What are you listening to?

[Jared]

I can´t speak for Messiaen and Dutilleux Jared, they are too avant-garde for me too, but I do love (a lot) the Ravel songs. Maybe put away the Fleming disc for now, but if you ever encounter again some of the Ravel songs give them another chance.

Pepe... I hear and agree with what you're saying.

One thing I'd like you to bear in mind is that if you'd had 'met' me 5 years ago, my experience of Classical Music wouldn't have been much more than a Strauss Waltz, Dvorak's New World, Mendelssohn's Scottish, Vivaldi's 4 Seasons, Mussorgsky's Pictures, Holsts's Planets, Beethoven 5, a bit of unnamed Sibelius and a hearing of Mahler 5, which I hadn't really liked, and several interminable sittings through Don Giovanni (I still haven't forgiven Mozart for that one).

I was brought up in a house where the spoken word of Radio 4 was King, and classical music was very seldom heard.

Now, I like Victoria, Vaughan Williams and 'most' things in between. I now like choral, vocal, orchestral, chamber and instrumental in equal measure, which would have been unheard of for me 5 years ago...

... so like Matt, Darren & Sean, I've come quite a long way in a relatively short space of time, but realise there is still a long way to go...

[fergus]

There is some lovely music on this set, particularly that of Alessandro Scarlatti.

I don´t think there´s a single piece of music in that album that is not a masterpiece Fergus.
Gérard Lesne´s performance of Handel´s La Lucrezia is the finest since Janet Baker´s, and you are right the Scarlatti disc is just exquisite. Thank God that Virgin documented so throughly the art of Gérard Lesne.

It is a beautiful album all right Pepe.
I have been looking through my collection recently and I have been surprised that I have more Virgin CDs than I thought I had. They have produced some very good ones indeed!

[bombasticDarren]

Telemann - Ouverture des Nations ancient et modernes (Gustav Leonhardt/Andre Rieu, Chamber Orchestra of Amsterdam, Warner Apex)



^^ Fergus, I found this to be an appealing disc. Telemann displays a certain muscularity in his approach to the forms demonstrated on this set. I find this to be an appealing constrast to the other pieces I have heard from roughly the same period and in, by and large, the same forms...

[fergus]

I can´t speak for Messiaen and Dutilleux Jared, they are too avant-garde for me too, but I do love (a lot) the Ravel songs. Maybe put away the Fleming disc for now, but if you ever encounter again some of the Ravel songs give them another chance.

Pepe... I hear and agree with what you're saying.

One thing I'd like you to bear in mind is that if you'd had 'met' me 5 years ago, my experience of Classical Music wouldn't have been much more than a Strauss Waltz, Dvorak's New World, Mendelssohn's Scottish, Vivaldi's 4 Seasons, Mussorgsky's Pictures, Holsts's Planets, Beethoven 5, a bit of unnamed Sibelius and a hearing of Mahler 5, which I hadn't really liked, and several interminable sittings through Don Giovanni (I still haven't forgiven Mozart for that one).

I was brought up in a house where the spoken word of Radio 4 was King, and classical music was very seldom heard.

Now, I like Victoria, Vaughan Williams and 'most' things in between. I now like choral, vocal, orchestral, chamber and instrumental in equal measure, which would have been unheard of for me 5 years ago...

... so like Matt, Darren & Sean, I've come quite a long way in a relatively short space of time, but realise there is still a long way to go...

I remember when I first started talking to you we were having very different conversations to the ones that we have now. You have indeed come a long way Jared, just as the other lads have too. Tastes change and mature and the one thing that I have learned over the years is never to say never. Who would have thought that only a relatively short while ago you boys would be leading in depth threads of your own. I think that it is wonderful and I know that Jared will be leading a very fine thread on "French Music and its Value" in the not so distant future!!

[fergus]

Telemann - Ouverture des Nations ancient et modernes (Gustav Leonhardt/Andre Rieu, Chamber Orchestra of Amsterdam, Warner Apex)



^^ Fergus, I found this to be an appealing disc. Telemann displays a certain muscularity in his approach to the forms demonstrated on this set. I find this to be an appealing constrast to the other pieces I have heard from roughly the same period and in, by and large, the same forms...

That is a very good point that you make Darren. I also find his robust approach very attractive. I think that you are quite right....it is very agreeable music with muscle!

[bombasticDarren]

Dvorak - Symphony No.7 (Marin Alsop, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Naxos)

[bombasticDarren]

Bartok - Concerto for two pianos and percussion & Romanian Folkdances (Heini Karkkainen/Paavali Jumppanen/Lassi Erkkila/Tim Ferchen/Sakari Oramo, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Warner Classics)

[bombasticDarren]

Delius - Florida Suite (David Lloyd-Jones, English Northern Philharmonia, Naxos)

[bombasticDarren]

Beethoven - Symphony No.4 (Karl Bohm, Wiener Philharmoniker, Deutsche Grammophon)

[fergus]

I cracked open my Ring box set and played ....






I expected to hear “Grand Music”, lots of drama, plenty of brass and great singing. I heard it all here and I was swept away with the whole thing from beginning to end and I played it straight through with no difficulty. This is a great start on first listen.