Pieces that have blown you away recently

[Symphonic Addict]

I'm not sure if "blown away" is an apt descriptor in my case, but I listened to Verdi's La Traviata last night for the first-time and enjoyed it. As I have said many times before, opera (and songs/lieder/etc.) is one of my least favorite genres, but there are some moments, especially in opera where the music just transcends the genre itself and when this happens, it's pure magic.

Several Verdi operas left me powerfully impressed, among them La Traviata. Also: Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Macbeth and Otello, but the ones that struck me like utterly brilliant were Aida and Falstaff.

[Mirror Image]

Several Verdi operas left me powerfully impressed, among them La Traviata. Also: Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Macbeth and Otello, but the ones that struck me like utterly brilliant were Aida and Falstaff.

Thanks, Cesar. I'm hoping to get around to Aida and Falstaff at some point. I don't think I'm going to listen to every opera he composed (he wrote around 26 of them I believe), but I'm definitely going to be listening to the ones that seem to be the most highly regarded.

[Symphonic Addict]

I'm cheating this time as I had alrealy listened to this work before. Górecki's String Quartet No. 3 (performed by the Quatuor Molinari) is devastating in its overwhelming poignancy, not much dissimilar to his Symphony No. 3, also with a similar length (56 minutes long). I'm speechless.

[Hitch]

To my surprise, Klemperer's recording of Brahms's Requiem (Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra). I say "surprise" because I had just tried to listen to the conductor's version of Bach's Mass in B Minor, but couldn't gel with what seemed to me an excessively slow tempo that dissipated the music's drama and tension. Turning to the Requiem without much expectation - the Requiem is a fine work but not one that has ever really enthused me - I was struck by the sense of anguish and answering solace that the conductor evinced from his forces. For the first time, it felt like a harrowing yet beautiful lament for the dead rather than just a very good piece of music. The recording made me love Brahms more, so chalk one up for Klemperer. Now I may have to return to the Mass to see if my ears have become more receptive to his conducting.

[Skogwald]

Medtner's Piano Concerto #3. So powerful, especially in this rendition. One of the greatest romantic PCs for sure, give it a listen!

[Skogwald]

Medtner's Piano Concerto #3. So powerful, especially in this rendition. One of the greatest romantic PCs for sure, give it a listen!

I've only listened to Medtner's piano sonatas before this one (they are amazing too). I was surprised by how great the orchestration was for such a pianistic composer!

[Mapman]

Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras #1

I enjoyed some of his later Bachianas, so it's not a surprise that this one is great too! This box will be fun to go through.

[Roasted Swan]

Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras #1

I enjoyed some of his later Bachianas, so it's not a surprise that this one is great too! This box will be fun to go through.

That is a genuinely excellent box - superb sonics/playing/interpretations.

[Maestro267]

Chopin's Scherzo No. 3 in C# minor, Op. 39. I love the cascading arpeggios in it!

[kyjo]

Medtner's Piano Concerto #3. So powerful, especially in this rendition. One of the greatest romantic PCs for sure, give it a listen!

Oh yes! It's one of my favorite piano concerti of all time. The whole work evinces sheer gorgeousness and shows Medtner at his most melodically inspired - there's a waltz-like theme played by the strings in the third movement that's a certified "goosebump moment" in my book (17:30 in this video): https://youtu.be/APJz-RKS_8s?si=PrRjW2NYPgHvsnBO

His PC No. 2 is almost as good with its syncopated, almost jazzy energy in the outer movements. No. 1 is less memorable than the other two, but is still worth hearing.

[Symphonic Addict]

Lately these three works:

Martinu: Julietta

In spite of the several dialogues that appear here and there, this is a completely captivating work. Martinu at his most... psychedelic, perhaps? Not sure if that epithet suits well, but it's absolutely inventive, imaginative, dreamy, even strange at times, very different from other works I've heard by him.




Janacek: In the Mists

Incredibly I just listened to this piece for the first time and I was in love with it. I was taken by the first piece the most, poetry galore loaded with a beautiful sentiment of melancholy, just like a psychological feel to also it in the other three pieces. It even sounded to me like Japanese music (pentatonic scale?) in a certain passage.




Ben-Haim: Clarinet Quintet

From the very beginning it shows a perfumed exotic nature, something that always draws my attention. And the subsequent music features quirky and spicy writing that grabs you with ease. Even though the first two movements have the more vital music, it is the third one that bewitched me with its ravishing theme and variations, where the latter alternate between lyrical and roguish. For that movement alone I consider it one of the most alluring clarinet quintets I know.

[Elgarian Redux]

No matter how many times I listen to La Rondine, or watch it, I am always blown away. Its concentration of melodic invention, its emotional entanglement, its bitter-sweet mood ... I don't seem ever to tire of it. It's true that usually I stop after Act 2 - in that sense it fails as a complete, coherent work of art.

But Acts 1 and 2 are so glorious that I couldn't possibly complain.

[Florestan]

No matter how many times I listen to La Rondine, or watch it, I am always blown away. Its concentration of melodic invention, its emotional entanglement, its bitter-sweet mood ... I don't seem ever to tire of it. It's true that usually I stop after Act 2 - in that sense it fails as a complete, coherent work of art.

But Acts 1 and 2 are so glorious that I couldn't possibly complain.

[Elgarian Redux]

Andrei, this gets my vote for the cheeriest golden blob I've seen all day.

[ritter]

No matter how many times I listen to La Rondine, or watch it, I am always blown away. Its concentration of melodic invention, its emotional entanglement, its bitter-sweet mood ... I don't seem ever to tire of it. It's true that usually I stop after Act 2 - in that sense it fails as a complete, coherent work of art.

But Acts 1 and 2 are so glorious that I couldn't possibly complain.

"Nella dolce carezza della danza chiudo gli occhi per sognar. Tutto è oramai lontano, niente mi può turbar, e il passato sembrami dileguar!". 

[Florestan]

Andrei, this gets my vote for the cheeriest golden blob I've seen all day.

Glad you liked it and glad you too are Puccini fan. The more, the merrier, especially this year. For this summer holiday I plan to listen to all his operas in chronological order.

[Uhor]

Elizabeth Ogonek - Sleep & Unremembrance

Sensuous texturalism with some lyrics fragments intertwined in there, bubbly sections too.

[Roasted Swan]

No matter how many times I listen to La Rondine, or watch it, I am always blown away. Its concentration of melodic invention, its emotional entanglement, its bitter-sweet mood ... I don't seem ever to tire of it. It's true that usually I stop after Act 2 - in that sense it fails as a complete, coherent work of art.

But Acts 1 and 2 are so glorious that I couldn't possibly complain.

+1 for Rondine although I prefer the Moffo recording.  For my taste she has the perfect blend of vocal beauty and vulnerability.....  iI might just have to listen to it today because of you - thankyou!!!

[Elgarian Redux]

+1 for Rondine although I prefer the Moffo recording.  For my taste she has the perfect blend of vocal beauty and vulnerability.....  iI might just have to listen to it today because of you - thankyou!!!

Oddly enough I have a copy of the Moffo recording on its way to me as I write this, so soon I should  be in a position to compare notes.The Ghiorghiu version is the only CD set I've had for many years, though I do have about five different performances on DVD. Do you know the exquisite Arteta/Washington set, where the scenes are often composed almost as if they were paintings? That's my favourite, I think.

[Roasted Swan]

Oddly enough I have a copy of the Moffo recording on its way to me as I write this, so soon I should  be in a position to compare notes.The Ghiorghiu version is the only CD set I've had for many years, though I do have about five different performances on DVD. Do you know the exquisite Arteta/Washington set, where the scenes are often composed almost as if they were paintings? That's my favourite, I think.

My preference for Moffo might well be a case of "first love" - the version I first bought/got to know.  Its not just Moffo but the sound of all the singers is so idiomatic - even the piano that accompanies Magda is suitably (for me) salony and clangy.  And the whistling is proper whistling - not stuck on the piccolo like it is in some versions (the AWFUL version on Naxos for instance).  This Moffo version does NOT include the extra tenor aria - but for me that is a bonus not a requirement.

Yes I do know the Arteta/Washington DVD and yes I agree completely it is wonderful - even though they use a piccolo too!!  But the singing AND the acting and the staging are all top drawer.