What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[Antoine Marchand]

Probably one of the most unpractical digipack that I have seen:



... but great music and first-rate performances. 

[DavidRoss]

Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Leonard Bernstein, cond. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON

I've come to really love this expansive and expressive (often outré) rendition of the popular Fifth.  I can't say as I'm crazy about Lenny's Vienna Second, however - a bloated, belching affair I find hard to digest.

Well, there's hope for you after all.   The time may come when you enjoy Lenny's extreme 2nd as much as you enjoy the 5th.  Do you know Rozhdestvensky's Sibelius?

[mahler10th]

Good morning Europe.

Harold en Italie
Berlioz
John Eliot Gradiner

Wow, is this the best version out there?  What a fine work.

[Que]

Great stuff! 



Good morning, and good afternoon to the members to the East.

Q

[Que]

Further exploration of this 2CD set. Just in case anyone who can't read the tiny print and is wondering what instrument is pictured, it is a clavichord. It seems that Johann Müthel was an even bigger fan of the instrument than good old CPE Bach.



Q

[mahler10th]

Well, there's hope for you after all.   The time may come when you enjoy Lenny's extreme 2nd as much as you enjoy the 5th.  Do you know Rozhdestvensky's Sibelius?

I am listening to Lennys Sibelius 2 with the VPO right now.
I do not agree that it is 'bloated' and 'belching' as Moldyoldie says.  It is big and broad, I don't think it loses quality through that.  Some of the passages are superbly interplayed, and things tick along nicely, with Lenny paying...sometimes hushingly creative...attention to the quieter parts.  But I do agree that it is not, by far, a reference version.  In some places it loses the focus, but in all, it is a 'big' take on Sibelius 2, and good for that.

[abidoful]

Do you have Andsnes's set? That one is even better and can be had for budget price.

Noup. He's a very fine pianist (never heard he's Chopin) but I'd like to have the Katsaris though- well I guess I just have to buy it anyway

[Harry]

A marvelous disc! 80 minutes of splendid music for the Harpsichord/Italian virginal.
T'was in the BUY ME Hyperion list some time ago. For a Naxos price.

All info and music samples galore, here.
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA67164&f=cda67164

[Que]

A member of the Couperin family I'm not familiar yet. Interesting, Harry!

Now:



Giovanni Lorenzo Somis: violin sonatas in A minor, Op 1/1 and in C major, Op. 6/4
Gaspare Giuseppe Chiabrano: cello sonata no 3 in F major
Felice Giardini: violin sonata no 2 in G major
Giovanni Battista Canavasso: cello sonata no 2a in D minor
Gaetano Pugnani: violin sonata in B flat major, Op. 6/1

[DavidW]

Well Perahia playing Bach's English Suites, charming playing not as abrasive as the harpsichord recordings I've heard (guess I just don't care for solo harpsichord), but it is too laid back.  I went too far, an adventurous modern piano recording would have suited me better, I didn't need the unornamented, classicist approach as much as I thought I did.

This week I'd been splitting it between Haydn's Baryton Octets and symphonies (numbered in the 70s).  The former is good, the latter is AWESOME!  Those symphonies have the heft and sophistication of his Paris and London symphonies.

[Moldyoldie]

Do you know Rozhdestvensky's Sibelius?

Only his '62 No. 7 and Rakastava - kinda wacky trombone in the Seventh, as I recall.  I'll have to give it another hear-see, perhaps later today.

[George]

Well Perahia playing Bach's English Suites, charming playing not as abrasive as the harpsichord recordings I've heard (guess I just don't care for solo harpsichord), but it is too laid back.  I went too far, an adventurous modern piano recording would have suited me better, I didn't need the unornamented, classicist approach as much as I thought I did.

Hi David,

Have you tried Gould? I love his suites, especially the French.

[DavidW]

Hi David,

Have you tried Gould? I love his suites, especially the French.

I tried Gould in the French suites... but it has been several years.  I should try again, things change you know.  For instance I crapped all over Tool's 10,000 days if you remember but it's grown on me since.

[George]

I tried Gould in the French suites... but it has been several years.  I should try again, things change you know.  For instance I crapped all over Tool's 10,000 days if you remember but it's grown on me since.

[springrite]

Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in e (original version) and Violin Concerto in d (Isabelle van Keulen, New Sinfonietta Amsterdam, BIS)

[Harry]

A composer that was totally unknown to me, but this 31:00 lasting First Symphony changed that rapidly. For me this is a work, that is just a few notes away from a masterwork. Written in his youth, this work shows a maturity and creativity of mind, that has me constantly on the edge of my chair. It is really well written, and performed to high standards. Vernon Handley knows how to get the max out of this composition. Excellent recording too. In my top 10 for now.

[Harry]

If you like Mendelssohn you will like the music of Bennett. Not as good as M himself, but Bennett will give you a good run for the money anytime. Pleasant music to dream away with. The fizz and bubbles that you get with Mendelssohn is absent here, but Bennett has other rewards. The performances do honour to Bennett, it must be said, and the engineers made a really good recording of it, allowing you to hear the delicate string writing, and the subtle brass Bennett so often uses.

[Antoine Marchand]

Isn't it funny? The truth just sounds different:

[springrite]

Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole; Saint-Saens: Violin Concerto #1 (Chung, Montreal, Dutoit)

[karlhenning]

Birthday boy!

Boulez
Le marteau sans maître
Jeanne Deroubaix, alto
Members of L'orchestre du domaine musical
The composer conducting