What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[SonicMan46]

Graupner, Christoph (1683-1760) - Sinfonias/Overtures & Wind Concertos w/ a variety of personnel and groups (as listed on the cover art) - giving these newly acquired discs a second spin & closer listen this morning - my first exposure to Graupner, a contemporary of Bach JS et al, and possibly their 'almost' equal - not sure, but I did leave a long post in one of the non-Bach Baroque threads - his output was pretty astounding, but not much available!  Just order my 3rd disc of him - Flute/Recorder Concertos - should enjoy, also! 

 

[DavidRoss]

Hi David - tonight, just finished listening to the last two SQs of Op. 18; now on the first of the Razumovsky SQs (Op. 59, No. 1) - written 5 or so years later and over 40 mins in length - BOY what a change!  Op. 18 is wonderful - Mozart/Haydn, i.e. looking back & forward like Janus!  But this is a brand new ballgame - now, I've been listening to these works for years, but I must say that this group offered me one of the most 'dramatic leaps' in the SQ literature - and these instruments sound beautiful together (in fact, just left a post in my 'Old Musical Instrument' thread w/ a little further discussion of their origin and uniqueness) - 

It sounds as if you would really enjoy their cycle series including pre-performance lectures by Bob Greenberg with the Alexanders illustrating his musical points.  They're warm and funny and inclusive, inviting an unusual rapport between audience and performers, and it's a pleasure to enjoy and participate in the wit and interplay among them before getting down to the "serious" business at hand.  More than just skilled performers, they're also teachers and pretty nice fellows as well.  No doubt we'll be adding this cycle to our collection before long. 

[jlaurson]

But the highlight was Frank Martin's Sechs Monologe aus Jedermann (1943-44), a powerful piece I'd never heard before, with texts from a play by Hugo von Hofmannsthal.  I hope Quasthoff will consider recording it.

--Bruce

I'm not surprised you found that the highlight, but delighted you respond to Martin the same way I do. What an absolutely marvelous, genuine composer, who deserves shouting from the rooftops done by us, since his music is of a much quieter, almost self-effacing kind.

[bhodges]

I'm not surprised you found that the highlight, but delighted you respond to Martin the same way I do. What an absolutely marvelous, genuine composer, who deserves shouting from the rooftops done by us, since his music is of a much quieter, almost self-effacing kind.

Great that you like him!  He seems to be a terribly underrated composer; I rarely see any of his work programmed here.  My first encounter was with his Mass, and then the Requiem and the Cello Concerto--all marvelous.  Latest find was this disc below by Thierry Fischer and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe with Polyptyque.

--Bruce

[jlaurson]

Great that you like him!  He seems to be a terribly underrated composer; I rarely see any of his work programmed here.  My first encounter was with his Mass, and then the Requiem and the Cello Concerto--all marvelous.  Latest find was this disc below by Thierry Fischer and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe with Polyptyque.

--Bruce

Polyptyque is one of my favorite concertos.

http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2010/02/ionarts-at-large-haitink-in-bruckner.html
http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2009/02/ionarts-at-large-mozarts-requiem-with.html
http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=586

[Marc]

Having a nice spring afternoon and evening so far with Jos van der Kooy, Sophie Yates and the Emerson String Quartet:







About Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge: it's very enjoyable listening to an arrangement for strings, but I still prefer it played on organ or harpsichord.

[SonicMan46]

It sounds as if you would really enjoy their cycle series including pre-performance lectures by Bob Greenberg with the Alexanders illustrating his musical points.  They're warm and funny and inclusive, inviting an unusual rapport between audience and performers, and it's a pleasure to enjoy and participate in the wit and interplay among them before getting down to the "serious" business at hand.  More than just skilled performers, they're also teachers and pretty nice fellows as well.  No doubt we'll be adding this cycle to our collection before long. 

Yes, likely so!    Robert Greenberg is a favorite of ours - we buy a lot of the Teaching Company products, usually on DVD - probably own nearly a half dozen musical lecture series w/ Greenberg.  One that I've been looking at for a while pertinent to the topic above is on the Beethoven SQs (screen capture attached) - 24 lectures (i.e. about 18 hrs or twice the time to perform the 16 works!) - he uses the new recordings of the Alexander SQ for his musical examples; I've hesitated because of the length of the series, maybe too detailed for me?  But the reviews have all been tops - the price of the DVD set is $100 (nearly twice what I paid for the ASQ box!) - interestingly if one buys this product even in the $50 audio download I assume (Info HERE, for those interested), the ASQ box of these works is also being offered for $50!

David - now, concerning the Greenberg pre-concert talks and the interaction w/ the members of the ASQ and the audience, do you know if any of this material is 'archived' online and possibly a potential download?  Just curious - thanks, Dave 

[bhodges]

Polyptyque is one of my favorite concertos.

http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2010/02/ionarts-at-large-haitink-in-bruckner.html
http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2009/02/ionarts-at-large-mozarts-requiem-with.html
http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=586

Thanks, Jens--excellent comments.  Great to have this piece highlighted!  Now if someone here would just actually play the thing.

--Bruce

[Franco]

Robert Greenberg is a favorite of ours - we buy a lot of the Teaching Company products, ... One that I've been looking at for a while pertinent to the topic above is on the Beethoven SQs

Sounds interesting - I just received the Kerman book on the Beethoven Quartets, and have enjoyed looking through it and can tell I will enjoy it as I begin reading it in earnest.

[DavidRoss]

David - now, concerning the Greenberg pre-concert talks and the interaction w/ the members of the ASQ and the audience, do you know if any of this material is 'archived' online and possibly a potential download?  Just curious - thanks, Dave 

Not that I know of--though at least some of the LvB cycle performed at St. Johns in Berkeley was taped--but for what purpose I do not know.

Thread duty: K 464 & 465 from:

[listener]

Baroque guitar concertos by FASCH   VIVALDI (RV.93/P.209), KREBS
     Solid, careful playing by Konrad Ragosnig and the SW German Chamber Orch.    Inoffensive, like Public Radio.

STAVENHAGEN and SINDING   Piano Concertos
    Roland Keller,   Berlin S.O.    Jörg Faerber
    Late romantic works (c.1889) by conservative composers of the period. 

J.S. BACH   P&F's  532, 549, 552
    E. Power Biggs (is there an internet performer called e-power?)
    1720 Schnitger organ,  Zwolle
short playing time, but nice presentation with 4-page insert with good pictures, organ history and specs,  and essay on the works.

[Opus106]

David - now, concerning the Greenberg pre-concert talks and the interaction w/ the members of the ASQ and the audience, do you know if any of this material is 'archived' online and possibly a potential download?  Just curious - thanks, Dave 

Not that I know of--though at least some of the LvB cycle performed at St. Johns in Berkeley was taped--but for what purpose I do not know.

You overlook the "wonder of modern technology," my friend.

[Marc]

[....]
J.S. BACH   P&F's  532, 549, 552
    E. Power Biggs (is there an internet performer called e-power?)
    1720 Schnitger organ,  Zwolle
short playing time, but nice presentation with 4-page insert with good pictures, organ history and specs,  and essay on the works.

Ha! Zwolle!
Where I bought my first Joy Division record, Love Will Tear Us Apart, long long time ago.



Oh, sorry, wrong thread.

Topic duty -> just beginning with this one:

[Christo]

Ha! Zwolle!
Where I bought my first Joy Division record, Love Will Tear Us Apart, long long time ago.

Ha!   And where I hired all the LP's I could lay my hands on in the public library (no, "Phonotheque") at the Melkmarkt in the late 1970s.

Like e.g. those with the symphonies of Havergal Brian, or the rare Brazilian records (that never made it on to CD) of Villa-Lobos, or all the old Lyrita's with rare British composers, or ....     

[Marc]

Ha!   And where I hired all the LP's I could lay my hands on in the public library (no, "Phonotheque") at the Melkmarkt in the late 1970s.

HA!!
I bought that 12-inch at Plato .... I think the shop moved to another building since then though.
During childhood years, I (ab)used the 'Phonothèque' of the public library in Coevorden for borrowing vinyl .... Bach, and all kinds of punk & new wave stuff. Most of it had to be ordered at the Phonothèque de la province Drenthe in Assen.
HA!!



Topic duty: right now the 'Three Dances' of Stravinsky's Suite L'histoire du Soldat.

[Marc]

And even though I do not know Power Biggs's performances at the Schnitger in Zwolle, I bet it's better than this one:



But let's not be all that harsh: one or two BWV's are played quite well by Murray .... if I remember well, especially BWV 534 and the chorale BWV 735.

[George]

Rachmaninov
Op. 23 No. 4
Prelude
Ashkenazy

Breaks my heart every time I hear this beautifully tender reading.

[SonicMan46]

You overlook the "wonder of modern technology," my friend.

Navneeth - LOL!     Well, you know that I can probably do enough 'googling' to find a link if available - but, I was more thinking about the Greenberg DVD set from the Teaching Company - just not sure that I could pay attention to someone (now, I love him!) talking twice as long about recordings taking half of that time -  i.e. just might be too technical for a 'visually oriented' radiologist - 

But, if someone out there is familiar w/ this offering (whether audio or video), please advise - thanks!  Dave 

[SonicMan46]

Well, a page or so back in this thread, I commented on the Goldberg Variations w/ Ragna Schirmer, and Don (i.e. Bulldog) stated that he enjoyed the piano versions of both Simone Dinnerstein and Andras Schiff - well I have both of those, so I decided this afternoon to listen to the two gals in sequence doing the first half of the variations, and then back-to-back on Variation No. 15 - 

Well, a few days ago, I was 'bowled over' by Schirmer, but I must say that Dinnerstein (to me) is still quite a joy - she is more lyrical and flowing (perhaps, Romantic?), whereas Ragna seems to have more of a Baroque articulation to her playing; as I mentioned before I tend to be more a 'replacer' than an 'accumulator', but I may just keep both recordings this time! 


 

[Bulldog]

Well, a page or so back in this thread, I commented on the Goldberg Variations w/ Ragna Schirmer, and Don (i.e. Bulldog) stated that he enjoyed the piano versions of both Simone Dinnerstein and Andras Schiff -

Well, that's not quite correct.  I said that I enjoyed Schiff's ECM Goldbergs but was disappointed in his Decca release.  Anyways, I'm glad you're enjoying both Dinnerstein and Schirmer.