What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[listener]

after a busy day
FRANCK: Le Chasseur Maudit and the Symphony in d
Suisse Romande Orch.,   / Ansermet
RAFF: Piano music, including Tarantelle op.144, Cachoucha-Caprice op. 79, La Polka glissante op.170,
Anne de Dadelsen
RACHMANINOFF transcriptions (the familiar ones)
Jorge Bolet, piano

[Mirror Image]

Now listening:

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[Que]

Considering recent discussions on the Bach harpsichord thread - time to revisit.

Q

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

For the last time, but with much pleasure, i play this fine disc, which I recommend to all Baroque lovers, there are some excellently performed concerti on this disc, with state of the art recording.

[mc ukrneal]

I have been collecting the Czerny piano sonata series on Nimbus since it came out. I haven't gotten volume 3 yet, but that is a matter of time. I'm re-listening now to the second disc of the first volume. Philip Martin is excellent here. But the star is Czerny. It's been a pleasure to finally be able to explore some of this piano music.
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[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

I am not a great admirer of this composer, and often find him shallow, and superficial, especially when he worked over popular tunes. Pompous and boring at times. I am not talking about his vocal compositions, I have no taste for them at all, but that goes for all composers from this time. Bought a few CD's at Abeille's sale. three of them me thinks. Orchestral works III, with some pretty tunes, and one of the worst compositions I ever heard from Grainger, "The Power of Rome and the Christian Heart", is a monstrous piece of work, that demeans the quality he has as a composer!  The "Irish Tune from County Derry", and "Ye Banks and Braes O'Bonnie Doon", are tacky affairs at best, and badly written at that. Some good, mixed with very bad, so I will not purchase any more by this composer. Sound is good, but due to some very dense writing in some of the pieces a tad overbearing. Performance is as good as it gets.

[mc ukrneal]

I am not a great admirer of this composer, and often find him shallow, and superficial, especially when he worked over popular tunes. Pompous and boring at times. I am not talking about his vocal compositions, I have no taste for them at all, but that goes for all composers from this time. Bought a few CD's at Abeille's sale. three of them me thinks. Orchestral works III, with some pretty tunes, and one of the worst compositions I ever heard from Grainger, "The Power of Rome and the Christian Heart", is a monstrous piece of work, that demeans the quality he has as a composer!  The "Irish Tune from County Derry", and "Ye Banks and Braes O'Bonnie Doon", are tacky affairs at best, and badly written at that. Some good, mixed with very bad, so I will not purchase any more by this composer. Sound is good, but due to some very dense writing in some of the pieces a tad overbearing. Performance is as good as it gets.

Oh Harry! Harry! You wound me to the core! Woe is me! Just for that, you are hereby banned from buying any more Grainger!

I do love me some Grainger, but he is not for everybody! It seems he is causing your pressure to rise for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps I love it in part because I have played many of these pieces. My favorite discs are single discs - one on piano (Hamelin on Hyperion) and the other orchestral (Fennell conducting the Eastman-Rochester Pops on an old, but excellent Mercury release). Probably too late for you now though.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Oh Harry! Harry! You wound me to the core! Woe is me! Just for that, you are hereby banned from buying any more Grainger!

I do love me some Grainger, but he is not for everybody! It seems he is causing your pressure to rise for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps I love it in part because I have played many of these pieces. My favorite discs are single discs - one on piano (Hamelin on Hyperion) and the other orchestral (Fennell conducting the Eastman-Rochester Pops on an old, but excellent Mercury release). Probably too late for you now though.

Blimey, I am not out to hurt or wound anybody Neal, especially not you, believe me.
I had a tiny score book with me, with some of those compositions, and thought them badly written, but hey its me, a poor amateur at best. His piano music is really good, love that. To give you a inkling that I am not all bad, I loved: Green Bushes, which is a Passacaglia on a English folk-tune, Hill Song No. 2, The Merry King, Eastern intermezzo, Lord Maxwell's Goodnight, The Immovable do, and the English Dance No. 1.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

This disc has me dancing around in my listening room, love the music to bits, and the recording is really good. Performance is outstanding, and the feelings come over rather well.

[Sergeant Rock]

....and one of the worst compositions I ever heard from Grainger, "The Power of Rome and the Christian Heart", is a monstrous piece of work, that demeans the quality he has as a composer!

Playing Grainger now, just to hear the monster 




Sarge

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Playing Grainger now, just to hear the monster 




Sarge

Oops now I am in for a firm scolding I am sure, I didn't do it Sarge, honestly it was not me, but the Gremlins in my home!

[Karl Henning]

Now:

Listening to Symphony No. 2 right now. This is just a far out, cool piece of music. I'm digging the rough-and-ready demeanor of the music. This is Prokofiev in enfant terrible mode.

As often as not, that raucous d minor symphony is my very favorite Prokofiev piece.

[Sergeant Rock]

The "Irish Tune from County Derry", and "Ye Banks and Braes O'Bonnie Doon", are tacky affairs at best, and badly written at that.

Grainger's first version of "County Derry" cushions that lovely melody in discrete harmonies. Do you know it, Harry? I can't imagine not liking it. The second version, the one on this disc, is bizarre in orchestration and harmonization, true. A very different "Danny Boy"    But the dense chromaticism and startling dissonance is fascinating, I think, even if it's not the way I often want to hear it.

I don't find anything in this arrangement of "Ye Banks" to object to. Have to disagree with you here.

Sarge

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Grainger's first version of "County Derry" cushions that lovely melody in discrete harmonies. Do you know it, Harry? I can't imagine not liking it. The second version, the one on this disc, is bizarre in orchestration and harmonization, true. A very different "Danny Boy"    But the dense chromaticism and startling dissonance is fascinating, I think, even if it's not the way I often want to hear it.

I don't find anything in this arrangement of "Ye Banks" to object to. Have to disagree with you here.

Sarge

Yes the first version I love, its the version on this CD that put me off! But what do you think of the monstrous piece?

[Sergeant Rock]

Yes the first version I love, its the version on this CD that put me off! But what do you think of the monstrous piece?

I'm in the middle of it now. Will get back to you.

Sarge

[DieNacht]

Some controlled virtuoso playing here, but it´s one of the few cases where there is one recording surpassing all IMO: Farnadi/Scherchen. They take the 1st movement very fast and play the whole thing like a spontaneous gypsy fantasy, like no-one else. Incredible, outrageous, fun.

[Henk]

Handel - Germanico
Ensemble e Coro Il Rossignolo
Ottaviano Tenerani

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Each opera by Handel has it's own character, I love them, the oppressed hearts and the release of tension again. The Roman way of feeling, of civilization.

[Lethevich]

I Google Translated the movement titles to one piece, and I must say, this is the most unreasonably jolly sounding "In a brick cellar" imaginable.

[Sergeant Rock]

But what do you think of the monstrous piece?

I hated it until around the 7:10 mark when the harps and percussion come in. Very beautiful sounds. I listened to it a second time and the piece has grown on me. I still prefer the second half but if I imagine it to be the score to some fantasy or Roman sandal B movie, the first half ain't too bad    I could do without the organ though.

Sarge

[Lethevich]

One day I hope Grainger's music will make sense to me too :\