What Classical Music Are You Listening To Tonight?

[bart]

Mozart - Wind Concertos
London Symphony Orchestra, Jaime Martín
Qobuz 24/96




I own multiple versions of these masterpieces, and have innumerable ones in my Roon library.
Still, this is a nice addition.
2h21' of pure joy!

Here is a welcome reminder that the players of the London Symphony Orchestra aren’t just consummate orchestral musicians, but also more than capable of stepping into the concerto soloist shoes more frequently inhabited by the big-name artists who guest with them. It’s also a generously proportioned reminder, given that this Mozart programme under the baton of Jaime Martín groups together the Oboe Concerto, K. 314, the Clarinet Concerto, K. 622, the Horn Concerto, K. 417, the Sinfonia concertante, K. 297b and the 'Gran Partita".

Production nuts and bolts first, and the performances were all recorded in the Jerwood Hall of LSO St. Luke’s, the concertos and the Sinfonia concertante in October 2019, and the "Gran Partita" slightly earlier, in 2015. The hall’s warmly natural clarity is a perfect match for this lucid-textured repertoire, and the positioning of the soloists themselves gently out in front, has been beautifully done.

On to the actual playing, and from the orchestra these are polished, graceful performances, the overall sound a smoothly mellow one striking a nice balance between lightly articulated lucidity and the warm fullness of their large forces. Martín plays things pretty straight on the whole – for instance there’s a bit more theatricality to the phrasing of Camerata Salzburg’s recording of the Oboe Concerto with François Leleux – but there’s still nimble, cheerful buoyancy aplenty. The Oboe Concerto is in fact actually one of the album highlights, thanks to oboist Olivier Stankiewicz’s perkily articulated gossamer-weight virtuosity, singing phrasing and neatly tucked, fluttering embellishments. Meanwhile clarinettist Andrew Marriner delivers all the poised lyricism you could hope for in the Clarinet Concerto’s famous Adagio; and likewise the orchestra.

Both the Sinfonia concertante, K. 297b and the "Gran Partita" have some tough recently recorded competition, the former in the form of Emmanuel Pahud’s recent Mozart in Paris programme for Erato with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and a starry line-up directed by Francois Leleux, and the latter from composer-clarinettist Mark Simpson’s 2021 Gramophone Award-shortlisted pairing of it with his own Geysir, his own line-up including oboist Nicolas Daniel. However both LSO readings stack up very well against their rivals, the "Gran Partita" shining for its combination of full, rich sound – fabulous in the magisterial opening – and its feather-light, lively humour. It genuinely sounds like party music. Likewise, the Sinfonia concertante reading is an immensely warm one, a joyous-sounding orchestra – listen out for some delectably ardently phrased horn moments – supporting the vivacious trio interactions of bassoonist Rachel Gough, oboist Juliana Koch, clarinettist Chris Richards.

Great stuff, and a nice one for collection builders in to boot. © Charlotte Gardner/Qobuz

[bart]

Cecilia Bartoli - Unreleased
Qobuz 24/96




Presto Classical's album of the week.
La Bartoli in great shape, with pieces of Beethoven, Mysliveček, Mozart and Haydn.

[bart]

COMPOSERS CONDUCT
Copland - Appalachian Spring - The Tender Land: Suite
Gould - Fall River Legend - Latin-American Symphonette
Boston Symphony Orchestra
via Qobuz




I am a Copland fan.
And for a 62 year old recording, great sound!

While there are plenty of other dandy recordings of Copland's populist magnum opus Appalachian Spring, this 1959 recording may be the one to get if you're getting only one. For one thing, it has Copland conducting, and while he was not the world's greatest conductor, he was the world's greatest authority on his own music and it shows in his conducting, which, for all its lack of experience and technique, is unsurpassed in insight and lucidity. More to the point, he was the world's greatest admirer of his own music and it shows in his interpretation, which for all its tendency toward sentimentality, is unequaled in affection and sympathy. Plus, Copland is immeasurably helped by the unrivaled playing of the Boston Symphony, which not only plays with more beauty of tone and strength of purpose than it had in the past 50 years, it plays with nearly as much affection and sympathy for the music as Copland himself. Furthermore, RCA's "Living Stereo" sound is every bit as warm and rich and detailed as the best recordings made in the past 50 years. The other music on the disc -- Copland's dappled yellow and brown The Tender Land Suite, Morton Gould's blood-red New England Elektra Fall River Legend, plus Gould's two south of the border encores Tango and Guaracha -- is dandy, but Copland's own 1959 Appalachian Spring is the dandiest.

[jimtranr]

Originally Posted by bart

COMPOSERS CONDUCT

Having seen Copland conduct the now-defunct San Jose Symphony in a full-production live performance of "Appalachian Spring" in the mid-1970s (with Martha Graham offering some pithy bring-down-the-house pre-performance commentary while sitting on the stage in a bright red dress), I'd agree on his ability to coax the appropriate emotion out of the orchestra.

What really attracts me about this release, however, are the Morton Gould composer-conducted works...and the engineering RCA put into them. I think the original vinyl release of "Fall River Legend," "Interplay" (a real sonic knockout), and the selections from "Latin-American Symphonette" constitutes "Living Stereo" at its finest. The CD reissue (which unfortunately doesn't include "Interplay") comes close to capturing that magic.

[eljr]

Sofia Gubaidulina: Dialog: Ich und Du, The Wrath of God & The Light of the End

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Andris Nelsons

Release Date: 22nd Oct 2021
Catalogue No: 4861457
Label: DG
Length: 62 minutes

Presto Recordings of the Year
Finalist 2021

Just fantastic! What a talent Sofia is, what a wonderful performance, such an excellent recording.

[Antonmb]

Originally Posted by jimtranr

Having seen Copland conduct the now-defunct San Jose Symphony in a full-production live performance of "Appalachian Spring" in the mid-1970s (with Martha Graham offering some pithy bring-down-the-house pre-performance commentary while sitting on the stage in a bright red dress), I'd agree on his ability to coax the appropriate emotion out of the orchestra.

Color me jealous that you got to see Copland conduct, that must be a great memory.

[bart]

Originally Posted by jimtranr

Having seen Copland conduct the now-defunct San Jose Symphony in a full-production live performance of "Appalachian Spring" in the mid-1970s (with Martha Graham offering some pithy bring-down-the-house pre-performance commentary while sitting on the stage in a bright red dress), I'd agree on his ability to coax the appropriate emotion out of the orchestra.

What really attracts me about this release, however, are the Morton Gould composer-conducted works...and the engineering RCA put into them. I think the original vinyl release of "Fall River Legend," "Interplay" (a real sonic knockout), and the selections from "Latin-American Symphonette" constitutes "Living Stereo" at its finest. The CD reissue (which unfortunately doesn't include "Interplay") comes close to capturing that magic.

[bart]

Édouard Lassen - Lieder - Mélodies
Reinoud van Mechelen, tenor
Anthony Romaniuk, piano
Qobuz 24/96




A wonderful discovery.
Reinoud van Mechelen is fantastic as always, with excellent support from Romaniuk.

Admired by Liszt, who played and promoted his music, and spoken of with touching nostalgia by Thomas Mann, who in 1930 recalled the "slightly sweet flavour" of his music, Edouard Lassen (1830-1904) was quickly forgotten by history after having been the most-performed Lieder composer of his day. Unfortunately, his Jewish origin was a factor in undoing his reputation at a time when the brown plague was gradually spreading in Germany.

Born in Copenhagen to a well-to-do Jewish family, Edouard Lassen followed his parents to Brussels where his father had a business in "Supplies for tailors and military equipment”; a button and bladed weapons factory in reality. Musically gifted, he soon graduated from the Royal Conservatory before becoming a much sought-after conductor throughout Germany. He successfully conducted Wagner's operas in the presence of the composer, defying the latter’s notorious anti-Semitism.

Lassen's musical language skilfully blends the German and French cultures that were the two sources of his subtle inspiration. This dual influence is particularly noticeable in the programme presented here, which is so well conceived and, above all, so well sung by a most inspired Reinoud Van Mechelen. The Belgian singer presents a selection of Lieder in German and melodies in French, based on poems by Charles Cros and Victor Hugo. The "sweet flavour" evoked so fondly by Thomas Mann is tinged with a powerful nostalgia that is further enhanced by the smooth interpretation given by the tenor, assisted by the beautiful "great concert Steinway", which was built in New York in 1875 and is played here by Anthony Romaniuk with a nicely outdated, even slightly decadent style. Listeners will savour this work with a pleasant and rather old-fashioned sense of indulgence. © François Hudry/Qobuz

[Formerly YB-2]

Verdi, "Luisa Miller".
Teatro dell'Opera, Rome
Performance from April 2021, FM broadcast this afternoon on WRTI, 90.1, Philadelphia. We are fortunate in having a couple of excellent FM stations within reach.

Michele Mariotti; Michele Pertusi (Count Walter), Antonio Poli (Rodolfo), Daniela Barcellona (Frederica), Nahuel di Pierro (Wurm), Roberto Frontali (Miller), Roberta Mantegna (Luisa), Irene Savignano (Laura), Rodrigo Ortiz (Peasant)

[Antonmb]

Schubert: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 2
Auryn Quartet
CPO (1997), via Qobuz

Beautiful playing. This is a great set.
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