gustavmahlerboard.com
General Category => Gustav Mahler and Related Discussions => Topic started by: barry guerrero on November 15, 2007, 09:14:11 AM
-
I'll go first:
A very nice program of orchestral works on Naxos by a Polish composer named Szeligowski (just think Szell and Stokowski). It has a Comedy Overture; Four Polish Dances; a Piano Concerto, and a Concerto For Orchestra. What's not to like?!? All of the works are in a fairly conservative and tonal style, except for the earlier Concerto For Orchestra (which is a bit more spikey). That's a bit on the modern side.
(http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:IjpVPnba1L7UYM:http://www.polmic.pl/foto/SzeligowskiTadeusz.jpg)
More Kenny Dorham (trumpet) and Lee Morgan (trumpet) reissues on Bluenote Records.
(http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:pgbxuO1CgCY72M:http://www.jazztrumpetsolos) (http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:fBnvJ36Mmrp2CM:http://www.artistdirect.com/)
I haven't picked one up yet, but excerpts from the new Chandos recording of Granville Bantock's "Omar Khayyam" sounds pretty intriguing. It's also Gramophone's Record Of The Month.
(http://www.sa-cd.net/covers/s4728.jpg)
Bebop Bassoon by Daniel Smith is pretty fun. Yes, it's a jazz bassoon CD. Daniel Smith is the same guy who recorded ALL of the Vivaldi bassoon concertos for ASV.
(http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:hA5QNk0eR7LflM:http://cover6.cduniverse.com/CDUCoverArt/Music/14/7115114.jpg)
A Bruckner 7 with Haitink/CSO on CSO Live is decent - not fabulous, but decent.
(http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:NEbgGNNauqq8rM:http://www.sa-)
A lecture/demo./performance DVD of Richard Strauss' "Alpine Symphony", with Kent Nagano conducting his DSO Berlin - I don't own it, but it does look interesting!
(http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:rtztJp0M7eMyFM:http://www.a-)
Last and most certainly least: the amazing Mona Golabek, and her compilation CD that alternates musical excerpts and romantic poetry, read in a soft and sultry manner by Ms. Golabek herself. She has also written a book about her mother's escape from nazi occupied Vienna.
(http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:08dJDbSYzTniaM:http://www.romantichours.com/images/romantic-hours-cd.jpg) (http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:Llho4xH9QWIXJM:http://www.scotchproductions.com/photos/monag.jpg) (http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:cEmIIlzc3AV5sM:http://rmhs.d214.org/library/images/BIOG/BIOwillesden.jpg)
-
Bruckner Eighth by Tennstedt/LPO and Jochum/Dresden. Both on EMI.
Bruckner Ninth by Giulini/VPO and again, Jochum / Dresden.
Beethoven Seventh by Tennstedt / NDR on EMI ;D
Beethoven Fifth and Sixth, by Kurt sanderling and Berlin So.
Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique by none other than Lenny Bernstein / NYPO!! ;D ;D
Brahms' German Requiem by Tennstedt / LPO & LPC.
All B's!! ;D ;D
Schubert's Unfinished by Giulini (coupled with M9.....you should know which one!)
That's pretty much my classical diet for now...........................Then let's move to my core: instrumental rock and progressive metal!
Dream Theater's Images And Words. Timeless album!
(http://www.progreviews.com/reviews/images/DT-IaW.jpg)
Dream Theater's latest album: Systematic Chaos
(http://www.dreamt.org/images/DREA_SC-COVER.jpg)
Dream Theater:
(http://www.budapestinfo.hu/noc/photos/Esemenynaptar/dreamtheater1.jpg)
Pink floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon, and Wish You were Here:
(http://thedarksideofoz.com/img/Pink_Floyd-Dark_Side_of_the_Moon-sm_LG.jpg)
(http://pink-floyd.ru/albums/wish/cover.jpg)
I play guitar myself, and they are my favorite players and my influences:
Eric Johnson
(http://www.prosoundcommunications.com/english/xotic/effects/musicians/images/eric_johnson.jpg)
Jeff beck:
(http://www.festival-guitare-patrimonio.com/images/artiste/jeff-beck.jpg)
-
Julia Fischer's SACD of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, RNO/Kreizberg - very good if a slightly unromantic performance.
Vadim Repin's Beethoven Violin Concerto, VPO/Muti. If you don't mind the traditional (i.e. slightly sedate) interpretation, this is very well done, especially by Muti. The best thing is the coupled Kreutzer sonata with Argerich, where both artists play superbly.
Chailly's Bruckner 2 - one of my very favourite Bruckner symphonies. Fine performance, in a grand style. Wakasugi's on Arte Nova is my favourite.
Tchetuev's second volume from his Beethoven Sonata cycle on Caro Mitis. Very good if not as excellent as his first SACD (op 10/3, Appassionata, Les Adieux). Superbly recorded.
-
Besides Mahler I've been listening to,
Wand/NDR/RCA Beethoven Symphonies
Wagner/Karajan/BPO/DG Wagner Ring cycle
Maazel/BPO/EMI Bruckner 7th
Muti/BPO/EMI Bruckner 4th
Bohm/VPO/DG Bruckner 7th
Barenboim/CSO/DG Bruckner 6th (it's coming!)
John,
-
"Vadim Repin's Beethoven Violin Concerto, VPO/Muti. If you don't mind the traditional (i.e. slightly sedate) interpretation, this is very well done, especially by Muti. The best thing is the coupled Kreutzer sonata with Argerich, where both artists play superbly"
I've heard this, and I think it's excellent! I've never enjoyed the Beethoven nearly so much.
Barry
-
Besides Vanka's Beethoven cycle, I've been listening to Quartetto Italiano's recordings of the late Beethoven quartets...always loved those recordings...especially the Quartet in Bb Opus.130.
Also, I wrote a small essay on a favorite bluesman who recorded in the 1920's:
(http://www.mustrad.org.uk/graphics/b_yodel3.jpg)
Tommy Johnson (c.1896-1956)
"He practically picked it up hisself. He made them songs up hisself and tuned'em up hisself, just air music."
"He just had rambling on his mind. When he stopped to work, he was as good a hand as you'd want to see. he'd do as much work as anybody. But when that notic struck him to hit the road, he didn't tell nobody nothing. He justhit the road. Look for him when you see him."
- Majer Johnson, brother of Tommy Johnson
Complete Recorded Works (1928-1929)
(http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/2163/johnsonco5.jpg)
Victor Recordings (tracks 1-8)
http://rs135gc.rapidshare.com/files/68108446/Victor_Recordings.rar
Paramount Recordings (tracks 9-17)
http://rs93tl.rapidshare.com/files/68099393/Paramount_Recordings.rar
I first heard Tommy Johnson in 1999 while I was living in Rochester, MN. These songs soundtracked life during the frozen Minnesota winter and provided hours of Mississippi company. His performances demanded my full attention and I listened to every word he sang. The timbre and phrasing of his vocals manifested mystery and humour, with apparently a more relaxed musical style in comparison with contemporaries Son House and Charlie Patton. His relaxed manner suggests one who quietly suffers his pain, and deeply reflects the ramification of addiction and loneliness. How frusterating to find a great man and artist, only to find there is hardly any deep biographical material to dive into, but I found it's all there in the songs, each a chapter from his life, edited by Tommy himself. And what he chooses to disclose revolves around his exploits with alcohol and women.
I also love his subtle guitar, which seems to tick away like a rusting Grandfather clock, persistant despite everything. In the Victor recordings Tommy is joined with Charlie McCoy, who plays the mandolin-like tremolos under Tommy's guitar. In the Paramount recordings we hear Johnson in a band setting on a few of the tracks (with the New Orleans Nehi Boys), as well as a unknown kazoo player on I Wonder To Myself, which is my favorite Johnson recording, featuring a solo guitar performance that has the most exciting acoustic rhythm guitar I've heard on record. Yes, there is alot of scratches on this 78, but the guitar somehow arises from the amber of time, and what we hear is golden.
Technically, Paramount didn't issue high quality 78's, and the records have deteriorated ever time, so the sound quality is not as good as the recordings done for Victor. Yet, this poor quality actually aids the inherent bleakness of the Paramount songs, especially Lonesome Home Blues (especially bleak when compared with the two versions done for Victor), Alcohol and Jake Blues, and the two untitled songs.
Cool Drink of Water Blues, Big Road Blues, and Bye Bye Blues are my favorite Victor recordings, but every Victor song is rich with story and instrumental picture conjuring...the landscape of Mississippi and his troubled mind and body ever present. The songs from this session are not as bleak as the paramount session, but like the later session the rhythm is ever ticking away in relaxed measure, taking all the time the song needs to state it's life and creed, evocative as a photo album or memory manifest as dream, as when Tommy sings of his wife in Maggie Campbell Blues:
Cryin', who did you know
Comin' down the road?
Comin' down the road
Umm, who does ya know
Comin' down the road?
Well, it look like Maggie, little bit
But she walks too, slow
Now, the sun is gonna shine
My back door ov'r the trees
My light due somedays
Ooo-ooo
Come your turn and
My light due someday
And the wind gon' change all
Blow my blues away
Now, CC rider
See what you done, done
See what you done, done
Umm-mmm
CC rider
See what you done, done
You done made me love you
Now you're through
Tryin'-a throw me down
Well, I'm gon' away, now
Won't be back 'till fall
Won't be back 'till fall
Well, I'm gon' away, now
Won't be back 'till fall
'Till I meet my good gal faror
Won't be back a'tol
Now, who that yonder
Comin' down the road?
Comin' down the road?
Umm-mmm
Who's that yonder
Comin' down the road?
Does it look like Maggie, a little bit
But she walks too, slow.
Umm-mm, goin' baby
Won't be back' till fall
Won't be back' till fall
I'm goin' away, long
I'll be back in fall
Well, I might meet my new gal
But I, I won't be back a'tol.
--Leo
-
I was on a tour of Shosty's 7th symphony over the past couple of weeks, including ones I liked from Lennie/CSO, Jarvi, Bychkov, Jansons I and II, Berglund, Caetani, and Masur, and a few I did not from Temirkanov, Gergiev, and Yablonksy.
I am going to see the Brahms Piano Cto No. 1 this weekend performed by Ax, Graf, and my hometown heroes the HSO. As such, I've been on a tour of this concerto, so far to include: Freire/Chailly, Arrau/Haitink, Buchbinder/Harnoncourt, and a new download from Tiberghien/Belohlavek/BBC SO (via eMusic). I'll probably listen to Ax/Haitink (or is it Levine?) on the way to the concert.
-
Just befor brief reply, I've sent a query to admin bit about returning with new email address.
I'm always buying secondhand LPs, tapes, even CDs, esp. of stuff I don't have already. So, I'm always listening to summay different.
Lately, Ravel orchestral.
Popular hits of the 40s, esp. Marie a la T, Dorsey.
Grand Entry Song of Great lake Indians
First ever (1913) recording of Beet. 5
Nice to be back
Still Ivor
-
"Grand Entry Song of Great lake Indians"
What's that?!? Sounds like it could be a number straight out of "Little Mary Sunshine".
Barry
-
I've been on a huge Vaughan Williams kick recently. I sometimes make this pronouncement to myself that his Nine are as great as Bruckner's and Dvorak's. His Ninth is under-rated, and weird. I'd love to hear it live someday. The finale is kinda chilling and beautiful, but not a farewell like Mahler's or Bruckner's Ninth. But it IS an ending. Those weird saxes coming out as those huge cresendos (sp?) tower over the orchestra is awesome.
For a long time, I had various interpretations by various conductors. Then I felt like I HAD to have one guy doing it, so I picked Haitink, and traded others in to used record stores. I've come to find some of my old picks were better, like Previn and the RPO in the Symphony No. 5, or Slatkin in others. Now, I'm off to discover and sometimes rediscover some versions I traded in.
-
"I sometimes make this pronouncement to myself that his (V-Ws') nine are as great as Bruckner's and Dvorak's. His Ninth is under-rated, and weird. I'd love to hear it live someday. The finale is kinda chilling and beautiful, but not a farewell like Mahler's or Bruckner's Ninth. But it IS an ending. Those weird saxes coming out as those huge cresendos (sp?) tower over the orchestra is awesome".
Yep; I agree with this entire paragraph. I think that V-Ws' nine are more consistant in quality than either Bruckner or Dvorak (Tony D's late ones are fantastic though). I also love his 9th - frankly, more than the Mahler 9th. Then again, I like the Bruckner 9th - sans conjectural finale - better than the Mahler 9th too. And even though we've all heard it twenty million times, I think it's extremely difficult to beat the Dvorak 9th. I like Mahler's TRUE 9th symphony more, which is "DLvdE". I also prefer the 10th; especially in the Carpenter or Samale/Mazzuca versions. That's just me.
Barry
-
"I sometimes make this pronouncement to myself that his (V-Ws') nine are as great as Bruckner's and Dvorak's. His Ninth is under-rated, and weird. I'd love to hear it live someday. The finale is kinda chilling and beautiful, but not a farewell like Mahler's or Bruckner's Ninth. But it IS an ending. Those weird saxes coming out as those huge cresendos (sp?) tower over the orchestra is awesome".
Yep; I agree with this entire paragraph. I think that V-Ws' nine are more consistant in quality than either Bruckner or Dvorak (Tony D's late ones are fantastic though). I also love his 9th - frankly, more than the Mahler 9th. Then again, I like the Bruckner 9th - sans conjectural finale - better than the Mahler 9th too. And even though we've all heard it twenty million times, I think it's extremely difficult to beat the Dvorak 9th. I like Mahler's TRUE 9th symphony more, which is "DLvdE". I also prefer the 10th; especially in the Carpenter or Samale/Mazzuca versions. That's just me.
Barry
Looks like I should explore Ralph Vaughn Williams! Back to the used LP store I go!!
--Leo
-
Speaking of Beethoven (who've I've been listening to again), here's alittle something I wrote for another forum (where folks are rather new to Beethoven):
Practically everyone knows the first movement of the 5th Symphony, at least the beginning bars. As the symphony unfolds, a grand journey from darkness to light, or from struggle to freedom is achieved in a direct manner that astonishes on practically every hearing. With the exception of Mozart’s late G minor Symphony, no other symphony is so driven and thematically compressed, with the famous four note “fate” motive inherent in almost every bar. Concise and lean, the first four notes sounded like a flippant joke to first audiences. Perhaps this is a kind of musical joke. After all, Beethoven's pupil Carl Czerny claimed the famous motto of the 5th Symphony derived from the call of a finch, yet as the music progresses, a demanding architecture unfolds, one-pointed and serious.
Depending on the performance or interpretation, this first movement can sound angry, defiant, heroic, terrifying or all these things and much more...a testament to Beethoven’s genius. I prefer the movement to sound profoundly angry. Not anger over a small frustration, but over a great affront to truth, or even over the deterioration of the body (Beethoven’s own illness and deafness comes to mind). There is a wonderful purifying quality to this “angry” and volatile music. Indeed the whole work proceeds like a session in a psychoanalyst’s office. From the initial anger of the first movement we hear a quieter reflection from the “patient” (perhaps discussing a dream or a recalled memory) during the second movement. This seems to be questioned by the psychoanalyst during the third movement, and an argument and hashing out between the patient and doctor ensues until we reach the finale, where revelation and healing is received and celebrated, even through a return to the dilemma just before the end. I imagine the psychoanalyst office to be bright and sunny, thanks to a large picture window over the patient. I also imagine the patient had to walk for miles, like Beethoven’s walks through the Austrian countryside, through bright, cold sunshine and piles of light snow to get to this bright office. The psychoanalyst would be a beautiful women, a women who appears in the patient’s dreams, causing dilemma and wonder for the patient during his search for truth.
Personally, I have always been entranced by the epic second movement, a music suggesting wandering in a grand landscape, very Schubertian. A military sounding fanfare interrupts the flow during the course of the argument, a hint of the triumph in the finale. The introspective woodwinds are a total contrast to the extrovert brass and timpani, a questioning over all that has appeared before, or perhaps resignation, and the soft wandering of the quieter sections foreshadows the pastoral pastures of the 6th symphony. The flutes in the second movement always brings to mind Beethoven’s so called Heiligenstadt Testament, written in a state of depression over his deafness and loneliness in 1802 in the town of Heiligenstadt, a country retreat about an hour away from Vienna. Here is an excerpt:
For my brothers Carl and Johann Beethoven
Oh you men who think or say that I am malevolent, stubborn, or misanthropic, how greatly do you wrong me. You do not know the secret cause which makes me seem that way to you. From childhood on, my heart and soul have been full of the tender feeling of goodwill, and I was even inclined to accomplish great things. But, think that for six years now I have been hopelessly afflicted, made worse by senseless physicians, from year to year deceived with hopes of improvement, finally compelled to face the prospect of a lasting malady (whose cure will take years or, perhaps, be impossible).
Though born with a fiery, active temperament, even susceptible to the diversions of society, I was soon compelled to isolate myself, to live life alone. If at times I tried to forget all this, oh, how harshly was I flung back by the doubly sad experience of my bad hearing. Yet it was impossible for me to say to people, "Speak Louder, shout, for I am deaf". Oh, how could I possibly admit an infirmity in the one sense which ought to be more perfect in me than others, a sense which I once possessed in the hightést perfection, a perfection such as few in my profession enjoy or ever have enjoyed. – Oh I cannot do it; therefore forgive me when you see me draw back when I would have gladly mingled with you.
My misfortune is doubly painful to me because I am bound to be misunderstood; for me there can be no relaxation with my fellow men, no refined conversations, no mutual exchange of ideas. I must live almost alone, like one who has been banished. I can mix with society only as much as true necessity demands. If I approach near to people a hot terror seizes upon me, and I fear being exposed to the danger that my condition might be noticed. Thus it has been during the last six months which I have spent in the country. By ordering me to spare my hearing as much as possible, my intelligent doctor almost fell in with my own present frame of mind, though sometimes I ran counter to it by yielding to my desire for companionship.
But what a humiliation for me when someone standing next to me heard a flute in the distance and I heard nothing, or someone standing next to me heard a shepherd singing and again I heard nothing. Such incidents drove me almost to despair; a little more of that and I would have ended my life. It was only my art that held me back. Oh, it seemed to me impossible to leave the world until I had forth all that I felt was within me. So I endured this wretched existence, truly wretched for so susceptible a body, which can be thrown by a sudden change from the best condition to the worst. Patience, they say, is what I must now choose for my guide, and I have done so - I hope my determination will remain firm to endure until it pleases the inexorable Parcae to break the thread. Perhaps I shall get better, perhaps not; I am ready. - Forced to become a philosopher already in my twenty-eight year, oh, it is not easy, and for the artist much more difficult than for anyone else. Divine One, thou seest my inmost soul thou knowest that therein dwells the love of mankind and the desire to do good. Oh, fellow men, when at some point you read this, consider then that you have done me injustice. Someone who has had misfortune may console himself to find a similar case to his, who despite all the limitations of Nature nevertheless did everything within his powers to become accepted among worthy artist and men.
The sound world of the 6th Symphony, the “Pastoral”, is completely the opposite. Where the 5th is concise, the 6th is leisurely. Beethoven titles the first movement an “awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the country.” As the symphony progresses we are treated to various vignettes of country existence. Even a storm appears to break up a celebration dance of pheasants, but the storm disperses quickly, replaced by the calm thanksgiving of the finale (the transition to the finale is among the most sublime of all symphonic literature). Despite the programmatic aspect of the work, the symphony is formally and structurally as sound as the 5th, just not as obvious.
Again, the highlight for me is the second movement, “by the Brook” as Beethoven titles it. In the second movement we walk along a brook, and hear various species of birds chirp over the running of a river. Here, Beethoven includes references to bird song, and even names the types of birds at one point in the score; nightingale (flute), quail (oboe), and cuckoo (clarinet). It is interesting to note how the motto of the 5th is subtly evoked between the quail and the cuckoo.
As musicologist Raymond Knapp reveals in his essay, A Tale of Two Symphonies: Converging Narratives of Divine Reconciliation in Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth, the 5th and 6th can be seen as a pair, not thematically, but in structure and concept. Raymond Knapp has shown how the outline, or structure of the 6th is essentially modeled upon the structure of the 5th. Using the rigorous structure of the 5th as a model may have helped prevent the programmatic aspect of the “pastoral” symphony from sounding like a series of separate vignettes. Conceptually, the 6th is similar to the 5th in terms of the introspective journey. Not a journey from darkness to light, as in the 5th, but a journey of reflection towards thanksgiving. That Beethoven could come up with two completely different musical worlds, even by using the same musical and structural devices for both works, is truly a wonder.
I uploaded the article for anyone interested on reading more on the similarities between these two symphonies:
A Tale of Two Symphonies: Converging Narratives of Divine Reconciliation in Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth
http://rs171tl.rapidshare.com/files/67164512/Beethovenarticle.pdf
I used to ponder these two symphonies during long walks along forests surrounding a community college in Rochester, MN. This small college (where I studied music) had a periodical called The Musical Quarterly, and I loved to walk to the college to look up articles on these works, as well and Mahler and Ives among others. The “nature” meditation of the Pastoral Symphony struck me as most profound and very funny...Beethoven writing “Cuckoo” over a bar of music in the score was just hilarious. I knew Beethoven took long hikes amongst the countryside to write music and get ideas, and even sing loudly while he sketched notes onto a pocket sketchbook, or just walk with his hands clasped behind his back. This image of him walking haunts me to this day...it is a powerful image of independence.
His fourth Piano Concerto, in G Major has a similar pastoral quality. The music is soft, gentle...it questions in a state of surrender. The main theme evokes the 5th symphony, turns the motto of the 5th inside out towards a quieter reflection. This piano concerto doesn’t feel like a journey towards a goal. The still-life meditation of the middle movement (strings and piano only) is surrounded by two landscape views outside Vienna, as heard in the allegro movements. The short central movement is the heart of the concerto. The music is almost operatic, proceeding like a recitative, except we never hear the aria that usually follows the recitative. As in Ives’s Unanswered Question, the strings never answer the piano’s interior questions...rather the answer is hidden by the question itself. I can’t help but remember a woman named Antonie Bretano (1780-1869), the women thought to be Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved”...a woman he loved but last saw in 1812.
(http://www.martinschlu.de/kulturgeschichte/klassik/img/brentano.jpg)
Antonie Brentano
Beethoven’s three letters to his Immortal Beloved were found after his death in 1827. Found in a drawer in his desk, it is not known if these letters were actually sent, or returned by the addressee. Here are his three letters to her:
(The first letter)
July 6, in the morning
My angel, my all, my very self - Only a few words today and at that with pencil (with yours) - Not till tomorrow will my lodgings be definitely determined upon - what a useless waste of time - Why this deep sorrow when necessity speaks - can our love endure except through sacrifices, through not demanding everything from one another; can you change the fact that you are not wholly mine, I not wholly thine - Oh God, look out into the beauties of nature and comfort your heart with that which must be - Love demands everything and that very justly - thus it is to me with you, and to your with me. But you forget so easily that I must live for me and for you; if we were wholly united you would feel the pain of it as little as I - My journey was a fearful one; I did not reach here until 4 o'clock yesterday morning. Lacking horses the post-coach chose another route, but what an awful one; at the stage before the last I was warned not to travel at night; I was made fearful of a forest, but that only made me the more eager - and I was wrong. The coach must needs break down on the wretched road, a bottomless mud road. Without such postilions as I had with me I should have remained stuck in the road. Esterhazy, traveling the usual road here, had the same fate with eight horses that I had with four - Yet I got some pleasure out of it, as I always do when I successfully overcome difficulties - Now a quick change to things internal from things external. We shall surely see each other soon; moreover, today I cannot share with you the thoughts I have had during these last few days touching my own life - If our hearts were always close together, I would have none of these. My heart is full of so many things to say to you - ah - there are moments when I feel that speech amounts to nothing at all - Cheer up - remain my true, my only treasure, my all as I am yours. The gods must send us the rest, what for us must and shall be -
Your faithful LUDWIG.
(The second letter)
Evening, Monday, July 6
You are suffering, my dearest creature - only now have I learned that letters must be posted very early in the morning on Mondays to Thursdays - the only days on which the mail-coach goes from here to K. - You are suffering - Ah, wherever I am, there you are also - I will arrange it with you and me that I can live with you. What a life!!! thus!!! without you - pursued by the goodness of mankind hither and thither - which I as little want to deserve as I deserve it - Humility of man towards man - it pains me - and when I consider myself in relation to the universe, what am I and what is He - whom we call the greatest - and yet - herein lies the divine in man - I weep when I reflect that you will probably not receive the first report from me until Saturday - Much as you love me - I love you more - But do not ever conceal yourself from me - good night - As I am taking the baths I must go to bed - Oh God - so near! so far! Is not our love truly a heavenly structure, and also as firm as the vault of heaven?
(The third letter)
Good morning, on July 7
Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us - I can live only wholly with you or not at all - Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits - Yes, unhappily it must be so - You will be the more contained since you know my fidelity to you. No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves. And yet my life in V is now a wretched life - Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men - At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our connection? My angel, I have just been told that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once - Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together - Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell. Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.
ever thine
ever mine
ever ours
-
"I sometimes make this pronouncement to myself that his (V-Ws') nine are as great as Bruckner's and Dvorak's. His Ninth is under-rated, and weird. I'd love to hear it live someday. The finale is kinda chilling and beautiful, but not a farewell like Mahler's or Bruckner's Ninth. But it IS an ending. Those weird saxes coming out as those huge cresendos (sp?) tower over the orchestra is awesome".
Yep; I agree with this entire paragraph. I think that V-Ws' nine are more consistant in quality than either Bruckner or Dvorak (Tony D's late ones are fantastic though). I also love his 9th - frankly, more than the Mahler 9th. Then again, I like the Bruckner 9th - sans conjectural finale - better than the Mahler 9th too. And even though we've all heard it twenty million times, I think it's extremely difficult to beat the Dvorak 9th. I like Mahler's TRUE 9th symphony more, which is "DLvdE". I also prefer the 10th; especially in the Carpenter or Samale/Mazzuca versions. That's just me.
Barry
As much as I love Shostakovich, I'd probably rank RVW's Nine as being as fine as his, too. Mind you, that isn't meant as a slight to old Dmitri. I think about the time when I was young and clueless, and I was driving around in my car when I tuned into a Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra concert that was rebroadcast. I was blown away by the mysterious work I was listening to which seemed so 20th Century, and so powerful. It ended up being the RVW Symphony No. 6 led by Andrew Davis during a guest appearance. So oddly enough, I have this thought that Vaughan Williams may be more daring than we generally want to believe, only because we've been fed waaaay too many Tallis and Greensleeves Fantasias.
Barry, like you, I think RVW's symphonies are more consistent in quality. The only one I don't quite "get" although I love many moments of it is the Sea Symphony. But I'm trying.
So what is your favorite version of the RVW Ninth? I like Boult's first one on Everest, and the Slatkin, quite a bit.
-
"I sometimes make this pronouncement to myself that his (V-Ws') nine are as great as Bruckner's and Dvorak's. His Ninth is under-rated, and weird. I'd love to hear it live someday. The finale is kinda chilling and beautiful, but not a farewell like Mahler's or Bruckner's Ninth. But it IS an ending. Those weird saxes coming out as those huge cresendos (sp?) tower over the orchestra is awesome".
Yep; I agree with this entire paragraph. I think that V-Ws' nine are more consistant in quality than either Bruckner or Dvorak (Tony D's late ones are fantastic though). I also love his 9th - frankly, more than the Mahler 9th. Then again, I like the Bruckner 9th - sans conjectural finale - better than the Mahler 9th too. And even though we've all heard it twenty million times, I think it's extremely difficult to beat the Dvorak 9th. I like Mahler's TRUE 9th symphony more, which is "DLvdE". I also prefer the 10th; especially in the Carpenter or Samale/Mazzuca versions. That's just me.
Barry
Looks like I should explore Ralph Vaughn Williams! Back to the used LP store I go!!
--Leo
Enjoy! Let us know if you like what you discover.
-
Along with Mr. Sbugala above, I've been (re)exploring the Vaughan Williams symphonies, finding much to enjoy this time around. I've been listening particularly to 4 and 6, from sets by Previn and Boult (both the stereo EMIs and the mono Deccas). The Sinfonia Antartica has always been a guilty pleasure.
Another symphonist I've come back to periodically is Malcolm Arnold, always feeling that there was something there I just wasn't getting. This time was the charm; I find myself utterly captivated by his sound-world and emotional palette. Another set of nine symphonies to explore! He was, of course, a big Mahler fan, which is all to the good.
Anybody here have any luck with Alan Pettersson? He's been recommended to me by a number of folks I respect, but so far he remains a closed book. I've tried 3, 7 and 11.
I've also been listening to Bruckner 9 quite a bit, preparing for a performance by the Tampa orchestra (quite a fine band, currently led by Kurt Sanderling's son, Stefan). In B9, I currently favor Wand/Berlin, Skrowaczewski/both (very different) recordings, and Giulini/Vienna (whose intensity I treasure, but who comes perilously close to losing focus in spots due to uncomfortably slow tempos).
James Meckley
-
"So what is your favorite version of the RVW Ninth? I like Boult's first one on Everest, and the Slatkin, quite a bit. "
Those are exactly the two that I like - a lot.
Barry
-
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/312YZK528SL._SS500_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61HMD35Q0VL._SS500_.jpg)
-
Barry, the Great Lakes thing.
I have an audio tape called "Honor (sic) The Earth Powwow. Songs of the Great Lakes Indians"
It was recorded deep in a Wisconsin forest in 1990 where a few tribes like the Winnebagos met for a powwow. The first track, Grand Entry Song, is sung by the Little Otter Singers. It sounds halfway between talking and singing and made me think that's how music and singing might have begun; when someone realised that speech could begin to take wing.
Picked it up in a charity shop as i Had no idea what it might sound like.
My favourite Vaughan Williams performance is V-W himself doing his 4th. Magnificent.
Ivor
-
I've been on a huge Vaughan Williams kick recently. I sometimes make this pronouncement to myself that his Nine are as great as Bruckner's and Dvorak's. His Ninth is under-rated, and weird. I'd love to hear it live someday. The finale is kinda chilling and beautiful, but not a farewell like Mahler's or Bruckner's Ninth. But it IS an ending. Those weird saxes coming out as those huge cresendos (sp?) tower over the orchestra is awesome.
For a long time, I had various interpretations by various conductors. Then I felt like I HAD to have one guy doing it, so I picked Haitink, and traded others in to used record stores. I've come to find some of my old picks were better, like Previn and the RPO in the Symphony No. 5, or Slatkin in others. Now, I'm off to discover and sometimes rediscover some versions I traded in.
His 5th symphony is equally beautiful, full of nostalgia and high spirits. Great music indeed.
John,
-
I've been on a huge Vaughan Williams kick recently. I sometimes make this pronouncement to myself that his Nine are as great as Bruckner's and Dvorak's. His Ninth is under-rated, and weird. I'd love to hear it live someday. The finale is kinda chilling and beautiful, but not a farewell like Mahler's or Bruckner's Ninth. But it IS an ending. Those weird saxes coming out as those huge cresendos (sp?) tower over the orchestra is awesome.
For a long time, I had various interpretations by various conductors. Then I felt like I HAD to have one guy doing it, so I picked Haitink, and traded others in to used record stores. I've come to find some of my old picks were better, like Previn and the RPO in the Symphony No. 5, or Slatkin in others. Now, I'm off to discover and sometimes rediscover some versions I traded in.
His 5th symphony is equally beautiful, full of nostalgia and high spirits. Great music indeed.
John,
Agreed. I was musing to a friend that Vaughan Williams responded to war(s) just like Shostakovich did, just in different ways.
-
Just overheard Tomita's electronic take on Rictures from an Exhibition. (Nearly tore a ligament typing that.
It's quite something.
Ivor
-
Along with Mr. Sbugala above, I've been (re)exploring the Vaughan Williams symphonies, finding much to enjoy this time around. I've been listening particularly to 4 and 6, from sets by Previn and Boult (both the stereo EMIs and the mono Deccas). The Sinfonia Antartica has always been a guilty pleasure.
Another symphonist I've come back to periodically is Malcolm Arnold, always feeling that there was something there I just wasn't getting. This time was the charm; I find myself utterly captivated by his sound-world and emotional palette. Another set of nine symphonies to explore! He was, of course, a big Mahler fan, which is all to the good.
Anybody here have any luck with Alan Pettersson? He's been recommended to me by a number of folks I respect, but so far he remains a closed book. I've tried 3, 7 and 11.
I've also been listening to Bruckner 9 quite a bit, preparing for a performance by the Tampa orchestra (quite a fine band, currently led by Kurt Sanderling's son, Stefan). In B9, I currently favor Wand/Berlin, Skrowaczewski/both (very different) recordings, and Giulini/Vienna (whose intensity I treasure, but who comes perilously close to losing focus in spots due to uncomfortably slow tempos).
James Meckley
I have the Naxos Arnold cycle, and I think it's pretty darn good. I feel like I should know it better than I do. I've also heard some good Alwyn and Rubbra symphonies. Once in awhile, I get unorthodox thoughts that they're better symphonists than Elgar. Or maybe I generally like them better than Elgar's symphonies, whatever the quality.
Pettersson is an acquired taste. It's been years since I've put one one. I have Symphony No. 8 with Baltimore on DG. It starts off good, but I can never bring myself to play the other side.
The Bruckner 9th is one of my favorites, too. Like Barry, I enjoy it more than the Mahler 9th, (which I still love). Ironically, I have this feeling it's more visionary than the M9. I love how Bruckner "steals" the RVW Tallis Fantasia sound in the last movement years before RVW even wrote it.
Cool stuff.
-
"It was recorded deep in a Wisconsin forest in 1990 where a few tribes like the Winnebagos met for a powwow" . .
You mean like this? ;) :
(http://www.lamesarv.com/Portals/37/showroom/winnebagopage1.jpg)
-
So thaaaaaaaat's how they travel. :o
Ivor
-
These are currently spinning:
Still sounding magnificent:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31CP9T73C8L._AA115_.jpg)
Keep coming back to this one:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21fDKJ-6UTL._AA115_.jpg)
Fantastic: The oboe in theopening in the 3d part comes out of nowhere:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21-5QjLSMYL._AA115_.jpg)
Excellent partita transcription by Saito and ver good BWV 552 transcription by Schoenberg:
(http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/large_images/360/60612360.jpg)
Rgrds,
Phaedrus
-
Still all kinds of stuff. latley, a side of songs by Peter Warlock, the second half of Messiah under Harry Chritophers. Very fleet-footed.
At the moment, Hilding Rosenberg@s 3rd Symphony, from his pre-serial phase. very attractive; ocassionally bit Sibelian.
Earlier on, beethoven 7 with Mravinsky, to celebrate the big man's 237th. A hell of a lot of candles. brilliant performance. (I can do the performance bit when I know the piece a little. I mean, a lot.)
Ivor
-
I've really been groovin' on Kenny Dorham's "Afro Cuban" CD resissue on Bluenote. What a line-up! Hank Mobely is on tenor; J.J. Johnson on slide trombone; Carlos "Patato" Valdes on congas; Horace Silver on piano; Art Blakey on drums, and Oscar Pettiford on the double string bass. And, of course, Kenny Dorham's smooth, lyrical, yet groovin' trumpet. There's also the occassional baritone sax (player's name escapes me right now).
(http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:0-yUTqMZrEJJ-M:http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/s507063.jpg)
-
I've been listening to some Jazz too...Miles Davis and his second Quintet at the Plugged Nickel (Complete set)...really fantastic, a real universe of beauty covered at these shows.
--Leo
-
Just overheard Tomita's electronic take on Rictures from an Exhibition. (Nearly tore a ligament typing that.
It's quite something.
Ivor, if you get the chance, try Tomitas' 'Ravel' album. He does some brilliant interpretations of Ma Mere l'oye suite and Daphnis et Chloe suite 2 as well as a lovely take on "Pavane pour une enfant defunte". Also you must hear his version of Stravinsky's 'Firebird Suite'.
-
(http://www.douban.com/lpic/s1798930.jpg)
Yo Yo Ma’s second recording of these Suites (on Sony) is perhaps the finest performance of these Suites I have come across. And I have only come across this CD set during my time out of town, seemingly out of nowhere, during a time of stress and physical discomfort.
During the past week I have been vacationing with my family in Orlando, Florida at the world famous Walt Disney World with my parents, my sister and her new husband, and my brother, his wife and their three kids, my two nieces and nephew.
It’s hard to get sick when trying to visit family you hardly get to visit, while being out of town and etc…but first I got motion sickness from a ride called Mission: Space lasting two days, and finally got a nasty cold during the course of the trip…nothing terrible of course, just inconvenient and disheartening.
But one morning, while waiting for a bus at Fort Wilderness Campground, my sister-in-law handed over her Mp3 player and played me the Prelude to Bach’s 1st Cello Suite in G Major, as played by Yo Yo Ma, and for the few minutes the Prelude lasted I received the jolt of “medicine” to keep me going, an eye opener, a flash of fresh, pure air to rejuvenate the spirit. I played this little Prelude over an over again in my mind until the trip was over, and finally today found a used set.
Essentially each movement is a type of dance, but what Bach does with these dance forms is truly profound...from the most extrovert forms of dance we are treated to the most intimate of conversations and considerations of life including love, or perhaps God and spirit, and human needs are reflected as well, including emotions and even mathematics. With only one cello it appears nothing is not covered, including earth, hell and heaven.
The photo below not only seems to capture the essence of Yo Yo Ma and what his interpretations personify (for me at least), but also the experience of these solo works for cello:
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7205/mabachdt6.jpg)
As you all know these works are played by a solitary instrumentalist, and therefore when heard, our own loneliness of joy, sorrow or indifference is highlighted and also present on stage, or in a room, or inside an Mp3 player.
--Leo
-
While I'm not a huge fan of the Cello Suites (endless hours of cow moooing sounds!), I do agree that his second set is FAR better than his first one.
I really do feel that these suites there are far better works when transposed for the smaller F tuba, as any tuba can provide far greater dynamic range than any cello possibly could. But I think that they really need to be arranged for violin, violin, cello (all with mutes), Eb clarinet, flute, alto flute, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, horn, glockenpiel, xylophone, celeste, harmonium (chamber organ), and tam-tam.
Barry
-
Since my wife is a cellist, we have many recordings of the Bach suites for cello solo -- 19 the last time I counted -- and have heard a dozen more. Yo-Yo Ma is (to me) an engaging entertainer, a great cultural ambassador, and a good (but not great) musician. His video/art sets on DVD that pair music from the cello suites with performing arts (called "Inspired by Bach") is a creative and enjoyable artistic achievement. And I was mighty pleased to have met him when he played at the 50th anniversary gala of our regional symphony.
However, all that said, none of his recordings of any cello music achieves the top tier. In that very competitive arena of the Bach suites, my top choices would be Starker on MLP and Janigro.
As for my listening beyond Mahler -- well, almost all of my listening is beyond Mahler. This week, I've been enjoying the symphonies of Gernsheim, especially the first. These symphonies are solidly in the romantic tradition, very deeply indebted to Brahms (he was a contemporary of Brahms).
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VY4JAFZ1L._AA240_.jpg)
My favorite Myaskovsky these days is the stunning 25th, which is perhaps, beginning to end, the most beautiful symphony ever written, and right up there with Ralph Vaughan Williams "Pastoral" on my pleasure-meter. Where RVW is exotic (you've heard this music ripped off for every movie ever made involving Egypt), Myaskovsky is melancholy, with one beautiful melody after another throughout.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5111DKR3DWL._AA240_.jpg)
I also pulled out some old LPs by the group Oregon, featuring classical/jazz guitarist Ralph Towner, oboe, tabla, double bass, violin, etc. The unique soundscape and music of those guys is (to me) rather like a 21st century version of chamber ensemble, and it holds up very well even now, sounding modern and innovative, 3 decades since I first ran across them. Most of their releases are available on CD, but I still prefer the sound of LP.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419ctNkUoIL._AA240_.jpg)
And then for fun, it's Zucchero. This guy has been a superstar in Europe for decades, but is largely unknown in the U.S. His DVD "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" is a parade of stars (including Clapton, and the DVD also features videos with Pavarotti, Miles Davis, and Stevie Ray Vaughan), playing hit after hit from his vast and stylistically diverse repertoire.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51S%2BZgJF7-L._AA240_.jpg)
On the schedule for this weekend is a viewing of the DVD of Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame (Queen of Spades). I've never seen it or even heard any of the music from it so far as I'm aware, but my trusted friends of opera tell me that it is excellent.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/411F9FDACYL._AA240_.jpg)
-
I'm not terribly familiar with Zucchero, but I've been an admirer of Oregon (the band, not the state) for several decades. Great stuff.
-
I'm not terribly familiar with Zucchero ...
I suppose I should warn .... Most Zucchero DVDs are in PAL format, which will not play on a vanilla U.S. DVD player. However, I have seen the All Regions NTSC format on Ebay, available from Canada, so I'm hoping it will show up in the U.S. soon.
-
I have never hear of him...thanks for the heads up! Great post above Amphissa...I look forward to checking out your top recommends for the suites...how awesome it must be to be married to a cellist too.
--Todd
-
Currently, Roy Eldridge/Art tatum LP.
Ivor
-
My wife got me the Zinman M3, and Hickox's Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5 with the LSO. I love both. The VW 5th is a superb recording. I wanted to get it, but I was a little skeptical because I couldn't find a review on it from this side of the Atlantic. I sometimes wince when Gramophone or another British publication goes too crazy over a recording. This one seems worthy of the praise, and I've since found other sources that back up the Brits and my critical assessment.
-
Yes, Hickox/LSO/Chandos VW5th is a beautiful recording of this beautiful masterpiece. But others seem to favor two recordings by Previn - RCA & Telarc, so I will venture the Telarc recording soon. I LOVE VW7th and 9th as well, which are, IMO, similar to each other. The Ninth is not an easy piece on the listener's side; bold, enigmatic, and thematically too complicated. But it is a symphony that will reward you enormously upon repeated hearing. I have Thomson/LSO/Chandos that I adore so much.
John,
-
Last weekend, I saw pianist Stephen Hough perform with the Houston Symphony (Rachmaninov's 1st Piano Cto). I have been on a Stephen Hough binge ever since, listening to his commercial performances of the Rachmaninov, Saint Saens, and Hummel piano concertos, as well as his Spanish (solo) album. I REALLY like Stephen Hough, and am forgiving him for wearing red Wizard of Oz shoes at his performance. ;)
Now if only Hyperion would only let him re-record the Brahms concertos, which he recorded too early in his career for Chandos -- and which may be the dullest versions on disc. I know from a recent live radio rip that he has rethought his approach to Brahms.
I've also spun the new SACD of Brahms' Symphonies 2-3 by Janowski/Pittsburgh a few times -- I love it!
-
hey Scott, you broked the looooong silence of the board ;)
Thank you!
John,
-
John:
The RCA Previn VM5 is excellent. Just got the Japanse K2 remaster. Vastly better than the domestic 1980s? masterings which are grey sounding and bright.
Been on a British kick lately.
VM 1-3,5
Boult cond. Butterworth etc. (Lyrita)
Ravel D&C suite 2, Mother Goose suite
Bruckner 4 (Exton SACD)
Hindemith Mathis der Maler, Schwanendreher--some of my favs!
Michael
-
For the last few days I have been listening to two different recordings of Smetana's music.
The music on the first CD was recorded in 1937 and in 1945 it features the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by a very young Rafael Kubelik. The 1937 recording features two poems from the Ma Vlast symphony. Despite the obvious deficiencies in the recording the music is full of vitality and colour:
(http://www.audaud.com/audaud/JUL-AUG02/REISSUES/Kubelik.jpg)
The second CD has a much older Kubelik from the 1990 recording of the full cycle of Ma Vlast poems again he is conducting the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. It was recorded at the opening concert of the Prague Spring Festival. This is one of my favourite CDs.
(http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics/vlast-kubelik-2.jpg)
-
I also pulled out some old LPs by the group Oregon, featuring classical/jazz guitarist Ralph Towner, oboe, tabla, double bass, violin, etc. The unique soundscape and music of those guys is (to me) rather like a 21st century version of chamber ensemble, and it holds up very well even now, sounding modern and innovative, 3 decades since I first ran across them. Most of their releases are available on CD, but I still prefer the sound of LP.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/419ctNkUoIL._AA240_.jpg)
I don't have that LP, my favourite Oregon recording is "Out of the Woods", it's special
-
I know that I've heard "Out Of The Woods", but I just can't remember much about it know. That was a long time ago. I don't know Kubelik's 1937 "Ma Vlast", but I certainly like the 1990 about the best of any.
I listen to a fair amount of 1950's jazz. I like a lot of the classic Bluenote reissues, as well as 50's/60's west coast stuff. I find that I lose interest in the Art Blakey stuff once Freddy Hubbard and Wayne Shorter arrive on the scene. Wayne Shorter is a great guy - still around - but I'm not crazy about his playing. Favorite trumpet players include Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Clifford Brown (not the most beautiful sound, but great player), and Jack Sheldon (west coast, and still around). Favorite tenor players include Hank Mobely, Dexter Gordon, Benny Golson, Trane (when he's being tonal and half-way nice), Teddy Edwards (west coast), Plas Johnson (west coast). Actually, I like the tenor sax very much. I'm not a big fan of the alto sax except for Bud Shank (west coast), Paul Desmond, Art Pepper (west coast, mostly), Jackie McClean - maybe one or two others. For me, Phil Woods is too technical and perfect sounding (also a tad loud), and Canonball borders on the obnoxious (that's just me).
I love Kenny Dorham. He was not a strong trumpet player from a technical sense. But I love his choice of tunes on his records, and I love the very musical solos that he takes. I actually think that there's a bit of a Kenny Dorham revival going on right now. He got overlooked for years, partly because the drummer, Max Roach, was ticked off when Sonny Rollins (seriously, not one of my very favorites) brought him in to replace Clifford Brown, after Brownie had died suddenly in an auto accident. It is fair to say that Clifford Brown was better suited to Max Roach's hard driven and busy sounding playing.
-
Sibelius Symphony # 5 with Vanska and the Lahti SO on BIS. Great performance. The original version is also included on the disc, but I prefer the later one in all cases.
-
Nice revival of an ancient (on the net things get old in 48 hrs) thread; I take this as a licence to fill in on a few spintime favorites of late:
By force of necessity (my 4-mth old son apparently loves the alto), the master improviser:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DMX5ZG6EL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Talking about improvising, this guy is almost unreal; it's just stunning that this stuff is created on the spot, on a nanosecond decision-making basis (and I wonder how many of the classical musicians have a technique anwhere nearly as good as his!):
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510A5H9B13L._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Another kiddie favorite that I, too, dig (my vocal jazz album of the year nominee):
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41zxJOJ2jXL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
But when the boy goes out for a walk with his mom, I've lately been putting on this, to air the room:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CJ0SJXXKL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Otherwise, I'm exploring some new (for me) Takemitsu:
(http://img.hmv.co.jp/image/jacket/400/12/9/1/065.jpg)
...and this fabulous new recording of Nono's magnum opus:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41IzGPRK3sL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
It’s a really good year for new music lovers: this superb new Lachenmann recording may be a bit harder than usual to get (it’s on one of these new orchestra-run labels, by the Ensemble Modern) but it’s certainly more than worth looking up, content- and engineering-wise:
(http://www.ensemble-modern.com/cds_pix/lachenmann_concertini.jpg)
I'm also enjoying some shimmering new works by my countryman, just for summer fun:
(http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/9d/9a/33e181b0c8a0353684949110._AA240_.L.jpg)
And I recently reacquired an old favorite in the pleasant-listening category (the Prokofiev):
(http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/d3/f9/f2a0828fd7a0d22736f12110.L.jpg)
...plus the two latest Mozart cto discs by Pollini -- simply peerless musicianship:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51k0by59mIL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51f78FWmbEL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
...but at nighttime I’ve been getting my doses of guilty pleasure gleaned from this one (the Tchaikovsky andante is quite amazingly done, and it’s Abbado’s only Shosty on record AFAIK):
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515wESitDIL._SS400_.jpg)
And if that won't keep me awake long enough (what with these permanent parental sleep deficits), this jolt never fails (the creepiest version of the "Night on the Bare Mountain" existing, with the voices):
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IDoCF10dL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
That's most of the most recent, I think. Every morning we start the day with some Bach, usually the "48" by Glenn Gould or Sviatoslav Richter, but as of late it's been either one of these:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21yUS6Jx8XL._SL500_AA180_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51U1vOeTwjL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Keeps the mind fresh, sentiments clear, and the spirit humble.
PT
-
Folks in the U.S. have had a tough time finding anything with Lifschitz. Next time, I'll recommend that they look for the Bach disc on-line.
Barry
-
Folks in the U.S. have had a tough time finding anything with Lifschitz.
Palexa has issued several recordings by Lifschitz, and IIRC they are next door to you guys (in Canada), which is how I found one of the discs I was after (at amazon.ca). -PT
-
I have been "swimming" in the lush, but dark toned sounds of Dennis Wilson's only solo release...Pacific Ocean Blue. Just this month the recording (with outtakes and previously unreleased songs from his unfinished "Bambu" album) was re-released on CD and a special 3 LP vinyl set.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Rwx%2B8sSAL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Yes, this is the drummer of the Beach Boys, but somehow, he became a songwriter and producer in his own right, as witnessed by his work with the Beach Boys, and in this solo release from 1977.
Dennis' music took time for me to appreciate...at least his BB work did...by the time I first heard Pacific Ocean Blue some years ago, I was somewhat prepared by hearing his songs on the Beach Boys "LA Light" album, and some of his very early work on the Beach Boys' "20/20" and "Sunflower" albums. I think of his songs as tone poems...a heavy rock version of Liszt or Tchaikovsy's meandering romantic vast canvases...his work also sounds through-composed, with loose song structures.
As much as I love the "Pacific Ocean Blue" songs, I have been most impressed with the "Bambu" sessions, especially the brooding ballads with slow, funeral tempos...very interesting chord changes thoughout...."end of tether" singing...subject matter mostly revolves around sentimental songs about women, which I can dig big time (seems to be a Wilson brother trait).
The productions speak of their time....deep into the late 70's, but at the same time I've heard nothing like this. The arrangements are appropiately quite large to match the "need" or romanticism of the subject matter (love or sadness over a lady).
As mentioned above, the structures of the songs are also appropiately through-composed...like an improvisation never developed into a full song, and orchestrated in the midst of inspiration rather than careful planning. Therefore, the "seams" show, and thats what I love about it.
The vinyl set is an incredible listening experience. I have yet to do an A/B comparison with the CD, but it appears the exquisite sound is wider in dynamic range, and the sound picture is deeper overall...I was stunned, and listened almost through the whole 3 LP set in one sitting. The warmth and clarity of the sound is absolutely stunning. The dark tones are deep and resonant, rounded and full. The highs are clear, but welcoming to the ear, no sound of stress or fatigue on the ear. After listening I felt as if my ear had just soaked in a warm nourishing bath. It's a grand experience in every way...an epic journey.
And the packaging is grand in every way, with much care in the design and the extra 2 page photo spread booklet (with POP lyrics on the back page) is a nice touch. Dennis's "thank note" is on a separate card. The vinyl is a deep blue...just beautiful.
--Todd
-
Erin Bode, the Little Garden:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41eOr8aWQFL._SS500_.jpg)
It may not be available, except through her website. She had a cd release party, and a friend picked up her album for me. I don't know if she has a national following, but I like her music. It's a great album. I guess she's jazz. Whatever she sings, I like her. :D