What Classical Music Are You Listening To Tonight?

[bart]

This was a disappointment.




I much prefer the versions we have in our library, all of them:

[bart]

Attacca Quartet - Of All Joys
Qobuz 24/96




One of the best string quartet releases of the last years.

“And tears and sighs and groans my weary days / Of all joys have deprived”.

This short verse by John Dowland, which inspired the Attacca Quartet the title of its new album released by Sony, sums up well the state of mind of the members of the quartet when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Faced with lockdowns and social distancing measures, music could no longer fulfill its promise of reunification and communion. So, when the easing of health restrictions timidly allowed the resumption of artistic activities, the return to the studios had the effect of a shock for the four young musicians: "We've never been so moved: we had to stop and cry between takes", confesses Andrew Yee (cello). "Of All Joys" is therefore an album of resilience, the one of the newfound light that blinds you and brings you back to the world after spending an eternity locked in the darkness of a cellar.

There is thus a very great spirituality in this album, which brings together Renaissance works and minimalist compositions from the 20th century. Arvo Pärt's Summa, heartbreaking in its sustained earthly clashes, and Allegri's Miserere magnificently transcribed, reveal the highly metaphysical character of the programme. But the quartet avoids any accusation of bigotry, showing that depth can emerge from secular works, as in the madrigals of Dowland or Gibbons. The latter's Fantasia à 6 in D minor is dazzling with colour, and the Attacca serve it perfectly with their sharp timbres, hitting their target right in the heart. The harmonic and rhythmic richness of this composition leads the listener into a multitude of healing emotions. Beauty and joy as a remedy for pain.

It is indeed a direct relationship with the emotions that guides the intelligent and precise approach of the Attacca Quartet, who preferred here the sensual, carnal relationship to the works rather than any historical or musicological loyalty. In fact, of all the works on this programme, only one was actually written for string quartet: the Quartet No. 3 "Mishima" by the composer Philip Glass. It is perhaps with this piece that the genius and essential talent of the New York quartet is fully realised. Music lovers around the world had never recovered from the version recorded by the legendary Kronos Quartet in 1985. Since then, it seemed impossible to improve on it, and yet Attacca has done just that. With a fresh approach to this six-movement quartet, they offer a much more nervous, sharper version. The overall sound is unpredictable, sometimes rounding off the timbre, sometimes piercing the silence with great blows of the bow; one could almost see the poet Mishima appear in the flesh, so well does this interpretation reflect his contradictory personality and the tragedy of his fate!

The album ends as it began, with the meditative and soothing company of Arvo Pärt (here, his Fratres). The musicians barely touch the strings, a thin stream of pure air flows from their instruments. This finale has the effect of an out of body experience and plunges us into a state of blissful wonderment. After hearing it, there is nothing left but silence, to try to penetrate the mystery of this splendid ecstasy with its diaphanous beauty. It is a monumental disc that the quartet offers us here. Overwhelming. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz

[ehoove]

Anne-Sophie Mutter
Plays Bach
Excellent live Ultra HD Stream
Regards,
Jim

[ehoove]

Kullervo
Sibelius
London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Chorus
Peter Mttel and Monica Groop Vocalists
Sir Colin Davis Conducting
Very Enjoyable and well played.
LSO Live SACD LS00574

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by ehoove

Kullervo
Very Enjoyable and well played.

Yes, quite competent.

[jimtranr]

If you're looking for Don Corleone, you won't find him here. Very faint, very infrequent echoes of everything from Debussy to Rachmaninoff or Prokofiev to Herrmann maybe, but nothing that evokes omerta. Or Clemenza's cannoli, for that matter.

Very delightful, well-performed program from start to finish in superb sonics (in the 24/96 iteration). It'll definitely get more playing time here.

[bart]

Originally Posted by jimtranr

If you're looking for Don Corleone, you won't find him here. Very faint, very infrequent echoes of everything from Debussy to Rachmaninoff or Prokofiev to Herrmann maybe, but nothing that evokes omerta. Or Clemenza's cannoli, for that matter.

Very delightful, well-performed program from start to finish in superb sonics (in the 24/96 iteration). It'll definitely get more playing time here.

Nino Rota has been recorded often lately (even if this is an album from 2011).
He's composed a nice oeuvre besides his film scores.

[Antonmb]

George Walker: Five Piano Sonatas (1953-2003)
Steven Beck, piano
Bridge (2022), via Qobuz

Walker is new to me, I picked this up in a review on Positive Feedback. Very interesting and sometimes quite beautiful music.
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[ehoove]

Firebird Suite
Stravinsky
Night on Bald Mountain
Mussorgsky
Marche Slave
Tchaikovsky
London Symphony Orchestra
Leopold Stokowski Conducting
Very aggressive and insightful with wonderful fidelity and play!
London Records SPC 21026 (Phase 4 Concert Series)

[Antonmb]

DE HARTMANN, THOMAS: Koliadky: Noëls Ukrainiens; Symphonie-Poème No. 4; Concerto Andaluz; Un fête en Ukraine (Suite)

Bülent Evcil (flute)
Kuchar, Theodore (conductor)
Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine
Toccata Classics (2022) via Qobuz

Hauntingly beautiful music by Ukrainian born composer De Hartmann and recorded in Lviv, Ukraine. From ClassicsToday.com:

"The four pieces offered on this splendidly performed and engineered disc are all premieres, part of a larger project to records all of his major works on a variety of labels. The songs, chamber and (non-Gurdjieff) piano work have already appeared on Nimbus, and at time of writing this review three discs of orchestral music are “in the can.” That’s a very lucky thing, because conductor Theodore Kuchar was forced to flee Lviv just days ago due to Russia’s insane invasion of Ukraine, and God only knows what will happen to the city and its fine orchestra, which is scheduled to tour the US in February, 2023. We can only pray for their safety."

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