an attempt at a general "What are you currently digging re. classical music" thread

oh shit I would be ALL OVER that concert

the Allegri piece alone is worth it

Yep, I'm seriously thinking of going if there are any tickets left. Might have to work late tomorrow tho so I'm having to hold off for the mo.

I've sung the Tallis, Allegri and Lauridsen pieces (I've been the baritone in the quartet for the Allegri quartet every time I've done it ^_^)

Today I am listening to this disc of music by Tristan Murail:

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So far my favorite is "Attracteurs étranges" for solo cello. Incredibly colorful.

Not new to me, but I just want to bring this to everyone's attention because I was just listening to it:

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The short (6 minute) piece "Interlude" is just a gem — an extremely atmospheric weave of hazy consonance like the "Farben" movement from Schoenberg's 5 Pieces for Orch. Chain II and Partita are both unabashedly virtuosic, the harmony Funeral Music (might be his most famous piece) is amazingly dense and contrapuntally complex, and the 4th symphony (his masterpiece imo) is wonderfully dark and tightly argued. This is a top ten disc for me.

NP:

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Continuing my trip through the Xenakis orch. works — about to give this a first listen:

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xenakis' shaar is great

i don't think i've heard any of those

need to revisit the orch clasics like metastasis/pithoprakta (sp?)

Shaar is great. Jonchaies is still probably my favorite piece by him — just an elemental power. So far on first listening Synaphaï is the standout piece. Kyania is kind of boring and rhythmically square, like some of late Xenakis I've heard.

Change of gears:

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So beautiful. I've listened to this disc close to a dozen times and yet for some reason still have not explored his other organ works. There are just so many of them, I don't know where to start — though maybe I should just assume (probably correctly) that they're all good.

I just made a command decision that I need to explore Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Where to start? I prefer dense, dark, and dramatic.

there's a rly nice xenakis piece for organ, gmeeoorh

shostakovich....well those adjectives will fit a lot of his work, espcially symphonic

#7 and #10 especially but i like the last (#15) which is quite strange and parodic and grim

I strongly recommend Shostakovich's 8th string quartet.

Also the second piano trio.

But enough about Shostakovich. I'm a much bigger fan of Prokofiev and would recommend the following in particular:

Third, Fifth, and Sixth Symphonies
Romeo and Juliet
Second piano concerto
Second violin concerto <-- good place to start

Piano Sonatas: Nos. 3, 6, 7, 8, 9

Less "dense, dark, and dramatic," but equally great:

First Symphony ("Classical")
Lt. Kije
Flute and piano sonata (there's a later version for violin and piano)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fVoUQScW5s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knqsx6_Ku1Q

And a much younger Gilels playing the same work

I don't know much Prokofiev so I couldn't say much other than echoing the recommendations of the others — as for Shostakovich, I'd recommend his Piano Quintet and the String Quartets (all of them from 3 on. I'd start with the trilogy of 7, 8 and 9).

Thanks for the recommendations guys! :)

Be sure to post here once you've listened to them. :)

Now playing on LP: Handel Recorder Sonatas, Op. 1 (Gustav Leonhardt, August Wenzinger, Hans-Martin Linde)

NP:

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I used to work in that building!

Where is it?

It's the Renzo Piano tower at IRCAM (Paris).

(And I only worked there for about six months way back in 2001.)

That's really cool though. I really hope to visit IRCAM one day.

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Revisiting this set, my first complete Sib. I'm listening to the disc with syms. 5-7.

This is the best music ever btw.

Buxtehude, baby.

Cool, I don't know much by him other than a few organ pieces that are in the Gustav Leonhardt box set. What do you recommend?

Listening:

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LvB - Große fuge
Conlon Nancarrow - String Quartet No. 3
Ruth Crawford-Seeger - String Quartet
Roger Reynolds - Coconico... A Shattered Landscape
Iannis Xenakis - Tetras

that's a great cd, my fav version of grosse fuge, xenakis and c-s pieces excellent

Yes, and the Nancarrow is a lot of fun and the Reynolds piece was a surprise, I'd never heard him until now.

Tonight saw Cliff Colnot conduct the Civic Orchestra in Sibelius's 4th and the 2nd suite from Ravel's Daphnis and Chloé. Orchestra sounded good but the tempi in the Sib were... weird, but the Ravel went off without a hitch.

I don't even know if William Brittelle's new Television Landscape is even "classical," apart from the fact that the whole thing is notated, but I don't know where else to mention it on ILM. It's really fantastic.

I listened to a bit, would probably say it's pop, but pop in the vein of Van Dyke Parks with really good arrangements. The vocals are a little off-putting.

Went to my first recital in an age last night. Highlight was a piece for violin and piano, played by Tim Parkinson and Angharad Davies.

From the pre-performance intro Tim gave you can conclude that, if it was composed in the 1850s people would have dismissed simply as out of tune, but because of the baggage that history accumulates over time something like this, executed with a straight face, could work. I actually like the violin passages at the end where it was reaching certain frequencies where it sounded so out of tune. The old notes but not in this way.

When a young group gets together for their first gig its their naivety and perhaps their ignorance (and that you know of this) but also enthusiasm that makes anyone listening invest emotions to make up for any gaps in tech. But here you know they are aware of history and that they have a technique. Usually I'd dismiss but there was almost a serious attempt to codify naivety. Except that its the lack of investment on part of your ear that is felt the most.

I guess I wanted to feel cheated, somehow.

Also heard a performance of Earle Brown's December 1952 (piano/saxophone). Made much more of an impression than any recording.

Neat, I went to a similar concert on Sunday held in a loft and put on by a few local musicians — the guy who put it together is a composer/pianist. He played some short piano pieces by a Uruguayan composer whose name I can't remember, a piece by French composer Allain Gaussin (of whom I'd not heard before then) and Feldman's Piano Piece 1956 A. After that a trio played improvisational electroacoustic music with electric guitar, amplified flute and a home-built instrument that had various objects amplified like metal springs, a pewter chalice, hair combs and small pieces of metal that made a sound like a thumb piano. After that a quartet of clarinet, flute, piano and modular synthesizer played some improvisational music with a more structured character.

Listening this week:

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NP:

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Martha Argerich playing Bach's Partita no. 2 in C minor and English Suite no. 2 in A minor... beautiful and very brilliant

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Re: the Nono I posted above — remarkable stuff. The early Due Esspressioni seems to be an extension of Webern's muted dynamics and constantly shifting instrumental color. There are some really unique instrument doublings in the latter half of the piece.

A Carolo Scarpa is surprisingly Scelsi-like, gravitating around a single tone and alternating stretches of silence with exclamations from the orchestra (with a hefty percussion battery).

Post-Praeludium is scored for tuba and live electronics, but is surprisingly delicate and quite beautiful really. The actions of the player come back as echoes and eventually the lines pile up, weave across and interact with each other. Very ghostly.

"fragmente-stille" is famous. I've heard the Arditti recording but it's been probably four years, so I couldn't compare, but I remember the piece as being extremely static and dull — so funny how our perceptions change. There is so much drama in this piece and I find it excitingly varied and engaging. Need to hear the other recordings.

Or see fragmente-stille live. Saw the Arditti play that with one of Schoenberg's quartet and it works really well!

I hope that I'll be able to in my lifetime! Where did you see the Ardittis?

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Scando-tonal syms from a composer that died too young (only 64). Neither are incredibly groundbreaking but both are very personal and unique. The 3rd is surprisingly bleak. He eventually wrote a total of 8 syms and 11 string quartets (which I especially want to hear).

Corey - At the QEH in London.

Listening to this week:

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The Ligeti (from his bizarre-yet-accessible late style) I know and love, but I'm new to the Nørgård pieces. I'm a huge Nørgård fan and think he's one of the greatest composers living today.