What are you listening 2 now?

[Cato]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major, 1878 Version Ed. Leopold Nowak
Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Georg Solti

Greetings, Linz!

I have read that Solti is fantastic in the first three symphonies, but that things go awry in the later symphonies!

Any opinions?

[Bachthoven]

[Linz]

Alexander Glazunov String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 10
Elegy for Strings, Op. 105
String Quartet No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 64
Utrecht String Quartet

[André]

Re: Boskovsky

Discogs reports a bunch of Mozart: complete dances, the violin concertos (not clear if he was conductor or soloist or both), 2 piano concertos with Kraus, and the piano trios, also with Kraus. He also conducted at least three operetta recordings, and a Grieg LP whose main work was the Holberg Suite.
I'm not sure how much of that ever appeared on CD.

ETA
There's also a recording pairing Brahms' Hungarian Dances with Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, and it seems almost everything had been re-issued on CD at least once by Decca Australia.

Thanks for these infos ! I wasn't aware of WAM concerto recordings by Boskovsky - worth looking for !

I have those piano trios with Kraus and Hübner (also a WP solist) on the Andromeda label. Superb indeed, but the Gryphon trio in more modern sound is just as fine - if in a totally different aesthetic.

[Mapman]

Glazunov: Symphony #6
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky: The USSR Ministry Of Culture Symphony Orchestra

I listened to (and enjoyed) several of Glazunov's symphonies a couple years ago, when I found a large collection of CDs at a book sale. This symphony was not included, so I'm hearing it for the first time now. It's (unsurprisingly) also a lot of fun! I suspect this will be on my 2026 discoveries list. Unfortunately, the first several measures seem to be missing from this otherwise quite good recording.

[Irons]

Re: Boskovsky

Discogs reports a bunch of Mozart: complete dances, the violin concertos (not clear if he was conductor or soloist or both), 2 piano concertos with Kraus, and the piano trios, also with Kraus. He also conducted at least three operetta recordings, and a Grieg LP whose main work was the Holberg Suite.
I'm not sure how much of that ever appeared on CD.

ETA
There's also a recording pairing Brahms' Hungarian Dances with Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, and it seems almost everything had been re-issued on CD at least once by Decca Australia.

Boskovsky made many fine recordings as 1st violin of the Vienna Philharmonic Quartet.

[Wanderer]

Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Ferenc Fricsay).

[Que]

One of the many riches of this series is the generous amount of motets by Clemens non Papa - more than anything ever recorded, I think.

The 1st disc of volume III opens with a truly magnificant one.

Review by Stephen Midgley

[Florestan]

A great artist can be at his/her best in a solo role, but sometimes a combination of two (or three) great artistic minds achieves unbeatable results. I think that's the case here. I'm not aware of much from Willy Boskovsky in a solo capacity (he was a longtime concertmaster of the Wiener Philharmoniker), and as a conductor he was content with unambitious projects such as Johann Strauss polkatzes and galovertures. And an superb Schubert Rosamunde incidental music. AFAIK, no concertos, symphonies or operas.

As for Lili Kraus, her complete set of Mozart's solo piano music still reigns supreme (IMHO), but apart from that she recorded little in the studio. However, with this set of the Mozart violin and piano sonatas recorded in excellent mono sound by Pathé in the 1950s, we are fortunate to have one of the most fruitful artistic collaborations in the history of recorded music.

It has mostly to do with Boskovsky's firm yet supple way with musical phrases (never chopped into 2-3-4 note nuggets) and his sweet but always manly tone. Note to self, but also a plea to fellow GMGers: what is a 'manly' violin (or piano) tone ? I just don't have another word to describe it at the moment. Ida Handel always had a 'manly tone', whatever music she was playing. Is 'commanding' a better adjective ? Is there a genre that better achieves 'commanding tone' ? Recently I heard concerto performances by Fritz Kreisler and was in awe of his 'commanding' but sensitive, almost 'feminine' sensibility.

Surely, somebody will draw a Venn diagram of male/female musical sensibilities, but that's bound to be based on received genre stereotypes. In any event Boskovsky's 'feminine' and Kraus' 'masculine' personalities mesh perfectly. In no other pairing (Mozart violin sonatas) have I heard such a perfect marriage of minds.

In any case, that, plus Kraus' equally firm touch and view for the long line. IOW Mozart with a destination, eyes set forward instead of half-closed to better smell the flowers.

Tales from my youth: as a twenty-something I heard a recital by Henryk Szeryng and his usual accompanist Charles Reiner. The opening work was a Mozart sonata. I remember being rather upset that this great artist didn't program another major violin work instead of just a 'stupid ' Mozart sonata. In those days I tended to see them as easy program openers akin to fiddle tuning before an orchestral concert. I have no recollection of which WAM sonata was played, and absolutely no memory whatsoever of what - famous or not - work was played that evening. Maybe that Mozart sonata left an imprint after all ?

Desert island stuff, indeed. (At first sight I read "unbearable" instead of "unbeatable" and I couldn't believe my eyes, so I checked again and felt greatly relieved.  )

They partnered in these as well, which are equally great:



As for Lili Kraus, he recorded Mozart's complete piano concertos too, with Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stephen Simon.

For more of her recordings, see https://classik.forumactif.com/t6557-et-lili-kraus

[Florestan]

@André

As for Lili Kraus, he recorded Mozart's complete piano concertos too, with Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stephen Simon.

If you* are interested I can let you have the whole thing.

* or anyone else

[Harry]

CIPRIANO DE RORE (c.1515–1565)
Primo libro de madrigali a quattro voci (1550)

Com'havran fin le dolorose tempre
Io credea ch'el morire
La bella netta ignuda e bianca mano
Com'havran fin le dolorose tempre (harpsichord)
o credea ch'el morire (harpsichord) 1:55
La bella netta ignuda e bianca mano (harpsichord)
Non è ch'il duol mi scemi
Io canterei d'amor sì novamente
Non è ch'il duol mi scemi (harpsichord)
Io canterei d'amor sì novamente (harpsichord)
Quel foco che tanti anni (harpsichord)
Quel foco che tanti anni
Se'l mio sempre per voi donna languire
En vos adieux
PROFETI DELLA QUINTA
Giovanna Baviera canto
Doron Schleifer alto
Jacob Lawrence tenor
Elam Rotem basso & cembalo
Recording: 27-29 November 2023, Waldenburg (CH)
Painting on the cover: Andrea del Sarto, Head of Saint John the Baptist (c. 1523)

The second CD from this ensemble I am listening, and equally beautiful. They give de Rore a royal treatment. Such fine voices, perfectly balanced. To my ears this sounds as a pivotal performance, superb recorded. Four voices is quite enough. Intimate and set in a beautiful acoustic. Even though its only 35 minutes of music, its the quality of it that makes it worthwhile, despite.
The CD ends  with an exceptional piece which also concluded the 1550 collection: a two-part chanson, different in style from the rest of the pieces, written for the marriage of princess Anna d'Este. It mourns her departure from the court in Ferrara in 1548. Despite its major mode harmony, its chromatic ending with the words "eyes full of tears and hearts of heavy grief" is very touching.

[Harry]

FRANCESCO DA MILANO (1497 - 1543)
Libro della Fortuna (Napoli, 1536)
XAVIER DÍAZ-LATORRE performing on:
Bass vihuela "L'Hollandaise") Build by Patrick Hoopmans (Sant Cugat Sesgarrigues, Barcelona, 1997)
Vihuela tenor, "La Aldonza") Build by Carlos González (Aguadulce, Almería, 2017)
(Renaissance lute) Build by Grant Tomlinson (Vancouver, 2016).
Recorded, 2019 at the María Inmaculada Parish Church, Soto del Real, Madrid,Spain).
Cover: Alessandro Bonvicino, "Fortunato Martinengo" (ca. 1540-1545).

Must be one of the best recordings Latorre made in his long career. The sheer amount of gorgeous instruments he is using, his well balanced playing, and ditto SOTA sound makes it a desirable interpretation to have. Never a moment of disappointment, but an increasing admiration that prevails. The cover art is worth mentioning also, it fits perfectly to the music. It is a safe disc to have for all those that like the music and the era.

[ritter]

Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Ferenc Fricsay).

The picture is as tiny as Maria Stader! 

[Traverso]

Berlioz

Symphonie Fantastique

mono recording with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra from 1945.

[Madiel]

Vivaldi violin concertos

Concerto in F, RV 288
Concerto in G minor, RV 330



They kind of have a bit of fun with the continuo in the F major. I swear there was a little glissando-style run by the organist in the finale...

The G minor is definitely a more virtuosic work. I'm getting the feeling that Vivaldi really likes this key and regularly brings a bit of vigour to it. Biondi maybe plays around with tempo a bit too much.

So ends violin album number 6. Which has been decent, though weirdly I found I had to get the volume right to really enjoy it. For example I listened to the F major twice, and the 2nd time it was marvellous. I think it's partly that Biondi as soloist is not projected quite as far forward as in some other recordings, though he's hardly recessed either. I guess at a lower volume he didn't come through as much as my ears would normally expect.

I'm now more than halfway through the published violin concerto albums - though they've picked up the pace a lot in recent years, I wonder if they realised they weren't getting through them. Still, as of now...only 5 more violin concerto albums for me to hear! 

[Papy Oli]

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 3

Wilhelm Backhaus (piano)
Wiener Philharmoniker
Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt

[Todd]

[Harry]

BARBER, Samuel (1910—81) & IVES, Charles (1874—1954).
Chamber music.
See back cover for details.
Escher string quartet.
Recorded, 2019 at Potton Hall, Westleton, Suffolk, England.

This quartet is a highly accomplished ensemble, no doubt about it. The performance is first rate, but without emotion or warmth, it's rather a technical exercise, not helped by the recording. All instruments sound fine, with enough depth and details, but the violin sounds rather harsh. Recorded in the Potton Hall it should deliver pristine results, but the for me unknown sound engineer did not create balance but rather imbalance. There is no way I could connect to the Escher's. The music was very much to my liking though. The second famous movement of Barber's SQ in B major, to all well known in the orchestral guise, is played to fast and is so robbed of its impact. It is labeled "Molto adagio", but one can leave the Molto out, (as they do) and replace it with con Brio.

[Madiel]

Brahms: Clarinet sonata in E flat, op.120/2

[AnotherSpin]