What I listened to today

[Rach3]

As always, fyi,fww only, just delete away as you may have no interest.

I follow the pianist Francesco Piemontesi, have since his competition days ( 3rd at 2007 Queen Elisabeth of Belgium). Here is one of his better, more interesting, recent live performances. Brahms’ PC # 2 with NDR Radio Phil. under Andrew Manze,at Hanover,March,2019.Cellist very fine, too.

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2718119

Best of the Season. Stay safe and well.

[maestrob]

Welsh pianist Llyr Williams, a pianist I follow, in a beautiful recital. D.959 , 664, 894 probably my fav Schubert piano sonatas.The Wodoforde-Finden encores are exquisite as well.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000q855

Per BBC: “ In the first concert this week ( 12/15/2020 ) broadcast live from St David’s Hall in Cardiff, Llŷr Williams performs Schubert’s substantial Sonata in G major, D894. Unlike many of Schubert’s works composed in his last few years, which are tinged with a sense of melancholy as the composer was faced with his own mortality, this piano sonata is tranquil in mood. The concert closes with his iconic Ave Maria, arranged for piano by the virtuoso pianist and composer, Franz Liszt. Between the two Schubert items, Llŷr Williams performs two of Amy Woodforde-Finden’s Four Indian Love Lyrics, transcribed for solo piano by the pianist Stephen Hough.”

Schubert: Sonata in G, D894
Woodforde-Finden (Trans. Hough): Kashmiri Song
Woodforde-Finden (Trans. Hough): Till I wake
Schubert (Arr. Liszt): Ave Maria, D839

Finally got to hear this today, my first hearing of Llyr Williams. During the brief interview after the Schubert Sonata, he announced that he's just completed a complete box of Schubert's major works for piano and, judging by his sensitive and honest music-making, I'm definitely interested. In fact, I'm just about to explore his Moussorgsky "Pictures" which has finally become available for streaming on amazon.

Thanks for bringing him to our attention, Rach3!

[Rach3]

A brilliant live reading of the Shostakovich PC # 1 at the 2020 Proms by remarkable young British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, the Philharmonia under Pavo Jaarvi, and their principal trumpeter:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000qkln

The last movement's animation tends to obscure some really extraordinary depth in the first w movs., IMHO.I listen to the work for those 2 movs., especially the 2nd mov.

[Ricordanza]

Well, it wasn't today, but two days ago. Most of the snow had melted and the weather was mild enough to get me out of the house for a long walk in the neighborhood. My companion for the walk was this album: some of Chopin's greatest works played by one of the leading Chopin interpreters of our time. What could be better?

[Rach3]

Finally got to hear this today, my first hearing of Llyr Williams.

A bit of background on Williams:

http://www.victoriarowsell.co.uk/artists/llyr-williams/

[maestrob]

Finally got to hear this today, my first hearing of Llyr Williams.

A bit of background on Williams:

http://www.victoriarowsell.co.uk/artists/llyr-williams/

Thanks, Rach3! That page has four of his favorite videos, which I will explore quite soon!

[maestrob]

For clarinet fans ! I prefer the clarinet versions of the Brahms sonatas vs.viola.Hough’s arrangement of the LvB “Spring” Violin Sonata as a clarinet quintet was interesting here , but the original is more “ Springy”.

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2712275

Enregistré le 06/01/2020 au Wigmore Hall à Londres

Johannes Brahms - Sonate en fa mineur pour clarinette et piano, op. 120/1

Ludwig van Beethoven - Sonate No. 5 en Fa Majeur"Le Printemps", op. 24 (Arrangement Stephen Hough)

Johannes Brahms - Sonate en Mi bémol Majeur pour clarinette et piano, op. 120/2
- Quintette pour clarinette et cordes en si mineur, op.115

Stephen Hough, piano
Michael Collins, clarinette
Quatuor à cordes Castalian

Definitely a fine concert! I did enjoy the arrangement of the Beethoven Sonata: quite cleverly done and Michael Collins played it with a wonderful tone. I look forward to hearing more of his recordings, now that I've become familiar with him thanks to your postings.

Also, love the clear Parisian French diction of the announcer, even though she struggles to say "Hough," instead coming out with something that vaguely resembles "Huss!"

[maestrob]

Well, it wasn't today, but two days ago. Most of the snow had melted and the weather was mild enough to get me out of the house for a long walk in the neighborhood. My companion for the walk was this album: some of Chopin's greatest works played by one of the leading Chopin interpreters of our time. What could be better?

Thanks for the suggestion, Ricordanza! I don't have that one, but plan on hearing it soon.

Merry Christmas!

[Rach3]

A couple interesting oddities:


The Schumann PC scored for original piano part, but with only 2 violins,2 violas, a cello , a 2011 arrangement by one Jeremy Liu .

He has done similar scorings for the PIT # 1,Brahms # 2,Rach 2, over the period 2011 -2015. Why I’m not sure, but may be helpful now in pandemic time (?),although this concert was pre-pandemic. The pianist here understandably made an effort to down-size the piano’s role.For me, the strings’ contribution did not work so well in the last mov. I heard only the Concerto , Schumanniana and Impromptu.


Enregistré le 12/12/2019 au Organ Hall, Chisinau
Robert Schumann - Concerto en la mineur pour piano et orchestre, op. 54 (Jeremy Liu, arranger)
Vladimiur Sverdlov-Ashkenazy, piano
Vladimiur Sverdlov-Ashkenazy - Schumanniana
- Impromptu pour la main gauche
Camille Saint-Saëns - Oratorio de Noël, op. 12, pour solistes, chœur, orchestre et orgue
Traditional - Christmas Carol, Colind de Craciun (Cristian Florea, arrangeur)
Lilia Solomel, soprano
Lilia Istratii, mezzo-soprano
Taisia Mustea-Caraman, contralto
Victor Novichi, ténor
Roman Ialcic, basse baryton
Anna Strezeva, orgue
Ivan Baranovschi, piano
Radu Talambua, violon
Choeur et Orchestre de Chambre National de la République de Moldavie
Cristian Florea, direction

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2718655

[maestrob]

On Wednesday, December 16, in honor of Beethoven's 250th, I played one of my old LP's: Rudolf Serkin's performance of the Piano Concerto No. 4 with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. Looking at this record brought back some memories. I didn't buy this record; rather, my mother had a connection with Columbia Records and brought home this radio station copy for me. I'm fairly certain that when I played this record, it was my first time hearing this piece. Of course, it was love at first hearing!

So how does this recording stand up over time? In the 50+ years since I first played this record, I've heard many performances of this masterpiece in concert and recordings. Some have equaled, but none has surpassed Serkin and Ormandy.

Ricordanza:

I finally got a chance to listen to this Ormandy/Serkin recording of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto, and, after so many years, I was able to pinpoint why I had been dissatisfied with it as a teenager, preferring Van Cliburn/Reiner at the time and still do.

Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra sound fine. My irritation is with Serkin. It's a small detail, but as a conductor, I'm trained now to spot and describe such things, so here goes.

In the first movement, there are three short passages where the conductor cedes control of the flow of the music to the soloist, who has a bar or two where he/she has the right to shape a short solo passage to suit an individual taste. Serkin, unlike no other pianist I can recall (Brendel, Gilels in several examples, Uchida, Van Cliburn and most recently Paul Lewis, etc.) just rushes through and tosses off those notes, making them quite shallow and empty of meaning, while the others mentioned shape a phrase while maintaining weight and substance each time. Unfortunately, I do not have a score to point to specific measure numbers, but I'm sure careful listening online will pinpoint exactly what I mean for you.

It's a small weakness in an otherwise excellent recording, but it was enough to make me not want to add it to my library all these years.

Nevertheless, thanks for posting your listening. I get a kick out of hearing recordings that I don't own, and enjoy investigating them again.

[jserraglio]

On Spotify:



On Idagio:

[jserraglio]

On Deezer:

[jserraglio]

Beethoven Sonata 21 “Waldstein”, the latest in Boris Giltburg’s excellent ongoing live online cycle. https://beethoven32.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boy0tCHxzEg



playlist of Nos. 1-21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tIHzOL ... mr&index=3

[maestrob]

Beethoven Sonata 21 “Waldstein”, the latest in Boris Giltburg’s excellent ongoing live online cycle. https://beethoven32.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boy0tCHxzEg



playlist of Nos. 1-21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tIHzOL ... mr&index=3

Boris Giltburg is a pianist I've been mightily impressed with ever since I acquired his debut disc on EMI of Moussorgsky's "Pictures" and a debut recital DVD from Florida where he played, among other things, a fantastic Lizst B Minor Sonata. He released just one disc of Beethoven Sonatas a while back to test himself, and was quite brilliant at it. (You can stream it on amazon's USA website.) Quite rightly, he has held back from the rest of Beethoven, and is now using the time given him by the pandemic to dig into Beethoven's oeuvre. I see that downloads of some of the sonatas are beginning to appear on the Presto website. Let's hope that Naxos issues a box soon: I'll grab it if they do!

Thanks for drawing attention to him!

[RVWforMe]

Today I've listened to:

Carulli - Guitar Sonatas, Op. 21, Nos. 1-3 and Op. 5 performed by Richard Savino

Vaughan Williams -- The Lark Ascending; Charterhouse Suite; Concerto Accademico; Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis -- Dalia Atlas/Israel Philharmonic/Zina Schiff on violin in Lark and the Concerto. Atlas/Israel Chamber Orchestra on Charterhouse. I found only limited information on Zina Schiff. Does anyone have information on her? I gather she began as a student of Jascha Heifetz.

[jserraglio]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rETHbd-Vb3k

[maestrob]

Today I've listened to:

Carulli - Guitar Sonatas, Op. 21, Nos. 1-3 and Op. 5 performed by Richard Savino

Vaughan Williams -- The Lark Ascending; Charterhouse Suite; Concerto Accademico; Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis -- Dalia Atlas/Israel Philharmonic/Zina Schiff on violin in Lark and the Concerto. Atlas/Israel Chamber Orchestra on Charterhouse. I found only limited information on Zina Schiff. Does anyone have information on her? I gather she began as a student of Jascha Heifetz.

Good morning, RVWforMe, and Happy New Year!

Welcome to CMG!

I found the following link for you to follow about Zina Schiff. She was the youngest student at Curtis when she studied there and was, indeed, a Heifetz prodigy. She records for Naxos and other labels while making a living teaching, as you'll see.

https://www.naxos.com/person/Zina_Schiff/2340.htm



There are many, many youtube videos of her available, and you can stream several CDs on amazon USA, including this one:



Hope this helps in your quest to find out more about her.

[RVWforMe]

Thanks, maestrob for the Zina Schiff link and info. I'll check into the offerings you suggest. And Happy New Year to you as well.

[CharmNewton]

My custom is to ring out the old year with Beethoven's 9th and this time I chose André Previn's recording from 1989/90 in memory of the artist. Hard to believe he has been gone for almost two years now.

In a word the performance is exuberant. The orchestra, soloists (Roberta Alexander, Florence Quivar, Gary Lakes and Paul Plishka) and especially the chorus (Ambrosian Singers) are in top form. Previn has a firm grip on the work, doesn't restrain his tympanist and ends the work with a satisfying true Presto. I prefer the orchestra's sonic perspective to be a tad closer which required raising the volume. This work should be played loudly anyway.

A delightful way to end the year.

[Rach3]

A fine live performance of Martinu’s 2nd Violin Concerto, a nice change of pace, the second and third movs. especially attractive.My recording is a Harmonia Mundi cd with Isabel Faust,Prague Phi.,Jiri Belohlavek. Have a different recording of his VC # 1. I am a big Martinu fan. The Mozart # 38 always worth a hear , but I had not for quite some time.

Enregistré le 13 juin 2019 au Grand Studio de la NDR, à Hanovre

Bedrich Smetana : Vltava (Moldau), de 'Má vlast' (Ma Patrie)

Bohuslav Martinu : Concerto No. 2 en sol mineur pour violon et orchestre, H. 293 ( At about 16:00 in )

Bélà Bartók : Melodia, de la 'Sonate pour violon seul, Sz. 117, BB 224' (bis)

Bedrich Smetana : Ouverture de La Fiancée vendue

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Symphonie No. 38 en Ré Majeur, K. 504 ('Prague')

Frank Peter Zimmermann, violon
L'Orchestre philharmonique de la NDR
Andrew Manze, direction

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2720277

[maestrob]

My custom is to ring out the old year with Beethoven's 9th and this time I chose André Previn's recording from 1989/90 in memory of the artist. Hard to believe he has been gone for almost two years now.

In a word the performance is exuberant. The orchestra, soloists (Roberta Alexander, Florence Quivar, Gary Lakes and Paul Plishka) and especially the chorus (Ambrosian Singers) are in top form. Previn has a firm grip on the work, doesn't restrain his tympanist and ends the work with a satisfying true Presto. I prefer the orchestra's sonic perspective to be a tad closer which required raising the volume. This work should be played loudly anyway.

A delightful way to end the year.

Hello, John, and Happy New Year!

Previn was an amazingly good conductor at his best, with excellent musical instincts and a fine sense of details, especially in his work in London. I love his Vaughan-Williams which is just as idiomatic as, say, Boult, and his Walton I is a classic. His Shostakovich works fine for me too, but is little known today. I once had a soprano audition for me with Renee Fleming's aria from Streetcar, which, I think, is a fine opera. Previn's Violin Concerto should be heard more often as well. Best of all, Previn was a sensitive and positively brilliant pianist, as his keyboard recordings from Shostakovich to Brahms demonstrate quite well. Here's one of my favorites:



He was also quite good as a jazz pianist and arranger, which is how he got his start.

That said, I never approached Previn's Beethoven for some reason, but I imagine it's quite fine, including the piano concertos with Emmanuel Ax. I will look around and see if I can find that Ninth Symphony somewhere.

[Rach3]

The Golden Age playing of pianist Moriz Rosenthal. I'd suggest the brief videos (audio only ) 1,2,3,21,30,32 from this collection of 42:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MStF_Pe ... A7&index=1

[maestrob]

Good idea, Rach3! He was past his prime when he made his first recordings at 65, but will still stream at least parts of this from amazon today:

[Rach3]

Good idea, Rach3! He was past his prime when he made his first recordings at 65...

Yes, but the YT's I chose to post are close to prime Rosenthal.The late Allan Evans was involved in the earlier Pearl cd releases, and Allan suggested the second ( volume II ) to me.

[Rach3]

The Golden Age playing of pianist Moriz Rosenthal. I'd suggest the brief videos (audio only ) 1,2,3,21,30,32 from this collection of 42:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MStF_Pe ... A7&index=1

I should have also added videos 4 (Liszt 2nd Rhapsody,although not his prime, but...) and 34 ( ( Chopin preludes) from the set.

[Rach3]

Until Fuhrer Trump's order to his SS to storm the Capitol:

Decided to get a better, more subtle sense of pianistic development by hearing portions of these cd's in this order:

3 of JS Bach's Partitas, Maria Tipo,pianist,EMI
3 of CPE Bach's Sonatas,Danny Driver,pianist,Hyperion
3 of Clementi's Sonatas,Tipo again,EMI
2 of Hummel's Sonatas,Constance Keene, mine a cd-r,not sure the label, perhaps Protone.

[maestrob]

Until Fuhrer Trump's order to his SS to storm the Capitol:

Decided to get a better, more subtle sense of pianistic development by hearing portions of these cd's in this order:

3 of JS Bach's Partitas, Maria Tipo,pianist,EMI
3 of CPE Bach's Sonatas,Danny Driver,pianist,Hyperion
3 of Clementi's Sonatas,Tipo again,EMI
2 of Hummel's Sonatas,Constance Keene, mine a cd-r,not sure the label, perhaps Protone.

We couldn't listen to music at all yesterday afternoon and evening.

[Rach3]

Music as a Trump antidote, an unusual brief recital of all 6 Sarabandes only from the 6 Bach solo Cello Suites played seriatim by cellist Leonard Elschenbroich, a cellist I follow, in Belfast Oct.2020:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000qytv

Now back to my pre- Capitol assault keyboard cd's listening.

[maestrob]

1) Gergiev conducting the Kirov in a live performance of "The Maid of Pskov."

A first listen, and very well done. Overwhelmingly positive reception at the end, with zero audience noise during the performance.



2) Brahms String Quartets and Piano Quartet, a recording new to me that had 12 five-star reviews on amazon. Very fine.

[maestrob]

My custom is to ring out the old year with Beethoven's 9th and this time I chose André Previn's recording from 1989/90 in memory of the artist. Hard to believe he has been gone for almost two years now.

In a word the performance is exuberant. The orchestra, soloists (Roberta Alexander, Florence Quivar, Gary Lakes and Paul Plishka) and especially the chorus (Ambrosian Singers) are in top form. Previn has a firm grip on the work, doesn't restrain his tympanist and ends the work with a satisfying true Presto. I prefer the orchestra's sonic perspective to be a tad closer which required raising the volume. This work should be played loudly anyway.

A delightful way to end the year.

Finally took the time to listen to this uplifting recording today, a very necessary tonic to my ears, if I may mix metaphors.

Previn's Beethoven with the Royal Philharmonic and the well-respected Ambrosian Singers is just right. Not a single weak moment. The soloists were all superb as well. Previn had an amazing talent, and his recordings for EMI all have a remarkably consistent high quality. Sadly, the few he made for Telarc lack the same focus, at least the ones I've heard. A great talent, fully equal to that of the more flamboyant Leonard Bernstein and, although far less prolific on disc, vastly underrated in his day and even now, IMHO.

Thank you, John, for bringing up this recording I had not heard before.

[Rach3]

Some heartfelt , excellent playing of another interesting ( and soothing) program by a youngster I currently follow, not to mention my fav Rach Prelude, “Return”, Op.32,#10 ( although Op.32,#5 not far behind), and first hearing of the Wild “Vocalise “ (!!).Per BBCR3:

“John Toal introduces a recital from the acclaimed pianist Martin James Bartlett – winner of BBC Young Musician in 2014. It was recorded in St. Mark’s Church of Ireland in the east of the city: the church in which CS Lewis was baptised, where his parents were married and his grandfather was rector. “ ( At the 2020 Belfast International Arts Festival).

Bach/Busoni: Ich Ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ
Bach/Hess: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
Schumann/Liszt: Widmung
Wagner/Liszt: Isolde’s Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde

Rachmaninov:
Prelude in B minor, Op. 32 No.10
Prelude in G Major, Op. 32 No 5
Prelude in G Sharp minor, Op. 32 No. 12
Vocalise, Op.34 No.14 (arr. Wild)
Where Beauty Dwells, Op. 21 No.7 (arr. Wild)
Polka de W.R.

Gershwin: The Man I Love
Gershwin (arr. Wild): Embraceable You
Gershwin: I Got Rhythm

Martin James Bartlett (piano)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000qwhp ( At about 9:25 in )

You must go on to “Afternoon” to finish the Gershwins, but well worth the trip:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000qwhs

[maestrob]

Just finished hearing this. Many thanks, Rach3!

Martin James Bartlett is a formidable musician. No more needs to be said. He makes the Liebestod sound easy, which it decidedly is not. In fact. playing that piece so well made Jorge Bolet's reputation in a Carnegie Hall recital from the mid-1970's which was quickly released on a best-selling record from RCA and has remained in print ever since.

Bartlett has the same level of musicality and ease in his interpretations of Liszt and Rachmaninoff, and I think he would have added even more depth if he had been playing for an audience. Absolutely remarkable talent, and well worth my time.

Warner Classics has also signed him up, and has released his first album this year, which I plan to hear soon on amazon. This is a musician I can respect and will follow eagerly.

[Rach3]

3 of JS Bach's Partitas, Maria Tipo,pianist,EMI

Here is Tipo's complete EMI set of the Partitas.I have only the cd with nos. 3,5,6.Great performances of great music, especially helpful in these times.You might want to start with No.6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T02D5Hq ... BQdQsdsgbe

[maestrob]

3 of JS Bach's Partitas, Maria Tipo,pianist,EMI

Here is Tipo's complete EMI set of the Partitas.I have only the cd with nos. 3,5,6.Great performances of great music, especially helpful in these times.You might want to start with No.6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T02D5Hq ... BQdQsdsgbe

I've had both CDs since they were originally issued. Very, very fine playing. Tipo taught for a living, instead of concertizing for whatever reason, but she was a great pianist in every sense of the word. Her Scarlatti has to be heard to be believed! What joyous sparkle!

For some reason, her Chopin Nocturnes don't work for me: too formless, she just doesn't relate to them very well, but everything else she recorded for both Vox and later EMI is sheer magic, including her Bach, Mozart & Clementi.

[Ricordanza]

I first heard Rebecca Clarke's Viola Sonata (arranged for cello) on the radio, played by a different cellist. This piece made an immediate impression on me, which was only strengthened on second hearing when I acquired this recording for my iPhone. The musical language of this 1919 piece is just on the edge of tonality, the instrumental writing is brilliant, and the work explores the full range of emotions. The piece is superbly played by cellist Natalie Clein and pianist Christian Ihle Hadland. This is a great listening experience.

Frank Bridge's musical language is similar and his Cello Sonata is also a worthy piece, though not quite as striking as Clarke's. Three short pieces by Bridge are similarly appealing.

Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Six Studies in English Folk Song" provide, in a sense, a pleasing dessert for this album.

[Rach3]

I first heard Rebecca Clarke's Viola Sonata (arranged for cello) on the radio, played by a different cellist..
Frank Bridge's musical language is similar and his Cello Sonata is also a worthy piece, though not quite as striking as Clarke's..

Thanks. Certainly agree about the Bridge, looking forward to hearing the Clarke,new to me.

[maestrob]

Yes, Hank, thank you!

I found the Bridge Sonata posted on her website linked below, along with 5 other videos of her playing. Unfortunately, her CD that is pictured above is not available on amazon for streaming, so I will try to look elsewhere for the balance.

https://coda.rs/artist/natalie-clein-violoncello/

[Rach3]

Yes, Hank, thank you!
I found the Bridge Sonata posted on her website linked below, along with 5 other videos of her playing. Unfortunately, her CD that is pictured above is not available on amazon for streaming, so I will try to look elsewhere for the balance.

Here is the Clarke Sonata (different recording ).Very interesting.Thanks again,Ricordanza.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyhWWyDHIfM

[Ricordanza]

Yes, Hank, thank you!
I found the Bridge Sonata posted on her website linked below, along with 5 other videos of her playing. Unfortunately, her CD that is pictured above is not available on amazon for streaming, so I will try to look elsewhere for the balance.

Here is the Clarke Sonata (different recording ).Very interesting.Thanks again,Ricordanza.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyhWWyDHIfM

The effusive comments on YouTube show that I am not alone in admiring this work.

[stickles]

Caught this one. An unusual Bruckner 6 and very enjoyable.
https://www.nporadio4.nl/concerten/9598 ... etails6613

[maestrob]

Yes, Hank, thank you!
I found the Bridge Sonata posted on her website linked below, along with 5 other videos of her playing. Unfortunately, her CD that is pictured above is not available on amazon for streaming, so I will try to look elsewhere for the balance.

Here is the Clarke Sonata (different recording ).Very interesting.Thanks again,Ricordanza.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyhWWyDHIfM

The effusive comments on YouTube show that I am not alone in admiring this work.

Just heard the Clarke Sonata today. Very fine piece! The story about how when she submitted her work in a competition, the judges refused to let her win because they believed that such an extraordinary piece could not be composed by a woman really blew my mind!

I'm ordering the CD you posted. Thanks so much for posting, Ricordanza!

[Rach3]

Steven Osborne, a pianist I follow, and Principal Players of Aurora in a powerful reading of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet live in London, Dec.2020, music for our time as well. Starts with a conversation with Osborne about 46:00 in. I did not hear the other 2 works.

-----

From BBC Radio 3 :

Internationally renowned Scottish pianist Steven Osborne joins Principal Players of Aurora for one of the final concerts in Aurora's five-year project 'Mozart's Piano': the first complete performance cycle of Mozart’s piano concertos ever staged in the UK. Mozart's piano Concerto No. 23 was written at the same time as his opera The Marriage of Figaro and its seemingly endless succession of memorable tunes have ensured that it's still one of his most popular concertos. Social distancing rules give us a rare chance to hear the concerto in a chamber version.

Even though it meant he was 100,000 roubles better off, perhaps Shostakovich felt ambivalent when his Piano Quintet won the 1940 Stalin Prize. But this wartime piece is one of the great works of Soviet 20th-Century chamber music and packs a huge emotional punch.

Between these two classics, a world premiere from Sylvia Lim whose interest in the materiality of sound, rawness and instability has led her to write for the unusual combination of trombone and string quartet.

Recorded last month at Kings Place and introduced by Tom Service.

Mozart (arr. Lachner for string quintet): Piano Concerto No.23 in A major, K488
Sylvia Lim: Points of Intersection (world premiere)
Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57

------

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000r3lw ( At 46:00 )


My cd is with the Nash Ensemble.

[maestrob]

The Shostakovich is a great work. I have it with Richter somewhere, but this version is even better IMHO, as part of Argerich's complete Warner box, recorded in 2007:



Thanks for posting!

[Rach3]

Was re-reading Harold Schonbeg’s “The Great Pianists” ( 1963), and decided I had to hear, once, some Dreyschock.

Alexander Dreyschock’s transcription of Chopin’s “Revolutionary “ etude . Good part of left hand and some of right in octaves !

I think this pianist missed a few (?), but bravo for the attempt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL8neEJGAcw (Video )

A more technically(?), musically, adept reading by a different pianist ( Audio only ) :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqHz0OvcfVA

More of Dreyschock’s pieces de salon, about 25 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsGiomM ... mu&index=3

Gotta’ love # 13 in above YT, “ Le Chant du Combat”, for the title alone.#22 Op.31 Fantasie a good example of his note-spinning.

Per Schonberg: “As Hanslick ponderously put it, Dreyschock ‘ completed the succession of those virtuosi whose bravura was capable of attracting and fascinating a numerous public which admired technical magic and was happiest in astonishment.’ ” Although Schonberg also reported that, “ Theodor Kullak, who was a trained observer and knew what he was talking about, said that Dreyschock’s technique was better than Liszt’s.”

[Rach3]

Radio France videos of great works, all favs of mine :

Marie Jude and Michael Beroff play live in Paris Jan. 2,2021, 4 excerpts from Ravel’s “Ma Mere l’Oye” , reminding me it has been far too long since I last listened to my lp of Robert and Gaby Casadesus in the same:

https://www.francemusique.fr/concert/in ... n-feerique (Then scroll down)

3 young Frenchmen having fun playing the last movement of Shostakovich’s 2nd Piano Trio ,Jan.2,2021:

https://www.francemusique.fr/concert/in ... allegretto

Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Tharaud play Shostakovich’s Op.40 Cello Sonata, live in Paris,2018:

https://www.francemusique.fr/concert/in ... neur-op-40

The Moreaus ( cellist Edgar one I follow ):

Jérémie Moreau (piano), David Moreau (violon) et Edgar Moreau (violoncelle) interprètent le 3e et 4e mouvements du Trio pour piano et cordes n° 1 en si majeur op. 8 de Johannes Brahms. Une émission enregistrée le 19 décembre 2020 au Théâtre de l'Alliance Française:

https://www.francemusique.fr/concert/in ... non-troppo

https://www.francemusique.fr/concert/in ... -iv-finale

Jérémie Moreau (piano) et Edgar Moreau (violoncelle) interprètent le Chant à la Lune extrait de l'acte I de Rusalka d'Anton Dvorak (arrangement d'Edgar Moreau). Une émission enregistrée le 19 décembre 2020 au Théâtre de l'Alliance Française :

https://www.francemusique.fr/concert/in ... -a-la-lune (Wow ! )

[maestrob]

Thanks for all of those, Rach3! Great selections!

Below is my recommended recording of the two-piano version of Ma mere l'oye, with Argerich and Pletnev, before he became a conductor:

[Rach3]

For fans of pianist Igor Levit, a sparkling reading of the Mozart concerto, with a virtuoso first mov. cadenza I suspect written by Levit ( as I suspect were the final movs.’). I did not hear the symphony. A suitable pairing would be an Alsatian cremant.Interesting choice of encore.

Enregistré le 16/01/2020 au Hercules Hall, Residenz, Munich

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Concerto pour piano n ° 22 en mi bémol majeur, K.482
Charles V. Alkan - La chanson de la folle au bord de la mer, (The song of the madwoman by the sea),Op. 31/8 (bis)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaïkovski - Symphonie n ° 4 en fa mineur, op.36
Igor Levit, piano
Orchestre symphonique de la radio bavaroise,Iván Fischer

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2724895

[Rach3]

Heard Thomas Ades’ 2005 Violin Concerto first time today.Enjoyed.Will re-hear,possibly acquire.I do not care for his piano concerto, but glad I heard the VC.did not hear the other works on the broadcast.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000r521 ( At about 75 minutes in )

Ravel: La Valse
Marius Neset: MANMADE - Saxophone Concerto (world premiere)
Marius Neset, saxophone
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor Edward Gardner

Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D minor, op. 104
Oslo Philharmonic
Conductor Klaus Mäkelä


Thomas Adès: Concentric Paths - Violin Concerto, op. 24
Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances, op. 45
Pekka Kuusisto, violin
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Nicholas Collon

[Rach3]

Heard Thomas Ades’ 2005 Violin Concerto first time today.Enjoyed.Will re-hear,possibly acquire.I do not care for his piano concerto, but glad I heard the VC.

Did hear the VC again. While it is still, for me, by far a more attractive work than his piano concerto, the Violin Concerto was not as attractive on second hearing as it was on first.Wont be acquiring, so still no Ades works in my collection.

[Wallingford]

Being in stay-at home mode this past year, I've done tons of music listening, but especially now, since one of my New Year's resolutions has been not to spend so much time at the computer or with the TV on (impossible this past year what with the political situation and world events).

Right now I've been pulling out stacks of vinyl including the following:

Ravel’s Daphnis & Chloe—both suites (Skrowaczewski)
Mussorgsky’s Bald Mountain and Liszt’s Les Preludes (Boult)
Schubert’s A minor Sonata—the one that was once “Opus 42” (Richter)
Mozart’s Haffner & Haydn’s “London” Symphonies (Krips, w/RPO)
Shostakovich’s 9th and Brahms’ 3rd (Koussevitzky)
Stravinsky himself conducting The Fairy's Kiss (w/Cleveland Orch.)
R. Strauss himself conducting Ein Heldenleben (VPO)
Beeethoven’s ‘Waldstein”, “Tempest” & “Funeral March” sonatas (Schnabel)
Ravel’s Histoires naturelles (Bacquier)
Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole & Alborada (Leibowitz)
….plus liberal helpings of Arthur Fiedler and those Reader’s Digest pops sets