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The classical what are you listening to now ? thread.

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Debussy played by Gordon Fergus-Thompson. I’m in SW France, it’s 8.30pm so dark, 27° and very comfortable. Trust me, it works as a combination.
 
alanbeeb said:
Igor Levit playing Shostakovich 24 Preludes & Fugues. Been quite excited about this recording which was released today and it does not disappoint. Steeling myself now to start Ronald Stevenson's epic Passacaglia and Fugue on DSCH which Levit has released on the same album. Together its about 3.5 hours of music.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B095LFLLQ4/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

The CDs cost £29 at amazon... but the 24/96 flacs can be downloaded from Presto for £14.
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Listened to the Shostakovich 24 all the way through last night. This performance is immense. I've got three other recordings of this work - Tatiana Nikoleyeva, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Roger Woodward (on 70s vinyl) - all of them good, but this surpasses them all. Overall there is much more beauty, intensity and pathos in this performance than I suspected in this work which can in parts sound like an academic exercise. And the recording is stunning too. This is definitely one of my new classical recordings of the decade.

I have listened to the Stevenson Passacaglia too, and its an incredible piece of music.

Gramophone review here: https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/igot-levit-on-dsch

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I've had these in the rotation for a few months. The first one is particularly good, but I like them all.

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alanbeeb said:
Listened to the Shostakovich 24 all the way through last night. This performance is immense. I've got three other recordings of this work - Tatiana Nikoleyeva, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Roger Woodward (on 70s vinyl) - all of them good, but this surpasses them all. Overall there is much more beauty, intensity and pathos in this performance than I suspected in this work which can in parts sound like an academic exercise. And the recording is stunning too. This is definitely one of my new classical recordings of the decade.

I have listened to the Stevenson Passacaglia too, and its an incredible piece of music.

Gramophone review here: https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/igot-levit-on-dsch

igor-levit-2021-on-dsch-lp-162.jpg
Click to expand...

Levit is also pretty good in Bach. His recordings of the Partitas and the Goldberg Variations are sublime, IMO.
 
BrianPK said:
The week has been devoted to the wonderful music of J.C.Bach.
Warm, detailed 1970+ recordings.

https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Sinfoni...eywords=Jc+bach+philips&qid=1631885586&sr=8-1

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That looks like a good CD. The Philips DUOs have some good editions. I have Brahms late piano music in that edition and even though I'm not a great Brahms fan, it is one of the best solo piano collections I own. But as to J.C. Bach I've been on his keyboard sonatas recently (I have a great edition played on fortepiano and early pianoforte), so perusing the above as a follow-on would be a good step. What's your assessment of the disc?
 
Both of the JCBach Philips DUOs have first class playing with a warm,detailed and rich sound on modern instruments.I wouldn’t be without them.:)
 
Brahms Symphony No.1 Daniel Harding, Orchestre de Paris live recording from The Philhanonie on Medici TV. What a beautiful, lyrical reading- almost thought I was listening to Saint-Saëns in the second movement.
 
Mozart “Haydn” String Quartets played by the Chilingirian Quartet on CRD. This is truly superb Mozart, the kind that only comes around once in a while…
 
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Carl Wolf is new to me, and I only bought this disc when it appeared for a few dollars. The man has skill. This generous sampler of romantic era starts off with Schubert's D959, and Wolf doesn't dazzle with pyrotechnics, but with finely graded touch. He's not too the level of Volodos, but he delivers the goods in the controlled opening movement, and then after starting solemn in the Andantino, he builds to a satisfying climax. The Scherzo is a model of crisp, rhythmically vibrant playing, and the tuneful Rondo boasts incredibly clear voices and subtle dynamics. It's quite something. Just when one is content with the very fine Schubert, along comes what may be the true highlight of the disc, monumental Mendelssohn. The Op 102, No 1 Lied Ohne Worte sounds dark, weight, harmonically rich and lovely, and the Prelude and Fugue sounds like properly romanticized baroque music. The two Chopin Nocturnes have a rich sound as well, and offer some harder hitting sections without overdoing it. The B Flat Scherzo that closes the disc displays ample virtuosity and impact, but it also blends in incredibly nuanced, gently controlled playing. It's a pity Mr Wolf has not recorded much more than the couple discs he has. Dux provides superb sound.
 
Brahms violin concerto: Hilary Hahn, Gianandrea Noseda, NSO live recording from the Kennedy Centre on Medici TV. The sound is very strange-Hahn sounds like she’s playing in a school classroom in a separate acoustic from the orchestra! I keep looking for a wall near her but maybe it’s a floor reflection. Very distracting.
 
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I'm a big fan of David Greilsammer and his mixed rep recordings. I hesitated on this one for a few years since it blends jazz into the mix. Silly me. The disc contains works from Lully, Purcell, Rameau, Marais, Ives, and a small band version of Ravel's G Major Concerto, which serves as the central work in this extended musical palindrome. Each composer other than Ravel gets a modern day, jazz-infused transformation treatment. Sounds and reads hokey, but definitely does not listen hokey. Nope. Some of the musical transitions are really quite extraordinary, and never more so than when the disc flows from a Purcell transformation into Ives' The Unanswered Question. Talk about masterful programming. Greilsammer is smart enough to know that in such a wide-ranging collaborative effort that a jazz pianist is better suited to jazz piano, so Greilsammer plays only the Ravel and conducts most of the rest. There's an improvisatory feel to big slugs of the playing. The small band lends itself to superb clarity, and the SOTA sound recorded in the venerable Jesus Christus Kirche in Berlin adds to the allure. Another knockout from Mr Greilsammer.
 
Just broke this 60 cd box set out for first time in years.
I’m wondering why not as the sound quality of most of the offerings(middle 1950s) is simply wonderful.I was lucky to buy it for £60 delivered.
Everybody and anybody in it.
Listening to a little Albéniz at the moment...fab.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009J3K4MI/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

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This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
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