What is the last piece of classical music you listened to?

[Glóin the Dark 1,794]

Vernon Handley and the LPO (on a disc with The Lark Ascending and Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus). I would have sworn I had a few others but can only find the Boult one…

[bollemanneke 4,291]

Charpentier: te deum and magnificat. How wonderful to always have Marriner on hand whenever you want to hear new repertoire.

[Jurassic Shark 16,133]

He's great in this kind of repertoire. 

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

I've got much more into Vaughan-Williams, but I still think Walton is my favourite British composer of the era. Kinda wish he'd written more symphonies though...

[Jurassic Shark 16,133]

...and more film scores.

[bollemanneke 4,291]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

He's great in this kind of repertoire. 

I particularly love how he always mixes up strings, woodwinds and brass in baroque. You never know who's going to play what, it all sounds so varied.

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

48 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

...and more film scores.

Conceptually yes although I honestly prefer his concert works to his film scores, great though they are.

[Jurassic Shark 16,133]

4 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Conceptually yes although I honestly prefer his concert works to his film scores, great though they are.

 

I meant more film scores like Henry V.

[Marian Schedenig 11,394]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Kinda wish he'd written more symphonies though...

 

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

...and more film scores.

 

He didn't.

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

I meant more film scores like Henry V.

Of course. I mean his other film scores are great too but they somehow seem more old fashioned than his concert works.

 

2 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

 

He didn't.

Well he did write more film scores than symphonies! So did Vaughan Williams I guess. 

[Glóin the Dark 1,794]

East 11th St NY 10003 by James Dillon. It’s a banger.

 

 

 

8 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Any good, modern recordings of that?

Just realised that my previous response betrays a dubious understanding of the word “modern”, since the Handley recording is from the mid 80s and not all that much younger than Boult’s, comparatively speaking (though it is digital).

 

Also, I was referring to the suite! I don’t recall being aware until today of the existence of a recording of the full score, of which there apparently is at least one (by Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra).

[Marian Schedenig 11,394]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

4 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

He didn't.

Well he did write more film scores than symphonies!

 

Yes, but he didn't wish to.  As far as I know, he didn't think much of film music.

 

1 hour ago, Glóin the Dark said:

Also, I was referring to the suite! I don’t recall being aware until today of the existence of a recording of the full score, of which there apparently is at least one (by Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra).

 

Ooh, I didn't even consider that there might be even more to it than the suite…

[Bespin Copilot 10,573]

John Williams – The Classical Genesis of Star Wars (1 of 4): Gustav Holst’s The Planets
 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 12,733]

Ah! Andrew Preview.

[bollemanneke 4,291]

Corelli, trio sonatas. Dull even in the hands of Trevor Pinnock.

[Jurassic Shark 16,133]

4 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

Corelli, trio sonatas. Dull even in the hands of Trevor Pinnock.

 

Dull comment.

[Bespin Copilot 10,573]

John Williams – The Classical Genesis of Star Wars (2 of 4): Antonín Dvorák: Symphony No. 9
 

 

[Bespin Copilot 10,573]

John Williams – The Classical Genesis of Star Wars (3 of 4): Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

 

 

[Bespin Copilot 10,573]

I've decided that Steiner, it's classical!

John Williams – The Classical Genesis of Star Wars (4 of 4): Max Steiner : King Kong
 

 

[Chen G. 5,851]

You forgot Liszt's Les Preludes.

[bollemanneke 4,291]

A Delius album by Mackerras. Complete waste of time.

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

4 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

A Delius album by Mackerras. Complete waste of time.

I don’t like to block people who often post interesting stuff, as you do, but these pithy negative posts are becoming quite dreary. Even if you could actually say what you didn’t like it would be good else it’s just not really contributing to any kind of meaningful discussion. I like, but don’t know Delius well, but have enjoyed his stuff when I have it on. His Mass of Life is terrific. 

[bollemanneke 4,291]

All rihgt. I prefer tunes. I need dissonance to have a purpose.

[Jurassic Shark 16,133]

He wrote a mass to life? Good for him, as most of what I've heard sounds like a musical description of getting bored to death. 

 

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

Have to admit that dissonance isn’t something I instantly associate with Delius. I mean I don’t like that sort of endless dissonance either but a bit of crunchy dissonance for dramatic effect works great for me. Probably why late romantic/early 20th century music is some of my favourite. Probably why I find a lot of contemporary film music dull as it’s so harmonically dull. But then I feel the same about Mozart and Haydn etc.

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

Went to see the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the weekend doing Bartok’s Wooden Prince so giving it another listen. Made me realise that I should listen to more than the Concerto for Orchestra and the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta and this is especially good. Beyond the opening inspiring James Horner, I noticed that the second section has a 5 note motif that sounds like the Krypton fanfare from JW’s Superman. They both do something different with it but somewhat unexpected!

 

 

[Glóin the Dark 1,794]

Snap! I was Bartóking yesterday.

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 12,733]

"Bartóking"

 

Verb: to listen to a particular classical composer.

[Glóin the Dark 1,794]

Are you Bartóking to me?

 

[Naïve Old Fart 12,733]

Well, I'm the only one listening to the CD.

[bollemanneke 4,291]

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor, Karajan. I really pity the people who had to sit through these recordings that sound worse than garbage. My first Maria Callas opera too. Her voice is certainly something else, though if you ask someone to hit a high D more than three times, it becomes rather perfunctory.

[Glóin the Dark 1,794]

On 8/2/2026 at 1:35 PM, bollemanneke said:

I prefer tunes. I need dissonance to have a purpose.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that my disposition is the exact opposite of this, but it’s probably not that far off. I like consonance to be earned, or denied.

[bollemanneke 4,291]

Dvorak 9, Fricsay with Berlin. Moments of undeniable brilliance scattered throughout, a very detailed recording, no repeat in the first movement AND the largo is audible, but you can clearly hear Karajan hasn't knocked them into shape yet.

[bollemanneke 4,291]

And then you re-discover that vibrato on 'plait' and just sit there, stunned.

 

 

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

Building a Library on Radio 3 did Sibelius 5 this week (spoiler alert… Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle which I don’t currently own, astonishingly) so had to give one of my favourite performances a spin, the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, a conductor whose recordings I always enjoy. I still don’t really “get” the staggered finale chords - the original version which has string tremolos feels more effective albeit less original. Still, the swinging motif from the final movement is spine tingling and has inspired numerous bits of film music too. 

 

[Marian Schedenig 11,394]

4 hours ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Building a Library on Radio 3 did Sibelius 5 this week (spoiler alert… Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle which I don’t currently own, astonishingly) so had to give one of my favourite performances a spin, the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, a conductor whose recordings I always enjoy.

 

That was my first Sibelius cycle, but somehow none of it really clicked with me until I got the Berglund box. Speaking of Berlin, I like Karajan's takes on the symphonies, but they're very different from all others I've heard.

 

Hearing Walton 1 in a couple of weeks, which is commonly said to draw heavily from Sibelius.

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

11 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

That was my first Sibelius cycle, but somehow none of it really clicked with me until I got the Berglund box. Speaking of Berlin, I like Karajan's takes on the symphonies, but they're very different from all others I've heard.

 

Hearing Walton 1 in a couple of weeks, which is commonly said to draw heavily from Sibelius.

I have the Berglund (Bournemouth - I think he did another with a different orchestra) cycle which I know is well regarded but not one I have listened to in a while. I have both of the Vänskä cycles, a couple of the Davis ones and several others, including Karajan (4 to 7... Kamu conducted the first three on the set I have). I just love Sibelius. My other half, over the span of several years, got me the entire complete Sibelius edition on BIS. Have to admit that some of the discs of short pieces and other occasional music aren't always that interesting, but still glad to have it.

 

Enjoy the Walton. I can't say I ever really connected Walton and Sibelius style wise, Walton is more ornamented with more off kilter rhythms but I like them both hugely... Having said that, Douglas Lilburn's symphonies and tone poems sound like a mixture of Walton and Sibelius, which is probably why I enjoy them so much. Not sure I've ever seen a Walton symphony live, but would love to.

 

Currently listening to Wilhelm Furtwängler's 3rd symphony which is decent, if perhaps a bit long for the material (it's Mahler length) and not as good as the 2nd, but worth exploring. Not conducted by the man himself (which I guess would be rather historic sound wise) but George Albrecht with the Staatskapelle Weimar. Almost a shame though... is there a conductor who has a more conductory sounding name than Wilhelm Furtwängler?!

[Jurassic Shark 16,133]

15 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

I have the Berglund (Bournemouth - I think he did another with a different orchestra)

 

He did three!

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

After a bit of Penderecki (hard work), some Richard Danielpour. I have a number of albums of his music but haven't listened to much, which seems a significant oversight. Listening to Anima Mundi from the album (god that's an awful cover) and it's basically John Adams meets Michael Torke, so minimalist and driving for much of the time, but also pretty upbeat as well as some more lyrical passages. The Concerto for Orchestra is pretty great too.

 

[Yavar Moradi 4,226]

Sibelius is one of my five favorite composers of all time (along with Goldsmith, Shostakovich, Saint-Saens, and Raff). And Berglund is my go-to, with Vanska and Salonen (LA Phil live) right up there too.

 

Yavar

[bollemanneke 4,291]

Finished Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, Gardiner. What a lovely experience! Especially act two made me want to go to the underworld and I ended up really liking the faster Dance of the Blessed Spirits after initial disgust. And thank God for the ending, I’ll never forgive Monteverdi.

[bollemanneke 4,291]

Grieg, Peer Gynt, Marriner. Okay, it's not Karajan's strings, but this was GOOD! And it had choir! And more PG material I've ever heard. New reference recording.

[Jurassic Shark 16,133]

3 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

Grieg, Peer Gynt, Marriner. Okay, it's not Karajan's strings, but this was GOOD! And it had choir! And more PG material I've ever heard. New reference recording.

 

Try the complete recording, by a Norwegian conductor!

 

 

[InTheCity 169]

The Ballades! Chopin
 

 

[A24 5,032]

 

This has to be Williams' most joyful concerto. The question is why didn't Williams ask Jim Self, someone who he calls 

 “one of the greatest instrumentalists of his generation”?

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

6 minutes ago, A24 said:

 

This has to be Williams' most joyful concerto. 

It is a lot of fun and less challenging than some of his other concertos. If I remember correctly, this recording is a bit on the slow side. The recording conducted by Leonard Slatkin and soloist Dennis Nulty on Naxos is much more animated. Well worth checking out. I remember hearing this in concert with the LSO at a concert late 90s and enjoying it immensely. 

[A24 5,032]

13 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

 The recording conducted by Leonard Slatkin and soloist Dennis Nulty on Naxos is much more animated. Well worth checking out. 

 

I see they sell it as a FLAC file but is there a CD too? 

[Marian Schedenig 11,394]

I don't think any of the (newer) Slatkin recordings are on CD. Which is why I don't have any of them - I was holding out until he completed the cycle, in the hope that it there might be at least some sort of CD box set a the end - but apparently he never did and the whole thing just fizzled out.

[Jurassic Shark 16,133]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

It is a lot of fun and less challenging than some of his other concertos. If I remember correctly, this recording is a bit on the slow side. The recording conducted by Leonard Slatkin and soloist Dennis Nulty on Naxos is much more animated. Well worth checking out. I remember hearing this in concert with the LSO at a concert late 90s and enjoying it immensely. 

 

I find Baadsvik's recording to be quite good:

 

 

[Tom Guernsey 3,652]

2 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

I don't think any of the (newer) Slatkin recordings are on CD. Which is why I don't have any of them - I was holding out until he completed the cycle, in the hope that it there might be at least some sort of CD box set a the end - but apparently he never did and the whole thing just fizzled out.

 

2 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

I find Baadsvik's recording to be quite good:

 

Basically what they said! I've oft noted that it's a shame the Slatkin recordings didn't continue to include some of the otherwise unrecorded or poorly recorded Williams concertos (notably the clarinet and viola concertos) as all of the releases in this series are great. I don't mind so much them not being on CD but it does seem a shame when DG/Sony lavish money on JW albums and other film composer concert works that Naxos kinda gave up on them (unless they just weren't able to to continue with the series for some BS rights reason...). I mean, they did the second recording of Danny Elfman's terrific violin concerto and record lots of stuff that is much less well known that concertos by the most famous film composer around. Still worth seeking out if you can cope with downloads.

 

I did think there was another recording and yes, it is very good. Also on BIS so the production is immaculate. Just wish those fuckers would get back to allowing people to buy the stuff digitally from Presto... (dunno if maybe their stuff is available on Qobuz but it's usually more pricey than Presto).