What Classical Music Are You Listening To Tonight?

[bart]

Originally Posted by AudioNut

Listening to . . . . One of the best recordings of the past 300 years!!!

I'm not kidding, this is a good one . . . An Original Decca Vinyl Record

Excerpts - Herold-Lanchbery

LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE

The Royal Ballet Production
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden - John Lanchbery, Conductor

This is, of course, a repeat for me. I play this wonderful recording often . . because I really like it.

I'm playing the original LP but it is available on CD as well.

Good suggestion, it's been a while that I played it.
Qobuz offers a very good quality 24/176.4 stream.

Good to come into the Vienna New Year's spirit.

[FreddieFerric]

Wife gave these to me for Christmas. Just finishing up Disc 2 now.

Sensational musicianship.

[bart]

Perotin
The Hilliard Ensemble
via Qobuz




This was not entirely to our liking.

[bart]

Joseph Haydn - Die Schöpfung
La Capella Reial de Catalunya
Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall
Qobuz 24/88.2




I wasn't a great fan of his Christmas Oratorium, but I did like this quite a bit!
Jordi is now 80, but still going (very) strong.
The album, as is always the case with Alia Vox, has a well taken care of, beautiful booklet.

I don't understand how some of the musicians could play with face nappies though...

[bart]

Originally Posted by bart

Yukiko Hasegawa - Eternal Longing
trptk label
Qobuz 24/96




Works from Van Beethoven, Franck, Schumann.
As usual with this label, sound and performance are top.
The fact it is played on a Chris Maene Straight Strung Concert Grand Piano makes all the more interesting.
Can't wait to hear it in 5.0!

This is quite a brilliant recording.
Streaming it from the ssd now (WAV 32/352.8).

[bart]

Saint Saëns
Quatuor Tchalik
Qobuz 24/88.2




Well played, good sound.
Plus the fact that I love these pieces.
A home run!

Camille Saint-Saëns' music is at last beginning to emerge from the purdah to which it has been confined for almost a century. New releases follow one after another, constantly leading us to reconsider the unkind judgements that have been made about this composer. It is true that his marked xenophobia and his lack of knowledge of the composers of his time, including Debussy and Stravinsky, made him look like an obtuse reactionary.

Like Bach or Mozart in their time, Saint-Saëns did not seek to revolutionise the language of music, slipping into existing moulds to express what he had to say. Ever respectful of form, he composed, he said, "as an apple tree produces apples". Although he had explored all the genres, Saint-Saëns had never before touched the sacrosanct string quartet, a form renowned for its loftiness and difficulty of writing. It was not until 1899 that he composed his Quartet No. 1 in E minor, probably stirred by the success of Debussy's string quartet that had been written a few years earlier.

Then aged sixty-three, Saint-Saëns breathed an insolent youthfulness into this work with its irresistible dynamic momentum and rich melodies. The writing is skilful and timelessly classic, with a pre-eminence in the part of the first violin. It should be said that the work is dedicated to his friend Eugène Ysaÿe, one of the greatest violinists of his time. The Quartet N° 2 in G major, written in 1918, is less ambitious and has only three movements, but it has the serenity of old age, free from metaphysical torment, combining candour and expression, especially in the beautiful slow movement. The clarity of Saint-Saëns' writing is perfectly displayed by the beautiful interpretation of the Tchalik Quartet, a Franco-Russian sibling ensemble immersed in music from their childhood, with natural playing and the rare ability to listen to each other. © François Hudry/Qobuz

[bart]

Dutilleux - Merlin - Schönberg - 'Round Midnight
Quatuor Ébène
Antoine Tamestit
Nicolas Altstædt
Qobuz 24/96




Another magnificent album.

I adore the Schönberg piece, have heard it in multiple performances, this must be one of the absolute best.
The Dutilleux work is only the second or third time I hear it. Beautiful!
The Merlin was a first, and it is interesting.

The sound is impeccable.

[Antonmb]

Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Berkeley: Guitar Concerto, Op. 88
Julian Bream, guitar
Monteverdi Orchestra, John Eliot Gardner conducting
RCA (1975), via Qobuz

Certainly one of the best performances of the Rodrigo.
IMG_1460.jpg

[ehoove]

New
Spinning some MONO:
Symphonies # 94 in G Major and #99 in E Flat Major
Haydn
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Josef Krips Conducting
London FFR CM 9222
Regards,
Jim

[ehoove]

George Gershwin
Selections by:
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
W/ Eugene List - Piano
S. Adler Conducting
Vox Allegretto ACD 8034
Regards,
Jim