What a joy to listen to this wonderful piano concerto! I'm going to have to look for other versions. Not that I don't think this one is just dandy exactly as it is, mind you. It's just that this performance is by The London Mozart Players, and as presented, it really does have a Mozartian vibe despite coming from an Irish composer in the 20th century. It the piece inherently Mozartian or is the natural bent of the group playing influencing that further? On the other hand, I may just set aside that purely academic inquiry and just enjoy the hell out of this.
As with his contemporary countryman Shostakovich, it took me a while to warm up to Prokofiev. But once I came to appreciate him, I had to see if he had any quartets as I so love the form and guessed he might have excelled there had he put his pen to it. We'll he did... and he did! I love these pieces. The Britten Quartet here does a fine job with these pieces, effectively brining out the intensity of the first and the sometimes subtle rhythmic invention in the second. An excellent listen
John Williams- Flute Concerto Year: 1969
Peter Lloyd/Flute
London Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Everyone knows John Williams as the composer of all those great film scores. What few know is that he has also composed some excellent music for the concert hall. This flute concerto doesn't have the triumphant overtures of Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark, it doesn't have the rousing melody of The Cowboys or the joyful whimsey of E.T. It's actually a little austere... a little challenging. And at that, it's actually equally impressive. I would comfortably point most lovers of 20th century music here.
Since I started keeping a diary of my listening, it seems I've been spending a lot of time with early 20th century symphonies. There must have been some musical explosion around that time. It's pieces like this very lively, fun, and dramatic symphony from Dutch composer Willem Pijper that keep me coming back to this time. Pijper was a Mahler devotee and that influence is certainly present here. That said, there is also more light here than is typical with Mahler, and Pijper seems to bring a seamless blend of neoclassicism and impressionism into his work. All in all, this is quite captivating.
I can tell this is an awesome thread. I've had a quick skim through it.
I've been into classical music since my late teens. I've had a keen interest in it, even though I mostly play rock and pop music.
It was watching the movie 'Amadeus' as a 17-year old that got me into it bigtime.
At night time I will often play relaxing classical music playlists or random plays.
Anyway I am sure I will pick up a few good rec's from your thread!
I can tell this is an awesome thread. I've had a quick skim through it.
I've been into classical music since my late teens. I've had a keen interest in it, even though I mostly play rock and pop music.
It was watching the movie 'Amadeus' as a 17-year old that got me into it bigtime.
At night time I will often play relaxing classical music playlists or random plays.
Anyway I am sure I will pick up a few good rec's from your thread!
After a calm, sunny, brilliant Saturday highlighted by a gorgeous hike in the Sandia Mountains, today is dark grey, a little blustery, and just a tad gloomy but with the occasional ray of sun peeking through. I think that transition let me to the first quartet of Danish composer Vagn Holmboe today. This is a generally understated, yet intense and not altogether sunny piece. It is captivating though, and can thoroughly engross the attentive mind. A perfect listen while I sit in my living room watching the heavy gray clouds drift over the New Mexico horizon.
I was so taken today, I gave it two listens. First up was a historical performance (1951) by the Bloch quartet and second was a more recent outing by the Kontra Quartet. The sonics of the latter are beautiful and the performance is expressive and faithful. However, the earlier performance, with it's more primitive sonics, is actually more expressive of the intent of the piece, at least to my ears as they sit here attached to my eyes enjoying all the shades of grey filling my field of view.
Johann Melchior Molter - Concerto No. 2 for Trumpet and Strings in D major Year: 1765
Wynton Marsalis/Trumpet
English Chamber Orchestra/Raymond Leppard
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Last night, I grabbed a couple trumpet concertos, starting with a composer I wasn't familiar with, Johann Melchior Molter. Apparently, Molter is best known for his clarinet concertos, so maybe I picked the wrong entry point.... or maybe not! This s easily one of the most delightful trumpet concertos I've ever heard. While the music itself is superb, I have no doubt Wynton Marsalis's playing on the solo instrument played a big part in my enjoyment. True to his form is his classical recordings, he plays it straight and with impressive precision, but the real amazement is how much heart he puts into that studied and straightforward approach. Really, this is genius and may now be my favorite Marsalis performance.
I then moved on to a more familiar composer, Michael Haydn. His more famous brother has a renowned trumpet concerto, I thought it might be fun to check out junior's stab at the form, especially since I genuine love some of Michael's symphonies. To be honest, as much as I generally enjoy the younger Haydn, nothing was going to grab me after the epiphany of my previous listen. Still, this was a fine piece, more beautifully lyrical than the Molter, and it was exciting to listen to the blend of solid composition with the technical demands the lyricism place on the soloist.
Ernest Bloch - Violin Sonata #1 Year: 1920
Isaac Stern/Violin
Alexander Zakin/Piano
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
Well, now that was intense! Stern and Zakin play the hell out of this piece. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the all out intensity and forget about the technical demands placed on both soloist and accompaniment. The dynamic range of this performance enhances the intensity and keeps this listener right on the edge of his seat. As this thing comes to a close, there's one final shock in which Stern seamlessly and imperceptibly shifts from stressed to just plain beautiful. The effect is incredible. These are two masters wringing a brilliant interpretation out of a most challenging piece. Bravo!
Hi Fischman. Do u have a favorite recording of Chopin's Nocturnes? My 11 year old is really into that kind of music so I'd like to add some tracks to our roadtripping playlist.
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