What are you listening 2 now?

[Symphonic Addict]

Wow! I'm listening now. I had never heard of this composer but Pallieter is amazing. The first movement reminds me of Respighi, as you say, but also the great tradition of romantic mischief makers and magicians: Till Eulenspiegel, the Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Holst's Uranus. The second movement has a pretty ferocious thunderstorm, and the third has an oompah beat that definitely reminds me of Feste Romane. The quiet offbeat ending is surprising, but a prankish way to end a thrilling, extroverted piece.

Outrageously colorful, exuberant, full of life, brilliantly scored, full of tunes...WOW!!!!

Well, I had a very similar reaction to yours. A splendorously colourful score that should be better known.

[Todd]

LvB 10/1, from Takahiro Sonoda's Evica cycle.

[Fëanor]

I enjoyed this Pärt work quite a bit;  good sound and nice performances so far as I'm a judge.

Arvo Pärt: Missa Syllabica ~ Kronos Quartet

(Disc 1)


This Feldman suite was enjoyable, essentially similar parts with different combinations of instruments ... a bit too soothing maybe.

Morton Feldman:  Durations I to V ~ Ensemble Avantgarde



I found this Xenakis work more sufferable than most but I don't expect to ever be a huge fan of the composer.

Iannis Xenakis: Metastaseis ~  Hans Rosabaud & SWF Symphony Orchestra

[VonStupp]

Einojuhani Rautavaara
Symphony 3
Symphony 4 'Arabescata'
Leipzig RSO - Max Pommer

I liked Symphony 3 quite a bit, but not the performance nor the acoustic here. Symphony 4 is simply not for me.
VS

CD 2 from this set:

[André]

Seriously fine chamber musik from a sadly little-known polish composer.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Richard Jones.

[Harry]

Anton Eberl (1765-1807)
Grand Sextetto.
Trio van ?Hengel.
Recorded, 2010 at the Old-Catholic Church, Delft, The Netherlands.


Despite his short life, Anton Eberl left behind an extensive oeuvre that is still virtually untapped. So its always a treat if such a recording as this one comes along. The Hengel trio is a accomplished and experienced ensemble, who give colour and meaning to this music. All works are entertaining, rich in color and interpreted in an exemplary manner. An all-round successful production!
The sound is exemplary, and the instruments used are a joy.

[Traverso]

Bach

CD 2

[Harry]

Julius Rontgen.
The Complete String trios.
Volume I, 1-4.
Lendvai String Trio.
Recorded 2013, Music Room, Champs Hill, West Sussex, UK.

This is the first volume in this series, and until now they recorded in total 4 CD's. I have no knowledge of another complete String Trios series, and I must also admit never to have heard any of them. Which is kind of funny because Rontgen is for me a composer that ranks high on my favourites list. Let me say right away the Lendvai Trio delivers top notch interpretations, and this label has them recorded in SOTA sound. The myriad of melodies Rontgen produced are stunningly beautiful. But that is also true of most of his works, of which there are many. If you like Rontgen then there is no excuse to ignore these releases, although I must add that to get them is certainly not easy for the first two volumes, because they quickly went out of the catalogue.

[Madiel]

Mozart: Aria for Bass, "Io ti lascio, o cara, addio", K.621a

[Madiel]

Mozart: the fragment of a concerto for basset horn (i.e. clarinet family) in G major, K.621b or 584b depending on your version of the catalogue.



Thought to have been written right around the same time as the famous (basset) clarinet concerto, because basically it's some of the same music. It's a decent fragment, almost 7 minutes. And this might be the only recording, as it was snagged for the latest of those hyper-complete Mozart editions.

[Traverso]

Bach

CD 2

[Todd]

[Madiel]

Mozart: Clarinet Concerto



First actual listen to this half of the album I bought last year. I don't own any other recordings, and I find myself immediately curious - how much of the mellow feel of this is due to the decision to use the basset clarinet, something I gather Thea King was something of a pioneer for? How much is due to the performance rather than the instrument?

This is not a complaint. If any first movement Allegro can afford to give off a mellow vibe, it's this one. Even the key of A major tends to inspire Mozart to a relaxed feel. I'm just curious whether other performances give more brightness or bounce to it.

Interestingly, it's possible on Hyperion's website to directly see the timings of the 4 different recordings they have available (including from other labels). And King/Tate is the slowest in every movement. I've also seen a remark that this is "measured" compared to more recent period or period-inspired performances. But there's not a lot in it.

[Harry]

Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764)
Violin Concertos Op.7.
Solo Violin, Luis Otavio Santos.
Les Muffatti, Peter van Heyghen.
Recorded, 2010 at the Augustinus Muziekcentrum (AMUZ), Antwerp, Belgium.

Few French musicians of the 18th century were as admired and revered during their lifetime as Leclair Italian and German music scholars also praised his outstanding playing technique as a violinist as well as his exquisite harmony and artful compositional technique. The violin concertos from Op. 7 (1737) recorded here show Leclair at the peak of his inventiveness and technical brilliance.
The appealing thing about this recording is that nothing is concealed here, that Luis Otavio Santos' violin is sometimes allowed to sound really coarse, then again sinewy or almost chamber music-like dialoguing with the first violinist of a small ensemble. Authentic it is, but Les Muffatti sounds like a orchestra a bit larger as a Chamber ensemble. That's not because there is an excess of musicians, but of the venue that gives a full blooded sound, not bad but I would have loved a bit less ompf and more intimacy. Still fine recording and performance.

[DavidW]

[André]

A very fine musical postcard. The notes make a big case of identifying the 6 pieces with an imaginary travel of Venezuelan places and landscapes. You would have fooled me if the first piece on the disc by Juan Bautista Plaza had been inserted in an all-Delius program. It's amazingly like other pastoral pieces from the Grez-sur-Loing master. Very nice. And so it goes. We encounter a town fiesta, visit the island of Margarita, the delta of the Orinoco River, the venezuelan plains (the llanos), the mythical source of the Orinoco. Clever.

A similarly-themed disc on DG by Dudamel has 3 of the same pieces (the others are Latino-inspired but non-venezuelan). All told, this is a well-conceived program of good music, superbly played and spectacularly engineered.

[Harry]

A Fagotto solo.
See back cover for details.
Syntagma Amici,  Jeremie Papasergio, Fagot and direction.
Recorded, 2010, Church of the Notre-Dame de Centeilles, France.
Franz Xaver Jungwirth, Portrait de Felix Reiner (1732-1782).

I am obliged to pay homage to all those that are involved in this recording. It's a bloody marvelous undertaking if the result is that perfect as the present CD. No matter where you turn your attention to, be it the musicians, composers, sound, booklet, and yes even the cover illustration, all is so well balanced that awe inspired yells of joy are to be heard in my listening room. This 2010 recording is Reference sound, as is the performance. It is a CD to have, one cannot do without it.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Bach French Suites. Reine Gianoli.

[Spotted Horses]

Elsa Barraine, Song-Koi, Macelaru



An utterly brilliant work, a suite which depicts the Red River in China. I find Barraine has a distinct compositional style, in which I see hints of impressionism, Stravinsky's neoclassicism, Dukas' color and Roussel's rigor. I look forward to hearing more from this composer

Beethoven Piano Sonata No 26, Lortie



This was a letdown. I somehow have the impression that I love this cycle, but it appears to be a false impression from years ago. I like the audio very much, but Lortie seems disengaged, particularly in the poignant middle movement. Making a quick sample of Annie Fischer (that I listened to early this year) confirmed a much more intense presentation of the music.

Finally, three sonatas in the CPE Bach piano music, Vol 3, Spanyi



It continues to fascinate.