What Are You Listening To Now?

[Sorrano]

This evening was filled with Ligeti and Beethoven as I listened to Ligeti's Double Concerto for Flute, Oboe, and Orchestra as well as Beethoven's 4th and 5th Symphonies (Christopher Hogwood-Ancient Academy of Music).

[Hofrat]

Dvorak:

Opera Overtures and Preludes
Naxos 8.223272

Gems!!!

[Michael]

Beethoven: Creatures of Prometheus. The master's only ballet (if you leave out the ten-minute Ritterballet). Gorgeous second-symphony-style music which was a massive hit in Vienna and is almost totally forgotten today except for the overture.

[Decrepit Poster]

I recently replaced my ancient and non-functioning Sony 27" CRT TV with a nice 46" wide-screen LCD HDTV. I have therefore mostly been watching DVDs (my player upscales them to 1080p). The two that have impressed me most are:

1) "European Concert from Prague", Berlin Philharmonic, Barenboim. (Euroarts)
....a) Mozart: Symphony No. 35
....b) Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22 (Barenboim, piano)
....c) Mozart: Horn Concert No 1 (Radek Baborak, horn)
....d) Mozart: Symphony No. 36
I find these all excellent performances, though Symphony 35 is not quite firey enough for my taste. Good or better sound, video and camera work. The Estate Theatre is a treat for the eyes.

2) Beethoven: Symphonies 4 & 7, Berlin Philharmonic, Abbado. (Euroarts)
I have all Beethoven symphonies as DVD-videos with this combo. This, for me, is the pick of the litter, though the DVD combining symphonies 2 & 5 ain't shabby either. (I'm not impressed with the two-disc set containing symphonies 3 & 9.)

Sadly, my main audio system has seen better days. I have therefore been doing most of my music listening via computer, which accounts for my lengthy contribution to our YouTube thread.

-Decrepit

[Hofrat]

Beethoven: Creatures of Prometheus. The master's only ballet (if you leave out the ten-minute Ritterballet). Gorgeous second-symphony-style music which was a massive hit in Vienna and is almost totally forgotten today except for the overture.

BTW, this is the only composition in which Beethoven scores for a harp and a basset horn.

[Michael]

BTW, this is the only composition in which Beethoven scores for a harp and a basset horn.

You're right about the basset horn but it's hardly ever used in that score. I have five different recordings of the ballet but only one ever used the instrument.
Beethoven did write two other pieces which included a harp: a beautiful "Romanz" for soprano and harp, from "Leonore Prohaska" and his "Six Variations for Harp or Piano on a Swiss Air".

[PDG]

Beethoven did write two other pieces which included a harp: a beautiful "Romanz" for soprano and harp, from "Leonore Prohaska" and his "Six Variations for Harp or Piano on a Swiss Air".

You are right as ever, Mike. I think Hofrat meant it was his only orchestral scoring for harp which would be correct.

You surprised me when you said that Creatures of Prometheus was a massive hit in Austria because, and without referring to any notes, I thought it was frowned on and disliked because the music was apparently "too learned for the subject matter" or somesuch nonsense?

[Michael]

You surprised me when you said that Creatures of Prometheus was a massive hit in Austria because, and without referring to any notes, I thought it was frowned on and disliked because the music was apparently "too learned for the subject matter" or somesuch nonsense?

To the best of my knowledge it was extremely popular and ran for nearly a year. It was very well known before the "Eroica" was first performed. When the Viennese audience first heard the finale of the Third Symphony, it must have been a bit of a shock to hear the "Prometheus" tune. Today, it would be similar to hearing "Yesterday" in the middle of "Ecce Cor Meum".

[Michael]

You are right as ever, Mike. I think Hofrat meant it was his only orchestral scoring for harp which would be correct.

Yes, that's quite correct. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound pedantic, Hofrat. (Actually, I'm in no position to be pedantic - all I have is a CD collection!) It's just that I love the song that B wrote for soprano and harp. Like a great deal of his smaller works, it is virtually unheard today. And I have a rare recording of the Swiss variations played on the harp by Marisa Robles.

[Preston]

Beethoven did write two other pieces which included a harp: a beautiful "Romanz" for soprano and harp, from "Leonore Prohaska" and his "Six Variations for Harp or Piano on a Swiss Air".

Michael are any of the harp pieces that you list above on the Brilliant Boxed Set?

Thanks,
Preston

[Michael]

Michael are any of the harp pieces that you list above on the Brilliant Boxed Set?

Thanks,
Preston

There are only four pieces of music that Beethoven wrote for the tragedy "Leonore Prohaska" but they are very unusual: an a cappella Chorus of Warriors, the Romance for soprano accompanied by a single harp and a melodrama scored for glass harmonica. The fourth piece is an orchestration of the Funeral March from the Opus 26 piano sonata which is transposed to B minor.
The DGG Complete Edition includes all of these but I cannot locate them in the Brilliant Edition. The cheap Amado edition includes just two of them: the glass harmonica piece and the funeral march.

All four pieces were available on a CD about fifteen years ago: "Incidental Music to the Consecration of the House and Leonore Prohaska" with the Berlin Phil. conducted by Claudio Abbado. I don't know if it's still available but the number was DGG 447 748-2

The piano version of the Swiss Variations is included in the Brilliant set (Disc 56)

[Preston]

Thank you Michael.

[Hofrat]

Hermann Goetz (1840-1876):

Symphony in F opus 9
Violin concerto in G opus 22
Overture to "The Taming of the Shrew"

[Preston]

Listening to a few of Bach's Cello Suites, http://www.magnatune.com/artists/alb...-cellosuites1/ .

[Sorrano]

Tonight it's been Ligeti's Ramifications, then Faure and Durufle's Requiems. Of the latter two I can only say sublime music!