What are you listening to now?

[Harry]

My opinion is, that this is a must buy CD, that good it is!

http://walboi.blogspot.nl/2015/02/new-acquisitionrenaissance-am-rhein.html?spref=tw

[Mandryka]

Gustav Leonhardt's 1973 recording of music by Forqueray. Party time. He's chilling out and having fun with a few Forqueray tunes. Very infectious, joyful and full of good will and ultimately a bit triv.

What a contrast with his third Forqueray recording. When you hear both you see why he called his final commercial CD   "Bliss and Pain." Suddenly everything is much more complex at the level of feeling - much more like a mixture of . . .  bliss and pain. And IMO there's no loss of abandon or of humanity or of the sense of the sheer joy in making music in the later recording, which is no doubt helped by the Hemsch.

I haven't heard the Duphly yet.

[ritter]

In my car's CD player:

[Harry]

Top recommendation!

http://walboi.blogspot.nl/2015/02/new-acquisition-bruhns-nicolaus-c1665.html?spref=tw

[Harry]

Some more Gal today......................

http://walboi.blogspot.nl/2015/02/new-acquisition-gal-hans-1890-1987-four.html?spref=tw

[Harry]

Some music to end the afternoon:)

http://walboi.blogspot.nl/2015/02/nichelmann-christoph-harpsichord_84.html?spref=tw

[SonicMan46]

Dave,
I think you will enjoy this clip:

Thanks Peter for the clip on the Lendvai String Trio - did add a much more personal touch to the group; and BTW, their Beethoven String Trio performances are excellent (I'd have to agree w/ the BBC assessment that I linked previously).  Dave

[Mirror Image]

Sibelius: Symphonies Nos 4 & 5            Berliner Philharmoniker/Karajan

from
[asin] B00JDB4BS4[/asin]

How are these performances, Peter? How do they compare with his DG ones? I've always loved the ones on DG, but haven't heard a note from the ones you're listening to on EMI.

[North Star]

Elgar
Violin Sonata Op. 82
Piano Quintet Op. 84
The Nash Ensemble

[asin]B000TF3TRM[/asin]

[RebLem]

Since my last report, I have been listening to the following:

Volume 9 of the 10 CD set of Shostakovich Symphonies by Oleg Caetani and Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, both recorded @ the Auditorium di Milano, July, 2005.

Tr. 1-4.....Sym. 12 in D Minor, Op. 112 "The Year 1917" (1961) (35:04)

Tr. 5-7.....Sym. 2 in B Major, Op. 14 (1927) (16:56)--Coro di Milano Giuseppe Verdi.

These two works are among Shostakovich's agitprop ouvre, and fine examples of that genre they certainly are, and nowhere better performed or in better sound than here. These works rumble and shake the floors and actually make these two works exciting, even though the 12th, at least, is not much more than socialist realist boilerplate. Highly recommended for both performance and sound, though perhaps not for the quality of the works, esp. the 12th.


Vol. 33 of the RCA Complete Toscanini set, NBC Sym Orch, devoted to music of Hector Berlioz:

Tr, 1-4.....Harold en Italie, Op. 16 (42:02)--Carlton Cooley, solo vioist, rec. CH, 29 NOV 1953, and @ a rehearsal the day before.

Tr. 5-9.....Romeo et Juliette, Op. 17, Part II excerpts (26:45)--rec. CH, 17 FEB 1947.

This CD has all the trademarks of the Toscanini style--orchestral precision, sharp climaxes, and plenty of energy and without the deadness of the Studio 8H recordings, since these works were recorded in Carnegie Hall. Highly recommended.

[Moonfish]

How are these performances, Peter? How do they compare with his DG ones? I've always loved the ones on DG, but haven't heard a note from the ones you're listening to on EMI.

I enjoy the DG ones as well. Comparatively they are similar, i.e. a huge scale version of the 4th and 5th. If I recall correctly the sound is perhaps a bit more defined and richer in these renditions from the mid 70s. At first I was a bit apprehensive (not sure what I was expecting), but I quickly allowed myself to listen to the many details that came forward.  I was a bit surprised at how well defined the strings were. You know the sections when the orchestra is almost quiet and the strings pulse softly in an ebb and flow? The details were exquisite. The 3rd movement of the 5th was beautiful in this recordings.  It sounded a bit different than I was used to, but I thought it was very well done. It completely absorbed all my attention and only the soundscape of the 5th existed.  Now I am looking forward to listening to Karajan's early EMI version (remastered by Warner). 

[André]

Violin concertos from the Soviet Era: Nikolai RAKOV, Otar TAKTAKISHVILI and Balys DVARIONAS. I think the first one is a masterpiece. It helps that the players are Oleg Kagan and Neeme Järvi.

[SonicMan46]

For the morning - sunny, blue skies, and no snow on the ground in Piedmont North Carolina - Dave

Bach, CPE - Chamber Works by the performers below on the cover art - all period instruments.

   

[springrite]

Virgil Thompson: The Filling Station

[Karl Henning]

Pump it up!

[Mandryka]

Mario Raskin plays Forqueray. This is totally Trash in a good way, the way that Gilbert and George are Trash and Jeff Koons is Trash and Tracy Emin's installations are Trash. The use of "bad taste" to shock - that's what Mario Raskin does with Forqueray. There are times when listening I'm reminded of gypsy violins, of crooners, of anthemic rock music, of heavy metal, of The Rat Pack, of Queen, of Abba.

It's quite astonishing the colours, the weird noises, the musical sequins and cubic zirconia costume jewellery, that Mario Raskin gets out of his harpsichord. Anyone who thinks that the harpsichord is limited timbre-wise is proved wrong by this display of kitsch and schmaltz. And the basic musicality of the performer just can't be questioned, it's so much in evidence by his swing. If this guy plays Scarlatti, watch out.

This is a wonderful CD. Every home should have one.

[Ken B]

Virgil Thompson: The Filling Station

Pump it up!

+1 each

[Brian]

This thread's on page 2015 in the year 2015. 

First Listen Fwensday:

[listener]

THALBERG - opera fantasias for piano duet
Euryanthe, La Donna del lago, Mosé, I Capuleti ed i Montecchi, Beatrice di Tenda
Monika Egri and Attila Pertis, pianists
- one of those discs it's fun to put on without looking at the label so you can be surprised at the familiarity of some of the times and mystified because you can't name them
Organ Fireworks from New Zealand:  WAGNER arr. Lemare Die Meisrtersinger Overture, LEMARE: Concertstück no.1 op. 80, Tuba Tunes by COCKER and LANG, ELGAR Organ Sonata  SPICER`: Kiwi Fireworks Variations on ' God Defend New Zealand' + HOLLINS and SUMSION
Christopher Herrick, organ of Wellington Town Hall
And RACHMANINOFF works for cello and piano (Sonata and short pieces)
Alexander Ivashkin, cello    Rustem Hayroudinoff, piano

[North Star]

Ives
Hampson
SFSO
Tilson Thomas
[asin]B00005UED6[/asin]