Today I have a recommendation of a rather unusual combination of works by one and the same composer, a popular and a completely unknown one. Max Bruch´s violin concerto #1 is a classic of late romantic concertos (not to say ´cliché romantic´), while his string quintet #1 is a very late work originating from the 20th century being almost forgotten for various reasons. Maybe because it was never published during the lifespan of the composer, was not really meeting people’s post WW1 expectations, could be called eclectic if not nostalgic, or the Nazi´s ban on the composer eventually did the rest.
Qobuz offers only three recordings of this exceptional composition. I would go for the unusual combination with the violin concerto and the Romance Op. 85 played by Vadim Gluzman:
I posted about this album a few years ago. Excellent sound quality. Put it on again today.
The Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme are interesting. Good for cello students I guess.
CPE Bach’s 3rd Cello Concerto is well known. Peter Wispelwey does well here.
The album finishes up with Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne.
55 minutes in total and worth a listen. Wispelwey is a fine cellist. The orchestra are impressive too. Released on “Evil Penguin Classic.” Never heard of them…
Thanks! Gave this a listen and there are many great things to appreciate, though the 1975 recording is superior, and has more fire.
It’s been a fascinating trawl so far, and I have still to revisit classic recordings from the likes of Colin Davis, but I would not have predicted some versions. For example, I thought Minkowski would be great in Haydn, but found Celibidache better! Must check out the Szell recommendations.
This mono version from Szell is very, very good. Preferred it to the classic Colin Davis recordings, with only Jochum so far posing much of an alternative to Szell in '54, and Karajan '75.
Rather by accident, I left the Jochum playing after No. 104, and an excellent account of No. 96 (‘Miracle’) followed, one of the less played London Symphonies? Really enjoyed it.
Hello @eclectic. Just finished listening to the Jean-Guihen Queyras, Riccardo Minasi/Ensemble Resonant CPE Bach and a saltatory Antonín Kraft you mentioned in note 2499 (or 2500, I can’t quite tell). Very nice cello and ensemble performances indeed. Also agree with your comments re: Peter Wispelwey’s recordings.
The latest release startled me a bit with its immediacy/loudness. I guess that resulted from microphone placement to compensate for the large venue selected for the recording. After volume adjustments, very enjoyable, though. CPE Bach cello works performed by such an outstanding cellist is a rare treat. The Kraft is a wonderful find.
Speaking of recent releases with theorbo, have a gratifying listen to La Rêveuse, Florence Bolton and Benjamin Perrot (the theorbist) performing Marin Marais Tombeau pour de Sainte-Colombe. I found the recording thoroughly absorbing and enjoyable.
Another recent and enjoyable re-listen was (triggered by comments in BBC Music) Jordi Savall’s The Punckes Delight, featuring Bass and Lyra Viol works by William Corkine, Alfonse Ferrabosco and John Playford from scarcely post-Elizabethan times. There’s a wonderful picture of a pipe-smoking young Savall playing the Bass Viol in the album notes, which are nicely informative. The man has his way with the viol.
Hi, if you have a subscrition to DG Stage-Plus I would recommend watching/listening to Roger Norrington with the Camerata Salzburg. There are several concert/performantces that worth the time. Very dinamic,plus some comments from Norrington himself.
I’ve listened to the Honeck / Bruckner 7 SACD and would recommend it. Phrasing is persuasive, with natural, flowing transitions. It doesn’t give me the kind of transcendent experience I gather is sought by avid Bruckner fans, but I’m probably just not there in my appreciation of the composer. The performance came off favorably in the few comparisons I made (Jochum, Fischer).
The multichannel mix is good. There’s plenty of energy in the center channel and not too much in the surrounds. Dynamic range is high as you would expect, and the brass in particular come across spectacularly, though sometimes at the expense of the violins. Overall an impressive reproduction of an orchestra.
I was so trying not to discuss Bruckner any further, but I cannot but help sharing that you owe it to yourself to try a Karajan version for No. 7.
I wish I could remember the correct wording of the critic who spoke of the magical moment of ‘levitation’ in the adagio in the 1971 BPO recording. It is transcendental.
