Kate McDonnell [Where The Mangoes Are]

Now here's something really nice, a disc that i bought maybe a year ago, from Amazon, brand new with cellophane for something like £2, which includes postage and packing, i search through cheap discs, and if i find something which catches my eye, i listen to the samples, this one sounded good enough, so i bought it, for £25 i can easily acquire ten discs, so a year ago i gave it its first listen, and i felt it was really quite ordinary, but what a difference a year gives, i played this today, and now it sounds fantastic, her voice sounds like Beth Nielsen Chapman, when she sings harder and her voice breaks she sounds like Joan Baez, nearly the whole album are Kate McDonnell originals, some of them wouldn't be out of place on a Joni Mitchell album, she's a great Folk Singer-Songwriter new find.

Kate McDonnell is American, not well known, she brought this album out in 2005, the front cover picture [by Michael Nakao] shows a close up of her face, her hair in her eyes, along with the orange lettering, i think this is a lovely portrait, better than conventional straight on shots.

Well on this listen i now like a whole load of tracks, 1, 4-5 & 8-11, that's over half the album!, and here's a short synopsis of each, 
1 Tumbleweed [4:10] - In essence a Soft Rock song, very electric, very lyrical, though unlike most of the tracks on the album, nice organ swirls on the instrumental bridge [3:01+], very sparse lyrics, almost just rhyming words only, best lyric 'greasy spoon, coffee soon'.
4 Mercy [4:15] - A certain military rhythm to the brushes on the drums, at times she can really cry, the chorus is just one word 'mercy', the track slowly builds up and up to a nice high, best lyric 'how can i love the guy next door, i don't even know his name'.
5 5:05 [5:11] - McDonnell has this ability to weave short guitar themes, which serves as a great motif throughout the whole song, about a boat on the ocean, there's a certain feel to the song which reminds me of Joni Mitchel's Hejira album, best lyric 'i'm inches from the water, but miles from the shore'.
8 Lemon Marmalade [5:55] - This is my favourite track on the album, some really good acoustic guitar work here, there's a fantastic phrase on the guitar running throughout the whole album, giving it a real Bluesy feel, the track is nearly six minutes long, giving it real time to weave its magic, it's guitar really casts its spell over a nice length, the lyrics give the album its title, best lyric 'the sun will stick to everything, like lemon marmalade'.
9 Luis [3:05] - A clever song, about a daughter who died, and the need to bury her, i guess the parents are separated, yet brought together in the death of their child, some really good mandolin work [Scott Petito], i like the way it ends fairly abruptly, best lyric 'now she's just skin and bones, it's time for her to go on home'.
10 Mayday [4:43] - I listened to this album on random, and this was the first track i listened to, a strong Soft Rock feel to it, best lyric 'now i look back on that January, and how we melted the winter freeze'.
11 Goodbye Song [4:30] - A Steve Earle song, originally called just 'Goodbye', it has a certain TexMex feel to it, makes me want to delve into Steve Earle some more, a sad song of goodbye and regret, perfectly vibed by a superb fiddle [Mindy Jostyn], best lyric 'most November's i break down and cry, but i can't remember if we said goodbye'. 

Beethoven - Symphony 7 [Bruggen-Orchestra Of The Eighteenth Century]

Here's a disc that i acquired recently, and giving it its first spin, it's a historically informed reading, on period instruments, and that means that the string tone can sound rather thin and sinewy, instead of warm and full, but it also reveals the brass / woodwind / percussion more, it takes some getting used to, but it's also good to hear something in a fresh way, and these are good performances.

Frans Bruggen was Dutch [1934-2014], i didn't know he had died, he was 80, he recorded this disc in 1988, the front cover shows nine individual shots [by Fernando Van Teylingen], of members of the orchestra and Bruggen, nicely laid out, and the lettering inbetween is excellent.

On this listen it was the wonderful first movement that i was most impressed by, it's in the key of A Major, like i said it's a period performance, and a live recording too, the recording is bright, so fortes can sound a bit harsh, but also really quite alive, Bruggen doesn't wallow in warmth and tone, but rather brings out more of the rhythms in Beethoven, the timpani is hard and loud, and it gives you a good idea how Beethoven must have heard it on its first performance, there's a long Poco Sostenuto introduction, and there's this flute bridge to the Vivace [4:19-4:46], and then the whole thing explodes [4:46+ & 7:11+], full of  brass and timpani, it's a lovely cacophony of sound, it's good to hear the 'incessantness' of this movement, it keeps moving forward, i think Bruggen uses the exposition repeat, of course this makes it nearly 15 minutes long, near the end Beethoven has a sort of respite, where he lets the woodwind have some nice pleasant sweet things to say [11:32-12:02], at the end the brass really make themselves heard [14:09-14:45], a real triumph.

Here's Bruggen playing this Symphony on YouTube.

Beethoven - Violin Sonata 9 'Kreutzer' [Vengerov/Markovich]

This is a great disc, bringing together the best Violin Sonatas by Brahms and Beethoven [or at least my favourites!], i think it's a great coupling, even though it's an unusual one, i count ten versions of this work in my disc collection, i must have listened to this work 120 times, and it still always amazes me, what a work of pure genius Beethoven has made here, i am actually quite shocked to find this disc has never featured in my Blog before!.

Maxim Vengerov is Russian, he's now 41, he recorded this disc in 1991 at the unbelievable age of 17, the front booklet photo [by Klaus Thumser], shows Vengerov in a tight head shot, almost a silhouette, and Vengerov busy with his violin, the lettering to the left is really good.

The whole of this work was superb, but i really loved the first movement, it's in the key of A Major, even though it certainly sounds like it's a Minor key work, the movement is Presto, but the intro is Adagio Sostenuto [0:00-1:32], the violin sounding screechy and out of tune [on purpose by Beethoven], the violin and piano take it in turns to set the tone, the movement only really gets going on the two minute mark [2:06+], and it's a mix of fast virtuoso music, and more slower lyrical stuff, Vengerov & Markovich really let fly after a few minutes [3:18-4:23], the intensity of their playing is tremendous, and Beethoven never lets up, the music is relentless, the difficulty of the fast passages [5:02-5:39], are compensated by the beauty of the lyrical passages, Beethoven loves these pizzicato moments from the violin, each new fast moment gets more intense [6:15-7:20], the interplay is fantastic [8:41-8:59], especially from the Pianist Markovich, the preciseness at times is really quite thrilling [10:22-11:01], there's anger aplenty between both players [11:36-12:47], it really is a tour de force, and even with the reflective coda at the end, Beethoven can't resist an angry flourish to end the movement on.

Here's Kremer & Argerich playing this Sonata on YouTube.

Van Der Graaf Generator [Still Life]

Ah, there's two great records by Van Der Graaf Generator, this one and World Record, this probably isn't quite as good as the other, but they're close, i bought the vinyl LP of World Record first, choosing it completely blind, knowing nothing about VDGG, and i hit the jackpot, and so off i went looking for another gem from them, and here it is, VDGG don't have many tracks on their albums, that's because some of them are so long [in fact most of them!], also you might not agree with the cosmic re-incarnation of Peter Hammill's lyrics [i don't particularly], but they're still meaningful, i must have bought this album when it was quite new and freshly released, now all these years later i find that i've probably listened to it fifty times, and it's still a revelation each time i hear it, it's timeless music, it's racking up quite a 'following' in my Blog [3rd January 2011 / 5th February 2012 / 6th September 2012].

Van Der Graaf Generator are a Prog Rock band, started up in Manchester in 1967, and still going strong today, though they did have an amazing quarter of a century hiatus in the eighties and nineties, they brought this album out in 1976, the front cover is of an electrical discharge, i think it's quite good, the small VDGG logo at the top is excellent, there's a lovely symmetry to it all.

Well in listening to this again, it was actually the first two tracks on the album that i liked the best, i listened to the album in random order [3 / 5 / 2 / 4 / 1], so it ended up being the last track i played that was the best of all, a really strong musical statement, here's a synopsis of the track,
1 Pilgrims [7:07] - If you don't know VDGG, then Peter Hammill takes some explaining, his voice is almost operatic, and yet it's not a melodic singing voice, at times it degenerates to almost wailing, it's something to get used to, this is the shortest track on the album at seven minutes!, the lyrics are a little naive, about everyone on the beach holding hands in brotherhood!, it's quite a slow number in the verses, very much organ led, i like the transition to the chorus [1:29-2:17], and when the chorus hits it goes up several notches [2:17-3:18], there's real passion in his voice, the second verse is stronger than the first, and the second transition has a greater sense of surprise, the second chorus is a gem [4:42-5:42], VDGG build up the song nicely, that it gets better and better, plus there's the most loveliest surprise at the end, a sort of third chorus, except it's only instrumental [5:45-7:07], and without any vocalist, this is where they play their hearts out, and especially David Jackson who hasn't done a lot, comes to the fore with his saxophone, it's a tour de force, it's a wonder why so many other bands don't use this brilliant technique, it's a fantastic opener to the album.

Dvorak - Piano Quintet 2 [The Gaudier Ensemble]

This is one of the very best discs that i own, i've probably played it about 25 times, but it's only featured in my Blog once before [21st May 2012], both works are truly gorgeous, and even though i'm writing about the Piano Quintet 2 here, the String Quintet on this disc ran it a very close second, the third movement Poco Andante is a real gem, there's real soothing spirituality there, the Piano Quintet has some of Dvorak's very best tunes, you would think that he would use them in a big important work, a Symphony or Concerto, but Dvorak sometimes reserves his best tunes for his intimate chamber music, i went out for a walk around my neighbourhood listening to this today, a very sweet experience.

The Gaudier Ensemble comes from a group of soloists to record and play chamber music for strings / wind, with piano, they have built up a small discography on the Hyperion label, they recorded this work in 1995, the front cover is a painting by Hans Thoma called 'The Rhine Near Sackingen'.

I so much loved the first three movements, and i suppose the opening movement was the best of all, it has some truly delicious tunes, it's start is a revelation, a gentle rippling piano accompaniment [Susan Tomes], with the cello [Christoph Marks] announcing one of Dvorak's most sublime and underrated tunes [0:00-0:30], but all this sharply comes to an end when the whole Quintet explode into action in an Allegro [0:30+], on one hand it's a shame that Dvorak didn't develop this theme further, but on the other the Allegro is an exciting moment, and certainly the first movement goes all over the place, fast and daring music interspersed with themes from the sublime opening theme, and this theme makes short [1:19-1:53], and that's Dvorak for you, mixing the zest with the smooth, and at times literally mixing the fast and slow themes [3:57-4:38] in a heady concoction, the Pianist Susan Tomes must be given a special mention, she is so sublime, her piano work is scintillating at times [4:38-5:21], she somehow just gets that 'tone' just right, there's a gorgeous reprise of the opening theme [6:53-7:14], now played by the whole Quintet in a glorious serenade, followed by some irresistible stuff by the five [7:27-7:37], Dvorak really packs it with so many good things, it's ten minutes of the highest quality music possible, and as a finale the Quintet throw the themes into one final fling [9:25+], and if that's not enough, there follows the inspired Dumka second movement!.

Here's the Quintet being played on YouTube.

Dvorak - Symphony 9 'From The New World' [Jansons-Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra]

Another lovely clear recording, this is my equal favourite version of Dvorak's Ninth, along with Jarvi on Chandos, in fact Jansons made another disc on EMI of the same work, this time with the Oslo Philharmonic, which is also in my Blog [1st November 2012], they're both worth getting to know, this disc doesn't have a great deal of music on it, just over forty minutes, but it is a SACD disc, and it's superbly presented.

Mariss Jansons is Latvian, he's now 72, and he made this recording in 2003, the front booklet cover is absolutely brilliant, now i like colours, and so of course this is right up my street, showing what seem to be fishing flies, but they can't be, it shows very colourful insects and birds, with yellow feathers, whatever it is they look great, and the lettering in white, with orange and maroon bands is great also, it's a tremendously great visual product

It was the middle movements that were the best, i would like to talk about something other than the famous second movement Largo, but it's cast its magical spell over me, it was a terrific musical statement, full of the most sublime music, and who cannot be enchanted by that cor anglais!, of course it's a Largo, meaning Broadly, like a slow meandering river, after the horns begin the piece, it doesn't take long for Dvorak to introduce the cor anglais and his genius of a tune [0:41-2:10], it's very much a plaintive refrain, a sad weeping, the strings take up the same tune, and really caress it in a sublime way [2:40-3:36], but in a lot of ways it's like the slow movement of a Cor Anglais Concerto, and the main character / melody reappears [3:35+], there's a middle section, and Dvorak changes tack, and this is mainly reserved for the flutes [4:36-5:58], another sad song, but a bit faster, i like the way some of the woodwind join in to make a gentle chorus, and like in the first section the strings take over this melody, giving it a different variation [5:58-7:57], with the same flutes / woodwind in the background, and even a variation on the lower strings, and then it bursts into a sort of birdsong on the woodwinds [7:57-8:22], sort of reminiscent of a Dvorak's Slavonic Dance, of course the movement wouldn't be complete without a return to the opening cor anglais theme [8:50+], and the lower strings create a hesitant version of this theme [9:18-10:07], a real piece of nostalgic beauty, i like Jansons interpretation, in lovely sound, and the audience are so quiet!.

Here's Jansons conducting the Symphony on YouTube, the work starts at 3:20, and the Largo starts at 14:10.

Saint-Saens - Violin Concerto 3 [Chee Yun /Lopez Cobos-London Philharmonic Orchestra]

This is a truly wonderful disc, found for half price new in a record store, it's a darling of a coupling, and it was hard to choose between these two when it came to deciding which should get in my Blog, they are both such wonderful works, the Lalo i know and love better, and certainly i've played more, but in listening to this today, i just felt that Saint-Saens pips it, plus it's a riveting performance as well, this appeared in my Blog five years ago [24th August 2010].

Kim Chee-Yun is South Korean, she's now 45, now the front cover is one of those truly inspired photos [by Nancy Ellison], Chee-Yun on a beach, violin in hand, and gown flowing in the wind, the picture set at an angle, i love the lettering, and the Denon logo is great, what a fantastic finished product.

This Concerto started off great, and got better and better the longer i listened to it, thus it was the last movement that i enjoyed the best, it's a great culmination to all that has gone before and a fitting end to the Concerto, Saint-Saens knows how to bring all the threads together into something satisfying, it starts of inauspiciously, with a sort of solo violin cadenza versus orchestra, but it's only an intro to the movement proper, a dazzling show of virtuosity, it has a tendency to go all over the place, one of the major triumphant tunes comes through quickly [2:33-3:10], both violin and orchestra make the most of a lovely moment of glory, there's sweet tenderness to [4:02-5:36], where both violin and orchestra play delicately, and right afterwards Chee-Yun plays some fun and scintillating playing [5:36-6:10], and after the intro at the start comes back, so does that excellent scintillating violin playing [7:25-7:54], eventually of course the orchestra build up and up into a glorious majestic tune [9:04-9:26], in the last minute the violin gets to have some of the most dazzling music [9:51-10:31], especially towards the end of this little section [10:12+], and both orchestra an violin have a bravura ending.

Here's Julia Fischer playing this movement on YouTube.

Johnny Griffin [The Cat]

I discovered Johnny Griffin when i bought the cassette of this in a second hand shop, and really loved it, so i bought the disc, i don't bother with tapes anymore, but they really helped me delve into some out of the way music, it's good to play a Jazz disc today, roughly 5% of my Blog, and 4% of my disc collection is Jazz i would guess, and yet it's such great stuff, but finding the 'great' out of the 'good' is a hard task, at one time i used to own 150 jazz discs, now i own half that much, i've purged myself of a lot of dross, yet i don't seem to be delving into much new Jazz, there's so many genres to concentrate on, i've played this disc 15 times, and it's been in my Blog before [27th February 2010].

Johnny Griffin was an American [1928-2008], he came out with this disc in 1990, the front cover is excellent [by Jules Allen], showing Griffin in a portrait, basically a double exposure, a slow shutter speed makes the picture blurred, but at the same time the flash captures the subject frozen, it's actually fairly hard to get exactly right, but the results here are great, shows Griffin pin sharp, and yet there's movement too.

Well i really enjoyed this disc today, it's been over two years since i last played it, and i guess i've missed just how good it is, and why i initially fell in love with it in the first place, well on this listen i liked tracks 2, 5 & 7-9 the most, with tracks 2 & 9 especially great, here's a synopsis of both,
2 Wistful [7:09] - My favourite track on the album, the drummer Kenny Washington is so subtly good, creating i ticking rhythm at the beginning, Griffin plays the wonderful theme tune [0:10-1:32], a sort of jumpy hiccup of playing, which is really quite affecting, in the middle of the theme comes a 'chorus' [0:52-1:11], after the theme Griffin's off on his solo [1:32-4:12], he can make it cry and get really into it, Washington is excellent here, the best sideman on this record, his choice of hits and rhythms brings out the best in Griffin, the Pianist Michael Weiss takes his solo [4:13-5:30], a good one, though not in the league of truly good, Griffin brings the theme back in [5:30-7:09], and it's so good to hear this repeated, a lovely number.
9 Waltz For Ma [2:37] - A short little closer tacked on the end, almost an encore if you like, a waltz for Griffin's Mother, featuring the duo of just Griffin and Dennis Irwin on bass, it's a lovely ditty, Griffin playing sharp and bright, Irwin a simple bass accompaniment, it's a simple and innocent tune theme [0:00-1:00], afterwards Griffin plays a more complex variation [1:00-1:57], and brings back the theme again [1:57-2:31], it should be noted there's a point where he purposely plays out of tune in the theme, which is really quite cute, it's a touching short tune.

Weber - Grand Duo Concertant [Stoltzman/ Ax]

The first time i seriously fell in love with this work, was while out for a walk with the Johnson / Back disc on ASV, i've always felt that Weber is a very average Composer, but this is his best work by far, the performance i know the best is Collins / Stott on EMI [also he has an exciting performance with Pletnev on Virgin], this disc is fairly new, and only getting its third outing, not a tremendous amount of music on the disc, less than fifty minutes, they could have added something else, this is the first time that Weber has appeared in my Blog, even though i've played this work probably seventy times.

Richard Stoltzman is American, he's now 72, this recording was made back in 1982, so already over thirty years old, the photography is brilliant, showing both Stoltzman and Ax on the piano stool, clarinet in Stoltzman's hand, wearing dark clothes and a jet black background, therefore the lighted parts stand out all the more, the lettering is placed at an angle, and the RCA and Red Seal logos are so colourful, i love the finished product.

Well deep down you could call this a Clarinet Sonata i guess, it's in three movements, the first two were the best, and it was the middle movement Andante Con Moto that was the best of all, just under seven minutes long, starts off low and like some sort of lament [0:00-0:18], the notes are very much a beautiful legato, and Stoltzman plays with real feeling in the opening minute [0:19-0:53], a real sadness permeates the whole thing, it's certainly not all low and quiet, at times there's a certain wailing intensity to it, the piano even pulls off a solo [1:46-2:40], which gets quite intense, the way it prepares for the clarinet to come back in is magical, a sort of fanfare, and the clarinet steals in so quietly [2:40-2:58], while the piano plinks away in the treble, that's an inspired creation, the whole movement's in a form of a fantasy, there's really heartbreaking stuff by both players, Stoltzman can reach those breathy depths, play really quiet too, makes an incredible impression, the clarinet is a beautiful instrument, the opening returns in splendour [4:50+], the repetition here is so good, and Stoltzman has some extra depth in presenting the end [6:17+], as the clarinet delves deeper into a sort of bassy death, i feel i need to hear some other players, see what they make of the piece.

Here's Meyer / Sage playing this middle movement on YouTube, however they play it a minute and a half faster, and maybe it misses some of its 'lament' qualities in the process.

Bruckner - Symphony 4 'Romantic' [Wand-Kolner Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester]

This is a lovely recording, i really rate Wand in Bruckner, it was his forte, i have eight recordings of the Bruckner 4, and this is my second favourite behind Barenboim / Teldec, it's probably Bruckner's most accessible Symphony, though my favourite is the Eighth, this is the third time this disc has appeared in my Blog [6th February 2010 & 2nd June 2012].

Gunter Wand was German [1912-2002], he recorded this disc in 1976, the front cover picture is beautiful, the sun glistening on a golden river / lake, a line of trees in the distance, the sun out of shot, but it's those wonderful colours, plus a box for the lettering, on a jet black background, and the red EMI logo at the bottom, now that's a great finished product!.

Well on this listen the whole of the Symphony was equally satisfying, i love all these movements, however it was the fourth movement which gives the final seal on the piece, here it's the longest movement at over twenty minutes, Bruckner's penchant for horns is at the fore, it's a gradual build up to one of his brass fanfares [1:13-1:38], a hallmark of Bruckner, and his penchant also for these releases of brass energy [2:19-2:34], i love the strings when they get going in a strong melody [4:48-4:59], Bruckner can really get those brass instruments angry [5:29-6:24], busily trying to outdo each other in volume, halfway through there's this serenade on the strings, it really gets going as a bright spot of happiness in the movement [9:39-10:55], until the angry brass have a field day again [10:55+], but it turns into something more majestic [11:45-12:14], the fanfares erupt into something much more noble than angry sound, the brass later rises higher and higher in their desire to reach a fantastic climax [13:56-14:47], but stops nowhere without any conclusion, the strings propel themselves onward with a real thrust, about three minutes before the end there's a change in the mood [17:14+], signalling the whole Symphony is wrapping up, there's this expectation on shimmering low strings [17:52+] with quiet woodwind and horns, you know it's building up to something truly revelatory and final, and bursts into joy for the last twenty seconds [19:59+], i guess i've listened to this work roughly seventy times, and yet i'm still learning new things about it.

Here's Calleya conducting the fourth movement on YouTube.

Beethoven - Symphony 5 [Jochum-Concertgebouw Orchestra]

Die Funften!, The Fifths, the Symphony and the Piano Concerto, and what a combination, it's a wonder that this coupling isn't more common, the last time i played this disc, the Piano Concerto was a revelation, Kovacevich is a genius in that work, but this time i loved the symphony the best, Jochum isn't a favourite conductor of mine, and i don't have many discs of his, but this is a lovely addition to my collection, i found this disc on Ebay, never knew it existed before, as it's probably a German issue, but i'm glad i acquired it.  

Eugen Jochum was German [1902-1987], i think this was recorded in 1969, the booklet cover is great, showing a bust of Beethoven, some fantastic light coming in from the left, making some nice contour shadows on his face, the background has nice shades of grey, it was inspirational to call it 'Die Funften', celebrating these two wonderful works, the whole thing looks great.

Well this time i enjoyed the second movement from Jochum, not one i usually find a favourite, but here it just sounds so exciting, the Fifth doesn't have an Adagio, so we get an Andante instead, after a subdued start, we get the full force of the theme in the military brass [1:19-1:39], and repeated again a little later [3:25-3:48], there's this march theme throughout, at times it can be subdued, and other time it can be robust, i like these forte passages, and one appears in the strings [7:46-8:10], and right after there's a delicate echo by the woodwind [8:10-8:21], for the beginning of the coda, there's a lovely bassoon rhythm [8:37-8:50], and some of the best music is at the close, again the sweet strings make some melancholy music [9:15-9:38], it's a movement that can easily be 'forgotten', sandwich between some of the most glorious music Beethoven ever wrote.

Here's Pletnev conducting the second movement on YouTube.

Shostakovich - Symphony 10 [Shostakovich-London Symphony Orchestra]

Shostakovich conducted by Shostakovich!, well not quite, this is his son, so i suppose he has some insights from his Father, a front row seat on his life, of course just born into the family doesn't mean that you're any good, my introduction to Shostakovich was his Fifth Symphony [Bychkov / Philips], but the next Symphony i heard was his Tenth [Karajan / DG], and i guess it's creeping in to be my favourite, i actually 'only' have five Shostakovich Tenth's in my collection, Karajan sits head and shoulders above everyone else, and this is actually quite a new-ish recording of mine, featured in my Blog three years ago [21st June 2012], and this is only it's third playing, yes it takes time to really rack up some listens on every disc i own, my 'impression' is a little bit restrained, i like my Shostakovich angry!, brass and percussion in yer face, but i still think this is a lovely reading, and even though i've heard this Symphony roughly sixty times, i'm still surprised how much i don't know it!.

Maxim Shostakovich is Russian, he's now 77, this was recorded back in 1990, i like the front cover, not entirely sure what it's meant to mean, red paint on glass or something, i'm sure it's not meant to be a map, i like the lettering, like embossed in metal, the back inlay portrait is excellent [by Hanla Chlala].

On this listen, the short Scherzo Allegro really caught my ears, after the mammoth first movement [27 minutes], this second movement can seem a little blip compared to its older brother, roughly six times the size, but this scherzo really packs a punch, it's an angry little thing, jagged string rhythms, wheedling woodwinds, military side drumming, i love the way the music explodes into brass stabbings [0:48-1:22], with frantic woodwind whistling all over the place in the background, and percussion galore, there's also the odd xylophone hit here and there, love the way Shostakovich makes these loud brass 'hits' [1:25 / 1:33 / 1:38 / 1:50], high woodwind going berserk, low woodwind muttering away in the background, there's just so much going on!, it's hard to keep up with all of it, it's a real Mussorgsky Goldenberg & Schmuyle moment, one whining away, the other muttering, a real 'argument', between opposite ends of the spectrum, crashes of cymbals [2:32 / 2:35], and terrifying brass [2:38+] punctuation by loud bass drums [3:17 / 3:24 / 3:28], piccolos and military side drum [4:01-4:04], and the brass have the last laugh at the end!, wow it's really quite breathtaking.

Here's Dudamel conducting the Scherzo on YouTube.

Vaughan Williams - Symphony 5 [Norrington-London Philharmonic Orchestra]

This disc is from the new-ish Virtuoso series, from the back catalogue of Decca and DG, on Amazon you can get some of these discs for a snip, some of them are very desirable indeed, this is one of the best, on the cover it gives the impression that this Fifth is by Marriner, the rest of the pieces are, but this one's from Norrington, this is only the second time i've played it, and i like it a lot already.

Roger Norrington is English, amazingly he's now 81, he recorded this in 1998, now the front cover is a marvellous shot, of a countryside swamped in mist, with layers of background trees, sunlight streaming through, all very grey / brown, it's such a nice shot, and goes well with the music on the disc.

The third movement Romanza is the spiritual centre of the work, and it's certainly my favourite movement, one of Vaughan Williams greatest creations, but on this listen i actually liked the first movement the best, Vaughan Williams calls it 'Preludio', it's a sweet yet sad refrain, high violins set the mood, against a backdrop of rumbling basses [0:00-3:27], no wonder it's called a 'preludio', it sounds like a perpetual prelude, forever about to move into into the main movement at any moment, only when the music changes tack / key [3:27+] do you realise that this is it!, those sweet high violins stay as the main stars throughout, roughly at the six minute mark there's a central section where the woodwind develop some strong / important playing, and with busy and furious strings [6:55+], the whole thing comes to a forte peak, before dying away and the opening starts again, there's this tremendously passionate section, where Vaughan Williams brings all the themes together in a powerful strong statement [8:38-9:51], the music dies away with the voices from the horns, it's a tremendous movement that can be overshadowed by the music to come, as i said it's only the second time i've listened to Norrington's reading, so it will take some more time to really reach an opinion.

Here's Andrew Manze conducting this Symphony on YouTube.

Various Composers - 'Le Violon Vagabond' Violin Encores [Mourja/Gous]

This is an excellent Violin & Piano compilation, mainly for the fact it goes beyond the usual, into some strange territory at times, Mourja / Gous give us some excellent interpretations, i guess for some of these pieces, this probably represents the only disc that has them, plus this is a diverse disc as well, covering lots of different bases, Harmonia Mundi are an exciting innovative label.

Graf Mourja is Russian, this disc came out in 2002, the front cover painting is by Marc Chagall entitled Der Geigenspieler [The Fiddle Player], i like Chagall, his paintings have a dream / nightmare type of quality to them, on the back inlay, the tracks are organised into alphabetical order, rather than in number order, strange that!, so i rubbed on some red transfers to make things clearer.

On this listening tracks 1, 10 & 12 were the very best, and i would like to talk about these three,
1 Frolov / Piece Piece In The Blues Style [3:42] - Igor Frolov is Russian, composes very much in the style of Gershwin, with sighing and crying in the opening bars, and yet it shows you what can be done with the violin, which also includes pizzicato [1:07-1:15], getting stronger and stronger, and also the piano gets involved in some strong up and down the keyboard playing [2:12-2:33], a nice Bluesy piece.
10 Kroll / Banjo & Fiddle [2:45] - William Kroll was American, this is his celebrated piece, once you get to know it you'll fall in love with it, it's a lovely piece, as the title suggests, the violin uses pizzicato effects which mimic the banjo, it's only a short piece, but it's packed full of incident, starting with staccato twangings, and chop and changing with legato bowings, it's a beautiful idea, in the middle is a central section [0:50-1:52], which is much more lyrical, a waltzy serenade, with some brilliant playing, of course the exuberant opening returns [1:52+], to dazzle to the end, with high treble playing, and ending in some pizzicato twangs!.
12 Sarasate / Carmen Fantasy [13:04] - Pablo De Sarasate was Spanish, his Carmen Fantasy of course comes from themes from Bizet's Opera, a tour de force piece which goes all over the place, basically in six sections and a finale to end it off, it's the longest piece on the album by far, and really it has too many wonderful moments to speak of, section one is a brilliant Fantasia, full of flair and dance rhythms, i like the way the violin has a introductory pizzicato solo, followed by some very high tessitura treble whistlings [1:59-2:22], in section three there's sad treble cryings [4:34-4:57], and later a more complex version of the same [5:37-6:04], with some choice pizzicato at the end, the piece has a tendency to get more and more complex, and highly virtuosic at the end, by the ten minute mark the whole thing's starting to go out of control, furious bowing [10:37+], highly lyrical [11:31+], delving into squeaks almost [11:57+], berserk playing [12:29+], getting more and more frantic, it's bewildering, it must be a nightmare to learn!, but it's a dream to listen to!.

Jess Klein [Bound To Love]

Now here's something worth shouting about, i love Singer / Songwriter albums, especially one that truly gets on the inner vibe of something, Jess Klein has this ability to spin nice little 'slices of life', i'm always on the lookout for new Artists, i search Ebay and Amazon constantly, there's tricks on certain websites, 'search for similar Artists', or 'search for similar albums', and then give each disc a sample / listen, in the old days you had to take a risk and buy an album to discover new music, now it's so much easier, Jess Klein is one of my successes, and yet this is still a new album for me, still getting to know her, i think i'll get her album 'City Garden' next.

Jess Klein is American, she's 40 this year, she has a back catalogue of roughly ten albums, this one came out in 2009, i bought it because it has one of the most marvellous front covers [by Karen Macmillan], with Klein standing in the doorway, overlooking her porch, there's the most incredible light in the whole picture, this is nearly impossible to photograph, either the thing ends up a complete silhouette, or the light from outside washes out the whole picture, to capture the wallpaper is a near miracle, and it's such an incredible pose too, i love everything about it, except that it's a digipak.

Well this is only the second time i've listened to this album, but already i'm loving it, the tracks i was impressed with were 1-7, 9 & 11-12, ok so that's virtually all of them, the best two tracks of all were 6 & 7, and i'd like to talk about each of these here,
6 Before I Go [3:47] - The first time i didn't rate this song, but it has this certain low warbling organ accompaniment which i love, a lovely strumming guitar into by Klein [0:00-0:20], there's a certain stammer in Klein's voice, the song is so strong, and the use of repetition substantiates so many things, she sounds like Lucinda Williams here, a happy and great to be alive song, best lyric 'i've been sleeping for some hours, just woke up and you were there'.
7 Fool [4:36] - The song which i guess has been my favourite, though maybe now it's upstaged by 'Before I Go', yes it's got quite a country twang to it, especially in the electric guitar, a song about the 'sorry fools' that put their faith in trying to win things by gambling money, by concludes with the singer becoming a 'fool' by gambling on a possible lover, Klein has a strong yet fragile voice, there's a similarity to Emmylou Harris, it's a gorgeous rambling song, her voice can nicely break at the best moments, for instance 'struck' [1:06], the chorus is strong, then afterwards in the second verse Slaid Cleaves comes in, i guess it's a duet, best lyric 'i placed my bets on the life i'd never seen'.

Schubert - Symphony 8 'Unfinished' [Davis-Boston Symphony Orchestra]

Here's a disc that is fairly new in my collection, this is only its second outing, it's definitely Schubert, but at the same time sounds so different to his next Symphony, darker and sombre, and generally a feel of unease, but i love the work, the Ninth / The Great has been my favourite Symphony of Schubert, but now the Unfinished is now vying for that honour, they're more equals than ever before, i really enjoyed playing this today.

Colin Davis is English, he died a couple of years ago at age 85, this disc came out in 1984, the front cover shows Davis conducting, the picture is not very sharp, but it has a wonderful sense of lighting from above, and the black background make things stand out, the lettering is in white and light blue and light green, it's all well proportioned.

I love both of these movements, but it's the second that just edges it, it's an Andante in the key of E Major, and it certainly throws off the dark clouds of the first movement, and yet there's still this underlying sense of sadness there, the strings quietly sing out their sad refrain, it really is beautiful and innocent, however Schubert heightens the drama by playing a sort of funeral tread of the beat louder [1:13+], with the darker strings emphatically making their presence known, a trio section comes up next [2:29+], and solo woodwind instruments rule here, first the clarinet [2:29-3:07], and then what sounds like the cor anglais [3:10+], mixed in with other instruments, this section is a gorgeous idea by Schubert, but the loud funeral tread comes back in with a menace [3:36+], louder than ever, think Bydlo here from Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition, there's a lumbering gait to the whole thing, but it's constantly interspersed with quiet moments of beauty, the opening returns [5:18+], and it's so good that everything's repeated, plus the trio section comes back with the oboe it sounds [7:47-8:26], and the clarinet afterwards, the menacing loud music returns in force [8:54+], but it's the nostalgic stuff that finally wins the day, there's a sort of one minute coda at the end, and even though that's not how Schubert planned to end the work, for me it is a fitting end, the opening bars of the planned third movement you can hear on YouTube, but they're so out of the spirit of the work, maybe that's why Schubert gave up on it!, in its truncated form it sounds 'complete'.

Here's Muti conducting the second movement on YouTube.

Various Composers - English Orchestral Works [Tate-English Chamber Orchestra] 

This is a fun disc, filled with things off the beaten track, and English Composers without an Elgar or Vaughan Williams in sight, 67 minutes of music, with 9 tracks [nearly 8 minutes per piece], it's not only a lovely compilation disc in its own right, but can also be used as a lead in to discover more in certain avenues, if you like a certain work / Composer, it's easy to follow it up with searching some more down that path, but for me this disc fills a gap that most other discs don't, a great chance to just forget about other things and to get away to an imaginary place on the front cover, played this a few years ago [15th November 2012].

Jeffrey Tate is English, he's now 72, he recoded this back in 1985, the front cover is gorgeous, goes along with the music very much, a hazy less focused shot of a river scene with trees, the use of a green and blue filter very prominent, the lettering is nice too, plus the EMI logo brings a dash of a different colour.

On this listen i liked tracks 1, 3-5 & 7-9, with track 1 'The Banks Of Green Willow' by Butterworth the outstanding piece of music, it's a short orchestral 'Idyll', but it's truly lovely, it starts off with a solo clarinet introduction [0:00-0:15], announcing the folk tune, before the sweet strings come in, the whole thing is just awash with the English countryside, and the oboe plays a significant part of the nostalgia of the piece [1:04-1:13], in the middle section it can get quite fast and robust [2:34+], but it settles back down into the reflective pastoral music as before, with the oboe presenting a gorgeous endearing solo [3:50-4:22], and the flute following suite also [4:24-5:04], backed by some tender string writing towards the end, a solo violin takes over for a slightly darker sound [5:13+], and within here there's some of the most affecting string playing of the piece [5:43-6:00], it's breathtaking really, it's a shame that Butterworth died in the Somme at 31, he would have been the next Delius. 

Here's the Butterworth piece being performed on YouTube.

Mozart - Violin Sonata 25 [Steinberg/Uchida]

Wow what a lovely little disc this is, i bought this disc a couple of years ago, didn't think a lot of it, this is its third playing, but now i think this is one of the best Mozart Violin Sonata discs i own, i've played K377 before, but it's like 'where has this Sonata been hidden all my life?', it's a tremendous work, how come i've brushed over it before?, the opening phrases are a revelation here in the hands of Steinberg / Uchida, 

I think Mark Steinberg is American, don't know much else beside this, the booklet notes state that Steinberg / Uchida have been playing these pieces for the last 12 years, so not a quick get together to throw off a recording, this was recorded in 2004, the front cover is a black & white shot [by Ben Ealovega] showing Uchida in the foreground in focus, and Steinberg in the background out of focus, a really nice shot, the lettering is very complementary, incidentally Mozart named these 'Sonatas for Piano and Violin', and not Violin Sonatas [which is what i call them], whereas Beethoven called his 'Sonatas for Violin and Piano', is there a clue in the picture who the boss really is?.

Well like i said above, it was the first movement that was a revelation, it's less than 4 minutes long, but it really packs a punch, it's in the key of F major, the opening bars are such a joy to behold, the violin plays frantic bowing, while the piano plays a strong skippy little tune [0:00-0:13], bustling with happy joy, and then the two swap over, the violin plays the tune, and the piano plays the complex accompaniment [0:13-0:23], one of Mozart's loveliest inventions / starts, after a minute they repeat the opening again [1:06-1:27], and again what a joy to behold, the third time the tune it's now changed into a different key, possibly the Minor [2:10+], but it still sounds great, the movement comes to a sudden nice end, and yet i feel it's all over too soon, Mozart could have done so much more with this little Scherzo of a piece, why waste such a great tune and musical ideas on a 'trifle?', and yet i guess its shortness makes it all the more endearing, i need to really listen carefully to Mozart's other Violin Sonatas, Uchida and Steinberg produce some great music here.

Here's Mutter playing this Sonata on YouTube.

Mozart - Piano Concerto 20 [Kissin/ Spivakov-Moscow Virtuosi]

This was a fantastic experience, every now and then a very familiar work really hits you like a ton of bricks, this happened today with me, the whole thing just flows like molten lava, Kissin and Spivakov do everything right, i was just in the mood for this today, Mozart's number 20 is my favourite Piano Concerto of his, must have heard it roughly 125 times, but this disc only gets its second playing, and on feeling for it, i'm sure it will get many more, Kissin also has another newer crack at this work, on EMI coupled work Piano Concerto 27, with Kissin conducting the Kremerata Baltica, i'll look out for that one too, this disc appeared in my Blog in 2011 [11th November 2011].

Evgeny Kissin is Russian, he's now 43, he made this recording in 1992 when he was roughly 20, the front cover photograph [by Bette Marshall], shows Kissin at the keyboard, i think this picture came out when he recorded the other work on the disc when he was 16, he certainly looks young, the photo is lit in a lovely way, especially the keyboard, the lettering is great, well laid out, a really pleasing booklet cover.

The first movement was absolutely tremendous, i was doing some writing while listening to the work, and i had to keep stopping, i just couldn't concentrate for the music, Kissin is so intense, the music moves along in a menacing way, and the D Minor key hostility is brought out to the fore, this is no pleasant 'happy tune' Mozart, it's a real demon, here's my synopsis,
The opening introduction is ominous, restless strings, until the whole thing explodes [0:28+], the invention of the whole thing before the piano arrives is a creation of genius, it's less of an introduction, and more of a statement that the piano now has to 'fight' to get heard, and when the piano does come in it sounds innocent [2:20+], but quickly the piano ends up in turmoil too, i like Kissin's tone, a really beautiful sounding piano, in lovely clear sounds, the orchestral tutti's keep switching from sweet to angry, and i just love those 'braying' strings with their opening motif, just listen to Kissin's call and response to the orchestra [6:50-7:10], he seems to be quite a hard hitter of the keys, and creates a real argument with Spivakov, there's a real feel of the whole thing just going round and round as a nightmare that won't ever end, but from the listeners point of view it's a wonderful effect, in the long cadenza [10:47-13:08], which i guess must be by Mozart, Kissin gets to shine solo, i love the way he really thrusts into those braying opening chords [12:00-12:10], nice and loud and menacing, and gives a spectacular lead in as he leaps into his finale [12:52-13:08], the orchestra has the last laugh as it winds down [13:53-14:08], the woodwind especially in reflective mode.

Here's Kissin playing this Concerto on YouTube.

Glass - 5 Metamorphosis [Glass]

Here's one of my early ventures into contemporary Classical music, it was late 1992, at the time i decided to try out some people who were still alive, it turned out to not be a great success, and i guess has put me off ever since, now contemporary Composers make up hardly any of my music collection, which maybe i should rectify, this one stuck, not least of all because the first time i played it i had a profoundly good experience, i've actually only played it four times ever! [1992 / 1998 / 2008 / 2015], all of those dates have huge gaps between them, and yet crazily i enjoy it when i get round to playing it, this disc is like a modern day Satie, repetitive, yet somehow hypnotic and haunting too, i see just lately there's a whole plethora of new recordings of Glass's piano solo music [Lisitsa / Whitwell / Brubaker], all worth getting, and it would be nice to hear someone else's take on his music.

Philip Glass is an American, he's now 78, this disc came out in 1989, and Metamorphosis was only composed the year before, the front cover photo [by Steve Prezant], is a portrait of Glass at the piano, a black & white study, with the face lit up by a shaft of light.

The five pieces in Metamorphosis start with simplicity, and get more complex, each new piece adds layers to the one before, however, the music reaches its apex in number three, and then returns back to simplicity again at the end, there's also a symmetry to the whole work, so 1 corresponds with 5, and 2 corresponds with 4, and it's this apex of 3 which is quite original, the closest musical comparison is probably Satie's Gnossiennes, on this listen it was numbers 3 & 4 that really affected me the most, here's a short synopsis of both,
3 Metamorphosis Three [5:30] - Here's the 'apex' of the work, it must be remembered that even though each piece can stand up on its own, also each piece is 'primed' by the piece before, this is the most complex of the five pieces, a repetitive intro quickly branches out into some fairly hard hitting chords [0:21-1:00], odd bass punctuations seem to close each mini section, those same chords come back, but this time slightly more complex and brighter [1:21-1:59], the whole piece carries on in this vein, with hard hitting chords returning again and again [2:22-3:01 / 3:23-4:01 / 4:25-5:04], and you can see even within number three there's a symmetry, plus the timings indicate to me that maybe Glass is changes tack by the clock, everything is so precise!.
4 Metamorphosis Four [7:00] - Number Four corresponds with Two, the architecture between all of each pieces is really quite identical, it rocks back and forth between these stamping rhythms and the hypnotic preludes, here Glass also has a central section which is really bright and up in the treble strongly [2:37-4:13], and towards the end of each episode the intensity of each treble excursion seems stronger and aching, this little section only comes around once, each piece has its own 'apex' as it were, i really like this central section, the whole work is so repetitive, but instead of making it boring, it makes it hypnotically addictive!.

Here's Glass playing and talking about this work on YouTube, the piece he plays after the short interview is Metamorphosis 3.

Bartok - Violin Concerto 2 [Tetzlaff/Gielen-The London Philharmonic]

Bartok is one of my 'problem' Composers, certain Composers are really hard to get into, hard to understand, their works aren't easy to like, there's complexities galore within his works, yes i can hear good stuff too, the architecture of pieces are hard to fathom at times, Bartok for me can be like a poem in a different language that i can barely grasp, i can see that there's something to really fall in love with here, i just can't seem to get over this language barrier, this is the fourth time i've listened to this disc, and the second time it's appeared in my Blog [23rd January 2011], plus i have a few other recordings too, so i guess i've extensively listened to this work, my 'fear' is that i'll give up on this work, when there's treasures to be had for those that put the time and effort in to come to know it, plus i believe if i can surmount this work, then it can be used as a 'bridge' to access other 'hard' works, don't get me wrong, i did enjoy this music today, and i did understand it enough, but i'm still baffled by it at the same time.

Christian Tetzlaff is German, he's now 49, this work was recorded in 1990, so already 25 years old, and Tetzlaff was half the age he is now, the front cover is superb [by Frank Behrend], a warm glow of a picture, full of browns and oranges, with a lovely highlight on the violin, and a jet black background, the cream and white lettering really stands out on this background, the finished product is excellent.

Well i have to say it's again the first movement that i felt that i'm closest to cracking, it without doubt has one of the most ingenious introductions for a work, a strumming on the harp, and pizzicato strings [0:00-0:16], my only problem with this recording is that it's a bit too quiet, and then in comes the violin, and has a tendency to go all over the place, at times it's hard to follow the musical language, but the initial opening violin musings give way to a major strong orchestral tutti [1:44-2:02], but it's language of chopping and changing all over the place continues, fast music is interspersed with slow reflective stuff, there's one of these mysterious passages three minutes in [3:06-4:03], ghostly strings, oboes too, but like everything else comes to an abrupt end, all sorts of strange sound are created by Bartok, angry trumpets [4:43-4:49] with growling brass, sounds just pop out of nowhere to almost 'scare' you, is Bartok creating some sort of 'zoo' of sounds, quiet woodwinds weave a spell of magic [5:20+], and a little later the basses do the same [5:51-5:58], and then out of nowhere the violin plays frantic fast music [7:01-7:32] while the brass and percussion reply tersely, totally out of character to what came before, and develops into superfast bowing by Tetzlaff [7:32-7:50], with the same brass / percussion stabbings, there's this kaleidoscopic feel to the whole thing, if you know how a kaleidoscope works, twist the barrel slightly, and a whole new image appears, there's a cacophony of trumpets / brass [9:21-9:51], really well done, the violin has some downward sour glissandos [10:41 / 10:44 / 11:21], Bartok throws everything into the crazy stew, and at times the violin can sound somewhat like it's being tuned up [12:08-12:38], and into the cadenza, in the finale there's percussive effects from the strings [15:21-15:28], i guess the problem i have with it all is that the movement is built up like separate jigsaw pieces, each looks really nice on its own, it's fitting them all together i find doesn't work properly!, but i'll keep persevering, i understood it more on this listen than ever before.

Here's Kyung Wha Chung playing this Concerto on YouTube.