What are you listening to now?

[Megan]

James Ehnes (violin)
Andrew Armstrong (piano)

Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor
Bartok: Violin Sonata No. 1 Sz75.



Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No.1
Lucerne Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

[Sorrano]

A rousing rendition of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-overture was a great start for the day.

[Chris]

James Ehnes (violin)

He's good. He has a magnificent recording of the Paganini caprices. More clear and precise than any version I've heard, while still being extremely musical. Better even than Accardo's and Perlman's, in my opinion.

[Megan]

He's good. He has a magnificent recording of the Paganini caprices. More clear and precise than any version I've heard, while still being extremely musical. Better even than Accardo's and Perlman's, in my opinion.

Thank you for that information Chris, I did enjoy listening James Ehnes bright and clear playing. I will look up his recording or Paganini caprices.
More to explore! I am sure to find him on youtube.

[Sorrano]

This evening I put on Stravinsky's Firebird, conducted by Stravinsky himself. I had forgotten how exciting this work is.

[Roehre]

Yesterday:

Kodaly:
String quartet no.2 op.10 (1918)

Feld:
Symphony no.1 (1966/’67)

Maxwell Davies:
Sinfonia (1962)

[Peter]

Brahms: Clarinet Sonata no.2 and Lieder Op.91
Elgar: Introduction and Allegro for strings.

[Michael]

Nothing.
Decided to turn off everything and read.



11.23pm. Managed to last a good few hours but then I had to listen to Beethoven's Coriolan overture, mainly because I was watching Shakespeare's "Coriolanus" on DVD. I know the overture is based on the von Collin play, but the character is the same.

[Roehre]

Today:

Liszt (Hyperion/Howard series vol.48):
Paganini-etudes S.140 and 141 (with variants)
Mazeppa S.138 (intermediate version)

Bosmans:
String quartet (1927)

Glanert:
Music for violin and orchestra op.33 (1995/’96) (R3:Po3)

[Quijote]

Greetings from the Black Forest (half-term holiday, snow and ski fun with family and friends). My recent listening : Bruckner 8th, the so-called first 1887 "original" version. I still haven't decided which is the "better", the 1887 or the 1890. Does it matter?

[Roehre]

Greetings from the Black Forest (half-term holiday, snow and ski fun with family and friends). My recent listening : Bruckner 8th, the so-called first 1887 "original" version. I still haven't decided which is the "better", the 1887 or the 1890. Does it matter?

Bruckner himself seems to have had a preference for the 1st version I read this afternoon in the accompanying book to the DGG The Symphony Edition (to commemmorate the company's 75th anniversary, 1973) (a series with Haydn's 12 London Symphonies, 46 by Mozart, and all the numbered ones by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Brahms, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Mahler)

[Roehre]

Today:

Novak
Eternal longing op.33 (1904)

Holliger:
Scardanelli-cycle (1975/’91)

Liszt (Hyperion/Howard series vol.19):
Liebesträume S.541
Buch der Lieder für Piano allein I S.531
Buch der Lieder für Piano allein II S.535-540

Saeverud:
Canto ostinato opus 9 (1935)
Galdreslatten op.20 (1942)
Symphony no.6 “Sinfonia dolorosa” op.19 (1942)

[Quijote]

Bruckner :
Symphony No. 8/1 (1887), 4th movement;
Symphony No. 8/2 (1890), 4th movement.

I really like both versions. We may say then that Bruckner in fact wrote circa 27 symphonies, if not more. Hah !

[Quijote]

Sorry to bore you all with Bruckner again :
Bruckner, Symphony No. 8 / 2 [i.e. 1890 version] (Haas, ed.) with Boulez conducting the Vienna Phil (in St Florian's, a 2000 live recording). This is a knock-out performance : the bête noire of contemporary music conducting a late 19th century symphony performed by an orchestra renowned for its conservative mind-set (cf. their regular New Year concerts that make me want to throw up).

[Quijote]

I think I need a bit of Beethoven now. Maybe a piano sonata.