What Classical Music Are You listening to Now? III

[jayne lee wilson]

Listening to this WRTI Sunday afternoon relay of The Philadelphia Orchestra, their subscription concert from last fall with Susanna Malkki as guest conductor:

https://www.wrti.org/wrti-spotlight/2022-01-25/the-philadelphia-orchestra-in-concert-on-wrti-susanna-malkki-conducts-mozart-stravinsky-and-melinda-wagner

Unfortunately, as tends to be the case, the internet connection wonked out at the start, so that I missed the 1st few bars of the Melinda Wagner work "Little Moonhead" when I had to reconnect. That aside, the first section sounds like neoclassical Stravinsky updated in general style, albeit with more motivic variety (granted, that's not saying much). The second section is going now, and is very, very different in tone, quite evocative.

Speaking of Susanna Malkki, she seems to be the "it girl" among conductors now, after a recent profile of her in the NYT. WQXR has, for the moment, her recent Carnegie Hall concert with the New York Philharmonic available here (can't recall if I mentioned it in another thread):

https://www.wqxr.org/story/new-york-...carnegie-hall/

NYT articles are always behind a paywall here I'm afraid.

Susanna Mälkki's discography already includes very impressive Zemlinsky, a recent disc of Amman, Ravel and Bartok Piano Concertos, with of course the continuing Bartok series in Helsinki, every release of which were quickly recognised as among the best played and recorded available...

Rather more than an "It Girl" then.....

[Mandryka]

The thing about this is that it presents Schubert’s last three piano sonatas as dramatic strurm und drang pieces - it does for Schubert what Bezuidenhout did for Mozart in his first CD, the uncompromising one with the red cover. It’s quite a challenge, it's like no other Schubert I can remember. I’m really curious to see if he has anything to say (in the booklet maybe - which I don’t have) about how he got to this conception. Mind you Schnabel, Curzon, Richter never said much about how they got to their conception , , , it’s all pretty arbitrary maybe. Or rather, imaginative.

The D959 is for the open minded only.

[Mandryka]

The thing about this is that it presents Schubert’s last three piano sonatas as dramatic strurm und drang pieces - it does for Schubert what Bezuidenhout did for Mozart in his first CD, the uncompromising one with the red cover. It’s quite a challenge, it's like no other Schubert I can remember. I’m really curious to see if he has anything to say (in the booklet maybe - which I don’t have) about how he got to this conception. Mind you Schnabel, Curzon, Richter never said much about how they got to their conception , , , it’s all pretty arbitrary maybe. Or rather, imaginative.

The D959 is for the open minded only.

Here's the booklet, complete with essay.

http://tobiaskoch.eu/wp-content/uploads/SCHUBERT_SONATAS_TOBIAS_KOCH.pdf

[Mandryka]

The thing about this is that it presents Schubert’s last three piano sonatas as dramatic strurm und drang pieces - it does for Schubert what Bezuidenhout did for Mozart in his first CD, the uncompromising one with the red cover. It’s quite a challenge, it's like no other Schubert I can remember. I’m really curious to see if he has anything to say (in the booklet maybe - which I don’t have) about how he got to this conception. Mind you Schnabel, Curzon, Richter never said much about how they got to their conception , , , it’s all pretty arbitrary maybe. Or rather, imaginative.

The D959 is for the open minded only.

And listening again to the 960 something which I think I got from Richard Barrett’s book came to mind - he’ll correct me maybe about that - that one possible mark of improvisation is that the performer creates the music in response to the specific sound qualities of the instrument he’s using. And suddenly I saw what’s really essentially gained by using a piano like the one Koch uses - it’s that he is creating D960 by tapping into the unique timbral possibilities of his piano. What he does is in some as yet undefined sense more improvisatory, or differently improvisatory, than, for example, to pick a name at random, Curzon.

[silvestrione]

And listening again to the 960 something which I think I got from Richard Barrett’s book came to mind - he’ll correct me maybe about that - that one possible mark of improvisation is that the performer creates the music in response to the specific sound qualities of the instrument he’s using. And suddenly I saw what’s really essentially gained by using a piano like the one Koch uses - it’s that he is creating D960 by tapping into the unique timbral possibilities of his piano. What he does is in some as yet undefined sense more improvisatory, or differently improvisatory, than, for example, to pick a name at random, Curzon.

I think that's a good insight. I've only listened to D959 so far, a work I've loved since my teens and tried to play a lot, and the performance is fresh (despite extreme- slow!- tempo in first movement) and yes, improvisatory. I love his way with the second subject in that first movement. The piano is eloquent in the return of the theme in the Andantino, where he makes more use of the pedal than at the start.

[HighlandDougie]

I'm much looking forward to listening to Koch's approach to these works, which, to steal Silvestrione's phrase, I have also loved since my teens, but in the meantime (and as an example of what modern recording can achieve):

J S Bach: "Bach to the Future"

Olivier Latry at the organ of Nôtre-Dame de Paris (final recording there before it was almost burnt to a crisp)

My other half has just said, "But I thought that you hated organ music", so I'm checking out whether my €5,00 at FNAC on this has been a good buy. Giving the sub-woofer a good work out but maybe all a bit grand scale? Organ music lovers may disagree. Apologies for my flippancy.

[gurnemanz]

I think that's a good insight. I've only listened to D959 so far, a work I've loved since my teens and tried to play a lot, and the performance is fresh (despite extreme- slow!- tempo in first movement) and yes, improvisatory. I love his way with the second subject in that first movement. The piano is eloquent in the return of the theme in the Andantino, where he makes more use of the pedal than at the start.

I listened to Tobias Koch in D958 on Spotify and in no way can attempt a proper analysis, but I don't think I could live with the tempo - doesn't allegro mean cheerful? - or the frequent playing of the right and left hand separately. Acoustic is bit resonant and as a fortepiano version my preference is for Paul Badura-Skoda.

[Bryn]

I'm much looking forward to listening to Koch's approach to these works, which, to steal Silvestrione's phrase, I have also loved since my teens, . . .

I have now listened to all three Schubert late sonatas as recorded by Tobias Koch and feel my ears truly refreshed. It led me to investigate his 3-disc Beethoern set, "In Search Of New Paths - Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 8-18". I first imported them from QOBUZ but wanting to be able to play them other than from the laptop they were imported to, and finding the QOBUZ pricing for a download unattractive, looked elsewhere. To my surprise and delight, amazon.co.uk have the set for £14.57. I have duly ordered it. ASIN : B099THQ6L5 I see it has now jumped a little to £16.30. Still a good price but for how long?

[Mandryka]

I listened to Tobias Koch in D958 on Spotify and in no way can attempt a proper analysis, but I don't think I could live with the tempo - doesn't allegro mean cheerful? - or the frequent playing of the right and left hand separately. Acoustic is bit resonant and as a fortepiano version my preference is for Paul Badura-Skoda.

I think you should see it as an improvisation which retains Schubert’s pitch patterns.

[Stanfordian]

Donizetti
‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ tragic opera in three acts
Maria Callas (Lucia), Ferruccio Tagliavini (Edgardo), Piero Cappuccilli (Enrico),
Bernard Ladysz (Raimondo), Leonard del Ferro (Arturo), Margreta Elkins (Alisa),
Renzo Casellato (Normanno)
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus / Tullio Serafin
Recorded 1959, Abbey Road studios, London
Warner Classics ‘Maria Callas Remastered’ series

[BBMmk2]

My theme has changed today, from Sibelius to Shostakovich.

Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No.4 in C minor, Op.43
Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
André Previn

Piano Concerto No.1 in C minor, Op.35
((For piano, trumpet & strings)
André Previn, piano, William Vacchiano, trumpet,
NYPO, Leonard Bernstein

Symphony No.10 in E minor, Op.93
Symphony No.13 in Bb major, Op.113, “Babi Yar”
Dmiter Petkov (bass)
LLSO Chorus
London Symphony Orchestra
André Previn.

[Joseph K]

Beethoven - symphony no. 6 - Le Concert des Nations/Savall

[BBMmk2]

My theme has changed today, from Sibelius to Shostakovich.

Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No.4 in C minor, Op.43
Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
André Previn

Piano Concerto No.1 in C minor, Op.35
((For piano, trumpet & strings)
André Previn, piano, William Vacchiano, trumpet,
NYPO, Leonard Bernstein

Symphony No.10 in E minor, Op.93
Symphony No.13 in Bb major, Op.113, “Babi Yar”
Dmiter Petkov (bass)
LLSO Chorus
London Symphony Orchestra
André Previn.

This afternoon’s listening

Shostakovich
Symphony No.8 in C minor, Op. 65
London Symphony Orchestra
André Previn.

Symphony No.13 in Bb minor, Op113, “Babi Yar”
Dimiter Petkov (bass)
LSO Male Chorus
London Symphony Orchestra
André Previn.

[silvestrione]

I think you should see it as an improvisation which retains Schubert’s pitch patterns.

Hmm...I think that overstates it for me. It's very Schubertian poetic. The first movement tempo is barely justifiable, but somehow works, you get used to it. The trio of the third movement is magic. The moment in the finale where the theme comes back in broken phrases was so moving...reminded me of Pollini in RFH in the 70s.

[Joseph K]

Brahms - symphony no. 4 - Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Ticciati