Meow, meow, meow!

I was today a good kitty and I have a wonderfully purring section today. The WHRB broadcasted today Grieg string quartet. I do not know what the bad was playing but here is what I did not record it but here is what I managed to catch from this web site:

Now Playing: String Quartet, Op. 27 by Siegerland, Sponberg, Tomter, Mork from Grieg: Mork, Cello Sonata, String Quartet (Virgin) spun by WHRB-Classical at 7:24pm on Evening Concert (Tue Sep 15th)

It was juts spectacular! I have really-really good time….

The Bohuslav Martinu’s last Symphony No. 6, or as it called "Fantaisies Symphoniques" that I feel is a better name (it does not sound to me as “Symphony”, too playful), is one of those secretive little treasures that no one plays, and it is a shame. I love the peaces a lot.

One might argue which conductor leads Czech Philharmonic with the most interesting interpretation of the celebrated Bohemia composer but in this case I always feel: screw the Czechs!!!  Charles Munch with my town orchestra recorded Fantaisies Symphoniques in 1956 and BSO show off such a play that I for years had no desire to look for anything else.

Recently I was hunting in Japan the Munch’s recording of Menotti concerto with BSO and when I got it came with his Fantaisies Symphoniques. I played it and was stunned – the Japanese got stereo source for my favorite Martinu 6! And I have to say – what kind stereo – the phenomenal sound, as the most of the Japanese mastering!

In stereo BSO plays even more energetically and viciously. The Japanese loose neither tone nor satellites. I did not even know that “my” Martinu was recorded in stereo.  Good discovery! When our idiots begin to make releases like this?

A new compete Set of Bruckner symphonies by Günter Wand with WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln will be released this fall:

http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/product/detail/3889437

I am not so wild about Stravinsky  as piano composer. His is OK, but no Liszt and no Rachmaninoff. His sonatas and etudes are not so exiting in my view, Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments is boring and his piano version of Petrushka is “not there”, I actually do not care too much about orchestral Petrushka as well.

Today I was cleaning my hard drives on my DAW – I had 120G of off air recordings that I did not listen and I come across a phenomenal work that I did not paid attantion before. It was sometime in 2009, Peter Serkin played it with BSO under button of Ludovic Morlot, the BSO assistant conductor at that time. The work was Stravinsky capriccio for piano & orchestra.

The work is kind of a bit jazzy to my taste but the way how Stravinsky  orchestrated it is a pure brilliance. The way how pianos talks with other instruments and orchestral sections is insufferable beautiful.  It is shame that Stravinsky  did not write a full blown piano concerto.

I was listening today before MET broadcast the Tintner’s and Ireland National Symphony take on Bruckner Second. It is very nice, not to mention that Tintner plays Bruckner original version.

http://www.classicalnotes.net/columns/tintner.html

http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm5-7/tintner-en.htm

It is in away a shame that Georg Tintner did not record with greatest Germano-Austrian orchestras. Still, he does his best with Ireland National and it is a noble endeavor. The Tintner’s Bruckner 2 is not the best out there but it is very good Bruckner…

A local audio guy brought yesterday a box set with all Bruckner symphonies by Volkmar Andreae, all the 1953 broadcasts with Wiener sympony

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/70bce9d83bda5c76444fda02d6ad605a/classic/detail/-/art/Anton%20Bruckner%20%20Symphonien%20Nr.%201-9/hnum/1057836

I enjoy them tremendously, what a beautiful thing! I feel like a Cat locked up in dairy store overnight….