What are you listening 2 now?

[Kalevala]

Zdeněk Fibich
Spring
Romance of Spring
At Twilight
Night at Karlstein

NaĎa Šormová, soprano
Karel Průša, bass
Prague Radio SO & Chorus - František Vajnar

Feeling much better about this recording compared to the Naxos series.
VS

I have a tiny bit of Fibich's music.  What do you think of the works on that CD?

K

[San Antone]

A gut-string ensemble, the Butter Quartet — violinists Anna Jane Lester and Chloe Prendergast, violist Isabel Franenberg, and cellist Evan Buttar — met while studying at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague and formed in 2017. In a charming play on the group's name, they "spread the love" of historically informed performances of late 18th and early 19th century repertoire, as well as "newly composed works for historically setup instruments."

In the liner notes for the Butter Quartet's debut recording, Scintilla, the artists acknowledge that the beloved string quartets of Franz Josef Haydn inspired an exploration that led them to lesser-known repertoire including works by Italian composers (all, with the exception of Boccherini, virtuoso violinists) written both before and during Haydn's era. (Early Music America)



Aside from the, IMO, clumsy cover art, the playing and repertory on this new recording is very good.

[AnotherSpin]

I wouldn't go that far. I've found bootleg needle drops on Qobuz before. These dodgy record labels have found their way into cd shops in the past and are now on streaming services. It doesn't make them legit.

I'm not going anywhere; I'm where I always am. I'm not concerned about the legality of recordings if I'm streaming them from a service I've paid for. Moreover, I don't accept remarks questioning the legitimacy of the source directed at me. If anyone has questions or doubts, take them to Qobuz, or go straight to the UN. I'm sure they'll express concern — if you're lucky, concern may be deep.

[Lisztianwagner]

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Orchestral Suite No.1

Antal Dorati & New Philharmonia Orchestra

[Traverso]

Bach



Jesus bleibet meine Freude

[Traverso]

Telemann

[André]

Stankovych wrote these symphonies in the mid-1970s. Those were years that saw the concentration of power in the hands of the aging Leonid Brezhnev and the elimination of his political rivals. Shostakovich died in 1975. The new generation of soviet composers such as Schnittke, Gubaidulina, Denisov (who all wrote major works in that period) battled for recognition even as they were viewed very negatively by the politically subservient musical establishment. They all ended up on Tikhon Khrennikov's dreaded black list.

Two of these works are for strings only, while the other (#2) is for full orchestra. In the string-based symphonies the composer's sound world is made up of glassy, spooky, anguished sonorities with effects such as pizzicatos, glissandos, clusters, long held notes, high harmonics, subterranean rumblings from double basses etc. I suppose writing for strings allowed for a denser, more concentrated spectrum of sonorities.

If one is attuned to, say, Schnittke's Concerto grosso no1, Denisov's symphony or even Herrmann's score for the movie Psycho, there's lots here to enjoy. Just be aware that this is bleak, Edvard Munch type musical stuff.

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E Major,  1885 Version. Ed.Leopold Nowak, South German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hans Müller-Kray

[AnotherSpin]

Stankovych wrote these symphonies in the mid-1970s. Those were years that saw the concentration of power in the hands of the aging Leonid Brezhnev and the elimination of his political rivals. Shostakovich died in 1975. The new generation of soviet composers such as Schnittke, Gubaidulina, Denisov (who all wrote major works in that period) battled for recognition even as they were viewed very negatively by the politically subservient musical establishment. They all ended up on Tikhon Khrennikov's dreaded black list.

Two of these works are for strings only, while the other (#2) is for full orchestra. In the string-based symphonies the composer's sound world is made up of glassy, spooky, anguished sonorities with effects such as pizzicatos, glissandos, clusters, long held notes, high harmonics, subterranean rumblings from double basses etc. I suppose writing for strings allowed for a denser, more concentrated spectrum of sonorities.

If one is attuned to, say, Schnittke's Concerto grosso no1, Denisov's symphony or even Herrmann's score for the movie Psycho, there's lots here to enjoy. Just be aware that this is bleak, Edvard Munch type musical stuff.

This characterization of the era seems somewhat exaggerated. I remember that time well. The last decade of Brezhnev's rule was noticeably milder than all the previous decades of the communist regime. There was no significant power struggle, and the sharp confrontation with the West was softened by the so-called "detente". Yes, there was a tiny group of dissidents focused on their desire to emigrate to the West, and there was some background noise around them, but it hardly bothered anyone. Schnittke and Denisov were published by the state-owned Melodiya label, and their names were known, I was able to buy LPs with their music in the shop back in the day.

[Daverz]

Kapustin: Piano Concerto No. 6, first movemement

I still don't understand the appeal of this faux-Jazz, though this was a bit better than the last Kapustin disc I sampled.  I had to put on some "real" Jazz:

[Irons]

Shostakovich: String Quartet No.15.



Pared down to bare bones, sans typical black humour and dance rhythms. Tempos of all six movements slow - reminded of RVW 3rd Symphony in this respect. And yet this austere enigmatic quartet stands apart and in my view above the other fourteen with understated intensity. A swan-song or setting out on a new path? We were not to find out.

[Linz]

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach The Solo Keyboard Music, Vol. 35 Miklos Spanyi

[VonStupp]

I have a tiny bit of Fibich's music.  What do you think of the works on that CD?

K

If you like Romantic Era symphonic poems, they should go down fine. He was contemporaneous with Dvorak and Smetana, so sitting third among that company can't be too bad a thing, right? 

I am currently undecided on Fibich and his tone poems, but I liked his symphonies quite a bit. I really like these performances, though.

I have recently listened to the Vajnar recording a few times now, and will revisit the other one, pictured, with Valek soon.
VS

[VonStupp]

Paul Dukas
King Lear Overture
Goetz De Berlichingen Overture
Württemberg PO Reutlingen - Fabrice Bollon

Hadn't heard these early overtures before.

I should probably stop being surprised at how many regional German ensembles are so capable.
VS

[JBS]

I pay Qobuz a significant amount for my annual subscription, and I couldn't care less where the material they stream comes from.

I would think paying a significant amount to Qobuz is even more reason to expect Qobuz not to use pirated recordings.

TD
The final CD of this set is all Soviet music

Shostakovich
Sonata for Cello and Piano in d minor Op 40*
Prokofiev
Sonata for Flute and Piano in D Op 95*
Shostakovich
Concertino for two pianos Op 94
Weinberg* **
Twelve Miniatures for Flute and Piano Op 29***
Mischa Maisky cello
Susanne Barner flute
*  Martha Argerich piano/piano I
** Lilya Zilberstein piano II
***Akane Sakai piano

[JBS]

Starting another recently purchased set
*
CD 1 is Mark Viner playing music of Cecile Chaminade.


*full set contents

[steve ridgway]

Messiaen: Apparition De L'Église Éternelle

[steve ridgway]

Stravinsky: Symphony Of Psalms

[steve ridgway]

Messiaen: Theme And Variations for violin and piano.

[steve ridgway]

Ives: Set No. 9 Of Three Pieces For Chamber Orchestra