[Malx]

Ligeti, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra / Concerto for Violincello and Orchestra - Pierre-Laurent Aimard / Jean-Guihen Queyras, Ensemble InterContemporain, Pierre Boulez.

My first post on the new thread features works by a composer who has an anniversary in 2023 - György Ligeti.

 

[Malx]

J S Bach, Violin Concerto BWV 1041, Double Violin Concerto BWV 1043*, Orchestral Suite No 2 BWV 1067 plus various shorter pieces - Isabelle Faust, Bernhard Frock*, Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin.

CD 2 of this set - fabulous, infectious music making.

 

[Malx]

Mahler, Symphony No 2 'Resurrection' - Yvonne Kenny, Jard van Nes, London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, Klaus Tennstedt.

A live recording that like so many is a record of an event not just a period of time spent in the studio.
Tennstedt by the time this was recorded was suffering with cancer which perhaps influenced his approach to the concert. The tempos are slow but never seem laboured, it seems to me the orchestra are at one with his vision - after all they had played Mahler with this conductor on many previous occasions.
If you are looking for a safe library recording this is not the one to go for, if, like me, you like the idea of recordings that can show different elements and approaches to the interpretation of a work then I consider this indispensible.

If I had a few words to try and describe the performance, tonight they would be - intense, at times dark yet loving.

 

[Malx]

Final music of 2022:
Sibelius, Symphony No 4 - Oslo Phiharmonic, Klaus Mäkelä.

 

[Malx]

My first classical music listening of the year is two fifth symphonies from relatively recent recordings.

Sibelius, Symphony No 5 - Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Mäkelä.
Vaughan Williams, Symphony No 5 - BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins.

Both in fine sound and both played to a very high standard.

 

[Malx]

Two twentieth century violin 'concertos' of very different styles.
Bernstein, Serenade for violin, strings, harp & percussion - Hilary Hahn, Baltiomore Symphony Orchestra, David Zinman.
Ligeti, Violin Concerto - Saschko Gawriloff, Ensemble InterContemporian, Pierre Boulez.

I'm not a great fan of much of Bernstein's output as a composer but this piece is a notable exception, especially when given such fine advocacy as on this recording. The work was composed in the 1950's the first performance being given by Isaac Stern in 1954.
The Ligeti composed in the early 1990's is a different beast and one I'm just getting to know. In this anniversary year I suspect, or hope, some new recordings may appear.

 

[Malx]

Faint praise I know, but I enjoyed having this disc on in the background while doing some long overdue tidying up of the room I do a lot of my listening in.
Music in the Time of Velazquez - Ensemble La Romanesca, José Miguel Moreno.

Short pieces by the composers listed below - what is definitely worthy of note is the fabulous sound quality of Glossa's recording.
Composers

• Duron, Sebastián (1660-1716)
• Guerau, Francisco (1649–1721)
• Hidalgo, Juan (1614-85)
• Marín, José (1618–99)
• Martin y Coll, Antonio (c.1660–c.1734)
• Ribayaz, Lucas Ruis (1626–67)
• Ruiz de Ribayaz, Lucas (c.1626–c.1677)
• Salaverde, Bartolomé de Selma y (c.1595–c.1640)
• Sanz, Gaspar (1640–1710)

 

[Malx]

I'll get round to the quartet of the week soon, but this afternoon I was in the mood for something from Max.
Maxwell Davies, String (Naxos) Quartet No 6 - Maggini Quartet.

This year I will spend sometime with these quartets on first listen some seem a bit thorny but they are definitely growing on me.

 

[Malx]

Brahms, Six Piano Pieces Op 118 & Four Piano Pieces Op 119 - Murray Perahia.

I'm no expert on Brahms' piano music but this sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Malx]

Last music of the day.
Bruckner, Symphony No 4 - Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen.

I keep coming back to this Bruckner 4 - not one of the more regularly recommended recordings but I enjoy it.

 

[Malx]

In keeping with my stated aim to play more of the items tucked away in corners of the collection
Bruch, Violin Concerto No 1 / Schubert Rondo for Violin and Strings D438 / Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor - Nigel Kennedy, English Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate.

Enfant terrible he may have been to many of the CM establishment but he was pretty handy with a violin. I haven't played this disc for probably over 10 years - my loss.
Plus his team beat Spurs the other day - so why not celebrate their success.

 

[Malx]

Mozart, Piano Concerto No 23 - Wilhelm Kempff, Bamberger Symphoniker, Ferdinand Leitner.

Understated elegance.

 

[Malx]

Having just returned from the town centre I turned on the radio (good old FM tuner) and had the good luck to time it just as a recording of a concert from the Verbrier Festival had started:

Shostakovich, String Quartet No 8 - Quatuor Ebène.

There are some chamber music gems to be heard on the BBC Radio 3 lunch time concert series - I'm fairly certain this and many others will available to stream on the iPlayer.

 

[Malx]

Sticking with the older residents of my shelves.
Rachmaninov, Symphony No 2 - London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn.

Bought around the turn of the century based largely on recommendation from the old Penguin Guide.

 

[Malx]

Shostakovich, Symphony No 7 - St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy.

A very good Shostakovich 7 that I don't hear much reference to these days which concludes with fittingly thunderous timpani and brass.

The disc starts with a 54 sec piece of audio of Shostakovich broadcasting from Leningrad in 1941:

' An hour ago, I finished the score of two parts of a large symphonic composition. If I succeed in writing this composition well, if I succeed in completing the third and fourth parts, then it will be possible to call this composition the seventh symphony.
Why do I announce this? So that the radio listeners who are listening to me now will know that life of our city goes on as normal.
We are all now doing our military duty. Soviet musicians, my dear and numorous brothers-in-arms, my friends! Remember that our art is now in great danger. Let us defend our music, let us work honestly and selflessly!'
(Quote from CD booklet)

 

[Malx]

The final 'Oldie but Goldie' recording from the shelves and the third Russian composer of the day.
Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No 1 - Martha Argerich, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado.

I don't think this classic live recording requires any introduction from me.

 

[Malx]

Messiaen, Theme and Variations* / Ravel, Violin Sonata* / Mark Grey, San Andreas Suite - Leila Josefowicz (violin), John Novacek (piano)*.

A two disc set I picked up for next to nothing, which mixes the familiar with some modern works - another of those discs that should be listened to more often. Every piece is played with bundles of skill and passion.

I seem to recall someone posting this a number of weeks ago or is my memory playing tricks on me, again!

 

[Malx]

Wonderful! But all these standing orchestras? What gives?

I would reckon the knees first

 

[Malx]

R Schumann, Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 - Jonathan Biss.

Still playing those discs often passed by when selections for listening are made. This album was the debut recording of Jonathan Biss.

Edited to add new Image as the original one I posted with EMI label appears to have been unsuitable for some reason

 

[Malx]

Saved from my neighbours bin .

So many questions formed in my mind when I read that !