What Classical Music Are You Listening To Tonight?

[cma29]

Originally Posted by cma29

I'm going to follow Bart's example by listening to a multi-disc box set systematically...

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-32 (Complete)
Paul Lewis (piano)

Disc 7 of 10 includes the ‘Moonlight'. The more I listen the more I marvel at the consistent excellence of the set.

No. 12 in A flat major, Op. 26 'March Funebre'
No. 13 in E flat major, Op. 27 No. 1 'Quasi una fantasia'
No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 ‘Moonlight'

Demonstration-quality recorded sound.

[cma29]

Originally Posted by cma29

Here is what I'm enjoying tonight: Rameau: Pièces de clavecin en concerts, Baroque Nouveau, Charles Sherman, Anthony Martin, Stephen Schultz, Josh Lee



First, the music on this recording is terrific. For an ensemble of 4 instruments it sounds rich and full. As Gramophone says in its 2012 Classical Music Guide, "Rameau's music possesses an immediacy that makes it accessible today."

Second, the recorded sound is the best I have heard of a harpsichord and a chamber ensemble. It's a demonstration disc. Congratulations to the folks at Reference Recordings!

I love this recording. Good for relaxation this morning while keeping an eye on stock market volatility (PD: market closed +4% ).

[bart]

Good music being played here!

Julian, we miss you, but I know you're well.

I'm playing simple but at the same time ingenious music:



Disc 3: Sonatas 7-8-9

All composed in 1777.
There are already some touching pieces here.

[ehoove]

Listening to Mono Magnificence!
Tchaikovsky
Concerto No. 1
Van Cliburn
Kiril Kondrashin Conducting

Wonderful Shaded dog RCA Victor Mono LM-2252
The mono pressing only contains the Tchaikovsky.

Regards,
Jim

[ehoove]

Continuing in Mono

Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 2
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult Conducting

Wonderfully played and very dynamic!

RCA Victor Shaded dog LM-2106

Regards,
Jim

[Toccata]

[Kal Rubinson]

Gee whiz! I was raised with that recording. I remember loving it but I didn't know anything back then.

[cma29]

Starting today with...

Couperin, F: Apothéoses
Amandine Beyer (violin)
Gli incogniti



Excellent baroque French music played with panache by Amandine Beyer and her Gli incogniti band. A reinvigorating way to start things off. The recording is suitably immediate and vivid.

Here is some background:

When he published his two 'Apothéoses' in memory of Corelli and Lully in 1724-25, François Couperin was asserting his desire to promote a meeting of the French and Italian styles albeit from a very Gallic point of view. The idea was to convince the French Muses that henceforth one could say sonade and cantade, ie in their own language, a strategy already pursued in the much earlier 'La Sultane' and 'La Superbe'. Far from blindly imitating his idols, Couperin takes inspiration from their styles and adapts them to his own. The result is a delight for all to share with the musicians of Gli incogniti and Amandine Beyer, whose first recording for harmonia mundi this is. The ensemble founded by Amandine Beyer in 2006 takes its name from the Accademia degli Incogniti, a musical society active in Venice in the 1630s. The choice of name was motivated by the group’s taste for the unknown in all its forms, whether this involves experimentation with sonorities, exploration of new repertory, or rediscovery of the ‘classics’. The primary aim of its approach founded on the pleasure of a ‘union of tastes’ (the goûts réunis dear to François Couperin), achieved through collective work, is to convey to its listeners a committed and cohesive vision of the music it tackles.

[cma29]

This...

Bach, J S:
Goldberg Variations, BWV988
Sarabanda con partite, BWV 990
Aria Variata in A minor, BWV989 ‘alla Maniera Italiana'
Matthew Halls (harpsichord)



...is one of the best recordings of a harpsichord I've heard. Vivid, detailed and atmospheric. Oh yeah, the music is excellent too.

[chessman]

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection"

Vienna Philharmonic - Zubin Mehta, conducting



Mahler is a taste that I am still working to acquire. Interestingly, as my system quality has improved, I find myself liking Mahler more.