What are you listening to now?

[Sorrano]

Exploring Music featured the last section of Das Lied von der Erde by Mahler. While not necessarily a Mahler fan I did quite enjoy that.

[Harvey]

[Peter]

Beautiful piece for piano and orchestra by the much neglected Gerald Finzi

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkQbzZgwfl0[/YOUTUBE]

[Michael]

I heard the Finzi work on Hall of Fame. Beautiful.

[Megan]

Beautiful piece for piano and orchestra by the much neglected Gerald Finzi

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkQbzZgwfl0[/YOUTUBE]

A beautiful, comforting, tone poem and distressing piece of music, Peter. This is what people should be listening to in these uncertain times. It sounds very much like some of the later 19th century French music. Its very subdued and the piano and orchestra are beautifully interwoven .

I read earlier that you dislike Lark Ascending, but I think the Finzi piece is similarly very atmospheric.

[Megan]

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

[Peter]

Mendelssohn - Psalms. Some really beautiful and sadly neglected music here. Just by way of a sample from this try the uplifting chorus 'Was betrübst du dich, meine Seele' (20:57)

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNym6UeNcLA[/YOUTUBE]

[Michael]

Vaughan Williams, Symphony No. 5.
I had to stop halfway through as it started to depress me.

[Zevy]

Yo Yo Ma playing the Bach Cello Suites live!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHYD...eature=em-lbrm

[Megan]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhBXx-2PadM[/YOUTUBE]

[Decrepit Poster]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc_n848r8xc[/YOUTUBE]
(Orchestral Suite based on Film Music of Alfred Schnittke)

I came across this about a week ago and can't stop listening to / watching it. It's my first exposure to the Rozdestvensky work, and very near my first exposure to Schnittke. That the video/audio briefly cuts outs several times near the beginning and again near the end don't distract much from the presentation.

[Peter]

Having heard this wonderful Bach chorale played on the radio recently by Angela Hewitt at a live Wigmore Hall recital to an empty hall, I ordered her cd of Bach arrangements. In the meantime here is an arrangement of it by Pierre Feraux played a little too fast I think compared to Hewitt's sublime performance.

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

[Decrepit Poster]

Late last year (2019) Valentina Lisitsa began publishing new renditions of B's piano sonatas on YouTube in more or less chronological order, a project (temporarily?) brought to a halt by the Pandemic. Here's one of her more recent entries, a favorite of mine:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU3luxu0q_I[/YOUTUBE]

Somewhat related, David Hurwitz, a well established name in US classical music recording reviews, recently launched his own YouTube channel. His talks are well worth a listen imo. Here he offers his opinion on the best Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycles. I was quite pleased when he placed Brautigam near the top of the list, the more so since he is not always overly kind to the period instrument/performance movement:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-fow2ab3w[/YOUTUBE]

[Chris]

Thanks for that, Decrepit Poster. I read a lot of David Hurwitz's reviews when I was building up my CD collection. I found them very helpful. I'm going to check out his channel.

[Chris]

I never let the 4th of July pass without listening to Stars and Stripes Forever, especially the Horowitz piano transcription, to which I am listening at this moment!