WAYLTL?
na...@alphalink.com.au
Schubert: String quartets nos. 12, 13 and 15; Wolf: Italian serenade
Kolisch Quartet. Lys 009.
My first encounter with this group leaves me eager to hear more. The Kolisch
understand this idiom from the inside, but at the same time their probing
intelligence and the febrile intensity of their playing impart a radical
feeling to these performances and the result is quite spellbinding. Did they
ever record Berg's Lyric suite?
Schubert: Impromptus; Klavierstuecke D. 946; Allegretto D. 915.
Pires. DG 457 550-2.
The packaging of this 2-disc set (with misty photo-essay and culpable
attempted poetry) has raised some comment on this group but with performances
as heart-stoppingly beautiful as these Pires is welcome to put in a Gideon
bible or a Princess Diana calendar for all I care. These are performances of
great lyrical beauty but there is also a certain detached elegance to them
that seems to put Schubert in the same line as Chopin. I can't think of any
other recording of the impromptus I would prefer to this one, unless it is
Edwin Fischer's.
Schubert: Die schoene Muellerin.
Schreier, Olbertz. Berlin Classics 0092842BC.
This recording dates from 1971 and finds Schreier in fresher voice than in the
three other recordings of his that I have heard, with no loss of sensitivity
or perceptiveness. There is also an impetuous streak about this performance
that I like. Walter Olbertz's accompaniment, scrupulous and
affectionate, deserves special mention. (Schreier's Decca recording is spoiled
for me by Andras Schiff's accompaniment, which I find unbearably
self-regarding.) Certainly one of the best modern tenor versions around.
Schoeck: Das stille Leuchten.
Fassbender, Kortel. Jecklin JD 680-2.
I got this disc, which is part of Jecklin's ongoing complete Schoeck lieder
edition, after somebody (who shall remain nameless) told me the singer was
Fassbaender. The singer turns out to be not Brigitte Fassbaender or even Willy
Domgraf-Fassbaender but one Hedwig Fassbender, no relation AFAIK. In the
event, she turns out to be a splendid lieder singer. At its best Schoeck's
music fully does justice to the intimacy and visionary beauty of the texts he
chooses to set, and that is the case in many of the songs here, such as the
final song, "Jetzt rede du!" with its majestic piano postlude. So thank you
Alan.
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf; Debussy: La Boite a Joujoux.
Orchestre de L'Opera de Lyon / Nagano. Patrick Stewart, narrator (Prokofiev)
Erato 4509-97418-2
Am I really a closet Trekkie? Anyhow I enjoyed the performance, and the
Debussy was an interesting discovery. Unfortunately Erato's booklet contains
absolutely no information whatsoever about the music, just the text of the
narration for _Peter and the Wolf_ which Captain Picard, er, I mean Patrick
Stewart, speaks perfectly intelligibly anyway.
Liszt: Piano sonata in B minor; Nuages gris; La notte; La lugubre gondola II;
Funerailles.
Zimerman. DG 431 780-2.
A big, orchestrally conceived performance of the sonata. The hard-edged
brilliance of Zimerman's tone would sound unyielding if his mastery of
structure and underlying detail were not so complete. But Pollini's recording
is not dissimilar in approach and it is, if anything, even more electrifying
than Zimerman's. Zimerman gives highly focussed and very evocative
performances of the smaller pieces also. Now when is he going to give us more
recordings? (I see the Ravel concertos with Boulez listed in DG's latest
catalogue. Mmmm ... )
Naun.
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Simon Roberts
na...@alphalink.com.au wrote:
: Schubert: Impromptus; Klavierstuecke D. 946; Allegretto D. 915.
: Pires. DG 457 550-2.
: The packaging of this 2-disc set (with misty photo-essay and culpable
: attempted poetry) has raised some comment on this group but with performances
: as heart-stoppingly beautiful as these Pires is welcome to put in a Gideon
: bible or a Princess Diana calendar for all I care. These are performances of
: great lyrical beauty but there is also a certain detached elegance to them
: that seems to put Schubert in the same line as Chopin. I can't think of any
: other recording of the impromptus I would prefer to this one, unless it is
: Edwin Fischer's.
I'm glad you wrote that; I have a nasty suspicion that while sniping at
DG's presentation when I first bought it I forgot to say anything about
the performances; I'm not sure I would rate them quite as highly as you,
if only because there are several I hold in high regard, but they
certainly have "great lyrical beauty." And it was brave of you to say
something positive about her, given the response the last such post
(concerning Mozart sonatas) elicited....
Simon
: Schubert: Die schoene Muellerin.
: Schreier, Olbertz. Berlin Classics 0092842BC.
: This recording dates from 1971 and finds Schreier in fresher voice than in the
: three other recordings of his that I have heard, with no loss of sensitivity
: or perceptiveness. There is also an impetuous streak about this performance
: that I like. Walter Olbertz's accompaniment, scrupulous and
: affectionate, deserves special mention. (Schreier's Decca recording is spoiled
: for me by Andras Schiff's accompaniment, which I find unbearably
: self-regarding.) Certainly one of the best modern tenor versions around.
Yes; there's not much evidence of Olbertz as a non-accompanying pianist,
but you may want to try one of his volumes of Haydn sonatas on Berlin
Classics if you haven't already; in their rather understated, elegant way,
they are highly enjoyable.
Simon
Takashi Kikuchi
Despite my meager economic situation, I just won't stop listening to new
works, so...
Boulez: Notations, Structures (?), and ...explosante fixte... from DG
This is the first CD which I bought for the composition of Boulez. First
two pieces are with nuances (I wish titles of each notation would be
translated into English so as to help me create visual image), and
...explosante fixte... is such a feverish pieces with fugues (I guess).
This CD gave Boulez' statue within my mind from somewhat obscure
composer/conductor into genius. Highly recommended for anyone tired of
too much Romanticism.
BTW, the reason I bought this CD is that a friend of my roommate came from
Japan, and let me listen Stockhauzen's work with the word "Shortwave" in
German (sorry, I just cannot remember the name). It was a very
interesting piece (I probably have to read a book or two to fully
appreciate). Unfortunately none of Stockhauzen is available at Davis
Tower, so I bought Boulez, another big figure in late-20th Century
composition. Anyone care to tell me where to start on Stockhauzen and
possibly other late-20th Century composition? I bought much acclaimed
Carter's Concerto for Orch. et al from Arte Nova, but it was less charming
to me than Boulez and Stockhauzen. I should probably buy the Bernstein
version everyone's talking about...
I just listened to Nielsen 5 conducted by Kubelik/Bravarian RSO from EMI
Studio Plus, and thought great. A few more listening is required to write
something about it, though.
I've also been listening to a few of my collection to decide whether to
keep or sell. You'll see the result on yet another posting "CDs for sale"
from me... Come to think of it, though, like some posters confessed on
posting regarding buying too many CDs and not listening enough, I usually
listen once and set aside (I've listened to Boulez a few times, though).
I still have to keep listening to less-listened CDs so I won't buy too
many CDs.
This is also an off-topic, but I reread 8-H Haggis' posting regarding
remastering old recording. This topic is very challenging, and probably
require a few more readings of this and other materials. But I want to be
more prepared next time 8-H Haggis arrives with yet more of very
informational postings, you know?
Takashi M. Kikuchi
Phoenix
On 12 Apr 1998 23:52:23 GMT, ez04...@dogbert.ucdavis.edu (Takashi
Kikuchi) wrote:
>Despite my meager economic situation, I just won't stop listening to new
>works, so...
>
>Boulez: Notations, Structures (?), and ...explosante fixte... from DG
>
>This is the first CD which I bought for the composition of Boulez. First
>two pieces are with nuances (I wish titles of each notation would be
>translated into English so as to help me create visual image), and
>...explosante fixte... is such a feverish pieces with fugues (I guess).
>This CD gave Boulez' statue within my mind from somewhat obscure
>composer/conductor into genius. Highly recommended for anyone tired of
>too much Romanticism.
>
>BTW, the reason I bought this CD is that a friend of my roommate came from
>Japan, and let me listen Stockhauzen's work with the word "Shortwave" in
>German (sorry, I just cannot remember the name). It was a very
>interesting piece (I probably have to read a book or two to fully
>appreciate). Unfortunately none of Stockhauzen is available at Davis
>Tower, so I bought Boulez, another big figure in late-20th Century
>composition. Anyone care to tell me where to start on Stockhauzen and
>possibly other late-20th Century composition? I bought much acclaimed
>Carter's Concerto for Orch. et al from Arte Nova, but it was less charming
>to me than Boulez and Stockhauzen. I should probably buy the Bernstein
>version everyone's talking about...
>
><snips>
As interesting as Stockhausen was around 30 years ago, his experiments
with multi-layered electronic media are old hat now....a far cry from
the young modernist who emerged 40 years ago from Milhaud, Messian and
the Paris group concerned with "musique concrete". He's currently
"Glenn Goulded" himself off the deep-end of the musical spectrum,
publishing philosophic tomes and 'cosmic' theories woven around pitch,
time and whatever else swims across his consciousness. However,
Stockhausen's still more interesting than today's ubiquitous Muzac
Minimalists who have a desultory relationship to his early
compositions. Among those, KS's "Momente" for soprano, choral groups
and 13 instruments from 1965 is one of his most accessible and
engaging pieces. Also, "Kontra-Punkte" for 10 instruments written ten
years earlier is also essential Stockhausen (if one is so inclined to
an affinity for this sort of thing). In this piece, he was onto
something a bit more rational, in the front ranks of those (then)
young composers who were attempting to go beyond the classical stage
of 12-tone music, taking their lead from Webern and aiming at the
serialization of all musical elements in one unified structure.
"Kontra-Punkte" is a 12-minute one-movement work that uses a multiple
world of sound with individual sounds and time relationships that set
up conflicts to be resolved by the listener. I think both of the above
pieces are available on CD -- if not in the US, then certainly Japan,
where Stockhausen is to them what Jerry Lewis is to the French.
A few other "relatively" modern composers you may want to explore are
Penderecki (much much more accessible than KS, but still as
interesting - and more engaging). Also Luciano Berio, whose
"Sinfonia", composed in the late 60's, still makes me smile. The
piece, a product of its era, is a survey of serial music and
surrealism, one movement combining the dialogue of Samuel Beckett with
60's revolutionary graffiti from Paris walls while another references
(paraphrases, actually) the 3rd movement from Mahler's 2nd symphony.
I'm certain CBS have issued a CD from the world premiere recording
with the Swingle Singers (!), assorted glee club voices and the New
York Philharmonic, conducted by the Berio himself.
Have fun...there's lotsa clutter in 20th century music, and the trip
is an interesting one. Definitely alot more than Carter, a sacred
American cow who's been force-fed to concert goers more than any other
serious "modern" composer I can think of.
"the person called Phoenix"
John Harkness
John Harkness writes
Gidon Kremer -- Le Cinema -- starts out with Chaplin's Smile and then
goes weird -- a Takemitsu homage to Tarkovsky, Milhaud's Le Boeuf Sur Le
Toit, which Kremer just swings the hell out of, much better than his old
Philips recording, a Piazolla piece from Bellochio's Henry IV. Highly
enjoyable, almost as much as Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's emotionally over
the top recording of the music from the film Humoresque, including both
Waxman Fantasias.
Anne-Sophie Mutter -- Penderecki Violin Concerto 2 -- Dark,
angst-ridden, and played accordingly. I find it interesting that a
relatively young violinist like Mutter is so committed to what might be
called the last composers of high modernism -- Penderecki, Lutoslawski,
Wolfgang Rihm. Even Kremer, the very model of a modern major modernist,
nudges up against cross-over with discs like Le Cinema and the Piazzola
records, but I don't think Anne-Sophie could go pop if she had a
mouthful of firecrackers. Seeing her Beethoven Cycle this week at the
North York Centre. Yippee!
Hans-Werner Henze - Undine, - Knussen, London Sinfonietta -- the sort of
thing that heartens one when thinking of the major labels. I am
completely unfamiliar with this music, a ballet Henze composed that
Margot Fonteyn apparently danced a lot. It seems very well played, and
Knussen provides an excellent note on the piece.
Opus47
Prokofiev 3rd/ Ravel Piano Concerto: Argerich/Abbado, Berlin PO.
I waited the longest time to get this recording. Somehow I thought Argerich
wouldn't sound good. All the timing are just about 9 minutes on the dot on the
back of the CD, but even shorter by a few seconds when actually played on my
player.
Argerich sounded fantastic. She somehow combines very fast speed and yet still
retains lyricism. In other words the fast passages are really fast yet there
still seems some room to breath.
I have heard the Ravel only once on the radio and don't have much of an opinion
on the work.
Fred
Kjell-Ingvar Karlsson
I've been listening to the 1st Symphony by Prokofiev:
- Igor Markevich with the Philharmonia on Testament SBT 1107
- Sergiu Celibidache with the Berlin PO on Electrola Hör Zu HZEL 700 (vinyl)
- Ernest Ensermet with the OSR on Decca ffrr LXT 5655 (vinyl)
and finally Mozart Piano Concerto # 27 with Clara Haskil with Bavarian State
Orchestra, Ferenc Fricsay conducting (DG 449722-2).
Kjell-Ingvar Karlsson
Upplands-Väsby
SWEDEN
Peter Dorman
I just picked up the Naxos disk with Szymanowski's Stabat Mater. What
an incredible piece of music, nicely performed too. It's mystical,
blowsy, sort of Scriabinish, but beautiful from start to finish. Nice
stuff.
Otherwise, I've been paying attention to the Huelgas Ensemble's singing
of Pipulare and the Schoenberg piano concertos with Brendel & Gielen.
Lots of work these days, not much time for listening.
Peter Dorman
Boris Repschinski, S.J.
This morning the Sibelius cycle of Vänskä came in from Musical Heritage.
This will keep me busy for a while. So far I have listened to Nos. 2 and 3;
and I am mightily impressed. These are generally slower than I expected, or
at least than I have heard from other cycles -- I had the 2 by Järvi and the
3 by Gibson. The vänskä ones are much more engaging.
A recent trip to the Tower cutout bins provided me with the Janacek recital
by Firkusny -- a pianist I admire much, and a repertoire I did not know
before. It's great stuff, though. I have listened to it repeatedly so far,
and find the music enchanting.
In that same bin I also came across the Barber Violin concerto with Anne
Akiko Meyers. I don't know the violinist from Eve, and won't say a word
about her lest Mr. Paganini likes her. The concerto itself I find rather
curious, likeable in places. It's coupled with a Bruch concerto which is
played rather ... But it was a cutout, so not much loss there, and I did get
to know the Barber.
That bin also contained a disc of Koopman performing Forqueray harpsichord
pieces. The first time through i was rather put off by the sort of "in your
face" playing; I was used to a more refined approach. But somehow the disc
has kept my interest, it's been back on the player a few times now. Though I
am not sure yet whether this fascination is a sign affection.
On a tangent, though, I just finished the degree I was working on. my new
job does not start until October, and so I find myself with much more time
to listen to music. Which is a shortlived pleasure, since in the next few
weeks I will have to box up everything and send it off to my next residence.
That includes the cd collection.
____________________
Boris Repschinski
Joseph Rizzo
Mendelssohn:
Symphonies 3-5, Hebrides Overture, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage
Bruggens on Philips
Great cd. The Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (with someone playing
the serpent) alone was worth the money. My only complaint is that the
Hebrides could have been a bit more powerful. Granted, I just
listened to Reiner last night (with Brahms #3 and Schubert #5), so it
was being unfavorably compared...
Dvorak:
String Qts 11-12
Panocha Quartet Supraphon
Giving it a listen right now. Enjoyable performances, I don't know if
I favor Naxos quartet more or less, but worth the money.
Copland:
Piano Concerto
Copland (piano), Bernstein (conducting), Sony (Copland Collection)
Interesting work. First time I listened to the CD and found it quite
enjoyable.
Beethoven:
Piano Concerti 1 & 2:
Levin, Gardiner on Archiv
Great performance. I really like hearing some of the hidden details
in the modern orchestra versions.
=> Joseph Rizzo
-----------------------------------------------------
"The meek shall inherit the earth- they are too weak
to refuse."
John Harkness
John Harkness writes:
Joseph Rizzo wrote:
> Mendelssohn:
> Symphonies 3-5, Hebrides Overture, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage
> Bruggens on Philips
> Great cd. The Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (with someone playing
> the serpent) alone was worth the money. My only complaint is that the
> Hebrides could have been a bit more powerful. Granted, I just
> listened to Reiner last night (with Brahms #3 and Schubert #5), so it
> was being unfavorably compared...
I found this disc in a second hand store a couple weeks ago -- terrific
mendelssohn playing.
John
hjoh...@umbc2.umbc.edu
Found two Ursula Oppens collections in a used-CDs bin
last week, both of them on Music and Arts in a series
called American Piano Music of Our Time.
Vol. 1 includes Conlon Nancarrow, Tango?
William Bolcom, The Dead Moth Tango
Elliott Carter, Night Fantasies
Michael Sahl, Tango from the Exiles Cafe
Julius Hemphill, Parchment
John Adams, Phrygian Gates
Lukas Foss, The Curriculum Vitae Tango
David Jaggard, Tango
Vol. 2 includes Conlon Nancarrow, Two Canons for Ursula
Frederic Rzewski, Mayn Yingele
Charles Wuorinen, The Blue Bamboula
Tobias Picker, Old and Lost Rivers
John Harbison, Piano Sonata No. 1
Anthony Davis, Middle Passage
Stong, brilliant playing of interesting works (though I
haven't listened to all of them yet).
Also found, but haven't yet listened to, Geoffrey Douglas
Madge playing three Krenek sonatas (1, 3, and 5).
HJ
Halvard Johnson (hjoh...@umbc.edu)
Paul Kintzele
Schubert: Piano Sonatas in A minor (D 845) and G major (D 894). Radu
Lupu (London). These are good performances, but there's a harsh edge to the
fortissimo chords at times, and I can't tell if it's caused by a
distortion in the recording or by Lupu grunting with effort.
Schubert: die schoene Muellerin. Ian Bostridge/Graham Johnson
(Hyperion). After I programmed my cd player to skip over Dietrich
Fischer-Dieskau's needless intrusions (did Hyperion really have to go to
such lengths just to get F-D's name involved with the Schubert edition?),
I was in another world--such a beautiful and expressive voice.... I can't
wait for him to do a Winterreise.
Berlioz: Overtures. Munch/BSO (RCA Gold Seal). The Gramophone guide
tipped me off to this one, and it's a great disc, full of Berliozian wit
and exuberance. (Side note: I just saw today a recent (1997)
Dutoit/Montreal disc of Berlioz overtures--has anyone heard this?
Comments?)
Berlioz: Les Nuits d'ete; Herminie. Balleys, Delunsch/Herreweghe/OCE
(Harmonia Mundi). A lovely recording, recommended to me by Simon Roberts
(thanks Simon!). I'm now a little curious about recordings that, in
accordance with Berlioz's original concept, assign the songs to different
singers. Gardiner and Davis seem to be the frontrunners in this category,
and while I turned up a rave review of Gardiner's disc on the now
operational Gramofile, I also took note of the recent discussion on
r.m.c.r. in which Gardiner didn't fare as well. I'll have to think about
this one, and in the meantime I'll enjoy Herreweghe's luminous account.
Paul K.
Chuck Nessa
Peter Dorman wrote:
How do you like the second?
CN
Chuck Nessa
Like Conlon, when listening to Ursula, I look for cannons.
CN
Simon Roberts
Paul Kintzele (kint...@mail2.sas.upenn.edu) wrote:
: Schubert: die schoene Muellerin. Ian Bostridge/Graham Johnson
: (Hyperion). After I programmed my cd player to skip over Dietrich
: Fischer-Dieskau's needless intrusions (did Hyperion really have to go to
: such lengths just to get F-D's name involved with the Schubert edition?),
: I was in another world--such a beautiful and expressive voice.... I can't
: wait for him to do a Winterreise.
I agree with all that; while you're waiting for his Winterreise, though,
get his new Schumann disc on EMI -- every bit as satisfying
interpretatively, and there's no F-D to programme out....
: Berlioz: Les Nuits d'ete; Herminie. Balleys, Delunsch/Herreweghe/OCE
: (Harmonia Mundi). A lovely recording, recommended to me by Simon Roberts
: (thanks Simon!). I'm now a little curious about recordings that, in
: accordance with Berlioz's original concept, assign the songs to different
: singers. Gardiner and Davis seem to be the frontrunners in this category,
: and while I turned up a rave review of Gardiner's disc on the now
: operational Gramofile, I also took note of the recent discussion on
: r.m.c.r. in which Gardiner didn't fare as well. I'll have to think about
: this one, and in the meantime I'll enjoy Herreweghe's luminous account.
Glad you like Herreweghe. Unfortunately, it may no longer matter what
anyone thingks of the relative merits of Gardiner's and Davis's since the
latter seems to be out of print. Gardiner's certainly isn't bad; I just
don't think any of his singers is as distinctive as the better ones
elswhere -- but only one of Davis's is in that category, I think
(Shirley-Quirk); otherwise, you may well prefer Gardiner's singers.
Simon
Eric Schissel
Boris Repschinski, S.J. (lrepsch*@luc.edu) wrote:
>A recent trip to the Tower cutout bins provided me with the Janacek recital
>by Firkusny -- a pianist I admire much, and a repertoire I did not know
>before. It's great stuff, though. I have listened to it repeatedly so far,
>and find the music enchanting.
A nice coincidence- I was listening to CD 1 of the current incarnation of
that set (hence, CD 1- the Zdenka-variations, Overgrown Path, and
Reminiscence; CD 2 has In the mists, 1.x.1905, the Concertino and the
Capriccio... I once had a CD of just the Zdenka-v., Overg., In the Mists,
and 1.x.1905...) tonight. Lovely and sometimes deep.
-Eric Schissel
--
schi...@lightlink.com
http://www.lightlink.com/schissel ICQ#7279016
standard disclaimer
Eric Schissel
hjoh...@umbc2.umbc.edu (hjoh...@UMBC2.UMBC.EDU) wrote:
>Also found, but haven't yet listened to, Geoffrey Douglas
>Madge playing three Krenek sonatas (1, 3, and 5).
I have and like the other CD in this series (2, 4, 6 & 7) though I have
never heard any other recordings of these works (I know that 2&4 have been
otherwise recorded, as have 3&5, and that other recordings of 2&4 are even
available- 2 on Melodiya/BMG played by Yudina and on Olympia played by...
ok I'm blanking here... 4 on cpo- 3 on Sony of course)... on their own
terms these performances are very fine, and #2 especially is a .very.
memorable piece of music.
Jicotea
Paul Kintzele <kint...@mail2.sas.upenn.edu> wrote in article
<6h8prs$1d3$1...@netnews.upenn.edu>...
> Schubert: Piano Sonatas in A minor (D 845) and G major (D 894). Radu
> Lupu (London). These are good performances, but there's a harsh edge to
the
> fortissimo chords at times, and I can't tell if it's caused by a
> distortion in the recording or by Lupu grunting with effort.
>
Neither, I think. Look to your system for the problem.
--
John Wiser
my opinions are not necessarily
Alan Cooper
schi...@adore.lightlink.com (Eric Schissel) wrote:
>A nice coincidence- I was listening to CD 1 of the current incarnation of
>that set (hence, CD 1- the Zdenka-variations, Overgrown Path, and
>Reminiscence; CD 2 has In the mists, 1.x.1905, the Concertino and the
>Capriccio... I once had a CD of just the Zdenka-v., Overg., In the Mists,
>and 1.x.1905...) tonight. Lovely and sometimes deep.
Nothing to do with your post, Eric, but I wanted to thank you for
recommending the set of Honegger String Quartets on Ermitage. I
picked it up from Berkshire and it is, indeed, outstanding: wonderful
music and excellent performances.
Alan Cooper
Jicotea
Alan Cooper <amco...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in article
<353a3f7b...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>...
> schi...@adore.lightlink.com (Eric Schissel) wrote:
>
> >A nice coincidence- I was listening to CD 1 of the current incarnation
of
> >that set (hence, CD 1- the Zdenka-variations, Overgrown Path, and
> >Reminiscence; CD 2 has In the mists, 1.x.1905, the Concertino and the
> >Capriccio... I once had a CD of just the Zdenka-v., Overg., In the
Mists,
> >and 1.x.1905...) tonight. Lovely and sometimes deep.
Often deep, the solo music particularly.
>
> Nothing to do with your post, Eric, but I wanted to thank you for
> recommending the set of Honegger String Quartets on Ermitage. I
> picked it up from Berkshire and it is, indeed, outstanding: wonderful
> music and excellent performances.
>
> Alan Cooper
I acted on the same advice, and while I'm still not at all sure how
wonderful the music is, these people really dig into it all. My thanks
also!
bad-tempered john
Peter Dorman
Well, as you can see from the misspellings and all, the previous post
was dashed off in a hurry. There is only one S piano concerto, of
course.
Meanwhile, add the recent Naxos release of Brouwer guitar works to the
"listening raptly" list. Beautiful, beautiful album. If the general
public finds out about this one, it will sell buckets.
Peter Dorman
Eric Schissel
*blush* *blush*
as to the Honegger, while I still think just as well of it, with the
broadening of my knowledge-base has come the realization that the style is
not so singular as I'd thought- the quartets of Miaskovski and Tansman,
for instance, sometimes have a similar sound to the latter two of
Honegger's.
Alan Swindells
At the moment mostly live music. We are ATM celebrating the 75th
anniversary of the ISCM with a nine-day festival in Manchester.
Highlights so far:
Maxwell Davies, Worldes Blis, conducted by the composer
Birtwistle, Pulse Shadows (Nine settings of Celan plus
nine string quartet movements): Claron McFaddon, Arditti
4tet, Nash Ensemble - this /must/ be recorded, and soon)
A recital by Joanna McGregor, including Adès, Traced
Overhead, a multitracked performance of 3 studies by
Nancarrow and a WP of Birtwistle's 'Harrison's Clocks' -
only 3 of the 4 pieces, the second is not yet finished
There is more to come - Saariaho, Chateau de l'Ame: Boulez, Le
marteau sans maitre: Stockhausen, Kontakte: the WP of Elliot
Carter's Symphonia. etc.
But on CD:
Shostakovich 8, conducted by Mravinsky, the MK digital recording
re-released today on a cheap Philips CD. This was the first time
in a long time that I have marched up to the counter in a record
store and demanded the disc that was playing (it was the third
movement that did it: that nasty little scherzo is positively
vicious in this performance.)
Palestrina Masses; the four disc set from the Tallis Scholars.
Gorgeous!
Birtwistle, 3 Settings of Celan, etc, Christine Whittlesey,
with the Ensemble Intercontemporain, conducted by Boulez. I was
prompted to play this by listening to Pulse Shadows, which
incorporates these 3 settings. Good as this disc is, the Celan
pieces were eclipsed by the live performance referred to above.
Michael Berkeley, Baa baa black sheep; an opera based on the
unhappy childhood of Rudyard Kipling plus scenes from the
Jungle Book - intriguing stuff, and a good live performance.
(Collins Classics)
Alwyn, Miss Julie (based on Strindberg's play), plus various
symphonies, etc, all on various Lyrita CDs - the more I listen
to Alwyn the more I find there is in the music - definitely
worth exploring further, I think.
More mainstream stuff now: the Beethoven Piano Concertos, played
by Michael Roll, RPO, Howard Shelley, on 3 very cheap discs from
Tring. I haven't yet got the disc with 1 & 5, but the remainder
(including the Triple Concerto) are excellent, giving many more
illustrious names a run for their (or your) money - try them if
you can.
To come:
EMI have just issued a second 'Debut' CD (can that be right -
can one have 2 debuts?) of music by Thomas Adès. The first was
my record of the year in 1997, so I am looking forward to this
one keenly.
And in view of the above, I've finally taken the plunge and
ordered the recording of Worldes Blis on Collins Classics.
--
Regards: Alan * alan...@argonet.co.uk *
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Deryk Barker
As I am currently well into the second volume of Alan Walker's
extraordinary Liszt biog, I have listened to a lot of FL recently
including the Beecham and both Horenstein recordngs of the Faust
Symphony, and Leslie Howard's recording of the original version of the
Hungarian Rhapsodies.
Also: Stanford's Stabat Mater (Hickox, Chandos), various bits of
British Light Music (EMI's British composers series), string quartets
by Arthur Lourie (ASV - still coming to grips with this) and Dame Edna
Everage narrating Peter and the Wolf.
Mostly, though, I've been listening to a DAT recording of my band
playing live a few weeks ago. A sobering experience.
--
|Deryk Barker, Computer Science Dept. | Music does not have to be understood|
|Camosun College, Victoria, BC, Canada| It has to be listened to. |
|email: dba...@camosun.bc.ca | |
|phone: +1 250 370 4452 | Hermann Scherchen. |
Matthew B. Tepper
Alan Swindells wrote:
>
> EMI have just issued a second 'Debut' CD (can that be right - can one
> have 2 debuts?) of music by Thomas Adès. The first was my record of
> the year in 1997, so I am looking forward to this one keenly.
I wonder if we'll see this Stateside?
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/index.htm
My main music page --- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/berlioz.htm
And my science fiction club's home page --- http://www.lasfs.org/
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
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Stan Szpakowicz
Matthew B. Tepper <du...@deltanet.com> wrote:
>Alan Swindells wrote:
>> EMI have just issued a second 'Debut' CD (can that be right - can one
>> have 2 debuts?) of music by Thomas Adès. The first was my record of
>> the year in 1997, so I am looking forward to this one keenly.
If anything, it's even better that the first half of this (presumably)
distributed debut twofer (:>).
>I wonder if we'll see this Stateside?
Why don't you visit the Arctic once in a while? Close to my igloo the
Ad`es CDs sell for a mere $9.98 each (less than 7 of your dollars).
See you soon. Ad`es is worth the trip. (8->)
--
Dr. Stan Szpakowicz, Professor http://www.site.uottawa.ca/~szpak
School of Information Technology & Engineering sz...@site.uottawa.ca
University of Ottawa tel +613-562-5800/6687, fax +613-562-5187