What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol.VIII)

Jenkins, Ford, Holborne, Ferrabosco - music from the 16-17c; tunes/ostinatos sometimes much earlier.

Ladies turn - excellent disc.

First spin. Is it me, or has Abbado found a new youthful energy? I don't recall he ever sounded as convincing and persuasive playing Mozart as here. The Orchestra Mozart sounds brilliant, as well, a beautiful fusion of HIP and modern. Pires is great as always, and by now, new recordings by her have become scarce so a real event.

Cheers,

EJ

Mono vinyl.

It's minimalist piano music of an unusual kind, more alive and haunting than usual. Not a huge work, but interesting and pleasant.

Doesn't easily accepts to be enjoyed in background, in the end you're listening to it.

Incidentally, the CD that most revealed the difference between the Sats and the Ovator 400s.

CBS 1969. Original 1st press vinyl.

For me one of their best. Electric West Coast Folk Rock. 

On Original Vinyl.

The great war of words' is one of those hidden gems from before commercial pressure bit too hard. It has remained one of my most favoured albums for the last 13 years. Great standard recording too.

Graham.

Messin'

Yes, I agree. Loved it!

Great rock & blues

Yeah, I'm in that sort of mood. Look at their faces... Tough crowd!

Tanita Tikaram: Ancient Heart

I've noticed she's got a Naim hifi. 

Cool. 

Still I haven't got around listening to Pires' Mozart. How is she compare to her earlier effort?

I think the only disc I have of Abbado conducting Mozart is with older Serkin from the 80s? I recall the set sounded tired and sluggish.

Now listeing:

Mozart Piano Concerto No.10 with Gulda and Corea followed by Corea's own 'Fantasy for Two Pianos' reminiscing his 'Spain'. 

Dynamic rhythmic duo. I dont know who's playing what but this is really cool and Gulda is perfectly at home with the genre.

This kind of cross pollination is fun.

Here's Yuja Wang doing not so convincing Tatum's 'Tea for Two'.

I heard her doing it as her last encore in Milano, after a solo recital. I understand well why you think she's not completely convincing, but that young woman has a mix of ease, technique, animal musicality and, what's more, she plays the most difficult things in such an effortless way that one is tempted to re-evaluate the historic figure of the sheer virtuoso, and assign it a place in music history.

BTW, she's gorgeous - in all her 1.5 mt.

Takemitsu's music may not satisfy some very sophisticated listeners, and his own arrangements for guitar of a few Beatles songs (very well done, actually) seem slightly redundant in the today's music panorama but this CD is very well played and, not marginally, has a six stars recording quality.

Kuma, agree with the Serkin, that was a misguided recording project. Abbado was fine with Gulda, in the 70s, and he's again good here with Pires, heading up what sounds like a period instrument band.

I listened to some samples of Abbado's other recent recordings with the Orchestra Mozart on DG, and maybe it's the lousy medium or the fact that I'm enjoying my first coffee of the day but those samples sounded as interesting as watching paint dry - it's Pires sparking the fire perhaps? She is wonderful, incidentally, perhaps a shade less fluent than in her younger years but she hasn't lost the knack of coaxing a singing voice out of her instrument.

What's up with Yuja Wang? Her Rachmaninov disc for DG was full of going nowhere IMO and I didn't come across her since. You seem quite the follower

EJ

On original vinyl. 

Came across this old favourite in the rack whilst looking for something else.Stackridge became a popular in the UK in the 1970's.West Country, Prog Rock meets Folk, Yes meets Steeleye Span (well, maybe not quite). The critically acclaimed  ‘The Man in the Bowler Hat, was produced by Sir George Martin. Worth a listen.

Graham

Continuing with the other recent high profile Mozart concerto recording, Uchida's third disc with the Cleveland. Compared to her earlier recordings with Tate, both concertos are given a much richer 

interpretation and sound. Just after Pires, Uchida comes across as the more robust, but also more conventional interpreter. The secret of the Jeunehomme is its haunting middle movement, and here the Cleveland and Uchida do very well, bringing the sound back to a whisper, just before the piano makes its entrance. Usually the piano then simply joins the orchestra's sad song but Uchida directly opens up the discussion, using her instrument to try to uplift the mood - but ultimately falling back into the orchestral net. Almost Schubert-like in its intensity  

The superb notes are written by Misha Donat, and even mentions the piano used: a new Hamburg Steinway D. Contrast this with Jed Distler's lightweight wiki-facts informed memo for the Pires disc.

Cheers,

EJ

Cheers,

EJ

CD:-

First play of... http://www.field-music.co.uk/

Sampler - http://soundcloud.com/memphisi...d-music-play-sampler

On original vinyl.

This is a masterpiece and difficult to seperate from their other masterpiece "Sunbirst Finish". 

Graham.