What Classical Music Are You Listening To?

[Peter Friedman]

Haydn - Piano Sonatas Nos. 30, 33, 47, 53, 58

[Larry Kart]

11:56 AM (3 minutes ago)

 

Sign that I must be losing it. Recently picked up the Peter Eotvos recording of Stockhausen's "Gruppen for Three Orchestras," a work that I'd certainly heard of but had never listened to. Chose to forestall listening after a while in order not to disturb others in the house, though what I heard was certainly novel (even after all these years) and impressive.

 Later on I was listening to some orchestral works by the prolific Darmstadt-based mid- to late Baroque composer Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) and damned if I couldn't hear a resemblance to the Stockhausen of "Gruppen." Graupner's works tend to go with little sense of transition from one mood or motif to another and, further, and perhaps most important, there often are three or more instrumental groups involved at once, each with its distinct instrumentation and tone colors, while each such grouping typically differs from the others not only in instrumentation but also in tempo and rhythmic framework.  Also, these various differences between  instrumental groups and their habits/flavors  aren't that radical and thus don't usually amount to/lead to overt clashes -- rather the feeling is more or less one of fluctuating hide-and-seek homogeneity or a kind of not-literal counterpoint of groups (less so when one focuses on a particular group/thread in the fabric, more so when one steps back and regards the whole as a "whole," which in fact it may not be nor be intended to be). Was there something in the water at Darmstadt?

[Larry Kart]

14 hours ago, soulpope said:

Wonderful ....

How about Marcelle Meyer's Scarlatti? If you like her way with DS, there's a lot of it on her big EMI box.

 

[Alexander Hawkins]

27 minutes ago, Larry Kart said:

How about Marcelle Meyer's Scarlatti? If you like her way with DS, there's a slot of it on her big EMI box.

 

Don't know this, but excited to check it out...her Rameau, Bach etc. is totally magical IMHO.

[soulpope]

53 minutes ago, Alexander Hawkins said:

Don't know this, but excited to check it out...her Rameau, Bach etc. is totally magical IMHO.

Her Scarlatti is very fine ....

[Peter Friedman]

Op.131

[Д.Д.]

7 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

11:56 AM (3 minutes ago)

 

Sign that I must be losing it. Recently picked up the Peter Eotvos recording of Stockhausen's "Gruppen for Three Orchestras," a work that I'd certainly heard of but had never listened to. Chose to forestall listening after a while in order not to disturb others in the house, though what I heard was certainly novel (even after all these years) and impressive.

 Later on I was listening to some orchestral works by the prolific Darmstadt-based mid- to late Baroque composer Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) and damned if I couldn't hear a resemblance to the Stockhausen of "Gruppen." Graupner's works tend to go with little sense of transition from one mood or motif to another and, further, and perhaps most important, there often are three or more instrumental groups involved at once, each with its distinct instrumentation and tone colors, while each such grouping typically differs from the others not only in instrumentation but also in tempo and rhythmic framework.  Also, these various differences between  instrumental groups and their habits/flavors  aren't that radical and thus don't usually amount to/lead to overt clashes -- rather the feeling is more or less one of fluctuating hide-and-seek homogeneity or a kind of not-literal counterpoint of groups (less so when one focuses on a particular group/thread in the fabric, more so when one steps back and regards the whole as a "whole," which in fact it may not be nor be intended to be). Was there something in the water at Darmstadt?

I never heard the Graupner / Stockhausen connection, but both of these albums are very nice (although Stockhausen's suffers from mediocre sound).   

[Referentzhunter]

disc 4 & 5

Edited March 26, 2020 by Referentzhunter

[soulpope]

Early morning with .... :

Thereof D 958 ....

[soulpope]

More light .... :

[soulpope]

Thereof Roussel 3 ....

[soulpope]

Wonderful ....

[mikeweil]

On 25.3.2020 at 4:07 AM, T.D. said:

Interesting...once considered buying this set but passed because it's just too big and I'd never listen to it all.

Ross' playing is extremely accurate and all, but for my taste it lacks the Italian or rather Southern Mediterranean temperament this music encapsulates, even in the pieces he wrote before he left for Iberian regions. Southern Italy belonged to Spain at the time, and much Italian music has Spanish characteristics and vice versa. Domenico Scarlatti was open to these influences. There are plenty compilation recordings that are much better at displaying these characteristics than Ross' complete set, even though it is now available at bargain price. 

17 hours ago, Larry Kart said:

11:56 AM (3 minutes ago)

 

 Later on I was listening to some orchestral works by the prolific Darmstadt-based mid- to late Baroque composer Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) and damned if I couldn't hear a resemblance to the Stockhausen of "Gruppen." Graupner's works tend to go with little sense of transition from one mood or motif to another and, further, and perhaps most important, there often are three or more instrumental groups involved at once, each with its distinct instrumentation and tone colors, while each such grouping typically differs from the others not only in instrumentation but also in tempo and rhythmic framework.  Also, these various differences between  instrumental groups and their habits/flavors  aren't that radical and thus don't usually amount to/lead to overt clashes -- rather the feeling is more or less one of fluctuating hide-and-seek homogeneity or a kind of not-literal counterpoint of groups (less so when one focuses on a particular group/thread in the fabric, more so when one steps back and regards the whole as a "whole," which in fact it may not be nor be intended to be). Was there something in the water at Darmstadt?

There is much baroque music that is not sounding  as homogeneous as we today, trained more in listening to later 18th century "classical" music, expect it to be. These pieces were not supposed to be "works" in the sense of "opus" that late 19th century musicology defined it. They are "suites", a series of pieces sharing a common key, and supposed to entertain, display varying and ever changing moods to excite the senses. 

There are many different ways of balancing a compositional "whole" and entertainment, counterpoint and superficial accessibility between Bach, Graupner, Telemann, and their contemporaries. Just let yourself get carried away through the changing moods and your will get the most from this music. I, for one, find it more exciting than the more homogeneous later sonata and concerto forms, just like I dig 17th century operas more tha 18th century with their excess of  da capo arias.

[soulpope]

So good ....

[Referentzhunter]

String quartets 1 t/m 6

Edited March 26, 2020 by Referentzhunter

[Larry Kart]

7 hours ago, mikeweil said:

Ross' playing is extremely accurate and all, but for my taste it lacks the Italian or rather Southern Mediterranean temperament this music encapsulates, even in the pieces he wrote before he left for Iberian regions. Southern Italy belonged to Spain at the time, and much Italian music has Spanish characteristics and vice versa. Domenico Scarlatti was open to these influences. There are plenty compilation recordings that are much better at displaying these characteristics than Ross' complete set, even though it is now available at bargain price. 

There is much baroque music that is not sounding  as homogeneous as we today, trained more in listening to later 18th century "classical" music, expect it to be. These pieces were not supposed to be "works" in the sense of "opus" that late 19th century musicology defined it. They are "suites", a series of pieces sharing a common key, and supposed to entertain, display varying and ever changing moods to excite the senses. 

There are many different ways of balancing a compositional "whole" and entertainment, counterpoint and superficial accessibility between Bach, Graupner, Telemann, and their contemporaries. Just let yourself get carried away through the changing moods and your will get the most from this music. I, for one, find it more exciting than the more homogeneous later sonata and concerto forms, just like I dig 17th century operas more tha 18th century with their excess of  da capo arias.

Good advice. I think I may spontaneously have gotten into that mode of listening while listening to Graupner's suites and concerti. 

[Referentzhunter]

disc 6 

Edited March 27, 2020 by Referentzhunter

[Peter Friedman]

[Referentzhunter]

disc 7 & 8

[soulpope]

In the morning .... :

[soulpope]

Also .... :

[soulpope]

[HutchFan]

Disc 1

[soulpope]

NP .... :

[soulpope]