What are you listening to?

[Jared]

I find The Musical Offering more difficult again, because the theme is really out there in a chromatic sense. The thing about all of this music is that it needs lots of uninterrupted time and a relaxed and calm state of mind, and I don't always possess either. Sunday afternoons would seem to be good, because I'm really enjoying this at the moment

yes, the Goebel has been in my Amazon basket for a while now, along with a small collection of other Bach recordings which might have to wait a month or two, especially after the Hewitt, Richter and Menuhin boxsets... I'm a bit 'Bached out' at present...

[Jared]

in honour of the great D F-D....

[fergus]

I think The Art of Fugue is incredible music, I just find it hard to listen to! Sod it, I'll stick it on now and see how I get on.

That's what I love about you Simon... courage with abandon..

I have in mind to commence with the easier 'Musical Offering' before moving to the Orchestral Version of tAotF, before ending up on the Piano version, which I'm quite sure will put hairs on my chest...

I would go for the piano version first myself....less "voices" to follow = less of a spinning headache!!

[fergus]

With your present listens, all I was saying is that you will shortly be right in line for some of this series:



which I'm quite sure you'll find delightful...

A definite second to that!!

[jaybee]

saw an ad for the south bank show last night so in its honour this gets a spin

Wow, does she sound a good as she looks, I wonder.

certainly does; to my eyes, sorry, ears, yes ears...

[jaybee]

"205 pianists have recorded performances of Beethoven's "Appasionata" sonata, not exactly a walk in the park to play. But only 59 have attempted to scale the craggy heights of the Paganini Variations"

[Ciaran]

I find The Musical Offering more difficult again, because the theme is really out there in a chromatic sense. The thing about all of this music is that it needs lots of uninterrupted time and a relaxed and calm state of mind, and I don't always possess either. Sunday afternoons would seem to be good, because I'm really enjoying this at the moment:



Of course, now I'm tempted to put on this instead:

That's interesting: I always struggled with "The Art of Fugue" (though lately Charles Rosen on the piano or The New Danish Saxophone Quartet will usually get me through it!) but I've never had any trouble enjoying "A Musical Offering": it's always been purest delight. I like the version on Hänssler

with Gottfried van der Goltz (violin), Karl Kaiser (flute), Ekkehard Weber (gamba) and Michael Behringer (harpsichord and fortepiano!).

[bombasticDarren]

Rimsky-Korsakov - Piano Concerto (Jeffrey Campbell/Gilbert Levine, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Telarc)

[fergus]

I have dived headlong into this set; being Beethoven it has skipped everything in the "To Be Listened To" queue....





Nos. 1 & 2 were assertive, full blooded and exhilarating accounts! They were played as Romantic works as opposed to late Classical ones I felt and this approach makes a big difference for me with these two works in particular.

[Jared]

I have dived headlong into this set; being Beethoven it has skipped everything in the "To Be Listened To" queue....

Simply not good enough Mr Fergus... that's rampant, naked favouritism...

I have 5 full sets of LvB symphonies, which is plenty enough for me especially as they hardly get a listen these days. I really don't know what I'd do with a shelf containing 30...