What Classical Music Are You Listening To Tonight?

[Toccata]

I hear a lot of Scriabin in this music...with virtuosity pushed to the fore. Hamelin, of course, handles every hurdle with aplomb. Excellent sound--a little more emphasis on the low end than is usual with Hyperion.

[AndyPandy]

Touch of Vivaldi for moi this evening - quite pleasant.

[AudioNut]

Listening to an RCA Living Stereo LP, recorded in 1959

Beethoven Violin Concerto in D, Op. 61

Jascha Heifetz - Violin
Boston Symphony Orchestra - Charles Munch, Conductor

Old record, (55 years old) lots of scratches and surface noise, but great performance. I probably should get the SACD of this one, or see if I have another copy elsewhere. Worth having.

I probably started this one off, playing on my Garrard type A record changer that dropped records, one on top of another and beat the heck out of the vinyl - and somehow thought myself superior to those folks with those cheap, little, "turntables" that didn't do anything automatically.







GARRARD TYPE A Record Changer:





And this is the only picture I could find of the type "A" Garrard with a stack of records, waiting to be ruined.




And here is the "cheap little, do nothing," A.R. Turntable (ca. 1963) that I should have bought, instead.




And it was available at bargain basement prices if you knew where to look:

[bart]

^^^^^^Wonderful photos Julian. I have seen these too in my childhood.



Listening to this:



Posted quite a lot here, so I decided to purchase this album, as I didn't own much of this French composer yet.
A lot of well known tunes on it. Well done. Sound and performance.

[bart]

Originally Posted by bart

Mieczysław Weinberg - Complete String Quartets
Quatuor Danel



While preparing for the next seminar, listening to this newly acquired box.
I read a glowing review in Fanfare Magazine, and decided I "needed" this.
Very intense music. If you like Shostakovich's String Quartets, you will certainly like this too.
These is a lot of resemblance, but there are enough differences to make it a worthwhile journey to discover these chamber works.
Already at disc 4 now...

Weinberg had quite a life:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mieczysław_Weinberg

CD 5

This box will certainly one I will cherish...

[cma29]

Originally Posted by cma29

Here is another great set of RBCDs. A 6-disc set from Zig-Zag Territories

Mozart:
Symphony No. 39 in E flat major, K543
Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K550
Symphony No. 41 in C major, K551 'Jupiter'
Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, K191
Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra No. 10 in E flat, K365
Jos van Immerseel & Yoko Kaneko (pianos)
Flute & Harp Concerto in C major, K299
Frank Theuns (flute) & Marjan de Haern (harp)
Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, K447
Ulrich Hübner (horn)
Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major, K211
Midori C. Seiler (violin)
Symphony No. 29 in A major, K201
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K216
Midori C. Seiler (violin)
Anima Eterna Brugge, Jos van Immerseel

Violin Sonata No. 25 in F major, K377
Violin Sonata No. 28 in E flat major, K380
Violin Sonata No. 27 in G major, K379
Violin Sonata No. 24 in F major, K376
Violin Sonata No. 33 in E flat major K481
Violin Sonata No. 32 in B flat major, K454
Violin Sonata No. 35 in A major, K526
Midori C. Seiler (violin) & Jos van Immerseel (piano)



I really enjoyed symphonies #40 & 41 from these forces, so when I saw this recently released Mozart compilation I went for it. The same transparency and super clear articulation I found previously also apply to #39.

The violin concerti are expertly played with much refinement and symphony #29, placed in between the concerti in disc 4, is given a spirited performance with violin desks separated.

The recordings are outstanding and I selected in another thread the Anima Eterna disc of the #40 & #41 as one of the top discs in my collection.

Listening to this wonderful set again. Tonight disc 4 which includes the violin concerti and symphony #29. Immerseel does these pieces extremely well. I like.

[bart]

Originally Posted by cma29

Listening to this wonderful set again. Tonight disc 4 which includes the violin concerti and symphony #29. Immerseel does these pieces extremely well. I like.

I'm glad the house orchestra of our Concertgebouw Brugge pleases you Carlos!
Jos is a fantastic conductor. And piano player.
He's already working on his succession, as he will be 70 next year.

[AudioNut]

Listening to . . . Arnold Bax - Elegiac Trio for Flute, Alto and Harp,
Fantasy Sonata for Alto and Harp,
Sonata for Flute and Harp

Trio Turner
Isabelle Perrin - Harp
Sabine Toutain - Alto (Viola)
Philippe Pieriot - Flute


Don't listen to much Arnold Bax, but when I do, I wonder why I don't . . . quite nice.

I bought this when I was on a "listen to harp music" kick, and I'm not sure I gave it a fair shot the first time I listened to it. Fresh, new, (to me), music and I'm sure I'll listen again. Isabelle Perrin is one of my favorite Harpists and she plays beautifully on this recording.

.

[AudioNut]

Listening to . . George Frederic Handel - Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Nice to listen to different groups playing your favorite music - Same music, treated a little differently, different pacing, different emphasis, slghtly different sound, different instruments, placed differently in the sound stage, different recording techniques, frequently makes the same old music sound, somehow, once again, new and different.

That is sorta my impression of this recording of music that I love and listen to often. This group - The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is splendid - and I'm really enjoying the music made new and fresh.

And, much to my surprise, when I went looking for "cover art" I came across this Penguin Guide Review Rosette accolade which says exactly the same thing "It is like listening to this marvelous music for the very first time."

Highly Recommended by me!!!!

[cma29]

Originally Posted by bart

I'm glad the house orchestra of our Concertgebouw Brugge pleases you Carlos!
Jos is a fantastic conductor. And piano player.
He's already working on his succession, as he will be 70 next year.

Bart - You are lucky to have such a great ensemble so close by. Immerseel reminds me of Harnoncourt who always has something interesting and intelligent to say about any music he conducts.