What are you listening to now?

[Karl Henning]

Brian: Symphony No. 8
Royal Liverpool PO/Groves

Nielsen: Symphony No. 4 ('The Inextinguishable')
Danish National SO/Schonwandt

I need to revisit both of these . . . .

[Brian]

I need to revisit both of these . . . .

Indeed

*adds Brian's Eighth to today's listening*

[Marsch MacFiercesome]

By the way, Blair, do you know Svetlanov's performances of Rach's The Bells and Symphony No. 2 on the ICA Classics label? Monkey Greg turned me onto these many nights ago when I saw him post about purchasing them. I, too, bought them and listened to some of The Bells via Spotify and OMG! Sizzling performance from what I could tell (haven't heard the whole performance yet).

Yes I do, John. I have both.

Svetlanov's earlier endeavor Rachmaninov's Second Symphony on Melodiya has slightly more vibrantly-intoned and blended strings to my ears- though of course the recorded sound is much flatter and more brittle sounding than Svetlanov's Canyon Classics re-recording- which is the one I listen to more often.

I like Svetlanov's Bells, but I love the phrasing, overall interpretation, and recording quality of the Ashkenazy/Concertgebouw Bells the best- and the same goes for Ashkenazy's Symphonic Dances vis a vis Svetlanov's Symphonic Dances for that matter.

- and I'm a Svetlanov 'fan'- Ha.  Ha.  Ha.  Ha. 

[Rinaldo]

Evening listen:

[asin]B000005BZT[/asin]

[Brian]

Mookafalakas made me do it:

[SonicMan46]

Cambini, Giuseppe (1746-1825) - Oboe Quartets w/ the period instrument group Sans Souci Ensemble - just have two other discs of this prolific composer (see the attached PDF, plus a brief quote below) - String Quintets & Flute Trios - the oboe used is a reproduction by A. Poncho, 1999 after one by J. Denner, ca. 1730 - Dave

Cambini's over 600 purely instrumental works (including 149 string quartets, 114 string quintets, nine symphonies orchestras of various sizes, and well over 100 trios for various instruments) were quite successful during his day.

[aligreto]

Mozart: Die Zauberflöte [Böhm]....

[Marsch MacFiercesome]

The best Rach 2nd I've heard?  Very, very possible. If the final 2 minutes of their performance doesn't give you chills then you might want to check your pulse. Plus the excitement of being live is very evident.

^ I've 'got to' hear that Svetlanov/Rachmaninov Second with the Philharmonia!

I never even knew of its existence!!!

Does Svetlanov play the ending of it a la Strauss- you know: like its Ein Heldenleben on that Philharmonia performance?- because he sure does on his digital recording of it from the nineties with the Orchestra of the Russian Federation.

[Tsaraslondon]

CD number fifteen:



Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as innocence and light.



Ludwig as intriguing darkness.

They yin and yang beautifully.

Chiaroscuro Wagner that I can 'believe' in.

Elsa and Ortud never sounded so dramatically perfect to me anywhere.

Disc 15 in this set is a particular favourite of mine too. Schwarzkopf and Ludwig superbly contrasted as Elsa and Ortrud, but Schwarzkopf is also the perfect Elisabeth and Agathe, though I don't think she ever sang either role on stage.

[listener]

My Sennheiser 598's arrived this morning, first workouts are with these:
MESSIAEN: Dieu parmi nous, FRANCK: Final in B^b op. 21,  DUPRÉ P&F in g op. 7/3, BACH: P&F in C BWV.545 and 8 chorale preludes and WIDOR Adagio from the Symphony no.6
Michael Murray. Ruffati organ in Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco
BRAHMS: Symphony  no.1  SCHUMANN: Faust Overture   EISLER: Kleine Sinfonie
BBC Scottish S.O.,  Ilan Volkov, cond.

[SonicMan46]

Dave, I would appreciate a few pointers on a few Fasch highlights!    I haven't quite got into his music yet...

Hi Que - Johann Fasch (1688-1758) - German Baroque w/ dates similar to Handel - wrote a lot of vocal music (most lost apparently) and much instrumental music - Orchestral Suites, Concertos, Symphonies, & Chamber Works (list HERE) w/ a LOT of winds used.  At present, I own the 10 CDs shown below (not sure at the moment 'how much' overlap there may be?) - virtually all of these are period performances - recommendations?  I really enjoy all of these discs, but the Accent ones w/ Il Gardellino are excellent; the Overtures/Symphonies w/ Rémy are also outstanding for a 'bigger band' - Dave

P.S. Click for a much larger image!

[Karl Henning]

. . . you might want to check your pulse . . . .

A statement more rhetorical than medical 

[SonicMan46]

A couple of new arrivals today prompted by Jerry Dubins recommendations (see attached PDF, if interested):

Godard, Benjamin (dates below and short bio) - String Quartets & Piano Trios - my first discs of this short-lived French Romantic composer and violinist - rave review by Dubins on the string quartet disc in the Nov-Dec issue of Fanfare - listening now and would have to agree - he was more elusive about the piano trios performances, but how can one go wrong w/ the Trio Parnassus on MDG - I shall see (i.e. hear) shortly?  Dave

Benjamin Louis Paul Godard (1849 – 1895) was a French violinist and Romantic-era composer of Jewish extraction. Godard composed six operas, five symphonies, two piano and two violin concertos, string quartets, sonatas for violin and piano, piano pieces and etudes, and more than a hundred songs. He died at the age of 45 in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes) of tuberculosis and was buried in the family tomb in Taverny in the French department of Val-d'Oise (Source).

 

[Que]

Hi Que - Johann Fasch (1688-1758) - German Baroque w/ dates similar to Handel - wrote a lot of vocal music (most lost apparently) and much instrumental music - Orchestral Suites, Concertos, Symphonies, & Chamber Works (list HERE) w/ a LOT of winds used.  At present, I own the 10 CDs shown below (not sure at the moment 'how much' overlap there may be?) - virtually all of these are period performances - recommendations?  I really enjoy all of these discs, but the Accent ones w/ Il Gardellino are excellent; the Overtures/Symphonies w/ Rémy are also outstanding for a 'bigger band' - Dave

Much obliged, Dave! 

Q

[Brian]

Mookafalakas made me do it:

The Schubert disc is good, sometimes very good. What it's missing is a hushed otherworldliness to the second piece D. 946 and the third impromptu D. 899 - an extra layer of poetry that comes from Schubert being so far out at the edge of the emotional universe.

The Scriabin disc is also good, but it ends with 15 minutes of absolute capital-G Greatness, an incredibly well-articulated, eerie, unsettling Sonata No. 9 + an etude encore (Op. 8 No. 12) that's just absolutely riveting, the best performance I've ever heard - sorry Horowitz, Richter, Sudbin, and Perrotta.

Only 10 minutes into the Chopin disc now. Lankova starts with one of my bottom-5 Chopin pieces, the Fantasy-Impromptu, but I'm looking forward to hearing the rest. Very moody Ballade No. 1, so far.

Would rate the Schubert good for Schubert-heads, and the Scriabin borderline essential.

[Marsch MacFiercesome]

Disc 15 in this set is a particular favourite of mine too. Schwarzkopf and Ludwig superbly contrasted as Elsa and Ortrud, but Schwarzkopf is also the perfect Elisabeth and Agathe, though I don't think she ever sang either role on stage.

As much as I love the sounds of silvery-finessing innocence that Elisabeth Grummer brings to the table in doing those roles, Schwarzkopf is still my absolute Force Majeure as Elisabeth and Agathe.

Every syllable she utters resonates with nuanced emotion.

[Mandryka]

Ely Cathedral Choir sing Christopher Tye's Western Wind mass. It was recorded in Ely Cathedral, where the composer worked and so I guess it was the location of early performances.The building is particularly reverberant, hence they have slowed down the music, as, I suppose, Tye would have had to have done if he performed it with a similar choir.

[North Star]

I was revisiting this exquisite music just a week-ish ago.

Exquisite is right.

Thread duty
Test-drive Tuesday

Rakhmaninov
Trios élégiaque nos. 1 & 2
Beaux Arts Trio
[asin]B00KZ73VDG[/asin]

[The new erato]

Hi Que - Johann Fasch (1688-1758) - German Baroque w/ dates similar to Handel - wrote a lot of vocal music (most lost apparently) and much instrumental music - Orchestral Suites, Concertos, Symphonies, & Chamber Works (list HERE) w/ a LOT of winds used.  At present, I own the 10 CDs shown below (not sure at the moment 'how much' overlap there may be?) - virtually all of these are period performances - recommendations?  I really enjoy all of these discs, but the Accent ones w/ Il Gardellino are excellent; the Overtures/Symphonies w/ Rémy are also outstanding for a 'bigger band' - Dave

P.S. Click for a much larger image!

The Dombrecht disc is an all time favorite of mine. Some of the funkiest wind playing this side of Count Basie!

[Que]

The Dombrecht disc is an all time favorite of mine. Some of the funkiest wind playing this side of Count Basie!

Noted, thanks! 

Q