What are you listening to now?

[Schenkerian]

Stephen Kovacevich playing piano works by Brahms, including these two:

Op. 118 Nos 1 and. 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--dFka8hrzo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Gb0JcviRA

Rich dark chocolate mixed with velvet!!

A very beloved friend of mine was a broadcaster on our national FM fine music network and every time he'd play any piano works of Brahms he'd say "this work has Brahms bearing all the teeth of the piano"!!

[Schenkerian]

Brief excerpts from "Lieder Ohne Worte" (Mendelssohn) Murray Perahia: exuberant and invigorating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzG0ydPoY6Y

And this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bukKUVRFykQ

Peaceful with poetry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtmL3Pv-6FM

I visited the Mendelssohn home in Leipzig a few years ago and these wonderful pieces were swirling in my head. Disappointing to note the run-down state of that particular part of Leipzig, no doubt neglected during the long horror of the GDR.

[Schenkerian]

Getting right down to absolute music essentials:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mrfy_D9JVE

[Schenkerian]

Stephen Kovacevich, Brahms: Variation and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op 14. An early work from Brahms and an absolute stunner; one of my favourite non-Beethoven keyboard works. I love this muscular performance from Kovacevich. (I always pronounce it Ko-vas-a-vitch) but I've heard it pronounced "Kov-a-chev-ik"!!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9tbCkACbGU

[Schenkerian]

Rameau: Castor et Pollux/Les Arts Florissants/William Christie. This is actually my own recording of the work. Dr. Christie seems to be one of the few to get the pace right in this music. I saw a splendid production at Theater an der Wien a decade ago with Les Talens Lyriques/Rousset. That was the best performance I've ever seen, and in modern costume and the cast doing 'bits of business' in ensemble scenes or in clever tableaux. There weren't athletic dancers prancing about in exotic costumes waving their hands about endlessly like you see in many productions!! These are an annoying distraction. At Theater an der Wien there was a revolving stage and the audience was always focused on some relevant scene/action. It takes creativity to enliven these ancient works in a sympathetic way.

For me, Les Arts Florissants is still the premier ensemble for this repertoire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRf6-SSougg

[Schenkerian]

I found a little excerpt of the Theater an der Wien production of 2011 "Castor et Pollux", mentioned above, and it gives an idea of the splendid mise-en-scene, revolving stage and high production values:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbR0SbLQHgs

It was an additional pleasure to see Anne Sofie von Otter.

[Henrik Stromberg]

I found a little excerpt of the Theater an der Wien production of 2011 "Castor et Pollux", mentioned above, and it gives an idea of the splendid mise-en-scene, revolving stage and high production values:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbR0SbLQHgs

It was an additional pleasure to see Anne Sofie von Otter.

It is always pleasure (especially for me as for any swedish) to see and to hear best Swedish mezzo-soprano of all the time!

[Peter]

Stephen Kovacevich, Brahms: Variation and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op 14. An early work from Brahms and an absolute stunner; one of my favourite non-Beethoven keyboard works. I love this muscular performance from Kovacevich. (I always pronounce it Ko-vas-a-vitch) but I've heard it pronounced "Kov-a-chev-ik"!!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9tbCkACbGU

Yes a very fine work, even Wagner was impressed by the fugue!

[Sorrano]

I've been listening to excerpts from Boris Godunov. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it when I first listened to it in its entirety. I will have to do that again, soon.

[Quijote]

For my ear-training course I've recently used a superb piece of music from the film "The Magnificent Seven" (1960 / Elmer Bernstein). What a great theme and wonderful orchestration despite some naughty parallel fifths in the bass line! Who cares, anyway??!!
For those with an ear for it, it's in E-flat major (more or less). See my post below.
https://youtu.be/yulmgTcGLZw

[Quijote]

Then there is the remake of the film with Denzel Washington (2016?): https://youtu.be/iBszwBjbaXw
This time we're in D !! Why's that?

[Quijote]

Does the key change have anything to do with the so-called "culture wars"? A sort of white supremacism? Passing from E-flat (a black key on the piano) to D (a white key)? Who knows? Maybe our residant Mary Whitehouse (a British and somewhat censorious conservative activist raging against liberal values in the 1970s) can elucidate?

[Peter]

The Jussen brothers playing Mendelssohn - wonderful! Thread will close now as we're at our limit for posts, so any replies will need a new thread, thanks.