What Classical Music Are You Listening To Tonight?

[jimtranr]

Originally Posted by bart

Luckily you're both young at heart Jim and Kal!

And that sentiment prompted me to put on Sergei Prokofiev's Seventh, sometimes called "Children's Symphony".



Fortunately, Gaffigan concludes it with its original ending, not the frequently-performed, tacked-on "happy" measures that were appended in a bid to win the Stalin Prize--and in the process ruin the thrust and flow of the final movement.

[bart]

Originally Posted by jimtranr

And that sentiment prompted me to put on Sergei Prokofiev's Seventh, sometimes called "Children's Symphony".



Fortunately, Gaffigan concludes it with its original ending, not the frequently-performed, tacked-on "happy" measures that were appended in a bid to win the Stalin Prize--and in the process ruin the thrust and flow of the final movement.

Jim, I will try that recording.
It was recorded and engineered by Bert van der Wolf and Brendon Heinst, 2 people I've met.
My wife and I visited Bert's studio last year, and could appreciate his love for the music.
Brendon now has his own label (trptk) and does a fantastic job: brilliant recordings and music off the beaten track.

[bart]

Pēteris Vasks - Viola Concerto & Symphony No. 1 "Voices"
Sinfonietta Rīga, Maxim Rysanov
Qobuz 24/96




Quite gripping works.
I already owned works from this composer, and he's growing on me.

Originally a double bass player, Pēteris Vasks has a special fondness for the string family, and has composed numerous works for string ensembles of various sizes. Some of his most widely performed works are for string orchestra, among them Musica dolorosa and the violin concertos Distant Light and Lonely Angel. Another one is his Symphony for Strings ‘Voices’, composed in 1991, as his native Latvia, along with Estonia and Lithuania, was breaking free from the crumbling Soviet Union. In a note on the work, Vasks has written: ‘… the new beginning was difficult. The symphony speaks of my essential, most meaningful themes. About life. About eternity. About conscience’.
In this recording, Voices is performed by Vasks’ compatriots in the eminent Sinfonietta Rīga, making their first appearance on BIS. The Sinfonietta has an ongoing collaboration with Maxim Rysanov, as soloist as well as conductor, and Rysanov here has occasion to show both sides of his musicianship, as he conducts the ensemble as well as performs the solo part in Vasks’ recent Concerto for Viola. The concerto is dedicated to Rysanov, who premièred it in 2016 and now presents it on disc for the first time. In four movements, the work demonstrate a characteristic feature of Vasks’ style, the strong contrasts between translucent serenity and deep despair that remind us of the ephemeral and complex world we live in. © BIS Records

[jimtranr]

Originally Posted by bart

Jim, I will try that recording.
It was recorded and engineered by Bert van der Wolf and Brendon Heinst, 2 people I've met.
My wife and I visited Bert's studio last year, and could appreciate his love for the music.
Brendon now has his own label (trptk) and does a fantastic job: brilliant recordings and music off the beaten track.

The engineering for Gaffigan's entire Prokofiev cycle is superb. I'll have to check out trptk's offerings. Thanks for the tip.

[bart]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

Roger Sacheverell Coke: Cello Sonatas
Raphael Wallfisch, Simon Callaghan
Lyrita (2020), via Qobuz

I’ve never heard of Coke, this is quite interesting. From Jed Distler at Classicstoday:

“Composer and pianist Roger Sacheverell Coke (1912-1972) was born into an affluent family and produced a large body of works before a number of mental and physical health problems took their toll. Coke bankrolled concerts to promote his music, yet critical acclaim largely eluded him. Then again, his unabashedly Romantic idiom, heavily influenced by Rachmaninov, had fallen out of fashion. However, pianist Simon Callaghan’s passionate advocacy on Coke’s behalf may be spearheading a revival. If you like early 20th-century British Romantics like Arnold Bax, Cyril Scott, and York Bowen, you’ll definitely respond to Coke’s aesthetic.”

Listening again.
Very enjoyable.

[kajos]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

kajos... Welcome to AA!

Hi guys! Good to be here!!
...lot of inspiration.
Karel

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by Kal Rubinson

Gee whiz, we're old.

Indeed. That's why I post a pic from long ago as my avatar.

Ormandy & Philadelphia at their peak are tough to beat.

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2

Indeed. That's why I post a pic from long ago as my avatar.

Mine is more recent..............

[Antonmb]

Great Comedy Overtures
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Lance Friedel conducting
Naxos, via Qobuz

A little light listening: very pleasant and engaging.

[bart]

Originally Posted by bart

Diego Ortiz - Trattado de Glosas
Les Basses Réunies, Bruno Cocset
Guido Balestracci
Qobuz 24/192




Works from Ortiz, not entirely unknown to me (I own a Jordi Savall album), but also from Luis Milán, Antonio de Cabezón, Tomás Luis de Victoria.
Renaissance music thus, and surprisingly you hear where some Irish folk tunes come from.
I am a Cocset fanboy, and I quite like this. More than the live programme of English renaissance music he played last year.

Album of the weekend on our classical station Klara.
Each hour, some pieces are being played.