From: a4369@mindlink.bc.ca (Mike Quigley#2)
Subject: Whatcha get for Christmas?
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1993 06:46:26 GMT

Every Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), most of the major music stores
here (I almost said "record stores") have the usual slit-their-wrists sales.
Here's what I got this year:

Messiaen: Visions de l'Amen played by Mr. & Mrs. Messiaen (Ades 13.233-2).
Despite the recent adulation heaped on this recording by another poster in
this newsgroup, I still prefer the Serkin/Takahashi one (PLEASE, RCA ...
hurry up and reissue it!). But in the meantime, this will do nicely. It
brings back memories of when I heard it performed by the same team nearly 20
years ago.

Krenek: Piano Sonatas 2, 4, 6 and 7 played by Geoffrey Madge (Koch Schwann CD
310 048 HI). These four sonatas range in date from 1928 to 1988. I quite like
the Sonata Number 2, which has a kind of mellow feeling about it. The
companion volume, with Sonatas 1, 3 and 5 is a likely purchase at a future
sale.

Robert (sic) Gerhard: Don Quixote; Pedrelliana; Albada, Interlude I Dansa
(Valois V 4660). An interesting program by one of my favorite lesser-known
20th century composers, played by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra (that's in
the Canary Islands) and played surprisingly well. The Don Quixote is a 1950
ballet score recorded in suite form some years ago by Antal Dorati on
Seraphim and Argo. Gerhard studied with Schoenberg and towards the end of his
life (the 1960's) wrote several brilliant avant-garde pieces like the
Concerto for Orchestra (Argo ... PLEASE!), but the works on this CD are all
very tonal.

Dutilleux: Mystere de l'Instant; Metaboles; Timbes, Espace, Mouvement ou "La
Nuit Etoilee" (Erato 2292-45626-2). This was the number one "want" on my
shopping list. Despite being an old geezer age-wise (born in 1916), Dutilleux
writes music which is fresh-sounding and fascinating -- I almost wore out the
CD of his Violin Concerto. The pieces on this CD, named Ainsi Dutilleux, are
conducted by Paul Sacher and Mstislav Rostropovitch. A bit of a rip-off in
terms of time -- only 46 minutes.

Georges Delerue -- Les Deux Anglaises at le Continent (Hortensia FMC 600). I
was especially pleased to find this, one of my favorite film scores. The way
Delerue writes for strings in this score sends chills up my spine. I only
wish that some of the dialogue excerpts had been removed and his equally
memorable score for The Conformist was included as well.

400 Years of Dutch Music, Vol. 5 (Olympia OCD 504). An interesting
cross-section of music (66'14"), containing my favorite piano concerto by
Willem Pijper, well-played by Ronald Brautigam. Wagenaar's Cyrano de Bergerac
Overture is reminiscent of Brahms and Richard Strauss, while Hendrik
Andriessen's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Johann Kuhnau for String
Orchestra and Daniel Ruyneman's Hieroglyphen (for 3 flutes, celesta, harp,
cup-bells, piano, two mandolins and two guitars (1918!)) are both
well-crafted. Vermeulen's Symphony No. 3 is a bit of a disappointment, the
orchestral playing seems indifferent at the beginning, but it improves later
on.

Xref: sparky rec.music.classical:19269 rec.music.early:1821