What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Drasko]

But the cover pic is nice. It's got something of that cold, sharp, almost sanitised look like in Zvyagintsev's The Return. I suppose the spaciousness of it, the unreachable distance is suitable for a man who never returned to his country.

Completely agreed, the cover is indeed beautiful and in very way you pointed and Zvyagintsev comparison is a good one.
Box is unusually cheap (and that only in US, and took them full month to dispatch) so even if it doesn't add up to be "the ultimate of the ultimate" won't be waste.
http://www.amazon.com/Martin%C3%BC-Symphonies-Nos-1-6/dp/B0014C5XLE

[Moldyoldie]

[Kullervo]

Stravinsky - Rite of Spring, Petrushka (Columbia SO)

[lukeottevanger]

One of my favourite piano concertos...

[DavidRoss]

A recent acquisition and so far (symphonies 1 & 3) I'm both surprised and delighted.  The orchestra is fairly lean, like Vänskä's Lahti, but Sakari drives them hard, like Ashkenzy or Rozhdestvensky, so we have a "hot" romanticized reading but with the clarity and balance of voices usually found only in the cooler interpretations.  I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the cycle and am kicking myself for not buying it years ago.   

[Kullervo]

A recent acquisition and so far (symphonies 1 & 3) I'm both surprised and delighted.  The orchestra is fairly lean, like Vänskä's Lahti, but Sakari drives them hard, like Ashkenzy or Rozhdestvensky, so we have a "hot" romanticized reading but with the clarity and balance of voices usually found only in the cooler interpretations.  I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the cycle and am kicking myself for not buying it years ago.   

Thanks, David. I will be sure to pick that up the next time I'm in the market for a Sibelius cycle. I really enjoy their Lemminkäinen.

[Bogey]

I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the cycle and am kicking myself for not buying it years ago.   

I'm guessing you had plenty to fill the void in the interim and I am sure your better half agrees. 

[Lilas Pastia]

Havergal Brian symphonies: 29 in E flat (1967), Fredman/Philharmonia; and 30 in B flat minor (1967), Ley/BBC Wales


Sarge

By coincidence, I've been listening to symphonies 27-30 these past few days. For some reason # 27 has by far the best recording, quite suited to the open air  character of the music. I wouldn't go so far as to term it 'pastoral', but it does sound distinctly of the English tradition. By contrast, the Stokowski-led 28th suffers from a noisy recording and restricted dynamic range. It's still good enough to reveal a baffling, now coruscating, now gruff and dementially dissonnant score of great power. I listened to these two twice, and once only to 29 and 30. I haven't made up my mind about them yet. But there's no doubt I'll listen to 28 often.

[Bogey]

Bruckner Symphony No. 5
Dohnányi/Cleveland
EMI

[bhodges]

Carter: Variations for Orchestra (Stefan Asbury / Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, on Tanglewood WebTV.org, taped from July 20) - The video doesn't quite match the quality of the audio (Medici's broadcasts of the Aspen and Verbier festivals set a very high bar), but no matter: the sound is excellent.  Great that anyone who couldn't go can experience it.  And it's a superb performance, not to mention very inspiring, seeing such young musicians make this score look easy.

--Bruce

[Harry]

Good morning my friends, we are having a heatwave today, in my village 34 degrees Celsius, and I really do not like that. Absolutely not.





Nevertheless music is waiting to be played, heatwave or not.

Joseph Haydn.
Complete SQ, Volume VII, disc I.
Opus 17, No. 1,2,4.
Buchberger Quartet.

Let me begin with the statement that you could do far worse, but not much better in musical matters. Werther this interpretation is to your liking or not, the Buchbergers have in a short time, made quite a name for themselves, and Haydn is part and parcel of this success. Their fresh insight and approach is quite a treat compared for instance with the much lauded Kodaly quartet on Naxos. That to is a set to be treasured but heavy at times. Not so with the Buchbergers, they establish their own little micro cosmos in which they thrive well. The bowing is impeccable, their grip on the tempi also, and the phrasing is spot on. They convey the musical genius from Haydn in a compact and well detailed way, and they make you discover Haydn anew. The recordings are top notch too, as are all the other 6 Volumes. Its a cheap way to get a Brilliant set of Haydn's SQ.

[Florestan]

Good morning all!

Schubert

Piano Sonatas D845 & D894

Radu Lupu

[val]

MAURICE OHANA:      Llanto por Ignacio Sanchez Mejias       

/ Rodolfo de Souza, Ensemble Musicatreize, Hayrabedian


One of the best works of Ohana, based on the immortal poem of Lorca. The poem has its own rhythm and Ohana respects it, in special in the recited parts. Very good interpretation.

[Harry]

Joseph Haydn.
Complete SQ, Volume VII, Disc II.
Opus 17, No. 3,5,6.
Buchberger Quartet.

Its good, its very good.

[Harry]

I have this one in the player again, and its getting better all the time. Glass still needs some adjustment, but I am getting there, although I will never like Glass that much. All other compositions are superb. And well performed too.
A fine addition to my collection.

[RebLem]

I've finally gotten away from my total obsession with politics of late and back to listening to music. In the week ending Saturday, July 26, 2008, I listened to the following:

1. Bach, J.S.: Six Sonatas, S. 525-530 (1'18:01)--Kay Johannsen, organ. hanssler CD, Vol. 99 of CBE.

2. Bach, J.S.: Cantatas 185 for SATB Soli (15:45), 186 for SATB Soli (33:54), 187 for SAB Soli (24:20)--Rilling, cond., Bach-Collegium, Stuttgart, Gachinger Kantorei (186, 187), Frankfurter Kantorei (185), 8 vocal soloists---hanssler CD, Vol. 56 of CBE

3. Bach, J.S.: Cantatas 188 for SATB Soli (23:46), 190 for ATB Soli (17:58 ), 191 for ST Soli (16:40), 192 for SB Soli (14:49)--Rilling, cond., Bach-Collegium Stuttgart in all except 188, Wurttermburg Chamber Orch in 188, Gachinger Kantorei in all. hanssler CD, Vol. 57 of CBE.

4. Boyce, Wm (1711-1779): David's Lamentation over Saul and Jonathan (Dublin vers., 1744)(48:17), Ode on St. Cecelia's Day "The Charms of Harmony's Display" (23:06), David's Lamentation: 2 arias and a recitative between from the 1736 London vers.)--The Hanover Band, Choir of New College, Oxford, Graham Lea-Cox, cond., Patrick Burrowed, boy soprano, William Purefoy, alto, Andrew Watts, countertenor, Richard Edgar-Wilson, tenor, Michael George, bass-baritone--MHS CD, lic fro ASV. Recorded May and June, 1999.

5. Four pieces for violin and piano. Alfred Dubois, violin, Marcel Maas, piano. Beethoven: Violin Sonata 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 #2 (24:15) |Franck: Violin Sonata in A (28:04) |Debussy: Violin Sonata in G Minor (11:14) |Vogler, (Abbe) Georg Joseph (1749--1814): Aria Chasse, and Minuetto (4:12)--Biddulf CD, lic from Columbia. Franck recorded 1931, the others in 1936.

What can I say? The Bach Sonatas are wonderful performances of material that does not really impress me that much. All of the Cantatas are true masterpices magnificently performed. What used to be known as Cantata 189 has been determined to have been composed by Melchior Hoffmann, and has therefore, not been included in the CBE project. The Boyce is wonderful, especially the Ode for St. Cecelia's Day.

All of the above are fairly modern recordings. The last is not. The Dubois/Mass recording has a lot of hiss in it, but the recording itself is remarkably forward and full bodied, not at all what you would call muffled. To the extent that there is distortion at all, it is a little bit too closely miked, harsh, and steely, but overall, these are lively, spirited performances by one of the three premiere violin/piano duos of the 1930's.

[karlhenning]

Vaughan Williams
A Pastoral Symphony
A London Symphony
London Phil
Haitink

[Harry]

In the heat of the day approaching 35 degrees Celsius I thought it was a good idea to play this one again, see review 8-7-2008.
It is altogether a great pleasure to me, this recording.

[karlhenning]

Halloa, Harry!

[Harry]

Halloa, Harry!

Hi Karl
All well?