What are you listening to now?

[Peter]

Bach orchestral suites - Roy Goodman/Brandenberg Consort

[AeolianHarp]

Violin Sonata in G major op 96, first movement....this will always be one of my top favourites of his music. It is just so magical.

[Harvey]

My 7th time through on Rossini's La Cenerentola since the set arrived last Thursday!

[haydnguy]

Beethoven: The Early Quartets
Takacs Quartet

[AeolianHarp]

Beethoven: The Early Quartets
Takacs Quartet

Nice one! I am listening to his 4th Symphony right now- one I don't know as well as the 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th.

The opening is really quite astonishing as it is quite sombre, and you get quite a surprise when it bursts all of a sudden to the sunny allegro! I am sure that was his intention!

[haydnguy]

Yes, I see what you mean about the contrast from the opening. I just watched Symphony No. 4 on Youtube, from the Proms 2012 Daniel Barenboim conducting. It was quite good!

[AeolianHarp]

Yes, I see what you mean about the contrast from the opening. I just watched Symphony No. 4 on Youtube, from the Proms 2012 Daniel Barenboim conducting. It was quite good!

I must watch that myself!

[Sorrano]

This morning:
Halvorsen: "Festival March"
Liszt: "Rákóczy March" (1871)
Saint-Saëns: "Marche héroïque," Op 34

Hmmm, feels like the 3rd month of the year already.

[hal9000]

Mozart's Mass in C minor KV 427

Wonderful. A redundant a statement as there ever was, but Mozart was a special kind of person.

[AeolianHarp]

CD- Frederic Chopin: Piano Concerto no 2, Grand Fantasia of Polish Airs, op13, Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise, played by Emanuel Ax on an 1851 London Erard! With the Orchestra of Enlightenment and Sir Charles Mackerras.

The "ready made tone" of the Erard is, in fact, revealed to us as an instrument of great sophistication, with a wonderful contrast between the registers-a character largely designed out of our modern instruments.

David Winston, who restored the London Erard piano.

Emmanuel Ax loved playing this piano!

The sound was a revelation! The modern piano, well regulated, produces a very even sound throughout the registers from bass to treble- in fact, that represents one of the hallmarks of a good instrument. This Erard offers a more brilliant and less sustained projection of sound in the treble, and more mellowness and roundness in the bass, which naturally affects the choice of tempo and makes the improvisational quality of Chopin's decorative top lines so much more evident.
Given that one need not project a huge sound in a large hall, the variety of sound makes all balance problems between the hands disappear and gives the music a more incisive and exciting character than I have been used to.



The pianos of the 1840s and 1850s are stunning to listen to!!!

[haydnguy]

Elgar: Violin Concerto
Vaughn Williams: The Lark Ascending
Hillary Hahn

Beethoven: The Middle Quartets
Takacs Quartet

[Sorrano]

This morning:
Janácek: Wind Sextet, "Mládí (Youth)"
WILSON: Suite, "From My Youth", Op 5

[AeolianHarp]

This:





Arrived from eBay this morning. I paid £1.27 ( p&p included)- bargain!

[hal9000]

Nice one! I am listening to his 4th Symphony right now- one I don't know as well as the 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th.

The opening is really quite astonishing as it is quite sombre, and you get quite a surprise when it bursts all of a sudden to the sunny allegro! I am sure that was his intention!

I think Mahler might have been inspired by the 4th's opening judging by the opening of his first symphony, which also breaks into a sunny upbeat theme.

[Harvey]

Took a break from La Cenerentola to listen to Beethoven's nine symphonies. As the Ninth just ended as I am typing this, I am going to begin listening to my Mendelssohn Elijah set that arrived today.