Schubert - Piano Sonata 14 [Lewis]

What a lovely disc this is, Schubert's last Piano Sonatas have overshadowed his earlier efforts, and rightly so i guess, but i have a soft spot for 14 & 16, and here we have a little gem from Schubert, something you'll miss if you think his earlier works are sub standard, Schubert had a short life, so even though this was composed five years before his death, it's still considered his one of his 'middle' works, written in the key of A Minor, it's first movement is bleak yet compelling, it stands up well to his later works, and this still remains a revelation for me, i gushed about this work a couple of years ago [20th March 2013].

Paul Lewis is English, he's now 43, i consider him 'young', a sort of rising generation of Pianists, but of course he's not so young anymore, but he has a long life ahead of him, and he's getting better!, i hear he's going to start recording some Brahms solo piano music, i would love to hear his take on the Handel Variations!, he recorded this disc in 2001, the front cover photograph [by Jack Liebeck], is a basic black & white, not bad at all, some of the face is really washed out though, these Harmonia Mundi discs all have a colour theme, and this one's light blue, i like the finished product.

Well it was the tremendous first movement which stunned me again this time, there's an underlining agitation / worry to this music, of course it's in a minor key, and this makes the thing sound so tragic, it's starts off with a sad tune, but then this same tune explodes into a forte version [0:52+], and it's those chords which reply in the bass which are so dramatic [0:56 & 1:03], growls and rumblings in the bass all over, and then shock!, a beautiful calm tune appears out of nowhere [2:04+], and even though it seems a complete juxtaposition, it fits perfectly!, however even in this tune you can't help to hear an anger below the surface, but this tune is a wonder to behold, the opening returns [3:33+], and it's so good to hear the same music that i heard a few moments ago, and especially the beautiful new calm music [5:35+], the movement has a central section [7:03+], using those same bass chords in anger, and a whimsical version of the calm music [8:15+], up in the treble, but also a bit manic too, you can hear themes come and go, the very opening returns again [9:06+], and the music varies in slightly new tangents, this time Schubert presents the calming music in a more complex echo [10:54+], which is really lovely, a nice little highlight, what a tremendous creation from Schubert, and Lewis plays it with real passion. 

Here's Brendel playing the Sonata on YouTube.

Saint-Saens - Symphony 3 'Organ' [Priest/Mehta -Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra] 

First of all, there's many discs that are selling today claiming to be the 'Best of Beethoven', or the 'Greatest hits of Bach' etc, these 'Essential' Composer discs from Decca do not fall into that same category, these double discs aren't made up of the best little bits, but rather whole works, with an Overture or Aria thrown in for good measure, two well filled discs [149 minutes], by well known Conductors / Soloists, a great little compilation of one Composer.

Zubin Mehta is from India, he's now 76, he recorded this work in 1970, now the front cover picture [by Michael Banks] is very inspiring, showing a close up of a sunflower, look at those rich yellows and blues, as with these 'Double Decca' discs, the photo is spliced in two, with a more opaque picture at the top, with all the lettering, it's great the way it's all composed, i like the whole thing.

I enjoyed all of these discs, i especially enjoyed listening to Danse Macabre again, what a great and inventive piece of music it is!, but the pride of place has to go to Saint-Saens Symphony 3, dubbed his 'Organ Symphony', notice it's not an Organ Concerto, every movement of this Symphony was scintillating, the key is in C Minor, but rather than a dull and foreboding work, it's actually full of sprightly rhythms and virtuoso writing, and yet in the heavenly slow movement there's tender pathos aplenty, but it was the first that i found simply tremendous, a slow thoughtful introduction [0:00-1:01], but it soon branches out into something so much more animated, Saint-Saens really knows how to throw some rhythms together to excite the ear and heart, nicely jagged string writing, and a great use of the woodwind instruments, and there's this headlong surge to the whole movement, it's really going somewhere, it's surprising how Saint-Saens can use the opening Allegro Moderato in so many different guises, i love the way that he brings the tune to a glorious forte [4:06-4:33], string working away furiously, and then the brass to create a fanfare of sorts, staccato is the name of the game in some of the rhythms right after, notice the frantic woodwinds about two thirds of the way through [6:19-6:24], nicely chattering, and that builds up to one of the best forte passages of the whole work [6:34-7:03], nice and complex, the whole orchestra throwing their voices into the stew, and right after the strings and brass create a nice duet [7:03-7:38], the strings working away feverishly, while the brass create a real foreboding, the thing slows down into a coda of sorts, readying itself for the truly beautiful Poco Adagio that is to follow, my favourite movement, but today i loved the first movement.

Here's Myung-Wha Chung conducting the first movement on YouTube.

Bach - Organ Works [Walcha] 

Organ works are not a genre that i particularly find extremely pleasing, in my mind it's actually hard to compose something really good in this genre, even in this recording, i find myself trying to plough through some of the movements, it's not an easy listen, but it's worth persevering.

Helmut Walcha was born in Germany in 1907, and died in 1991, he made these recordings between 1963-1965, a good broad selection, played on a Dutch organ, the booklet front cover is excellent, a very colourful piece of art [by Richard Paul Lohse], which takes on a new dimension if you view it from further away, colourful diamond squares and crosses appear.

On this listen i just love the Trio Sonata No1, it lasts roughly 13 minutes, fairly easy to digest, and it's the opening movement which has a glorious noble tune, and it's the use of the treble pipes which brings this piece to life, the opening is played mid keyboard fairly quietly [0:00-0:07], a nice low-key start, Bach gets a sort of Fugue going between the different hands, and nice complex work where the treble pipes really whistle away nicely [0:35-1:09], and right after the opening reappears [1:09-1:15], but this time much more up into the treble, a lovely restatement, there's a few moments where Walcha hits some very nice high pipes indeed [1:57+], and gets some nice squeaks from other pipes [2:03+], a complex enough piece which pays repeated listening.

Here's Helmut Walcha playing the opening movement of Trio Sonata No1 on YouTube.