Beethoven - Violin Sonata 5 [McAslan/ Blakely]

Here's Lorraine McAslan again, i mentioned her Kreutzer Sonata last month [8th February 2010], and here's the companion piece, with the title 'spring' it may seem a fairly youthful work, but Beethoven was in his early thirties when he wrote it, and the Kreutzer was only composed no more than two years later, hardly making it a mature work, but it sounds like a work of pure genius.

I enjoyed so much the second movement Adagio by McAslan, it's such a gentle piece, the piano starts off with this almost metronome pulse in the left hand [0:05-0:40], while the right hand plays the tune, and the violin plays in the background, and then the violin takes over the tune [0:44-1:20], but the left hand piano stills marks time with that lovely pulse, which comes to an end on [1:23], but the whole thing nicely starts up again [2:20-4:19], and the same trades happen, but this time with the tune transformed to something more complex, it all stops and starts, but it's this constant 'beat' in the background, which acts as a canvas for the melody to be painted on, nice and dreamy, McAslan & Blakely both get it right.

Here's Shoji Sakaya playing this movement on YouTube.

Beethoven - String Quartet 7 [Tokyo String Quartet]

The Tokyo String Quartet are still going strong, albeit with a couple of personnel changes, they made these recordings at the end of 1989/beginning of 1990, i believe they're making new recordings of the Beethoven Quartets.

I just love the start of this String Quartet, it has that phenomenal momentum to it, there's no 'intro', straight in off the cuff it takes wing, and it pulls you along, and pulls you in!, the endearing tune is introduced by the cello, with throbbing strings in the background [0:00-0:13], but soon everyone joins in, the reprise of the initial cello theme is wonderful [2:50-3:01 & 6:51-7:02], and the lead up to it is clever and well thought out by Beethoven, towards the end of the movement this same theme is presented with real power by all of the strings in unison [9:22 onwards], again the lead up to it is presented quietly at first, but quickly gets louder and louder [9:06-9:22], a great preparation for the joyous outburst, this leads into some poignant moments in the coda, where previous themes are presented as touching memories, a revelatory performance by the Tokyo Quartet, which edges more towards sweetness than power, a great experience.

Here's the Alban Berg playing this Quartet on YouTube.

Schubert - 8 Impromptus [Brendel]

Alfred Brendel is a God, recently retired from the concert hall, he is now nearly 70, and if anyone has deserved their retirement it's Alfred.

This is my all-time favourite disc, bought in the early nineties, it's appeared in my daily highlights 47 times, and been a monthly highlight 5 times [yes i keep stats], this of course would be my desert island disc if i could only take one.

I loved listening to all these Impromptus, but this time i was bowled over by number 3 [D899], it's probably the most famous of these pieces, Brendel has a wonderful legato in the right hand in this piece, soft and gentle, all those black keys, i can get so lost in this piece, the tune is just divine, it has a touching melancholy to it, it ebbs and flows with passion and lyricism, and Schubert's way of marrying up the voices of the two hands is perfectionism, Brendel gets the speed just right, it can easily be played too slow, i like the coda and ending, it has that sad end-of-the-day feel to it, that note on [5:41] and the gentle rumblings at the close, perfection in a piano tune, and what it does to the soul!.

Watch Alfred get ecstatic playing Impromptu 3 [from the first set] on YouTube, it's so good to actually see him play.

Beethoven - Violin Sonata 9 [Szeryng/ Haebler]

Wow what a disc!, i won this recently on Ebay for a fortune, something like £27!, but to my surprise the disc is even better than anticipated, it's not as old as i thought, recorded in 1979, only just before the digital era, and the sound is superb.

Henryk Szeryng was Polish, and Ingrid Haebler is Austrian, Szeryng died in 1988, and Haebler is still alive, i am not an expert on Szeryng, so it's a nice revelation to hear how good he really is, if there's one thing you notice about him right away, it's the fact he has such a lovely sweetness about his playing.

I enjoyed the variation middle movement, some lovely playing by Haebler at the end of variation 4, especially in the left hand, very precise, and yet 'background' and supporting Szeryng nicely [track 10, 2:35-3:04], in the coda, she can be so wistful [track 11, 0:29+], and her phrasing gets extra wistful [0:43+ & 0:56+], deep down the star of the show might indeed be Ingrid Haebler, but they are great partners, very suited to each other, very enjoyable playing indeed.

The booklet is lovely, a nice photo of daisies by Bonnie Rauch, i love these 'Silver Line Classics' by Philips, there are some lovely gems among the releases, if you can find them on Ebay.

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

Bach - Double Violin Concerto [Hahn & Batjer/Kahane-Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra]

Here's Hilary Hahn again playing Bach, this is fast becoming a treasurable disc, everything about it shouts class, i love the way that these Concertos are done by a small Chamber Orchestra, and not some powerful mega-Orchestra, the intimacy is joyous, and the inner voices are clear and pure.

Again i must mention that the booklet is so superb, a perfect shot of Hahn by Kasskara, well done for Deutsche Grammophon for getting rid of that blunt large yellow logo plastered over the top of the booklet, it's so much better with a small discreet image.

Hahn is joined by Margaret Batjer on the second Violin, the way they intertwine in the slow middle movement is heavenly, the piece reminds me of the Adagio by Albinoni/Giazotto, there's a melancholy about it, yet listening to it i can't work out which one is Hahn, and which one is Batjer, but you can distinctly hear a Violinist on the left, and the other on the right, this composition just shows me how much a genius Bach really is, he truly knows how to soothe.

Here's this middle movement being played on YouTube.

John Mellencamp [Human Wheels]

This is a truly great album, i bought this in 1993 when it first came out, on the strength of a Q Magazine article called 'The best 50 albums of the year', it's Mellencamp's best album by miles, i've always found it hard to get into his other discs.

This album has a Hard Rock feel to it, the drums [Kenny Aronoff] are superb, really strengthens the album, and all the tracks are strong apart from 'French Shoes', this album is especially good if you listen to it loud!, Mellencamp wrote all the songs [and some he co-wrote].

I love the title track, track 3 'Human Wheels', it has a wonderful onward rush to it, it benefits from having three verses, the first lines of the first two verses are sung in a slightly ghostly voice, making it more effective when Mellencamp comes in for real, the beginning of the third verse is sung softly [3:47-3:58], and then a superb roll of the drums introduces Mellencamp louder, a memorable and powerful effect, the words are good too, obscure enough for you to wonder what Mellencamp is trying to say, vague enough for it to be poetry without the music, this album is in my all time top thirty discs.

Here's John Playing 'Human Wheels' on YouTube.

Haydn - Symphony 85 [Goodman-The Hanover Band]

Haydn's Symphony 85 has the nickname 'Queen', because it was a favourite of Queen Marie Antoinette of France, the Englishman Roy Goodman has recorded many of Haydn's Symphonies, and his Paris set is very good.

Please refer to my comments on [22nd February 2010] about the booklet!.

I love the opening movement, full of drama and variety, it begins with a slow tread intro, very regal and processional, think Queen! [0:00-0:59], and then a new intro comes in for the faster section, and the whole thing launches off [1:13], only for the whole piece to oscillate back and forth between slow and fast, quiet and loud etc, there's this lovely sharp upward rising 'gunfire burst' from the strings, and this device permeates the whole movement, it's good to hear this on period instruments, i think the Paris Symphonies [82-87] are Haydn's very best Symphonies, and a great place to start if you want to delve into his Symphonic oeuvre.

Here's the first movement played on YouTube.