Current Listening

New here. Pocket bio: Retired humanities teacher, residing in Tlaxcala, Mexico, with two dogs and six indoor cats. Passionate about literature, history, philosophy, classical music and opera, jazz, cinema, and similar subjects. Nostalgic guy. Politically centrist. BA in American Studies from Yale; MAs in English and Education from Boston University. Born in northern New Jersey. Have lived and worked in San Francisco, Chicago, northern Nevada, northeast Wisconsin, South Korea.

I’ll post my current listening. This morning, Schumann’s Genoveva, first time for me. Nice piece of German Heroic, which is frequently compared to Lohengrin. Conducted by Aapo Hakkinen, currently available for listening on Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

The other day, I was knocked out by Ture Rangstrom’s Kronbruden, premiered in 1919, libretto based on a Strindberg play. 2017 Goteborg Opera performance conducted by David Bjorkman, available on Sveriges Radio. Sizzling Late Romanticism, great orchestration.

This morning I’m listening to Beethoven’s Fidelio, conducted by Antonio Pappano at the Royal Opera House in 2020, with Lise Davidsen and Jonas Kaufmann. Those names tell the tale: Can’t do better. This is available in the BBC Through the Night archive for another three weeks.

Its not opera, but its lovely choral music. Last night I was listening to Mozart's vespers, both the Confessore and the Dominica, performed by Patrick Peire leading the Collegium Instrumentale Brugense and the Capella Brugensis. This is an historically accurate performance albeit on modern instruments.

A bit off topic: I recently finished reading "On Beulah Height," a Dalziel & Pascoe murder mystery by Reginald Hill. A running theme throughout this long book is both a new recording, and a live performance, of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder (which I hate).