Dvorak - String Serenade [Alphen-Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra]

Now this is a real event in my Blog, where has Dvorak's String serenade been all my life?, this is the third time i've played this disc, but what was i listening to the other two times?, this is the greatest musical discovery this year so far, i went out for a walk throughout my neighbourhood late at night, with the strains of Dvorak's beautiful melody in my ears, discs like this make me happy.

Conrad Van Alphen is South African, and he's new to me, i don't have a lot of Telarc discs, and i don't believe i have another performance of Dvorak's String Serenade, i bought this disc eight years ago, and it's been a real slow burner, i love the programme of this disc, all the works complement each other, the front booklet and back inlay are gorgeous, a picture of a Scandinavian fjord [by Brian Lawrence], look at them luscious blues!, each Composer is boxed in vertical lines on the front, and horizontal on the back, i love the layout of this thing, a well presented visual adds to the music on the inside.

So it was the opening movement Moderato which was such a revelation, it's stunningly beautiful, lasting just under five minutes, and yet it feels more substantial, with Dvorak there's no intro here, it's straight into the music, the opening chords are heavenly, and are quickly restated with extra passion, i love the way this opening melody comes back again and again, it's so memorable and sweet, there's a central trio section, where the music gets more lively [1:36-2:55], and the return of the opening theme afterwards is a moment of magic [2:55+], there's also this short passage where the music 'dies' down into the minor [0:54 & 3:47], a wonderful moment of pathos, a stroke of genius by Dvorak, at the end there's this little coda [4:08-4:51], which brings this little movement to a close, now this is what makes all the music i listen to worthwhile!.

Here's the first movement Moderato on YouTube, played by the Kyiv Soloists.

Mozart - Serenade 10 'Gran Partita' [Marriner -Academy Of Saint Martin In The Fields] 

What a wonderful work this is, how does Mozart do it?, there are other 'similar' works like Schubert's Octet, that just don't work for me, a small bunch of woodwind players automatically has warning bells going off for me, they just don't jive together, so it's all the more refreshing and original when not only does it work, but it works in spades!, the whole thing bubbles along through a myriad of gorgeous tunes and melodies, plus this isn't a 25 minute little work, it's almost 50 minutes long, to create a work on that large a scale, and to keep up tremendous invention so that interest and attention never flags, now that's one amazing work, there's always the problem of having a variety of colour in a work when you limit yourself to fairly similar instruments, but how much i do not miss strings or brass, Marriner gets a fantastic sound out of just 13 instruments, i love this disc, i've had it since 1992, i bought it in London second hand for about £5, it's scratched quite badly, but it played beautifully, found in my Blog two and a half years ago [4th July 2010].

Neville Marriner is English, he seems to be going on forever, he's now 88, and shares the same birthday with me [though not the year], he recorded this work in 1984, the booklet cover shows three shiny woodwind instruments, clarinet, bassoon, and i guess basset horn, i love the gleaming look of the instruments, there's a green theme to the colours.

Three movement stood out from the rest, 2 & 6-7, and it was the wonderful Theme and Variations that i just couldn't help falling in love with, on the back inlay i've written out the timings for the individual variations for this movement, and i'd like to give my feelings on each one here,

Theme [0:00-1:13] - a simple theme, mainly supplied by the clarinets, but already there's that bubbly undercurrent waiting to be exploited.
Variation 1 [1:13-2:27] - the oboes turn things up a notch, sounding so lovely and happy, truly blissful music making.
Variation 2 [2:27-3:43] - everyone seems to get a turn, and i think the bassett horns take over, giving a deeper richer texture, jovial indeed.
Variation 3 [3:43-5:00] - next up it's the bassoons, though they seem to get drowned out, and the clarinets steal in, but the bassoons come back in a wonderful undercurrent.
Variation 4 [5:00-6:18] - a sparse variation, quite staccato in a way, everyone holding back.
Variation 5 [6:18-8:54] - a serene variation, oboes and clarinets dreamily serenade out the main tune, there's such a sense of pastoral-ness, the oboes are so heavenly in their playing [7:19-7:58] underpinned by i believe the bassett horns gently murmuring, now that so heartbreaking, and they play the same serene-ness a third time [8:16-8:54], certainly my favourite variation of the six.
Variation 6 [8:55-9:46] - the last variation is of course more upbeat, the shortest of the six, it's certainly a finale, nice and very bubbly by all the instruments, and the perfect foil for the following final movement.

Here's the sixth movement Theme and Variations conducted by Ivan Meylemans on YouTube.

Mozart - Serenade 10 'Gran Partita' [Orpheus Chamber Orchestra]

Here's a 3 disc box set, of the Serenades and Divertimenti from the conductor-less Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, a very nice well presented set, unfortunately for me, i don't find a lot of this music great, only this Gran Partita can be singled out as great music, with the Eine Kleine Nachtmusik excellent too, much of the rest is dross, therefore i wouldn't want to keep this set in my collection with such little music i want to keep, and here's my commitment to purge my disc collection of any dross, i keep the quantity down and the quality up.

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra was formed in 1972, and have made over 70 recordings, the interpretation is not subject to any one person, but the whole group have a say in interpretation and performance, the booklet photograph is one of those Mozart edition box set things, they appear on a lot of DG Mozart discs, it's that crazy orange painting, with all the paint running in it, this time on music stands, really nice and effective, i like these ideas.

The sixth movement is an irresistible set of 6 variations on a theme, and i especially liked variations 3 & 6, lovely bassoon work in variation 3, having a lovely bass wind vibe to it, coloured over the top by clarinets, and a gorgeous bubbling joy from the clarinets in variation 6, which leads into for me the best movement of the Gran Partita, and that's its overflowing with enthusiasm seventh movement closer, it's short 3 minutes really pack a punch!, it's those damned clarinets that bubble and sparkle at the beginning [0:00-0:28], creating a euphoria of exuberance, this opening theme keeps coming back throughout the piece [1:09-1:22 & 2:24-2:31], with an especially delightful muted version played mainly by the oboes [2:17-2:24], which of course leads to the full throated version played right after, the closing is full of power [2:49-3:10], all the instruments whirl together into a whole, quickly gaining into a real froth, a truly exciting ending to a lovely masterpiece of music by Mozart.

Here's the seventh movement being played on YouTube.

Mozart - Serenade 10 'Gran Partita' [Marriner -Academy Of Saint Martin In The Fields]

What is it with this work that makes me love it so?, i'm actually adverse to this type of music, i really find Schubert's Octet boring, as soon as i hear the words Wind Band, i think of WindBag!, and yet this is a genius of a composition, one of Mozart's very best works.

Chamber music?, or Symphonic?, this performance uses a Conductor in Neville Marriner, it sounds like a big group, but there's only 13 players, it's amazing what you can do with a small group, Mozart uses a mix of woodwinds and brass, chooses four horns, but no flutes or trumpets, seems a bit arbitrary to include certain instruments, and leave out others, but the results speak for themselves.

This work proves that Mozart is a genius, i enjoyed the first and sixth and seventh movements, the sixth movement variations are very er... varied!, but the last movement finale is a great closer, it's short and sweet, dominated by the higher woodwinds, it's a lively piece, beginning with a fast and complex opening, where all the players chatter away, everything is repeated twice, there's variations to the music, and each little variation spotlights one instrument inparticular, but the piece keeps its jolly exuberance, it's almost danceable music, this is what a finale should be all about.

Here's the finale being played on YouTube.