Schubert - Symphony 9 'The Great' [Marriner-The Academy Of Saint Martin In The Fields] 

An old chestnut as it were, i can't exactly remember the first time i listened to this work, but it was Karl Bohm on a DG cassette, and it wasn't long before i loved this work, the version that i've listened to the most is Abbado on DG, Marriner is actually a very recent acquisition, this is the first time i've played it, and he certainly sounds different, i think i'm overexposed to the Abbado version, as i judge everything else by it, and i'm thankful for listening to this work 'through different ears'.

Neville Marriner is English, he's now 88, and it seems that he's been around forever, and he recorded this work in 1984, the front cover is a painting by Ruisdael entitled 'View Of The Woods', usually i don'tlike artwork, but this is a very nice painting, and the colours are great, plus a nice sharp reproduction of it, plus the lettering is perfect, notice the light pink colour which breaks things up nicely.

It was the last movement which was so tremendous, actually the Symphony got better and better the more i listened to it, what a tremendous work it is, 

Here's Frans Bruggen conducting the fourth movement on YouTube, though he takes it thrillingly fast.

Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto [Perlman/ Haitink-Concertgebouw Orchestra] 

I enjoyed this so much today, one of the main staples of the Classical repertoire, very popular, maybe to some overplayed and overexposed to, in some ways you can get too familiar with a piece / work, but even though i've played this work hundreds of times, i'm still amazed by the power and 'newness' of this Concerto, it's so evergreen, i don't believe the day will ever come when i will say 'yeah, i know that work now, i've sussed it out, and i can now leave it behind and move on', that's like leaving behind your favourite food because you've had it so much!, i walked to Church today, it was cold, but this certainly warmed my heart while i was walking, this disc makes its debut in my Blog.

Itzhak Perlman is Israeli, though now he's emigrated to the United States, he's now 67, he made this recording in 1984, the front cover photograph is by Christian Steiner, a nice portrait.

This was fantastic, especially the first two movements, as i was listening to the first movement, i thought 'things can't get better than this', but amazingly i found the slow movement just that, it was so superb, 

Here's Itzhak Perlman playing the slow movement on YouTube.

Szymanowski - Mythes [Suwanai/Moll] 

This is a lovely disc, a Japanese version of a Philips European release, the European disc is called 'Souvenir', and has a different cover, but is also very nice, but this is even better, i just love the pose / photography of Suwanai here, it's a disc of a nice mix, taking in four Composers, Tchaikovsky / Szymanowski / Rachmaninov / Wieniawski, so a Russian / Polish mix, this is actually the discs only second outing, even though of course i know many of the pieces from multiple playings on other discs, Suwanai's discs are fairly hard to come by, and now fetch quite a lot of money, i think i bought this disc for a small fortune from someone in Taiwan or Hong Kong [on Ebay], and an excellent quantity of music too [79 minutes].

Akiko Suwanai is Japanese, she's now 40, and she recorded this disc in 1996, the front cover picture [by Christian Steiner] is absolutely gorgeous, a stark almost black & white mono shot of Suwanai, the flowing black dress making a sort of pyramid she sits atop of, the lettering is wonderful, a really great visual product, it's a shame the back inlay isn't of an equal high standard, but it's still very good indeed, a wonderful disc to own.

Well i must admit that i was taken aback by the Rachmaninov 'Danse Hongroise', it's new to me, and i would like to get to know it better, but ultimately it was Szymanowski's Mythes that i found so compelling, evocative and otherworldly, they sound like they appear out of eerie mists, i usually find the opening 'The Fountain Of Arethusa' the best of all, however on this listening i was so taken by the last Mythe 'Dryads and Pan', Dryads are female tree nymphs, while Pan is a wild God with the lower body of a goat, and of course the fame of Pan is with his prowess with the pan pipes, and that's basically what's happening in this Mythe, Pan 'singing' to the tree nymphs, and the nymphs dancing / singing in reply, the branches rustle with the wind, and as the pan pipes are a wind instrument, the trees can 'sing',

Here's Janine Jansen playing Mythes on YouTube, Dryads and Pan starts at [14:00].

Brahms - Two Rhapsodies [Perahia] 

I've been looking forward to playing this disc for ages, as soon as i saw this release i said 'yes!', what a great album, with a great selection of Brahms's best works, all by a great Pianist, a dream come true, rather than rush out and buy the thing at full price, i've waited patiently to find one cheap, and i got this new for £5, however now i wonder what all the hype was about, even though Perahia hits all my repertoire buttons [Chopin's Etudes / Bach's Goldberg / Schubert's Impromptus / Schubert's Late Sonatas etc], each time i'm left wondering 'what's so special about this guy anyway?', there's lots i disagree with, and he just doesn't seem to have that magnetism that the truly greats have, there's moments of awkward staccato where i think 'is that meant to be in the score?', and yet maybe i'm making too much out of it all, as there's certainly a lot more to enjoy than there is to worry about, but on a first listen maybe i just need to hear this disc some more before coming to definite conclusions, but still a great joy to listen to this stuff.

Murray Perahia is American, he's now 65, and he made this recording in 2010, the front cover portrait [by Felix Broede] is absolutely superb, a shot capturing Perahia in a reflective mood, hands clasped like lovers, formal attire, but shorn of the tie, a nice uncluttered background, and yes it's full of greys, which makes the lettering colours stand out all that more, and the lettering is great, with Perahia / Brahms emblazoned across the front, and in smaller letters the works, however the back inlay is rather boring, and there's no real breakdown in the track listing, but i still feel it's a great visual concept, well done Sony, one of the best covers i've ever seen.

I bought this disc mainly for the Handel Variations, and the Piano Pieces [Op118-119] are a plus, i didn't factor in the Two Rhapsodies, and would you know it, they were the pieces that i loved the most on this listen, or rather the First Rhapsody, they are both pieces in turmoil, and both in the Minor key, this one is in B Minor, turbulent and dark, it's in the same key as Schubert's Eighth Symphony, a certain restlessness pervades, Brahms instructs 'agitato' across the top, there's a certain anger in the opening pages from Perahia, reminiscent of Brahms's Third Sonata, but it gives way to this ethereal and lovely oasis of calm and beauty [1:41-1:58], it's so welcome but so short lived, and right after Perahia hammers away, too loud in my view, breaks the spell, plus i notice that the recording is too brittle, there's not enough warmth, lots more anger, and this might be considered Brahms's 'Hammerklavier', but just when you think the same oasis is starting up [3:20+], it turns into a new oasis of tunefulness [3:32-5:35], this one's a lot longer, and it certainly lives up to name of Rhapsody, it goes all over the place, and inbetween these long outbursts of anger, another short oasis appears at first [6:26-6:45], there's a lovely coda in surprise at the end [8:11-8:58], with reminiscences of the tunes throughout, played in thoughtful retrospect, i just loved the way it all intersperses with anger and calm, rather like good cop / bad cop!.   

Here's Murray Perahia playing the First Rhapsody on YouTube.

Finzi - Eclogue [Lane/ Handley-Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra] 

I first heard this work on the radio, not knowing what it was, but i guessed that it was Finzi and his Eclogue, just from having heard about it, and i was right!, how's that for an educated guess?, it basically belongs in the same vein as the slow movement to Ravel's Piano Concerto, originally conceived as the slow movement for a projected Piano Concerto, but the outer movements never materialised, and so it stands alone, and here we have a good 10 minutes of ethereal music, this work / disc appeared in my Blog over two years ago [27th June 2010].

Piers Lane is Australian, he's now 54, and he recorded this disc in 1994, the front cover picture is by Hanya Chlala, probably of Oxford or maybe Cambridge.

Finzi's Eclogue is a little marvel, sounding so perfectly English, hailing from a time of an earlier age, timeless music really, 

Here's Lee Thompson playing Finzi's Eclogue on YouTube.

Bach - The Well Tempered Clavier [Nikolayeva] 

Another airing of this wonderful 4 disc set of Bach's 48 Preludes & Fugues [19th November 2011 & 5th August 2010], endless enlightenment, i played a disc a day over the last four days, it's certainly hard to take the whole lot in one go, and on this listen, i tried to especially hear the less well known pieces, to try and bring them into the light, i think i made some new 'friends' this time around, it's almost impossible to truly keep your attention on examining the whole lot, some pass 'under the radar', while others just somehow 'catch your eye', but i can certainly say it's like learning a new language, a day in a foreign country will always mean that you'll pick up a few new words each time, i got to know these pieces better, which will stand me in good stead when i decide to take another visit.

Tatiana Nikolayeva is Russian [1924-1993], a great interpreter of Bach, and of course a great friend to Shostakovich, she recorded this great work here in 1984 in Tokyo Japan, unlike a lot of Nikolayeva's discs, this one has a really good front cover, Nikolayeva obviously not young anymore, but the portrait is a good one, and certainly the black on yellow lettering on the right works well, a lovely boxed set, the back inlay card is well laid out, giving a Prelude & Fugue only one track number, this is actually helpful as it allows me to play each disc on random, which is my preferred way of listening, if the Preludes and Fugues had separate track numbers, then playing on random would split up such pairs, and wouldn't work, so everything seems so well laid out, and a joy to listen to and follow.

Well there's so much that is worth mentioning here, and yet i want to keep my Blog entries fairly concise, so i'll just mention two, and that's Prelude & Fugue 3, and Prelude & Fugue 27, which are actually the third pieces of each of the two books, and therefore both are in the key of C Sharp Major, and however great number 3 is, it's actually number 27 i want to concentrate on, it's one of the numbers i haven't noticed before, and the Prelude sounds almost like a more complex version of number 1 [from Book One], and for that i love it all the more, i like the way Nikolayeva gets a lovely ringing tone out of the piano, the top treble notes are emphasised, and i feel she has that ability to differentiate 'voices' within a piece, nicely terraced, she starts off gentle too, as if the piece floats in from nowhere, the whole thing just seems perfect, i've listened to the Gulda version, and it's very similar, it's one of the strangest Preludes as it has a very sharp change of direction towards the end [1:17+], it's like the Prelude has it's own very Prelude & Fugue within!, it suddenly jerks into another gear, and the volume suddenly shouts, but it's thrilling, the change can be overemphasised, but i think Nikolayeva gets it right here, on the original listen i liked the Prelude more than the Fugue, but on analysing it more here, i find the Fugue so compelling, it's even better in retrospect, it's a very jerky and staccato Fugue [1:50+], with individual notes purposely sticking out like sore thumbs, and wow do i like that, it's like the piano equivalent of hiccups!, those emphasis's on some notes over others works wonders, and then a little later there's trills coming in, and they're a treat later [2:50-2:54], the Fugue goes from an obviously jerky staccato to a more smoother version towards the end, it's a superb Prelude & Fugue that is now firmly my 'friend' for ever. 

Here's Nikolai Demidenko playing Prelude & Fugue 27 [BWV 872] on YouTube, i must admit he plays it quite fast, and gets a completely different feel to the piece than Nikolayeva.

Beethoven - Piano Concerto 5 'Emperor' [Ashkenazy/Solti-Chicago Symphony Orchestra] 

Another trip into the Emperor Concerto, this time with Ashkenazy, not a disc i've played a lot, so it's still early days with delving into this version, but i can certainly say that these are robust solid readings, presenting Beethoven as a revolutionary, Solti's ideas sound exactly like Ashkenazy's ideas when he conducts, and again i must admit that i just can't get bored of this work, or seemingly get overexposed to it, in the three years of my Blog [36 months], this is now the fifteenth time this work has appeared, so roughly every two months i guess, but there again it is the greatest Piano Concerto ever written, so it's easily swallowed up in my love for it, the other work on this disc, his Piano Concerto 2 was also surprisingly wonderful too, long live Beethoven.

Vladimir Ashkenazy is Russian, he's now 75, but he made this recording way back in 1972 when he was 35, the booklet cover shows two photographs, the one of Ashkenazy [by Mike Evans], and the other of Solti [by Patrick Lichfield], it's the lettering that creates nice colours, and the whole front cover is pleasing.

And on this listen it was the heavenly slow movement that i found so arresting, it still amazes me that Beethoven had the power to write such music of profound depth, it's one of his greatest slow movements ever, the orchestral introduction sets the scene / mood [0:00-1:50], it creates a mood of relaxation for me, i can feel myself floating away to a better place, the very opening has the deep bass playing pizzicato, a nice little touch, the movement is in B Major, and when Ashkenazy comes in [1:47+], the whole thing is complete, i must admit that Ashkenazy seems to ring those treble notes a little too loud [3:31+], and the mesmerising / hypnotic hold of dreaminess is slightly broken, a more restrained approach would have worked better, and elsewhere he seems a little heavy handed too, there are passages that are just so perfect, where Beethoven can transport us to another world, especially the piano variation of the orchestral opening [5:04-5:47], and later another variation on the same tune, this time the woodwinds play the tune [6:26+], while the piano accompanies with delicious filler notes, and it's in this guise that the whole thing winds down into the bass, getting ready for the exuberant final movement, wow that really transports me for a good 8 minutes, lovely stuff.

Here's the young Vladimir Ashkenazy playing the Beethoven Fifth on YouTube, Bernard Haitink conducting, the slow movement starts at [21:10].

Saint-Saens - Violin Concerto 3 [Dumay/ Yazaki-Orchestre Philharmonique De Monte Carlo] 

A disc that seems to appear in my Blog Regular [29th December 2011 & 30th January 2010], and no wonder, it's such a treasured disc and performance, i'm glad i bought this on Ebay when i saw it, a Concerto that is becoming more and more entrenched in my heart the more and more i listen to it, it's a shame that his earlier Violin Concertos don't stand up to the quality of this one, and the same applies to his Symphonies, seems like he hit quality on the number three!, not a great deal of music on this disc [only 47 minutes], but it's more than made up for in quality.

Augustin Dumay is French and now 63, he recorded this disc in 1982 when he was 33, one of the great things about this disc is the front cover, it's a brilliant portrait [by Roberto Estrada], a superb use of using out of focus to highlight that which is in focus, i like the colours, a blue green background, and the red of the tank top really brightens up the picture, and the lettering is excellent, blue at the top, and lightening to white at the bottom, it makes a great disc even greater.

Well it's usually the heavenly slow movement which is the highlight of this piece, and i must admit that it hit a real soft spot this time, but amazingly it was the last movement Molto Moderato E Maestoso [very moderate and majestic] that really hit the spot!, i must admit that in listening to this movement again, that Dumay is very individual, especially in the introduction, maybe a bit to hesitant, and too fussy with intonation, but this is only a small gripe, his violin sings nice and sweet, and he's a very accurate fiddler in the faster sections, he plays somewhat quietly, and maybe a bit too treble of tone, or is it the recording?, there's some very delicate playing from Dumay and Yazaki [3:56-5:09], and the recording is nice and crystal clear to hear both ends of the spectrum, i like Dumay's way with playing the more virtuoso sections [7:19-7:48], and makes me realise how good the same thing is at the start [1:08-1:35], and it's easy to miss out on some of the most wondrous stuff, and in giving it yet another spin, how wonderful the more lyrical and sweet refrains there are [2:33-3:07], and i guess how ultimately it's easy to like and comment on almost everything about the movement, and it's amazing that this Concerto can be played so many different ways, with different a different emphasis, and yet still be a valid interpretation each time, i love the build up to the great forte towards the end [8:47-9:00], it's a tremendous moment that is unleashed big time by the horns and brass [9:01-9:20], now that's the 'majestic' part of the title, the whole thing is cast in the key of B Minor, a nice dark key, that has as it's bedfellows Dvorak's Cello Concerto, Schubert's Eighth, and Tchaikovsky's Sixth, heady companions indeed. 

Here's Silvia Marcovici playing the third movement on YouTube.