What are you listening to now?

[Harvey]

Beethoven: Trio for Clarinet, Cello & Piano in B flat major, Op. 11

[Decrepit Poster]

Yesterday I watched Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Phil perform B's second symphony (DVD). This morning I'm listening to Takacs Quartet's take on the Grosse Fuge (YouTube). Also heard, Cziffra Gyorgy playing Mendelssohn's "Rondo Capriccioso in E, Op.14" (YouTube). O yeah, I viewed AH's "augmented" piano link (from another thread). And of course I listened to Mendelssohn's Octet yet again.

[Sorrano]

This morning:
Respighi: "Suite Rossiniana"

[Sorrano]

This morning:
Bruch: "Scottish Fantasy," Op 46

[Decrepit Poster]

Just finished listening to one of Valentina Lisitsa's takes on the "Moonlight" sonata. I prefer it to the performance she gives on her live London recital DVD, which I own. Admitted my opinion of the latter might well be influenced in part by the inferior sound produced by my living room audio system.

I also heard ms Lisitsa perform Liszt's Ballade 2 from a concert at the Bonn Beethoven-Haus, on a 97 key piano! (Lots of bass goodness here.)


Addendum:
After lunch I watched the "Eroica" as performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado via DVD, and heard the "Appassionata" played by Carol Rosenberger via CD.

[Sorrano]

This morning:

Prokofiev: Ten Pieces from "Romeo and Juliet," Op 75

[Megan]

Giovanni Felice Sances

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7--SH9kKbk[/YOUTUBE]




Giovanni Felice Sances


(c1600 - 1679)

Italian composer. Relatively little is known of Sances's youth. His early career seems to have centered in Rome: he received training at the German College between about 1609-14, appeared in a performance of the opera Amor pudico sponsored by Cardinal Montalto in 1614, and spent a period in the employ of Pio Enea degli Obizzi. By 1636 he was a tenor in the chapel of Emperor Ferdinand II, and continued to serve at the imperial court under the emperor's successors Ferdinand III and Leopold I. Sances was appointed vice-Kapellmeister in 1649, and on April 16, 1669 succeeded Antonio Bertali as imperial Kapellmeister, a position that he held until his death a decade later. During his service in Vienna he was active as a composer of sacred music, operas, sepolcri and secular chamber music. Sances was one of the long list of early baroque composers who wrote vocal variations on ostinato harmonies that included Caccini, d'India, Cifra, Dognazzi, Domenico Mazzocchi, Monteverdi, Landi, Giovanni Steffani, Vitali, Milanuzzi and Frescobaldi. In his time Sances was among the most renowned composers in Europe.

[Sorrano]

This morning:

Schumann: "Konzertstück" in F, Op 86

[Decrepit Poster]

Just finished listening to a piece with much nostalgic significance for me, Telemann's "Recorder" Sonata in F TWV 41:F2 performed by the late Franz Brüggen amongst others.

This was my favorite work to play (at) back when I diligently practiced recorder and was at top of my meager form. I pulled the first movement off fairly well. Despite being mostly a string of rapid notes it lies well for the alto recorded and, except for a few tricky measures, wasn't an insurmountable challenge. I found the third movement harder, especially the arpeggio passage at the work's end, which lies low in the alto's range. I always had trouble with low range work. That and the hairier key signatures. BTW, that high note heard in the third movement is written in the part, with the lower octave provided as an alternative. The high alternative is sort of a cheat, not normally considered part of the alto recorder's range. It's playable via overblowing. (So far as I know, the notes immediately below it are NOT obtainable by any means.) I got to where I could hit the high note pretty much every time, but it was a nerve wracking experience. Heh

Don't read too much into the above. I never considered myself good enough to perform a work of this caliber before others. But for goofing around I did well enough. It provided much enjoyment. Also, this piece, far from the most demanding in the recorder repertory, was about the limit of my proficiency, such as it was.

Back to the subject at hand, last night I listened to / watched a performance of B's "Eroica" by the Seoul Phil Orchestra under it Music Director & Permanent Conductor Chung Myung-Whun. (YouTube)

ADDENDUM:
After lunch I watched / listened to a performance of Mahler's 9th Symphony by the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam under Bernard Haitink at YouTube. Despite murky visuals and dated sound I quite liked the interpretation. Haitink's behavior at the work's conclusion was/is most interesting. For what it's worth, the 1969/70 Philip LP of Haitink and the Concertgebouw performing this work, acquired during the mid 70s, was my first exposure to it. I think highly of that rendition too.

[Enrique]

Brahms: Piano concerto no.1 (Pollini/Staatskapelle Dresden). Cannot resist giving the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REgNcn0yKPE

[Decrepit Poster]

Came across a most interesting and enjoyable new composition at YouTube, a trio with the composer playing violin.

Another work by this same composer: The Sweeper of Dreams opera.

Brahms: Piano concerto no.1 (Pollini/Staatskapelle Dresden). Cannot resist giving the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REgNcn0yKPE

Oddly enough, I watched the beginning of this exact performance several days ago. Not sure why I didn't hear it to the end, except that for some reason I've never developed a love for any of Brahms' three big concerti.

[Peter]

Mahler symphony no.4

[Sorrano]

Right now:

Messiaen: Meditations sur le Mystere de la Sainte Trinite

[Decrepit Poster]

Just discovered this performance available at YouTube. It's another that holds nostalgic significance for me. I own it on DVD as one of several encores to this same ensemble's rendition of the Shostakovich Tenth. I had never heard the work prior to my initial DVD hearing. I think it's a hoot, especially as played here. Being recorded it 1990, the group retains something of the "old style" Russian orchestral sound, which I find highly appropriate.

Otherwise, I listened for the umpteenth time to the Mendelssohn Octet.

[Michael]

"Hammerklavier" Wilhelm Kempff.
Fine performance. I'll forgive him for omitting the expo repeat in the first movement.