Classical Music Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Current Listening Vol III

3M views 39K replies 442 participants last post by  Krummhorn 
#1 ·
A new thread for the same subject matter.

The previous thread, Current Listening Vol II, has become another huge file, and to prevent any problems we were having in the original Current Listening Vol I thread, we have created this new volume to continue posting.

Krummhorn, :cool:
Administrator
 
#161 ·


Yet another excellent version of Berlioz's beautiful song cycle. If I still marginally prefer Baker with Barbirolli and Giulini, it is because the orchestral response is better in both those versions. Still, Hunt Lieberson is magnificent, her responses to the text so personal, so intimate, so communicative. I prefer her to Crespin, who can often sound earthbound. This version now joins the Baker versions, Steber and De Los Angeles amongst my favourites.

It was recorded live in 1995, as were the Handel items in 1991, a concert of arias written for Durisanti. They too are wonderful examples of her art. In baroque music too, Hunt Lieberson seems to be singing directly to the listener. Her singing reaches out beyond the microphone.

A wonderful memento of a great singer.
 
#162 ·


Yet another excellent version of Berlioz's beautiful song cycle. If I still marginally prefer Baker with Barbirolli and Giulini, it is because the orchestral response is better in both those versions. Still, Hunt Lieberson is magnificent, her responses to the text so personal, so intimate, so communicative. I prefer her to Crespin, who can often sound earthbound. This version now joins the Baker versions, Steber and De Los Angeles amongst my favourites.

It was recorded live in 1995, as were the Handel items in 1991, a concert of arias written for Durisanti. They too are wonderful examples of her art. In baroque music too, Hunt Lieberson seems to be singing directly to the listener. Her singing reaches out beyond the microphone.

A wonderful memento of a great singer.
I have to have it. ;D. . .

Crespin's early sixties endeavor is a bit too emotionally cool for me as well- but I LOVE the silvery timbre of her voice. Her "Absence" from Les Nuits is sublime though- as her temperament works for the introspective longings of the poem.

If Crespin had the temperament and expressivity of Baker, Baker- utterly magnificent as she is- may just be in trouble- but that's in an alternate universe. . .

I look forward to hearing Lieberson's take.
 
#165 ·
Now listening to...

100 Favorites: # 41

Charles Ives: Songs
Jan De Gaetani, Gilbert Kalish (Nonesuch)



From my Charles Ives web site:

"Charles Ives' song legacy presents a unique set of challenges to its interpreters. Ives' songs derive from an enormously wide variety of musical traditions, from the German lied tradition (and European art song in general), to American parlor songs, hymns, and folk tunes. In addition, Ives' own relentless experimentation, which often bore little resemblance to anything that preceded him, led to a body of works that still presents formidable obstacles to any performer, regardless of their background. In short, how many singers are capable of singing like Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau one moment and an authentic Texas cowboy the next? What's even more difficult: Ives' greatest songs typically don't come from any clearly defined performance tradition, so the performer must internalize them and come up with something new, a kind of Ivesian cultural synthesis encompassing almost everything: high and low, new and old, secular and sacred, comical and serious, American and Universal.

Aside from stylistic variety, Ives' songs also call for an enormous range of emotional responses: from mystical meditations on God and Nature to sentimental recollections of days gone by; from sarcastic, bombastic political commentary to the innocent, wide-eyed wonder of a child. The songs' broad emotional spectrum presents yet another challenge to any artist who chooses to perform them.

This [recital by Jan DeGaetani & Gilbert Kalish] is my favorite recording of Ives' songs. It really is a stunning disc in every way. DeGaetani has a completely idiomatic command of Ives' musical language, and she makes the 'impossible' songs sound effortless, even natural. She also has a special way with the strange, otherworldly elements in Ives' music, and she taps into these qualities in his music more convincingly than anyone else. Moreover, Kalish's support is phenomenal. This recording is an excellent introduction to Ives' songs because it demonstrates the broad range of musical styles that Ives employed in the genre, from sentimental remembrances ("The Things Our Fathers Loved") to leaping dissonances ("The Majority"). DeGaetani also marvelously sings my two of very favorite Ives songs on this disc: "The Housatonic at Stockbridge" and "Serenity." This one rates as high as they get."
 
#166 ·
I started the day with Arthur Rubinstein. Why leave good company? He's not going anywhere. He's there playing the Chopin ballades & scherzos (Living Stereo). I might as well mention a book I recently read, called "Play It Again" by the now former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger. It's a prismatic look at Ballade No. 1 which the author attempts to learn and play. It's interesting in that where as we usually hear the experts speaking, this is an amateur's view.
 
#172 ·


Act II love music, what else? ;D- Furtwangler's treatment is pure enchantment. Blanche Theobom's Brangane just slays me every time. I've never heard any other Tristan come close in emotional involvement.
It's easy for a conductor to get caught up in the sheer frenzy of Tristan and lose the romantic tragedy. Furtwangler never loses it. If we had his work in up-to-date sound - if he were around now, in other words - it would throw down the gauntlet for all would-be interpreters of Wagner.
 
#173 ·
Linos Ensemble: Reduction arrangements of Debussy, Webern, Reger, and Schoenberg (Capriccio). I love this! Debussy's Afternoon of a Fawn (1892-4), Webern's Six Pieces Op. 6 (1909), Reger's A Romantic Suite Op. 125 (1912), and Schoenberg's Six Orchestral songs Op. 8 (1904), all in reduced chamber orchestra arrangements. These were done for Schoenberg's short-lived Society for Private Musical Performances founded in late 1918 and lasting only a couple of years, disbanded in early 1921. The recording & playing are top-notch, and the clarity is astounding! You won't even miss the big, bloated versions. Highly recommended.



Also available are Bruckner 7 and Mahler 4 in reduced form.

 
#175 ·
CS In Sync

Does anyone remember Connoisseur Society In-Sync cassettes? They were an audiophile label that issued primarily piano and a few chamber releases. I hadn't listened to any in at least 10, maybe 15 years! So today I dug some out, and wow, what rich, warm piano tone, and virtually no wow and flutter. Today's offerings were Anthony di Bonaventura playing Scarlatti Sonatas and Francisco Aybar playing Granados' "Goyescas." I have around 15 CS tapes and need to revisit all of them.
Oh yes! I only have one, though, of Ruth Laredo playing a couple of Sonatas by Scriabin, and some shorter works. You're right, the sound quality is excellent. The only problem I noticed was that the tape seems to squeal a little bit on fast forward or rewind.
 
#177 ·
Did Someone mention Medtner? Well,.....

Nikolai Medtner
Piano Concerto no. I in C minor, op. 33.*
Piano Quintet in C major, op. posth.**
-Dmitri Alexeev, piano.*
-The BBC Symphony Orchestra/Alexander Lazarev.*
-The New Budapest Quartet.**

Plus,

Reinhold Gliere
Symphony no. III in B Minor "Ilya Muromets", op. 42 (dedicated to Glazunov).
-The BBC Philharmonic/Sir Edward Downes.

Sergei Bortkiewicz
Symphony no. II in E-flat major.
-The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins.

Maximilian Steinberg
Symphony no. II in B-flat minor, op. 8.
Theme et Variations, op. 2.
-The Gothenburg Symphony/Neemi Jarvi.

Boris Tchaikovsky
Piano Sonatas I & II, Pentatonica, Natural Modes, Sonatina.
Eight Pieces for Children.
-Olga Solovieva, piano.

See ya.
:cool:
 
#178 ·
Starring F. Busoni

Ushering Tuesday into being with

Harbison - Symphony No. 2 - Blomstedt and the SF SO

Purple Organism Automotive tire Font Violet


I recall agreeing with Mahlerian a week or so ago regarding the quality of Harbison's compositions, that they were uninspired. Actually, as I think of this, it seems a little arrogant on my part, seeing as I'm not a composer. However, for me at least, there seems to be something missing from his compositions, and this work does not change my opinion. That said, I still think it is an enjoyable work, and would have no problems recommending it to anyone with an interest in mid-20th century American music.

Sessions - Concerto for Orchestra - Ozawa, Boston SO

Amber Font Circle Science Eyelash


which I find to be an impenetrable work. Some people might like it.

Busoni - Piano Concerto in C, Op. 39 - Ohlsson, Dohnanyi ,Cleveland Orchestra

Musical instrument Piano Guitar accessory Musical instrument accessory Electronic instrument


Ah! I remember how excited I was when I first heard this concerto on the radio. I still think there are few grander statements in the piano concerto literature than this!

Zwilich - Piano Trio - Kalichstein/Laredo/Robinson Trio

View attachment 66957

I'm not sure where I got this trio. It was on an old cassette I had. I should have listened to this first, though. After Busoni, everything else just sounds watered down.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top