What are you listening to now?

[Peter]

Beethoven 'Archduke' trio and 'Ghost' trio.

[Harvey]

Massenet's Le Cid opera.

[Sorrano]

Haydn: Symphony No. 97

[Decrepit Poster]

First, a brief aside. Following the onside of yet another health concern my already decrepit hearing further deteriorated. It is now so poor I can no long enjoy listening to much of the music I like best. Hence my lengthy absence from this forum. That said, there remains a bit of variance in what I hear, with some days better than others. On my better days, I can still hear small ensemble works, such as string quartets, well enough to derive pleasure from them. I had several such days late last week (as of May 2, 2016).

During that time I searched out Beethoven string quartet performances at YouTube, hoping to unearth a complete mix-and-match set that met the following criteria:

• Must be filmed performances of musicians in concert rather than audio-only recordings. (I have several more-than-adequate audio-only renditions of the quartets on LP and CD, thanks.)
  
• Must be recorded in an acoustic suitable for my ears in their current state, which pretty much rules out a more recessed, mellow sound.
  
• Bearing the above in mind, interpretations themselves must of course pass muster, though I will settle for lesser performances I can adequately (?) hear over better ones I can't . . . within limits.

Most if not all the Belcea Quartet performances are available at YouTube. These I mostly rule out due to recessed, mellow sound in which the cello rarely speaks with authority, or so my ears tell me. I do like their interpretation of Op.18 No.6 well enough to add it to the list. I am particularly impressed by their take on its final movement. (Image wise, this is the most professional of all the recording on my list, being filmed by professionals who know where to point the camera.) I suspect that those with better ears might enjoy more of this series than I am able to.

Some WQXR Beethoven Quartet Marathon performances make the list, due largely to acoustics but also adequate-to-excellent interpretations. My pick of the litter remains the Jasper Quartet's rendition of Op.59 No.3 which, despite a few ignorable slips from grace, is my preferred performance of the work.

The Ariel Quartet is represented at YouTube by four complete quartet performances (as well as excerpt from others). All make the list. Agreeable acoustics and fine-to-outstanding interpretations, a few forgivable nit-picks aside. Here's their rendition of the closing movement of Op.95, which I find myself listening to / watching over and over again. (These guys are a joy to watch, which adds to the fun.)

I stumbled on a filmed recording of the Jasper performing Op.131 in concert. Interpretatively it is every bit as good as I hoped. Acoustics aren't the best, being recorded or uploaded at too high a level, with suppressed dynamics. It makes the list. Here it is, cued for the start of the Presto.

That's the extent of my recent and not-so-recent music listening, minus something I'll save for another post.

[Zevy]

B. Symphonies 5&7/Carlos Kleiber
Symphony #3/Ensemble 28

[Peter]

George Enescu 'Romanian Rhapsody'

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKI_TxqivLg[/YOUTUBE]

[Joy]

George Enescu 'Romanian Rhapsody'

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKI_TxqivLg[/YOUTUBE]

Love that.

[Sorrano]

Host: The Planets (including Colin Matthews' Pluto)

[Peter]

Host: The Planets (including Colin Matthews' Pluto)

It turns out now that Pluto is no longer strictly considered a planet that Holst was right and Colin Maththews' addition rather superfluous!

[Sorrano]

It turns out now that Pluto is no longer strictly considered a planet that Holst was right and Colin Maththews' addition rather superfluous!

I did like the addition, although the suite ends better with Neptune. Was Pluto even discovered by the time Holst died? Regardless of what science says I still think of Pluto as a planet.

[Hollywood]

At the moment I am listening to Beethoven's Eroica symphony (my personal favorite). Interesting that I had to collect a prescription from one of my doctors yesterday and her office is right across the street from the Eroica Haus where Beethoven composed this symphony. I love living here surrounded by so many Beethoven houses.

[Michael]

Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor.

[Michael]

It turns out now that Pluto is no longer strictly considered a planet that Holst was right and Colin Maththews' addition rather superfluous!

Holst still should have included Earth.

[Sorrano]

Holst still should have included Earth.

I wonder if he would have entitled it, "Earth: The Bringer of Insanity"?

[Zevy]

Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor.

I always marvel at the first few measures of the Mozart C minor Concerto and the corresponding measures of the Beethoven C minor. If I didn't know beforehand, I would guess that they were switched.