What Classical Music Are You listening to Now? IV

[oliver sudden]

I have finally got hold of the newish DG CD of Brahms piano quartets (opp 60 and 26 in that order) with Krystian Zimerman and friends and it is a cracker! Very brisk, forthright, crisply articulated, and overall a welcome breath of fresh air.

[Pulcinella]

Bartok

Sonata for two pianos and percussion.
John Ogdon, Brenda Lucan, Tristan Fry, James Holland.

(A very disappointing lack of response to our Summer BaL on this work!)

Piano concerto 1
Piano concerto 3

John Ogdon, New Philharmonia, Malcolm Sargent.

[Petrushka]

Bartok

Sonata for two pianos and percussion.

(A very disappointing lack of response to our Summer BaL on this work!)

As the one who put forward the work for consideration, I'd completely missed it myself! On investigation, I see that it appeared while I was in London for the two Vienna Philharmonic Proms and had less time to look at the Forum outside of the Proms pages. Perhaps it could be resurrected next year?

[HighlandDougie]

I have finally got hold of the newish DG CD of Brahms piano quartets (opp 60 and 26 in that order) with Krystian Zimerman and friends and it is a cracker! Very brisk, forthright, crisply articulated, and overall a welcome breath of fresh air.

With that commendation, duly ordered from FNAC. Much looking forward to listening to it.

[Pulcinella]

As the one who put forward the work for consideration, I'd completely missed it myself! On investigation, I see that it appeared while I was in London for the two Vienna Philharmonic Proms and had less time to look at the Forum outside of the Proms pages. Perhaps it could be resurrected next year?

It wasn't a dig at you!
I've wondered about posting some sort of summary and asking where we go next year.
Maybe we should stick with Recordings in Discussion, and launch threads whenever, rather than trying to concentrate efforts in Summer, when there's much else going on too, and it's certainly easy to miss threads.

[Petrushka]

It wasn't a dig at you!

I certainly didn't take it as being one! It's just that being so focused on the Proms, I'd never even noticed that it had appeared. Perhaps in a way this confirms your view that we might stick to Recordings in Discussion. It was an exceptionally busy summer and with holidays, Proms and the decent weather one tended to give the Forum slightly less attention and things just got missed.

[oliver sudden]

With that commendation, duly ordered from FNAC. Much looking forward to listening to it.

Oh the responsibility! Well, if you don't like it at least that will help you in calibrating my tips.

(Strangely enough, I bought mine from a FNAC as well...)

[smittims]

Brahms: Violin Concerto. Gioconda de Vito, Philharmonia Orchestra, Rudolf Schwarz. An early 1950's HMV recording reissued on Music For Pleasure ithe 1960s with a lovely cover of some sunlit autumnal bracken.

Gioconda de Vito (a'k'a' Mrs David Bicknell) is probably little-known today apart from violin historians. She didn't make many records, but recorded the Brahms twice. It's a comfortable old-fashioned interpretation which reminded me of Kreisler or Kulenkampff, only in much better sound, of course. I think this was the nicest performance I'd heard since Menuhin/Furtwangler.

[Barbirollians]

Shostakovich Symphony No 10 - SNO/Jarvi - absolutely dynamite .

[Stanfordian]

Lennox Berkeley
a.) ‘Stabat Mater’ for 2 sopranos, contralto, tenor, 2 baritone/bass voices, choir & 12 instruments
Mary Thomas, Barbara Elsey (sopranos); Maureen Lehane (contralto);
Nigel Rogers (tenor); Christopher Keyte (baritone/bass); Michael Rippon (bass)
Ambrosian Singers,
English Chamber Orchestra members / Norman Del Mar
Recorded Live BBC broadcast, 1965, Friends’ Meeting House, London
b.) Cantata, ‘Batter My Heart, Three-Person’d God’
Felicity Harrison (soprano), Donald Hunt (organ)
BBC Northern Singers,
BBC Northern Orchestra members/ Lennox Berkeley
Recorded BBC broadcast 1963
c.) ‘Magnificat ‘
Choirs of St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral
London Symphony Orchestra / Lennox Berkeley
Recorded 1968 BBC broadcast, St Paul’s Cathedral, London
Lyrita, CD

Isabelle van Keulen & Ronald Brautigam – ‘Music for Violin and Piano’
Elgar
Sospiri, Op. 70
Violin Sonata in E minor, Op. 82
Grieg
Violin Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 8
Sibelius
Humoresques, Op. 87, No. 2; Op. 89, No’s. 2, 4
Isabelle van Keulen (violin)
Ronald Brautigam (piano)
Recorded 2006, Galaxy Studios, Mol, Belgium
Challenge Classics, CD
A quite glorious performance of Elgar's 'Sospiri'.

[smittims]

Dvorak: Symphony no 5 (sic) 'From the New World'. The Norwestdeutscher Philharmoniker , Wilhelm Schuchter .

'Immensely dull' said the Penguin Guide. I enjoyed it, if not 'immensely', very much. This was a good orchestra : the wind intonation,for instance, is immaculate.

[Barbirollians]

Shostakovich Symphony No 6 VPO/Bernstein - mixed reviews I recall when it first was released in 1987 - Gosh that Largo is slow but utterly mesmerising- and I dont agree with Stephen Johnson at all who suggested Bernstein's heart wasn't in the last two movements . Maybe not a library Shostakovich 6 but a great one to my ears.

[Barbirollians]

The accompanying Ninth is special too.

[Quarky]

Pli selon Pli :: Barbara Hannigan / Boulez live 2011

Video upload YouTube

[richardfinegold]

Shostakovich Symphony No 6 VPO/Bernstein - mixed reviews I recall when it first was released in 1987 - Gosh that Largo is slow but utterly mesmerising- and I dont agree with Stephen Johnson at all who suggested Bernstein's heart wasn't in the last two movements . Maybe not a library Shostakovich 6 but a great one to my ears.

That’s been my favorite 6 since I first encountered it.