In article <alpine.LRH.2.00.2303081434410.5755@iris02.slac.stanford.edu>,
Al Eisner <eisner@slac.stanford.edu> wrote:
>So (excuse my ignorance), I see there is a conductor. Does the
>conductor choose the ingredients and then rehearse tthe selection?
>It seems that with 20 performers it would be hard to make decisions
>in real time. Could anyone other than the composer perform this?

Decisions & performance are done in real-time. There is a long
history in (post-)jazz of this kind of thing. For instance, Butch
Morris developed what he called "conduction" as a way to lead a
group improvising.... And as noted in my post, Fields was drawn
to the AACM from his youth, and they've done similar things for
decades.

Fields' previously recorded "modular composition", _Seven Deserts_
(on NWR, as also noted in my post) is similarly constructed music
(but no vocals), and rather employs Fields himself as a guitarist,
with someone else (a mentor) conducting. If there weren't the
musicians familiar with this style, I actually think the project
would struggle more than it would with a random person as conductor....

On 2023-03-08 22:27:57 +0000, James Goodzeit said:

> On Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 10:07:26 AM UTC-5, Owen Hartnett wrote:
>> On 2023-03-07 21:28:19 +0000, James Goodzeit said:>> > Working through
>> Szell complete Columbia Album collection.> >> > Maybe I'll comment on
>> individual discs some day. But overall it seems> > that Szell sounds
>> like he takes on the music at the phrase level, that> > is individual
>> phrases constitute a self-contained unit of music. The> > result makes
>> the large-scale structure of the work very clear, at the> > expense of
>> losing the dramatic sweep - contrast that with Ormandy,> > Karajan, and
>> Furtwangler. So much so I would guess that there are> > splices where
>> phrases end, as it sounds like there are small gaps in> > the
>> performances.
>> I heard someone on the radio years ago talking about the Szell/Serkin>
>> Brahms 2nd, describing that they worked in "blocks of sound" building>
>> and taking down phrasing. Your "music at the phrase level" sounds like>
>> a analogous response.>> -Owen
>
> Interesting. I wonder if that refers to the way Szell rehearsed his
> orchestra, or is it the mixing/editing phase.

It sounds to me that it was Szell's approach to the music -- it's
pretty much evident (to me, at least) through most of his work. After
thinking of this for a while, instead of "blocks" or "phrases," you
might substitute the words "energy" or "tension".

-Owen

On Thursday, 9 March 2023 at 17:42:49 UTC, Owen Hartnett wrote:

> It sounds to me that it was Szell's approach to the music -- it's
> pretty much evident (to me, at least) through most of his work. After
> thinking of this for a while, instead of "blocks" or "phrases," you
> might substitute the words "energy" or "tension".
> > > -Owen

I can buy that. Which is why I don't like a lot of Szell's recordings.

Energy kills Sibelius above all. Stone dead for me.

I hadn't really noticed that this is a Ligeti centenary year,
although maybe someone here mentioned it already....

Anyway, this month there are releases of the complete string quartets
and the complete choral works. The bulk of both of these programs is
earlier works, often citing Bartok for reference, that I don't find
all that compelling.... But Ligeti did make his own mark in the
60s, and so I'm having a further listen to the later tracks... the
2nd Quartet & a couple of late choral cycles.... (Most of the choral
music is both rather straightforward & in Hungarian.)

On Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 1:52:17 PM, herman wrote:
>
> Delibes' ballet music is really the best.

I concur.

On Friday, March 3, 2023 at 5:39:15 PM, deekay wrote:
>
> Sorabji. Lots to listen to.

Barf. teedee couldn't abide; I can't either. Keeper of the flame and all.

On Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 10:52:54 PM UTC-7, Oscar wrote:
> On Friday, March 3, 2023 at 5:39:15 PM, deekay wrote:
> >
> > Sorabji. Lots to listen to.
>
> Barf. teedee couldn't abide; I can't either.

Are you now impersonating TD?

dk

On Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 3:07:35 PM UTC-8, Gerard wrote:
>
> Hellendaal: Six Grand Concertos opus 3.
> La Sfera Armoniosa, conducted by Mike Fentross.
> On Challenge Classics. Hellendaal was a contemporary
> of C.P.E. Bach. His concertos are in the style of Corelli
> and Handel, written around 1758 (which is after Handel's
> death). The music is very nice but not very distinctive, the
> performances are nice but not superb, the recording is really
> good. All in all: quite fine, but C.P.E. Bach this is not.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiHTVlTuvYA

The Four Reasons:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrnsjMis4n-Mmbcegzb5n_WGPISUzxmZz

dk

Even more countless counterpoint! ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6sUlZa-IrU

dk

Rössler-Rosetti (1746-1792) Nocturne in D - Musici PRAGENSES 1973

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r80AqWqp6c

dk

Bassoonist Johnny Reinhard with his "microtonal masterpiece" bassoon
solos, compiled from over his career -- a variety of composers:

https://johnnyreinhard.bandcamp.com/album/johnny-reinhard-acoustic-bassoon-artist-2023-georg-friedrich-haas-julio-estrada-peter-thoegersen-joseph-pehrson-anton-rovner-liviu-danceanu-ivan-wyschnegradsky-dune-malague-a-fantasy-american-fes

(Sorry about the crazy title. The URL does indeed end w/ 'fes'.)

The 2nd track is more tuneful (Latin/Mexican...) than the 1st track,
if that's a consideration....

Todd M. McComb schrieb am Freitag, 24. März 2023 um 21:16:15 UTC+1:
> Bassoonist Johnny Reinhard with his "microtonal masterpiece" bassoon
> solos, compiled from over his career -- a variety of composers:
>
> https://johnnyreinhard.bandcamp.com/album/johnny-reinhard-acoustic-bassoon-artist-2023-georg-friedrich-haas-julio-estrada-peter-thoegersen-joseph-pehrson-anton-rovner-liviu-danceanu-ivan-wyschnegradsky-dune-malague-a-fantasy-american-fes
>
> (Sorry about the crazy title. The URL does indeed end w/ 'fes'.)
>
> The 2nd track is more tuneful (Latin/Mexican...) than the 1st track,
> if that's a consideration....

Who cares?

Three 20th c. harpsichord concertos with Mahan Esfahani and the Prague RSO, Alexander Liebreich c. (Hyperion CDA68397)

Martinu H246: I had always thought of this as "generic Martinu" (there's a lot of that), but with a close listen I can see there are distinctive ideas at play. It's actually a nice piece, one I would happily hear again from time to time.

Krasa: The big discovery on this disc. What a wonderful little concerto (Kammermusik for harpsichord and 7 instruments)! The word that springs to mind is "charming", not a surprise I suppose from the composer of Brundibar. Still, it's inventive, absorbing and fun. Completely apt for the harpsichord too.

Kalabis, op 42: He was married to Zuzana Ruzickova, and this was written for her. It's a bit abstract, more modernist than the other two. I found it to be lucid (easy to follow and make sense of) and very well constructed if not always engaging. Maybe I need more listens.

The performances are excellent. I haven't heard Esfahani in Bach, and from this disc I'm not sure he would be a high choice, but his agogics are perfect for the phrasing of these more contemporary pieces. He is exceptionally dexterous in works that demand it. Above all, his harpsichord is the sweetest-sounding instrument I think I've ever heard (that was a harpsichord). Far from Beecham's two skeletons copulating on a tin roof, this sounds like wind chimes on a breezy summer day (copulating on a roof etc.). The engineering is clean and transparent.

Strongly recommended.

On Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 7:28:46 PM UTC-4, Peter wrote:
> Three 20th c. harpsichord concertos with Mahan Esfahani and the Prague RSO, Alexander Liebreich c. (Hyperion CDA68397)
>
> Martinu H246: I had always thought of this as "generic Martinu" (there's a lot of that), but with a close listen I can see there are distinctive ideas at play. It's actually a nice piece, one I would happily hear again from time to time.
>
> Krasa: The big discovery on this disc. What a wonderful little concerto (Kammermusik for harpsichord and 7 instruments)! The word that springs to mind is "charming", not a surprise I suppose from the composer of Brundibar. Still, it's inventive, absorbing and fun. Completely apt for the harpsichord too.
>
> Kalabis, op 42: He was married to Zuzana Ruzickova, and this was written for her. It's a bit abstract, more modernist than the other two. I found it to be lucid (easy to follow and make sense of) and very well constructed if not always engaging. Maybe I need more listens.
>
> The performances are excellent. I haven't heard Esfahani in Bach, and from this disc I'm not sure he would be a high choice, but his agogics are perfect for the phrasing of these more contemporary pieces. He is exceptionally dexterous in works that demand it. Above all, his harpsichord is the sweetest-sounding instrument I think I've ever heard (that was a harpsichord). Far from Beecham's two skeletons copulating on a tin roof, this sounds like wind chimes on a breezy summer day (copulating on a roof etc.). The engineering is clean and transparent.
>
> Strongly recommended.

Konstantin Scherbakov’s Beethoven 32 Sonatas on the Steinway label.

This is a pianist very much to my liking. On his Naxos recording of Respighi’s solo piano music Scherbakov shows himself to be a fine orchestrator at the piano. Listen to his Ancient Airs and Dances in the composer’s solo piano version - it is as satisfying as any orchestral recording to my ears.

It’s this ability that makes his Beethoven Sonatas such a pleasure to listen to. Sound, variety of touch, expert use of pedal. I confess to mostly avoiding German school players like Serkin, Brendel and others, because structure matters to them most, at the expense of tone quality, color etc. Just my taste, but I can’t stand winery piano sound.

Scherbakov’s Beethoven benefits from his Godowsky, Rachmaninoff, Medtner etc.

On Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 10:07:35 AM UTC+11, Gerard wrote:
> Hellendaal: Six Grand Concertos opus 3.
> La Sfera Armoniosa, conducted by Mike Fentross. On Challenge Classics.
> Hellendaal was a contemporary of C.P.E. Bach. His concertos are in the style of Corelli and Handel, written around 1758 (which is after Handel's death).
> The music is very nice but not very distinctive, the performances are nice but not superb, the recording is really good.
> All in all: quite fine, but C.P.E. Bach this is not.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiHTVlTuvYA

I have been returning to the following, which I cordially dedicate to the six or so persons who keep this newsgroup going:

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k_6_XZ1b4I>

Andrew Clarke
Canberra

On Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 1:15:59 PM UTC-7, JohnGavin wrote:
>
> Konstantin Scherbakov’s Beethoven 32 Sonatas on the Steinway label.
>

HJ Lim !!! HJ LIm !!! HJ Lim !!! HJ Lim !!! HJ Lim !!! HJ LIm !!! HJ Lim !!!
Yamaha CFX !!! Yamaha CFX !!! Yamaha X CFX !!! Yamaha CFX !!!
Warner Classics !!! Warner Classics !!! Warner Classics !!!

dk

On Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 2:50:15 PM UTC-7, Andrew Clarke wrote:
>
> I have been returning to the following, which I cordially dedicate
> to the six or so persons who keep this newsgroup going:
>
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k_6_XZ1b4I>
>

I am deeply touched and very
much flattered.

Here's one dedicated to you:

https://youtu.be/0JEziGnTtkg

dk