What Classical Music Are You Listening To?

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, A Lark Ascending said:

Old favourite. 

!

[Peter Friedman]

[HutchFan]

[A Lark Ascending]

No 2 of latter.

Edited June 28, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[l p]

 

[Peter Friedman]

[l p]

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, l p said:

Very good ....

[Peter Friedman]

Edited June 28, 2016 by Peter Friedman
Symphony No.1

[l p]

 

[Peter Friedman]

Schubert - Piano Sonata D.566

Brahms - String Quartet No.2, Op.51/2

[Peter Friedman]

Brahms - Symphony No.3

[l p]

 

[Peter Friedman]

Brahms - Four Piano Pieces - Perahia

Huber - Piano Quintet No.1, Op.111

[Peter Friedman]

[Balladeer]

Guillaume De Chassy (pn), Laurent Naour (bariton), Thomas Savy (clarinets), Arnault Cuisinier (b)- 
 Eisler, Prokofiev - Bridges (Alpha Classics)

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, Balladeer said:

Guillaume De Chassy (pn), Laurent Naour (bariton), Thomas Savy (clarinets), Arnault Cuisinier (b)- 
 Eisler, Prokofiev - Bridges (Alpha Classics)

The excellent performances aside, this platter has superb sonics ....

[soulpope]

[Peter Friedman]

Piano Quartet No.2, Op.26

[Larry Kart]

I'm by no means an HIP-trumps-other-factors person, but today I picked up what seems to me to be a remarkable HIP recording of Bolero by Anima Eterna, conducted by Jos van Immerseel. A big part of the deal here is that full account supposedly is taken of Ravel's stated but often ignored intentions as to tempo. In the words of Pierre Coppola, conducter of an early [1930] Ravel-supervised recording), Ravel's intent was that Bolero should be performed "in the tempo indicated in the printed score (crochet = 66) without deviating from that tempo right up to the end, since [Ravel] considered the 'crescendo' occurred automatically thanks to the orchestration, and the effect he judged most important was precisely this almost hallucinatory insistence on an inexorable tempo.... The public ought to know that Bolero is the easiest of all pieces to conduct, for one beats three from start to finish, like an automaton; on the other hand, its actual performance is quite difficult, indeed fraught with danger for many of the orchestra's principals, who bear a heavy responsibility when it is their turn to state the theme; I am thinking above all of the solo for first trombone." (Following this tempo brings Bolero in at, as Ravel stated his intent for its duration, about 17 minutes. Most recordings are faster (Toscanini's, for example, is 13:25, Paul Paray's a mere 13:00). 

Further, Ravel wrote before the first performance that  Bolero consisted "entirely of an orchestral texture without music." Thus, having the orchestra play French instruments of the vintage of the time, as Immersmeel does (the winds and brass in particular) not only makes quite an audible difference, but those differences in turn make Ravel's paradoxical "Bolero consists entirely of an orchestral texture without music" no paradox at all. In fact, in this performance Bolero sounds damn radical, or perhaps that should be doggedly radical. And damn strange  even scary, too, for all its latter-day familiarity -- this strangeness and scariness being among the effects that Ravel had in mind to create.  Here it is, although YouTube can't do it full justice:

 

[psu_13]

Pittsburgh Symphony in Berlin. I am lucky enough to get to see these guys a lot.

 

 

[Balladeer]

On 2.7.2016 at 4:10 PM, soulpope said:

The excellent performances aside, this platter has superb sonics ....

Yes  Eisler, Prokofiev - Bridges (Alpha Classics) is a remarkable album in many ways.
IMO Guillaume de Chassy is a musical genius with a knack for fascinating crossover ideas and stunning projects.Just listen for instance to his "Wonderful World" (Bee Jazz) that he produced with Daniel Yvinec. More on the American jazz side but hauntingly fasicnating nevertheless.
Aside from the moving songs on "Bridges"  that are beautifully sung I dig the combination  of upright bass, clarinet and piano. There are far too little Eisler productions in general on the market, so this is a welcome addition. But I find the Prokofiev adaptations especially thrilling. The speciality on the entire album are the improvisational passages that free this project from the stiffness of many (modern) classical recordings and give it a natural flow.  

Edited July 3, 2016 by Balladeer

[Peter Friedman]

[Peter Friedman]

[king ubu]

On 27.6.2016 at 4:48 AM, JSngry said:

Yeah, pricey. Not looking for pricey right now. I mean, really, they got them big as legit maxo-boxes for tree-fitty, just sayinggggg.....At those prices, right now, that's a dabble. From what I heard, a little dabble won't du ya',

Prices here are pretty fair (no idea about transatlantic shipping though):

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/a/-/3364/Hollywood-String-Quartet/medium-CD

They run sales all the time, the last on Testament is just over, I guess they'd offer them 20 to 25% cheaper then.