What are YOU listening to now?

[King Stephen]

Originally posted by spaceray:
Miss de los Angeles has never to my knowledge sound "tortured",I think you must be thinking of Florence Foster Jenkins!

Bravo Spaceray, you know your sopranos.

[Gurn Blanston]

Space,
Well, I meant tortured in the figurative sense, of course I seem to hear far less of that coloratura "bel canto (?)" in the German operas. Of course, torture IS necessary to the plot.. those Italians are a naughty lot

JA,
Well, I receive your news with mixed feeling then, since getting a set of Perahia was not a displeasing prospect to me I am so delighted you like it. Yes, start at the end and work back, then turn around the other way. I am not as surprised over the avialability of Kleiber there as I am disappointed over its lack here The mail order places all show it to be out of stock, which means it will be back soon, and with a heftier price tag to boot. So it goes. My one ambition was to obtain B 4 & 6, which of course are not on the same disk. Arkiv threatens to have them back soon, so I shall try them again before taking you up on your kind offer.

For me, it is a singing extravaganza!! The incidental music to Consecration of the House by B. Hess 118. Bryn Terfel is the baritno of record here, and he does a splendid job. And of course, BPO / Abbado provide excellent accompaniment. This is a necessary half step leading up to an opera for me, as I am still in the "working up my nerve" phase.


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

Ah, King, our posts crossed. Well, I couldn't agree more about Dvorak, The King of Romantics, in fact, what the Romantic music SHOULD have been, IMHO. I listened to Serenade for Strings, also the one for Winds, just yesterday and was properly edified. An odd thing, I have all of D's chamber music and have played it to death, yet it never grows old. Very recently I came into the bulk of his orchestral music too, and I find that it is every bit as good, although the "folk" melody aspect is less pronounced. But it has been a pleasure to discover this previously unheard (by me) aspect of his oeuvre. Life is good
Next up, the Symphonic poems, The Noon Witch & The Water Goblin - Antonin Dvorak


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

Easy to see you are working hard on that project Gurn. Whatever it becomes, it will be good

Joseph Haydn - Symphonies 1-5
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra - Adam Fischer
sounds splendid...

[Gurn Blanston]

P.
I see you are already getting your good use from your new purchase. Again I congratulate you, and I am still jealous! Tell me, now that you listen to those early ones, my earliest were 6, 7 & 8 and the first thing I thought was "hey, Haydn already has this style from very early on". One knew immediately that it was Haydn, yes? Do 1 - 5 feel this way too? If so, I just am surprised, not that he didn't develop, because of course he did, but that he fond his special voice so early in his trying.

And now, as promised, Symphonic Poem Op 107 - "The Water Goblin" - Antonin Dvorak. Finally a Romantic composer who got it right in a form that was exclusively Romantic!


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

SCHUBERT's Beautiful Mass in C major, Op. 48. Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment, Con. Bruno Weil.

*
BACH: Partita No. 1
Andreas Schiff (piano)
BBC Private Recording

*

LISZT: Les preludes,
LSO, cond. Antal Dorati.




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~ Unsterbliche Geliebte ~

[Pastorali]

Joseph Haydn - Symphonies 9-12
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra - Adam Fischer
Gurn, up from the first one, this is just pure Haydn, he really found his way already with the first ones. A long time I thought 'Le Matin, Le Midi, Le Soir' are late masterpieces, because I didn't know the numbers of them. They are so perfect indeed (IMHO). And I never heard a Symphony by Haydn, which is more virtuos. Maybe I will do so soon?

Nice Sunday to you all, for me further a bit Formula 1 and then more Beethoven and Haydn...

[Gurn Blanston]

Amalie,
Splendid lineup, as always. Tell me please, dear, do you have such an amazingly broad collection, or is this the BBC providing you with so great a lineup? I mean, no ground goes uncovered there, makes me feel positively stunted!

Pastorali,
Well, that is what I thought, even though I haven't heard any others of those I didn't believe 6, 7 & 8 would stand alone. Amazing! You know on Sunday Formula 1 for me goes like this:
take 1 part Beethoven Symphony #9
mix with 18 holes golf
let it sit all afternoon
Voila! You have made a perfect Sunday

Right now, the Symphony in d minor - #9 - Opo 125. Today a new version added to the mix, the London Philharmonic - Eugen Jochum. It has all the makings of a classic performance. Ahh..


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

[Amalie]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gurn Blanston:
[B]Amalie,
Splendid lineup, as always. Tell me please, dear, do you have such an amazingly broad collection, or is this the BBC providing you with so great a lineup? I mean, no ground goes uncovered there, makes me feel positively stunted!

**


O Dear Stunted one,
My list is partly from BBC Radio morning listening and my own collection. I do have the Schubert Masses.
BBC radio 3 usually have a wonderful playlist for early morning listening. I never miss a weekend.
Do you like Dvorak's romantic melancholic, unrequited 'Love Songs' Op.83 Gurn? Obviously it depends on who is singing them. , I must say I liked them very much. Performed by Harmoni Mundi.

My listening also included a striking new recording I would like to recommend, by SCHNITTKE, Suite in the Old Style (Mvts 1-4), beautifully played by, Vadim Gluzman (violin), Angela Yoffe, (piano).

***

In for another treat from BBC Radio 3,
Sunday Gala, is BEETHOVEN's Sonata no. 28, Op. 101.
BACH: French Suite no. 4. BWV 815
BACH: English Suite no. 6. BWV 811



Dear Gurn, I can just imagine you going round the golf course in your buggy under that fierce Texan sun, permanently wired to Beethoven's 9th.. Does it make you hit the ball further, having Ludwig as your caddie?..

**
I am most disappointed with a double CD set I purchased, which is obviously a live recording, as unfortunately it has coughing all the way through the second CD. I find this irritating and unlistenable and spoils a beautiful peice especially when it is Beethoven. I am usually very carefull when choosing CD's.. Have you or others experienced this?




I am not a happy bunny at the moment, since sitting in the garden a rather unfriendly mosquito lacking in the social graces, has made a meal of my leg in 3 places and has now come up in 3 horrible uncomfortable large blisters. I am not looking forward to going to work tomorrow!
I daresay you experience more aggressive mosquito's in your part of the world!


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~ Unsterbliche Geliebte ~



[This message has been edited by Amalie (edited 07-26-2004).]

[Gurn Blanston]

Amalie,
Well, dear, not stunted in all ways, after all... I will tell you this, I was amazed as I drove home from the golf course that my local NPR station was haveing a Bach-a-thon, and I heard forst the b minor Partita for Violin Solo, then the non-pareil Trevor Pinnock in an absolutely superb rendition of the Goldbergs, on a harpsichord as they should be, best sounding harpsichord i ever heard. I really must get that CD!
I have never heard any Dvorak songs, in fact I am just now sampling B songs for the first time, but D would be on the list of potentials if this liking develops at all.
Schnittke, how bold of you!
My dear, I don't "buggy" at all, I walk. If we were intended to "buggy" round the course, we would have been born with wheels, I daresay! And yes, the sun presents a challenge at this time of year, I would not recommend that anyone not used to it give it a try, you will die! Not kidding, people do. A world away from the Scottish coast, no doubt.
I have had a few CD's that were spoiled by ambient noise, but the most likely and irritating thing is that huge burst of applause at the end. I hate that! I wish they would just lower the level a bit and imply that there was applause. Sigh...
Our mosquitos are pretty bad, although much worse down on the coast. I am one of those fortunate people who don't get bitten by mosquitos, although my tender wife gets bitten as soon as she steps out the door. So it goes.


Right now, it is the Rondo in g minor for Cello & Orchestra - Op 94 - Dvorak - Yo Yo Ma, BPO/Maazel. Super.



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

[spaceray]

Originally posted by King Stephen:
Bravo Spaceray, you know your sopranos.

Only from a certain era I fear, remember Anna Moffo, Kirsten Flagstad or Eileen Farell?You never hear these recordings on the radio anymore.

[spaceray]

Whoops! for got to say what I was listening to ,it's the Waldstein played by Kempff.

[Gurn Blanston]

space,
Well, I certainly remember the names, but have to agree, you don't hear the music much. Anna Moffo! Ah, Kempff's Waldstein, splendid! I think even B would have liked that, perhaps demanded an encore!

For me though, it is the Romance in f minor Op 11 for Violin & Orchestra - Antonin Dvorak. Here is an oddity for you, space, the Waldstein had a movement removed because it affected the balance of the overall piece, it became the Andante favori, WoO 57. The Romance by Dvorak started out life as the inner movement of his Op 9 string quartet, but he felt it affected the overall balance of the work, so he removed it and made it a piece as it is now! I love it! Synchronicity on a Sunday afternoon! We are indeed in a groove, ma'am.


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

[Pastorali]

We had so much rain, I guess the mosquitos here are all knocked-out by rain drops.
Buggy? Oh yes, that would be something for me... the green offers a good grip

Joseph Haydn - Symphonies 17-20
Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra - Adam Fischer. bene, ma troppo

[Gurn Blanston]

P.
Well, you are lucky to have some rain, although here that brings the mosquitos rather than otherwise. It should take you 5 more days to be at "London" at the pace you are going. How did the Formula 1 go this afternoon? Those cars would sound perfect with Haydn playing! Adios quasi arrivaderci

For me, it is THE Violin Concerto. Itzhak Perlman playing, Philharmonia Orchestra / Giulini


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