The new St Vincent single set me off listening to Bowie's Young Americans. Thought I'd follow that up with a Young Salzburgian, CD7 of this set for a first full listen as I continue to traverse this box: WA Mozart - Symphonies 24, 25, 30 and 31 ("Paris") - Pinnock/English Concert I confess I had already played the Little G Minor and the Paris off this disc, as they're two of my favourite symphonies. I must say that as much as I enjoy the small period forces on this disc, the opening of the first movement of the Little G Minor is perhaps a bit too little without massed strings.
My first encounter with the Little G Minor was courtesy of Richard Lester. A bit of Sondheim as well.
Listening to "Music from the Court of King Janus at Nicosia (1374-1432)" performed by the Huelgas Ensemble directed by Paul Van Nevel on Vivarte.
I've been listening to a lot of piano concertos recently, but I realised that I hadn't listened to any Mozart ones in a while. First listen to the DG Kempff Concertos set. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 8 in C major, K. 246, "Lützow" (recorded 1962) Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 (recorded 1960) Wilhelm Kempff Ferdinand Leitner Berliner Philharmoniker
These are sensational recordings. Kempff was so good in Mozart! I wish he had recorded all the Mozart Concerti but I don't think record companies were doing that in his day.
This excellent recital of transcriptions by Saint-Saëns, Busoni, Siloti, Hess and Theodor Szántó was recorded shortly after the Notre-Dame fire, and its title is taken from Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (“Breathe, Hope”). Very good sound, too.
I've never heard Boccherini's Symphonies before. They are quite lovely. I have no idea why they're not better known...but that's the classical music world for you. "Boccherini's style is characterized by Rococo charm, lightness, and optimism, and exhibits much melodic and rhythmic invention, coupled with frequent influences from the guitar tradition of his adopted country, Spain."
Listening to "Sacred Duets" performed by Nuria Rial and Valer Sabadus with Kammerorchester Basel on Sony. Scarlatti/Pasquini/Colonna/Gabrielli/Bononcini/Torelli/Lotti/Caldara/Porpora
I love Qobuz! I keep finding 'lost gems', i.e. albums that came out some time ago, but that I managed to miss entirely. A charming example here, from 2009:
Is it just me, or does Géza Anda here look a lot like Henry Kissinger? And earlier I had a Sean Connery look-alike on an album cover and also a young Shirley MacLaine. Here is Sean Connery Here is a young Shirley MacLaine--or maybe it's Cindy Williams?
NP, Jean-Pierre Rampal's 1964 recording of the Handel Flute Sonatas, with Robert Veyron-Lacroix on harpsichord. [ @john greenwood: ]
Some of these paintings do seem to get around, especially for the covers of Baroque albums, no? And the person that picks the artwork out must be a fan of the (reactionary) quote that "If it's not naked women or fruit, it's not art!"
Now playing: Les Witches - Manuscrit Susanne van Soldt (Danses, Chansons & Psaumes Des Flandres, 1599) - recorded 2007
Some intense pieces here! If you are unfamiliar with Sandstrom, here is "Through and Through" from this excellent LP.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming....the collection. On the turntable: A compilation of previously released material Tommaso Albinoni / Antonio Vivaldi / Johann Pachelbel / Festival Strings Lucerne / Rudolf Baumgartner – Adagio / The Four Seasons / Canon And Gigue Deutsche Grammophon Privilege – 2535 105
