Tír Na HiFi

[quote="Seán"]

I listened to a terrific CD Review this morning. Jon Leifs music really interests me. The Sibelius section was very good and John Butt's interview was highly informative and the music was great.

Fergus you may want to listen to it later.

[quote]

Thank you for that Seán; the content certainly does look interesting indeed.

Finishing this set with Symphonies 103 & 104 which are two more wonderful performances by these forces.

Interestingly, excellent as the Concertgebouw is in terms of performance and sound I would actually prefer to listen to Harnoncourt with Concentus Musicus Wien in this music.

Vivaldi became a bit over done in my listening era, all the performances sounded the same. Don't know about Ireland or outside USA, but here Vivaldi was "elevator music" and "TV commercial" music for a long time. Now with this album and the work of Biondi and the Europe Galante ensemble, Vivaldi is coming to life.

I listened to this again this AM. Just great fun.

On a side note Leif's music is incredible. Here is a short piece I wrote about four of his works the "Saga Symphony" and the three String Quartets.

http://donaldopato.blogspot.com/2007/10 ... poser.html

His Hekla, an orchestral tone poem inspired by Iceland's active Hekla volcano, is billed as one of the loudest pieces of music written. It is more than just noise, and it worth a listen (watch the volume though!)

DonKC wrote:Vivaldi became a bit over done in my listening era, all the performances sounded the same. Don't know about Ireland or outside USA, but here Vivaldi was "elevator music" and "TV commercial" music for a long time. Now with this album and the work of Biondi and the Europe Galante ensemble, Vivaldi is coming to life.

I listened to this again this AM. Just great fun.

Oh Biondi and Euopa Galante are simply marvellous.

On a side note Leif's music is incredible. Here is a short piece I wrote about four of his works the "Saga Symphony" and the three String Quartets.

http://donaldopato.blogspot.com/2007/10 ... poser.html

His Hekla, an orchestral tone poem inspired by Iceland's active Hekla volcano, is billed as one of the loudest pieces of music written. It is more than just noise, and it worth a listen (watch the volume though!)

Thanks Don, I appreciate that. I must say that I was very taken with Leifs' music. That's the first I've heard of him, I must investigate further.

DonKC wrote:Vivaldi became a bit over done in my listening era, all the performances sounded the same. Don't know about Ireland or outside USA, but here Vivaldi was "elevator music" and "TV commercial" music for a long time. Now with this album and the work of Biondi and the Europe Galante ensemble, Vivaldi is coming to life.

I listened to this again this AM. Just great fun.

Absolutely, Don, the likes of Biondi et al have certainly made a significant difference in the interpretation and performance of Vivaldi's music. If you are not already familiar with it I would also recommend modern performances of Vivaldi's Sacred Music - hugely undervalued IMHO.

On a side note Leif's music is incredible. Here is a short piece I wrote about four of his works the "Saga Symphony" and the three String Quartets.

http://donaldopato.blogspot.com/2007/10 ... poser.html

His Hekla, an orchestral tone poem inspired by Iceland's active Hekla volcano, is billed as one of the loudest pieces of music written. It is more than just noise, and it worth a listen (watch the volume though!)

I have read your piece Don and it would certainly entice me to explore this music.

Quartets 11, 12 & 13.

And back to two old favourites:



Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 3
Piano Concerto No. 4
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Yefim Bronfman - Piano
David Zinman conducting.

I never tire of listening to Beethoven's music; each recorded performance seems to bring something new and refreshingly different to the listener. This is no different, it is gorgeous music-making.

Powerful music and strong, assertive performances.

fergus wrote:


Powerful music and strong, assertive performances.

Hmm, curious!

Seán wrote:
Hmm, curious!

Yes, great stuff. The music of Britten has eluded me until recently Seán but so far it has been a wonderful experience.