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.

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.

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!.

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.

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.

Beethoven - Violin Sonata 9 'Kreutzer' [Kubota/Kuyumjian]

This is only the second time i've played this disc, and already it's developing into a real little treasure, Kubota is nice and passionate, as good as others i've heard, maybe she makes the violin 'scream' a bit in louder passages, but she really gets into the music, this is a Japanese issue, i found this on Ebay, discs like this are almost impossible to get in the West, there's a treasure trove of stuff just waiting to be discovered.

Takumi Kubota is Japanese, she recorded this disc in 1996, so already almost twenty years old, not something recent, the front booklet cover is a marvel [by Tai Tsutomu], it's a truly glorious upper body shot of Kubota playing her violin, the most gorgeous light from the left, and clear precise focus, i like the lettering too, this is how booklet photos should be done!.

The first two movements were magic, i think the middle movement variations just pip it, endless inventiveness, here's a synopsis with all the variations,
Theme [0:00-2:58] - The theme is a fairly lazy affair, first introduced by the piano, and the piano and violin keep taking it in turns presenting this simple theme, Kubota / Kuyumjian present it a little slow, but very nobly.
Variation 1 [2:59-5:18] The first variation is a little imp, darting here and there, mainly lopsided piano, with odd notes by the violin, i love Kuyumjian's piano work here, he gets the rhythm right, the genius of Beethoven shines through.
Variation 2 [5:18-7:29] Now it's time for the violin to shine, and the piano to drip drop notes here and there, it's a little disjointed on purpose, 
Variation 3 [7:30-10:31] Almost an intermezzo break, a bit of a lament. 
Variation 4 [10:32-13:30] The violin starts to use pizzicato here, and both Kubota and Kuyumjian are on their toes, i think the violin and piano try to imitate each other at certain points, it's a dazzling variation, and even within it has lots of variety.
Variation 5 [13:29-16:] What sounds like some sort of coda or epilogue at first, branches out into a meditative fifth variation [14:16+], trills on the violin, there's a sort of finality to the whole thing [14:45+], piano and violin are in contemplative mood.

Here's Joshua Bell and Yuja Wang playing this movement on YouTube.

Brahms - Violin Concerto [Repin/ Chailly-Gewandhaus Orchester]

And yet another disc that gets its maiden voyage here, i have ten discs in my collection of this Concerto, and none of them are a clear 'winner' / favourite, so it's good to have a new disc, and certainly the Repin / Chailly combination is a good one, at one time i would have called this my favourite Concerto, i'm really not sure now, certainly i play Bruch or Mendelssohn more, but the Brahms is full of great things.   

Vadim Repin comes from Russia, he's 43, he recorded this disc in 2008, the front cover portrait is a great one [by Mat Hennek], a dark brown & white shot, really sharp, you can see the individual stubble on his chin!, i like the lettering, also the back cover is well laid out, Repin on a park bench with his violin.

The big long first movement is really impressive, here it stands at nearly 23 minutes long, and i can't help thinking that Brahms is using the Beethoven Concerto as his model, the timings are eerily similar, plus they're both in D major, Brahms Concerto starts fairly stodgily, but the solo oboe comes in [0:19+], a premonition for the second movement?, and the quickly the whole thing takes off with a real vibrancy [0:52+], the intro is fairly long [0:00-2:46], and yes i really can see the homage to Beethoven now, the almost up and down the scales practising, i do feel there's more 'tunes' in the Brahms, the orchestra at times play with such a might [9:08-9:34], but then afterwards can be so sweet [9:34-9:57], certainly Repin really does get inside the virtuosity of it all [11:37-12:37], and also the poetry / charm of the music [12:52-13:24], Repin gives the Heifetz cadenza in the first movement [17:29-20:58], yes it's different than the Joachim, takes some getting used to, but it's good to hear something fresh, after the cadenza Repin weaves some beautiful long lines, creating a gorgeous coda [20:58-22:17], before ending the whole thing with a flourish.

Here's Repin playing the Brahms Concerto on YouTube.

Beethoven - Violin Concerto [Ughi/ Sawallisch-London Symphony Orchestra]

However much this is a great work, and quite possibly the greatest Violin Concerto ever written, and the very heart of the central repertoire, for me it's actually near the top, probably just out of the top ten, it's very good rather than great, also it's a work which i haven't spent oodles of time really getting to know, i've probably heard this work maybe thirty times, that's really low for such a work of this magnitude, but there you have it, that's my relationship with Beethoven's Op61, in saying all of that, i do notice an uptick in my appreciation of this piece, it is getting into my heart, i am understanding it more, this disc helped me today, this is the first time i've ever given this disc a spin, it's hard to judge it against the competition.

Uto Ughi is Italian, he's now 71, this is a disc recorded back in 1981, the photography on the front and back is excellent [by Clive Barda], there's a certain soft glow about the portraits, i just love the RCA logo, really colourful.

Like i said, this is my first listen of this disc, and it was the first movement that got to me the most, here it's almost 24 minutes long, the opening timpani beats sound fast, but the orchestra sound right, it's a long orchestral introduction [0:00-3:13], Ughi has a sweet tone, up front, but not overly, the solo violin music naturally sounds very much like exercises rather than tunes, a vehicle to practise technique, rather than wow people with pure music, and yet there's lots of good things in there, the music does seem to go round and round, and of course at 24 minutes can be a bit daunting to listen to, especially if it doesn't have a superb tune, and one part of the movement is harder to define where you're at than another part, Ughi uses the cadenza by Kreisler [19:15-22:39], very well done, the ending is done with aplomb.

Here's Ughi playing the Concerto on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto [Chung/ Previn-London Symphony Orchestra]

I love these Kyung Wha Chung violin re-issues on Decca, i have a whole bunch of them in my disc collection, this is a nice but strange coupling i guess, the Tchaikovsky is a staple of the repertoire, full of Slavic flavour, plus a real virtuoso warhorse, it was so good to listen to this today, appearing in my Blog twice before [11th March 2012 & 15th January 2013].

Kyung Wha Chung is South Korean, she's now 67, it's good to see her back in action again as she was on a career hold with a finger injury, the series for these Decca re-issues is excellent, the booklet photos have a tendency for black backgrounds [this one by Susesch Bayat], which spotlights the portrait of the performer, really well lit from the right, nice highlights, though the lettering for her name is a little overdone.

Ah what a performance, and what a composition too, it got better the longer i listened to it, and so it was the last movement Allegro Vivacissimo that was scintillating, full of virtuoso flair, it starts almost with a sort of cadenza introduction, before the movement gets underway properly [0:52+], or you could consider it a linking passage between the last two movements, Chung rightly plays it fast, there's a stamping dance section, played deliberately slowly by the violin [1:56-2:17], very Russian, but speeds up into a frenzied whirl [2:17-2:43], there's also more thoughtful passages, but the virtuoso elements are never far away, with some very fast playing indeed [4:32-5:00], at the end the orchestra comes into its own, playing in a more glorious fashion, building the frenzy up and up [8:07-8:26], and the violin plays that dementedly fast music [8:27-8:40], a great finale to the work, Chung really throws herself into it, and her preciseness is thrilling, a great end to a great Concerto.

Here's Chung playing the Violin Concerto on YouTube.

Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto [Bell/ Norrington-Camerata Salzburg]

A really good coupling, the Mendelssohn concerto is a perennial evergreen, one of the easiest to like then love, i count 20 different discs in my collection containing this work, that's a lot of music, much more than i realized, but the work in essence justifies it, also i have the other disc that Bell made of this work early in his recording career of the Mendelssohn with Marriner, the Bell / Norrington disc appeared in my Blog four years ago [25th June 2011].

Joshua Bell is American, he's now 47, he recorded this disc back in 2000, the front booklet and back inlay are excellent [photography by Timothy White], showing Bell with his violin, arms folded, a blue top and dark blue background, well lit, and the lettering is skillfully placed, i really like the finished product here.

It was the opening movement that was such a joy to listen to, at 13 minutes it's almost roughly half of the Concerto, the very opening is a marvel of invention, Mendelssohn here goes straight into the melody, and the violin features right away, making a violin / orchestra statement which is strong and powerful [0:00-1:01], it's easy to hear how the music flows just effortlessly, but almost every note was agonised over by Mendelssohn, he caused him no end of grief, but it's impossible to hear that in such a performance as this, the Concerto is in E Minor, a favourite for Violin Concertos, surprisingly Bell uses his own cadenza instead of the one by Mendelssohn [7:10-8:48], and at first sounds different / wrong, but in essence the whole point of a cadenza is to showcase the skill of the Violinist, almost an impromptu invention, and i guess it's good to hear something different for a change, Bell is a great fiddler, and the violin playing is brilliant, some of the difficult passages toward the end are played with aplomb, there's a real excitement here.

Here's Joshua Bell playing the Mendelssohn Concerto on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto [Nikkanen/ Simonov-The London Philharmonic]

Played this disc almost five years ago [16th August 2010], and haven't played it since!, so it was great to revisit it today, i play all of my discs in a sort of rotation, half get played every year, a quarter get played every two years, only a small percentage end up having to wait as long as five years, but i don't know why this has languished unplayed for so long, it's a great little disc, and i really enjoyed the performance, and it was nice getting to know the Glazunov a little more also.

Kurt Nikkanen is American, he recorded this disc in 1990, on the now defunct Collins Classics label, and hasn't done a lot else recording wise, i like the booklet cover [by Hanya Chlala], i guess a sort of blue theme, the blue denim jacket is certainly a change from the bow tie and black jacket, the lettering is well laid out in nice duo colours.

The first movement has that unmistakable Tchaikovsky Russian feel, full of really good tunes, real bravura by Nikkanen, he gets the opportunity to show off his virtuoso skills [5:36-6:37], all sorts of twists and turns are created by Tchaikovsky to test a Violinists mettle, and there's fire and brimstone in the orchestral tuttis too [6:37-7:14], for Tchaikovsky it's never just mere nice tunes, he makes it so hard for the Violinist at times, you almost have to be a masochist to go through all the hoops of fire [8:07-9:18], and Tchaikovsky tuttis again a marvel to behold [9:18+], full of passion, i love the way Tchaikovsky introduces the cadenza [9:58+], which at first can seem a little on the reflective side, or possibly it's a bit low key by Nikkanen, after the cadenza, the orchestra comes back in via a superb flute solo [13:09+], over the trills of the outgoing violin cadenza, a lovely moment, the finale builds up to a real power by the violin, by rough stabs [17:29+], and almost screams [17:50+], the very end is whipped up into an exciting frenzy by the violin [18:41+], and the orchestra respond in fashion [18:47+], now that's excitement for you!.

Here's Sayaka Shoji playing the Concerto on YouTube.

Brahms - Violin Sonata 2 [Mullova/ Anderszewski]

I must easily have a dozen complete Brahms Violin Sonatas in my collection, and on the whole each one is another 'revealing' of these endlessly fascinating creations, Mullova is probably a midway point in my favourites, and i must admit i haven't listened to this disc since 2012 [8th June 2012], but it was so good to give this a spin today.

Viktoria Mullova is Russian, she's now 55, the front cover of the booklet is nice, two separate shots [by Brigitte Lacombe] and fused together i guess, Anderszeski wearing dark / black, and Mullova wearing white / light, is there a musical theme here?.

I would say the Second Sonata to only just be my favourite of the three, it's the first one i heard, and of course loved the structure of the piece, especially the middle movement, consisting of slow and fast episodes, it's also the shortest of the three, i also find that Mullova / Anderszewski are pretty swift, they don't hang about, and looking at the timings for my favourite half a dozen interpretations, with the timing for the whole Sonata, and then the timing for the second movement, from fastest to slowest, this is what i get,

Mullova / Anderszwski - 18:27 / 5:45
Chung / Frankl - 19:43 / 6:07

Belkin / Dalberto - 20:16 / 6:22

Znaider / Bronfman - 19:57 / 6:35

Perlman / Ashkenazy - 20:23 / 6:42

Frank / Serkin - 19:37 / 6:45

what i 'feel' i can now 'see' in the stats, Mullova is almost two minutes faster than Perlman, and a minute faster in the second movement than Frank, i also find that there's a tendency for Anderszewski to be cast into the background / shade, while Mullova is in the foreground / spotlight [another manifestation of the black & white theory?], also Anderszewski can be warm / passionate, while Mullova can be icy / precise, that's not to say she doesn't have warmth / passion in her playing, the part i like the best is the middle fast / slow coupling [2:05-4:35], the last part of the Andante gets so beautifully passionate and intense [3:02-3:33], Mullova finds a powerful sweetness here, the following Vivace Di Piu becomes a pizzicato masterclass, juxtaposing between bowing and plucking [3:43+], after an Andante / Coda of sorts, there's a final pizzicato bravura flourish to end on [5:34-5:44].

Here's Mutter / Orkis playing the second movement on YouTube.

Sibelius - Violin Concerto [Zukerman/ Barenboim-London Philharmonic Orchestra] 

As i was listening to this, i thought 'this is my most favourite Violin Concerto', and quite possibly it is, it's truly a work of genius, when i first heard it, all the different elements sounded as if they were glued together and you could easily see the seams, now i feel that the whole thing sounds as if it's carved from one lump, this disc has got some tremendous play in my Blog [17th May 2012 & 10th April 2011].

Pinchas Zukerman is from Israel, though now he lives in North America, he's now 64 years old, he recorded this work in 1975, the front cover photograph is one of the most stunning visual discs i own [photo by Gerd Weissing], a sunburst from behind a cloud, the dappled light on the water, and the gorgeous colours, it actually looks like a Sibelius landscape!, also the box with the lettering, and the logo top left, add a nice splash of colour, the final product is truly stunning.

Sibelius - Violin Concerto [Kremer/ Rozhdestvensky-London Symphony Orchestra] 

Another Sibelius Concerto that finds it's way into my Blog for the first time, plus it's only the second time i've ever played it, the Schnittke work is very unfamiliar to me, and it's still a work in progress for me, i really do need to listen to it a lot more, but of course the Sibelius it famously known, Kremer also recorded this Concerto with Muti [which i also have], i would recommend both, and however much i play this work, it's still such a joy to return to it again, and this was certainly the feelings today.

Gidon Kremer is Latvian, he's now 66, this recording was made back in 1977 when he was 30, the front cover photograph is a lovely silhouette, taken indoors, Kremer studying a score of music, violin in hand, and framed against a draped window, the atmosphere is terrific, and a real piece of stunning photography, also the lettering on the right is well laid out, and using different colours for the two Composers creates a nice differentiation, altogether a superb visual product.

Brahms - Violin Sonata 2 [Amoyal/Roge] 

Another disc of Brahms's Violin Sonatas, i must have a dozen versions now, but my love of these works can keep a dozen versions on rotation fairly easily, and this one has not been played much, a fairly recent acquisition [2005, yeah that's recent for me!], and so it's good to hear what Amoyal has to say, all of these three Sonatas were so very good, but the Second just pips the First, it used to be my favourite, but now the other two are so close that they're probably all equally loved.

Pierre Amoyal is French, he's now 63, and he made this recording in 1990, the front cover shows a black & white shot [by Mary Robert], the background of the shot has some nasty clutter, and the blue coloured theme is nice enough i guess, overall it's well composed.

On this listen it was the last two movements i enjoyed the most, and my favourite has always been the second movement, it rocks back and forth between slow and fast [Andante Tranquillo / Vivace / Andante / Vivace Di Piu / Andante / Vivace], as the movement lasts roughly 6 minutes, it would be very symmetrical for each section to last one minute, and in a way it is at least symmetrical, if you consider that the last Vivace is only a 10 second last hurrah, then all the other sections do indeed last roughly 1 minute, except the middle Andante which last 2, and i guess it's this central section that has more weight to it than the others, here's a rundown of the timings, it gives an idea of the building blocks of the movement, 

Andante Tranquillo = 0:00-1:13 [1:13]

Vivace = 1:13-2:12 [0:59]

Andante = 2:13-4:13 [2:00]

Vivace Di Piu = 4:14-5:09 [0:55]

Andante = 5:10-6:15 [1:05]

Vivace = 6:15-6:25 [0:10]

and with this in mind i would like to comment on these sections,

Andante Tranquillo - introducing us to the beautiful theme of the movement, i think Amoyal plays it a touch too fast, it's something that should be savoured, but it's gorgeous.

Vivace - of course in contrast a faster section, and the slow / fast nicely play against each other, the piano is more up front, it's certainly a nice rhythm.

Andante - but of course it gives way to the opening again, and right away you can see this rocking back and forth  is a tremendous device, this middle section is different however, in that it lasts twice as long as the first, there's a sort of 'coda' if you like [3:22+], where the violin goes into extra raptures, probably the most heartfelt moment of the movement.

Vivace Di Piu - and again in contrast there's an equally impressive virtuoso section, this time the violin is pizzicato, it makes a wonderful contrast, and even the violin rocks back and forth between pizzicato and bowing, tremendous. 

Andante - and back to the slower Andante, this time it has a sense of finality to it, and it 'sort' of ends on this slow note, but...

Vivace - a short Vivace finale, only lasting 10 seconds, but it puts a final cap on such a wonderful movement of Chamber Music.

Here's Anne-Sophie Mutter playing the second movement on YouTube.

Schubert - Violin Fantasie D934 [Koh/ Uchida] 

A nice disc, with some interesting things on it, the gist of this disc is Fantaisie / Phantasy / Fantasy, starting off in early 1800, and finishing 200 years later, quite a varied journey, plus each piece gets shorter and shorter, i'm pretty well versed in Schubert's late String Quartets / Piano Trios / Piano Quintet / String Quintet, but the Violin & Piano works i'm certainly less familiar with, so it was good to listen to this disc, and familiarise myself with one of his other chamber works.

Jennifer Koh is American, she's now 36, she made this recording in 2003, the front booklet cover is fantastic, showing Koh sitting in a doorway, a nicely ornate door as a background, and the doorposts nicely frame the picture, Koh is in a great pose, violin in hand, and the low level shot creates a great perspective as the doorframe seems to rise above Koh, the lettering is great too, a nice list of the works on the door, and i just love the free lettering of the title, and the light green colour is inspired too.

Schubert's Fantasie D934 lasts nearly 25 minutes, cast in one big movement, and yet it's built up of different sections, the opening is the most gorgeous [0:00-2:58], starting with the most inspired rippling piano, it sets the scene for the whole piece, while the violin plays more longer and singing lines, just listen to the way the piano warbles its way up the keyboard [0:55+], and strays into some great areas / ideas in the treble, delicious trills follow later [1:38+], and this opening three minutes is so superb, it's a shame that the rest of the piece can't sustain this level of invention, but it's still superb, there's a six minute freewheeling dance episode next, and then Schubert uses one of his Lieder tunes as a theme [8:40+], with a bunch of variations on this theme afterwards, each one taking some aspect of the original theme, as this is only my first ever listen, these variations haven't had time to really penetrate into my heart, the third variation is one of quite strong virtuosity [14:56-17:19], both violin and piano challenging each other, it's hard to know where these variations end, and Schubert delves into some sort grandiose conclusion, there's certainly a major statement of intent after what seems to be a restatement of the theme [20:01-22:55], i guess a finale of sorts, it's very good, and then Schubert throws a spanner in the works by giving a fifth variation before a short final ending, yes i admit it seems somewhat to be all over the place, but i think this is the whole point, there's some great stuff in there, certainly not Schubert at his very best, but if you're patient and observant, then you can squeeze the goodness out of this piece.

Here's Andrej Bielow playing the Fantasie on YouTube.