Spinning Today (Classical version)

[jandl100]

Woo-Hoo! Martin is right - this is splendid!

[MartinT]

[jandl100]

indeed.

Karajan comes in for some flak (including from me!) -- but by gum, he has the structure of the Planets nailed - and so taut and exciting. And the recording is so good - not what one normally expects from DG of this era, imo.

Criticisms? - well, the big, extended melody in Jupiter lacks the last edge of soul stirring jingoistic nobility, the choral fade out to Neptune is a little wanting in in etherealness.

But this is certainly a keeper.

I'll give Herbie's earlier Decca Planets a hearing later today.

[jandl100]

Over the years, every now and then I have another go at 'organ symphonies' (no sniggering at the back!). Just an organ playing; no orchestra. I can't normally get into them (I said no sniggering), but this recently acquired BBC magazine freebie CD may well have gained me entry (stop it!).



Very nicely recorded - deep vibrant bass when required (which is quite a lot!), a very immediate sound which isn't swamped by its own reverberation. I've played the CD through 3 times now, with ever increasing enjoyment.

___

I'm not a great fan of Bartok's music, overall. But a few pieces hit the spot for me - the 3rd piano concerto is one, as is the music for strings, percussion & celesta, and this one heard last night after a gap of a couple of years is another. Lovely music ....



-- although I think you have to be a real connoisseur of the viola concerto for the differences between the 2 versions recorded here to be very noticeable!

[MartinT]

The Widor is top rank, Jerry. My fave is the Widor 3rd.

[Marco]

Right now on minty vintage vinyl:





Berlioz - Requiem (Grande Messe des Morts Op.5), with Peter Schreier (tenor), the Bavarian Radio Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master: Wolfgang Schubert), conducted by Charles Munch, on Deutsche Grammophon Privilege, from 1968.

Fabulous music and a truly sensational recording on this classic masterpiece!

Marco.

[Barry]

Stravinsky – ‘The Rite of Spring’

LSO, cond. Sir Eugene Gossens. Everest Stereo SDBR 3047, US import. (Recorded on 35mm tape)

Played because it is the 100th anniversary of the Diaghilev première in Paris 1913.

and

Stravinsky – ‘The Firebird’ (1919 Version)



Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, cond. Robert Shaw. Telarc DG-10039. (Being a US import, there is no date).


Takemitsu – ‘From Me Flows What You Call Time’






Not sure if this is the correct place to list, but anyway:

Morton Subotnick – ‘Silver Apples of the Moon’

Nonesuch H-71174 (1968). A Nonesuch Records commission.

Could be dismissively classed as belonging to the ‘bleeps and bloops’ school of electronic composition.


Terry Riley – ‘In C’



A somewhat mesmeric development of rhythmic patterns all based on a single note.

[Gromit]

This afternoon (amongst some other non-orchestral stuff)...



I've played in this a couple of times, and apart from his 5th it's just about the only Mahler I've really enjoyed (there are some good Clarinet bits in it basically).

[jandl100]

Hmm. Kind of limp, without that Shosty neurotic 'edge'.

By gum, this is how it should go! -->



Surprisingly, it's a better recording than the BIS, too. More alive, more presence, more definition, more detail.
I need no other recording of this symphony, it's got it all.
-- and I can very seldom say that about a recording!

I'll send you a copy, Marco!
___________

Followed by --



Really quite adventurous and challenging music, not at all what I was expecting!

[jandl100]

..... (there are some good Clarinet bits in it basically).

What you need is a huge Brilliant Classics boxset of "the Compleat Clarinet music"

Lessee, I also listened to this CD for the 1st time yesterday ....



Interesting, and well worth a re-visit. I suspect it doesn't yield all at the first listen, to say the least. The slow mvt of the clarinet concerto is definitely yummy.