What Classical Music Are You listening to Now? III

[smittims]

At one time Sorabji forbad perfromances of his works. I think he later lifted the ban , but it can't have helped the spread of his music.

Between the wars some of his works were printed in full score in Vienna where at the time it was cheap to do so. I have the Piano Concerto, a very richly-scored work. I haven't heard it; I don't even know if it's been performed.

There's an interesting chapter on him in Paul Rapoport's book 'Opus Est' (Kahn and Averill, probably long out of print) , a fascinating study of the phenomenon of the neglected composer, including Havargal Brian and Fartein Valen. It tells us something about his unusual personality.

I've just been listening to another 'neglected composer', who's a favourite of mine : Arnold Cooke, his third string quartet , a Spotify download.

[Roger Webb]

At one time Sorabji forbad perfromances of his works. I think he later lifted the ban , but it can't have helped the spread of his music.



I've just been listening to another 'neglected composer', who's a favourite of mine : Arnold Cooke, his third string quartet , a Spotify download.

Thanks for reminding me, I haven't played m Lyrita of the 3rd Symphony for years, It's on now.....tough 'chewy' stuff, somewhat reminiscent of his teacher Hindemith - just into the slow middle movt....it's lovely. I remember the other side, Jabez and the Devil being 'easier', that'll go on next - thanks again.

[edashtav]

Thanks for reminding me, I haven't played m Lyrita of the 3rd Symphony for years, It's on now.....tough 'chewy' stuff, somewhat reminiscent of his teacher Hindemith - just into the slow middle movt....it's lovely. I remember the other side, Jabez and the Devil being 'easier', that'll go on next - thanks again.

I've tried many times to love the boundless works of Arnold Cooke. They have failed to make a lasting impact.
WHY? Too conventional, too severe, and redolent of torn pages consigned to Paul Hindemith's trash can.

Occasionally, brilliant performers can apply wit and virtuosity, injecting their musical viagra into Cooke's flaccid vessels. (The equivalent of 'realising' scant baroque scores )

[Stanfordian]

Arnold Bax – 'Orchestral Works' Vol 3
November Woods,
The Happy Forest,
The Garden of Fand,
Summer Music,
Tintagel
Ulster Orchestra / Bryden Thomson
Recorded 1982/83 Ulster Hall, Belfast
Chandos, CD

John Ireland – 'The Songs'
CD 1
Songs of a Wayfarer; When Lights go rolling round the sky; Hope the Hornblower;
Sea Fever; Marigold; Five Poems by Thomas Hardy; Three Songs & We’ll to the Woods no more.
CD 2
Two Songs; Songs Sacred & Profane; Five XVIth Century Songs; Blow out you Bugles;
If there were Dreams to sell; I have twelve Oxen; Spring Sorrow; The Bells of San Marie;
The Journey; The merry month of May; Vagabond; When I am dead my dearest;
Santa Chiara; Great Things; If we must part & Tutto e sciolto
Benjamin Luxon (baritone) & Alan Rowlands (piano)
Recorded 1972/73 Smith Square, London
Lyrita, CDs 1 & 2 from 3 CD set

Outstanding singing by Benjamin Luxon of Ireland's glorious songs. These recordings catch Luxon in his prime.

[Roger Webb]

I've tried many times to love the boundless works of Arnold Cooke. They have failed to make a lasting impact.
WHY? Too conventional, too severe, and redolent of torn pages consigned to Paul Hindemith's trash can.

Occasionally, brilliant performers can apply wit and virtuosity, injecting their musical viagra into Cooke's flaccid vessels. (The equivalent of 'realising' scant baroque scores )

Pretty much in line with what I think ed.....I doubt that I'll take the album down again in the near future. I've been listening to Cooke's near contemporary Lennox Berkeley and compared to those elegant scores Cooke's are a bit tough to love.....the difference is probably that Berkeley got a bit of gallic charm from his teacher! Not to mention the other composers with whom he associated incl. Poulenc and Milhaud.

Probably Constant Lambert's opinion of Hindemith in his 'Music Ho!' would have been repeated, had Lambert been asked for his opinion of Cooke!

[tim2017]

Opus est : six composers from Northern Europe by Rapoport, Paul

Matthijs Vermeulen and his Symphony no. 2, Prélude à la nouvelle journée.--Vagn Holmboe and his Symphony no. 7.--Havergal Brian and his Symphony no. 1, The gothic.--Allan Pettersson and his Symphony no. 2.--Fartein Valen and his four orchestral works, opus 17 and opus 18.--Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji and his Opus clavicembalisticum
Can be read free on the web at:

https://archive.org/details/opusest0000paul/page/n1/mode/2up

Sorabji (1892-1988): Piano concerto no. 5 (printed as "Concerto II", 1920)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U_jYR6jg6o

Score for above
https://archive.org/details/concerto...ge/n5/mode/2up

[LMcD]

I'm currently working my way through the Shostakovich String Quartets in the recordings by the Fitzwilliam String Quartet. These strike me as being intensely personal statements - often bleak, sometimes wistful and only occasionally jolly. The darkness is never far away, it seems.

[richardfinegold]

I'm currently working my way through the Shostakovich String Quartets in the recordings by the Fitzwilliam String Quartet. These strike me as being intensely personal statements - often bleak, sometimes wistful and only occasionally jolly. The darkness is never far away, it seems.

The Fitzwilliam set was my introduction to these Quartets and fwiw still my personal sound ideal. The (first, incomplete) Borodin set is an interesting alternative, more Romantic in orientation as if to emphasize the composer continuity with tradition, while the Fitzwilliams sound most often like a break with all that.

[smittims]

Many thanks, tim, for posting that Sorabji concerto. I look forward to hearing it.

I'm currently listening to another piano concerto, Unsuk Chin's , from Monday's Radio 3 in Concert (available, of course, on BBC Sounds). I still like to give new music a fair hearing , though all too often these days it's disappointing. I switched on prepared to scoff, but I have to admit it isn't bad at all.

[pastoralguy]

Bartok. Divertimento for Strings & Britten. Frank Bridge Variations.

Polish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk.

An original Dabringhaus und Grimm cd from 1985.

[Stanfordian]

Brahms
Piano Trios 1-3
Renaud Capucon (violin), Gautier Capucon (cello) & Nicholas Angelich (piano)
Recorded 2003 Auditorium de la Cite dea Arts, Chambery
Virgin Classics, CD

Magdalena Kožená – 'Ah! Mio Cor' – Handel Arias
From Alcina, Hercules, Agrippina, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Joshua, Ariodante,
Theodora, Amadigi di Gaula, Orlando, Ariodante, Rinaldo
Magdalena Kožená (mezzo-soprano)
Venice Baroque Orchestra / Andrea Marcon
Recorded 2006, Gustav Mahler Saal, Kulturzentrum Grand Hotel, Toblach
Archiv Produktion, CD

[pastoralguy]

Famous Waltzes by Emil Waldteuful.

Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper conducted by Frank Bauer-Theussl.

A Philips Blue Face cd I acquired today and which I’m listening to through my vintage Philips CD Player from 1984.

Attractive music although I can hear Eric Morcombe saying ‘easy on the castanets!’

[richardfinegold]

Bartok. Divertimento for Strings & Britten. Frank Bridge Variations.

Polish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk.

An original Dabringhaus und Grimm cd from 1985.

I always wondered why Reiner never recorded the Divertimento

[Stanfordian]

Heidelberger Sinfoniker – Haydn – Complete Symphonies, Vol. 26
Symphony No. 107 ‘A’ in B flat major, Hob. I:107
Symphony No. 11 in E flat major, Hob. I:11
Symphony No. 32 in C major, Hob. I:32
Symphony No. 15 in D major, Hob. I:15
Heidelberger Sinfoniker / Johannes Klumpp (conductor)
Recorded 2020 Palatin Wiesloch, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Hänssler Classic, CD

Handel – 'Enemies in Love' – Arias for countertenor and mezzo-soprano
Arias from Tamerlano, Orlando, Serse, Partenope, Tolomeo, Ariodante, Rodelinda, Rinaldo, Teseo
Natalia Kawałek (mezzo-soprano)
Jakub Józef Orliński (countertenor)
Il Giardino d'Amore / Stefan Plewniak
Recorded 2016, Corpus Christi Basilica, Kraków, Poland
Ëvoe Records, CD

[Stanfordian]

Bartok. Divertimento for Strings & Britten. Frank Bridge Variations.

Polish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk.

An original Dabringhaus und Grimm cd from 1985.

Hello pastoralguy,

I used to have an LP of Vivaldi violin concertos played by Baron Menuhin of Stoke d’Abernon with the Polish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk. I used to love that album and played it over and over again. It was on the budget label EMI, CFP.