What are you listening to now?

[Sorrano]

Still: Miniatures for Flute, Oboe & Piano
Stravinsky: Eight Instrumental Miniatures

That made me feel small.

[Chris]

Edouard Lalo - Piano Trio, Op. 7

I had never heard this piece before today. Wonderful chamber music!

[Harvey]

Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No 5 'Reformation' S. Baudo OSI. You Tube Link.

[Harvey]

Been going through all sorts of garage sale CDs at work. At home am listening to all my operas on CD and a couple on DVD. Right not am on Wagner's Die Meistersinger CD, Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment on DVD, and with Rocco am watching Rossini's La Cenerentola. Had to stop watchin my Flotow Martha opera because the disc was bad, the company is sending a new disc, so that one is coming up soon. And I have the double DVD set of Die Meistersinger that I have not gotten to yet. Really love the Daughter of the Regiment CD and DVD (both the French version). Wonderful story.

[Peter]

This morning:
Delius: "Life's Dance" (1899)
Liszt: "Totentanz" (1849)

Seems to me this was a life and death moment.

Also listening to Liszt's piano music with orchestra, the 2 concertos and later this week Totentanz which really is one of his finest achievements I think.

[Sorrano]

Also listening to Liszt's piano music with orchestra, the 2 concertos and later this week Totentanz which really is one of his finest achievements I think.

In listening to radio, a big disappointment to me is that I always hear the same Liszt pieces over and over, but all the others are worth listening, as well. I've been playing through some of Liszt's (easier) piano miniatures and have grown quite fond of that style. I think he is all too often underrated.

This morning:
Haydn:
Song, "Sailor's Song"
Piano Sonata #60 in C, H XVI:50

Haydn is another composer that continually surprises me as I have heard recently a good variety of his music on the radio.

[AeolianHarp]

The 5th Symphony played by The Hanover Band. The last movement is mind blowing!!!!!!!

I am thrilled!!!!

It begins in a way I have never heard before...the instruments are shaking and rumbling,creating this huge tension, and there is a different rhythm deh deh deh deh... coming in with some strings then they all come together and drumroll and then the horns SING! It is magnificent! . Full of life, power and jubilation. They have truly captured what the 5th is all about.

I wish you could all hear this- shame it's not on you tube, cos I tell you, once you have heard The Hanover Band play the 5th, it will never be the same again!!!

They are the best orchestra I ever heard.

[hal9000]

The Hanover Band's symphony cycle is very good. I bought their symphonies after Harvey posted this analysis of them. I just had to buy them after reading the writer's enthusiasm for the Hanover Band.

Having said that, I do think Gardiner's 5th is better. Whenever I listen to a new cycle, the first thing I do is skip to what I consider the important and dramatic parts of the piece. If that particular performance doesn't get enough of those right then I don't bother listening to the rest of it. I wil still keep it, just because tastes do change, but for now I'm pretty set on how I want to hear Beethoven's symphonies. I think the Hanover Band is rather accomplished in this respect apropos the 5th, but Gardiner projects those moments with greater intensity IMO. I compiled a rather short video with snippets of some of these moments from both Gardiner's and the Hanover Band's 5th, as it is always easier to hear what I'm talking about rather than read about an art form that you need to listen to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBasr0RTPYg (The Hanover Band is played first)


Both symphonies play the elongated scherzo, and the trio is played at 20s in. Gardiner opts, as he usually always does, for the faster tempo, and it's here that I think it's the right choice. I think the issue is playing it twice. When the C minor scherzo section comes into the frame for the second time, I picture it, in an ongoing narrative in my mind, as C minor trying to exert its dominance over that pesky C major that has been annoyingly poking at C minor for the entire symphony. The third repeat of the scherzo is mousy and tiptoe-y, and it is because of that trio and its indomitable energetic spirit that refuses to die, and most of that is down to tempo. Playing it less energetically, especially if you're going to play it twice, doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I can certainly see how this can be seen as rather nitpicky, but it's the small details in life . It certainly doesn't detract significantly from my listening experience, and I do see how that musical story is rather silly. Tempo is usually an important factor when I listen to Beethoven, but I can let it slide here (the Hanover isn't actually all that slow, just slower than Gardiner's). I have a similar problem (which actually annoys me given how great the rest of the performance is) in the Hanover Band's 9th, in the fugue preceding the grand statement of the Ode to Joy theme. Again, I think there is a reason why that fugue should be energetic, as it is driving towards something and it needs that momentum. To me, this is as great a sacrilege as playing the fugue that precedes the last variation in the Diabelli Variations at a snail's pace. Gardiner's is certainly on the faster side, but I always think too fast Beethoven is better than too slow Beethoven.

I included the transitions from the 3rd to 4th momement, and I can hear what you mean about the rumbling and the feeling of the music emerging, but I think the actual tutti chords that kick-start the 4th movement is projected better in Gardiner's. It's an actual event that you need to sit up and listen to. The movement starts with the same verve as the trio.

The part at 4:10 is the development section. Robert Greenberg described this part as a sunken ship emerging from the depths of the ocean; Gardiner's is definitely the bigger ship I feel. There's part of the recap in there too after that and it's really there to show the deeper and richer sounds of the bass violins in Gardiner's. On the flip side, I do love the resonant and metallic sound of the horns in the Hanover's.

Both are great performances, and I will gladly listen to both. Ideally, I would like to combine the tempo and strings of Gardiner's with the more ambient and atmospheric sonorities of the Hanover's, but such is life. I'm also still searching for that perfect 9th.

[AeolianHarp]

Is that Gardiner's Scherzo at 1:39? I like that! Lots of energy- great.

Interesting that Gardiner has that thing going on with the beginning of the last mvt like the Hanover Band- that must be an HIP thing, though I think the Hanover Band has the edge there for atmosphere- they do atmosphere so so well.

I shall look out for the Gardiner CD! Or maybe a cheeky you tube download (if it is there...)

Thanks for the clip.

[Harvey]

The 5th Symphony played by The Hanover Band. The last movement is mind blowing!!!!!!!

I am thrilled!!!!

Wow, I totally missed it and I was the one who posted it. You and Hal9000 inspired me to get this set on an instantaneous decision. Just ordered:

All nine symphones, overtures and the Missa Solemnis. Used VG $3 on Amazon:

[AeolianHarp]

Wow, I totally missed it and I was the one who posted it. You and Hal9000 inspired me to get this set on an instantaneous decision. Just ordered:

All nine symphones, overtures and the Missa Solemnis. Used VG $3 on Amazon:

$3!!!!???? What a bargain Harvey!!! I have the Overtures one- they issued that also as a separate CD. You won't be disappointed- I love it.

[Harvey]

I could not believe the price as there were two other editions of the Hanover cycle priced at $20 and up. At $3 I could not pass it up. There is something wonderful about getting another Beethoven symphony cycle! This one promises to be exceptional!

I also have Walter and Wand cycles. And a 6 CD Furtwangler WWII set, which I believe has 3,4,5,6,7, and 9, as well as some other single and double symphony releases.

[AeolianHarp]

I could not believe the price as there were two other editions of the Hanover cycle priced at $20 and up. At $3 I could not pass it up. There is something wonderful about getting another Beethoven symphony cycle! This one promises to be exceptional!

I also have Walter and Wand cycles. And a 6 CD Furtwangler WWII set, which I believe has 3,4,5,6,7, and 9, as well as some other single and double symphony releases.

It is exceptional Harvey! I bet it will be your fave.

[Harvey]

It is exceptional Harvey! I bet it will be your fave.

It very well could. Also, notice how the symphonies are numbered consecutively. I know it doesn't matter, but the fact that most sets have them out of order to fit the discs bugs me--just one of those things. I like that the overtures are all on a separate disc and not mixed with the symphonies. Really never listen to overtures, but prefer whole works. This will be exciting for sure. In case anyone is looking, I believe there was another set at the US Amazon for the same price in good condition.

EDIT: Last night I listened to Symphonies 1-5 from my Bruno Walter set. They did not seem right. I had been listening almost exclusively to the Gunter Wand cycle for a long time and had not listened to Walter's in a couple years. So I am thinking that I definitely favor Wand over Walter. But now I am listening to clips of the Hanover Band's cycle and it is sounding very wonderful. I do think this could supersede Wand and go to the top of my list of Beethoven cycles. Here are the clips for the symphonies, overtures, and missa. The Hanover Band really puts life into these Symphonies, presumably the life that Beethoven gave them in the first place.

I looked it up last night on Amazon and see that someone must have snapped up the other $3 set (I mentioned it on another site also). But there still was a decent set for under $8 listed.

[Harvey]

Currently listening to Paganini violin concertos 1 and 4.

Re my message above and Bruno Walter's Beethoven symphony cycle, I have a Gunter Wand quote that may explain things,

``When one talks about tradition, one means Furtwangler and Walter,``Wand explains. ``They stand in the tradition; what I do is far removed from that. I see myself as an outspoken servant of the great composers` works. That is the conductor`s role: to serve the music and not his personal instincts.

From "Reluctant Hero: Gunter Wand Achieves Cult Status At The Age Of 77" (January 15, 1989, By John von Rhein, Music critic).

I like Wand's attitude!