Spinning Today (Classical version)

[MartinT]

Mahler 5th symphony. Tennstedt / LPO from a 16 CD set of all the symphonies that arrived yesterday. (A full set of studio recordings, and live recordings of 5 6 & 7). I played the studio 5th. Marvellous stuff.

I was very lucky to see Tennstedt perform live at the RFH before he fell ill and died. His 2nd is superb and so is the 6th.

[jandl100]

Whoops, I've broken my belated New Year's Rez already! ...

So here's the listening report for 2 days ago, quite a busy day so not much time for music ....

Dvorak Cello Concerto - Rostropovich Karajan DG LP. What a great performance - my fave, I think. Sound isn't too bad either - orchestra is a bit muffled but the solo cello is nicely caught.

And yesterday, another busy day ...

Rimsky Korsakov Scheherezade. CD with Anton Nanut conducting the Ljubljana SO (I do like Nanut!) ... but Mackerras / Telarc is unbeatable in this work, I think.

Holst The Planets - Solti / LPO Decca LP. Great stuff!

[MartinT]

Dvorak Cello Concerto - Rostropovich Karajan DG LP. What a great performance - my fave, I think. Sound isn't too bad either - orchestra is a bit muffled but the solo cello is nicely caught.

It's Paul Tortelier for me. Superb music, very thrilling to listen to.

[jandl100]

Today:

Arvo Part - Fratres, Spiegel, Cantus etc - Tasmin Little CfP CD. Mesmerising!

Rachmaninov Symphony #2 - Ashkenazy - Decca LP. Glorious tunes!

Handel - Coronation Anthems - Preston DG ... a bit tedious apart from Zadok the Priest.

Stravinsky Rite of Spring - Dorati - Detroit SO Decca LP. Cor Blimey!

[jandl100]

Yesterday ...

Good Haydn can come from some surprisng sources - I recently picked up a 1972 EMI LP of Klemperer conducting symphonies 92 & 95 with the Philharmonia. More out of morbid curiosity than anything, and the fact that the LP looked completely mint! - and it was only £1 in a charity shop.
I played it yesterday for the 1st time ... Otto Klemperer - dull, plodding, slow .... Right?
Not a bit of it! - amazingly taut rhythms and a very infectious joie de vivre that swept me happily from the opening chords to the end!
A keeper for sure.
You never can tell!

Burgmuller symphony #2 on a MDG CD. Poor bugger only lived from 1810-1836. But he didn't waste much time! The 1st movement clearly pays hommage to Beethoven (who died in 1827) - with a straight knock-off of a passage in the finale of Ludwig's 9th! But lots of original thought as well - only received the CD yesterday and I played it thrice. Really enjoyed it - and it gets better as familiarity gains a hold.

Burgmuller piano concerto from the same MDG CD - well, blow me - contemporary with Chopin and very similar in many ways. Great stuff!

[MartinT]

I've had no time to play classical music in the last few evenings
Must dig out something stonking for tonight. I feel a Shossie 7th coming on.

[Barry]

Beethoven - 'The Late Quartets, Nos. 12 - 17', vinyl.

The Hungarian Quartet: Zoltan Szekely, 1st violin; Michael Kuttner, 2nd violin; Denes Koromzay, viola and Gabor Magyar, cello.

1966, EMI SLS 857 (a 10 LP set of all the Beethoven string quartets)



Regarding the Dvorak Cello Concerto, it's Rostropovitch for me.

[MartinT]

Shostakovich - Symphony No. 7, Nanut, Ljubljana SO, Stravidari [cd]



This is good. A very fine performance, well played and built up to a suitably overwhelming crescendo in the first movement. The orchestra do the necessary Shossie dissonance very well while keeping it tight. I could only wish for a little more of the bass drum in the mix.

Thanks to Jerry for the recommendation.

[jandl100]

Hey, I'm happy that you enjoyed Nanut's Shosty 7, Martin. It's very very fine, I think.

Do try an get hold of his Mahler 6th (quite fast, but very exciting, the only drawback to my ears being a somewhat too fast slow mvt, but even that is in keeping with the overall conception) and also his Beethoven 7th. His Bruckner 8 is another fave of mine, but rather rarer.

Yesterday's classical choons ....

Granados Piano Trio - Chandos CD. Gorgeous.

Haydn keyboard sonata #12 played on the harpsichord by Janos Sebestyen on a 4 LP Hungaroton box set. Sparkling and delicious! Superbly alive recording, too. An Oxfam £3.99 minty bargain.

Duparc - 5 songs with orchestra - EMI LP. Janet Baker / Previn / LSO. The more I listen to this the more I love it ... I'm not usually a fan of Dame Janet, but she is absolutely yummy here!

[Barry]

Ravel - 'Bolero'
Boston Symphony Orchestra, cond. Seija Ozawa. 1974 DGG

Usually dismissed as 'juvenile', 'entry-level' or 'trite', Ravel's Bolero is surprising sophisticated and a great piece of music to demonstrate dynamic control and resolution - placing the various instruments in the overall sound stage as they come in and out of play.

After the 15 minutes, the hairs are standing on the back of by neck and I'm covered in goose bumps.


Beethoven - 'Symphony no. 3 ('Eroica')'
Berlin Philharmoniker, cond. Von Karajan. 1984 DGG

When Haydn first heard the 3rd he was said to remarked "Beethoven has done what no other composer has done" "From today everything has changed".

Listening to it this afternoon, I can hear what he meant.