What were you listening to? (CLOSED)

[wintersway]

Good morning/day to all!

[Harry]

Charles Jenner.(1865-1920)

Trio for Clarinet, Horn and Piano, in E flat major.

Sonate opus 5 in G major, for Clarinet, and Piano.

Martin Litschgi, Clarinet.
Nadja Helbie, Horn.
Iryna Krasnovska, Piano.

This very gifted composer, was the only pupil Brahms ever had, and he was confident about his qualities as a composer. It must be said that the admiration Jenner had for Brahms is clearly discernable in his music.
Not to say that he copied Brahms, but meant rather as a compliment for Jenner, for these two works of him on this cd are very good, well written, with a genuine feel for fine melodies, with the added Brahmsian warmth, culminating into very listenable music, that deserves repeated hearings, and a place in concert performance. The fact that he is totally forgotten he shares with many a composer, but in my view that should not be.
The Trio is a work that will delight you on first hearing, for it has all the ingredients that makes out Jenner, and is a good starting point, when you are interested in this man.
The playing is really exemplary with a special nudge to the Horn player, she is very good, and has a fine tone to match her very agile playing. Excellent it is.
Recommended.

[Harry]

Joachim Raff.

Symphony No. 7 opus 201, in B flat major.
"In the Alps".

Jubel Overture opus 103.

Philharmonia Hungarica/Werner Andreas Albert.

These recordings date back to 1991, and all in all its a very good recording by the PH. Albert must have trained them well, for as I hear it, they thoroughly understand the idiom of this composer. Hearing the many felicitous details Raff has written into this Symphony, is a source of constant amazement to me. For this work is a very intellectual and spiritual satisfying experience, that will be repeated many times. Out of the concerthalls for well over 100 years, Raff had the luck that his native country remembered the excellent depiction of their homeland in this composition and thus reinstated it back to the concerthall. And it must be said that Raff succeeded at least in my ears admirable in the task that was before him. For many a fine melody comes to your ears with a ease that is stunning at times. May we hope that CPO will release the complete set of his symphonies one day, for they are all recorded some time ago. If this recording is the milestone to go by, we may be in for a treat. Apart from the horns in the first movement that sound a tad overbearing in the crescendi, this cd gives a huge array of details to be savoured.
The sound in general is excellent.

[karlhenning]

Yes, this is a lovely one!

Listening now to Act III.

Good morning, all!

[Bogey]

Earlier on the radio:

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov: Mlada: Suite
Scottish National Orchestra / Neeme Jarvi
Chandos

I really ought to have this piece on the shelf.

Now:

Richard Strauss Die Frau Ohne Schatten Suite
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Doráti
London

Good morning.

[Harry]

Goodmorning, Bill, hope you did not mind me answering this posting, I was up earlier!

[Bogey]

Goodmorning, Bill, hope you did not mind me answering this posting, I was up earlier!

Not at all.  Your comment was "money". 

[Harry]

Joseph Haydn.

Complete Masses.

Missa Sancti Bernardi von Offida.
"Heiligmesse".

Lorna Anderson, Soprano.
Pamela Helen Stephen, Mezzo.
Stephen Varcoe Bass.
Mark Padmore, Tenor.
Collegium Musicum 90/Richard Hickox.

This is by far the best recorded cd in this series of 8 cd's. Recorded in the Blackheath Concert Halls London, it reveals itself by a rather hard tone when crecendi's come in, it gets a metallic top, that is unpleasant to say the least. This cd, No. 6 is recorded in 2000, and clearly Ralph Couzens made a better job of the later recordings than the earlier ones. Since this Mass is devoid of to much solo singing by the soprano, it was a relaxing journey through one of the most beautiful masses Haydn wrote. Since Anderson was embedded in the soloist team, the fact that she vibrated quite a bit was more or less covered by the better halves of the quartet. Its really a outstanding piece of work.
I will however purchase the Weil recordings which Que advised, as a sort of a antidote to this verbal violence of the soprano's.

[Harry]

Haydn.

Complete Masses.

CD 6.

Missa Sancti Nicolai in G major.
"Nikolai Messe".

Same soloists as above, and that comment is valid for this Mass also.

[hautbois]

Joachim Raff.

Symphony No. 7 opus 201, in B flat major.
"In the Alps".

Jubel Overture opus 103.

Philharmonia Hungarica/Werner Andreas Albert.

These recordings date back to 1991, and all in all its a very good recording by the PH. Albert must have trained them well, for as I hear it, they thoroughly understand the idiom of this composer. Hearing the many felicitous details Raff has written into this Symphony, is a source of constant amazement to me. For this work is a very intellectual and spiritual satisfying experience, that will be repeated many times. Out of the concerthalls for well over 100 years, Raff had the luck that his native country remembered the excellent depiction of their homeland in this composition and thus reinstated it back to the concerthall. And it must be said that Raff succeeded at least in my ears admirable in the task that was before him. For many a fine melody comes to your ears with a ease that is stunning at times. May we hope that CPO will release the complete set of his symphonies one day, for they are all recorded some time ago. If this recording is the milestone to go by, we may be in for a treat. Apart from the horns in the first movement that sound a tad overbearing in the crescendi, this cd gives a huge array of details to be savoured.
The sound in general is excellent.

Harry, do you know whether Raff's Sinfonietta for winds has ever been recorded?

Howard

[Hector]

Pettersson's Symphony No. 12.

No wonder it took CPO so long to get around to recording this because, despite the efforts of Manfred Honeck and his Swedish forces, it's tosh, or should that be Tosh?

Give me something like Koechlin's Le Docteur Fabriticus any day of the week. Well, today, actually. Part of the Holliger cycle of Koechlin orchestral works.

Anticipates Messiaen. Oh dear, that's put many off

Here's the good news: the VPO are at the Proms tonight!

Here's the bad news: they are conducted by Barenboim.

Perhaps they'll ignore him.

[The new erato]

P

Anticipates Messiaen. Oh dear, that's put many off

You are so right. As I've noted in another thread, Messiaen got a whole lot of his orchestral bag of tricks from late Koechlin, only Koechlin put them to better use IMHO.

[karlhenning]

Quite. The infinitely more deserving soul of Mother Theresa left this earth the week after Princess Di? Where is her monument? She lived among the sick and the needy, whereas Di merely patronised charities aimed at supporting them (and scored photo opportunities into the bargain). Both worthy causes, but I know for whom I have the greater and deeper respect.

Like a Candle In the Wind

There was the original, handwritten version of the speech her brother, Charles, gave at her funeral -- framed behind glass and lit as if it were the Magna Carta.

I don't begrudge her borrowing Magna Carta here 

[Harry]

Harry, do you know whether Raff's Sinfonietta for winds has ever been recorded?

Howard

Not that I am aware of my friend, alas.

[Harry]

Friedrich Witt. (1770-1836)

Symphony No. 6 in A minor!.
"Sinfonie Turque".

No. 9 in D minor.

Flute Concerto in G major.

Susanne Barner, Flute.
Hamburger Symphoniker/Johannes Moesus.

Recorded in 2004, this is one in a series with this Orchestra, and that is a tad sad, and at the same time pleasure. Sad because this Orchestra is not up to a certain standard, that would make the music sparkle. I have, I might add, several cd's with this ensemble, and I detect a pattern in it, almost there, but not quite. That may have to do with the conductor who knows. A pleasure, because they unearth many a unknown composer, that has lain dormant for to long, and undeservingly so.
So a divided situation. That said, the recording is a bit boomy, not much but enough to make the impact of the orchestra too big, it plays simply to loud, or sounds too big. Intimacy goes down the drain at times.
The music is extremely original and invigorating, with many a fine melody , and fine string writing. The Flute concerto is a gem, and Barner plays it with much charm, and virtuosity. But again she is forwardly placed, and that leads to ugly sounds, and a nasty tone. That however is the engineers fault, he goes by the name of Friedrich Wilhelm Rodding, yes you read it right, that's the man. The tempi are all well judged, so in that Moesus really gets his fingers behind the workings of the orchestra.
I would however not miss it for the world, for all complaints aside, the music gives great joy.
Recommended with certain caution.

[Valentino]

Beethoven: Archduke trio. Ashkenazy-Perlman-Harrell.

Possibly the worst cover picture ever on this 4cd full price box. EMI were good at that in the eighties. But the music making is great!

[orbital]

[Harry]

Kurt Well.

SQ in B minor. (1918)

Leipziger Streichquartett

Ever a admirer of the music by Weill, this excellent composition reminds me of the fact that he is not that often played or recorded. His music has that something special, rarely found, but present in abundance in his works. It is what I call some sort of pleasant unbalance in thought and style of composition, very much in attendance in the second movement, "In Heimlich erzahlendern Ton" Allegro ma non troppo. It grips me by the throat, every time I hear it. The performance is not to be bettered, infact its probably the best around, and the sound is simply stunning.

[Harry]

Kurt Weill.

SQ opus 8.

Leipziger Streichquartet

This SQ is even more eerie, in its writing, but how brilliantly scored it is especially in the last movement, that gives me shivers down my back. In some ways he makes me think of Gideon Klein that perished in the concentration camp. The same sort of wayward style, and rhythmic precision.

[rubio]

Shostakovich String Quartets No. 7, 8 and 10 by the Beethoven Quartet. This music really hits some strings in me. It could be some aspects of my emotional life, but I don't think I normally feel like this . The transfers are good. I haven't heard the complete Doremi set, but the Melodiya transfers are recommended!