Mozart - Clarinet Concerto [Collins/ Pletnev-Russian National Orchestra] 

The Beethoven coupling is a novelty i suppose, i can't quite get into it, even as a Violin Concerto i find it a little hard going, but the Mozart work is lighter, and perfect for the Clarinet, with the many Clarinet Concertos that actually do exist, i think it would have been better to have another Concerto [or two] instead, the Mozart Concerto must be the most popular of all time, and it's good to have a modern recording, especially with such distinguished musicians as on this recording.

Michael Collins is English, born in the early sixties i believe, he made this recording in 1997, i like the front cover booklet [photography by Regina Recht], showing a vague picture of Pletnev in the top right hand corner, a monotone yellow / browny colour, while Collins is shown in a more stark black and white [actually black and grey] shot, nice and sharp, with tremendous back / side lighting, a very tall thin shot, showing the fingerwork on the Clarinet, a really nice piece of photography / artwork.

The Mozart Clarinet Concerto is a really happy work, especially the outer movements, but it's the inner slow Adagio that has a degree of nostalgia about it, and it's this movement i liked the most, it's soothing and inspiring, with a fantastic tune, the penultimate section of this tune, is first stated by the Clarinet [1:08-1:39], and then there's a heart tug reply by the orchestra [1:42-2:13], the recording is wonderful, you're able to hear all the breathy moments from Collins, it's worth remembering that this work was composed for a Basset Clarinet, that can reach four semitones lower than a normal Clarinet, creating a nice deep darkness at times, and there's a couple of times where the Clarinet reaches deep into its bass [3:50 & 3:59], lovely and woody / velvety, eventually the original clarinet solo returns [4:36-5:08], and Collins really caresses a lot of mileage by stating this so simply and innocently the second time around, and the passion is just gorgeous from Collins [5:12-5:46], and when the orchestra repeat the theme stronger [5:48-6:19], the whole thing is perfectly complete, a lovely burnished autumnal feeling throughout this movement.

Here's Michael Collins playing the Mozart Concerto on YouTube, the middle Adagio starts at [12:25].

Bob Berg [Another Standard] 

It's the sixth month of the year, and this is the sixth Jazz disc finding its way onto my Blog this year, i need to get into Jazz even more, i've had this disc for roughly five years, it doesn't get extensive play, and it's certainly not one of my favourites, but gradually i'm warming to it, basically it's a Quartet, [Saxophone, Piano, Bass, & Drums], with tracks 5 & 9 including Trumpet, and track 7 with Guitar, making Quintets, it's er... fairly standard stuff, but i really enjoyed it.

Bob Berg was an American Jazz Saxophonist, born in 1951, he was tragically killed in a car accident in 2002, he was 51 years old, this disc was recorded in 1997, the visuals for this disc are very good [photography by Armen Kachaturian], so many Jazz discs really lack in this department.

Well the tracks that hit me were 1 & 8, Berg plays both Tenor and Soprano Saxophones, and i think i like his Soprano work the best, i certainly find this with Branford Marsalis, i wish he would do a Soprano Saxophone record, on this listen, and for this reason, it's track 8 'It Was A Very Good Year', that i find the better of the two, starting of with a Bass solo [Ed Howard], the first part is not particularly inspired, but the Pianist [David Kikoski] gets things going well, when bob Berg comes in [1:08-2:06], his tone is excellent, i just love that Soprano Sax, and the Drummer [Gary Novak] is very inventive, he has these certain chops [wood blocks or something?], playing behind the Saxophone, and he continues into the beginning of the Pianist solo [2:05-4:06], and i must admit the Drummer is really busy, he's certainly not an accompanist, building up a fervent heat, especially when Bob Berg returns again [4:04-5:39], a real Hard Bebop lather is created, it's nice to hear Berg do the reprise of the theme [5:39+], a nice moment of resolution, and it's recorded great too.

Here's Bob Berg playing track 3 'Michelle' on YouTube.

Bach - Lute / Guitar Suite 4-BWV1006a [Isbin] 

More solo Bach, i delved into these suites early on in my Classical music quest, and immediately i fell in love with them, and it fuelled a love for Classical music played by the guitar, i don't know why the guitar hasn't broken into the Classical repertoire the same way as the violin or cello has, the guitar seems a loner, there's Composers that almost exclusively composed for the guitar, Sor and Tarrega for instance, and they're marginalised because of it, but for me it's a terrific instrument, i certainly find it easier to listen to than solo violin music.

Sharon Isbin is American, born in 1956, she is a tremendous advocate of commissioning new works, this disc was recorded in 1988, and it shows Isbin on the front cover with her guitar [photo by Stuart O'Sheilds], a soft focus shot, nice blue / green colour dress, and excellent lettering, makes this a really nice Lute Suites disc to own.

The Suite No4 has 6 movements to it, and i'm really fond of 1, 3 & 5-6, but it's the opening Prelude that is the crowning glory of the whole disc, a virtuoso piece of guitar music, lasting just over 4 minutes, it alternates between robust virtuoso playing, and refrained lyrical thoughtfulness, not a serious extreme, very subtle, but it causes nice waves, and it's this constant complexity which excites the heart and mind, it's a whirlwind of a piece, it never lets up, there's no pauses to take a breath, and it's hard to actually point out and focus in on any one part, because it just doesn't unravel and becomes parts, it's like a seamless woven garment, there is a sort of resolution in the middle [3:19-3:28], but deep down it's not a piece to 'think'about, rather just lie back and listen, and soak it all up.

Here's John Williams playing the opening Prelude on YouTube.

Bach - Goldberg Variations [Kempff] 

I first listened to the Goldberg Variations through a cassette by Glenn Gould, but was put off by his vocalise moanings, and my benchmark recording was when i bought the disc of Andras Schiff's version on Decca, and i've judged this work with that recording in mind.

Wilhelm Kempff was German, born in 1895, and died in 1991, almost a Centenarian, he recorded this disc in 1969, i love the Goldberg variations, so when i saw this going on Ebay, i bid and won it, i like the way he plays the Beethoven Piano Sonatas, and especially the Archduke Trio.

This is my very first listen to this disc, so i was quite taken aback at how individual Kempff is, he plays this work not with a solemn grandness, but rather with a lighter joyful fun, the opening Aria is played rather fast with an upbeat frolic, the whole work lasts 63 minutes [Schiff takes 72 minutes, and Perahia takes 74], the variations i liked the best from Kempff are 1, 5, 20, 26 & 29, and i'd like to give a brief synopsis of each,

Variation 1 [1:56], the first variation is always good as it jumps out of the theme, and can be quite a pleasant shock to the system, Kempff plays this with a rhythmic precision, and overall joy.

Variation 5 [7:31], a disarming understatement in a way, kempff plays it more quieter than most, but brings out its beauty, again there's the bouncy rhythm there, and the left and right hands are nicely voiced as separate, hearing each idea in each hand.

Variation 20 [35:12], not as dynamic as Schiff, more stately, but testament to Bach, it's such a fantastic variation, that almost everyone sounds interesting when they play it!, and Kempff brings out lots of variety within it too, it must actually be hard to play fast, and not sound garbled, but Schiff achieves it.

Variation 26 [49:23], very regal sounding, Kempff plays things quiet at first, and then slowly increases his passion / volume, nice runs up and down the keyboard, each hand [treble and bass] taking turns to do the running, while the other sings out the staccato tune, must be a nightmare to separate your brain into two and send it half down each arm to your hands!, but Kempff achieves it with aplomb.

Variation 29 [54:37], very staccato and loud at first, it keeps sinking down into the low bass, again it's testament to the genius of Bach in creating such a wealth of variations. 

Here's Wilhelm Kempff playing the Goldberg Variations on YouTube, timings in my synopsis refer to this video, in fact if you click the 'show more' tab beneath the video, it expands and shows clickable access to each of the variations, clever that!.