I like it...I think Abbado pulls the right amount of playfulness out of the 1st, and exposes some interesting orchestral textures in the 3rd...he's able to find detail in the densely scored passages that I appreciate. I may be a bit biased, though, I'm a big fan of Abbado, always felt he was a fantastic conductor with an exceptional approach to detail, and his sense of line and phrase really stands out to me, especially in the 1st here.
Very cool. Have you heard any of Harrison’s symphonies? I also like his Piano Concerto, but, man, does that Stampede movement go on too long. Other than this, I’d rate this as one of the best American piano concerti I’ve heard. Right up there with Copland’s, Barber’s and Gershwin’s (although, I’m less fond of the Gershwin).
Listening to "Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 3/Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No. 3" performed by Mikhail Pletnev with the Russian National Orchestra led by Mstislav Rostropovich on DG.
Does anyone know if the compositions by Oscar Levant have ever been released on vinyl or CD? His own works are pretty interesting. There's a YouTube video of his 1942 recording of his "Sonatina" -
Roma recordings were rather out of the rule. RCA had their own studio there as an exception. (Probably it was cheap but they had to spend ITL they earned within the county.)
Must include Elliot Carter's, not easy but after just a few listens well worth it, as is the earlier one for harpsichord and piano.I don't know the Harrison but will find it.
Love Carter, but Knussen was a wonderful bear of a man who would shuffle into the record shop I worked in, and just chat.
And needless to say, the box is indispensable. It is the collection of great musicians who were sympathized with the music of EC, accompanied by the great sonic (I believe most, if not all, of them were recorded by no other than Elite Recordings!)
His unexpected death was very regretful. He was a great friend and the advocator of Toru Takemitsu, too.
Never could get into Carter’s music. Love post-WWII composers like Ligeti, Boulez and Scelsi, for example, but Carter just hasn’t done much for me. I do love Carter’s Elegy in both the viola/piano and string orchestra arrangements, but that’s about it. Of course, this work is hardly representative of the mature Carter.
Have you heard his early (1945) Piano Sonata? It's quite polyphonic and includes a very complex fugue. I think it's more appealing than most of his later works.
I haven’t, but thanks for the suggestion. I have so much music that I need to listen to that my head is spinning at the moment. Some composers who I’m exploring or rediscovering again at the moment (in no particular order): (Alexander) Tcherepnin, Shchedrin, Rubbra, Holmboe, Tveitt, Sæverud, Weinberg, Arnold, Alwyn, Myaskovsky, Górecki, Panufnik, Silvestrov and the list goes on and on.
First listen to CD 20 from "George Szell - The Complete Columbia Album Collection" on Sony. Brahms - Symphony No. 1 with The Cleveland Orchestra
