]

Dvorak - continuing w/ his chamber music this morning - Piano Quartets, the older Domus recording vs. a newly acquired WAV DL with the Busch Trio + Miguel da Silva (viola) - some excellent reviews attached on the Busch performance (could not find much on Domus which I've owned for probably decades?).  Dave

 

I like those Busch Trio recordings of Dvořák (and have heard them all). They are a relatively new discovery for me, and I was considering picking up a box set if it's still available.



And obviously Domus is great, but everyone knows that already!

[Florestan]

I like those Busch Trio recordings of Dvořák (and have heard them all). They are a relatively new discovery for me, and I was considering picking up a box set if it's still available.

Wise move.

[Florestan]

If Que wanted indulgent though, Talich Q is not it. They're just not aggressive like some of the modern ensembles. They are swift, understated, but still lyrical.

Exactly what I'm looking for. Each and every modern group I've tried (Eroica, Escher, Ysaye) sound precisely like that: aggressive, even angst-ridden. No lyricism, no charm. Interestingly enough, that's also the approach of Ana-Marija Markovina in his complete piano music set: staccato e sforzando most of the time (needless to say, it doesn't work at all).

How about Emerson and Melos? Have you heard them? Being rather old-school, perhaps they are mellower and more lyrical than the modern angry boys?

[Symphonic Addict]

Its really well played and nicely (quite neutrally) recorded by Dutton.  Martin Yates is excellent in this repertoire and the BBC Concert orchestra play with confidence and flair.  The old Robert Irving recording was perfectly good but Arnold's colourful orchestration does benefit from modern engineering.  As a work its kind of Arnold-lite(ish) with lots of musical gestures familiar from his film scores and lighter works.  Any prolific composer - and Arnold was certainly that! - will rely on a set of 'templates' regarding melodic shape/orchestration/harmony/rhythm - and these are very evident here.  Not as deep or personal as some of his symphonies - but it it wasn't meant to be - its a festive work to mark the Queen's coronation.  Lots of attractive music without trying for profundity

Sounds enticing!

[Florestan]

Dvorak: Prague Waltzes, and the Polka for the Prague students' ball.



Which completes listening to the album in bits and pieces. I will have to try to listening to it all in one sitting at some point, because I think it would be very pleasurable. Yablonsky really seems to know how to handle this light music.

My only regret is that they didn't manage to squeeze in just one more of Dvorak's occasional dance music pieces (the elusive Gallop in E major, reportedly about 2.5 minutes long) - but it's a 78-minute album so they're not skimping.

@Florestan if you haven't heard this I suspect it would be very to your taste.

I have heard the Prague Waltzes and loved them. Not this recording, though, which I believe I have as part of this 17-CD box:

[Symphonic Addict]

Gubaidulina: Stufen and Jetzt immer Schnee

Lugubrious music with an effective bizarre touch.

[DavidW]

How about Emerson and Melos? Have you heard them? Being rather old-school, perhaps they are mellower and more lyrical than the modern angry boys?

I added Melos to my Qobuz list. I love their Mozart and Schubert, so I'm hoping for more of the same magic with Mendelssohn.

[Florestan]

I love their Mozart and Schubert, so I'm hoping for more of the same magic with Mendelssohn.

My thoughts exactly.

[Cato]

This morning I heard this Haydn symphony for the first time: #26.

The Adagio seemed particularly slow!

Also, the Franck Piano Quintet with some of the greatest names of the last century: Jascha Heifetz, Israel Baker, William Primrose, Gregor Piatigorsky, and Leonard Pennario.

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major, 1880 (aka 1878/80) - Ed. Robert Haas
Münchner Philharmoniker, Sergiu Celibidache

[Mister Sharpe]

Delius Cello Concerto a fine, indeed moving, if not note-perfect performance from du Pré.  What really impresses me is Sargent and the RPO who are complete and total empaths when it comes to Delius. Can't stop listening to this, 3rd time now.  This was the premiere recording of the Cello Concerto! I remember what Guardian music critic, BBC Proms announcer, and book author Tom Service said about Delius's string concertos (the occasion was the release of Chandos's set and it's the most apt of all that I've ever read about them) : "Contrary to popular critical opinion, these concertos aren't mindless overflowing of sentiment instead of structure; the reason they work is precisely because Delius's control of the shape of the pieces is unerringly sure. These works are, for me, the acme of a kind of concerto in which it's not a dialectic of opposition or argument that drives the drama, but a mutual sharing of melody, line, and sheer expressiveness."  Yeah, that! 



 

[Spotted Horses]

Respighi, Sonata for String Orchestra and Organ, La Vecchia



Create an impression similar to the Sonata for Strings, except I don't find the organ to be a welcome intrusion. If I were in the business I'd be tempted to recast the work with the organ part replaced by a wind ensemble.

[AnotherSpin]

Vol. 3

[Symphonic Addict]

Lemba: Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat major

Many of these unsung composers have many surprising pieces that deserve wide recognition. One of those works is this absolutely delectable piano trio by Artur Lemba (also who wrote the first Estonian symphony). First-rate from beginning to end. What a treat!

[Lisztianwagner]

Geirr Tveitt
Piano Concerto No.5

Håvard Gimse (piano)
Bjarte Engeset & Royal Scottish National Orchestra