What Are You Listening to Now?

[King Stephen]

Back to semi obscurity with Francois-Joseph Gossec (1734-1829). His Grande Messe des Morts (Requiem) composed in 1760 and published 20 years later. It has been suggested that this work influenced Mozart, who had received encouragement from the older man during his stay in Paris in 1778. Mozart describes him as a good friend and ein sehr trockner Mann (a very dull man). At any rate this is a work of of misfortune in that it does not seem to get its proper due.

Luigi Cherubini's Requiem for chorus and Orchestra is next. This work was composed 56 years after Gossec's Requiem. Although I have heard the Cherubini work it will be interesting to hear the difference between the two.

[This message has been edited by King Stephen (edited 10-28-2004).]

[Big D]

Dear friends:
Has anyone heard the recording conducted by George Szell of Mussogorsky's Picures at an Exibition as arranged by Ravel? This is one of my favorite musical pieces and and is one of the reasons why I started listening to classical music.

As well, what about all of the brilliant recordings Conducter Szell did of B's symphonies? I think they are the finest on record.

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[This message has been edited by Big D (edited 10-29-2004).]

[Haffner]

Spaceray
On the subject of trifles, I am currently listening to Mozart's Flute Quartets No. 1 and 2, K. 285 and K. 285a. I am quite surprised at him, these works are certainly the least interesting of all that I have heard of his compositions, the developments are only seconds long! I have read Mozart did not like the flute, if so these compositions reveal it.

Ruudp
Ahhh, the Chopin Valses, this is some of his happiest music. Though some are very deep, most are capricious and should be treasured for Chopin wrote very few capricious pieces. Two of my "light" favourites are the Opus 18 and the "Petit Chien" as Chopin called it though it is commonly known as the "Minute Waltz"; one can definitely see in these works that Chopin admired Mozart above all others, such grace!

Gurn,
Bartok's quartets are wonderful, certainly the most innovative works in the genre since those of Beethoven. Have you heard his Music for Percussion, Strings and Celesta? This is polyphonic perfection which rivals Bach. And as for the dissonance, when performing his own work, he never brought out the dissonances as performers do today, he emphasised the relationships between consonant tones which makes for much more interesting music than modern performers make it out to be.
Alas, I am guilty of knowing only of Bruch for his Violin Concerto, I had been told that he was a one hit wonder but if you feel otherwise, I will reassess him.

King Stephen
I haven't taken Cherubini seriously since reading how Berlioz described him in his memoirs; nothing offensive just very funny stories. I suggest if you want to continue listening to him without having comical visions pop into your head, stay away from Berlioz's memoirs!


As I said before I am listening to Mozart's Flute Quartets No 1 and 2; I am quite disappointed and don't think I will be returning to them any time soon.

[Amalie]

Joseph Martin Kraus: Sinfonie in D,
Concerto Koln.

Handel: Tornami a vagheggiar, (Alcina)
CBC Vancouver Orchestra.

Bach: Cello Suite 6, BWV 1012
Yo Yo Ma [cello]

Krieger: Sonata no.4.

Mico: Pavan 3,
Phantasm.

Vivaldi: Oboe concerto RV 461
Pierlot [Oboe]
I Solisti Veneti.



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~ Unsterbliche Geliebte ~

[Gurn Blanston]

Gutenmorgen, jeder!
Königrl,
I have heard Gossec, perhaps it is true that he was "ein sehr trocker Mann", but his music doesn't fit that mold well. It is interesting, at least the sinfonias are. Now Cherubini, of course most of his works are written in genres which don't hold my attention for long, however he also wrote a half dozen string quartets which are supposed to be quite fine, I would like to run across some recording one day to hear for myself.

Big D,
I haven't heard that particular recording, but I am quite familiar with the music. Marvelous stuff, fits that unusual requirement of programme music in that it actually DOES evoke the images that it supposedly describes. You can download photos of the actual pictures that the music is about, I have found this to be an experience-enhancing exercise! As for the Szell Symphonies, I haven't heard them all, but the ones I have heard (4, 6 & 8) are really quite excellent.

Haffner,
Yes, it is true, Amadé thought little more of the flute than I do, although not all of his composing for it demonstrates that, the 1st concerto is a pretty fine piece of work. There is also some doubt that all of the quartets are his, there are 5 or 6 in fragments and I can't remember which are dubious, but I am quite sure that 285a was one of them.
Yes, I have heard that Bartok work, and I quite agree, it is very interesting. I think performers should take a cue from Bela about that. The item that makes dissonance interesting in classical era works is that it is not dwelt upon, it is passed through and resovved, the the tension and discomfort are momentary. It is the power of understatement at work, since the effect is more profound rather than less so. *sigh*
You and most others, don't feel badly! The symphonies are quite interesting. Yesterday was my first listening so I can't comment them in detail, but I though #3 had the most stimulation for me. Anyway, Bruch was a very prolific composer, and of course it wasn't all gems, but much of what I have heard (the solo instrument & orchestra stuff mainly, and some chamber music in addition to the symphonies) has been very diverting and interesting.

Amalia,
Hmm... Kraus again, you are not the first to mention him, I really must look into this. You like?? Also, what about YYM in Bach, as compared to Casals or Rostropovich (the 2 sets I have)? Good, bad or indifferent? Finally, (I am full of questions this morning) Kreiger? Sonata? What Kreiger? Inquiring minds want to know!

For me, it is the Symphony in Bb - #4 - Op 60 - Louis Beethoven - Gardiner and the band with the too long name. A marvelous version, it doesnt' leave you hanging with untimely dragging. Excellent!




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

Today is Liszt's symphonic poems. Splendid quote from Liszt, in a letter to his friend Ödön Mihailovich I want to share with all of you:

"Everyone is against me. Catholics consider my church music profane, protestans, because for them my music is catholic, franc-masons, beacuse the feel it clerical, to the conservatives, I'm revolutionary, to the futurists, I'm a false jacobin. Italians, even though Sgambati, if they're garibaldians, they hate me since consider me hypocrite, if they're vaticanists, accuse me of transporting Venus' cave to the church. For Bayreuth I'm not a composer, but a public relations. Germans repudiate my music as french, french reject it for german, to the austrians, my music is gipsy, hungarians consider I compose foreign music. And jewish hate me and my music without any reason".

Someone like that deserves some listening

[Joy]

For me today, all via radio, it's the Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat K 417, Mozart, with conductor Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin ITF, Barry Tuckwell, horn.
Also the Symphonia Concertante in A, Johann Christian Bach, conductor Ross Pople and the
London Festival Orchestra. Also, not to abandon Beethoven, his piano concerto #5 and later on, Gurn, I, too, shall be listening to his Symphony #4 via radio!

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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Gurn Blanston]

atserri,
Actually I can tolerate Liszt quite well, at least some of the piano works, the chamber music and the Hungarian Rhapsodies. I wonder if he was right about the level of resistance to him or if this was raving paranoia on his part. Mozart and Beethoven saw plots against them at every turn, so this is not unheard of!

Joy,
I am listening to a Bach-son too, just a different one. That Tuckwell horn concerto is really quite a good rendition, no? Hope you enjoy the symphony as much as I did. What a work!

For me, it is the Symphony in Eb Wq 183 #2 by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Empfindsamkeit, Style Bourgeois, at its peak. CPE was the foremost exponent of this forerunner of Classical Style. Nice work!


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

Yes, Mozart's horn concerto is quite a good work. I will enjoy the Beethoven's No. 4 which is coming up very shortly. Always a great one! Also listened to Beethoven's Quartet Opus 18/#2. I heard it got the nickname "Compliments" for its polite and graceful nature.
Also, via radio, this week was James Levine conducting Mahler's epic Symphony No. 8 to open his first concert as Music Director of the Boston Symphony. Sopranos were Jane Eaglen and Hei-Kyung Hong, altos Stephanie Blythe and Yvonne Naef, tenor Ben Heppner, baritone Eike Wilm Schulte, bass John Relyea, plus the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the American Boychoir and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Quite a production.



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'Truth and beauty joined'

[Ahmad]

Gurn,
All I know about C.P.E.Bach music is that easy march in D from Anna Magdalina Bach notesbook which I play on the piano , it's the first time I know that he composed in classical style as the march sounds very "baroqy"!

On classic fm.. I'm listening to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle conducting, Beethoven's fifth...

Also I've listened today to Beethoven Viloin Sonata no.9 op.47 "Kreutzer"..Ashkenazy and Perlman....Nice sonata, I like the variations in the 2 movement ...


[This message has been edited by Ahmad (edited 10-29-2004).]

[Gurn Blanston]

Ahmad,
Oh yes, that would sound baroque-y, that wasn't CPE, it was his famous Pappa, J.S. who did the "Notebook...". In the next generation, it was only possible to write what passed for classical at that time, there were 2 main styles, which are called "galant" and "bourgeois". It was very popular to reject baroque sound completely, this is galant music, then the bourgeois (which was also called in German Empfindsamkeit) was more complicated and used counterpoint, but it was also mainly a melody and harmony to accompany. In 1770 or so, these two styles were merged together and became what we now call "classical" style. If you listen to Haydn and Mozart in their early times, much of what they composed was galant. People say now that "oh Mozart sounds like very young and had not mastered music writing, it sounds so simple", but this is not true, he was writing galant music which is what his audience wanted to hear. Later on, he said "the heck with them, I am going to write what I like", and so he began writing more "learned" music like Haydn was also doing. This is the reason that these two were so highly thought of in later times, other composers could have done this, and a few tried even, but they succeeded to do it so their music became immortal. Sorry, I get carried away...

For me, it is 15 Variations on an Original Theme in Eb for Piano - Op 35 - "The Eroica Variations" - Louis Beethoven. Ahh...


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

For today it's Salieri Overtures which include:

La secchia rapita
Les Danaides
Palmira Regina di Persia
La fiera di Venezia
Axur re d'Ormus
La Grotta di Trofonio Ouverture in re magg.
Europa Riconosciuta
Variazioni sulla Follia di Spagna

[Pastorali]

Joseph Haydn
Scottish Songs for George Thomson I
Loma Anderson - Jamie MacDougall - Haydn Trio Eisenstadt

[spaceray]

I'm listening to some Dvorak Miniatures played by the Panocha Quartet.What a delight.

When Dvorak was in America he loved to go to train stations and watch the trains arrive
and depart,he was facinated by steamships and kept records of all the names of the captains and always knew at any given time where the ships would be.He would ride the El to get a good view of the busy New York harbour.

[King Stephen]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Haffner:
[B]Spaceray

King Stephen
I haven't taken Cherubini seriously since reading how Berlioz described him in his memoirs; nothing offensive just very funny stories. I suggest if you want to continue listening to him without having comical visions pop into your head, stay away from Berlioz's memoirs!

Haffner,
Thanks for the info. I enjoy the music of Berlioz but I learned years ago after reading parts of his memoirs to take what he writes with a grain of salt. If I recall he has a tendency to stretch the truth.

Mozart and the flute. I have read on more than one occasion that Mozart did not particularly like the flute nor did he like the harp. I too am not very fond of either instruments but of course there are exceptions, one being Cimarosa's concerto for two flutes and Orch. and the Op.10 of Vivaldi.

By the way the Cherubini Requiem I think is a superb work.
KS