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What are you currently listening to?

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Author Topic: What are you currently listening to?  (Read 96913 times)
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #1005 on: June 25, 2018, 07:50:36 pm »

Playing here,now! Arrived today. On now! The sumptuous 1971 'complete' emi electrola recording of Emmerich Kálmán's (equally sumptuous) 1924 'Hungarian' operetta,Countess Mariza. A delightful children's chorus was cut,but it's still a wonderful recording that has never been bettered,imho! Love those fiery czardas! I prefer Kálmán to Franz Lehár (1870-1948) and think he was just as great,at his best,and less cloyingly (glutinously) sentimental. He also adhered more closely to the true spirit of operetta,which is supposed to be one of gaiety and escapism not gloom! (Interesting how,Lehár wanted to compose an opera and Puccini wanted to compose an operetta,and did!) Electrola,who also recorded Die Csárdásfürstin,really should have gone on to record Kálmán's lovely 1921 operetta,Die Bajadere;but fortunately an excellent studio recording,conducted by,Richard Bonynge,was recently released by Cpo. More on that in another post,perhaps?!
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #1006 on: June 27, 2018, 11:48:26 am »

Arrived today & playing now! The Pearl cd of,the Earl of Harewood's,acetate recordings,of the 1948 production of Britten's performing version of John Gay's The Beggars Opera. A fascinating time capsule. This has to be one of the best available recordings (if not the best,if it wasn't for sound issues) if you don't hate Pears' singing and ignore the fact that he sounds a bit too posh! Lots of atmosphere and wonderful singing and characterisation's. The sound is allot better than I expected from the reviews. Atrocious? Actually,despite some overload during the Overture that leaves you fiddling with the tone controls and a bit of that during the brief narrations (but not too bad) the recording is very clear and perfectly enjoyable. (Albeit,a bit of overload in one or two places,where the cast are all singing at full volume,in unison).And there I was,expecting it to be a struggle!! Instead,ust over 79 minutes of enjoyment! :) Don't be put off by gripes about sound quality......just turn down the bass a bit,before the cd starts! The Earl of Harewood obviously had a good recording set up. And no doubt he would!! He should have seen mine!! :( ;D
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #1007 on: June 27, 2018, 02:45:21 pm »

Playing here,right now. Arthur Sullivan's 1866 symphony. Known as the "Irish". Although,it only appears to have received that nickname after his death. I did have this set before,but didn't really pay much attention to the symphony,I'm afraid! This time I re-bought the set,s/h,because of the coupling;and thinking I would give Sargent's recording of Patience another chance. A 'critic' on some website,I forget which,rates this as the greatest symphony before Elgar's First. This might be due to a rush of blood to the head;but giving it my due,concerted attention now,it does seem like a fluently written and attractive work. The second movement,I am listening to now,has a lovely theme,some beautiful writing for woodwinds and sonorous horns,which really do grab the old 'ear 'oles! I seem to remember it has a rather catchy tune in the third movement. And here it is,now!! This is one of those instances where the 'fill-up' get's played first! The conductor is Sir Charles Groves.
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #1008 on: June 28, 2018, 11:36:57 am »

Playing,now. The Wyn Morris Beethoven cycle continues,with his recordings of No's 7 & 8. Dubbed the "Welsh Furtwangler". There was a time when you seemed to find these IMP cd's in places like Woolworths and WH Smiths. I like André's description (at the GMG,in reply to my post,on the "What are you listening to?" thread) of Wyn Morris' conducting. "A potent mix of big, bold playing, allied to interpretive gruffness. Splendidly recorded, too". Very fiery. Yet,I like the more serene passages in the Sixth symphony. I think Wyn Morris could have been a much more famous conductor? (We'll never know!) His biographies and obituaries make very interesting reading. His personality seems to have been as gruff and fiery as his Beethoven. He seems to have destroyed his own career by rubbing everyone up the wrong way. He also got some publicity,I remember,for getting Margaret Thatcher to narrate a recording of Copland's Lincoln Portrait. I don't want to get into politics here,but I think I will give that one a miss! There does seem to be a slight renewal of interest in his work,recently. His conducting got rave reviews and critical acclaim at the time. It was all downhill,then! :( He was also known for his Mahler. The only Mahler recording I have by him is of No 5. I like that very much. I remember the s/h cd I bought had scratches and scuff marks all over it,but always seems to play! There does seem to be a bit of a renewal of interest in his conducting,lately. Most of the comments I've read online are very positive. I have read that he used modern orchestras,but had a HIP approach. I wouldn't know about that;but I like what I'm hearing! :) If anyone (who hasn't heard his conducting) wants to hear his Beethoven,some of the IMP & Pickwick cd's can be found very cheaply s/h.
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« Reply #1009 on: June 28, 2018, 04:43:35 pm »

The Wyn Morris,Ninth might not have the best singing in a recording of the Ninth,but ooh,it was fiery! :o Now playing,here. George Szell conducting the Ninth. I've had the (slimline) Sony set of the Szell cycle for a while. I've listened to all the other recordings in the box,but this is the first time I've listened to the Ninth.
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« Reply #1010 on: June 28, 2018, 05:55:19 pm »

Finally received the Niels Gade Comala cantata "Dramatic poem after Ossian for soli, choir and orchestra. on the DACAPO label.   Just now putting in the CD player.
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #1011 on: June 29, 2018, 11:46:14 am »

The Ohio Light Opera 'complete' recording of Lionel Monckton(1861-1924) & Howard Talbot's The Arcadians (1909). I remember getting rid of this set because of the uneven casting. I decided instead,to make do with the 1960's emi excerpts,which are better sung! Or are they?! Well,yes,but problem! Where is the fun of the piece? Whatever the failings of this recording (many!) it does at capture some of the gaiety and humour of the piece. Also,the women,as in some of the other sets,in these unevenly cast series of recordings are actually very good! For example,cast member,Amy Warchol's lovely rendition of "Erins a spot" ("the dear little girl with a bit of a brogue"). A lovely creamy sound to her voice,and I always think is such a lovely song. I love the way the men join in with the chorus,too! The Arcadians has been described,very well,as operetta meets the (Edwardian) music hall. A very apt description. This is what marks it out from all the other post Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. One minute it's G & S style warbling,then it's like Marie Lloyd,or Burlington Bertie gatecrashed the proceedings!! (Think,Good old Days,with Leonard Sachs and Edwardian gents with Cocker-nee accents! You even get a cockney number "All down Picadilly",performed here,with probably the worst cockney accent since Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (worse?!!)! So bad it is entertaining! But the rum-ti-tum music hall style chorus is genuinely rousing. You can almost visualise the audience joining in! For my money,the best of all the post G & S operettas. The tunes are just great,and it has none of that fey quality that detracts from Edward German's,admittedly,rather charming efforts. There is an earthy,slighly raucous originality here which really does mark it out from the crowd. Sadly,the perfect recording has never been made. And maybe,now,it never will? I prefer some dialogue too;because the plot,is rather fun (Jim's plane crashes in Arcadia.Jim is transformed into shepherd,Simplicitas. Accompanied by two nymphs,returns to London,to preach Arcadian values of truth & simplicity. Londoners prefer romance,horse racing and,fashionable,restaurants!!) In a perfect world someone would have uploaded a really top-notch off-air BBC radio recording from auntie's glory years. Unfortunately,while it does seem to have been recorded (possibly twice?!) by the BBC in,the seventies,I think (?) and maybe,once again,as excerpts (?) no off air recording seems to be in circulation (not even on Youtube! :o ;D) so I'm just happy to have this recording. Although,according,to one (rather)unhappy Amazon 'critic',there are some cuts!! Still,it all sounds pretty enjoyable,to me (easily,pleased?!). I think I will keep it this time?!! :)
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Neil McGowan
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« Reply #1012 on: June 29, 2018, 01:52:42 pm »

For my money,the best of all the post G & S operettas.

I would rank OF THEE I SING and GIRL CRAZY up alongside them :-))  They both continue the tradition of a patter-song charlatan 'hero' who manages to get away with it :-)  The early Marx Bros musicals picked up this format - but Groucho's singing was too haphazard to carry it off, and they quickly dropped the 'musical' format.

Along with Kurt Weill's A TOUCH OF VENUS.  (For anyone who only associates Weill with banjo-driven political extremism, the show-stopping aria 'West Wind' is the stand-out lyrical barnstomer from that score :-)   By that era, a tradition had developed that the Leading Lady would be a comedy soubrette - and the 'serious' musical material was handed to the Second Lady (normally someone with a trained, operatic voice, who could carry a big melody).
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« Reply #1013 on: July 15, 2018, 12:38:49 pm »

Playing here,now! (And since last night!) I love Holbrooke's orchestration. It's just so gorgeous. The "Auld lang Syne" Variations show off his ear for darkly,slightly gothic,late romanticism,at it's (near) best. Yes,it rambles a bit,but it's the orchestration that keeps me listening. It really tickles the old ear drums! The "Grasshopper" concerto is a lovely work. No wonder it's,probably,his most recorded work (in it's various guises). I adore the leaping motif that,apparently,gives the Violin concerto it's nickname. It is also one of his most well constructed works. Long term,thematic developement not being one of Holbrooke's strongest points (based on the available,recorded,evidence). The collection rounds off with his tone poem The Raven. You can practically hear the bird tapping on the window pane. Holbrooke loved,and lived,Edgar Allan Poe,and no one captured the atmosphere quite as effectively as Holbrooke. If Beecham had managed to record The Raven and Ulalume (he did talk about recording Holbrooke towards the end of his career) it's possible that Holbrooke's story might have been a little different. Although,not that different,I fear! This is,probably,the best collection of Holbrooke to appear on cd,to my mind. I'm really looking forward to the third release in this series,which will include the third symphony "ships",with the same orchestra and Howard Griffiths at the helm. A magnificent series and I'm so grateful to Cpo,Howard Griffiths (and Holbrooke champion,Gareth Vaughan) for what they have been doing for this wonderful (imho! ;D) composer!

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« Reply #1014 on: July 16, 2018, 07:41:54 pm »

Von Deutscher Seele by Hans Pfitzner. Beautiful all the way through. Here is an article about it putting it in better perspective with Pfitzner's controversial and complicated response and actions while living under the Third Reich.

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/pfitzner-von-deutscher-seele
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« Reply #1015 on: October 25, 2018, 09:48:32 am »


The Blue Bird
Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1
Norfolk Rhapsody No. 2
David Matthews: Norfolk March [=Norfolk Rhapsody No. 3]
Variations for Orchestra
Music for an EFDS Masque
Christmas Overture

The 16 minutes score of the incidental music to Maeterlinck's play The Blue Bird (1913) one that isn't even mentioned in Michael Kennedy's Catalogue; and a very welcome surprise it is!
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… music is not only an `entertainment’, nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.  RVW, 1948
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« Reply #1016 on: December 05, 2018, 12:25:39 am »

IMHO an unprecented approach to Norwegian folklore beautifully played by Karelian orchestra.
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« Reply #1017 on: December 05, 2018, 03:48:12 am »

Found some music on YouTube by Nicolae Branzeu, and also a violin concerto by Eugen Cuteanu, enjoyed it a lot.
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cilgwyn
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« Reply #1018 on: December 24, 2018, 11:45:02 am »

On now. Cd 1 of this 3 cd set. The Martinu symphony,much as I love it,was a bit much at circa,midnight,after a lager;so I put this on,instead. I got this & the early,Alan Rowlands set of John Ireland's piano music,coutesy of Lyrita's Black Friday 50% off sale. These recording made between 1959 and 1965,are in mono,but wonderfully atmospheric. These were originall released on 3 Lp's & are amongst the earliest Lyrita issues. A fourth Lp of shorter pieces was never released,for some reason;and this box set,provides the first opportunity to hear them. The recordings were made in Richard Itter's music room. Iris Loveridge really gets to the soul of this music like no other,imho. The mono tape recordings only add to the atmosphere of some of the more introverted,gloomy pieces. I do find it strange that there is nothing about the pianist in the booklet provided. Yes,you can find out about her online;but it does seem an odd oversight. Iris Loveridge isn't exactly a household name these days,and I think it would have been nice to have written something about her. Anyway,perhaps there is some,justifiable reason for this? Grumbling aside,this is a wonderful release. I love Bax's piano music,and I wouldn't be without this set. It might even be my first port of call,for this,oft overlooked,aspect of Bax's prolific output. The mono sound is very clear. A slight,background,tape hiss audible.
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Christo
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« Reply #1019 on: December 25, 2018, 02:56:22 pm »

IMHO an unprecented approach to Norwegian folklore beautifully played by Karelian orchestra.
Great tip, many thanks! Found some music by him - and an interview - on Youtube.
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… music is not only an `entertainment’, nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.  RVW, 1948

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