Tír Na HiFi

Many consider Aho one of the finest of living composers, he is prolific with 15 symphonies and a project to do concerti for all the common orchestra instruments, he has even written a Contrabassoon Concerto. I have not gotten into his chamber music, which is also prolific.

Vänskä will likely leave Minnesota, he made an ultimatum and so far his plea has been ignored. I used to do labor/industrial relations and that is one of the more nasty disputes I have seen in ages. No one will win. Sadly, I missed Vänskä when he came here to conduct Beethoven 6 with the KC Symphony. It was Thanksgiving weekend and I was at my sister's. Oh well.... maybe sometime.

DonKC wrote:Many consider Aho one of the finest of living composers, he is prolific with 15 symphonies and a project to do concerti for all the common orchestra instruments, he has even written a Contrabassoon Concerto. I have not gotten into his chamber music, which is also prolific.

Thanks Don, I must have a listen to some of his orchestral output.

Vänskä will likely leave Minnesota, he made an ultimatum and so far his plea has been ignored. I used to do labor/industrial relations and that is one of the more nasty disputes I have seen in ages. No one will win. Sadly, I missed Vänskä when he came here to conduct Beethoven 6 with the KC Symphony. It was Thanksgiving weekend and I was at my sister's. Oh well.... maybe sometime.

It is really horrible to watch the MO fall apart bit by bit. If the protaganists do manage to come to a settlement it will probably be too late as they will have lost most of their principals to other orchestras, what a dreadful state of affairs, I thought and had hoped it would have been resolved long before now.

Don, do you have the Vänskä/MO Beethoven cycle? It's marvellous.

It is really horrible to watch the MO fall apart bit by bit. If the protaganists do manage to come to a settlement it will probably be too late as they will have lost most of their principals to other orchestras, what a dreadful state of affairs, I thought and had hoped it would have been resolved long before now.

Don, do you have the Vänskä/MO Beethoven cycle? It's marvellous.

Yes, I do. And I may just spin some of it this evening when I settle in.

I really like the music of Franz Krommer which is full of wonderful melodies and textures....





I have also long been a fan of Sarah Francis who never fails to deliver and this CD is no exception; it contains great music and music making from all concerned.

My wife overheard me listening to extracts from this box set this evening....





Interestingly and very unusually she expressed a very keen interest in it and requested to hear much more of it in the future! Such a request will be readily accommodated but I was somewhat surprised as it is rather specialised listening; not what one could call main stream. Personally I find this music charming, very gracious and very interesting even given the textures and sonorities involved.

fergus wrote:My wife overheard me listening to extracts from this box set this evening....





Interestingly and very unusually she expressed a very keen interest in it and requested to hear much more of it in the future! Such a request will be readily accommodated but I was somewhat surprised as it is rather specialised listening; not what one could call main stream. Personally I find this music charming, very gracious and very interesting even given the textures and sonorities involved.

That's very good news Fergus. My wife enjoys a vast array of classical music and is particularly fond of Mahler symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5. Papa Haydn would probably go down a treat too.

I am not in the market for another Mahler Seven, at least I am doing my best not to be, however, having listened to this pair on CD Review this morning well, I am sorely tempted:

MAHLER: Symphony No. 7 in E minor
Berliner Philharmonic, Michael Gielen (conductor)
TESTAMENT SBT1480 (CD mid-price)

MAHLER: Symphony No. 7 in E minor
Gurzenich-Orchestra Köln, Markus Stenz (conductor)
OEHMS OC652 (Hybrid SACD)

Andrew is particularly fond of the Markus Stenz led performance whereas I might prefer the Gielen, I would have to listen to them again to be sure. I certainly would not be disappointed with either recording that's for sure.

and this is lovely too:

J S Bach - Cantatas for the Liturgical Year Volume 16
BACH, J S: Cantata BWV34 'O ewiges Feuer, O Ursprung der Liebe'; Cantata BWV173 'Erhohtes Fleisch und Blut'; Cantata BWV184 'Erwunschtes Freudenlicht; Cantata BWV129 'Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott'
La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken (conductor)
ACCENT ACC25316 (CD)

fergus wrote:My wife overheard me listening to extracts from this box set this evening....





Interestingly and very unusually she expressed a very keen interest in it and requested to hear much more of it in the future! Such a request will be readily accommodated but I was somewhat surprised as it is rather specialised listening; not what one could call main stream. Personally I find this music charming, very gracious and very interesting even given the textures and sonorities involved.

I am also surprised (although pleasantly of course, Fergus...) because even I have baulked at the prospect of 21 disks of Baryton Trios... and you know how much I like Haydn...