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

I was trying to describe what was so special about this album for me to a friend and i still can't put my finger on it.

A real WTF when i first heard it but after a few plays when it just clicked...

Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden

Beck-Mutations

One of those many great Blue Note recordings.

ragman posted:

Bert Schurink posted:

As a men she didn't get a contract.

Compare her chopion preludes #16 with Beatrice Rana and you know everything

I am not an expert, but I have seen her twice life and was impressed and not just by her looks. She has a dynamic style which is not liked by all. But I guess it's my fate on this forum to support not liked players like her Lang Lang and Yuja Wang.....

Beatrice playing is by the way great and i like it...

The second, recently released, album from the wonderful Quercus.

Stevee_S posted:

A + 3 | WAV

(2007)

Playing disc one of two from this cracking collection:

Tracklist

1-1	Come On	1:49
1-2	I Wanna Be Your Man	1:43
1-3	Not Fade Away	1:48
1-4	Carol	2:34
1-5	Tell Me	3:49
1-6	It's All Over Now	3:26
1-7	Little Red Rooster	3:06
1-8	Heart Of Stone	2:50
1-9	Time Is On My Side	2:59
1-10	The Last Time	3:42
1-11	Play With Fire	2:13
1-12	(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction	3:43
1-13	Get Off Of My Cloud	2:54
1-14	I'm Free	2:23
1-15	As Tears Go By	2:46
1-16	Lady Jane	3:08
1-17	Paint It Black	3:24
1-18	Mother's Little Helper	2:46
1-19	19th Nervous Breakdown	3:58
1-20	Under My Thumb	3:42
1-21	Out Of Time	5:37
1-22	Yesterday's Papers	2:04
1-23	Let's Spend The Night Together	3:37
1-24	Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?	2:34

 

Must dig that one out again soon, though I seem to recall being a bit disappointed with the reproduction quality. 

Fancied a bit of Seal before dinner. This one is my second favourite of his.

Rarely, if ever, mentioned on here which is a great shame. 

Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now

Staying with Miles for the rest of the evening.

A + 3 | WAV

(1999)

One of my favourite 'Tops albums from their later work, hard hitting and humorous 

Charles Trenet, pour un change. C'est trés bon!!

Florestan posted:

Florestan posted:

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750):  Matthäus-Passion, BWV 244 (abridged)

Karl Erb (tenor) | Willem Ravelli (bass) | Jo Vincent (soprano) | Ilona Durigo (contralto) | Louis van Tulder (tenor) | Hermann Schey (bass-baritone) | Amsterdam Toonkunst Choir | "Zanglust" Boys' Choir | Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam | Willem Mengelberg

 

.....

 

Well, I have a rather difficult situation.  I have hundreds of Cantata recordings and dozens on Passion recordings and over a slow evolution of years I have increasingly become disenchanted with 'speed' in music (where it it not warranted).  This year has been the tipping point as now I have a very clear vision in my head (and heart) of what I want and find it increasingly difficult to listen to 'performances' that tend to the speedy side for speedy sake.  Everything else about the majority of the mainstream recordings over the past 40 or 50 years is perfect and very desirable - top performers, top recording quality - but it is tempo and the tempo alone that seems to draw the line in the sand with me as to what translates into an undeniable truth - especially in choral/voice music.

A further revelation for me this week is the lucky transaction that led me to pick up a Vocal Score for both the Matthäus-Passion and The Messiah.  This means I can now follow the voices of the soloists (Chorus I & II) and to some extent the orchestration through the keyboard (orchestra) part plus have the German / English together.  For me, this is just a way of seeing/hearing everything and allows me to understand the big picture better than just 'listening' blind.

The score also acts as a gauge to judge each conducter/ensemble to some unwavering guideline.  Yes, it is quite clear that Mengelberg does make some bold moves which clearly stretch the limits of the score but in a context such as this you can understand (feel) his reasoning for doing so and it can be valid if you are willing to take this same leap of faith.

So this year for me, anyway, has been centered around Mengelberg, Klemperer, Münchinger, Richter and Rilling.  I have put on various other recordings and all I need to do is go to my favorite selections and from the first seconds it is evident that the heart and soul is quite different and therefore has a different meaning.

 

Doug, agreed that the Mengelberg is an experience. However, as a reviewer, you ought to mention that his '39 recording includes numerous cuts, many of them from the evanglist's recitative. Speeds are gloomy but also feature quite a lot of tempo flexibility and Karajan-like tempering with instrumentation - I confess this is not one for me to enjoy on autopilot, it demands attention.

Cheers

EJ

ragman posted:

Bert Schurink posted:

As a men she didn't get a contract.

Compare her chopion preludes #16 with Beatrice Rana and you know everything

Ragman, I don't know of Khatia Buniatishvili doing the complete Chopin Preludes yet?  I am not a fan of everything she does (ie. Rachmaninov was a good recording but in general too fast for me in places).  However, she is quite a good player in general.

Comparing the youtubes you are perfectly correct but this isn't a fair comparison.  Buniatishvili must be preparing a complete Preludes but was not ready at this live performance.  I don't think a bad day/bad performance should mark anyone for life but youtube does this.  I know she will plough through it too fast in the end but I give a No. 4 in e-minor encore to redeem her.  This is actually a fairly nice interpretation of an impossible piece to interpret correctly.

No. 16 in b-flat minor in essence, it is one of the hardest (physically) (actually No. 19, No. 16 & No. 8 are probably very arguably the three hardest Preludes).  No. 4 in e-minor on the other hand is one of the hardest to play (interpret) period.  

vs. Buniatishvili

Listening to this one (Miles Davis - John Coltrane: the complete columbia recordings) via Tidal as it is not (yet) part of mij collection.

Just been to see the film at the cinema, so this awesome mix - vol 2 !

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827):  Sunwook Kim (piano) |  Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra | Myung-Whun Chung

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, op. 73 "Emperor" | Symphony No. 5 in c-minor, op. 67

Wunderbar!  I quite enjoyed this recording both for playing and for sound quality.

https://youtu.be/jA5OCyC0FHA

Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars.

CD

The Doric String Quartet's Schubert has similar qualities as their Haydn - but where their approach in Haydn gives unique results, in Schubert I have mixed feelings. Technically as sharp-etched as is the norm with this team, this risks undercutting the simplicity, and it is the simplicity that seems to harbor those gorgeous dark undercurrents. The first movement of D810, taken at a (too?) brisk clip, has lost the most, I feel. However, these remain engrossing performances, and I find myself coming back to them fairly frequently. 

Cheers

EJ

Playing this Blue Note compilation CD before the final episode of Line of Duty comes on...