What is your current Record of the Week ?

[DracoM]

Raautavara Symp: 'Angel of Light'

[Beef Oven!]

It’s been over a week since I posted here, and I’ve been listening to more music lately than I’ve ever done previously. From an awful lot of contenders, it’s been difficult to pick a primus inter pares. But .....

Here are the top ten contenders this week:

Ahmet Adnan Saygun - String Quartet #1. Quatuor Danel - CPO CD
John Corigliano - String Quartet. Corigliano Quartet - Naxos CD
Malcolm Arnold - String Quartet #1. Maggini Quartet - Naxos Download FLAC
Leonardo Balada - Steel Symphony (1972). Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, Jesús López-Cobos (conductor) - Naxos Download FLAC
Ralph Vaugahan Williams - Symphony #2. RLPO, Vernon Handley - EMI CD
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (1973). Harvest. Vynil
Tangerine Dream - Rubycon (1975). Virgin Records. CD
John Ireland Piano Works. John Lenehan (Piano) - Naxos CD
Hank Mobley - No Room For Squares (1963) - Blue Note. CD
Bill Evans - You Must Believe In Spring (1977). Bill Evans Trio (with Eddie Gomez bass, Eliot Zigmund drums) - Warner Bros CD

COTW really gave me a new perspective on a long-term fave musician. I exclusively listened to the immediately post ‘Kind Of Blue’ stuff with LaFaro and Motian for decades, until now. But due to COTW, I really saw his solo-piano stuff and later stuff in a new light. Such a revelation to hear Bill Evans in awesome sound quality (hitherto unknown to me) on ‘You Must Believe In Spring’. Previously Bill was an historic recording experience!

BaL put RVW #2 n a new light for me, this time around. Previously low down on my list. I need to reappraise. Really enjoyed being reunited with my Tod Handley CD. I bought the cycle on CD as and when they came out, one by one from EMI and probably took this amazing cycle fro granted. Re-listening, I put it ahead of my Rubber Brolly, Hickox, Uncle Bernie & Boult x2. The best RVW #2 out there.

It’s easy to forget how good DSOTM is. Pink Floyd really were one of the pioneers of English (British?) avant grade rock. The zenith is Claire Torry’s performance (and subsequent compositional credtit) on "The Great Gig in the Sky”. TD’s later ‘Rubycon’ is, IMV, one of the high-points of 1970s electronic/avant garden rock. Enjoyed listening to both albums again, immensely.

John Ireland is a neglected British composer who I really have not given enough time to. Picking up a cheap 2nd hand CD of his piano works on Amazon revealed a composer of some ravishingly beautiful expressionist solo piano works. Overshadowed by other British composers it seems, his solo piano works are surely diamonds in the dust. I will be coming back to this CD and may well buy further Naxos issues.

Not sure why, but I eschewed the Naxos championing traversal of Balada’s music. Under my nose, but ignored. Saturday night, after a boring MOTD, I downloaded a CD of his symphony #6, Concerto for 3 Cellos and the 1972 'Steel Symphony' (championed by Lorin Maazel in the 1980s, if I’m not wrong). It is in a splendid Varese/Ives avant garden aural-nomenclature. Check it out, if you like stuff off the beaten track.

Jazz is something that some of us 'classical' aficionados treat as an add-on, rightly or wrongly. Well, I may never change on that, but what an add on! I have a mere 300 jazz CDs in a c6k collection. All you jazzers will understand how lucky we guys are to have this sort of stuff 'on the bench’!! Stanfordian posts his listening of some top-notch jazz, and one post made me dig out my CD this week ‘No Room For Squares’. What an album!

RECORD OF MY WEEK

It’s too embarrassing to say how many string quartets I’ve listened to in the last week (including an all-nighter on Feldman 2 - a twice yearly thing with me (maybe thrice this time around, fingers-crossed (Southbank/Tait live?)). But I’ve mentioned the main ones here. I’m going with the Saygun as my record of the week. Bartok is my comfort blanket. Big in our household in the 60s. My older brother named our pet tortoise Bartok! Everyone had a pet tortoise in the 60s, didn’t they?

Exotic, vicarious Bartok? Best of all worlds? Saygun was tasked by Kemal Ataturk in the 1930s to establish a Turkish European classical music-mythos as part of the modernisation of the newly liberated Turkish nation-state. Although Paul Hindemith was head-hunted to inaugurate the state conservatoire, it was Bartok who, informally joined Saygun in Turkey on the journey in ferreting-out the indigenous folk-tunes of Turkey. Hindemith turned out to be no administrative expert and the conservatoire under-delivered, but Saygun emerged, with Bartok’s influence, as an au-fait artistic agent.

Do seek these string quartets out if you can. If like me, you adore the Bartok quartets, you can’t lose here. More of the same? Ok, but exotic!


Read This! http://www.musicweb-international.co...ts_9999232.htm

[richardfinegold]

Multiple plays here for Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque's Art of Fugue.

I didn't realize they had done the A of F. More wallet strain at the Hollidays...

[teamsaint]

It’s been over a week since I posted here, and I’ve been listening to more music lately than I’ve ever done previously. From an awful lot of contenders, it’s been difficult to pick a primus inter pares. But .....

Here are the top ten contenders this week:

Ahmet Adnan Saygun - String Quartet #1. Quatuor Danel - CPO CD
John Corigliano - String Quartet. Corigliano Quartet - Naxos CD
Malcolm Arnold - String Quartet #1. Maggini Quartet - Naxos Download FLAC
Leonardo Balada - Steel Symphony (1972). Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, Jesús López-Cobos (conductor) - Naxos Download FLAC
Ralph Vaugahan Williams - Symphony #2. RLPO, Vernon Handley - EMI CD
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (1973). Harvest. Vynil
Tangerine Dream - Rubycon (1975). Virgin Records. CD
John Ireland Piano Works. John Lenehan (Piano) - Naxos CD
Hank Mobley - No Room For Squares (1963) - Blue Note. CD
Bill Evans - You Must Believe In Spring (1977). Bill Evans Trio (with Eddie Gomez bass, Eliot Zigmund drums) - Warner Bros CD

COTW really gave me a new perspective on a long-term fave musician. I exclusively listened to the immediately post ‘Kind Of Blue’ stuff with LaFaro and Motian for decades, until now. But due to COTW, I really saw his solo-piano stuff and later stuff in a new light. Such a revelation to hear Bill Evans in awesome sound quality (hitherto unknown to me) on ‘You Must Believe In Spring’. Previously Bill was an historic recording experience!

BaL put RVW #2 n a new light for me, this time around. Previously low down on my list. I need to reappraise. Really enjoyed being reunited with my Tod Handley CD. I bought the cycle on CD as and when they came out, one by one from EMI and probably took this amazing cycle fro granted. Re-listening, I put it ahead of my Rubber Brolly, Hickox, Uncle Bernie & Boult x2. The best RVW #2 out there.

It’s easy to forget how good DSOTM is. Pink Floyd really were one of the pioneers of English (British?) avant grade rock. The zenith is Claire Torry’s performance (and subsequent compositional credtit) on "The Great Gig in the Sky”. TD’s later ‘Rubycon’ is, IMV, one of the high-points of 1970s electronic/avant garden rock. Enjoyed listening to both albums again, immensely.

John Ireland is a neglected British composer who I really have not given enough time to. Picking up a cheap 2nd hand CD of his piano works on Amazon revealed a composer of some ravishingly beautiful expressionist solo piano works. Overshadowed by other British composers it seems, his solo piano works are surely diamonds in the dust. I will be coming back to this CD and may well buy further Naxos issues.

Not sure why, but I eschewed the Naxos championing traversal of Balada’s music. Under my nose, but ignored. Saturday night, after a boring MOTD, I downloaded a CD of his symphony #6, Concerto for 3 Cellos and the 1972 'Steel Symphony' (championed by Lorin Maazel in the 1980s, if I’m not wrong). It is in a splendid Varese/Ives avant garden aural-nomenclature. Check it out, if you like stuff off the beaten track.

Jazz is something that some of us 'classical' aficionados treat as an add-on, rightly or wrongly. Well, I may never change on that, but what an add on! I have a mere 300 jazz CDs in a c6k collection. All you jazzers will understand how lucky we guys are to have this sort of stuff 'on the bench’!! Stanfordian posts his listening of some top-notch jazz, and one post made me dig out my CD this week ‘No Room For Squares’. What an album!

RECORD OF MY WEEK

It’s too embarrassing to say how many string quartets I’ve listened to in the last week (including an all-nighter on Feldman 2 - a twice yearly thing with me (maybe thrice this time around, fingers-crossed (Southbank/Tait live?)). But I’ve mentioned the main ones here. I’m going with the Saygun as my record of the week. Bartok is my comfort blanket. Big in our household in the 60s. My older brother named our pet tortoise Bartok! Everyone had a pet tortoise in the 60s, didn’t they?

Exotic, vicarious Bartok? Best of all worlds? Saygun was tasked by Kemal Ataturk in the 1930s to establish a Turkish European classical music-mythos as part of the modernisation of the newly liberated Turkish nation-state. Although Paul Hindemith was head-hunted to inaugurate the state conservatoire, it was Bartok who, informally joined Saygun in Turkey on the journey in ferreting-out the indigenous folk-tunes of Turkey. Hindemith turned out to be no administrative expert and the conservatoire under-delivered, but Saygun emerged, with Bartok’s influence, as an au-fait artistic agent.

Do seek these string quartets out if you can. If like me, you adore the Bartok quartets, you can’t lose here. More of the same? Ok, but exotic!


Read This! http://www.musicweb-international.co...ts_9999232.htm

great post Beefy.

plenty of food for thought there.

Ireland's Piano music has been on my to do list for ages, since I went to a recital of it a few years back. I had a nibble at the Saygun, and will get back to that shortly.
Never knowingly listened to the whole of DSOTM, amazingly, but then I was too young...... perhaps I should put that right.

edit: we just had the Blue Peter tortoise as a vicarious pet.

[Beef Oven!]

Can’t believe you’ve never listened through the whole of DSOTM

Sort it out!!

[teamsaint]

Can’t believe you’ve never listened through the whole of DSOTM

Sort it out!!

I've listened to " Piper" a few times, even thought about buying it.
And listened to the whole of Atom Heart Mother.....zzzzzzzzzz..........

might make a good thread, things you have never heard, like " Never seen Star Wars", which I haven't .

[EdgeleyRob]

It’s been over a week since I posted here, and I’ve been listening to more music lately than I’ve ever done previously. From an awful lot of contenders, it’s been difficult to pick a primus inter pares. But .....

Here are the top ten contenders this week:

Ahmet Adnan Saygun - String Quartet #1. Quatuor Danel - CPO CD
John Corigliano - String Quartet. Corigliano Quartet - Naxos CD
Malcolm Arnold - String Quartet #1. Maggini Quartet - Naxos Download FLAC
Leonardo Balada - Steel Symphony (1972). Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, Jesús López-Cobos (conductor) - Naxos Download FLAC
Ralph Vaugahan Williams - Symphony #2. RLPO, Vernon Handley - EMI CD
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (1973). Harvest. Vynil
Tangerine Dream - Rubycon (1975). Virgin Records. CD
John Ireland Piano Works. John Lenehan (Piano) - Naxos CD
Hank Mobley - No Room For Squares (1963) - Blue Note. CD
Bill Evans - You Must Believe In Spring (1977). Bill Evans Trio (with Eddie Gomez bass, Eliot Zigmund drums) - Warner Bros CD

COTW really gave me a new perspective on a long-term fave musician. I exclusively listened to the immediately post ‘Kind Of Blue’ stuff with LaFaro and Motian for decades, until now. But due to COTW, I really saw his solo-piano stuff and later stuff in a new light. Such a revelation to hear Bill Evans in awesome sound quality (hitherto unknown to me) on ‘You Must Believe In Spring’. Previously Bill was an historic recording experience!

BaL put RVW #2 n a new light for me, this time around. Previously low down on my list. I need to reappraise. Really enjoyed being reunited with my Tod Handley CD. I bought the cycle on CD as and when they came out, one by one from EMI and probably took this amazing cycle fro granted. Re-listening, I put it ahead of my Rubber Brolly, Hickox, Uncle Bernie & Boult x2. The best RVW #2 out there.

It’s easy to forget how good DSOTM is. Pink Floyd really were one of the pioneers of English (British?) avant grade rock. The zenith is Claire Torry’s performance (and subsequent compositional credtit) on "The Great Gig in the Sky”. TD’s later ‘Rubycon’ is, IMV, one of the high-points of 1970s electronic/avant garden rock. Enjoyed listening to both albums again, immensely.

John Ireland is a neglected British composer who I really have not given enough time to. Picking up a cheap 2nd hand CD of his piano works on Amazon revealed a composer of some ravishingly beautiful expressionist solo piano works. Overshadowed by other British composers it seems, his solo piano works are surely diamonds in the dust. I will be coming back to this CD and may well buy further Naxos issues.

Not sure why, but I eschewed the Naxos championing traversal of Balada’s music. Under my nose, but ignored. Saturday night, after a boring MOTD, I downloaded a CD of his symphony #6, Concerto for 3 Cellos and the 1972 'Steel Symphony' (championed by Lorin Maazel in the 1980s, if I’m not wrong). It is in a splendid Varese/Ives avant garden aural-nomenclature. Check it out, if you like stuff off the beaten track.

Jazz is something that some of us 'classical' aficionados treat as an add-on, rightly or wrongly. Well, I may never change on that, but what an add on! I have a mere 300 jazz CDs in a c6k collection. All you jazzers will understand how lucky we guys are to have this sort of stuff 'on the bench’!! Stanfordian posts his listening of some top-notch jazz, and one post made me dig out my CD this week ‘No Room For Squares’. What an album!

RECORD OF MY WEEK

It’s too embarrassing to say how many string quartets I’ve listened to in the last week (including an all-nighter on Feldman 2 - a twice yearly thing with me (maybe thrice this time around, fingers-crossed (Southbank/Tait live?)). But I’ve mentioned the main ones here. I’m going with the Saygun as my record of the week. Bartok is my comfort blanket. Big in our household in the 60s. My older brother named our pet tortoise Bartok! Everyone had a pet tortoise in the 60s, didn’t they?

Exotic, vicarious Bartok? Best of all worlds? Saygun was tasked by Kemal Ataturk in the 1930s to establish a Turkish European classical music-mythos as part of the modernisation of the newly liberated Turkish nation-state. Although Paul Hindemith was head-hunted to inaugurate the state conservatoire, it was Bartok who, informally joined Saygun in Turkey on the journey in ferreting-out the indigenous folk-tunes of Turkey. Hindemith turned out to be no administrative expert and the conservatoire under-delivered, but Saygun emerged, with Bartok’s influence, as an au-fait artistic agent.

Do seek these string quartets out if you can. If like me, you adore the Bartok quartets, you can’t lose here. More of the same? Ok, but exotic!


Read This! http://www.musicweb-international.co...ts_9999232.htm

Great stuff BeefO

I know you've mentioned Saygun before and I did have a dabble a while back,SQ1,some solo piano music and a Symphony,can't remember which one.
Didn't really do a lot for me,despite loving Bartok,but I will try again.
Ireland's Piano and chamber works are IMO the most inexplicably neglected of all music,maybe he shuddav written symphonies and got noticed,although it didn't work for Arnell,Lloyd etc etc.
My record of this week is going to be Stanford's SQs 5 & 8,assuming it arrives this week.
If not it will be the record of whichever week it arrives
Oh,I don't listen to much jazz and I've never seen The Sound Of Music

[vinteuil]

... things you have never heard, like " Never seen Star Wars", which I haven't .

.

I've never seen The Sound Of Music

I've never seen The Sound of Music or Star Wars. Nor have I ever listened to The Dark Side of the Moon.

But I've had a pretty full life, so far.

[Daniel]

It’s been over a week since I posted here, and I’ve been listening to more music lately than I’ve ever done previously. From an awful lot of contenders, it’s been difficult to pick a primus inter pares. But .....

Very interesting post, BeefO.

Around the time of the attempted Turkish coup I listened to quite a bit of contemporary Turkish music. I found this by Turgut Erçetin pretty atmospheric (String Quartet No.1 "December"). Some other Turkish composers I listened to with brief biogs, are here - http://www.newmusicistanbul.com/composers

I agree John Ireland has written some very attractive music, particularly some of the piano miniatures. The Sonatina springs to mind.

My record of the week would probably be Britten's The Holy Sonnets of John Donne with Britten and Pears. Whoever introduced Britten to Pears did the world a big service imo.

[Beef Oven!]

Daniel, thank you so much for that terrific link to the Turkish composers. I’ll be using it quite a lot, I’m sure!

I had a listen to the Britten that you linked to. I don’t have Pears in this, I have Langridge and Bedford - not a patch on the PP/BB!!

Rob, I don’t believe you about The Sound Of Music!! I listened to Stanford’s StQs 5&8 on Apple Music a few days ago.Was impressed and will return.

ts, nobody listens to Atom Heart Mother all the way through!

Confession: When I listened to the Feldman StQ #2 last week, I fell asleep for about 2.5 hours in the middle. It was about 3.00am to be fair

[teamsaint]

Daniel, thank you so much for that terrific link to the Turkish composers. I’ll be using it quite a lot, I’m sure!

I had a listen to the Britten that you linked to. I don’t have Pears in this, I have Langridge and Bedford - not a patch on the PP/BB!!

Rob, I don’t believe you about The Sound Of Music!! I listened to Stanford’s StQs 5&8 on Apple Music a few days ago.Was impressed and will return.

ts, nobody listens to Atom Heart Mother all the way through!

Confession: When I listened to the Feldman StQ #2 last week, I fell asleep for about 2.5 hours in the middle. It was about 3.00am to be fair

it was research.

I felt the same effect as you did with the Feldman....

[BBMmk2]

I really like this:-

Bax: Four Orchestral Pieces; Phantasy in D minor; Overture, Elegy & Rondo. Philip Dukes(viola), BBC PO, Sir Andrew Davis.

This is one recording has really struck me recently.

[antongould]

In the scary days of Work I bought the DG Abbado Box set to listen to when I retired ..... well I retired months, nay years, ago and I have eventually got round to listening to it.

Really enjoying it - but then I have

Seen Star Wars
Seen Sound Of Music
Heard Dark Side of the Moon ......

so my horizons aren't that far away .......

[Alison]

Mahler 10 Seattle/dausgaard

Very fine performance, untouched by routine, almost up there with Mark Wigglesworth

Ps I like the CD of the week idea, I will normally have a nomination.

[Bryn]

... Confession: When I listened to the Feldman StQ #2 last week, I fell asleep for about 2.5 hours in the middle. It was about 3.00am to be fair

Then you are in good company. Its composer was sometimes to be found in a similar somnolent state during performances of his longer works. I am fortunate in that have to use up my last few days of annual leave immediately following December 1st so will be able to get some preparatory shut-eye in before the forthcoming performance. I am currently giving the Smith Quartet's Glasgow performance (a private recording from within the audience for study purposes you understand) a spin . They took a few minutes less than the Ives Ensemble's recording runs. Feldman's own estimate was 3 1⁄2 to 5 1⁄2 hours. The Smith Quartet's Glasgow performance was not without a minor page-turning mishap, but I really loved the fluidity of their playing (this was fairly soon after Darragh Morgan left, to be replaced by Rick Koster).