What are you listening to right now?

[JA Gardiner]

Oh what a beautiful morning.....no I'm not going to regale you with Oklahoma but there is a bright golden haze on the Thames! I'm currently listening to Schubert's Great C major - Roger Norrington and the London Classical Players - which is wonderfully invigorating. Its so wonderful that he recovered from his illness a few years ago - anyone know if he's still performing/recording?
His Beethoven symphonies are well worth a listen - the Eroica in particular sounds as martial as I've ever heard it and the stripped down 9th is quite enlightening too. I do feel though that whilst, that spare. almost tinny, sound may have been all the first audiences heard and all the first orchestras were capable of, what the maestro heard in his head was something much greater. He was clearly stretching the limits of the resources available to him then - can you imagine what he might do with the resources available to him now?!!

[King Stephen]

The Brahms Sonata in F minor for piano 4 hands. Nice way to start the day.
By the way this is not a arrangment of the Piano Quintet in F minor Op.34. The piano 4 hands version came first, and if that is not enough, the piano 4 hands version came after a String quintet version.

[This message has been edited by King Stephen (edited 05-19-2004).]

[Gurn Blanston]

P. - You're right, #12 IS quite lovely. I am a little confused about the total sonatas because some have been attributed to others. THe numbers go up into the low 60's (62?) but there are some numbers missing in the 20's and 30's, so I would make a good guess that there are <> 52.

JA - Well, I think Schubert stopped performing/recording in about 1828, not sure of the exact date In fact, I wasn't even sure that he had recovered from that illness, just shows how out of touch I am.
No, but seriously, I am interested in Norrington's style too. Actually, I seriously wonder if ANY version that we can hear of the 9th matches up with what Beethoven heard in his head!

King - I have the piano 4-hands and the Piano Quintet of that Op 34, excellent stuff. I wasn't even aware of the existence of a string quintet version! Is it merely talked about in the literature, or is the score actually still extant?

For me this morning, I am still listening to Brahms Piano Sonatas, this time in f# minor - #2 - Op 2 - For an Op 2, this is great stuff!


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Regards,
Gurn
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That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
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[This message has been edited by Gurn Blanston (edited 05-19-2004).]

[Joy]

Originally posted by Pastorali:
[B]Oh yes Joy, I like this one also very much! Again midnight here and in this matter I turn to Ingrid Haebeler playing K545. I'm flexibly...

B]

Very nice, Pastorali! For me now it's Music for a Ballet of Old Germany with conductor Bela Drahos and orchestra Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia. Another one not played too often via radio.



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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Pastorali]

After my busy day yesterday, it was today 'only' Opus 2. And now it's Cajkovskij, Piano Concerto #1, Op.23 the evening starts...

[Gurn Blanston]

Joy,
I just returned from lunch, where I listened to that exact same version of the "Ritterballet"! You are right too, how often has anyone heard WoO 1 on the radio? For me, never!
P. - Well, I am guessing those 20 symphonies yesterday have tired you out! Of course though, you have had Op 2 to rehabilitate yourself, you should be fresh now

For me, it is the Quartet in g minor for Piano & Strings - #1 - Op 25 - Johannes Brahms



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Regards,
Gurn
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That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
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[Pastorali]

"Drum Roll"!!! In its pure orchestra version

[Gurn Blanston]

Ahh.. Haydn, bueno!
For me, is Dvorak, Quartet in D major for Piano & Strings - #1 - Op 23 - Ames Quartet - just superb music, that's all!


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Regards,
Gurn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
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[v russo]

Elgar's Enigma Variations with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/ Zinman conducting. A Telarc release.

profoundly beautiful!

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v russo

[Gurn Blanston]

v. I really must listen to that piece one day, Elgar is one of the few modern composers that I admire

For now though, it is the Sonata in a minor - #8 - K 300d - Wolfgang Amade Mozart.
Christoph Eschenbach playing. What a Mozartean he is, too!


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Regards,
Gurn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[JA Gardiner]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gurn Blanston:
[B]v. I really must listen to that piece one day, Elgar is one of the few modern composers that I admire

Dear Gurn
Yes do! I love the recording by Daniel Barenboim and, I think, the London Phil, not least because it is accompanied by Jacqueline Du Pre's sublime reading of the Elgar Cello Concerto. Nimrod from the Variations became almost her personal theme in the later years of her tragically short life, and was played at her funeral. Mind you, I think her earlier recording with Sir John Barbirolli is even more electric - and that is accompanied by the magnificent Dame Janet Baker singing Elgar's Sea Pictures. A truly landmark recording!

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Beethoven the Man!

[Pastorali]

Juan Cristosomo De Arriaga: Symphony for big Orchestra. Man, his allegros are of a sort of firey! Just great!
And if Madame Du Pré is mentioned, the number 69 is rambling arround in my head...

[King Stephen]

Originally posted by Gurn Blanston:
P. - You're right, #12 IS quite lovely. I am a little confused about the total sonatas because some have been attributed to others. THe numbers go up into the low 60's (62?) but there are some numbers missing in the 20's and 30's, so I would make a good guess that there are <> 52.

JA - Well, I think Schubert stopped performing/recording in about 1828, not sure of the exact date In fact, I wasn't even sure that he had recovered from that illness, just shows how out of touch I am.
No, but seriously, I am interested in Norrington's style too. Actually, I seriously wonder if ANY version that we can hear of the 9th matches up with what Beethoven heard in his head!

King - I have the piano 4-hands and the Piano Quintet of that Op 34, excellent stuff. I wasn't even aware of the existence of a string quintet version! Is it merely talked about in the literature, or is the score actually still extant?

For me this morning, I am still listening to Brahms Piano Sonatas, this time in f# minor - #2 - Op 2 - For an Op 2, this is great stuff!

Gurn, I will quote from the cd liner: "The string Quintet in F minor, scored, as Schubert's great C Major Quintete had been, for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos. Ready to hear the advice of friends, he accepted the expert opinion of the violinist Joachim, who said it was too difficult. The next step was to recast the work and the quintet was now redafted as a sonata for 2 pianos.It was on the advice of Clara Schumann, who regarded this as a temporary measure, that the work, in 1864 took its final shape as the Piano Quintet in F minor Op. 34, the form in which it is now generally most familiar. The String Quintet version was lost, although it has since been restored." (from Naxos)

I would love to hear the work in it's original version, but I don't know if it has been recorded

[Gurn Blanston]

Originally posted by King Stephen:
Gurn, I will quote from the cd liner: "The string Quintet in F minor, scored, as Schubert's great C Major Quintete had been, for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos. Ready to hear the advice of friends, he accepted the expert opinion of the violinist Joachim, who said it was too difficult. The next step was to recast the work and the quintet was now redafted as a sonata for 2 pianos.It was on the advice of Clara Schumann, who regarded this as a temporary measure, that the work, in 1864 took its final shape as the Piano Quintet in F minor Op. 34, the form in which it is now generally most familiar. The String Quintet version was lost, although it has since been restored." (from Naxos)

I would love to hear the work in it's original version, but I don't know if it has been recorded

King,
That is an interesting bit. After your original post I looked around to see if I could find any sign of it, according to Arkiv there is nothing, at least that is available in North America. Not to say those crafty Europeans don't have several different versions going begging in the bargain bin! Perhaps Naxos will arrange to have it recorded, as they do so many rarities. Thanks for the info.



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Regards,
Gurn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Gurn Blanston]

[quote]Originally posted by JA Gardiner:

...Yes do! I love the recording by Daniel Barenboim and, I think, the London Phil, not least because it is accompanied by Jacqueline Du Pre's sublime reading of the Elgar Cello Concerto. Nimrod from the Variations became almost her personal theme in the later years of her tragically short life, and was played at her funeral. Mind you, I think her earlier recording with Sir John Barbirolli is even more electric - and that is accompanied by the magnificent Dame Janet Baker singing Elgar's Sea Pictures. A truly landmark recording!

JA,
I would love to have that bit of DuPre's legend, I shall look for it. I have that Sea Pictures on another DuPre EMI disk, Elgar's Cello Concerto also with Barbirolli, an excellent rendition. Actually have quite a bit of DuPre/Barenboim, a dynamic couple, lost too soon.


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Regards,
Gurn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~