What are you listening to now?

[kishnevi]

CD 1

Todd's comments seem very on target so I will merely quote him.
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,24836.msg898467.html#msg898467

The D817 Hungarian Melody gets things off to a good but great start.  Part of the issue is getting used to the sound.  The Brodmann seems to produce no high treble at all.  It produces a dull sound.  However, the closely miked recording also reveals all manner of little details throughout.  But the piece, not my favorite to begin with, never jells.  Things pick up in D894.  The instrument definitely lacks the power or sustain of a modern grand, but Schiff more than period specialists I've heard, manages to play with a good amount of power where needed, and the instrument ends up being more about quiet playing, allowing for all manner of subtlety in the slow movement.  Schiff is just the guy to bring it out.  The Moments Musicaux that end the first disc ends up being the highlight of the set.  The lack of sustain allows Schiff to play some passages with a soft bluntness, lending a darker hue at times, but he also manages to make some of the pieces sound quite lyrical, despite the instrument. 

[king ubu]

@HIPster: that one's just arrived on my piles as well - good?

Here, a new arrival as well:

[asin]B00V6AH13C[/asin]
First impression. this is great!

[Moonfish]

Always liked Elgar's VC.  This recording makes me love it beyond reason!  Some critics fault Hahn here for her "coolness."  I call it melancholic resignation.

[asin]B0002CX4Q8[/asin]

+1
One of my favorite Elgar VC recordings! Hahn is a fantastic violinist! 

[Moonfish]

Sibelius:
Symphony No. 3

Wiener Philharmoniker/Maazel

Such a contrast between the 3rd and the 4th symphonies! Personally, I favor the darker 4th!

[asin] B0000041Z3[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

Now beginning my traversal into Saraste's Sibelius symphonic cycle (w/ other works):



Listening to Serenade No. 2, Op. 69b. Sounds great. Next up: Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39.

[Brian]

@HIPster: that one's just arrived on my piles as well - good?

Here, a new arrival as well:

[asin]B00V6AH13C[/asin]
First impression. this is great!

I just listened to this for the second time - it is indeed great!

Another new release, now:

[Brian]

Berlioz + Munch!

[aligreto]

Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé....

[king ubu]

another new arrival:

[asin]B004GX91RK[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

Now:



Now onto Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105. Really enjoyed Saraste's performance of the 1st and this one sounds equally as good so far.

[HIPster]

Playing a new arrival~
[asin]B000067FFV[/asin]

@HIPster: that one's just arrived on my piles as well - good?

Here, a new arrival as well:

[asin]B00V6AH13C[/asin]
First impression. this is great!

Yes, first impression is very favorable.

That Haydn looks like a winner.

[king ubu]

last one for today - and yet one more new arrival:

[asin]B00K1Q3V4U[/asin]

[Wakefield]

Very far of my comfort zone, this has been a delight:

[aligreto]

Szymanowsky: Symphonies 2 & 3 / Dorati....

[listener]

SIBELIUS:   Symphony no, 7    Tapiola    The Oceanides     Pelléas et Mélisande Suite
Royal Philharmonic Orch   Beecham, cond.
fabulous collection and performanes
and sort of related, Romantic Swedish Organ Music
by Otto Olsson, Gustav Hågg, Vaino Haapalainen, Emil Sjøgren and Oskar Lindberg
Dick Klomp, Åkerman and Lund organ of the Kristine Kirche in Jünköping, Sweden (1912)

[Moonfish]

Elgar: Symphony No 1          London PO/Boult

I needed some ear candy  (I heard one too many French symphonies this afternoon..)
A fantastic, lyrical and detailed performance. Love it!

[asin] B000PGTIBQ[/asin]

[Mirror Image]

Continuing on with Saraste's Sibelius on the Finlandia label:



Listening to Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43. Sounds great so far.

[Moonfish]

Brahms: Piano Concerto No 1         Zimerman/Wiener Philharmoniker/Bernstein

First time I heard this recording I was not too excited. However, this time around I found a greater appreciation for Zimerman's performance. Something seems lacking from the WP though - a lack of energy? The orchestra and Zimerman do not seem to harmonize very well.

[kishnevi]

Short opera night

Comes in at almost exactly 90 minutes with two acts of 45 minutes each.  Original version was a one act opera,  but this is the third and final version.  Thelibrettist was Albeniz's main benefactor, Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, which is why a Spanish composer wrote an opera based on a novel by Juan Valera to an English language text, which was translated into Italian for its première in Barcelona. (The recording is in English.). Makes no real difference, since the music is better than the libretto.

[Ken B]

Very far of my comfort zone, this has been a delight:

His symphony on Naxos, I think 3, is dull.