Mahler: Symphony No. 2 'Resurrection' Heather Harper (soprano) & Helen Watts (contralto) London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Georg Solti
Now enjoying CD 01 of this new (to me) set. Transfers are by Andrew Hallifax, who does nice work for this label.
Closed out the day with a bit of a French travelog: the Saint-Saens Rhapsodie d'Auvergne, op 73 (Jean Philippe-Collard; Ande Previn leading the Royal PO on EMI) and Milhaud's Carnaval d'Aix (Carl Seemann; the composer conducting the Or. of Radio Luxembourg on Vox). Each is a colorful score in its own way--the former's way being rather earnestly brilliant, the latter's sassy and mischievous. Isn't it funny how Saint-Saens and Milhaud, while hardly "obscure," never seem to work their way out of the repertorial fringes? The Saint-Saens 2d pno. cto.--that quip about how "it starts like Bach and ends like Offenbach" notwithstanding--used to be a concert hall staple, but that seems to have dried up some decades ago; duo pianists would be bereft without Milhaud's Scaramouche, but then, they, too, live in something of a concert hall backwater. On the whole, I'd say S.-S. is the more actively performed of the two; his "Organ" Sym. still gets some regular play, as do the Carnival of the Animals, Danse Macabre, and (in the opera house) Samson et Dalila--but that's a pretty small sampling, considering that he was quite the prolific composer, and seems to me none of those gets anything like the attention lavished on, say, Mahler's relatively small output of relatively massive works. Oh, well, this is why it's so nice that we have records! [Edit] I should add that both these recordings are very good. The pianists acquit themselves with honor, and Milhaud in particular was a fine interpreter of his own scores. Sonically, both are good examples of well-executed stereo.
12 Etudes, Op. 8 & 24 Preludes, Op. 11 Matthieu Idmtal (piano) Scriabin: 12 Etudes for piano, Op. 8 Scriabin: Preludes (24), Op. 11
Chopin Evocations Daniil Trifonov (piano), with Sergei Babayan (piano) Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
This morning( and beyond) I am re-visiting my Decca Sound Mono Years box set purchased several years ago when first issued. Zara Nelsova, cello with Artur Balsam, piano, 1955, 1956.
Symphonies Nos. 5 & 8 and Six German Dances Ellis Randall (oboe), David Pittsinger (clarinet), Aki Syoko (violin) New York Chamber Symphony, Gerard Schwarz
October is the important performance on this disc. It is vital and extremely well-recorded in Moscow in 1966. Prokofiev October Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra Kirill Kondrashin Praga, 2021
Smetana: Má Vlast Czech Philharmonic, Jiří Bělohlávek Bedřich Smetana ( 2 maart 1824 – Praag, 12 mei 1884)
Tchaikovsky: Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra Regis Pasquier (violin) Baltic Chamber Orchestra, Emmanuel Leducq-Barome Tchaikovsky: Sérénade Mélancolique in B minor, Op. 26 Tchaikovsky: Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42 Tchaikovsky: Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42: Méditation in D minor Tchaikovsky: Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42: Mélodie in E flat major Tchaikovsky: Valse-scherzo in C major for violin & orchestra (or violin & piano), Op. 34 Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Heimat Benjamin Appl (baritone), James Baillieu (piano) Bishop, H R: Home, Sweet Home Brahms: Mein Mädel hat einen Rosenmund (No. 25 from Deutsche Volkslieder, WoO 33) Brahms: Mondnacht, WoO 21 Brahms: Wiegenlied, Op. 49 No. 4 (Lullaby) Britten: Greensleeves Grieg: Seks Sange, Op. 48 No. 6 'Ein Traum' Grieg: Til Norge (To Norway), Op. 58 No. 2 Ireland: If there were Dreams to Sell Poulenc: Hyde Park Reger: Des Kindes Gebet, Op. 76 No. 22 Schubert: Das Heimweh, D456 (Winkler) Schubert: Der Einsame, D800 Schubert: Der Wanderer an den Mond D870 (Seidl) Schubert: Der Wanderer, D489 Schubert: Drang in die Ferne, D770 Schubert: Nachtstück, D672 (Mayrhofer) Schubert: Seligkeit D433 (Holty) Strauss, A: Ich weiß bestimmt, ich werd Dich wiedersehn Strauss, R: Allerseelen, Op. 10 No. 8 Vaughan Williams: Silent Noon Warlock: My Own Country Warlock: The Bachelor Wolf, H: Er ist's (No. 6 from Mörike-Lieder) Wolf, H: Verschwiegene Liebe (No. 3 from Eichendorff-Lieder)
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 Bella Davidovich (piano) London Symphony Orchestra, Neville Marriner Chopin: Krakowiak - Concert Rondo in F, Op. 14 Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21
Interesting! I've long been fond of Boccherini's string quintets, but I didn't know he had written piano quintets. I may need to do a bit of exploring here.
This version of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet is the best that I have heard. Mozart Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings Brahms Quintet in B minor for Clarinet and Strings Anthony McGill Pacifica Quartet Cedille, 2014
New World Composers from the Old World New World Quartet Bloch, E: String Quartet No. 3 Hindemith: String Quartet No. 6 in E-flat major (previously No. 5) Korngold: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 26 Rozsa: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 22 Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet Surinach: String Quartet Tcherepnin: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 40
Voormolen: Baron Hop Suite Nos. 1 & 2, etc. Pauline Oostenrijk, Hans Roerade (oboes) Residentie Orchestra The Hague, Matthias Bamert Voormolen: Baron Hop Suite Nos. 1 & 2 Voormolen: Concerto for Two Oboes and Orchestra Voormolen: Eline - nocturne for orchestra
