What Classical Music Are You listening to Now? III

[ahinton]

Anyone's views are questionable, mostly or otherwise. And what about those who agree with his views (I don't know what his views are and don't care) Who cares? Maybe you do. You knew Schmitt, I take it? You speak with some authority.

No, I did not now Schmitt personally; he died in 1958, after all! His is a strange case on that front, given that he espoused deeply right-wing views from the late 1920s onwards for some time and was widely vilified for it in his native France, yet at the time of writing this piece, you'd never giuess that he was to do so later in life. In the early 1920s, he invited Sorabji to Paris to play the piano parts in some of his songs with the French soprano Marthe Martine; among the reviewers of this event was one Darius Milhaud, who seemed disturbed by the sheer quantity of notes in the piano parts and, on the other hand, another critic who praised the composer's treatment of the French language as though it was his own. Schmitt - possibly at the suggestion of Sorabji - came to perform his piano quintet in one of the concerts in Sorabji's friend Erik Chisholm's Active Society for the Propagation of Contemporary Music series in Glasgow in the mid-1930s and it seems that he upset everyone around him on that occasion. His Piano Quintet dates from quite some time before he became something of a bête noire in France. I think that he probably mellowed towards the end of his life (he was almost 88 when he died). Be all that as it may or may not, this Piano Quintet is worth 58 or so minutes of anyone's time; he took seven years to perfect it and it deservedly won the Prix de Rome.

[Beef Oven!]

Be all that as it may or may not, this Piano Quintet is worth 58 or so minutes of anyone's time; he took seven years to perfect it and it deservedly won the Prix de Rome.

Then talk about the music, and frequent a politics forum for the other lefty things that interest you ..........

[ahinton]

Then talk about the music, and frequent a politics forum for the other lefty things that interest you ..........

"Lefty" things and "righty" things do not especially interest me, so I've no wish to frequent such fora as you mention. I alluded to certain political (and also non-political) aspects of Schmitt's conduct at certain points in his life merely to point up the fact that they seem to have so little to do with his actual music ("don't judge a book by its covers", as in) and to suggest that such thinks might have backfired on his reputation to the disadvantage of some of his music. I did talk about the music - and I'll gladly do so more, to suggest that it feels almost like Fauré on amphetamines - and I commended this remarkable work to you and to anyone else who might be interested on the grounds of my belief that, at the time of its completion 110 years ago, it was one of the first piano quintets since Schumann's.

[Beef Oven!]

"Lefty" things and "righty" things do not especially interest me, so I've no wish to frequent such fora as you mention. I alluded to certain political (and also non-political) aspects of Schmitt's conduct at certain points in his life merely to point up the fact that they seem to have so little to do with his actual music ("don't judge a book byt its covers", as in) and to suggest that such thinks might have backfired on his reputation to the disadvantage of some of his music. I did talk about the music - and I'll gladly do so more, to suggest that it feels almost like Fauré on amphetamines - and I commended this remarkable work to you and to anyone else who might be interested on the grounds of my belief that, at the time of its completion 110 years ago, it was one of the first piano quintets since Schumann's.

Moving swiftly on ... I'm listening to this for a third time this evening - it's special!

[ahinton]

Moving swiftly on ... I'm listening to this for a third time this evening - it's special!

Indeed it is. Any particular reason to "move swifty on" to mentioning it, though? And have you given any of the Schmitt Quintet a listen? Just curious...

[Stanfordian]

Haydn
Symphonies No’s 93-104 ‘London’ Symphonies
Heidelberger Sinfoniker/Thomas Fey
Recorded 1999-2015 Dossenheim, Mörlenbach, Eppelheim, Wiesloch & Pfaffenhofen, Germany
Hanssler Classics –Dipping into this newly issued set today again!

J.S. Bach
6 Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1014-1019
Isabelle Faust (baroque violin), Kristian Bezuidenhout (harpsichord)
Recorded 2017 Telex Studio, Berlin
Harmonia Mundi

[Joseph K]

Beethoven 7 - Haitink/LSO.

[BBMmk2]

Leopold Stowkowski's Symphonic Synthesis on Wagner's Parsifal has just been played on Radio 3. I had forgotten what a marvelous tranascriber LS was! It was played by the Bournemouth SO, Jose Serebrer, which was equally amazing. I have the BBCPO/Slatkin recording which IMO, is very good as well.

[mahlerei]

Sergei PROKOFIEV
Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution
Ernst Senff Chor Berlin; Mitglieder des Luftwaffenmusikkorps Erfurt; Staatskapelle Weimar/Kirill Karabits
rec. live, 23 August 2017, Weimarhalle, Weimar
AUDITE 97.754

What a riot, and all for less than 5 euros (24/48 flacs) direct from Audite (thanks, HD!)

https://www.audite.de/en/product/CD/97754-cantata_for_the_20th_anniversary_of_the_october_revolution.html

Must dig out that BBC MM cover-mount with Elder and the BBC SO & Chorus in blistering form (c/w DSCH Second Symphony).

[Cockney Sparrow]

Sergei PROKOFIEV
Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution
Ernst Senff Chor Berlin; Mitglieder des Luftwaffenmusikkorps Erfurt; Staatskapelle Weimar/Kirill Karabits
https://www.audite.de/en/product/CD/...evolution.html ........

Ashkenazy and the PO will be performing the piece in Cardiff (18 May) and 20 May (RFH). Not sure if he will wield the loud hailer like Karabits.....

[Joseph K]

Mozart- Piano Concerto no. 16.

[mahlerei]

Mozart- Piano Concerto no. 16.

Ooh, thanks. Will try for the London perf. Very fond memories of VA and the Philhaemonia accompanying Eisenstein's Nevsky. RFH, late 1980s, IIRC. Ashkenazy is a fine Prokofiev conductor, IMO. His Cleveland Cinderella is my go-to version of that magical score.

[Bryn]

Sergei PROKOFIEV
Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution
Ernst Senff Chor Berlin; Mitglieder des Luftwaffenmusikkorps Erfurt; Staatskapelle Weimar/Kirill Karabits
rec. live, 23 August 2017, Weimarhalle, Weimar
AUDITE 97.754

What a riot, and all for less than 5 euros (24/48 flacs) direct from Audite (thanks, HD!)

https://www.audite.de/en/product/CD/97754-cantata_for_the_20th_anniversary_of_the_october_revolution.html

Must dig out that BBC MM cover-mount with Elder and the BBC SO & Chorus in blistering form (c/w DSCH Second Symphony).

Thanks for the KK tip. Will download this evening.

[Joseph K]

Just finished Mozart - PC 19. Now Liszt - PC 2.

[Lat-Literal]

Last night:

Chopin - Nocturnes

Today:

Alwyn - Lyra Angelica

Stolcer-Slavenski - Symphony of the Orient

I love this - have had it on disc for some time along with Balkanophonia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgOxVhAqs04