What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[karlhenning]

This is certainly true.  What one considers reference depends upon one´s taste, so I never use the term "reference recording".

Amen.

[Lethevich]

Listening to the very Richard Strauss inspried "The Sea Reivers." Very short work, but effective.

OMG I love this piece. It's like a textbook demonstration of the awesome sound an orchestra is capable of making.

[karlhenning]

Brahms

Horn Trio in E flat major, Op.40
Piano Quintet in F minor, Op.34

Nash Ensemble
Brilliant Classics

Dessous le limon vert!   

Oh, those look tasty!

E-mail came in yesterday saying that it has shipped (si j'ai compris vraiment)!

[Sergeant Rock]

Listening to Leeuw's slow, mesmerizing (or soporific, depending on your taste) performances of the Gnossiennes, Ogives, Sarabandes and Gymnopédies from this box:




Sarge

[karlhenning]

Listening to Leeuw's slow, mesmerizing (or soporific, depending on your taste) performances of the Gnossiennes, Ogives, Sarabandes and Gymnopédies from this box:




Sarge

My Philips two-fer landed yesterday!  I really enjoy it . . . I find that the Gnossiennes draw discreet attention to themselves here, these are charming, beguiling readings.

[Luke]

Special, that one, isn't it? De Leeuw plays Satie like no one else - and i mean that in the best of ways. Don't let the wonderful properties of his solo piano recordings delay your listening to the disc with the songs, though. Specifically the three early, almost forgotten melodies - not even mentioned in the biographies I've read, but special special pieces, a set of three almost indentical pieces such as Satie loved writing for a long time (the Gymnopedies being only the most famous example). These songs are one of my very favourite things, so crystalline, so pure, so exquisite, the simplest of piano parts, perfectly voiced, melodies of the most direct beauty floated above - I always feel they are what you would get if you took the most exquisite Ravel, Faure and Debussy songs, and boiled them up to get a concentrated essence of French song.

[karlhenning]

Luke, you're making me wish I'd waited and gotten the box : )  At least, I've got the Bernas/London Projects disc with mélodies.

[karlhenning]

It's quite decent this one, though I still prefer the original Isserlis recording.

I've got an Isserlis recording, not sure if it's the original, though.

[Sergeant Rock]

Special, that one, isn't it? De Leeuw plays Satie like no one else - and i mean that in the best of ways. Don't let the wonderful properties of his solo piano recordings delay your listening to the disc with the songs, though...

I bought Leeuw's single CD of the Gnossiennes, Ogives, etc., shortly after it was released (wow, 15 years ago!) and instantly fell in love with his unusual but, to me, utterly compelling interpretations. The box (which duplicates that first CD--but who cares? ) is a fairly recent purchase. I haven't yet gotten to the songs. Maybe I should skip ahead.

My Philips two-fer landed yesterday!  I really enjoy it . . . I find that the Gnossiennes draw discreet attention to themselves here, these are charming, beguiling readings.

I love what he does with them...and one night in 1996 Satie, and Leeuw, set the mood (wistful melancholy exposed) and helped inspire my longest poem. Special, indeed.

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Briefly postponing my leap into Satie's songs on this First Listen Friday with a quick listen to Bantok's The Sea Reivers which I haven't heard in years and have completely forgotten:

Listening to now:

I like your cover painting better   

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

OMG I love this piece. It's like a textbook demonstration of the awesome sound an orchestra is capable of making.

I just listened to it....god, it packs quite a punch in a mere 3 minutes 44 seconds.

Sarge

[Lethevich]

Indeed - I prefer it to any of the movements retained in the symphony it was culled from. It's always fun to hear an orchestra playing a crechendo so loud and fast (like at the end) that a less well-drilled ensemble would just lose control

[listener]

This is certainly true.  What one considers reference depends upon one´s taste, so I never use the term "reference recordung".

Probably a mis-type, but a wonderful way to describe one at nadir level.

[The new erato]

Briefly postponing my leap into Satie's songs on this First Listen Friday with a quick listen to Bantok's The Sea Reivers which I haven't heard in years and have completely forgotten:





I like your cover painting better   

Sarge

I guess you have (EDIT, I just counted!)six reasons for that!

[Sergeant Rock]

I guess you have four reasons for that!

Hah! 

Sarge

[jlaurson]

Franz Schubert
Complete Works for Violin & Piano v.2
Fantasy D940
Julia Fischer / Martin Helmchen
PentaTone


one of the most beautiful of all of schubert's pieces, the fantasy in f-minor for four hands, is surprisingly difficult to pull off. fischer & helmchen (yes, she plays the piano) is not among my favorites. the rest is very nice.

[karlhenning]

Don't forget, Sarge: we're relying on you to break the Dance Suite gridlock! ; )

[kishnevi]

I've got an Isserlis recording, not sure if it's the original, though.

I have Isserlis playing this piece; it's currently in the pile of CDs-I-ought-consider-donating-to-the-library, so I'm not sure of the details.  It's part of the I double CD released last year as part of EMI's 20th century composers series, and unfortunately the rest of the works are all, or almost all, choral works that I found to be extremely underwhelming.  In fact, if it were not Protecting Veil, it would have probably already been donated to the library.

BTW, I listened to the Dance Suite last night.  (Adam Fischer, Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra--part of a Brilliant 5 CD box set of the orchestral works)  Certainly not the best Bartok, but better than some of the other stuff on that CD (Romanian Folk Dances is the worst one).

[Scarpia]

Don't forget, Sarge: we're relying on you to break the Dance Suite gridlock! ; )

Dance suite gridlock?  It was one for, three against.  Unless your opinion counts for three there is no gridlock.   

[Sergeant Rock]

Don't forget, Sarge: we're relying on you to break the Dance Suite gridlock! ; )

I did forget...but that's one of the priviliges of being old 

Mrs. Rock has gone to bed and I don't want to disturb her (the Dance Suite should be played loud, I imagine). Tomorrow then. If I haven't responded by dinner time your time, give me another kick, please.

Sarge