What are you listening to? (Vol VII)

During today's dreary filing:



Then Radio4...

And this evening in more relaxed frame of mind:




It's been a long time coming for us, but many thanks to those who kept posting EST (Lontano, I think, and others) and eventually we thought we'd give them a try - so worth it!

On Vinyl.

Some late night, insomnia-fuelled Scarlatti:



Disc 21 of this mammoth, but superb, 35CD set.

Ivan Moravec Plays Beethoven, Vol. 2:
Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata”
Allegro assai
Andante con moto
Allegro ma non troppo

Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 “Pathetique”
Grave - allegro molto e con brio
Adagio cantabile
Rondo (allegro)

Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 “Moonlight”
Adagio sostenuto
Allegretto
Presto agitato

Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major, Op. 81a “Les Adieux, l'Absence et le Retour”
Lebewohl, Adagio-allegro
Abwesenheit, Andante espressivo
Wiedersehen, Vivacissimamente

Ragna Schirmer's first CD recording made in 1999 and released in the year 2000 corresponding to the 250th anniversary of Bach's death. I love this recording. It represents how, after many many years, I have mostly come to want to hear as well as play Bach (although I do still appreciate the whole range of ideas). To me, this is thoughtful, unhurried beauty where the details can be mined out and played with but it is hardly played in a romantic way. Rather, it is still unassuming and played perhaps plainly or straightforwardly. It is playing of music rather than trying to make something perky or pretentious. She strokes the keys rather than striking them and the result is a tasteful rendering absent of all the efforts of many to play Bach on the piano like a Harpsichord. In other words, this isn't a masculine, sharp, detached, speed marathon. It is just a player and a piano making music.

If memory serves me well I would say this is similar to Rosalyn Tureck but not as extreme. I will do a comparison later.

Cheers
Flettster

Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto and six preludes played by Svjatoslav Richer. The 30 years old LP sounds so much better than the CD version.

Again, I can't say enough about this album. A pianist's dream. The Schumann just sparkles and changes from Florestan to Eusebius and back again in the most natural way. You won't hear this album exactly anywhere else as Schirmer has a hand in completing some of the arrangements.

The highlight for me is really the:
Etudes in the form of Free Variations on a theme of Beethoven, WoO 31 by Robert Schumann
Ragna Schirmer (Piano) (Arrangers: Robert Münster; Ragna Schirmer.)

Based on material mostly from Beethoven's Symphony #7 these arrangements just fascinate me. So much depth in each one along with a wild imagination. One reminds me of a tango even in Etüde A6: Passionata. The cat & mouse of Etüde C2 and Etüde C3. Etüde C6: Presto is like an exchange between angels in heaven and those of us here on earth looking up. Etüde B4 has such an interesting rhythm with a heartbeat that feels like it misses or stalls on every beat and is very hypnotic. Etüde B7 gives the effect of distorted bells and reminds you of a world half way between Beethoven and maybe Mompou. Etüde A10: Prestissimo gives you the confident assurance that you might just be reaching the peak and winning (before the questions and the haunting unknown returns.) Just an absolute gem of a work. If you have any predisposition for Robert Schumann at all I'd say you should not miss this recording.


As for the more familiar:
Symphonic Etudes for Piano, Op. 13 by Robert Schumann
Ragna Schirmer (Piano & arranged by)

What is interesting and refreshing here is that Schirmer does not play the standard fixed version that we always hear. Schumann had six versions of this set where only the last two were published in Schumann's lifetime. So you hear some Etüdes that you probably have never heard before as Schirmer arranges all the various Etüdes into one set.

Freshly cleaned German pressing meets my new Scottish platter for the first time. It was love at first spin.

Karl

Before I get ready to fly off into the sunset for my hols.

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:



It's been a long time coming for us, but many thanks to those who kept posting EST (Lontano, I think, and others) and eventually we thought we'd give them a try - so worth it!

Great to hear of another convert! Lots of studio albums to enjoy as well - Seven Days of Falling, From Gagarins's Point of View, Viaticum, Tuesday Wonderland, Good Morning Susie Soho, Strange Place for Snow.....

It's annual tryout, and it failed again.

As it's been mentioned:-

quote:

Originally posted by ewemon:


Before I get ready to fly off into the sunset for my hols.

have a great holiday!