What are you listening to now?

[Peter]

Not having felt like any music this morning after a rather late night I missed the live new year's concert from Vienna, but fortunately it's repeated tonight when I hope to be more myself and in the mood!

[Sorrano]

I am now out of my depth with this!!! Thanks anyway.

There's really nothing wrong with storing your CD's on the iPod and having backup copies. However, I certainly would not throw away the CD's and depend on hard drives or MP3 players as my primary source.

[Bonn1827]

Thanks for these helpful comments. I'm being driven mad with the I-Tunes program as it shuffles everything out of order. I just can't imagine always listening to music through (possible deafness inducing) headphones and am an audiophile who likes expensive sound equipment!!! So this is certain to remain only a device of convenience.

I've been listening to Handel: "Dixit Dominus", "Silete Venti" and "Nisi Dominus". (The Sixteen Choir and Orchestra/Harry Christophers)

The most beautiful part is "Gloria Patri et Filio", from "Dixit", and particularly the melismatic runs on "saeculorum". Such power and beauty.

[Sorrano]

i-Tunes is really a horrible program for trying to set in order tracks of multi-movement works. I had been trying to organize some MP3's of Wagner's complete operas which resulted in a total disaster. After than I moved over to the Zune MP3 player which was a little better. Good luck in your MP3 endeavors!

[Michael]

Listening to the greatest hits of Del Shannon, a "pop-singer" of the sixties. And thoroughly enjoying them. I have to be truthful.
The music you heard when you were sixteen is beyond criticisim.
I didn't discover HIMSELF until I was 22.

[Roehre]

Today:

Beethoven:
Glück zum neuen Jahr WoO 165

JSBach:
Cantata BWV 16 „Christ dich loben wir“ (one of the works for New Year’s day)

Today’s New Year’s concert from Vienna

Wagner:
Neujahrs-Cantate (1834)
An Weber’s Grab (1844)
3 arias (1834/’39):
-for Marschner’s Der Vampyr
-for Blum’s Marie, Max und Michelle and
-for Bellini’s Norma (1830s)

Schumann:
Neujahrslied (soloists, choir & orch.) opus 144

[Michael]

Any advance on Del Shannon? He was a composer; he did write his own stuff and it was a hell of an advance on Cage! His 1961 hit "Runaway" eschwed the normal guitar guitar chords for pop music and ..................I've lost my thread of thought. I mixed brandy with wine, which is fatal ...............
(Aplogies for the abrupt tone. I am a having a better (alcohilic) night tonight ((New Year's Day Night)) than the previous one). I can't even get my brackets right!
Butt I can assuure evrerbody that I am in compleete controll. The pressure of New Year's Night has disappeareedd.
And Ludwig van Beeeeeeethoven is still the best of them all!

This is my last drunken contribution for 2010. Damn it: it's 2011!

[Bonn1827]

Listening to the greatest hits of Del Shannon, a "pop-singer" of the sixties. And thoroughly enjoying them. I have to be truthful.
The music you heard when you were sixteen is beyond criticisim.
I didn't discover HIMSELF until I was 22.

You are a very funny man, Michael. Keep up the great humour! As Byron said, "Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter; sermons and soda-water the day after!!!"

Del Shannon? He was staying down the road in a pub whilst on tour in the 1960s and I actually bumped into him on the way home from school. I ran home and told my 3 younger sisters and we all rocked on down to the hotel. Also there were Peter and Gordon. They were obliging to "4 of the silliest girls" (apologies to Jane Austen) and talked to us patiently. It wasn't until years later I realized that all were chronically boring and unwhelming. Perhaps that was the reason for their sanguinity!!

Thanks Sorrano, for that tip regarding I-Tunes.

[Chris]

Shostakovich - Violin concerto No. 1 - Oistrakh/New York Philharmonic/Mitropoulos - The premier recording of this work, performed by the one to whom it was dedicated, wonderful though unfortunately in mono

Tchaikovsky - Violin concerto - Oistrakh/The Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy - The best recording of this work for my money, and the recording that got me into serious classical music listening...unfortunately it did not inspire me to practice the violin much more

Haydn - Missa "Sunt bona mixta malis", H XXII:2; Offertorium "Non nobis, Domine", H XXIIIa:1; Ave Regina, Hob. XXIIIb:3; Responsoria de Venetabili, H XXIIIx:4a-d; Responsorium ad absolutionem "Libera me", H XXIIb:1; Slave Regina, H XXIIb:1; Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo, H XXII:7 - Tafelmusic/Weil - Mostly listening to this for the Libera me, as it is the only recording of it I know of, but these are generally solid recordings of shorter Haydn sacred works on period instruments, though not as good as Gardiner or Hickox.

[Megan]

Shostakovich - Violin concerto No. 1 - Oistrakh/New York Philharmonic/Mitropoulos - The premier recording of this work, performed by the one to whom it was dedicated, wonderful though unfortunately in mono

Tchaikovsky - Violin concerto - Oistrakh/The Philadelphia Orchestra/Ormandy - The best recording of this work for my money, and the recording that got me into serious classical music listening...unfortunately it did not inspire me to practice the violin much more

Haydn - Missa "Sunt bona mixta malis", H XXII:2; Offertorium "Non nobis, Domine", H XXIIIa:1; Ave Regina, Hob. XXIIIb:3; Responsoria de Venetabili, H XXIIIx:4a-d; Responsorium ad absolutionem "Libera me", H XXIIb:1; Slave Regina, H XXIIb:1; Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo, H XXII:7 - Tafelmusic/Weil - Mostly listening to this for the Libera me, as it is the only recording of it I know of, but these are generally solid recordings of shorter Haydn sacred works on period instruments, though not as good as Gardiner or Hickox.

A great selection there Chris!


Right now, I am listening to a selection of Mozart works
Any early risers will can listen in to a Mozartian breakfast here on BBC Radio 3.
Duration, 180 minutes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x13wz

[jamesofedinburgh]

Ah - I keep the CDs that I truly love! But a larger mass of them, I discard, otherwise I'd be stuffing my pillow with CD cases

[Peter]

Tchaikovsky's 3rd symphony which out of the first 3 is I think the weakest, despite a few touching moments, especially the delightful 2nd movement where the real Tchaikovsky shines through - much of the rest seems contrived to me.

[jamesofedinburgh]

I don't know them but I must give them a listen some time, thank you for mentioning them. I think the Pathetique is a strange symphony - after Beethoven, it can appear histrionic - but perhaps that is its point. The apparent lack of heroism and hyper-emotionalism conceals a sort of paradoxical stoicism, the open expression of hopelessness being a real taboo in western society so it was brave to 'take this to the limit' - I think Hans Keller made this point somewhere or other.

And of course it has some very fine tunes! and the orchestration is good.

[Bonn1827]

I think of Tchaikovsky as essentially a theatre composer!! All his music has theatrical elements and, though I don't think it works so well in the B Flat Minor Piano Concerto, there are gorgeous 'tunes' everywhere in abundance. To me, he was on a par with Schubert as far as melody is concerned. Symphony No. 6 was written in a background of despair and it has spoken very personally to me at certain times in my life.

[Roehre]

Today:

JSBach:
Cantata BWV 58 (for the Sunday following New Year, i.e. today)

Debussy:
6 Epigraphes antiques (orch.Amsermet)
6 Epigraphes antiques (orch.Escher, which I prefer as the more sophisticated and idiosyncratic)

Escher:
Le Tombeau de Ravel (1952)
Largo from Sinfonia in Memoriam Maurice Ravel (1940, the other movements destroyed during thebombing of Rotterdam May 1940)
Hymne du Grand Meaulnes (1951)

Ives:
String quartet no.2 (1907/’13)