What are you listening to now?

[Mandryka]

Jos van Immerseel plays keyboards in Antwerp by Joannes Daniel Dulcken, Andreas Ruckers and Joannes Couchet. In fairness the recording is entitled the legacy of Hans Ruckers. The instruments sound fab and the playing is expressive. While it would be unjust to say that Immerseel is academic, I think that what he lacks is a bit of flamboyance. But this is to cavil: it's well executed, beautifully recorded  and wide ranging in terms of repertoire and instruments.

[Obradovic]

If you love Parsifal then you'll like this. And if you ever die, better stay where you are...

[Madiel]

Somehow, K.331 has just never quite done it for me despite its relative fame.

[asin]B00000410Y[/asin]

[not edward]

Henze's Il Vitalino radoppiato is one of the few cases where I'm happy to buy into the composer's desire to write pure parody:

[asin]B00U2OT0SM[/asin]

I'd like to see a commercial recording that plays it less safe, though I understand the limited rehearsal time available for a recording funded by Kickstarter.

[Mirror Image]

I might have to get back to you about that - the above was the first listen to the first piece of his I've heard, and I suspect that as a song-cycle it may not have been typical of his wider body of work. But I'll be investigating further.

Sounds good, Simon.

[André]

Neither qualifies for my favourite interpretation, but they are not far away and as a program it's hard to do better.

[Brian]

A brand-new release of a new Paul Badura-Skoda album, recorded in spring 2015. He's still got it!



The contents: Schubert waltzes and dances, along with Otto Schulhof's Three Polkas After Johann Strauss.

[aligreto]

Locatelli: L'arte del violino Op. 3, Concerto No. 7....

[Todd]

[Mandryka]

More than any other performances of Eton Choirbook music I've heard, including Christophers and Nevel, this from Tonus Peregrinus is the most alive, the one that gives the best impression of singers responding to each other, listening to each other.

[Brian]

Another new (recorded 2014, released this week) recital from the ageless Paul Badura-Skoda. He does make a lot of noise (mumbles, moving around) while he plays.

[Todd]

Another new (recorded 2014, released this week) recital from the ageless Paul Badura-Skoda. He does make a lot of noise (mumbles, moving around) while he plays.

How does he handle the opening movement of the sonata?  D850 is rather challenging.

[SonicMan46]

Weiss, Silvius - Lute Music w/ Jakob Lindberg - Dave

 

[Brian]

How does he handle the opening movement of the sonata?  D850 is rather challenging.

Only listened to D. 946 to be honest. But he does not have world-class technique anymore - more of the enough-to-say-what-he-wants-to-say kind of technique. Looking at track timings, he's 70-90 seconds slower than Endres and most others in the sonata (10:17) and, just checking the first 30 seconds, his repeated chords are not as insistent and commanding as others'. He'll be turning 89 this year...

It was a good D. 946, but non-essential. I'd really love to hear a younger PBS play this music.

[Todd]

I'd really love to hear a younger PBS play this music.

From the 60s/70s for sure.  His earlier complete Schubert isn't what I hoped it would be.

[Brian]

Well, I did discover a 2011 recording. Only 4 years younger, but it's on a late 1820s Conrad Graf fortepiano (my favorite maker) (and Penelope Crawford's).

So...

[listener]

Two new to me discs:
Spanish Symphonies by ARRIAGA, PONS,NONÓ and MORENO
played by the Concerto Kôln
and from Hyperion's Romantic Violin Concerto series more composers new to me
Emil MLYNARSKI   Concertos 1 & 2  and Aleksander ZARZYCKI: Mazurka in G, Intro. & Cracovienne  in D
Eugene Ugorski, violin     BBC Scottish S.O.     'Michal Dworzynski, cond.
both easy listening

[Brian]

Well, I did discover a 2011 recording. Only 4 years younger, but it's on a late 1820s Conrad Graf fortepiano (my favorite maker) (and Penelope Crawford's).

So...

Todd, I don't know if you have this disc, but it's certainly a very good D. 946 (D. 960 is about to start). The most interesting thing for me is how Badura-Skoda chooses to use the "mute pedal". I remember, in our interview, that Crawford said she uses it sparingly and carefully, because once you engage the pedal, it's hard to find a natural place to disengage. PBS takes a much more liberal attitude - he uses it a LOT, often for only 1-2 bars at a time. It feels audacious, but for the most part it works really well and shows me a new perspective on that particular instrumental tool.

[Todd]

Todd, I don't know if you have this disc

I don't have that one, I have the Arcana set.  (I'm assuming they are different.)  Used properly, the moderator pedal can work well.  The application can be very liberal or parsimonious - it's all about how well it works.  PBS has issued a number of interesting looking releases in the past few years.  I'm running low on new Schubert discs . . .


TD:



Disc 1.

[Brian]

BTW this is a 2CD set. There are different performances of D. 960 on an 1820s C. Graf, a 1920s Bosendorfer, and a nows Steinway.

1820s D. 960 - so far, so good. Less profound, more singing/innocent.