What are you listening two?

[fergus]

I enjoyed that.

Good for you Seán. The Op. 18 is a very accessible set of six string quartets if anyone is interested in exploring this genre.

[Jared]

[Seán]

I enjoyed that.

Good for you Seán. The Op. 18 is a very accessible set of six string quartets if anyone is interested in exploring this genre.

By the time I got to the Gewandhaus recording I could hear delightful little nuances and interpretations that I might not otherwise been aware of had I not spent the time listening attentively to several performances of the SQ in one sitting, it really is marvellous music.

[fergus]

I have recently been dipping into the Rachmaninov Piano Concertos cycle played by Ashkenazy....





I would be curious to know if anybody has any other recommendations especially for Concertos Nos. 1 & 2.

[Seán]

I have recently been dipping into the Rachmaninov Piano Concertos cycle played by Ashkenazy....





I would be curious to know if anybody has any other recommendations especially for Concertos Nos. 1 & 2.

Hi Fergus, I have no hesitation in recommending the following recordings:

Two fabulous recordings of two great concertos, the first with van Cliburn:


and the second with Richter:


Ashkenazy again but this time under the direction of Haitink:


and finally, this is a splendid recording of a rearrangement of Rachmaninov's Second Symphony and is entitled Rachmaninov's Fifth Piano Concerto:

[fergus]

Hi Fergus, I have no hesitation in recommending the following recordings:

Two fabulous recordings of two great concertos, the first with van Cliburn:

Yes, I have that excellent CD Seán....

and the second with Richter:

and I have that one on Vinyl....

Ashkenazy again but this time under the direction of Haitink:

It certainly would be interesting to hear the same pianist with a different orchestra and under a different conductor.

Thak you for those offerings Seán.

[Jose Echenique]

A long, long awaited recording. I first heard Johann Adolf Hasse´s gorgeous serenata for 2 voices "Marc´Antonio e Cleopatra" in a radio broadcast from Brussels´La Monnaie some 10 years ago. The soloists were Isabel Bayrakdarian and Vivica Genaux. René Jacobs conducted the Concerto Köln. I hoped that Harmonia Mundi would record it but they never did. One big problem this serenata has is that it lasts just over 80 minutes, some 84 minutes, and can´t fit in 1 cd.
Vivica Genaux is a great fan of this truly exquisite work, and I am sure it was she who insisted on recording it. Fortunately DHM obliged, and they had the good sense of selling both cds at the price of one, a reasonable solution.
The recording is admirable, the Italian group Le Musiche Nove is super fine, they have already recorded some recitals with Simone Kermes to great acclaim, and soprano Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli is quite a find, a full voiced, Italianate and charming singer.
All in all the long wait was worth it!

[Jose Echenique]

Let´s welcome the first recording in the new Les Arts Florissants label!
The presentation is admirable, besides the booklet there´s an essay on Babylon, all beautifully produced.
Belshazzar is certainly one of the Top Handel Oratorios, if you ask me, they are: Theodora, Jephtha, Belshazzar, Messiah and Salomon. And Belshazzar has been lucky on records, the 1977 Harnoncourt recording still has a lot going for it, no less the admirable contributions of Felicity Palmer, Maureen Lehane, Paul Esswood and Robert Tear. Trevor Pinnock made the first digital recording for Archiv with very distinguished singers including Anthony Rolfe-Johnson and Arleen Augér. Peter Neumann also made a more than acceptable recording for MDG, even if most of his singers were not anglophones.
Now we get the super deluxe treatment with Les Arts Florissants. Even if most in the choir are French, they sing perfectly articulated English, every word comes crystal clear, and all of his soloists are native speakers. Rosemary Joshua stands out as Belshazzar´s mother, she has some of the most ravishing arias in the oratorio and does justice to all of them. Countertenor Iestyn Davies is sweet and mellifluous, just what´s needed for his music, and newcomer Allan Clayton has a most attractive voice.
William Christie has already shown that he can work his magic in Handel oratorios, and his Belshazzar can easily be said to be the best conducted and played of all.
A glorious recording to close the year.

[Jose Echenique]

An as for Rach´s 2, this is a version definitely worth having.

[Jose Echenique]

It´s been so quiet here lately...

Happy St. Cecilia´s Day!!!