What Classical Music Are You listening to Now? III

[Serial_Apologist]

Magnard Symphony No.2; No.3.

Toulouse Capitole/Plasson. EMI Angel CDs rec. 1980s.

and

Freiburg PO/Bollon. Naxos CDs.

Returning to a beloved passion, what lovable works these are, with some of the greatest Romantic slow movements. The Plasson retains its classic status - sonically a little distanced and dated, but it gets the sound, the rhythm, the idiom, just right; it can be playful too. The Bollon is the better-sounding worthy successor, with that touch of a soft edge to the orchestra character, Freiburg sounding very French and colourful.

The oboe solo beginning the Pastorale in 3, or the lovely, gently rocking accompaniment to the central variation in the chant vary of the 2nd, are two of those defining Magnard moments....just gorgeous.

I often wonder what might have become of French music in the 20th century had not Debussy come along. I have a feeling that the contemporaries of Magnard such as Dukas, Chausson, d'Indy and the French organ school would have pushed it in more of a post-Wagnerian direction than the tempered one that Debussy represented. though probably with some continuation of the muted influence from Russian composers detectable in Saint-Saens, for example. In various ways Debussy and Ravel channelled Satie's more starkly enunciated harmonic discoveries through their own somehow more palatable sensibilities, so that it was only come the disillusionment following the First World War that the latter's influence would be exerted on the next generation.

And without Debussy's influence, what would have become of Russian modern music?? Speculations, speculations - I'd better shut up now!

[HighlandDougie]

Brahms Symphony 4 - Honeck; Pittsburgh SO

The best 4th I've heard for some considerable time, tight, plenty of power and momentum without losing warmth where needed. Excellent live recording and stellar playing from Pittsburgh. Can't remember enjoying this piece this much since....Klemperer as a teen and later Kleiber VPO, but this new one really has made an impression.

Having been disappointed with the recording quality of earlier Honeck/Pittsburgh/Reference Recordings (or whoever they have subcontracted these Pittsburgh issues to), I thought that this Brahms 4th was a distinct improvement on their Beethoven and Bruckner (the 24/192 hi-res Qobuz download may also have helped). "Power and momentum", is certainly right, although I found myself (e.g. 3rd movement) thinking wistfully at times of Bruno Walter. As with his Beethoven 9th, I just wish that Honeck might relax a little ("Sturm und Drang" Brahms) but overall, as Pianoman says, "makes an impression". As with the earlier Beethoven, it must have been thrilling to have been in the hall. But most definitely well worth a listen - or three.

[Stanfordian]

Marianne Crebassa – ‘Secrets’
Mélodies from Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Duparc
& wordless vocalise by Fazil Say
Marianne Crebassa (mezzo-soprano)
Fazil Say (piano)
with Bernhard Krabatsch (flute, tr. 5)
Recorded 2017 Großer Saal, Mozarteum, Salzburg
Erato

[BBMmk2]

Szymanowski
Concert Overture, Op.12
Symphony No.4, Op.60 “Symphonie Concertsnte”
Symphony No.2, Op.19
Louis Lortie (piano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Edward Gardner

Karlowicz
Returning Waves, Op.9
A sorrowful Tale, Op.13
Episode at a Masquerade. op.14
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda

Liszt
Années de Pèlerinage, complete.
Louis Lortie, (piano)

Korngold
Symphony in F# major, Op.40
Theme & Variations, Op.42
Straussiana for Orchestra (1953)
Sinfonia of London
John Wilson.

[richardfinegold]

Yesterday’s listening.

Mahler
Symphony No.10 in F# minor
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Kurt Sanderling

Shostakovich
Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Kurt Sanderling.

What did you think?

[Joseph K]

Picking up where I left off: Scriabin's third piano sonata - Maltempo

[gradus]

Des Knaben Wunderhorn LSO/Szell/DFD/Schwarzkopf. Possibly for admirers of ES in particular, others may find her singing too mannered - personally I don't - and DFD is of course splendid. The LSO under Szell are on cracking form and the recording (1968-ish) is superb with a real sense of studio depth and clarity. I listened to a German LP pressing.

[Stanfordian]

Marianne Crebassa – 'Séguedilles'
Arias and mélodies from Bizet, Massenet, Saint-Saëns,
Ravel, Falla, Mompou, Guridi & Offenbach
Marianne Crebassa (mezzo-soprano)
Choeur du Capitole de Toulouse,
Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse / Ben Glassberg
with Stanislas de Barbeyrac (tenor), Adriana Gonzales (soprano),
Victoire Bunel (mezzo-soprano), Céline Laborie (soprano),
Thibaut Garcia (guitar), Alphonse Cemin (piano)
Recorded 2020 La Halle aux Grains, Toulouse
Erato, CD

Marvellous new release!

[BBMmk2]

What did you think?

I liked them a lot! I’ve not paid too much attention to Sanderling, for some reason.

I was a bit too ambitious yesterday, with my listening. So here are the ones I didn’t listen too.
Mieczyslaw Karlowicz
Returning Waves, Op.9
A Sorrowful Tale, Op.13
Episode at a Masquerade, Op.14
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda

Scriabin - Preludes 2
Piers Lane (piano)

Korngold
Symphony in F#, Op.40
Theme & Variations, Op.42
Straussiana (1953)
Sinfonia of London
John Wilson.

[jayne lee wilson]

The Berg is one of those masterpieces which though familiar seems always to remain elusive.
Here, the contrast of tempi, dynamics and textures in the orchestral parts are brought out with exceptional precision, impact and immediacy; with a perfectly matched soloist playing with great beauty and sensitivity, I've hardly heard this better done (including in my thoughts the righty-hallowed Faust/Abbado)....



Berg: Violin Concerto
Berliner Philharmoniker, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Kirill Petrenko
Released on 19/11/2021 by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

• QOBUZ 24/192

Wonderful cover art.....

vast depths of ocean.....
Currents of emotion....

[gurnemanz]

Marianne Crebassa – 'Séguedilles'
Arias and mélodies from Bizet, Massenet, Saint-Saëns,
Ravel, Falla, Mompou, Guridi & Offenbach
Marianne Crebassa (mezzo-soprano)
Choeur du Capitole de Toulouse,
Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse / Ben Glassberg
with Stanislas de Barbeyrac (tenor), Adriana Gonzales (soprano),
Victoire Bunel (mezzo-soprano), Céline Laborie (soprano),
Thibaut Garcia (guitar), Alphonse Cemin (piano)
Recorded 2020 La Halle aux Grains, Toulouse
Erato, CD

Marvellous new release!

Agree!

[Stanfordian]

Sabine Devieilhe – 'Bach, Handel'
J.S. Bach
Cantata – Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, BWV 199
Cantata – Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51
Sacred song – Mein Jesu! was für Seelenweh, BWV 487
Sinfonia – Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal, BWV 146
Handel
Two arias from oratorio – Brockes Passion, HWV 48
Two arias from opera – Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17
Aria from oratorio – Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, HWV 46a
Sabine Devieilhe (soprano)
Pygmalion (period instruments) / Raphaël Pichon (direction)
with Stéphane Degout (baritone) and Thomas Dunford (theorbo)
Recorded 2020 Temple du St-Esprit, Paris
Erato,

Another super new release!

[richardfinegold]

Nono - No hay caminos, hay que caminar … Andrej Tarkowskij (1987) (SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Michael Gielen) from CD 4 of:



The final volume in this 10-box survey. Many thanks to Ilan Volkov for drawing my attention to the recent release of this final volume. That's all 10 volumes to hand in either optical disc or FLAC download versions, now.

Optical disc?

[Bryn]

Optical disc?

Mainly CDs but there's a DVD of the 9th in Mahler box (volume 6).

[Joseph K]

Schumann - Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor op. 63 - Leif Ove Andsnes, piano - Christian Tetzlaff, violin - Tanja Tetzlaff, cello

About to stick on no. 2 from this disk.