What Classical Music Are You listening to Now? III

[pastoralguy]

Brahms. Concerto for Violin and ‘cello.

Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin and Pablo Ferrández, ‘cello.

The Czech Philharmonic conducted by Manfred Honeck.

I’ve always been a big fan of Ms. Mutter since we’re the same age and I remember buying her debut album of Mozart 3 & 5 violin concertos. Imagine starting your career at 14 with Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic?! (I’d just passed Grade 8!)

However, I feel her playing, whilst astonishing has become quite self regarding and this new recording has many of these quirks. The first movement basically grinds to a halt whilst Ms. Mutter rhapsodises and indulges in those ‘listen to what I can do with my enormous tonal palette’. I’ve always thought that Karajan would NEVER have allowed her to play so self indulgently!

The Brahms Double can take this approach, just, but the coupling, Clara Schumann’s Piano Trio is completely overwhelmed by this posturing. The ‘cellist is almost as self indulgent but is simply following Ms. Mutter’s lead. It was reviewed on Record Review this morning but I’d been on night shift so I’ll need to try to listen tomorrow.

Has anyone else heard it?

[Bryn]

Smetana: Ma Vlast; currently Vltava (CPO, Ancerl May 1968) a very early Czech stereo broadcast, it would appear. The recordings from February broadcasts that year are still mono. Wonderful swirling eddies as Vltava flows.

[BBMmk2]

That's the BBC Symphony Chorus in DoG - there's no reference earlier to the Hallé Orchestra Choir.

Hope you enjoyed it though - those recording sessions were among the most memorable things we ever did.

I have. One of my favourite DoG’s!

[Joseph K]

Another birthday present which I will listen to later -

[Stanfordian]

Olga Peretyatko – Rossini!
Arias from Il Viaggio a Reims, Semiramide, Tancredi, Matilde di Shabran, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Il Turco in Italia
Olga Peretyatko (soprano)
Coro e Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna / Alberto Zedda
Recorded 2014 Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Sony CD

[Bryn]

Similar to my thoughts on listening to - or more likely nowadays, performing - "Mozart's" Requiem.

How very much the case!

[Serial_Apologist]

The name for Elgar's Third Symphony remains something of a problem. "The sketches for Elgar's Third Symphony elaborated by Anthony Payne" was always going to be an unwieldy mouthful but is also wildly misleading. As best I recall, the only part of the work that Elgar wrote into full score was its first page and a half or so and, whilst there are many sketches for most of the remainder, it is not at all clear where any of them belong in the greater scheme of things. I recall discussing it with Tony Payne at a time when he participated in a BBC programme on it (1995, I seem to remember), the principal conclusion of which was that there was no possibility of putting it together into a symphonic whole; it was only shortly after that programme that Tony began to figure out how parts of it should go and it went on from there. Even having completed the first movement, he remained uncertain as to whether an entire four movement symphony could ever result but, as they say, the rest is history. In the end, as work on it gathered pace, Tony felt as though he had somehow to find a way to work with Elgar to bring it to fruition - no easy task given that Elgar had died some 2½ years before Tony was born. So - far more than mere "elaboration" was involved in completing this most improbable of projects; it was more like two composers collaborating on a work which the first one would have completed himself had he lived a little longer. These days, it seems most often spoken and written of as "Elgar 3"...

Fortunately for me, I possess a cassette I made of that programme, which still utterly fascinates as an account of how one highly talented composer managed to occupy the composing mind of another. I should listen to it again; however one of the things I remember is him saying that much of the first movement was left extant in piano form - they played the orchestral and piano passages consecutively, and I remember thinking how John Irelandish the piano passages were. The most dramatic part of the interview was when Payne described the point reached in the slow movement where an unexpected potentially mood-changing modulation occurs, followed by.... nothing! What could Elgar possibly been intending at that point? Hearing in the premiere what Payne made in the way of a solution felt disappointing - he seemed to have gone for a soft option of a short succession of mysterious downward modulations before resuming as if unperturbed. In retrospect it was probably the only way to go on. Payne told the interviewer that he had been able thereafter without too much difficulty to return to writing his own music in his own style; however, I have to say I do detect a stylistic change in the later music, which often contains strong reminiscences of Sibelius - "Tapiola" especially - and Butterworth: the George one, that is.

[Joseph K]

Another birthday present which I will listen to later -

Listening to no. 5 now.

[smittims]

Thanks for those further thoughts on 'Elgar 3'. Good to see it's caused so much continuing interest.

Back to the old favourites for me. Tchaik 5, Silvestri, Philharmonia, Kingsway hall 1957 and Dennis Brain unmistakeably present. Glorious.

[pastoralguy]

Fortunately for me, I possess a cassette I made of that programme, which still utterly fascinates as an account of how one highly talented composer managed to occupy the composing mind of another. I should listen to it again; however one of the things I remember is him saying that much of the first movement was left extant in piano form - they played the orchestral and piano passages consecutively, and I remember thinking how John Irelandish the piano passages were. The most dramatic part of the interview was when Payne described the point reached in the slow movement where an unexpected potentially mood-changing modulation occurs, followed by.... nothing! What could Elgar possibly been intending at that point? Hearing in the premiere what Payne made in the way of a solution felt disappointing - he seemed to have gone for a soft option of a short succession of mysterious downward modulations before resuming as if unperturbed. In retrospect it was probably the only way to go on. Payne told the interviewer that he had been able thereafter without too much difficulty to return to writing his own music in his own style; however, I have to say I do detect a stylistic change in the later music, which often contains strong reminiscences of Sibelius - "Tapiola" especially - and Butterworth: the George one, that is.

Wasn’t there a BBC Music Magazine cd with that programme?

[Pulcinella]

Wasn’t there a BBC Music Magazine cd with that programme?

Indeed there was:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elgar-Spanish-Lady-Sketches-Symphony/dp/B004MIKJAW/ref=sr_1_4?crid=7U2BO2QFO1Q7&keywords=Elgar+payne+sketches&qid=1667752069&s=music&sprefix=elgar+payne+sketches%2Cpopular%2C110&sr=1-4

[Mandryka]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYUtsBzJUKY&ab_channel=RdkM%E2%80%95ClassicalMusicArchive

I think a really outstanding Scriabin 10 from Kun-Woo Paik. The CDs have become rarities, which is a shame, because I want them!

[Joseph K]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYUt...alMusicArchive

I think a really outstanding Scriabin 10 from Kun-Woo Paik. The CDs have become rarities, which is a shame, because I want them!

Wow - I really admire his Liszt recordings, so thanks for bringing this to our and especially my attention!

edit - pity the score-following is all wrong.

[Mandryka]

Wow - I really admire his Liszt recordings, so thanks for bringing this to our and especially my attention!

edit - pity the score-following is all wrong.

Apparently he was all set to record to a complete Scriabin piano works series for Dante, Dante went belly up, he signed with DG, and the Scriabin project came to a premature end.

What do you think of this live 9th sonata from Horowitz?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9PA9NlSGhI&ab_channel=Sofronichrist

[Joseph K]

Apparently he was all set to record to a complete Scriabin piano works series for Dante, Dante went belly up, he signed with DG, and the Scriabin project came to a premature end.

That's a shame. His tenth sonata certainly doesn't disappoint - it's a valuable, distinctive recording that definitely adds to my appreciation of this work as well as ticking all the right boxes, for me.