What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Peregrine]

[Harry]

Fortunately not.  "Transparency" and "Karajan" are not concepts usually linked, except by mutual exclusivity.  Happily, Karajan's influence over interpretive style has been virtually nil over the past twenty years or so, while the influence of HIPsters and conductors such as Harnoncourt, Mackerras, Abbado, Boulez and the like has become mainstream.

Now playing:

Bull!

[mahler10th]

Fortunately not.  "Transparency" and "Karajan" are not concepts usually linked, except by mutual exclusivity.  Happily, Karajan's influence over interpretive style has been virtually nil over the past twenty years or so, while the influence of HIPsters and conductors such as Harnoncourt, Mackerras, Abbado, Boulez and the like has become mainstream.

Now playing:

Karajans output and stewardship of the BPO brought quality music to the speakers of record playing radiograms Worldwide in his time.  He still does the same today on more modern equipment even after his death.  The sales of his records and tapes were, by classical standards, outstanding, he actively promoted the use of new recording technologies, was the first ever to release on CD, and was generally regarded (not by construct) as the most powerful person in Classical Music.  Even today he outsells many other conductors.
That hasn't happened for nothing.  
He made our music more accessible, despite the ever inflating price of records throughout his tenure.
'Transparent' is what he did.  We could now look through music that once sat behind inaccessibility and a ploom of elitism.  Karajan took music out of that and put it the hands of anyone who wanted to reach it.
He did all that because thats what he wanted to do.
I am a Karajanian - from his first ever stereo recording of Beethovens 9th with his BPO to his last ever recorded performance in April 1989 of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 with the VPO.

[bhodges]

Barber: Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance (Alsop/RSNO) - Excellent reading, and don't think I've heard this piece (recorded, that is) since Thomas Schippers's version with the New York Philharmonic.

--Bruce

[Que]

Q

[owlice]

Listened to my favorite symphony, the Saint-Saens Third, twice today, first with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mata, and then with the Chicago SO with Barenboim conducting. Between them, I listened to the Jongen Symphonie Concertante for Organ and Orchestra.

[SonicMan46]

Well, a number of packages arrived in the mail the last few days (from MDT in England & BRO from New England) - glad that I have a long holiday weekend (Memorial Day for us in the USA) to do some listening; at the moment:

Ries, Ferdinand (1784-1838) - Piano Sonatas w/ Alexandra Oehler; although I have a number of recordings of Ries, this is the first 'solo' piano disc (of course, Beethoven's pupil/secretary) - recorded in 2004.

Onslow, George (1784-1853) - Piano Trios, Vol. 2 w/ Trio Cascades; coming up next!  Already own the first volume which I enjoy, so should be a pleasant continuation -  


 

[FideLeo]

Is Andrew Manze now the director/conductor of the English Concert, the post that used to be held by Trevor Pinnock?  Is Egarr now the conductor of AAM?

I think Manze resigned from the EC post - Harry Bicket has taken over; Egarr directs AAM at the moment.

now listening

[bhodges]

Scriabin: The Poem of Ecstasy (Vassily Sinaisky/BBC Philharmonic) - Recorded live at Bridgewater Hall in 2000, with excellent sound considering that it's a live recording.  Performance is sensitive, sparkling, highly enjoyable, with some luxurious strings and rock-solid brass in those crucial climaxes.

--Bruce

[Lethevich]

Onslow, George (1784-1853) - Piano Trios, Vol. 2 w/ Trio Cascades; coming up next!  Already own the first volume which I enjoy, so should be a pleasant continuation -  

 

Does it say the artist of the cover drawing?

[bhodges]

Tristan Murail: Gondwana (Yves Prin/Orchestre National de France) - Utterly fascinating, and gorgeous playing from the ensemble.

--Bruce

[owlice]

Scriabin: The Poem of Ecstasy (Vassily Sinaisky/BBC Philharmonic) - Recorded live at Bridgewater Hall in 2000, with excellent sound considering that it's a live recording.  Performance is sensitive, sparkling, highly enjoyable, with some luxurious strings and rock-solid brass in those crucial climaxes.

--Bruce

Bruce, is that the work with the soprano who .... ah.... sounds as though she never quite ... mmm... reaches ...... errrrr..... gets to a, ahhhhhh, climax? Lots of ... oh, let's say screaming in the high range, with no satisfactory end to it (the screaming, I mean)? Or am I mixing this work up with something else?

[Lilas Pastia]

Paul van Kempen's "Legendary Tchaikovsky". That's what the cover says (an Andromeda 2-disc set). The Concertgebouw plays symphonies 5 and 6, Romeo and Juliet, Marche slave, 1812 Overture and Capriccio italien. Indeed, some of these performances are truly awesome, spectacularly well recorded and played with scorching passion by the orchestra. Only the Pathétique leaves something to be desired. It's again superbly played, but for some reason it's a less immediate recording and van Kempen's take on the work is slightly sober, if totally honest and quite dramatic in its own right. And for some reason orchestral balances are less immediate (distant violins and feeble timpani). These are 1951 Philips recordings (engineered by Decca if I'm not mistaken). The sound is of demonstration quality in symphony 5 and Capriccio. Strings have heft and vibrancy, a super dense, dark sound. Brass are the most differentiated I've heard in a western orchestra: piercingly bright trumpets, dark, somber, 'bottled' horns, and a low brass section that could turn an army away. Excellent percussion too (added cymbal crashes at the end of 5:IV are heard to great effect). The 1812 performance seems to have gathered every carillon and church bells in Amsterdam. No cannon shots, but a good bass drum substitutes effectively.

Still available at BRO for 7.98$. At the price you get scorching versions of most of these works in spectacular playing and sound. Good review here, although the disc at hand seems to be one of those infamous 'no noise' (i.e. dead sounding) Philips remasterings.

Kempen was a very controversial figure in Amsterdam. Dutch born and a former COA violinist, he had taken his conducting carreeer to Germany in 1932 and became a german citizen. His conducting activities throughout the War (including stints in occupied Amsterdam and concerts for the Wehrmacht) proved too much for the Dutch. Early in 1951 he was forced to cancel concerts and had to be replaced due to highly vocal protests. Strangely enough these Amsterdam recordings were taped throughout 1951, so either the conductor or the orchestra made amends. The Times article refers to the Verdi Requiem and I own a Kempen recording (also available at BRO), a splendidly dramatic version with excellent soloists. Alas, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra is not on the level of the Amsterdam gods.


Myaskovsky: orchestral works (not symphonies): Alastor (a 25 minute tone poem), one of his confusingly labeled Sinfoniettas and a Lyric concertino. Some of these are among Myaskovsky's best works. I was particularly enchanted by the winsome, beguiling Sinfonietta. This is a work that gives Tchaikovsky's famous Serenade a run for its money. Absolutely splendid. Alastor is a somber, brooding affair (Myaskovsky's symphonies and tone poems are a Guide To opening-a-symphony-with-ominous-bleak-low-string-murmurs). He sometimes stretches its material a little bit - another familiar feature of Myaskovsky's language.  The Concertino is delicately balanced and well crafted. I especially liked its slow movement. Yevgeny Svetlanov conducts. Our own Vandermolen is the author of the excellent notes to this Alto release. And I mean excellent.

Richard Arnell: chamber music. Two trios, a string quintet, a cello suite make up a very rewarding program. Arnell in quiet conversational mood seems more astringent than when he speaks out loud through the 100-member instrument. Thanks to one of our most ardent Arnell enthusiasts I'm slowly digging into Arnell's output and find him to be a major composer in his own right (no 'heir to' or 'influenced by' qualifyer here).

[bhodges]

Bruce, is that the work with the soprano who .... ah.... sounds as though she never quite ... mmm... reaches ...... errrrr..... gets to a, ahhhhhh, climax? Lots of ... oh, let's say screaming in the high range, with no satisfactory end to it (the screaming, I mean)? Or am I mixing this work up with something else?

He-he...well, you're on the right track, but the soloist here is actually a trumpet.  The trumpet part has a recurring "almost climax" until the finale, which ends in a huge major chord.  

But now I'm curious to know what the piece you're referring to is!  (Sounds like something I'd enjoy...)  

--Bruce

[Coopmv]

Now playing CD1 from this set, which just arrived this afternoon from MDT.  No further comment on the conductor ...

[Henk]

disc 3 (act 3)

[George]

Beethoven
Op. 106 and 109
Richard Goode

The Op. 106 was not to my liking, but the 109 is wonderful!

[Coopmv]

Karajans output and stewardship of the BPO brought quality music to the speakers of record playing radiograms Worldwide in his time.  He still does the same today on more modern equipment even after his death.  The sales of his records and tapes were, by classical standards, outstanding, he actively promoted the use of new recording technologies, was the first ever to release on CD, and was generally regarded (not by construct) as the most powerful person in Classical Music.  Even today he outsells many other conductors.
That hasn't happened for nothing.  
He made our music more accessible, despite the ever inflating price of records throughout his tenure.
'Transparent' is what he did.  We could now look through music that once sat behind inaccessibility and a ploom of elitism.  Karajan took music out of that and put it the hands of anyone who wanted to reach it.
He did all that because thats what he wanted to do.
I am a Karajanian - from his first ever stereo recording of Beethovens 9th with his BPO to his last ever recorded performance in April 1989 of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 with the VPO.

Karajan is still the God of Classical Music to the Japanese.  Seiji Ozawa, the most outstanding conductor Japan has ever produced, was a protégé of Karajan and in fact conducted the Karajan's Memorial Concert, whose DVD I intend to get ...

[Coopmv]

Beethoven
Op. 106 and 109
Richard Goode

The Op. 106 was not to my liking, but the 109 is wonderful!

George,  Is Goode right up there with Richter, Gulda, Gilels, Kempff and Arrau?  I would think not ...

[George]

George,  Is Goode right up there with Richter, Gulda, Gilels, Kempff and Arrau?  I would think not ...

To many people he is. Not to me though. Actually, I'd say the same of Kempff and Arrau's Beethoven as well.