What Classical Music Are You listening to Now? III

[ahinton]

What we do know is what instruments composers actually had and used! And these always seem to reveal (to us) new and fascinating sound worlds.

Of course; what we don't know in most cases is whether the composers ever wrote in ways that might suggest a desire for a modified design of instrument that could better accommodate what they wanted to write. I write "most cases" mindful of the fact that Liszt is credited with having at least some indirect input into Steinway's design of the piano's sostenuto pedal as is Busoni with Bösendorfer's extended range piano keyboard. The piano arguably went through more redesign during the latter part of the 19th century than it has done since; whether and to what extent any of this might be been occasions or inspired by composers' writing for it is open to speculation but I doubt that it would be beyond the realms of credibility that at least some of them wrote in ways that might have prompted instrument makers to rethink certain aspects of piano design, especially given that the carrying power of pianos and the numbers of people before whom pianos would be played increased significantly in the 19th century.

Whilst "what Rameau, Bach, Scarlatti, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy... wanted - was a Steinway concert grand" is self-evidently nonsense (Debussy could have had one anyway and Grieg certainly possessed one), I remain unconvinced that piano composers never took any interest in the development of the instrument's design and capabilities; Alkan's Op. 39 Douze Études dans les Tons Mineurs played on the kinds of instrument with which has was familiar at the time of writing might arguably illustrate a case in point...

[Stanfordian]

‘Visions’ - Véronique Gens
French Arias from Saint-Saëns, Niedermeyer, Halévy, Godard,
Février, David, Franck, Massenet, Bizet, Bruneau
Véronique Gens (soprano)
Münchner Rundfunkorchester / Hervé Niquet
Recorded 2017 Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich
Alpha Classics

Bohemia Luxembourg Trio
Debussy
Sonata for flute, viola & harp
Jolivet
Petite Suite for flute, viola & harp
Mozart
Trio Sonata for flute, viola & harp
(arr. Dezso d’Antalffy-Zsiross from Duo for violin & viola in G major KV423)
Beethoven
Serenade for flute, viola & harp
(arr. Ami Maayani, 1936 from Serenade for flute, violin & viola in D major, Op. 25
Bohemia Luxembourg Trio
Recorded 2006, Domovina Studio, Prague, Czech Republic
ArcoDiva

[BBMmk2]

This has been a chequered week, for me. So carrying on with my Delius theme and other music of the period.

Delius
Sea Drift
Sally Burgess (mezzo-soprano)
Bryn Terfel (baritone)
Waynflete Singers
Southern Voices
Bournemouth Symphony
Chorus & Orchestra
Richard Hickox.

Florida Suite
North Country Sketches
2 Pieces for small Orchestra
On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
Ulster Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Vernon Handley
Air & Dance

[gurnemanz]

Started the day with one of my favourite Mahler albums with Stephan Genz and Roger Vignoles on piano from Hyperion. The first track appropriately is Frühlingsmorgen - Spring Morning - from the early Lieder und Gesänge. A generous selection, also including Rückert Lieder, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Kindertotenlieder.

[BBMmk2]

This has been a chequered week, for me. So carrying on with my Delius theme and other music of the period.

Delius
Sea Drift
Sally Burgess (mezzo-soprano)
Bryn Terfel (baritone)
Waynflete Singers
Southern Voices
Bournemouth Symphony
Chorus & Orchestra
Richard Hickox.

Florida Suite
North Country Sketches
2 Pieces for small Orchestra
On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
Ulster Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Vernon Handley
Air & Dance

Following on

Finzi
To a Poet, Op.13a No.1
Earth and Air and Rain, Op.15
Till Earth Outwears, Op.19/2 in years Defaced
(arr. J D Roberts)
Tall Nettles (arr. C Alexander)
At a Lunar Eclipse (arr. J Weir)
Proud Songsters (A Payne)
Prelude for string Orchestra, Op.25
Romance for String Orchestra, Op.11
Violin Concerto
John Mark Ainsley (tenor)
Tasmin Little (violin)
City of London Sinfonia
Richard Hickox

Elgar
String Quartet in E minor, Op.83
Piano Quartet on A minor, Op.84
Martin Roscoe (piano)
Brodsky Quartet

[Stanfordian]

Natalie Dessay – À L'Opéra
Opera Arias collection
CD 1: French mainly Romantic repertoire
CD 2: Italian Romantic opera arias
CD 3: German and English arias
Natalie Dessay (soprano)
Erato, newly released 3 CD set
Dessay's retirement from the opera house is a sad loss.

Ravel
String Quartet in F Major
La Tombelle
String Quartet in E Major, Op. 36
Mandelring Quartett
Recorded 2018 Deutschlandfunk Kammermusiksaal, Cologne
Audite, CD new release

[EnemyoftheStoat]

Julius BURGER
Scherzo for strings
Cello Concerto
Variations on a Theme by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Maya Beiser (cello); Radio Symphonie Orchester, Berlin, cond. Simone Young
rec. 26-28 and 30 September, 1994, Jesus-Christus Kirche, Berlin, Germany
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0001

One I've had on my shelves for a while but never really got round to, but here's a cello concerto that really should be heard more often, and rather likable set of variations.

I'm saving the vocal items on this disc for another time, but this review suggests they're worth a hear as well: http://www.musicweb-international.co...l_TOCC0001.htm

[BBMmk2]

First up today, in my theme of recordings featuring the music of Delius and his contemporaries and near contemporaries.

Walton
Symphony No.1 in Bb minor
(RSNO)
Cello Concerto
(Ralph Kirshbaum, cello,
RSNO)
Belshazzar’s Feast
(Sherill Milnes, baritone, RSNO Chorus,
Scottish Festival Brass Bands,
Royal Scottish National Orchestra)
Coronation Te Deum
(George McPhee, organ, RSNO Chorus and Orchestra)
All conducted by Sir Alexander Gibson)

Crown Imperial
Anniversary Fanfare
Orb & Sceptre
Philharmonia Orchestra
Sir David Willcocks.

[Stanfordian]

Schubert
Winterreise
Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano)
Yannick Nezet-Seguin (piano)
Recorded Live, December 2019, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall, NYC
Erato, new CD

Berg
Violin Concerto ‘To the Memory of an Angel’
Seven Early Songs
Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6 (1929 revision)
Gil Shaham (violin)
Susanna Phillips (soprano)
San Francisco Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas
rec. Live, 2015/18, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco
SFS Media (SACD), new release

[PHS]

Beethoven. Violin Concerto

Ida Haendel, violin. The Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Rafeal Kubelik.

Recorded in 1951

[Suffolkcoastal]

Score following - Days 313-315

F Schubert:
Incidental Music to Rosamunde D797
Symphony No 1 in D major D82
Symphony No 2 in B flat major D125
Symphony No 3 in D major D300
Symphony No 4 in C minor 'Tragic' D417
Symphony No 5 in B flat major D485
Symphony No 6 in C major D589
Symphony No 8 in B minor 'Unfinished' D759
Symphony No 9 in C major 'Great' D944

[Stanfordian]

Debussy
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un Faune
Images pour orchestre
Printemps, suite symphonique
The Cleveland Orchestra / Pierre Boulez
Recorded 1991 Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio
Deutsche Grammophon

Anne Sofie von Otter - ‘La Bonne Chanson’ - French Chamber Songs
Ravel
Trois poemes de Stephane Mallarmé
Chausson
Chanson perpétuelle, Op. 37
Martin
Trois Chants de Noël (Poésie de Albert Rudhardt)
Delage
Quatre Poèmes hindous
Saint-Saëns
Une flûte invisible (Poésie de Victor Hugo)
Poulenc
Rapsodie négre
Fauré
La Bonne Chanson, Op. 61
Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano),
Bengt Forsberg (piano), Nils-Erik Sparf (violin), Ulf Forsberg (violin),
Matti Hirvikangas (viola), Mats Lidström (cello), Per Billman (bass clarinet),
Lisa Viguier (harp), Lars Paulsson (clarinet), Peter Rydstroem (flute/piccolo),
Andreas Alin (flute), Ulf Bjurenhed (oboe/cor anglais), Tomas Gertonsson (double bass)
Recorded 1994, Kungl Musikaliska Akademien, Stockholm
Deutsche Grammophon

[BBMmk2]

Debussy
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un Faune
Images pour orchestre
Printemps, suite symphonique
The Cleveland Orchestra / Pierre Boulez
Recorded 1991 Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio
Deutsche Grammophon

One of the best recordings of Debussy’s orchestral music out there.

Carrying on with my theme of recordings featuring the music of Delius and his contemporaries and near contemporaries.

Delius In Norway
Ann Helen Moen(soprano)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Andrew Davis.

[DublinJimbo]

Weinberg:

Piano Quintet op. 18
Children's Notebook No. 3 op. 23

Elisaveta Blumina (piano), Noah Bendix-Balgley, Shansan Yao (violins), Máté Szücs (viola), Bruno Pelepelaire (cello)

This popped up on Qobuz last night as part of the weekly new arrivals. What a discovery! I have several versions of the Quintet in my collection and am familiar with more thanks to Qobuz streaming, but this performance is head and shoulders above anything else I've heard. Elisaveta Blumina has long been a staunch advocate for Weinberg and has an extended discography to her credit devoted to his music. She's joined here by a stellar lineup (Noah Bendix-Balgley is 'First Concertmaster' of the Berlin Philharmonic according to Wikipedia, Máté Szücs is first principal viola and Bruno Pelepelaire first principal cello with the same orchestra, while Shansan Yao is a member of the New York Philharmonic).

Judging from this recording they must play together on a regular basis, since they deliver a wonderfully homogenous and sure-footed performance. I adore the Quintet, and would consider myself to be reasonably familiar with it, but they manage to find so much more, from desperately threatening to deeply moving. The finale made me laugh out loud at the way they bring out Scottish/Irish dance references and even touches of jazz, but the entire performance is revelatory. Despite listening in the early hours of the morning I was totally involved from start to finish and it was all I could do to resist the urge to listen to it all again immediately.

I'll need to return to the solo piano pieces. Good as they seemed at first hearing, I was too shattered after the Quintet to do them justice.

[PHS]

Beethoven. Violin Concerto.

Christian Tetzlaff, violin.

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchestra, Berlin conducted by Robin Ticciati