What are you listening to now?

[Bonn1827]

Today:

Marc-Antoine Charpentier

Musique de theatre pour 'Andromede' H504 et 'Circe' H496,
Sonate H548,
Concert pour quatre parties de violes, H545

London Baroque/Charles Medlam

[Tillyvalle]

Tillyvalle, I think a lot of us have "Catholic tastes", so no need to qualify your interest in G&S!! They are inventive, clever and lots of fun - not to mention very musical. They influenced George Gershwin tremendously. I have all of his major musicals on DVD - reconstructed by John Mauceri et al. "Pardon My English" and "Oh Kay!" are hugely influenced by G&S: homo-rhythmic choruses, repetition of main phrases, syllabic treatment of the music, insistent 4/4 rhythms - only Gershwin goes much further, of course. I'm heading off now to "play the stereo" with these!! In this day and age we need their satire more than ever!!

Anthony Warlow is brilliant as the judge in Trial by Jury, sounds just like Sir Harry Lauder!

[Chris]

I am listening to Leon Berben play Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. These are the recordings that were used for the Brilliant complete Bach release.

Does anyone have an opinion on these? There are a lot of good things here. I love the sound of the instrument and a lot of his choices. I have to say, though, that his use of rubato someone ruins it for me. I wish I could find an in-print recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier on harpsichord with a good sound, lively playing, no or minimal rubato, and no or minimal ornamental improvisations by the performer. A real reference recording, you know? You'd think there would be plenty to choose from, but I have yet to find one.

[Peter]

I am listening to Leon Berben play Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. These are the recordings that were used for the Brilliant complete Bach release.

Does anyone have an opinion on these? There are a lot of good things here. I love the sound of the instrument and a lot of his choices. I have to say, though, that his use of rubato someone ruins it for me. I wish I could find an in-print recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier on harpsichord with a good sound, lively playing, no or minimal rubato, and no or minimal ornamental improvisations by the performer. A real reference recording, you know? You'd think there would be plenty to choose from, but I have yet to find one.

Personally I prefer the 48 on the piano and I have an excellent recording with Edwin Fischer.

[Peter]

Listening to the amazing Sinfonietta written by the 14 year old Korngold - can anyone think of an achievement on this scale by anyone else so young? The orchestral writing is that of a master and the work as a whole would not have disgraced a composer of maturity - it deserves to be far better known.

[Chris]

Personally I prefer the 48 on the piano and I have an excellent recording with Edwin Fischer.

I have Ashkenazy's on the piano, and I love it (except for the very opening piece - the C major prelude of Book I, which is taken at a bafflingly slow tempo). I was just looking for something similarly satisfying on the harpsichord.

[Preston]

Today

Berio: Sequenza VII (oboe, 1969)

Roehre, I took the time to listen to a piece from your large selection of music, ! I understand nothing of the Berio piece. It sounds similar to me trying to play an oboe on my keyboard slamming my hands on 1 or 2 keys at a time. What is it he is trying to say, ?

Listening to the Introitus from Mozart's Requiem. If I had to choose a favorite part from the Introitus I would choose 4:44-4:51 seconds from Bernstein's recording.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XkzN4Ntfiw

Such strength, such feeling, such music! I absolutely love that part.

[Roehre]

Spun today:

Tal: Symphony no.6 (1992)

Liszt: Totentanz (Busoni-edition, a.o. with Schubert-like trombones i.s.o. “hunting”-horns)

[Bonn1827]

Harsh critics in the concert hall

Yes, Korngold was an excellent composer. He enriched American film immeasurably too, IMO, with his wonderful scores. I have heard some negative criticisms about his concert hall music - one, that the violin concerto is more "corn" than "gold". Harsh.

But serious classical music enthusiasts can be the harshest critics of all - for example, Johannes Brahms (1st piano concerto) and Rachmaninov (1st piano concerto) and Stravinsky (Rite of Spring) and Tchaikovsky (1st piano concerto, mostly from the pianist meant to be playing it) - is there a pattern here? - just to name 4!! Beethoven himself had this experience also. It all goes to show that audiences can be totally wrong.

Of course, musicians don't escape either. Our David Helfgott is often the butt of that kind of criticism - as we speak he's preparing for another recital in Sydney. Such an embarrassment!!

[Roehre]

Today:

A Hyperion CD Gabriel’s Greeting, Medieval English Christmas Music performed by Sinfonye.
Lovely repertoire (admittedly a bit out of season ), and two “discoveries”: Miri it is, the title “song” of a (Chandos ) CD by the Dufay ensemble, appears here in another –and certainly just as attractive- disguise/interpretation.
The openings track however is “Gabriel, sent from heaven’s king” (A 3 part Norfolk? Early 14th Century Carol), which people who know Tippet’s Suite in D (for Prince Charles) will recognize.

[Chris]

Listening to some miscellaneous Bach keyboard works written between 1700 and 1710. These works seem to be almost universally ignored by both performers and listeners, but this is good stuff (as you would expect from Bach). It makes a nice change from the standard English Suites, French Suites, Partitas, etc.

[Bonn1827]

The sound of rain falling!! Yes, after nearly a year without any, we are having decent rain here!!

[Roehre]

Today:

Tal:
Symphony no.5 (1991)

Ullmann:
Piano sonata no.5 opus 45 “From my Youth” (1942, composed in the concentration camp Terezin/Theresienstadt)
Symphony no.1 op.45a “From my Youth” (1942/ orchestration Wulff 1989) The sonata, though idiomatically written for the piano, contains a string of indications for an instrumentation/ orchestration.

[Megan]

An afteroon with 17th century Italian early Baroque Fever.



Falconiero — Ciaccona (from the L’eroica suite)
Performers: Baroque Fever
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Salamone Rossi — Sopra l’aria di Ruggiero
Performers: Baroque Fever
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Marco Uccellini — Sonata No.2, ‘La Luciminia contenta’ (from Sonate, correnti et arie, Op.4)
Performers: Baroque Fever
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Giovanni Battista Vitali — Capritio sopra li cinque tempi (from Partite sopra diverse sonate)
Performers: Baroque Fever
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Marco Uccellini — Sonata No.8 (from Sonate, over canzoni, Op.5)
Performers: Baroque Fever
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Girolamo Frescobaldi — Passacagli (from Balletto terzo, primo libro, 1637)
Performers: Baroque Fever
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Giovanni Battista Buonamente — Ballo del Gran Duca (from Il quarto libro de varie sonate, sinfonie, gagliarde, corrente, e brandi, 1626)
Performers: Baroque Fever
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Biagio Marini — Sonata sopra ‘La Monica’
Performers: Baroque Fever
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Henry Purcell — Sonata No.6, ‘Chaconne’ (from Ten Sonatas in Four Parts, 1697)
Performers: Baroque Fever
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Dario Castello — Sonata No.12 (from Sonate concertate in stil moderno, libro II, 1629)



Absolutely gorgeous.

[Bonn1827]

Wonderful, Megan. Marini wrote some lovely keyboard music too. We don't hear enough of this type of music do we?