What Classical Music Are You Listening To Tonight?

[skreich]

[bart]

Barbarian Beauty - Baroque virtuoso concertos for viola da gamba and orchestra
Il Suonar Parlante Orchestra, Vittorio Ghielmi



Well recorded and wonderfully played concertos of Telemann (who sounds very Italian here!), Graun, Vivaldi and Tartini.
One of those gems you discover through a live concert.

[bart]

Continuing with delicious viola da gamba music:

Hille Perl - Concerti - Telemann Pfeiffer Graun
Freiburger Barockorchester, Petra Müllejans



This album has been posted quite often and it is absolutely worth it.
Hille Perl is the leading lady of the bass viol today (together with Jordi Savall).
Highly recommended!

[ehoove]

Has anyone else seen this, or am I late to the party?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/66-A2MyVDbU

Amazing for her age,
Jim

[cma29]

Originally Posted by tima

I hope you don't mind an unsolicited suggestion; if you're familiar already, then maybe for others.

Collecting Resurrections is a fine thing. Here's one for your consideration that I suspect is from an earlier time - and perhaps more significant from a conductor from an earlier time than many in your collection. Otto Klemperer (like Bruno Walter) was a friend of Mahler and the composer aided him in his career. And also as with Walter, the affinities are there.

There is an interesting review here whose final sentence reads: "This is an essential recording for any collection: the greatest interpretation of Mahler's Second ever placed before the public, made under ideal studio conditions and now in the best sound possible. " I don't know if that is true with the recording from the early 60s, but you might be persuaded to find out. With soloists Hilde Rössl-Majdan and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf the artistry is undeniable. If you like this, you might enjoy exploring other Mahler symphonies he conducted.



Also available on SACD and purportedly superb, but rather pricey now as its availability period expired.

Clean copies on LP are worth snapping up. There are a few different covers. I have this one:

Listening to this excellent recommendation by tima (Tim). It's a superb version of the Resurrection and the sound quality is very good for this 1963 recording.

[Amadave]

Eiji Oue / Minnesota Orchestra - Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances/Vocalise

[cma29]

Originally Posted by cma29

Something new for me...

Schoenberg:
Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4
Pelleas und Melisande, Op. 5
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan



These tone poems sound "romantic" to my ears. Since they are early Opuses these scores are from the period before Schoenberg dabbed with atonal music. Superbly played by the BPO and Karajan. The recording, dating from the 1970s, is excellent.

"This is a staggering display of orchestral control and structural mastery" as Gramophone's James Jolly says in his selection of this recording as one of the 100 Greatest Recordings.

[tima]

Originally Posted by skreich

Sibelius Symphony No. 2 - Barbirolli, Halle Orchestra

Franklin Mint recording......red vinyl........surprisingly good.

One of the very best of Sibelius' 2nds! Chesky did an issuance of this which still can occasionally be found sealed. Keep a lookout!

[Kaliar]

Album : Symphony No. 2 In D, Finlandia
Composer : Jean Sibelius
Artist : The Cleveland Orchestra (Yoel Levi)
Released : 1984
Label : Telarc
Format : FLAC (16-bit/44KHz) from the CD



I bought the CD in 1985, and listen to it pretty regularly. Despite having been produced at the beginning of digital, it has passed the test of time!

[Kaliar]

Album : Symphonies Nos 2 & 5
Composer : Jean Sibelius
Artist : Minnesota Orchestra (Osmo Vänskä)
Released : 2011
Label : BIS
Format : FLAC (24-bit/96KHz)

“[the Minnesota's] sound is huge and polished with rich strings, flaring brass and mellow winds, clearly recorded in first-rate SACD surround sound...[the Fifth] is fairly speedy, but well-paced and imaginatively phrased. The first movement's hollowed-out string passages beneath upfront woodwind make for typically atmospheric Vanska, while the concluding accelerations are obvious but impressive.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2012 ****

“The sheer polish of the Minnesotans is a source of pleasure, but it was the voyage-of-discovery energy and temperament that made Vänskä’s work in Lahti so distinctive, defining a new age of Sibelius interpretation. Vänskä is now older: his Sibelius has become smoother and, yes, more conventional.” Financial Times, 18th February 2012 ***

“So how do Nos 2 & 5 compare with their Lahti equivalents? They are every bit as compelling and intelligently realised...Vanska handles the opening movement's compound structure even better than before and the finale is just right, with irresistable forward momentum...Thore Brinkmann's superb sound reproduces with exceptional clarity every nuance of a finely balanced orchestral picture” Gramophone Magazine, April 2012

“Under Vänskä's leadership, the Minnesota Orchestra has moved into the top echelon of US bands. But these symphonies need a leaner, less self-regarding sound, while Vänskä's performances seem to have broadened and coarsened, too. There are some striking passages” The Guardian, 22nd March 2012 ***