I used to listen to this concerto a *lot* but not in recent years. It was marvellous to reacquaint myself with it.
What are you listening to?
Re: What are you listening to?
Funnily enough I was listening to Earl Wild's Tchaikovsky the other day:
I used to listen to this concerto a *lot* but not in recent years. It was marvellous to reacquaint myself with it.
I used to listen to this concerto a *lot* but not in recent years. It was marvellous to reacquaint myself with it.
Nerdcave: ...is no more! 
Sitting Room: Wadia 581SE - Rega Planar 3/AT VM95ML & SH - Bluesound Node II - Copland CSA 100 - Audioplan Kontrast 3
Kitchen: WiiM Pro - Wadia 151 - B&W 685s2
Sitting Room: Wadia 581SE - Rega Planar 3/AT VM95ML & SH - Bluesound Node II - Copland CSA 100 - Audioplan Kontrast 3
Kitchen: WiiM Pro - Wadia 151 - B&W 685s2
Re: What are you listening to?
A Lute Sonata (`Le fameux corsair') by Silvius Leopold Weiss from Vol. 10 the excellent Naxos series with Robert Barto. A bit like a Bach cello suite only on the lute.
Some songs by Reynaldo Hahn, sung by Susan Graham with Roger Vignoles. Delightful.
Then I listened to three of the five surviving organ pieces by Nicolaus Bruhns, a contemporary of J S Bach who died young having promised much, played by Bernard Foccroullle on a very tasty Arp Schnitger organ.
The first Cantata of the Xmas Oratorio, in the newer Harnoncourt recording. Wonderful SACD sound catching perhaps a bit too much sibilance from the choir (probably due to the close miking demanded by the live recording) and typically vigorous, engaging performance.
Shostakovich's 8th Symphony. Arresting SACD sound, and good performance.
Re: What are you listening to?
I have Vol. 3 of that series (the only one that I have) and I had no idea that they were up to Vol. 10. I didn't realise that Weiss was so prolific a composer!Ciaran wrote:A Lute Sonata (`Le fameux corsair') by Silvius Leopold Weiss from Vol. 10 the excellent Naxos series with Robert Barto. A bit like a Bach cello suite only on the lute.
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: What are you listening to?
Elgar – Violin Concerto....
This was most enjoyable music and a performance to match, especially the slow movement which produced wonderfully sensitive playing from Kennedy.
This was most enjoyable music and a performance to match, especially the slow movement which produced wonderfully sensitive playing from Kennedy.
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: What are you listening to?
....this CD contains some wonderful, beautiful music.
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: What are you listening to?
"I may skip. I may even warp a little.... But I will never, ever crash. I am your friend for life. " -Vinyl.
Michell Gyrodec SE, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Stax SRM-006ts Energiser, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
Michell Gyrodec SE, Hana ML cart, Parasound JC3 Jr, Stax LR-700, Stax SRM-006ts Energiser, Quad Artera Play+ CDP
Re: What are you listening to?
Crusell – Clarinet Quartets....
These are three quite different works and are unashamedly a vehicle for the main instrument but that is why one likes them so much. The music is very engaging, the playing is wonderful and the recorded sound is very good....all of this makes for a winning combination.
These are three quite different works and are unashamedly a vehicle for the main instrument but that is why one likes them so much. The music is very engaging, the playing is wonderful and the recorded sound is very good....all of this makes for a winning combination.
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: What are you listening to?
Aided and abetted by a quite superb Australian red (d'Arenberg, The Coppermine Road 2001), I have been absolutely enthralled this evening by a simply breathtaking performance of Wagner's masterpiece, Tristan und Isolde, on a DVD released a few years back by Opus Arte. Taken from a performance at Glyndebourne in August 2007, this must count as one of the greatest Tristans of modern times and you would have to go back to Karl Bohm's legendary 1966 performance at Bayreuth (preserved on an imperishable DG recording, which is itself only surpassed by Furtwangler's immortal 1952 recording on EMI) to find something that surpasses its intoxicating grandeur. Jiri Belohlavek makes the London Philharmonic sound like the world's greatest, which is certainly an achievement in itself, drawing out every nuance in Wagner's infinitely rich score. The production by Nicholas Lehnhoff is the best I've seen, sensibly minimalist whilst utilising some very effective lighting design.
Most importantly, the opera is cast from strength. Rene Pape is the best living interpreter of King Mark, bringing a very touching noble strength to this part. Brangane and Kurwenal (sung by Katarina Karneus and Bo Skovhus respectively) are genuinely sensitive characterisations, especially Kurwenal whose attachment to Tristan in the last Act is especially moving. Robert Gambill plays Tristan as a lovelorn teenager, eschewing any sense of nobility; he portrays a man absolutely bewitched by Isolde. Crucially, in this production, Lehnhoff sees Isolde as being synonomous with death. She is a witch that is directly responsible for Tristan's disgrace and suffering. So, therefore, this is not a traditional romantic production of Tristan und Isolde. And Nina Stemme's exceptional performance is directly in line with this. Hers is an unnervingly impassive persona that never wavers, not even in the midst of Tristan's greatest suffering. In the great showdown at the climax of the second Act between Mark and Tristan, she sits unblinkingly on the ground, silently observing the confrontation. In Lehnhoff's vision, if Tristan is yearning for oblivion, then you sense Isolde craves his destruction as a means of revenging her family.
In conclusion, a word about the singularly great Liebestod which can make or break a performance of Tristan, and represents one of the greatest emotional payoffs in all of opera as well as, potentially, a career benchmark for any soprano (in a similar way to Brunnhilde's Immolation Scene at the end of Gotterdammerung). Stemme's performance is unquestionably a great one, emotionally devastating in its execution, yet always remaining loyal to the director's vision of her role in this masterpiece as a bringer of death.
Here it is. Personally speaking, I find this some of the very greatest and most moving of all music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_URHPD05oI
Most importantly, the opera is cast from strength. Rene Pape is the best living interpreter of King Mark, bringing a very touching noble strength to this part. Brangane and Kurwenal (sung by Katarina Karneus and Bo Skovhus respectively) are genuinely sensitive characterisations, especially Kurwenal whose attachment to Tristan in the last Act is especially moving. Robert Gambill plays Tristan as a lovelorn teenager, eschewing any sense of nobility; he portrays a man absolutely bewitched by Isolde. Crucially, in this production, Lehnhoff sees Isolde as being synonomous with death. She is a witch that is directly responsible for Tristan's disgrace and suffering. So, therefore, this is not a traditional romantic production of Tristan und Isolde. And Nina Stemme's exceptional performance is directly in line with this. Hers is an unnervingly impassive persona that never wavers, not even in the midst of Tristan's greatest suffering. In the great showdown at the climax of the second Act between Mark and Tristan, she sits unblinkingly on the ground, silently observing the confrontation. In Lehnhoff's vision, if Tristan is yearning for oblivion, then you sense Isolde craves his destruction as a means of revenging her family.
In conclusion, a word about the singularly great Liebestod which can make or break a performance of Tristan, and represents one of the greatest emotional payoffs in all of opera as well as, potentially, a career benchmark for any soprano (in a similar way to Brunnhilde's Immolation Scene at the end of Gotterdammerung). Stemme's performance is unquestionably a great one, emotionally devastating in its execution, yet always remaining loyal to the director's vision of her role in this masterpiece as a bringer of death.
Here it is. Personally speaking, I find this some of the very greatest and most moving of all music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_URHPD05oI
Last edited by mcq on Sun Nov 28, 2010 6:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Gryphon Diablo 300, dCS Rossini (with matching clock), Kharma Exquisite Mini, Ansuz C2, Finite Elemente Master Reference.
Re: What are you listening to?
JSB – Three Cantatas BWV36, BWV61 & BWV62 for the First Sunday of Advent....
THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD OFICIALLY STARTS HERE!!!
THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD OFICIALLY STARTS HERE!!!
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: What are you listening to?
Some wonderful music today.
Handel's beautiful Rodelinda, masterfully conducted by Alan Curtis with his Il Complesso Barocco ensemble who are consistently great in this repertoire. Wonderful performance in particular from Simone Kermes (whose performance in the title role is exceptional and, undoubtedly, a career highlight).
Olivier Cave's penetrating performances of four sonatas by Muzio Clementi which simultaneously look back to Haydn whilst looking forward to Beethoven.
A selection of Chabrier, beautifully played by Emmanuel Strosser and also featuring a lovely performance of Ravel's touching homage, a la Maniere de Chabrier, to conclude the disc.
Delphine Bardin's magnificent interpretation of Faure's quite lovely Barcarolles.
Handel's beautiful Rodelinda, masterfully conducted by Alan Curtis with his Il Complesso Barocco ensemble who are consistently great in this repertoire. Wonderful performance in particular from Simone Kermes (whose performance in the title role is exceptional and, undoubtedly, a career highlight).
Olivier Cave's penetrating performances of four sonatas by Muzio Clementi which simultaneously look back to Haydn whilst looking forward to Beethoven.
A selection of Chabrier, beautifully played by Emmanuel Strosser and also featuring a lovely performance of Ravel's touching homage, a la Maniere de Chabrier, to conclude the disc.
Delphine Bardin's magnificent interpretation of Faure's quite lovely Barcarolles.
Gryphon Diablo 300, dCS Rossini (with matching clock), Kharma Exquisite Mini, Ansuz C2, Finite Elemente Master Reference.