What are you listening to?

[fergus]

[Jose Echenique]

It´s always a joy to return to Abbado´s glorious first recording of Il Viaggio a Reims, probably the most important recording made in the 1980´s.
The cast is heavenly and couldn´t be matched today, especially the singing of Lella Cuberli, Francisco Araiza and Samuel Ramey, but everyone was at their appreciable best for the 20th Century premier for this delicious opera composed for the coronation of Charles X of France.

[Seán]

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 9
Concertgebouw Orchestra
Bernard Haitink - conducting.

I have several recordings of Mahler's Ninth Symphony and this is one of my favourites. It was recorded in Amsterdam in June 1969, it is a sparking performance by the CO and is superby captured by the Philips sound engineers. I love this symphony: listening to this extraordinary music is a wonderful way to spend 80 minutes of one's life.

[Seán]

Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet Op 59, No 1
Gewandhauss Quartett

This line-up has been playing since 1993 and was formed, as the tradition goes, from the concertmasters, solo violist and solo cellist of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. This is a lovely bright performance, it's very enjoyable indeed.

[Jared]

Just felt I needed to say that I have listened carefully to all these SQs 6 times over, and I find them both structurally very compelling and a joy to listen to, in these crisp performances... a really wonderful addition to my collection; thanks Sean...

[Seán]

Just felt I needed to say that I have listened carefully to all these SQs 6 times over, and I find them both structurally very compelling and a joy to listen to, in these crisp performances... a really wonderful addition to my collection; thanks Sean...

Hi Jared, I am delighted you like them, I have the complete quartets by Quartetto Italiano, (I got them after you alerted me to their availability) they really are lovely performances.

C'mon Spain!

[Jared]

C'mon Spain!

yes, I'm wanting Spain to win too... let's face it, we've got to have *someone* left in the competition who are good enough to beat the Germans, haven't we?

meanwhile, at the risk of repeating myself, this is a simply beautiful recording:

[Seán]

C'mon Spain!

yes, I'm wanting Spain to win too... let's face it, we've got to have *someone* left in the competition who are good enough to beat the Germans, haven't we?

England hopefully, if not then Italy or Spain.

[Jared]

England hopefully, if not then Italy or Spain.

you must be just about the only Irishman supporting England for the tournament, Sean... ;-) We haven't much chance to be fair. I'd give us a 40% chance of squeezing past Italy (if we do, almost certainly on penalties) tomorrow, but then Germany... 85/15% in their favour...

[Diapason]

Actually, I seem to know a few Irish people who'd like to see England do well this time around. I don't know what it is, but there seems to be an honesty about the side and a refreshing realism. I think they'll struggle to get past Germany, but I'd really expect them to beat Italy