What Are You Listening To Now?

[Hofrat]

Hi Peter;

Yes, the Raff Society has a fantastic website and a great forum called "Unsung Composers' Forum" in which I participate.

I doubt if any composer outside of Vienna ever heard of Schubert during his very tragic and short lifetime. Schubert, perhaps the most prolific composer ever, published very little of his massive oeuvre of nearly 1,000 compositions; and of the little that he did publish, only one work was published by a publishing house outside of Austria. So, with Schubert working isolated in Vienna, and Eggert working in periphery of music world in Stockholm, I seriously doubt that Eggert ever heard of Schubert.

The finale of Eggert's C-major symphony is the jewel of the work featuring Eggert's musical signature: a massive and well written fugue. This C-major's fugue is most energetic and vibrant.

[Peter]

Debussy playing Children's Corner from a 1913 piano roll - very interesting indeed!

[Joy]

Via radio Beethoven's Six Ecossaises, WoO 83 performed by Alfred Brendel.

[Joy]

Today Beethoven's 'Moonlight' and also his 7th Symphony performed via classical radio on the program Performance Today.

[Tony John Hearne]

Not right now but yesterday - the Busoni Piano Concerto with John Ogden at the keyboard. I read somewhere that this is one of the most pianistically (if that's the word) challenging piano concertos ever written. It is certainly an amazing event to listen to - very highly recommended and Ogden's fabulous technique takes your breath away.
I hear that the Garrick Ohlsson version is also a contender

[ruudp]

Wilhelm kempff playing Beethoven, sonata op.31 nr.2/op.27 nr.2/op.57

Wonderfull, each sonata on that cd is a gem. After that it's Szell conducting the ninth symphony by Beethoven.

[Sorrano]

Lately, when I've had some time I've been working on (listening to) Bach's The Art of the Fugue as performed by the Emerson String Quartet.

[Peter]

Wilhelm kempff playing Beethoven, sonata op.31 nr.2/op.27 nr.2/op.57

Wonderfull, each sonata on that cd is a gem. After that it's Szell conducting the ninth symphony by Beethoven.

Is this Kempff's first or second recording?

[Peter]

John Foulds - Dynamic tryptich and three Mantras - extraordinary music by a completely forgotten early 20th century British composer.

[Peter]

Richard Strauss - Eine Alpensinfonie and Ein Heldenleben. Listening to the later Strauss tone poems I can't help feeling he lost his way - they do seem overlong (despite some glorious moments) and a rehash of previous ideas.

[Sorrano]

Richard Strauss - Eine Alpensinfonie and Ein Heldenleben. Listening to the later Strauss tone poems I can't help feeling he lost his way - they do seem overlong (despite some glorious moments) and a rehash of previous ideas.

I quite like the Apensinfonie; haven't really gotten into Ein Heldenleben, though. Maybe it's time for another listen, soon.

[Peter]

I quite like the Apensinfonie; haven't really gotten into Ein Heldenleben, though. Maybe it's time for another listen, soon.

Strange because out of the two the egotistical Heldenleben grabs me more. Overall though my favourite Strauss tone poem is Don Juan - it is just full of exhuberant youth!

Today's listening has included the English 'cowpat' composers as I think Constant Lambert charmingly referred to them - Butterworth and Herbert Howells. Butterworth wrote some delightful music and he had a great talent that was tragically cut short in the first world war. Still continuing to discover the forgotten John Foulds also from the same era.

[Sorrano]

Strange because out of the two the egotistical Heldenleben grabs me more. Overall though my favourite Staruss tone peom is Don Juan - it is just full of exhuberant youth!

Today's listening has included the English 'cowpat' composers as I think Constant Lambert charmingly referred to them - Butterworth and Herbert Howells. Butterworth wrote some delightful music and he had a great talent that was tragically cut short in the first world war. Still continuing to discover the forgotten John Foulds also from the same era.

I listened to Alpensinfonie (sorry about the spelling) last night. My problem with Heldenleben AND Don Juan had to do more with the egotism; sometime I will give these both a good serious listening and find that I do like them.

[Hofrat]

Berlioz
Messe solennelle.

Written when he was 20 years young, Berlioz was thought to destroy it along with other youthful attempts at composing. But lo and behold, the MS was found in Antwerp in the 1990's. Scattered throughout the piece are various themes that Berlioz would use in later works.

[Chris]

The Mozart violin concertos with one of my favorite violinists, Arthur Grumiaux and Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra.