What are you listening to? Part III

[LizKat]

@mobilehaathi Making your way through that stash of DG recordings, eh? I almost moved to Chicago for love of the Chicago Symphony. Hit a cold winter on a short term gig there and it changed even this mountain girl's mind. That wind in Chicago put to shame the worst the Hudson River ever showed me in NYC for the next 30 years. Now up here it gets real cold but it's drier so you can freeze to death without minding so much

Today to honor Beethoven's birthday, I'm running through the symphonies (Szell / Cleveland).

 

[Scepticalscribe]

@mobilehaathi Making your way through that stash of DG recordings, eh? I almost moved to Chicago for love of the Chicago Symphony. Hit a cold winter on a short term gig there and it changed even this mountain girl's mind. That wind in Chicago put to shame the worst the Hudson River ever showed me in NYC for the next 30 years. Now up here it gets real cold but it's drier so you can freeze to death without minding so much

Today to honor Beethoven's birthday, I'm running through the symphonies (Szell / Cleveland).

All nine? Wow. Count me impressed. Bravo.

My starting point for that sort of marathon is usually Symphony No 5 - my parents had them all in wonderful vinyl, most of them Deutsche Grammophon recordings.

Actually, I must look into laying hands on a new - and good quality - turntable so that I can play some of those lovely recordings.

Re weather in the US, I have long been struck by reports of how you seem to have a sticky and unbearable humidity in summer, along with a vicious, sustained and savage cold in winter. Hm.

 

[S.B.G]

That Google Doodle was pretty neat and fun!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

That Google Doodle was pretty neat and fun!

Glad you enjoyed it.

As it happens, I think that Beethoven is very much a 'winter' composer, in that I enjoy listening to his works - especially the heavy hitting symphonies in winter, - they seem to suit the dark evenings, and light deprived ambience and wet and cold. Apart from his piano music, to my ear, he seems a lot less suited to summer listening..

 

[LizKat]

All nine? Wow. Count me impressed. Bravo.

Well I started yesterday but I only got up through the sixth. I can't go straight through, especially this time of year. Manu Chao and some Brazilians are getting the intermissions... Paula Fernandes, Marissa Monte. Beethoven probably spinning in his grave.

My starting point for that sort of marathon is usually Symphony No 5 - my parents had them all in wonderful vinyl, most of them Deutsche Grammophon recordings.

Actually, I must look into laying hands on a new - and good quality - turntable so that I can play some of those lovely recordings.

You've reminded me that I own (well sort of own) some great vinyl that belonged to the father of a former boyfriend. I always took care of the stuff figuring the guy would ask for it back sometime. At this point I assume they are mine, so I should actually prowl through them. I know they’re all classical and in great shape since we sampled a few before he asked if he could leave the boxes with me when he was heading off to Chi for med school.

Re weather in the US, I have long been struck by reports of how you seem to have a sticky and unbearable humidity in summer, along with a vicious, sustained and savage cold in winter. Hm.

It's such a huge country and the weather is so affected by terrain, not just atmospheric events and trends. We don't often have high humidity in the hills around here but where the area opens up more and then forms bowls amongst the hills, it's a different story and humidity is reminiscent of sea level bayous. The cold seems yet another tale, and can strike depths one year that it doesn't reach other times. Last year was more like the early 80s here, very severe, with lots of nights reaching -20ºF or lower. The frost line ran down to six feet deep, which played havoc with some water lines.

Back to Mr. Beethoven... I'm up to #7.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Yes, no. 2 is really lovely. I listen to it often.

Agreed re Deutsche Grammophon, I actually have quite a hefty collection of classical music under this label. Mostly Brahms, Chopin, and Rachmaninov, but I was also recently gifted a huge (56 CDs) collection of a range of works they've released. I'm still listening my way through it all!

When I first read this post, I missed that all important verb - 'gifted'. Lucky you.

That strikes me as a most impressive - and very welcome - gift. Enjoy.

Well I started yesterday but I only got up through the sixth. I can't go straight through, especially this time of year. Manu Chao and some Brazilians are getting the intermissions... Paula Fernandes, Marissa Monte. Beethoven probably spinning in his grave.




You've reminded me that I own (well sort of own) some great vinyl that belonged to the father of a former boyfriend. I always took care of the stuff figuring the guy would ask for it back sometime. At this point I assume they are mine, so I should actually prowl through them. I know they’re all classical and in great shape since we sampled a few before he asked if he could leave the boxes with me when he was heading off to Chi for med school.



It's such a huge country and the weather is so affected by terrain, not just atmospheric events and trends. We don't often have high humidity in the hills around here but where the area opens up more and then forms bowls amongst the hills, it's a different story and humidity is reminiscent of sea level bayous. The cold seems yet another tale, and can strike depths one year that it doesn't reach other times. Last year was more like the early 80s here, very severe, with lots of nights reaching -20ºF or lower. The frost line ran down to six feet deep, which played havoc with some water lines.

Back to Mr. Beethoven... I'm up to #7.

No 7, wonderful. What a rollicking symphony, energetic and powerful. Not quite as epic as one or two of the others, but wonderfully uplifting and powerful.

Yes, lots of Bach and Beethoven in vinyl; I can see them up on some nearby bookshelves, as I write, fighting the busily breeding books for space. Actually, I've noticed that good quality turntables are somewhat more easily sourced than they were a few years ago.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Re the US and its many (varied) climates, meteorological, political and other: Somehow, I never managed to make the time to visit. Must remedy that sometime.

 

[mobilehaathi]

When I first read this post, I missed that all important verb - 'gifted'. Lucky you.

That strikes me as a most impressive - and very welcome - gift. Enjoy.



No 7, wonderful. What a rollicking symphony, energetic and powerful. Not quite as epic as one or two of the others, but wonderfully uplifting and powerful.

Yes, lots of Bach and Beethoven in vinyl; I can see them up on some nearby bookshelves, as I write, fighting the busily breeding books for space. Actually, I've noticed that good quality turntables are somewhat more easily sourced than they were a few years ago.

Very generous, indeed! I listen to quite a lot of music (probably close to 8hrs a day), and I've been building my classical collection lately. This gift hit the nail on the head.

 

[BernyMac]

Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil

 

[pachyderm]

Very generous, indeed! I listen to quite a lot of music (probably close to 8hrs a day), and I've been building my classical collection lately. This gift hit the nail on the head.


View attachment 606050

Just bought a version of this from itunes...

 

[LizKat]

Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil

Wow, that's reaching back. Some of that album (Beggars Banquet) was almost folk-like.

 

[mobilehaathi]

 

[Gutwrench]

A playlist of Perfume Genius.

 

[LizKat]

Friday night’s jazz night for me. Listening to Cuban-American jazz percussionist and composer Dafnis Prieto, some tracks from About the Monks (2004).

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/about-the-monks/id65498784

http://www.amazon.com/About-Monks-Dafnis-Prieto/dp/B000787ZQ2

Prieto gets great sidemen and showcases their talents and ability to improvise along with his own. His more formal arrangements are also stunning. The Mechanical Movement track on this album is wonderful, it’s like Bartok wandered from Hungary over to Cuba and landed back in New York.

He was a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation grant in 2011. Very interesting background, had ended up in Spain for awhile, wanted to go to Canada just to see some friends but didn’t have his green card from Spain. So when he wanted to go back, Spain said uh, no, you can wait a year and we’ll see... so then his friends said well hey just go down to New York while you wait, your true music scene is there. Lucky for us he stayed here, I say.

 

[2984839]

My favorite piece from my favorite composer. Anna Federova is amazing as well.

 

[kazmac]

Stigma by Ufomammut

My favorite song of theirs, mixes the psychedelic doomy stuff with a punk edge. I still have no idea what the lyrics are but the vocal patterns are terrific.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

When I first read this post, I missed that all important verb - 'gifted'. Lucky you.

That strikes me as a most impressive - and very welcome - gift. Enjoy.



No 7, wonderful. What a rollicking symphony, energetic and powerful. Not quite as epic as one or two of the others, but wonderfully uplifting and powerful.

Yes, lots of Bach and Beethoven in vinyl; I can see them up on some nearby bookshelves, as I write, fighting the busily breeding books for space. Actually, I've noticed that good quality turntables are somewhat more easily sourced than they were a few years ago.

One of my recent finds was the complete Cantatas of Bach conducted by Suzuki. The playing and singing is sublime, but behind it all is a subsumption to the music, which I find apt, as for me, one of the masteries of Bach is that he subsumed himself to the glory of God and doesn't let his ego get in the way, whilst still cultivating a distinctive voice. The harder I listen, the more amazing the experience! With Bach, there is always something to focus on: one moment it is one part, then another, then the whole. I don't want to sound pretentious, but there is God.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Very generous, indeed! I listen to quite a lot of music (probably close to 8hrs a day), and I've been building my classical collection lately. This gift hit the nail on the head.


View attachment 606050

Tchaikovsky's Sixth? Lovely. Deep, and soulful, epic listening.

His music is absolutely wonderful played live - actually, a live performance confers an extra dimension of depth on the music, - and it is usually so varied and complex that it constantly teases and tugs at you while allowing the musicians to lose themselves completely in their playing.

View attachment 606133

Friday night’s jazz night for me. Listening to Cuban-American jazz percussionist and composer Dafnis Prieto, some tracks from About the Monks (2004).

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/about-the-monks/id65498784

http://www.amazon.com/About-Monks-Dafnis-Prieto/dp/B000787ZQ2

Prieto gets great sidemen and showcases their talents and ability to improvise along with his own. His more formal arrangements are also stunning. The Mechanical Movement track on this album is wonderful, it’s like Bartok wandered from Hungary over to Cuba and landed back in New York.

He was a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation grant in 2011. Very interesting background, had ended up in Spain for awhile, wanted to go to Canada just to see some friends but didn’t have his green card from Spain. So when he wanted to go back, Spain said uh, no, you can wait a year and we’ll see... so then his friends said well hey just go down to New York while you wait, your true music scene is there. Lucky for us he stayed here, I say.

Very interesting post - thanks for sharing, I hadn't known that.

 

[997440]

Friday night’s jazz night for me. Listening to Cuban-American jazz percussionist and composer Dafnis Prieto, some tracks from About the Monks (2004).

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/about-the-monks/id65498784

http://www.amazon.com/About-Monks-Dafnis-Prieto/dp/B000787ZQ2

Prieto gets great sidemen and showcases their talents and ability to improvise along with his own. His more formal arrangements are also stunning. The Mechanical Movement track on this album is wonderful, it’s like Bartok wandered from Hungary over to Cuba and landed back in New York.

He was a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation grant in 2011. Very interesting background, had ended up in Spain for awhile, wanted to go to Canada just to see some friends but didn’t have his green card from Spain. So when he wanted to go back, Spain said uh, no, you can wait a year and we’ll see... so then his friends said well hey just go down to New York while you wait, your true music scene is there. Lucky for us he stayed here, I say.

As a suggestion for one of your future, Friday nights, try this (before it disappears again) --- Szobel by Hermann Szobel. Currently, the entire album is available on YT so you can check to see if it's to your liking. It was released in 1976 by 'Arista Records' and didn't sell well. In 2012, 'The Laser's Edge' issued its first CD release (mastered by Bob Katz).

Hermann Szobel was a 17-year old, virtuoso pianist when he arrived in the US in about 1975 or 76. He composed, arranged and produced Szobel. The other players : Michael Visceglia on bass, Bob Goldman on drums, Dave Samuels on percussion including marimba and vibraphone, and Vadim Vyadro on tenor sax, clarinet, and flute.

So you don't bias your thoughts about the composition, I'll give no further descriptions. After you listen to it, Laser CD ('The Laser's Edge' store) has a great deal of the backstory at --- https://www.lasercd.com/cd/szobel

 

[LizKat]

^^ @rshrugged -- thanks, I'll check it out!

 

[mobilehaathi]

 

[LizKat]

View attachment 606335

Interesting... iTunes search is sure lame sometimes. if you put in MTV Unplugged you get it. Bob Dylan Unplugged, no. I had to wander into Amazon to get a clue what else to pop into search of iTunes.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Interesting... iTunes search is sure lame sometimes. if you put in MTV Unplugged you get it. Bob Dylan Unplugged, no. I had to wander into Amazon to get a clue what else to pop into search of iTunes.

Strange! You'd think the search engine would be fuzzier....

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Interesting... iTunes search is sure lame sometimes. if you put in MTV Unplugged you get it. Bob Dylan Unplugged, no. I had to wander into Amazon to get a clue what else to pop into search of iTunes.

Agreed.

In the early days, I remember not being able to find one of the (admittedly, not exactly popular) pieces of music that I sought.

Thus, I stayed with obscure music stores. And - with reluctance - Amazon.

Strange! You'd think the search engine would be fuzzier....

Not necessarily.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Partly, in keeping with the spirit of the time of the year, partly, because I am (or was) an historian by profession and 20th century history has long fascinated me, and partly, because I must say that I rather like the song, I am listening to the original theme music to the soundtrack of the movie "Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence" by Ryuichi Sakamoto.