What are you listening to?

[Ciaran]

I have plenty, and I mean plenty, of recordings of Bach´s glorious sonatas for violin & cembalo.
My long time favourite has been the dream team recording of Fabio Biondi and Rinaldo Alessandrini, but there have been others that really are just as good. Every now and then I like to revisit Francois Fernandez recording with Benjamin Alard. Fernandez is one of the finest Baroque fiddlers around with countless recordings in dozens of labels.
His performance is very different from Biondi´s warm and mediterranean offering.
Fernandez is more strict and almost totally avoids vibrato (Biondi is not shy with vibrato, though only on occasion).
But Fernandez understands like few others the structure and inner works of these sonatas, these are magisterial, exemplary performances. And rather than compete with Biondi, he complements him.

I'm familiar with Fernandez from the excellent Ricercar Consort, so I'd be interested in that recording. I first encountered the accompanied sonatas when I happened on a remaindered 2 LP set of Alice Harnoncourt

playing them with Herbert Tachezi (harpsichord) and Nikolaus Harnoncourt (cello) and snapped it up. I hadn't known these sonatas existed and I was ravished! My father-in-law, a bit old-fashioned in matters of period performance, approved strongly of the presence of the cello: something of a rarity in recordings. I don't think it does any harm! Possibly it was the joy of discovery but I haven't found any other recording as satisfying, though Rachel Podger is pretty good. The Harnoncourts/Tachezi are now in the collection of DaveF.

[Jared]

Fourth complete run through of these ravishing Sturm und Drang Symphs... for me they are delightfully individual pieces, with so much character and vitality. I find it completely incrdible that FJH was able to knock these out to order, with every one containing the hallmark of genius.

[Ciaran]

A recording of the live 1959 broadcast of a concert performance of Busoni's Doktor Faust with DFD in the title rôle and Adrian Boult conducting. The LPO released this recently on their own label with 45 minutes cut from the broadcast, and claimed it was the complete broadcast! Very soon somebody wrote in to IRR or Gramophone to say they'd recorded it at the time and their recording was much longer! The performance had been cut down from the full opera, but LPO had cut even more.

As a Doktor Faust maniac I wanted to get this as soon as I heard about it, but couldn't bring myself to buy it because of the extra cuts. Fortunately the Canadian online label Immortal Performances has released the full broadcast.



Very enjoyable 2-SACD set of Debussy's orchestral music by the RSNO under Stéphane Denève.



DFD again in Bach Cantatas from around 1950 under Karl Ristenpart. Surprisingly nimble for the period, though the (Chamber) choir does sound large by today's HIP standards .



I haven't made up my mind about Rued Langgaard yet, but this SACD was well reviewed in Gramophone and I quite liked Quartet No. 2 last night. If I get on well with the rest, I might pull out The Music of the Spheres again!

[fergus]

DFD again in Bach Cantatas from around 1950 under Karl Ristenpart. Surprisingly nimble for the period, though the (Chamber) choir does sound large by today's HIP standards .

I immediately put that set on my List when I heard it on BAL and will definitely buy it at some stage.

[Jared]

^^ some interesting and informative posts (as usual) Ciaran.. you're nothing if not eclectic...

[fergus]

[Ciaran]

Eclectic, eh? Last night there was also the Korngold Violin Concerto (dedicated to Alma Mahler)



with Gil Shaham and the LSO under André Previn as chosen on BAL recently. Some of it is simply gorgeous, sometimes it's way over the top, it's always very sweet in tone. Just luxuriate in it like a fantastically rich sweet course (with appropriate dessert wine, yes, please!) in an excellent restauant.

[Jared]

^^ yes, the Korngold VC should certainly be reserved for select occasions when you feel sufficiently fortified to see the experience through:

[Jared]

[Jared]