What are you listening to now?

[Brahmsian]

RSSMM saga continues...

And a special first listen (to these works)

Glazunov

Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 5 'Slavyanskaya'
Symphony No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 16

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Jose Serebrier

[asin]B006W7SV5Q[/asin]

Fantastic!  Great impression so far.  I've heard many times that people think Glazunov's symphonies (or Glazunov's music, as a whole), dull and boring.  NOT!! 

I must then be a dullard! 

[Mirror Image]

RSSMM saga continues...

And a special first listen (to these works)

Glazunov

Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 5 'Slavyanskaya'
Symphony No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 16

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Jose Serebrier

[asin]B006W7SV5Q[/asin]

Fantastic!  Great impression so far.  I've heard many times that people think Glazunov's symphonies (or Glazunov's music, as a whole), dull and boring.  NOT!! 

I must then be a dullard! 

That's a great set there, Ray. I bought my Dad the single releases (before the box set was issued) for Father's Day and he loved the performances. Sweeping, unabashed Romanticism at its finest.

[TheGSMoeller]

Russian Symphony March Madness Extravaganza

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 3, Op. 44 "The Fiery Angel"
Chailly - Concertgabouw Orchestra

[Todd]

High-end pianism. 

[Mirror Image]

Now:

[asin]B0071B1G6I[/asin]

Just listened to Symphony No. 2. My first impression wasn't very favorable. I don't think this symphony has much going for it. I realize it was written in a Modern idiom and the dewy moss of Romanticism aren't anywhere to be found, but this doesn't mean that a composer should compromise melody, harmony, and rhythm. I hear nothing in the way of a melody or any kind of emotion whatsoever. Hopefully, the rest of the recording will fair better. I'm on Orphelia Dances right now and this is just awful, go nowhere, complete randomness. I know Knussen is a better composer than this! Keeping my finger on the skip button as I type...

[Mirror Image]

Turned that monstrosity off and now listening to this Knussen recording:



Listening to Choral right now. A rather mysterious opening...let's hope it doesn't turn into randomness, go nowhere garbage.

[TheGSMoeller]

Let's hope you didn't waste your birthday money purchases! 

[Mirror Image]

Let's hope you didn't waste your birthday money purchases! 

Oh no, Greg, I never consider any classical purchase a waste of money. I consider it an education and apart of this education means finding out deep down what I truly like and what I don't like. I'm definitely going to keep Knussen's Higglety Pigglety Pop!/Where The Wild Things Are box set, but I'm going to get rid of these two NMC recordings. You want them? Shoot me a message with your address and they're yours.

[Brahmsian]

Russian Symphony March Madness Extravaganza

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 3, Op. 44 "The Fiery Angel"
Chailly - Concertgabouw Orchestra

Happy you joined the party, Greg! 

[Sadko]

I'm having lots of work and stress recently, now I'm enjoying some relaxation by letting my mind float in the preludes and fuges of the WTC, book I, with Tatiana Nikolaeva:

[TheGSMoeller]

Happy you joined the party, Greg! 

Thanks, Ray! I realize that Russian music is not something I own a bunch of compared to other countries. Also in part because 75% of the Russian music I do purchase is from Prokofiev.  0:)
But I do own a few gems here and there, some from Igor, I love his symphonies. Let's do one!

Stravinsky: Symphony in C
Tilson Thomas - LSO

[Brian]

I have heard Stravinsky symphonies exactly twice: one listen to the early student Symphony in E flat (?), and one live concert of the Symphony of Psalms in, I think, 2008 or so. Maybe that should be my next assignment for Russian Symphony Month! I have the Symphony of Psalms with Lenny, but for the Symphony in C and the Three Movements, will have to first-listen on NML. Any recs?

[TheGSMoeller]

Thanks, Ray! I realize that Russian music is not something I own a bunch of compared to other countries. Also in part because 75% of the Russian music I do purchase is from Prokofiev.  0:)
But I do own a few gems here and there, some from Igor, I love his symphonies. Let's do one!

Stravinsky: Symphony in C
Tilson Thomas - LSO

Man, I forgot how much I love this piece (in C). It's making me want to re-visit one of my first classical music loves, Dumbarton Oaks.

I have heard Stravinsky symphonies exactly twice: one listen to the early student Symphony in E flat (?), and one live concert of the Symphony of Psalms in, I think, 2008 or so. Maybe that should be my next assignment for Russian Symphony Month! I have the Symphony of Psalms with Lenny, but for the Symphony in C and the Three Movements, will have to first-listen on NML. Any recs?

I don't own them, but I've always heard the composer himself conducting is quite special, in fact, I wonder if it's on Spotify....

[Mirror Image]

Thanks, Ray! I realize that Russian music is not something I own a bunch of compared to other countries. Also in part because 75% of the Russian music I do purchase is from Prokofiev.  0:)
But I do own a few gems here and there, some from Igor, I love his symphonies. Let's do one!

Stravinsky: Symphony in C
Tilson Thomas - LSO

I haven't heard this MTT recording in awhile, but I seem to recall I preferred Craft and Stravinsky's own recording for the Symphony in C. That's a dynamite work. I love it.

[listener]

SCHUBERT  Piano Sonata in A, D.959  MOZART  Rondo in a  K.511
Charles Rosen, piano
CHOPIN   Rondo à la Mazur     LESSEL Variations no.1 (on Schone Minka)
Maria Agata SZYMANOWSKA  (1789. Warsaw, - 1831 St. Petersburg) 5 Études,   Nocturne, Polonaise, Minuet

[Que]

First run of this rather exotic disc that I got as a bargain, so far excellent music making.

The blurb sounds a bit over the top and oddly translated:

An exaustive XVIIth century musical selection from the "Marche", long run with the "Cantar lontano" technique (to sing at a certain distance from each other). The mottetti from Ignazio Donati and Pietro Pace, with the music of Luigi Battiferri, join together in new compositions even bewildering for that time. This recording marks the debut of the Sacro & Profano group, who on this occasion experimented an extremely innovative approach, taking this opportunity provided by performing music never before played in modern times. This record has been awarded with the "CD Audiofile" by the Italian magazine "Fedeltà del Suono"

The disc, in assembling 17th c. music from the Italina Marche region, seems to have a focus on examples of "cantar lontano" which would be: (note that an explanation was only available on Italian Wikipedia)

"Cantar lontano" is a vocal practice seventeenth century that sees the singers strategically placed in the space of the church , at a distance to each other and to the organ, creating an effect of stereo in the performance of polyphonic music .The first documentation about it is from 1612. On that date printed in Venice was the Treatise of Sacri concentus by Ignazio Donati, in which he describes techniques and methods of execution. The arrangement of the singers and the distance between them and the church organ was to achieve a sound distribution similar to that achieved today with systems stereo or surround. The place and the acoustic properties of the architecture were designed to optimize the sound of the polyphonic and musical instruments. The delay and the echo of the church were carefully designed to allow for the proper performance of the songs, in order to achieve maximum harmony. The singers had to face a great difficulty of performance equally spaced in the choir, were not in visual contact with each other and with perceived delay the sound of the other components.

Q

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Ugghhhh, still frost in the morning, I wish it would go away, and spring would come.....

That said, I returned this morning to this excellent set of Piano trios by Haydn. After the CPO recordings which I enjoyed very much, this set is something else, in fact very much different. A more sober approach, somewhat harsh at times and rigid, but unadorned this set has its pleasures. CD 5 has a added bonus in that a Walter fortepiano copy is used, a soft instruments with a velvety tone, much more friendly to my ears as a Felix Cros, also used in some of the recordings. Overall this is a milder ride in many ways. Mellow is the word.

C minor Hob XV/13
A flat major, Hob XV/14
F major, Hob XV/2
Five arrangements for Piano Trio, Hob XV/39.

[North Star]

Ugghhhh, still frost in the morning, I wish it would go away, and spring would come.....

That said, I returned this morning to this excellent set of Piano trios by Haydn. After the CPO recordings which I enjoyed very much, this set is something else, in fact very much different. A more sober approach, somewhat harsh at times and rigid, but unadorned this set has its pleasures. CD 5 has a added bonus in that a Walter fortepiano copy is used, a soft instruments with a velvety tone, much more friendly to my ears as a Felix Cros, also used in some of the recordings. Overall this is a milder ride in many ways. Mellow is the word.

C minor Hob XV/13
A flat major, Hob XV/14
F major, Hob XV/2
Five arrangements for Piano Trio, Hob XV/39.

Afternoon, Harry!
Frost  That's terrible... -15 ^oC here, and 50 cm of snow   
Ought to be 10 ^oC warmer this time of the year here.

So, I take it you prefer the CPO (Trio 1790) recordings?

Thread duty:
First-listen Friday
Mussorgsky
Khovanshchina
Gergiev & Mariinsky
[asin]B005G4YDTE[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

Wimps! We're enjoying a bracing 19° F. here in Boston

[Karl Henning]

Man, I forgot how much I love this piece (in C). It's making me want to re-visit one of my first classical music loves, Dumbarton Oaks....

Yes, that MTT account of the Symphony in C gleams!