What are you listening to now?

[Zevy]

I don't think it will work. You'll never grow tired of the String Trios.

I did it, Michael: After listenening to the LVB String Trios countless times, I listened to the Mozart String Trio. That did it; I was cured. I'm not saying better or worse, but I heard the other masterpiece of this genre. I finally felt the release.....

And it wasn't a starry night.....

[Michael]

I did it, Michael: After listenening to the LVB String Trios countless times, I listened to the Mozart String Trio. That did it; I was cured. I'm not saying better or worse, but I heard the other masterpiece of this genre. I finally felt the release.....

And it wasn't a starry night.....

I would cut off my ear before defecting to the Mozart camp!

[JA Gardiner]

Now listening to a recording of Spem in Alium and other Tallis pieces by harry Christophers and the Sixteen. Nearest we'll get in sound to the beating of angel's wings I think.....

[Zevy]

I would cut off my ear before defecting to the Mozart camp!

Gogh away, Michael

[Hofrat]

Music of 19th century Jewish-German composers
volume 2

Ignaz Bruell (1846-1907):
Symphony in E-minor opus 31
Serenade no. 1 in F-major opus 29

World premiere releases from recordings made for the television documentary "Out of Darkness"

Cameo Classics CC9027CD

Bruell lived 57 years in Vienna under Brahms' shadow, yet he maintained his own distinct voice.

[Sorrano]

This morning it was Dvorak's Symphonic Variations.

[Chris]

Well, I have finished the Haydn sonatas. They were all enjoyable, though not nearly as great as the String Quartets. The C minor was excellent, though. It seems like Haydn was progressing in the piano sonata and then backed up and created some less significant works for a time. In the set by John McCabe, there were other piano pieces as well, including the wonderful Variations in F minor, which I had the pleasure of hearing Alfred Brendel play in his last concert in the U.S.A. last year...

This morning I am listening to some Mozart wind concertos - the clarinet concerto at the moment.

[Quijote]

Chris : what news about your Gregorian Chant (minus organ) researches?

[Zevy]

Yesterday and Today:

1. Schubert String Trios perf: Grumiaux Trio
2. Schubert Piano Trios perf: Beaux Arts Trio
3. Bach Solo Cello Suites perf: Lynn Harrell

[Chris]

Chris : what news about your Gregorian Chant (minus organ) researches?

Upon going back to Chant I and II (having not listened to them in quite a while), I discovered that they really were all a cappella, and better than I remembered. So I have a renewed appreciation for these discs, I think, and that has been holding me over. The confusion is because of another disc of chant I have by those same monks called "The Soul of Chant", which contains several settings of the Ordinary of the Mass, which is great, because that is what I am most interested in, but about half of them have organ, including Mass VIII, which is the one I was specifically looking without organ. But why do those settings have organ and not the others? The liner notes give no clue, but perhaps there is some traditional reason. In any case, they are all fine recordings, and I believe I am content with them. A set of the entire Kyriale would be great, and I have found one or two online, but I don't think such a thing exists in a professional recording. Sometimes you find that what you were looking for was right at home after all. I'll have to remember that in case I ever get married

In other news, I am still on the Mozart wind concertos, listening to the third movement of the oboe concerto right now. I love this piece and this movement in particular. The first time I heard it was on TV in the flute arrangement of the work. I knew right away it was by Mozart, and I liked it so much I wanted to find out what piece it was and get a recording of it. The end of the clip confirmed it was a flute concerto my Mozart. So I did some research and found that Mozart wrote only one. But when I found it I discovered that this was not the piece I heard on TV. So it was a mystery for a while until I later learned that this was actually the oboe concerto that was arranged for flute. Mystery solved! I still have a soft spot for the flute version because of that first hearing, though in general I like the oboe better. Sadly, my set of Mozart wind concertos does not include the version for flute

[Hofrat]

Mozart was commissioned to write 3 concerti for the flute and orchestra but he was so busy courting the von Weber sisters that he fell behind the time schedule for the commission. He managed to finish one original flute concerto but to save time he arranged an earlier composed oboe concerto as the second flute concerto. He never got around to the third concerto.

[Chris]

Mozart was commissioned to write 3 concerti for the flute and orchestra but he was so busy courting the von Weber sisters that he fell behind the time schedule for the commission. He managed to finish one original flute concerto but to save time he arranged an earlier composed oboe concerto as the second flute concerto. He never got around to the third concerto.

True, but it seems possible that the Andante for flute and orchestra, K. 351 (285e) might have been intended as the slow movement for one of those works.

[PDG]

Just listened to "The Beatles Live at the BBC" which, of course, led me on to the "Spring Sonata"...

But "of course" ...!

[PDG]

Does Katsaris observe all the repeats in his recordings of these transcriptions?

Yes, he does. However, I'm not so sure they are necessary within the reduced solo instrument format. This subject needs a new thread which I'll start later...

[PDG]

The Brendel aides-memoirs is news to me, and offers an interesting insight to a top performer's way of dealing with the DBs. It is also an interesting angle to treat each variation as a separate miniature (each as a bagatelle, in a sense), though I think this works against the overall structural arch of the work. Personally, I feel there is one. You should read Solomon's essay on this : Late Beethoven : Music, Thought, Imagination, University of California Press, 2003, chapters 1, The End of a Beginning : The Diabelli Variations (pp 11 - 26) and 9, The Shape of a Journey : The Diabelli Variations (pp 179 - 197). Don't be put off by the musical examples, if you know the work well you'll see what he is driving at.

Forgive my simplistic slant on this colossal work, but I've always yearned for a version where the original theme is repeated around half way through the variation set, just to remind us of what it is exactly we're actually supposed to be appreciatin'!

BTW, I've never heard the original commissioned Diabelli set by all the invited contemporary composers. Does anyone know of an available cd?

There is a further question surrounding the reasons why Beethoven even bothered to contribute one variation of this infernal theme, let alone 33. Perhaps a new thread?...