Popular Post SteveMc 2,674 Posted November 12, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted November 12, 2019 publicist, Disco Stu and The Illustrious Jerry 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 Three German Dances No. 1 One of Mozart's little earworms that I just can't get out of my head this morning. I know it best from the opening credits to La règle du jeu, one of my favorite movies of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,499 Posted November 14, 2019 Share Posted November 14, 2019 SYMPHONY NO. 3, by Ralph Vaughan Williams, today, on BBC Radio 3. Sublime...as always. SteveMc and karelm 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post SteveMc 2,674 Posted November 18, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted November 18, 2019 This one truly is stunning Jurassic Shark, publicist and The Illustrious Jerry 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,030 Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 Well, it's Beethoven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oomoog the Ecstatic 314 Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 Performance starts at 1:35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,510 Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 The Andante from Haydn's Symphony No.4 - sounds to me like a spirit drifting across the earth, searching for something it will never find... Matthias 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,510 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,030 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 It's a great symphony, and a butch conductor. @Marian Schedenig, what do you think of this recording? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,174 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 10 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said: It's a great symphony, and a butch conductor. @Marian Schedenig, what do you think of this recording? Haven't heard any Gergiev Bruckner yet. My favourite recordings of the 4th are Karajan (my first, and still my favourite for many of the more subtle moments, although he does a curiously underwhelming coda), Wand (the opening horn solo is the most heart melting horn I've ever heard) and Celibidache (whose famous coda is for me unrivalled as the best 4 minutes of music ever recorded). Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,030 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 2 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said: Haven't heard any Gergiev Bruckner yet. My favourite recordings of the 4th are Karajan (my first, and still my favourite for many of the more subtle moments, although he does a curiously underwhelming coda), Wand (the opening horn solo is the most heart melting horn I've ever heard) and Celibidache (whose famous coda is for me unrivalled as the best 4 minutes of music ever recorded). I see I have a lot to check out! It's one of my favourite symphonies, but I can't say I have a favourite recording of it... yet! I'm a bit allergic to Celibidache, though, because of his slow tempi. One would think he got paid by the minute... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,174 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Only two more weeks until our next choir concert, Frank Martin's Mass for double choir. It did take me a while to fully get into the spirit of the work, but it's finally coming together, and it is a very cool work once you start to make sense of it. I was totally unaware of Martin before we started rehearsals, but apparently this work (written in the 1920s, but not meant for performed and only publicised and first performed 40 years later) is now a mainstay of the sacred a-cappella choir repertoire, with several of recordings on YouTube: 2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said: I'm a bit allergic to Celibidache, though, because of his slow tempi. One would think he got paid by the minute... It very much depends on the work. His Mozart Requiem is rather grotesque, and not all of his Bruckners are spot on for me. But his 7th towers above all others I know, and the way he slows down the coda of the 4th by emphasising the ticking violas, drawing it out to over 4 minutes (Wand gets through it in 2:40), fits perfectly and creates the most spine tingling misterioso atmosphere possible. In my view, Bruckner is generally well served by slow tempi, and many conductors ruin his symphonies by rushing through them in an all too "conventional" way that doesn't fit his unconventional M.O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,510 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,030 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 10 minutes ago, First TROS March Accolyte said: Eugen Jochum & Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1955) is also worth a recommendation. I've got both his Bruckner cycles, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,174 Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Jochum's Te Deum is my favourite recording of that work, and his choral recordings in general are fine interpretations (if hampered by the quality of 1960s choirs), but what I've heard of his symphony recordings seems too conventional and unidiomatic for me. Same goes for the (to my continuing incomprehension) much lauded Böhm recording of the 4th. Perhaps their comparatively early recordings were still too much influenced by the original reception and mis-interpretation of Bruckner's style in the 19th and earlier 20th centuries. Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,510 Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,510 Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 . SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,510 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Like him or hate him, there will likely never be another like him. Fabulin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,510 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellosh 3,389 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 Gershwin and Copland's Piano Concertos, from 1925 and 1926 respectively, are really fascinating to compare and contrast. Both are heavily influenced by jazz and blues. But both are also so distinctly representative of their composers' personalities and approaches. Gershwin's rich harmonies and warmly wry melodies contrasted with Copland's jagged, sharp rhythms and skeletal, open-air harmonies/orchestration. Even Copland's opening movement, probably the closest he ever came to being Gershwinesque, sounds positively ascetic compared to Gershwin's middle movement. If I'm honest, I find Copland's masterful second movement much more skillfully constructed and satisfying in its arc than Gershwin's finale, but both have an incredible vitality. It was shortly after his Piano Concerto that Copland abandoned self-consciously incorporating jazz (really Tin Pan Alley) idioms in "serious" orchestral compositions, while that remains Gershwin's defining musical legacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 Tomorrow night, I finally see performed live the music which is most holy to me in all the world, Copland's Third Symphony. My wife and I are going to the Kennedy Center in DC to see Leonard Slatkin conduct the National Symphony Orchestra. I'm giddy with anticipation! Slatkin's recording with the Detroit Symphony is my favorite recording of the Third; I hope this performance comes close to that standard. Actually, this is a really good month for Copland's Third. This weekend sees it performed by Slatkin with the NSO on the east coast and next weekend sees it performed by Michael Tilson Thomas with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on the west coast. SteveMc and The Illustrious Jerry 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 Florence Price piece originally written for piano, arranged for orchestra by William Grant Still. Fabulin and The Illustrious Jerry 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,510 Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,510 Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 One of my favourite pieces and recordings ever: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,174 Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Karajan 70s Strauss is hard to beat. Loert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romão 2,274 Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 On 12/6/2019 at 10:39 PM, Loert said: One of my favourite pieces and recordings ever: That's probably the best sounding cd I own. Terrific stuff Loert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 A piece I just discovered yesterday. Sousa meets Gershwin! Two American icons! In 1920, Sousa composed a "humoresque" arrangement of Gershwin's new, massively popular song "Swanee" (the song that made him a superstar). Sousa is having a lot of fun here, including humorous orchestral "sound effects," whistling, and freely quoting and referencing other popular songs like "Hail Hail the Gang's All Here", "Dixie" and of course "The Old Folks at Home" (the kind of songs that Gershwin was parodying). Moreover, he really captured the joy and exuberance that made the song such a hit in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,174 Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 22 hours ago, Romão said: That's probably the best sounding cd I own. Terrific stuff It's a shame Karajan only recorded the Alpensinfonie once, and it was an 80s digital recording. His 70s Strauss is better and sounds so much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 The record label Pentatone has announced a release for March 2020, "Aspects of America: The Pulitzer Edition" featuring Pulitzer winning music of Walter Piston, Morton Gould, and Howard Hanson, performed by Carlos Kalmar with the Oregon Symphony. I am VERY excited for this release because it will be only the second ever commercial recording of Piston's Symphony No. 7, which may be my single favorite Piston work. The only current commercial recording by the Louisville Orchestra from the 70s features a great performance, but has pretty crummy sound. SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jilal 569 Posted December 16, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted December 16, 2019 I've been listening to Praise Ye from William Walton's cantata Belshazzar's Feast repeatedly this week. Can't get enough of it! There are lots of Williams, Horner and Goldsmith vibes throughout, intermingled with bits reminiscent of Walton's famous coronation march, Crown Imperial. Disco Stu, publicist and SteveMc 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Goldenthal “October Light” Adagio for Orchestra Nick Parker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 One of my favorite sentimental old waltzes. (the waltz itself starts at 30 seconds in) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,499 Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Some weird, but good, shit, on BBC Radio 3 (which I later discovered was the MISSA BREVIS, by Britten), and ELECTRIC COUNTERPOINT- FAST, by Reich. Geez. Did he rip-off King Crimson, or did they rip-off him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,030 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 On 12/1/2019 at 12:13 AM, SteveMc said: The album is named Finlandia, one of the works is named Finlandia, and the label is named Finlandia. How very meta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
publicist 4,643 Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 SteveMc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 A classic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 Lukas Foss: Clarinet Concerto No. 2 Symphony No. 1 Symphony No. 3 Revisited three Foss pieces that have in 2019 taken their place among my favorite pieces of classical music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,030 Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 @Marian Schedenig, what's your thoughts on Rilling's take on the Te Deum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marian Schedenig 8,174 Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 First time I've heard it. Overall it's surprisingly close to Jochum's, but with reservations. On Rilling's recording, you can hear the choir more directly, and he certainly has the better choir (no wonder given his version is a few decades newer). But, as so often happens with Bruckner, I think Rilling gets the tempo changes wrong. He frequently slows down extremely and stems the flow of the music, which not only is annoying on its own but pretty soon makes the whole thing drag quite a bit. He does some more natural tempo changes that would be more appropriate than the extremes, but those happen in places where the tempo isn't supposed to change at all - compare the bar just before letter B to Jochum (0:55 in the following video): Overall, I've certainly heard worse Bruckner interpretations, but I'll stick to Jochum. Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 So I knew that Aaron Copland was something of an incorrigible "self-stealer," notable for pulling bits from older unpublished works for new compositions. But my mind was kind of blown this morning when I was listening for the first time to a short 1933 piece called Elegies for a duo of violin and viola, never published and recorded for the first time in 2004. I already knew from Howard Pollack's book that the opening section of Elegies had been almost immediately repurposed as the "Subjective" movement for the 1934 suite Statements for orchestra, but when I got to 5.5 minutes into Elegies I became cognizant that I was hearing music I was very, very intimately familiar with already. Lo and behold, about 30 seconds of Elegies is reproduced faithfully, but expanded upon, towards the end of the 3rd movement of the Third Symphony (aka my musical best friend). Not only is the material expanded on, but he also managed to seamlessly integrate the second theme of the movement (introduced at 3:58 in the Slatkin recording below) to help make it feel like it was always meant for the symphony. Just listen here from 5:27 to 6:00 Then here from the symphony at 8:00 to 9:40 (for anyone with the score, that's from 4 measures before Rehearsal 79 to Rehearsal 83) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 As regular JWFan Classical threadgoers know, generally when it comes to art music I'm solidly a 20th century (schizoid) man. But sometimes on a frigid Sunday morning in the Winter sun, I gotta go for this all-time favorite. Bach's Fugue in D-Sharp Minor, BWV 853. Ascetic and coldly beautiful. Stadtfeld's WTC 1 recording has become my go-to actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loert 2,510 Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 I’m still listening to Irving Fine’s Music for Piano a lot. It’s quite an addictive piece! Stravinsky wrote Fine a letter in 1948 praising the piece as “graceful.... [and] so elegant in its writing” so I’m in good company ins 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMc 2,674 Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Two works for piano that I think make an excellent pairing. Rorem's Piano Sonata No. 2 (1949) Poulenc's Trois mouvements perpétuels (1918) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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