# What Were Your Favorite New Discoveries Of 2019



## haydnguy (Oct 13, 2008)

Can be Composers, Recordings, or Performers.

I have chosen two disks that are off the beaten track that I particularly liked this year. :clap:










Franz Berwald


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

*My favorite discovery is quite recent:*









Re: the Songs from Auvergne...is there any song more beautiful, and beautifully arranged, than Bailero? I love that set - have had it for decades.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Some older disc's seen on this site by other members.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

A new composer for me. These organ symphonies (organ only, no orchestra) are beautiful.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Classical music, in general. I never got into it really at all until 2019. My life has changed for the better for it. 

More specifically, Mahler, Webern, Brahms, Ravel, Debussy, Lutoslawski, Schumann, Haydn, Schoenberg, Scriabin... all new to me this year.


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## Dirge (Apr 10, 2012)

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonatas No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata" (1804/5), No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110 (1821) & No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111 (1821/2)
· Claudio Arrau [Stockholm recital, live '60] ICA




Arrau was, to my ears, at his peak from the early/mid '50s to the early '60s, especially in a live setting, and this Stockholm recital lives up to expectations, especially in the final two sonatas. His weighty, thoroughly articulated, and deftly balanced playing contributes to a reassuring sense of formal integrity, while the deliberate yet purposeful gait imparts an imposing sense of forward motion and momentum, if not sweep, to the proceedings-his playing here isn't really conducive to sweep. His account of the "Appassionata" is wholly admirable, but his rigorous nature and constitutional inability to let go and let the Force guide him through the final movement, however impressive his playing is in its way, prevents the full drama and excitement of the movement to emerge as it does in Jedi Knight Richter's rightly famous live 1960 Moscow performance. Richter (live in Leipzig, '63) again is the main competition in the late sonatas, but here I like Arrau at least as well in his very different way; indeed, the two pianists' accounts are so different as to be difficult to compare, so I think of them as contrasting but complementary and leave it at that.

[If you'd like to hear Arrau give himself to the Dark Side, check out his dark, turbulent, terrifyingly awesome live 1960 Prague Spring account of Chopin's Preludes on the APR label-Darth Vader's favorite recording of the Preludes, and one of the great performances of anything on record: 



 ]

Maurice RAVEL: "Scarbo" from _Gaspard de la nuit_ (1908)
· Samson François [HMV '47] EMI




This was apparently François's first recording, and it's a doozie, featuring playing of high-tensile virtuosity and keen-edged rhythmic ingenuity but without the eccentricity (however fascinating it might be) of much of his later playing. One only regrets that he didn't record _Gaspard_ complete at this 1947 session.


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

I had never paid much attention to any CM outside of Beethoven and Mozart symphonies plus a few other pieces until the last 10 years or so. This year I rediscovered Bartok's String Quartets. I had heard them before and passed them over. Requiem masses of Cherubini and Saint-Saens, Villa-Lobos Piano Concertos. I could probably come up with a few more.

Edit:
Oh, almost forgot Martinu. Symphonies and PC's.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Verdi's La Traviata!


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

I cannot think of many new to me works that have really struck me this year, but the one purchase - familiar repertoire -that has given me the most pleasure over 2019 has to be this little box. I still think Dorati's is the best, but this is well worth hearing, better in a lot of works, particularly the Sturm und Drang era stuff.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

I've taken a new interest in lute music, especially French baroque stuff.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

For me, the most delightful "discovery" in 2019 is Astor Piazzolla.










Crossover? Yes. Tango x Classical x (a little bit of) Jazz

Orchestral? Yes, well, for the works that I listened to, yes.

Charismatic? Definitely.

Check these out in your favourite streaming service if you're interested -

Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)
Concierto para bandoneon, orquesta de cuerdas y percusion 'Aconcagua'
Sinfonía Buenos Aires 
Adiós Nonino (Tango Rapsodia)


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Though I've certainly encountered a lot of new and unfamiliar music this past year (nothing unusual for me, who remains a "seeker outer" of the new and unfamiliar), much of it worthwhile and memorable and worth repeated hearings, perhaps the recordings that have made the strongest impression this past year is a set of 10 CDs packaged as _The Creators: Composers Playing Their Own Works at the Piano._









Granted, these are not the most aurally spectacular of piano recordings, though they were remastered from piano rolls, wax cylinders and shellac discs, and though they may not represent the most authoritative interpretations these pieces have received (as stated in the sleeve notes: "...composers cannot always be the best performers of their own works -- due to certain deficits in playing techniques..."), the composers' renditions (again, according to the sleeve notes, and I agree) "do convey an impression of their intentions during the creative process."

Each of the 176 recordings, compiled by Ingo Hardin, a noted concert scene critic and co-author of the book _Pianisten-Profile_, are described in a comprehensive accompanying booklet. Again, we learn from the sleeve notes: "The great piano virtuosos were deliberately avoided while putting together this compilation -- unless such instrumentalists also proved to be exceptional composers." Among the performer/composers are Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Edvard Grieg, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Max Reger, Paul Hindemith, Gabriel Faure, Francis Poulenc, Bartok, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Gershwin, "a.m.o."

Some of us, old timers though we be, remain still ever awed by such artists as those presented in this collection, and the real glory of listening to these compositions is that of knowing one is still connected to the very minds and fingers that produced the works.

I'm sure we all have such vintage composer/performer works in our collections, but this 10 disc set neatly compiles a hefty assortment of pieces the majority of which we likely will not have.

For those who cherish opportunities to commune with major musical artists, this box set presents dozens of chances to do just that. If you shed a tear or two listening to these works, we all understand. This is musical creation/presentation at its purest core, certainly worth hearing.

Full track listing here: https://classicalpippo9.com/2017/03...g-their-own-works-at-the-piano-box-set-10cds/


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## Bill Cooke (May 20, 2017)

Late in 2018 I became hooked on Martinu's Violin Concerto No. 2 after viewing a YouTube video of Julia Fischer performing it live with the Czech Philharmonic under David Zinman. Subsequently, I spent a lot of time in 2019 procuring available recordings in an attempt to find a performance that could compare with Fischer's live account. I never found one that surpassed that live performance, though I do enjoy Irnberger/Forster a lot. 

I've been into classical for nearly my entire life, and I'm still discovering great music. Oddly, I haven't given much attention to Bruckner all these years, so I've been stocking up on some recordings which I plan to devote time to very soon.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Louis Couperin: Dances from the Bauyn Manuscript

This wonderful recording by Pavel Kolesnikov .


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## alan sheffield (Oct 26, 2007)

Berg Violin Concerto, Symphonies by English composer Benjamin Frankel and Swedish Composer Allan Pettersson


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

To some degree, 2019 was almost all discovery for me - since I started my CM deep dive in mid-2018. But there are a few standouts.









Tchaikovsky's symphonies were just sort of so-so in my estimation, but this hi-res set really bowled me over and has shot them to the upper echelons of the 19th century symphonic repertoire in my estimation.









Pinnock's Bach finally made it click for me. The clarity of texture and the forward drive is just exceptional here.


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

I'm ashamed to say that I haven't done as much new listening or exploration this year as I probably ought. But I did discover Johann Adam Reincken, so there is that.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Wonderful tuneful opera


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I discovered a whole lot the last year! Machaut, Cavalli, B. Strozzi, A. Scarlatti while looking into music history. Kind of filling in holes. Also I bought some books on different composers, some that I recently listened to more. They are Boulez, Nono and Valen. 2019 was a big year for discoveries for me. My wife "probably" wants me to listen to less...


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

Here is a summation of the highlights & new discoveries (& sad passings) of my listening year in 2019, and I apologize beforehand to those that may consider my post too long, but I cover a lot of listening ground each year:

I. Beethoven:

--Uto Ughi's Beethoven Violin Sonatas 1-10, with pianist Lamar Crowson, from 1978, released for the first time on CD in late 2019. 
--Alfred Brendel, Beethoven Bagatelles 33, 119 126, and Eroica Variations--2 Cds.
--Michael Korstick's Beethoven Piano Sonata cycle. I've been gradually making my way through Korstick's excellent Beethoven cycle over the past year, via the individual hybrid SACDs. I especially liked Korstick's Hammerklavier Sonata, which has been the highlight of his cycle so far: 



.
--Abegg Trio, Beethoven piano trio cycle, on Tacet. In 2019, I purchased the last two CDs of this excellent 1980s set, and have thoroughly enjoyed them: 



.

II. Mozart:

--The Magic Flute, played by the Staatskapelle Dresden, conducted by Otmar Suitner, on RCA. The Staatskapelle Dresden has long been one of my favorite orchestras in the world, if not my favorite, and when they made this recording they were arguably the finest Mozart orchestra in the world, along with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. I have an extensive collection of Staatskapelle recordings, but prior to this set, had never heard any of the recordings from Otmar Suitner's years as their principal conductor (1960-64). So, this is my first Suitner recording, and the orchestra plays Mozart brilliantly for him. It was a joy to hear. In addition, Sylvia Geszty has become one of my favorite Queens of the Night. The cast also features a young, fresh voiced Peter Schreier in the role of Tamino, who sadly passed away this week. It's a very fine recording, and I don't think you'll hear Mozart played better by an orchestra. I'm now eager to hear Suitner's The Marriage of Figaro.














III. Early Music: Renaissance:

--Ockeghem Songs, vol. 1--performed by Blue Heron--this CD gets my pick for the best early music recording of 2019.
--Manuel Cardoso, Requiem, performed by Cupertinos. This is an excellent new group, & their debut CD has won awards, and deservedly so. Nevertheless, I continue to prefer the Tallis Scholars' recording of Cardoso's Requiem (which I'd consider an underrated requiem mass).
--The final release of the Tallis Scholars' cycle of Josquin Desprez Masses, which was the culmination of a decades long project to be the first ensemble to record the complete masses by Josquin Desprez.
--A continuation of Ensemble Metamorphoses ongoing Josquin Desprez mass cycle: In late 2018, they released a very fine CD containing Josquin's Messes Fortuna desperata and Une musique de Biscaye: 



. When they finish their project, Metamorphoses will become only the second vocal ensemble to record Josquin's complete Masses, and I hope not the last.
--I Fagiolini: "Leonardo - Shaping the Invisible": 



.
--Doulce Memoire:"Leonardo da Vinci, La Musique Secrete": 



--Dufay--"Lament for Constantinople", The Orlando Consort: 




IV. I'm a pianophile, & each year I try to discover an array of pianists whose playing I don't know. In the past decade, I've come across such wonderful pianists as Maryla Jonas, Magda Tagliaferro, George Copeland, Marcelle Meyer, Yvonne Lefébure, and Dubravka Tomsic. Here's a list of the pianists that were new to me in 2019:

--Maria Yudina. I had known about Maria Yudina by reputation for years, but had never actually bought one of her recordings. This year I purchased a 2 CD set that was part of the Philips Great Pianists Series: it includes Yudina's Beethoven Diabelli Variations and Bach Goldberg Variations: 



. As expected, she's a great pianist.

--Rosa Sabater, Oeuvres de Enrique Granados. Like Alicia de Larrocha, Sabater was a student of Frank Marshall in Barcelona, who had studied with Enrique Granados. Tragically, she died in a plane crash in 1983. Judging from these recordings & what I've heard on You Tube, Sabater is an unjustly neglected pianist. I would very much like to see her other recordings get released, and perhaps in a box set tribute--especially her Mompou Impresiones intimas and Albeniz Iberia--which is a good as Rafael Orozco's classic recording, and to my knowledge has never been released on CD: 




--Ania Dorfmann--RCA album Collection--yet another great pianist that was new to me in 2019. Here are some highlights from the Dorfmann set:














--Rena Kyriakou--Mendelssohn, Songs without Words. Kyriakou was a student of Isidor Philipp in Paris and it shows. What a beautiful piano touch she has and what incredible depth she brings to this music: 



. As with Dorfmann's survey, this is one of the best sets of Mendelssohn's Songs without Words that I've heard. Both Dorfmann and Kyriakou deeply understand the strong connection these pieces have to composer Robert Schumann and his solo piano music (as the music often sounds like Schumann), which was intentional on Mendelssohn's part. The two sets are now my benchmark picks for this repertory. In 2019, I also got to know Christoph Eschenbach's excellent DG recording of the Songs Without Words, and I think highly of that set, too. All three recordings make Daniel Barenboim's well regarded set now sound superficial to me.

--Antonin Kubalek, Schumann piano music, on the Dorian label: 



. The piano music of Robert Schumann has long been a passion of mine, and I found Kubalek to be a natural Schumann player. This 1989 CD has been my favorite Schumann disc of 2019, & I'd like to hear Kubalek's Brahms now.

--Margit Rahkonen--Debussy 12 Etudes, on Finlandia. Margit Rahkonen was one of the pianists that William Barrington-Coupe 'borrowed' to launch his wife, Joyce Hatto's fake recording career. The British critics raved about this recording of Debussy's 12 Etudes when they thought it was played by a frail, elderly woman in a wheelchair, but since then they've mostly stuck with Mitsuko Uchida as their prime recommendation. Well, I think they got it right with Hatto, even though they had the wrong name of the pianist. It's a shame that Rahkonen hasn't had more of a recording career, as her youthful, energetic & virtuosic performances have become one of my top favorites for Debussy's Etudes; along with another newly discovered recording in 2019, Michel Beroff's masterful CD on Denon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO2IF_OyQ50: which is another underrated version, & may be my 1st choice, overall (along with other exceptional readings by Monique Haas, Paul Jacobs, Noel Lee, Philippe Cassard, Anne Queffelec, François Chaplin, Jacques Fevrier, and Michael Korstick--to round off my top ten).

Rahkonen, Debussy--Etude no. 4: 



Rahkonen, Debussy--Etude no. 9: 




--Julia Cload--Bach Well tempered Clavier, Book 2--The playing of Julia Cload was new to me in 2019, and based solely on this recording, I'd say she was a very fine pianist. Her tempi choices in Book 2 are more spacious than is the norm, but I thought her Bach playing was remarkably musical and insightful: 



.

V. J.S. Bach: Here are my other favorite J.S. Bach purchases of 2019, and I've placed an asterisk by those that I thought were extra special:

--*Bach, A Musical Offering, played by Aston Magna, with John Gibbons on fortepiano. This recording has made me rethink whether Bach composed this late work for a fortepiano or harpsichord. To my ears, the music flows better & makes more logical sense when played on a fortepiano. Aston Magna's recording is now my new benchmark for this music: 



. 
--*Bach, French Suites, Ingrid Haebler, on piano: 



.
--*Bach Goldberg Variations, Pascal Dubreuil, on harpsichord--this is one of the finest harpsichord recordings of the Goldberg Variations I've heard, and it's exceptionally well recorded, too: 



. 
--*Bach Sonatas & Partitas for solo violin, played by violinist Dmitri Sitkovetsky, on Orfeo. Another extremely fine Bach recording that was new to me in 2019. Granted, I've not heard Sitkovetsky's first recording on Hänssler, but this is a great set, and worthy to be mentioned alongside the best recordings that I've heard (on a modern instrument)--by Ughi, Milstein, Suk, Kagan, & Accardo.
--David Fray playing the Bach Concertos for 2, 3, & 4 pianos. This is a follow up to Fray's brilliant earlier recording of the solo concertos for Virgin (which is one of my favorite Bach releases of the past decade).
--Bach Keyboard Concertos--played by pianists Evgeni Koroliov, Ljupka Hadzi-Georgieva, and Anna Vinnitskaya, with the Kammerakademie Potsdam, on Alpha.
--Bach 6 Violin Sonatas, played by period violinist François Fernandez, and harpsichordist Benjamin Alard. In the past year, I've come to like these recordings more & more on subsequent hearings, though they haven't supplanted my benchmark set by violinist Pablo Valetti & Celine Frisch on Alpha, nor my other favorite set by violinist Emyln Ngai and Peter Watchorn on Musica Omnia.

VI. In recent years, I've been exploring the music of Scandinavian composers, and I continued to do so in 2019. Here were my most interesting discoveries of 2019:

--Violin Sonatas, by Finnish composers Einar Englund and Paavo Heininen, played by violinist Kaija Saarikettu and pianist Marita Viitasalo: 



--Paavo Heininen--Symphony 3,, on Finlandia.
--Paavo Heininen--"Meet the Composer" series, on Finlandia.
--Einar England, Violin Concerto, coupled with Pehr Henryk Nordgren's Violin Concerto 3, played by violinist Kaija Saarikettu (Nordgren was new to me in 2019, and I plan to explore more of his music in 2020). 
--"A Century of Finnish Chamber Music, Live from the Kuhmo Festival"--on Ondine. Some of the highlights of this box set included Melartin's String Trio, Op. 133, Kuula's Piano Trio, Op. 7, Kokkonen's String Quartet No. 3, and Salmenhaara's Sonatine for Two Violins. Here is Melartin's String Trio:


















--Eduard Tubin Symphonies: I'm presently getting to know Tubin's symphonies, which are mostly new to me (via the Jaarvi and Volmer cycles).
--Ib Nørholm: Symphonies 7 & 9: 



.
--Finnish piano music--various solo piano works by Jean Sibelius, Harri Vuori, and Paavo Heininen, played by the excellent pianist, Katriina Korte, on Alba.
--Jean Sibelius, Works for Violin and Piano, played by violinist Kaija Saarikettu and pianist Teppo Koivisto, on Alba.

In addition, I returned to the following recordings with a new and greater appreciation in 2019:

--Joonas Kokkonen, Piano Works, played by Janne Mertanen, on Alba. IMO, Kokkonen's "Pielavesi Suite" is a remarkable solo piano work & it deserves to be better known and more widely played in our concert halls: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8033902--joonas-kokkonen-piano-works

--Vagn Holmboe, 13 Symphonies, on BIS.

VII. In addition, I continued to explore recordings of F.J. Haydn's string quartets, which has been another special focus of mine in recent years. Here are the new additions that I made to my Haydn SQ collection in 2019:

Kuijken Quartet--Op. 74 set.
Panocha Quartet--Op. 55 set: 



Panocha Quartet--"Seven Last Words on the Cross": 



Takacs Quartet--Op. 71 set.

(In 2019, I also enthusiastically returned to a great Op. 33 set, played on period instruments by the Appónyi Quartet, a subset of the Freiburger Barockorchester: 



)

VIII. Gustav Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde, in Mahler's piano version, which I'd never heard before. I listened to the premiere recording on Teldec, featuring Cyprien Katsaris on piano, and singers Brigitte Fassbaender & Thomas Moser. Katsaris plays brilliantly on this recording: 




IX. I also went on a Vivaldi binge in 2019: Here are the new (to me) Vivaldi recordings that I most enjoyed, and I've placed an asterisk by those that I thought were extra special:

--*Vivaldi, 6 Violin Concerti, Op. 11, Stanley Ritchie & the Academy of Ancient Music, led by Christopher Hogwood. Surprisingly, I had never heard Vivaldi's Op. 11 set before, and these recordings are wonderful: https://www.amazon.com/Vivaldi-Viol...+vivaldi+op.+11&qid=1577847305&s=music&sr=1-1.
--*Vivaldi, 7 Concerti for woodwinds and strings, Pinnock, English Concert--yet another magical CD that got a lot of playing time on my car stereo in 2019: 



--Vivaldi, Suonate da Camera, L'Arte dell' Arco, and Christopher Hogwood.
--"Vivaldi in A Mirror"--Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca.

In 2019, I also discovered the excellent period ensemble, Modo Antiquo, led by Federico Maria Sardelli:

--La Stravaganza, Op. 6, with Anton Martynov on violin: 



--Corelli, Concerti Grossi, Op. 6: 




X. Georg Frederic Handel:

--Handel's opera, "Serse", was new to me in 2019. I listened to 2 recordings--by conductors Nicholas McGegan and William Christie. Both are excellent, but I slightly preferred McGegan's: 




--Handel's Organ Concertos op. 4 & 7, and nos. 13-16, played on a piano by Matthias Kirschnereit, who was new to me. Though Handel is one of my favorite composers, I'm not a huge fan of the organ, so hearing Handel's Organ Concertos played on a piano has opened up this music to me in a way that hadn't happened before, & Kirschnereit's playing is terrific. These recordings were among my favorite purchases of 2019.

XI. The composer Alexander Tcherepnin (son of Nikolai) was another new discovery in 2019. I enjoyed getting to know his Ravel influenced solo piano works, via two recordings: one by the American pianist Bennett Lerner, and the other by the great French pianist, Monique Haas (who was an early champion of Tcherepnin's music): 




XII. In memoriam: Two sad passings in 2019 that effected me deeply:

--Alan Stout, composer, a friend.

In Alan's memory, I revisited his Cello Sonata, which unfortunately is the only currently available recording of his music: 



In recent years, Stout had won the Lydian Quartet's annual prize to a contemporary composer, but their recording of his 6th & 10th String Quartets was never commercially released. I hope that changes. I also hope that Stout's Symphonies 1-4 will finally receive commercial recordings, along with his Passion (which I've never heard, but do recall a singer saying that it was nearly impossible to sing, which only further piques my interest, since that may mean it didn't receive an adequate performance when it was premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra). I also wonder if the CSO is still in the possession of any tapes from Sir Georg Solti's live recordings of Stout's 4 symphonies?

Alan was one of the most civil and highly intelligent people that I've known in my life, and he had a wonderful sense of humor. It was impossible to spent time around Alan and not find myself laughing at one of his many stories, trenchant observations, or hilarious pranks. Yet, it wasn't a part of Alan's nature or character to promote his music. As far as I know, he is the only major composition student of Vagn Holmboe's whose symphonies haven't been commercially recorded. Which is possibly an injustice, considering that Dmitri Shostakovich, who was a friend of Alan's, admired his 4th Symphony. I can recall hearing a story about how, after listening to a recording of the symphony, Shostakovich said: "There is great tragedy in this music." To which Alan replied, "I composed it after my father passed away.

Stout interview, with Bruce Duffie: http://www.bruceduffie.com/stout.html

--Oliver Knussen, composer/conductor, a close friend of Alan's. After the sad news of Olly's death in July, I revisited many of his recordings (both as a conductor & composer), and bought some new ones, in his memory.

Symphony no. 3: 



Sonya's Lullaby for Piano, Op. 16: 



Ophelia Dances: 




Knussen conducts Knussen, DG: 
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8048905--knussen-conducts-knussen
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004P8VHN2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

New to me in 2019: Knussen's recording of Stravinsky's The Fairy's Kiss, which is excellent: 




A favorite quote by Knussen on the incalculable impact of the music of Claude Debussy on all the music that followed after him (from BBC magazine):

"The likelihood is that if a composer has not been influenced by such a figure, he has deliberately reacted against the aesthetic. I don't think I have written a single note since I was 18 years old that doesn't have Debussy hovering somewhere in the background, though perhaps that's just wishful thinking."

Knussen's work, "Ophelia's Last Dance" is certainly Debussy influenced, and I enjoy that aspect of his music: 



. I hope that some of Knussen's live Debussy performances were recorded--such as his "Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien" (which he conducted without D'Annunzio's words), and will get commercially released in the near future. I'd imagine his Debussy is fascinating.

My favorite story about Knussen is a quirky one: Alan once told me that he and Olly were walking together on a street in London, and Knussen was so wrapped up in what he was saying to Alan that he walked straight into a lamp post. Now Knussen was a large man--some would say a giant, and Alan said the sound of the two colliding masses made a loud thud. Knussen stood there for a moment staring back at the lamp post, and then continued on with his sentence as if it nothing had happened.

My best wishes to all for a happy and healthy new year in 2020!


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

SixFootScowl said:


> Verdi's La Traviata!


I recorded last night:

La Traviata at Opernfestspiele St. Margarethen in 2008

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:La_Traviata_at_Opernfestspiele_St._Margarethen_in_2008


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## caracalla (Feb 19, 2020)

In my preferred stamping grounds, EM and the Baroque, there's such a steady flow of 'new' composers, performers and repertoire year after year that it's hard to keep up, and I don't. I suppose the most exciting of my many new discoveries in 2019 were the provincial French composer Louis-Nicolas Le Prince (1637-93) and the Spanish instrumental ensemble La Ritirata. Oh, and the Argentine soprano Mariana Flores, mustn't forget her.

In later rep, where I'm more of an occasional tourist, I was happy to discover one Michael Haller (1840-1915), working out of Regensburg. Seems he was a leading light of the German Caecilian movement, which wanted to de-Romanticise and re-Palestrinise contemporary church music, and might be loosely associated with the Pre-Raphaelites and Gothic/Renaissance revivalists. Italian Renaissance polyphony recast via a late-19thC German mindset wouldn't be to all tastes, but it intrigues mine.

Later still, a definite highlight was my rediscovery of the Boulez/Cleveland rendition of Strav's Rite of Spring. I'd never much cared for this cf other famous recordings, and hadn't listened to it for donkeys' years, but caught it on the radio in 2019 and it finally clicked. I think I'd now rank this second only to the (very different) Gergiev/Kirov.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Mozart's Masonic Music


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

larold said:


> Mozart's Masonic Music
> 
> View attachment 133973


Do try the Peter Maag ( Vox)recording, is't much older but for me, still unbeaten.


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