What are you listening to now?

[Megan]

Frederick Delius - On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring


Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields
Conductor: Sir Neville Marriner

[Peter]

Haydn symphony no.96 'The Miracle'

[Sorrano]

This morning:
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto #1 in c, Op 35

[Sorrano]

This morning:
Reger:
Viola Suite #3 in e, Op 131d/3
Four Tone Poems After Arnold Böcklin, Op 128, #1, "Hermit Playing the Violin"

[Harvey]

Hanover Band, Beethoven's nine symphonies. I bought this set on a whim after seeing it praised on this site last year. It is a worthy cycle.

[Sorrano]

Today:
Beethoven: Quartet in C Sharp Minor, Op. 131

[Sorrano]

Also today:
Beethoven: Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132

I cannot think of anything more powerful from his music than the Hymn of Thanksgiving.

[Sorrano]

This morning:
Mozart: Symphony #40 in g, K 550

[Zevy]

Mozart: EKN, 4 Overtures, Masonic Funeral Music
CSO/Bruno Walter
One of the first discs I owned!

[Decrepit Poster]

Not a lot of listening for me these past several days. I heard disk three of Brautigam's Beethoven sonata set, containing sonatas 8-11. The problem I have with disk three is that it begins with the Pathetique. Fine as the following sonatas are they always seem something of a letdown in comparison. During a meal I attempted to listen to a CD of Rachmaninoff's second symphony but just couldn't get in to it. I switched up the audio system partway through movement three.

At YouTube I again watched the Tafelmusk Beethoven seventh finale performance, and again sought out agreeable alternatives. I revisited two that please me right well, both from the same source. The first is a 1988 performance by the NHK Symphony Orchestra under Wolfgang Sawallisch. The second is a 2004 performance by the NHK Symphony Orchestra under Wolfgang Sawallisch. Both are of the same mold, driven and exciting. Despite the obvious and saddening physical degradation suffered by the maestro in the interval between performances, it is the more recent performance I prefer. Its sound is, to my decrepit ears, more 'immediate' with cleaner, crisper lines.

[hal9000]

Listened to the first movement of Mahler's orchestration of Beethoven's 9. I actually really like the addition of the tuba in the recapitulation (7:47), it manages to make that section even more terrifying than usual.

[Sorrano]

This morning:
Sarasate: "Zortzico d'Iparraguirre," Op 39
Beethoven: Violin Sonata #6 in A, Op 30/1

[Sorrano]

This morning:
Handel: "Water Music" Suite in D/G
CPE Bach: Flute Sonata #4 in a, Wq 128 (H 555)

[Decrepit Poster]

Listened to the first movement of Mahler's orchestration of Beethoven's 9. I actually really like the addition of the tuba in the recapitulation (7:47), it manages to make that section even more terrifying than usual.

That was a 'fun' listen. Boy does it open several potentially interesting discussion topics, none of which I feel up to addressing in great detail at the moment . . . heh. Yeah, the low brass passage in that one spot is certainly effective in its way. I don't think the work needs this sort of tinkering, but understand the philosophy behind it, which certainly in Mahler's case was done with the best and most honorable of intentions. Besides, some tinkering are enjoyable in their own right. Occasionally I enjoy them as much as, possibly better than, the originals.

Case in point, the wind band transcription of "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral" from Wagner's "Lohengrin" by the Lucien Cailliet. I find it every bit as enjoyable as the original, given an ensemble of sufficient distinction to pull it off. (As a long-ago bandsman and euphoniumist I typically found a great many orchestral transcriptions a blast to play (some euphonium parts can be as technically challenging as solo etudes) but musically shallow . . . compared to the originals.)

Hal's link left me with a hankering to hear the Ninth in its entirety. Following a few false starts I settled on Mariss Jansons' recent Tokyo performance with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. I think it a very fine modern interpretation, with much to like and only one small interpretive decision that disappoints me.

[Harvey]

L'Elisir d'Amore featuring Valeria Esposito as Adina. All the main singers are great in this opera. I have both the DVD and the CD and love it. Conductor Nils Muus.