What Classical Music Are You listening to Now? III

[Stanfordian]

‘Confidence’ – Julien Behr
French Romantic arias from Gounod, Delibes, Messager, Joncières, Holmes, Bizet, Godard, Lehár, Chabrier, Thomas, Duparc & Trenet
Julien Behr (tenor)
Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon / Pierre Bleuse
Recorded 2017, Auditorium de Lyon, France
Alpha Classics – Glorious recent release

‘French Music for String Orchestra’
Koechlin
Sur les flots lointains, Op. 130
Lekeu
Adagio pour cordes
Honegger
Hymne pour dixtuor à cordes, (arranged for string orchestra)
Symphonie No. 2, pour cordes avec trompette ad libitum
Castérède
Symphonie No. 1, pour orchestre à cordes
Saint-Saëns
Sarabande, Op. 93
Ciconia Consort / Dick van Gasteren
Emmy Storms, violin (track 8); Rianne Schoemaker, trumpet (track 11)
Recorded 2018, Westvest Kerk, Schiedam, Netherlands
Brilliant Classics - An outstanding album

[pastoralguy]

Sibelius. Symphony No.4

London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis. (LSO Live)

Listening to this again. Just amazing music!

[Petrushka]

Listening to this again. Just amazing music!

It certainly is! I played all of Karajan's versions of the 4th on three consecutive evenings earlier this year!

[pastoralguy]

It certainly is! I played all of Karajan's versions of the 4th on three consecutive evenings earlier this year!

It took me a LONG time to appreciate this work but it was worth the time and effort. I still think Karajan is the master in this music.

[jayne lee wilson]

Sibelius Symphony No.4. Paris O./Paavo Jarvi. 24/96 Sony New Release. Qobuz Studio.

A fine 4th, on the warm side of neutral but not over-Romantic, carefully- shaped and paced… but a shade obvious in its interpretative approach; just lacking that extra distinctiveness or sense of musical contrasts. One to enjoy as part of a concert series, say, or…. streaming. I wonder if it would come off the shelf that much if you bought it…

What a remarkable ending the 4th has… the strings wander up and down seeming to despair of finding an ending - a way out, a way of concluding, and not in agony; but finally acceptance comes; a bleakness, but at least with a sense of continuing life…

Sibelius Symphony No.6; No.4. COE/Berglund. Finlandia CDs.

“No music is as beautiful as ours” say the angels at the end of Mahler’s 4th. It always seems as true of the final pages of Sibelius 6th symphony, a work very close to my heart (which I imagine is true for a few listeners here…).
The lightened textures are more obvious in quieter passages here (climaxes never seem underpowered), much to the benefit of clarity and rhythmic lift and life…
No. 4 is if anything even better - marvellously fresh, alive and intense…

***
Re. above posts.... the Bournemouth/Berglund 4th is one of the greatest of all Sibelius recordings; probably my personal favourite of No.4; with HvK, I'd go for the mid-60s DGG one....

[edashtav]

[…]

‘French Music for String Orchestra’
Koechlin[/B]m
Sur les flots lointains, Op. 130
Lekeu
Adagio pour cordes
Honegger
Hymne pour dixtuor à cordes, (arranged for string orchestra)
Symphonie No. 2, pour cordes avec trompette ad libitum
Castérède
Symphonie No. 1, pour orchestre à cordes
Saint-Saëns
Sarabande, Op. 93
Ciconia Consort/ Dick van Gasteren
Emmy Storms, violin (track 8); Rianne Schoemaker, trumpet (track 11)
Recorded 2018, Westvest Kerk, Schiedam, Netherlands
Brilliant Classics - An outstanding album

I concur , Stan, this is a terrific CD in terms of repertoire, playing and interpretation.

[Stanfordian]

Beethoven
Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’
Staatskapelle Dresden / Myung-Whun Chung
Recorded Live 27th-30th November 2004, Semperoper, Dresden
Edition Staatskapelle Dresden Volume 41
Profil - new release

Bruckner - ‘Mass in E minor and Motets’
Mass (No. 2) in E minor
Equale No. 1 for 3 trombones
Motets: Ave Maria,
Christus factus est,
Os justi
Equale No. 2 for 3 trombones
Locus iste
Vexilla Regis
La Chapelle Royale, Collegium Vocale,
Ensemble Musique Oblique /Philippe Herreweghe
Recorded 1989
Harmonia Mundi

[BBMmk2]

The Complete Deutsche Grammophon Recordings Pollini & Abbado arrived yesterday. I’ll be playing thesefor the next few days!

[BBMmk2]

Beethoven
Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’
Staatskapelle Dresden / Myung-Whun Chung
Recorded Live 27th-30th November 2004, Semperoper, Dresden
Edition Staatskapelle Dresden Volume 41
Profil - new release

Bruckner - ‘Mass in E minor and Motets’
Mass (No. 2) in E minor
Equale No. 1 for 3 trombones
Motets: Ave Maria,
Christus factus est,
Os justi
Equale No. 2 for 3 trombones
Locus iste
Vexilla Regis
La Chapelle Royale, Collegium Vocale,
Ensemble Musique Oblique /Philippe Herreweghe
Recorded 1989
Harmonia Mundi

That Bruckner recording is really very good.

Pollini & Abbado The Complete DG Recordings
Bartók Piano Concertos Nos.1 & 2
Maurizio Pollini, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado.
Luigi Nono Como una ola de Fuerza Y Luz(1971-72)
Slavka Taskova(soprano),
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Claudio Abbado.
Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.54
Schoenberg Piano Concerto, Op.42
Maurizio Pollini,
Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado

[pastoralguy]

Sibelius Symphony No.4. Paris O./Paavo Jarvi. 24/96 Sony New Release. Qobuz Studio.

A fine 4th, on the warm side of neutral but not over-Romantic, carefully- shaped and paced… but a shade obvious in its interpretative approach; just lacking that extra distinctiveness or sense of musical contrasts. One to enjoy as part of a concert series, say, or…. streaming. I wonder if it would come off the shelf that much if you bought it…

What a remarkable ending the 4th has… the strings wander up and down seeming to despair of finding an ending - a way out, a way of concluding, and not in agony; but finally acceptance comes; a bleakness, but at least with a sense of continuing life…

Sibelius Symphony No.6; No.4. COE/Berglund. Finlandia CDs.

“No music is as beautiful as ours” say the angels at the end of Mahler’s 4th. It always seems as true of the final pages of Sibelius 6th symphony, a work very close to my heart (which I imagine is true for a few listeners here…).
The lightened textures are more obvious in quieter passages here (climaxes never seem underpowered), much to the benefit of clarity and rhythmic lift and life…
No. 4 is if anything even better - marvellously fresh, alive and intense…

***
Re. above posts.... the Bournemouth/Berglund 4th is one of the greatest of all Sibelius recordings; probably my personal favourite of No.4; with HvK, I'd go for the mid-60s DGG one....

I'm seriously considering that new Paris set, Jayne. How do you rate the others?

[jayne lee wilson]

I'm seriously considering that new Paris set, Jayne. How do you rate the others?

See my first paragraph...!
I did comment a few days ago on the Record Review thread (IIRC) that the Rouvali 1st really puts the Jarvi in its place (see Caliban's comments on my New Release Special thread on the Rouvali).
http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...IRITU-SIBELIUS!
I also found the 3rd very similar, nothing especially wrong with it, lovely sounding band, good recording, but nothing very distinctive either. if only P-Jarvi, a conductor I've a lot of time for, especially when he's in Estonia or Frankfurt (excellent Nielsen cycle), had recorded the Sibelius with the Estonia NSO...
(Andrew Mellor has a full-page review of the Paris set in the current Gramophone...very detailed, somewhat equivocal, hard to summarise...)

A potential problem with cycles with the same orchestra (especially if recorded live, across a relatively short time) is their uniformity of interpretative approach and sound.... if you love it, great, but all too often the listener feels a sense of predictability setting in early on....
The Paris/P-Jarvi Sibelius was recorded 2014-16, apart from No.1 (2012).... I haven't heard all of it but it still seems to fall into that category to some extent...

If you are buying physical discs, then start collecting the Rouvali and hope the next one comes along soon....!

[pastoralguy]

Sibelius. Symphonies 5, 6 & 7

Sir Colin Davis conducting the LSO. LSO Live

[visualnickmos]

Prokofiev
Symphony no. 5
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Andre Previn

Rec.1987 Philips

[Joseph K]

Haydn string quartet op. 74 no. 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NBbI_d72bo&t=1883s

[Petrushka]

Haydn: Symphony No 96

[interval]

Bruckner: Symphony No 4

Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam
Bernard Haitink