Please Excuse Our Dust

 

Welcome to the Oozy Channel Keep!

We at The Keep are just getting up and running.

Now This is More Like It!

 

After remaining undecided over Naxos' set of Fibich, this recording washes over the listener like a fresh spring rain.

Changing Winds

 

I definitely hear Villa-Lobos going for something different in these symphonies.

Dukas at the Prix de Rome

 

It wasn't to his liking.

Overtures from Czechia

 

At least, I think that is what I once knew as the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia.

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

 

In this case, I would be the old dog...

Feeling Witchy?

 

This cover should accommodate.

Shakespeare and the Czech Woodlands

 

Fibich enters the world of Symphonic Poems.

What to Expect from a War Symphony?

 

Not this, I think.

Don't Like Your Classical Music Quiet and Slow?

 

Then Zdeněk Fibich is your guy!

The Curious Music of Howard Ferguson

 

A cantata, a vocal diptych, and two orchestral works.

The Problem With Villa-Lobos

 

If there is one, at least...

Come to explore the music of Howard Ferguson

 

Stay for Finzi's Eclogue

Villa-Lobos covers the Baroque and Romantic Eras...

 

With Chorus!

Do You Want More?

 

Too bad! There isn't any.

The Little-Known Choral Music of Villa-Lobos

 

Choral Music seems to take a back seat behind the composer's other music genres.

An Uplifting Mass Setting

 

For a student work, I have nothing but plaudits.

The String Quartets of Stenhammar

 

Plus more!

Stenhammar: String Quartet 5 & 6

 

My favorite!

Stenhammar: String Quartet 3 & 4

 

If Stenhammar's first two quartets shows a composer with influences, the next two show a composer amidst change.

Stenhammar: String Quartet 1 & 2

 

Not two of Stenhammar's most beloved quartets, but they show the beginnings of a musician.

Time to Discover Puccini

 

I have trod Riccardo Chailly's 'discoveries' of Cherubini, Rossini, and Verdi thus far.

Sacred Music from Brazil

 

Coming across a 20th Century a cappella Mass setting is always a celebration.

The Cantatas of Stenhammar

 

My main point of comparison here is Vaughan Williams.

The Opera Suites of Puccini

 

I am not a dedicated opera listener, so Rizzi's interventions worked fine on this listener.

Unusual Concertos

 

Plus some chamber music!

The Trouble with Incidental Music

I like exploring Incidental Music, yet I find it not satisfyingly long-lasting.

Volume 2 with Verdi and Muti

 

As far as I can see, the only problem with Part II is...

Preludes & Overtures, Overtures and Preludes

 

Either way, both!

The Beauty of BIS sound

 

I often forget what truly beautiful sonics can achieve.

More Verdi Discoveries

 

I already caught Chailly's Verdi Discoveries HERE.

A Stenhammar Set to Keep!

 

If you lived in the CD era, this set was, and continues to be, a great way to get to know Wilhelm Stenhammar.

Stenhammar: Snöfrid (plus others!)

 

Wrapping up Stenhammar's orchestral works.

Villa-Lobos and the Cello

 

It was his instrument after all.

Stenhammar: Serenade in F Major

 

The greatest from Stenhammar?

Verdi: Pezzi Sacri

 

Verdi's Four Sacred Pieces for chorus are late works from the composer. Two are set a cappella and two come with orchestra.

Stenhammar: Piano Concertos 1 & 2

 

I like when a Concerto offers a dialog.

Ho-Hum

 

Well... we can't have it all.

Stenhammar: Symphony no. 2

 

If Stenhammar's Symphony no. 1 ought to have more recordings, Symphony no. 2 needs more recordings outside of Sweden.

Two Types of Offerings

 

This recording goes back and forth between Solo Variation Concertante Works opposite alternate Opera Overtures.

Stenhammar: Symphony no. 1

 

Why did Stenhammar ever remove this work from the public?

Verdi at La Scala

 

What more can one expect of such a recording?

The End of the Line

 

After having a good run listening to Rossini, we will part ways for a while.

Rossini: Dixit Dominus

 

Who knew Rossini wrote this?

An Impressive Artifact

 

Although, the same could be said of Villa-Lobos' own recording, be it a redacted version.

At the Cinema with Villa-Lobos

 

Like the suites from Discovery of Brazil, The Forests of the Amazon find their roots in film.

String Sonatas for Winds

 

Having recently heard the string orchestra version of Rossini's six Sonatas for Strings, I think I prefer them in their chamber forms.

Delightful, Yet Quite Long

 

I was recently smitten with Franz Schmidt's Piano Quintet in G Major and Clarinet Quintet in B-flat Major.

The Best of Duarte's Villa-Lobos

 

Taken from a documentary, Villa-Lobos fashioned his music into four concert suites.

Volume 2 improves

 

I had trouble finding what I didn't care for in Volume 1.