The what are you listening to thread?

[Joy]

Listening to The Moonlight Sonata on NPR radio performed by Alfred Brendel. Beautiful. They also played a portion of the 1st movement performed by Glenn Gould to give you a comparison of the contrast between tempos and Gould was much too fast. I perfer it played more slowly.

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Gurn Blanston]

LvB Notturno for Viola & Piano Op 42. Absolutely splendid.
Gurn

[Peter]

Over the last few days I've listened to Debussy 'La Mer' (what an astonishing piece!) and all the late Beethoven sonatas (Brendel) except Op.110. I've also listened to Op.2 (John Lill)

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'Man know thyself'

[spaceray]

...on the radio Sergi Prokofiev string quartet did she say opus 22?

[Gurn Blanston]

Antonin Dvorak - Concerto in A major for Cello & Orchestra #1 WoO - A rarity!
Regards, Gurn

[Chaszz]

Tonight I heard on the radio Brahms' Symphony No. 3 conducted by Seiji Ozawa. This is my favorite Brahms symphony, but the interpretation was so poor that I had to finally turn the radio off. It was false, flabby and flatulent. The faking of emotion was very apparent, leading to a performance of excessive simulated sweetness and no rhythmic structure whatever. A friend of mine says that Ozawa only spent all those years in Boston because Sony, a major contributor, wanted him there. They finally managed to ease him out recently. If this performance is any guide, it is no wonder they wanted him gone.



[This message has been edited by Chaszz (edited May 22, 2003).]

[spaceray]

Seiji Ozawa was the conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra when I was a teenager ,I saw him perform many times at Massey Hall.
He was incredible and the sounds he could squeeze out of that orchestra rang the rafters of the old hall.That surely was one of the factors in my turning my head to classical music.
I have not heard him for years .
It seems sad,but if he is burnt out I'm not surprised ,he began so young.How long could he really expect to sustain that kind of energy?

[Gurn Blanston]

Originally posted by spaceray:
...on the radio Sergi Prokofiev string quartet did she say opus 22?

Space,
I would bet that she said "92" which is his F major, #2. Very nice!
Regards, Gurn

[Rod]

Today I've got Handel's suberb '9 German Arias' in my Walkman. You can hear two of them complete for yourself as they are currently featured at my Handel site:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/handelforum/

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[Chaszz]

This morning I heard Mozart's Symphony No. 36, the "Linz", in a wonderfully brisk and athletic performance by Sir Charles Mackerras and the Prague Chamber Orchestra. The last movement, especially (with embryonic presentiments of the last movement of the "Jupiter"), was taken at a breakneck tempo and was brilliantly played. Like a good gallop down near the river after breakfast, what?

Chaszz



[This message has been edited by Chaszz (edited May 23, 2003).]

[Gurn Blanston]

Mendelssohn - Quartet in f minor for Piano & Strings #2 Op 2.

PS - Chaszz, I'm jealous! One day I will own that set of Mozart, what I ave heard of it so far is outstanding.

Regards,
Gurn

[Gurn Blanston]

This beautiful morning - Dvorak Quartet in Eb for Piano & Strings #2 Op 87. Perfect!

[spaceray]

Great God! Who yet but darkly known,from Handel's "Belshazzar"

[Gurn Blanston]

Bach - Suite in d minor for Solo Cello #2 BWV 1008 - Pablo Casals

[spaceray]

Beethoven,Early string Quartets opus 18 Vermeer Quartet.