Now playing: Charles Koechlin - Piano Quintet, Op. 80; String Quartet No. 3, Op. 72 - Sarah Lavaud, Antigone Quartet
Recorded 1/3/64 & 9/17/65, Walthamstow Town Hall, London. I've never really been able to get into either of these Symphonies. Well-made, but not involving.
NP: Zemlinsky Sinfonietta, Op. 23 Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne Conlon This might be a first-listen to this work. I don’t recall it, but this doesn’t mean I haven’t heard it before. A wonderfully atmospheric work with some strident rhythms in the meatier sections. It definitely plays to two extremes: Late-Romantic and perhaps that more Expressionistic style we hear in mid-period Schoenberg and Berg. Great stuff.
NP: Szymanowski Mythes, Op. 30 Kaja Danczowska, Krystian Zimerman One of Szymanowski’s masterpieces and a work that should be a part of the mainstream chamber music repertoire.
Now this is more like it! A very enjoyable Symphony, performance & recording, made 4/3-6/76, Symphony Hall, Boston.
I love Stravinsky’s symphonies with the notable exception of that early one when he was still studying with Rimsky-Korsakov. This doesn’t sound anything like Stravinsky at all. The Firebird is really where he ‘broke free’ of his teacher’s influence even though there are some touches throughout this ballet that nods to his influence.
Philips recordings made 12/67, 12/71 & 12/78. The 1967 recording is with the New Philharmonia & only one of the others is from 1971. This packaging was released by Philips in 1989 and MHS in 1991.
Yoinked today from a local thrift store, $20 all up: Janáček Quartet - The Complete Recordings On Deutsches Grammaphon [Deutsches Grammaphon, 8CD] (sealed) -- not heard this outfit before, covers Mozart, Dvorak, Hayden, Brahms, etc. Lili Kraus - Mozart: The Piano Sonatas [Sony, 4CD] -- got the Uchida sonatas last week, this will be an interesting comparison. Arthur Schnabel - Beethoven: The Complete Sonatas [Warner Classics, 8CD] (sealed) -- there were two Schnabel sets available (this and an older EMI box), both use the same recordings from old 78s, but the older EMI set was described as having a heavy-handed sonic processing, so I opted for this box. Wilhelm Kempff - Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas [Deutsches Grammaphon, 8CD] -- I have the 1960s stereo set, but this is the 1950s mono set. Will be interesting to compare the two. Borodin Quartet - Beethoven: Complete String Quartets [Chandos, 8CD] (sealed) -- I've got a set of the late string quartets, so happy to now have the complete set. --Geoff
One final work for the night: Schoenberg Fünf Orchesterstücke, Op. 16 Cleveland Orchestra Dohnányi An incredibly fine performance of one of my favorite works of all-time.
A gallant start to the day. JC Bach - Quintets Op 11 no 1 & 6, Op 22 no 1, Sextet in C Major - Pinnock/English Concert
This morning starting off with CD7 from the Ormandy box. 1945/1946. They have done a great job with sound quality on these old recordings and the performances so far are excellent.
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony. London P.O. and Choir cond. Sir Adrian Boult Disc 1: Recorded 1968, re-mastered 1986. From the Nine Symphonies Emi Classics box set (r) 2011.
CD4 from this set: WA Mozart - Piano Sonatas 12, 13 & 14 - Bart van Oort, fortepiano Combining my last two posts, I believe van Oort has done a few CDs for Brilliant Classics of JC Bach's piano sonatas, which I might look at tracking down.
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 4 & 6 New Philharmonia Orchestra cond. Sir Adrian Boult Recorded 1968/7, digitally re-mastered 1986 CD 3 From Nine Symphonies box set released 2011. Masterful and that's I mention the woodwind section of the N.P.O.
I just can’t get behind some of those Debussy orchestral transcriptions. I don’t think they work at all. The Préludes sound so much freer as they were originally intended. The orchestrations done by André Caplet are the better ones, IMHO. Sometimes I have to wonder what the goal of orchestrating a work that was never done by the composer himself. I just can’t imagine works like Images, Book I & II or the Études in any kind of orchestral arrangement. Not because I know the composer wasn’t involved in the orchestration, but because the piano itself expresses the full range of emotions already. Okay, I’m done ranting...lol.
Currently playing: Sibelius - Pohjola's Daughter, Night Ride & Sunrise, Lemminkainen Suite - Neeme Jarvi/GSO I don't really get on with Night Ride & Sunrise, but the rest of this disc is splendid. Cover artwork by Akseli Gallen-Kallela. As a bonus, here's a self portrait of Gallen-Kallela (left) out drinking with friends, including a rather dissipated-looking Sibelius on the far right:
