What are you listening to now?

[Peter]

Arnold Bax's symphonic poen 'Tintagel' which though his best known orchestral work, is still not widely known and should be!

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixF5f2cqIKo[/YOUTUBE]

[Joy]

Arnold Bax's symphonic poen 'Tintagel' which though his best known orchestral work, is still not widely known and should be!

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixF5f2cqIKo[/YOUTUBE]

Very nice, Peter, thank you.

[Michael]

Arnold Bax's symphonic poen 'Tintagel' which though his best known orchestral work, is still not widely known and should be!

It must be this piece which was used in the opening of a Goon Show I heard many, many years ago:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFrm0HewFuw

[Humoresque]

Currently listening to:

Stephen Kovacevich playing Brahms Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. This is a staggering work and from Variation 25, starting at 20'53", the work is unmitigated ecstasy!! Fireworks, earthquakes, colliding stars....and I'm such a wreck when it's finished!! And it's great to be able to read the music if you want to listen via U-Tube; brushing up on that sight-reading:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9tbCkACbGU

I'd have to say Kovacevich is my favourite living pianist; I've loved his work since hearing him practice for a recital when he was known as Stephen Bishop.

[Peter]

Currently listening to:

Stephen Kovacevich playing Brahms Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. This is a staggering work and from Variation 25, starting at 20'53", the work is unmitigated ecstasy!! Fireworks, earthquakes, colliding stars....and I'm such a wreck when it's finished!! And it's great to be able to read the music if you want to listen via U-Tube; brushing up on that sight-reading:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9tbCkACbGU

I'd have to say Kovacevich is my favourite living pianist; I've loved his work since hearing him practice for a recital when he was known as Stephen Bishop.

Yes a wonderful piece and even Wagner admired the fugue! Thanks for posting that as it takes me back to my 'A' level music because this was one of the set pieces.

[Humoresque]

Yes a wonderful piece and even Wagner admired the fugue! Thanks for posting that as it takes me back to my 'A' level music because this was one of the set pieces.

"..one of the set pieces". You mean, back in the day when there was rigour and standards that demanded something of music students? I'm extremely impressed that you managed this, let alone in high school. My mother attained her Licenciate in Piano at 18 - but that was 1944!!

My friend who co-ordinates our music group with me studied for a time at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and has been a music pedagogue and practicing musician. We have the most depressing conversations about the exponentially declining 'standards' in music schools today. I set out the problems on an earlier posting, but I also think a lot of bright students who are musical are going into STEM subjects and entering those professions. This is where the employment offers more stability and greater income. A niece of mine was a fine pianist and she studied International Law and works for the government. There are plenty of such examples; in short, there must be a lot of very good amateur musicians out there.

[Harvey]

I am listening to all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas. Currently on #26.

[Peter]

I am listening to all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas. Currently on #26.

Who's playing?

[Harvey]

Who's playing?

A mixed bag (and it looks like I missed a couple of the sonatas in this list):
Mikulas Skuta 1,2,6, 13, 15, 16, 20, 22
Svjatoslav Richter 3, 7, 19
Daniela Ruso 4, 14, 24, 25, 27-32
Mario-Ratko Delorko 5
Dubravka Tomsic 13, 21, 23
Hugo Steurer 11, 12
Sylvia Capova 17, 26
Steven Beck 9

[Sorrano]

Ligeti: Requiem

[Humoresque]

Right now I'm listening to and watching this magnificent production of "L'Orfeo" with Jordi Savall conducting. Montserrat Figueris was absolutely fabulous in this repertoire and her singing of the Prologue here is perfection; her elegant vibrato is delicately interspersed with the stylized ornamentation of the period and produces a warm and nuanced performance: I've got this connected up to my hi-fi and the magic is palpable!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ma4OelX45I

[Peter]

Right now I'm listening to and watching this magnificent production of "L'Orfeo" with Jordi Savall conducting. Montserrat Figueris was absolutely fabulous in this repertoire and her singing of the Prologue here is perfection; her elegant vibrato is delicately interspersed with the stylized ornamentation of the period and produces a warm and nuanced performance: I've got this connected up to my hi-fi and the magic is palpable!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ma4OelX45I

Yes I've seen this production before - magnificent! By the way Jordi Savall recorded a version of the Eroica that is faithful to the first private Lobkowitz performance of the Eroica in terms of the forces employed and it makes for a very interesting contrast to the norm. Of course Beethoven himself had a larger orchestra for the first public performance.

[Humoresque]

Well I'll most definitely check out Jordi's Beethoven. It's probably somewhere on U-Tube.

The other day I talked about music standards in schools etc. and I mentioned my own mother who achieved her LMusA in piano, saying this was 1944. Well, today I contacted the AMEB and their archivist sent me a scanned document to show that she was, in fact, one of only 10 people in the state of NSW in 1943 to achieve this (some people would have been away at war too, presumably). At that time she was either late 16 or early 17. Today she'd still be at school and finding out this information at this time has been very emotional for me.

[hal9000]

Bach's Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould 1981. One of the true masterpieces of humanity.

[Peter]

Brahms symphonies 1 and 3 - Karajan.