What Classical Music Are You listening to Now? III

[smittims]

Peter Mennin: Symphony no.3. The New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos.

A fine strong, 'masculine' piece, if I may say so , though it reveals at some moments that he had been listening to Vaughan Williams' Fourth. At any rate , it gets a barnstorming performance from Mirtropoulos. It's on You Tube.

[oliver sudden]

Mahler 6, Concertgebouw / van Beinum, 1955. Just the version that’s on YouTube. There’s a tahra CD which I hope sounds a bit less underwater.

Magnificent performance. All over in 73 minutes (no first movement repeat of course) but it doesn’t seem hurried. The violin portamento in the Andante is glorious—perfect in that sinuous high quaver texture that runs through so much of the movement.

Everything is there (except a couple of live mishaps) but nothing is overdone. Although I suppose you might find it underdone. The Andante is second of course, as it always was back then. I very much prefer it that way as I may have mentioned before. (Interesting that they consulted Alma about the order before this 1955 performance. So clearly Mahler didn’t make up his mind he wanted to swap the movements back until a couple of years later )

[smittims]

Messiah, the Karl Richter recording , a largely British effort recorded by DG at Brent Town Hall in 1973 with Anna Reynolds and Stuart Burrows, the John Aldis Choir and the LPO, only Helen Donath and Donald Macintyre imported.

I like this very much, my only criticism being that the soloists are a bit too close to the microphone; no need for this as Richter keeps to Handel's original light scoring of strings and continuo, wiht some lovely harpsichord playing from Hedwig Bilgram. Thinking of the debate over Marriner, I was amused to see the Penguin Guide dismissed this Messiah as 'unrelievedly dull'.

[Stanfordian]

Ana-Marija Markovina – Mendelssohn – 'Complete Works for Piano Solo'
CD 10
Lied ohne Worte, No's 23, 24, 29, 30, 32, 42, 43 & 46
Fugue in E-Flat Major, MWV U 146 (Fragment)
Piano Sonata in G Major, MWV U 147 (Fragment)
Andante sostenuto in E Major, MWV U 148 (Fragment)
Variations sérieuses, Op. 54, MWV U 156
2 Andante con variazioni in E-Flat Major, Op. 82, MWV U 158 & B-Flat Major, Op. 83
Allegretto in A Minor, MWV U 160
Kanon in F-Sharp Minor, MWV U 163
2 Kinderstück in G Major, Op. 72/3, MWV U 164 & Kinderstück in G Minor, Op. 72/5, MWV U 166
Andante in E-Flat Major, MWV U 165
Sostenuto in F Major, MWV U 167
Ana-Marija Markovina (piano)
Recorded 2018-21 Gottschling, Haus der Klaviere, Graskamp, Dülmen, Germany
Hänssler Classic, CD 10 of 12.

[vinteuil]

Handel
Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 (1734)
No's 1–6, HWV 312-317
Berliner Barock Solisten / Reinhard Goebel
Recorded 2019, Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Dahlem, Berlin
Hänssler Classic, CD

... I don't get Reinhard Goebel's move away from appropriate historical instruments to 'modern'. What was your feeling here in the Handel?

.

[smittims]

That's interesting, viteuil. I hadn't heard of Reinhard Goebel using 'modern' instruments. Maybe he was following Harnoncourt in this respect.

My choice today:

Rachmaninov, third concerto. Emil Gilels, Paris Conservatoire orch. Andre Cluytens : Columbia 33CX 1335. Maybe the best of the early (i.e. pre-Ashkenazy) recordings of this work. It seems to contain the fewest cuts, just one in the finale. And Gilels plays beautifully throughout. This was one of a handful of recordings he made in the Theatre des Champs Elysees in 1957, on possibly his first outing outside the USSR.

Villa-Lobos, Bachianas Brasileiras no. 4. The Halle Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, HMV ALP 1323. Possibly the first recording of this work, pre-dating the composer's own . It's an interesting disc, the other side containing the symphonic fragments from Der Liebe der Danae by Richard Strauss , and The Swan of Tuonela, played by Roger Winfield, who preceded Eric Fletcher as the Halle's cor anglais player.

.

[anorak]

Stephen Stubbs (lute) - David Kellner, Lute Pieces

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu0A37kPBvY

[Petrushka]

Ireland: Symphonic rhapsody - Mai-Dun (1920/21)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult

Bax: Symphony No 1 (1921/22)
BBC Philharmonic
Vernon Handley

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 3 (Pastoral) (1921)
Valerie Hill (soprano)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult

[smittims]

Lovely stuff, Petrushka. I had that Boult 'Pastoral' on a Carlton Radio Classics CD, a most enterprising label since, unlike BBC Legends, it didn't rely on international celebrities, but included many fascinating and valuable recordings from BBC lunchtime concerts etc. I remember especially Bob Simpson's Piano Concerto played by John Ogdon and some Rawsthorne rarities such as his Improvisations on a theme by Constant Lambert.

[gurnemanz]

I read in a review of Rachmaninov's Piano Trios on Naxos that Stravinsky described Rachmaninov as ‘six-foot-six of Russian gloom’. Intense and beautifully recorded performances of these élégiaque works by Valeri Grohovski (piano), Eduard Wulfson (violin), Dmitri Yablonsky (cello).

[Stanfordian]

Holst – 'Kammermusik'
Quintet in A minor for piano & winds, Op. 3
3 Pieces (Fantasiestücke) for oboe, 2 violins, viola & cello, Op. 2
Terzetto for flute, oboe & clarinet in 2 movements
(originally for flute, oboe & viola 1925 - later arranged for 3 woodwinds)
Wind Quintet in A-flat major, Op. 14 (1903)
Sextet in E minor for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola & cello
Ensemble Arabesques,
Recorded 2016, Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg
Farao Classics, CD

[richardfinegold]

That's interesting, viteuil. I hadn't heard of Reinhard Goebel using 'modern' instruments. Maybe he was following Harnoncourt in this respect.

My choice today:

Rachmaninov, third concerto. Emil Gilels, Paris Conservatoire orch. Andre Cluytens : Columbia 33CX 1335. Maybe the best of the early (i.e. pre-Ashkenazy) recordings of this work. It seems to contain the fewest cuts, just one in the finale. And Gilels plays beautifully throughout. This was one of a handful of recordings he made in the Theatre des Champs Elysees in 1957, on possibly his first outing outside the USSR.

Villa-Lobos, Bachianas Brasileiras no. 4. The Halle Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, HMV ALP 1323. Possibly the first recording of this work, pre-dating the composer's own . It's an interesting disc, the other side containing the symphonic fragments from Der Liebe der Danae by Richard Strauss , and The Swan of Tuonela, played by Roger Winfield, who preceded Eric Fletcher as the Halle's cor anglais player.

.

The Rachmaninov sounds interesting.
I’ve been listening to Abravanel’s Tchaikovsky Symphonies, particularly the Manfred. I particularly like the outer movements, which seem to have more purpose and direction than most recordings

[smittims]

Yes, I think Abravanel was underrated, and his willingness to record rare and unfamiliar music does him credit.

[richardfinegold]

Peter Mennin: Symphony no.3. The New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos.

A fine strong, 'masculine' piece, if I may say so , though it reveals at some moments that he had been listening to Vaughan Williams' Fourth. At any rate , it gets a barnstorming performance from Mirtropoulos. It's on You Tube.

I had to check my collection after initially reading your post, and I just confirmed that I have the Gerard Schwartz recording, which I am currently playing. A very strong work.

[richardfinegold]

Yes, I think Abravanel was underrated, and his willingness to record rare and unfamiliar music does him credit.

I’ve long admired Abravanel. Sometimes I wish that he had a better orchestra at his disposal-imagine what he could have done in Boston in place of Leinsdorf—but perhaps the fact that he built the Utah SO , the chemistry between them was intrinsic to the result. Somewhat reminiscent of Ansermet and his enthusiastic if not particularly skilled Swiss band