Your Current 'Kick'...

[Ken]

If you're anything like me, you often take your music in short-lasting but intense thematic spurts. For instance, right now I find myself listening to a recording of Schumann's Eichendorff Liederkreis practically every day. Not too long ago I was on a steady diet of Lutoslawski orchestral pieces that lasted for a couple of weeks, and there was a point last year when I listened to the same recording of Bartók's Second Piano Concerto multiple times a day for about a week. I don't think I've come back to that recording since then! Eventually the 'novelty' of the music kick wears off or we burn out altogether, and we go searching for a new 'high'.

So what are your current musical 'kicks'? What's the latest addiction?

[Lance]

You'll never believe this, but: Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue! I'm just on a kick with it.

[Corlyss_D]

Gregorian Chant on http://www.concertzender.nl - I'm pigging out in case they pull the plug on the internet station as they have threatened to do. Rolf emailed me a few days ago that there are hopeful signs of a reprieve.

[Imperfect Pitch]

Mozart! At the moment I'm rediscovering his Violin Concertos #3 and #5. I was a kid when I first heard these works on my parents' audio cassette (Mutter/Karajan/BPO) and I just recently picked them up again via Perlman/Levine/VPO. Like much of Mozart this music reveals great depth beneath a light and innocent veneer, and rewards repeated listening.

Before Mozart I went through a long (couple years') Schubert phase and before that, an even longer Bach phase where I devoured all of his keyboard and solo instrumental works. I wish I could write in with more "interesting" choices a bit off the beaten path, but this is what I find myself drawn to - so there you have it.

[Heck148]

You'll never believe this, but: Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue! I'm just on a kick with it.

Me too - we just played it, using Gershwin's piano roll rendition for the solo part!!
this is quite involved...the conductor has to basically conduct the accompanying 'Virtual" orchestra part, which he hears thru the headphones - the real orchestra, "us" - has to follow him very explicitly and carefully. this isn't so easy, because Gershwinreallytakes off and plays some almost insane tempi....

it came off quite wel, tho, both concerts - the 2nd was esp good, the counductor lost it a little bit right at the end of perfromance #2 - but it's a tough gig for him....he definitely did alright!! I doubt the glitch was very noticeable - this alll Gershwin program was receive most enthusiastically both times- the audience went truly nuts...

at the moment - my listening has been directed towards a chronological survey of Medieval/Rennaissance music from Hildegard up thru Monteverdi or so...it's interesting - I'm presently as far as Palestrina. quite a contrast to Machaut!!

I've also been spending alot of time listening to Landowska's performances of the Scarlatti sonatas....I know these have sparked controversy - the unique sounding instrument, her "romanticisms", etc - but this is marvelous music-making...beautiful phrasing, a profound sense of rhythm and flow...I don't find the tempo fluctuations disrupting at all, but rather quite natural, and very consistent with the musical line...
clean peppy allegro/prestos, a lovely swing to the minuets, these performances are not in the least monotonous or routine sounding to me.
I'm going to find some more, probably her Bach renditions...

[Seán]

You'll never believe this, but: Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue! I'm just on a kick with it.

Really, what a surprise!

[Seán]

I listen to the Dorati/Philharmonia Hungarica recording of Haydn's 60th symphony every day, it helped to wean me off Haydn's 82nd with Weil/Tafelmusik.

[Chalkperson]

So what are your current musical 'kicks'? What's the latest addiction?

Czech and Polish Music and Operas, plus Conductors and Soloists, I listen to everything from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century, last night I listened to all the recordings I own by Pavel Haas, who sadly died in a Gas Chamber in 1944... for Operas i'm on a blitz of Janacek, Smetana, Syzmanowski, and especially Stanisław Moniuszko...

[jbuck919]

The Bach cantatas. Been on this kick for 37 years now.

[lmpower]

I have a tendency to go on kicks like this also. I have just finished listening to Beethoven quartets from the seventh through the sixteenth.

[ravel30]

Ken,

First of all, let me tell you that I find your idea for this thread to be excellent.
I have three current kicks.

- Six Pieces Characteristiques Op. 1 by Bedrich Smetana
-Piano Concerto no. 2 By Shostakovich
-The piano pieces Late-Summer Nights Op. 33 by the Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar.

Here is an excerpt of the first three pieces of Late Summer Nights by Stenhammar



Chalkie, I am becoming a bigger and bigger fan of Shostakovich with time. You and I will have to talk about him sometimes soon.

Salutations to everyone here. I miss you all a lot

Matt

[Heck148]

Ken,

First of all, let me tell you that I find your idea for this thread to be excellent.
I have three current kicks.

-Piano Concerto no. 2 By ShostakovichMatt

I love Shost Pfe Concerto #2. what a cool piece.

[Wallingford]

Can't say too much for a "kick" for any particular piece....my hectic move, out-of-state, has had my mind occupied way too much, and I'm still searching my brain for the precious possessions I left behind for the managers & maintenance workers to take away.

Actually, playing the piano (& the church's chintzy Casio) for my niece's wedding in two days, my mind's been wholly on two pieces: Bach's "Jesu, joy of man's desiring" and Grieg's "I love thee." The first she selected, the second I suggested, adding I'd like it as top chioce for my wedding, if ever it takes place.

A couple of CD box sets of historical recordings of Grieg's vocal & solo piano music (still available on the Simax label) has at least 6 different 78-era recordings of "I love thee" (Hans Christian Andersen did the text), sung in four different languages, including Spanish. To me, the song's one in a million, & my niece doesn't really disagree. Amazing to study Grieg's inventively dissonant voice-leading in the intro.

As for "Jesu, joy....." I'm using the famed Dame Myra Hess arrangement; actually, no one but Hess herself can impart quite the magic to keep the lack of range from seeming a tad monotonous. My technique's no longer nearly as it was, so I'm having to delete voices from a chord here and there, but I'm still fascinated at the genius behind a piece like this and how indestructible it is (Apollo 100 notwithstanding ). I'd have used the Harold Bauer arrangement if I had the fingers for it: it varies not much from Hess', except that Bauer's has more tenth stretches for the hand in the left hand, and the frequent instrumental breaks (between the original vocal parts) making use of an octave-higher interval in the middle.....overall, a fine alternative to Hess' transcription.

Unfortunately, in my rush a couple days ago, hurriedly throwing things into the two suitcases Southwest Airlines let me load for free, I found that the photocopies of the Hess arrangement I had every reason to believe I'd included, were nowhere to be found, so I've been dredging it up from my memory. Fortunately, I've practiced it enough times that I can pretty much manage.

I'll put on the complete cantata one of these days.

[Imperfect Pitch]

Wallingford: A clip to inspire you as you prepare for the big day. I believe this is Myra Hess' transcription, but performed by Dinu Lipatti (whom I prefer, ironically enough, to Hess herself in this arrangement). Good luck!

[Wallingford]

Yes, Lipatti's performance was of the Hess transcription.

[RebLem]

A couple years ago, I realized I only owned three recordings of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps--Stravinsky's own, one by Pierre Monteux with the BSO, and the Boulez. I liked the first two very much, but the Boulez seemed too tame for me. So, I went to ArkivMusic and ordered 17 recordings of the work all at one time. After auditioning them over a period of about 2 weeks, I found two new ones that I liked a lot, and I radically changed my evaluation of the Boulez. I don't know now why I didn't like it the first few times I listened to it years ago. I think maybe my sound system had some undetected defect at the time--a tube gone out in the tube preamp I had at the time, or some such, or maybe I had just listened to it at too low a volume or while distracted by something else. Now, though, I'd pick it as my number 1 favorite. The new ones I liked a lot were by Abbado and Rozhdestvensky. So, now I have 5 favorites, in order, more or less--Boulez, Stravinsky, Rozhdestvensky, Abbado, and Monteux. The other 15 I got, some of which are still very good, are by, alphabetically, Ancerl, Bernstein (DGG with the Israel Phil), Colin Davis (Concertgebouw), Dorati (Detroit), Dorati (Minneapolis), Dutoit, Fricsay, Gergiev, Horenstein, Leibowitz, Mackerras, Markevitch, Rahbari, Solti, and Thomas.

Then, about a year ago, I realized I had only 3 recordings of the Mozart Piano Sonatas--by Christoph Eschenbach, Mitsuko Uchida, and Klara Wurtz. So, I went out and got a few others and have added cycles by Alicia de Larrocha, Walter Gieseking, and Lili Kraus, and listened to them over about 2 weeks. My favorites are now Gieseking and de Larrocha.

[Chalkperson]

Then, about a year ago, I realized I had only 3 recordings of the Mozart Piano Sonatas--by Christoph Eschenbach, Mitsuko Uchida, and Klara Wurtz. So, I went out and got a few others and have added cycles by Alicia de Larrocha, Walter Gieseking, and Lili Kraus, and listened to them over about 2 weeks. My favorites are now Gieseking and de Larrocha.

Which Lily Kraus, the Columbia is OK, but the one on Music and Arts is fantastic...

[RebLem]

Then, about a year ago, I realized I had only 3 recordings of the Mozart Piano Sonatas--by Christoph Eschenbach, Mitsuko Uchida, and Klara Wurtz. So, I went out and got a few others and have added cycles by Alicia de Larrocha, Walter Gieseking, and Lili Kraus, and listened to them over about 2 weeks. My favorites are now Gieseking and de Larrocha.

Which Lily Kraus, the Columbia is OK, but the one on Music and Arts is fantastic...

I have the one on M&A. Its good, but I still like Gieseking and de Larrocha better. Gieseking is best at expressing the long melodic line, and de Larrocha is perfect at the elegant phrasing of trills and embellishments.

[SaulChanukah]

There were times I almost only listened to Mendelssohn's Elijah.
Then almost only to Chopin's first concerto.
Then Almost only to Bach's keybourd concertos.
Then almost only to Mendelssohn's piano works.

[hangos]

Sibelius ..... the addiction has lasted for about 6 months!!! That's right, even through the summer (for me, Sibelius has always been a winter favourite)
Worryingly, when i listen to Bartok, Bruckner, Mahler, Wagner, Beethoven, Debussy, Shostakovich, Lutoslawski, Xenakis etc etc I don't get anything like the same buzz that I used to from them, so I have been listening almost exclusively to Sibelius in many different recordings, from Kajanus/Koussevitzky/Toscanini right through to Segerstam, and I still am not bored or satiated with this music.
Help!
Martin

[Seán]

Sibelius ..... the addiction has lasted for about 6 months!!! That's right, even through the summer (for me, Sibelius has always been a winter favourite)
Worryingly, when i listen to Bartok, Bruckner, Mahler, Wagner, Beethoven, Debussy, Shostakovich, Lutoslawski, Xenakis etc etc I don't get anything like the same buzz that I used to from them, so I have been listening almost exclusively to Sibelius in many different recordings, from Kajanus/Koussevitzky/Toscanini right through to Segerstam, and I still am not bored or satiated with this music.
Help!
Martin

As an elderly newbie I find that I do get a "real buzz" fom listening to a particular composer and this can sometimes last for months. In my case the Mahler buzz/intense obsession to the exclusion of almost everything else lasted for a year and a half. I am gradually, slowly, gently being weaned off Mahler and am listening to other music too.

[Seán]

Sibelius ..... the addiction has lasted for about 6 months!!! ...........
Help!
Martin

Marthin, you don't need help, Sibelius is good for the soul.

[Chalkperson]

In my case the Mahler buzz/intense obsession to the exclusion of almost everything else lasted for a year and a half. I am gradually, slowly, gently being weaned off Mahler and am listening to other music too.

When was the last time you bought (yet another) Mahler CD, truthful answer please...

[Fergus]

Mozart's Piano Concertos:

[bombasticDarren]

Mozart's Piano Concertos:

I have that set Fergus

Keep meaning to devote more time to it...what I have heard so far is tremendous

[Fergus]

Mozart's Piano Concertos:

....Keep meaning to devote more time to it...what I have heard so far is tremendous

There is not a bad performance in the entire set

[Chalkperson]

Mozart's Piano Concertos:

....Keep meaning to devote more time to it...what I have heard so far is tremendous

There is not a bad performance in the entire set

There never was, i'm glad it only took you nineteen years to find that out...

[Fergus]

Mozart's Piano Concertos:

....Keep meaning to devote more time to it...what I have heard so far is tremendous

There is not a bad performance in the entire set

There never was, i'm glad it only took you nineteen years to find that out...

Not quite nineteen....but I am a slow learner

[Seán]

Mozart's Piano Concertos:

....Keep meaning to devote more time to it...what I have heard so far is tremendous

There is not a bad performance in the entire set

There never was, i'm glad it only took you nineteen years to find that out...

Not quite nineteen....but I am a slow learner

I really doubt if that's the case.

[Lance]

On a kick, lately, of Domenico Scarlatti sonatas, as performed on a piano. Horowitz, Gilels, Tipo, etc.

[Seán]

Every day I listen to one or more of the seven versions of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony in my collection and I also listen to Beethoven's First & Second String Quartets. I quite like Beethoven actually.

[Beckmesser]

Lately I have been listening to the piano music of Francis Poulenc.

I have never played much of the piano literature from the twentieth century so I am looking for some of Poulenc's pieces to learn.

[Auntie Lynn]

Repertory development - anybody wanna help? I need BIG Waltzes and lotsa polkas...

That's why I joined this kip back in the mesozoic age...

[Beckmesser]

Repertory development - anybody wanna help? I need BIG Waltzes and lotsa polkas...

That's why I joined this kip back in the mesozoic age...

For the piano, presumably?

I have often wondered if there exists a piano transcription of the polka and fugue from Weinberger's opera Schwanda the Bagpiper.