Mozart - Piano Concerto 20 [Barenboim-English Chamber Orchestra] 

Here's young Mr Barenboim [24 years old], playing Mozart's Piano Concerto 20, just 2 months ago i played another disc of older Mr Barenboim playing the same work [46 years old], [30th January 2011], and it's nice to compare the two, this recording was made in 1967, shows its age somewhat, there's a small degree of hiss in the sound, also there is a lack of bloom and warmth, but Mozart is so compelling in this work, that quickly i don't notice the limitations of the recording.

Daniel Barenboim is Argentinian, born in 1942 and now 68 years old, this recording was made in 1967, i like the front booklet cover, a close up shot of Barenboim at work with his piano, with the logo and the lettering in the dark corners.

The first movement is just a powerhouse of agitated rhythms, written in the key of D Minor, i can certainly hear Mozart's Requiem here [also written in D Minor], i don't know if Mozart wrote it with some sort of idea of death in mind, but also Schubert's String Quartet 14 'Death and the Maiden' is written in D Minor too, and Faure's Requiem too, i'm sure you get the picture!, and there is this dark and mysteriousness to the opening string gestures, the bass string rhythms are great, with the violins carrying the tune, and slowly becoming more frantic [0:00-0:29], and it's the explosion afterward [0:51-0:59] that really excite, and the forte culmination before the piano comes in [1:22-2:05], like the dreaded plague that's been expected, the piano basically plays a solo when it first comes in, but it's when those initial rhythms come back in again [2:52], and the piano joins in with its bass warblings [2:59], that the stage is set perfectly, Mozart really knows how to build a piece in layers of musical satisfaction, there's a brief happier section with both the oboe and bassoon making a solo / duet entries [4:14-4:28], the piano makes some delicious bass notes [7:34-7:42], that jump starts the mysterious rhythms again, and bring about many themes in rondo fashion, it's like the second half of the movement mirrors the first, just before the cadenza, the brass bray out forte [10:43], along with the strings in loud treble daggers, Barenboim uses a cadenza by Edwin Fischer, which is different, but fits in nicely, although fairly long, the ending is actually quite subdued, with bassoon and lower strings having a nice coda feel [14:14-14:29], the whole movements dark mystery and rhythms enchant me.

Here's Mitsuko Uchida playing and conducting the first movement of this Concerto on YouTube, one of my favourite YouTube videos, a lovely small chamber music group.

Rachmaninov - Symphony 2 [Ashkenazy-Concertgebouw Orchestra] 

I had a discussion a while back, with someone about the merits of Rachmaninov versus Ravel, who timewise lived parallel lives, but there the similarity ends, i sided for Rachmaninov, and he sided for Ravel, his Second Symphony was one of the works quoted, and i somewhat embarrassingly admitted i loved it, and yet i recognized it was full of romantic gush, big sweeping string surges, every schmaltzy heart-tug device in the book, you name it, it's almost naive / clichéd to the extreme, and yet... playing it today i love it more than ever!, it has a sweep and grandeur to it, a plot and story line, it's like Rachmaninov's version of Romeo & Juliet set to music, a big screen movie weepie, i must be a big ol' softie romantic at heart!.

Vladimir Ashkenazy is a Russian Pianist and Conductor, born in 1937, he is now in his Seventies, he recorded this Symphony in 1981, this set of the three Symphonies has been re-issued in a slimline double case, and yet these original 'fatbox' three disc sets are a joy to own, i much rather prefer them.

I'm actually surprised how 'even' i enjoyed all the movements of this Symphony today, especially the first movement, it really does have a character to it, it's musical ideas unfold in a marvellous way, there's no re-treading of ground, rather Rachmaninov can create subtle yet significant changes to the piece, which culminates in a very satisfying musical experience, having said all that, it's still the third movement which i found tugged at my heart the most, the clarinet melody at the beginning [0:27-2:30] is just so gorgeous, so moving and atmospheric, the equally affecting string melody right afterwards just adds to the heart-tug of it all [2:30-3:10], the cor anglais and oboe duet a little later is so plangent and melancholy [4:22-4:44 & 5:01-5:17], such an excellent use of individual instruments to character and colour the whole feel of the movement, and later a procession of individual instruments take it in turns to express their opinions [7:29-8:35], the horn [7:29], the violin [7:36], the cor anglais [7:48], the flute [7:56], the oboe [8:08], and the clarinet [8:13], there's a lovely aching high treble passion that comes from the violins [10:42], that culminates in a real moment of wondrous sweet nostalgia [11:09], and it's topped by the melody played in forte by the whole orchestra [11:21], the singing violins are underpinned by the horns, my gosh!, if this doesn't twang your heart, then you haven't got one!.

Here's Vladimir Ashkenazy playing the second movement on YouTube.

Beethoven - String Quartet 7 [Lindsay String Quartet] 

Here's my favourite String Quartet, i played this just over a year ago, and wrote about it in my Blog [23rd January 2010], it just seems to be the perfect String Quartet for me, written in the key of F Major [The same key for his Symphonies 6 & 8], it's bright and happy on the whole, especially the first movement, but there's a wistful sadness intertwined in there too, unlike say Schubert's String Quartet 14 in D Minor, which deals with death, and is full of darkness and anger [my second favourite String Quartet], it's so good to acquaint myself with this 2 disc box set by the Lindsays.

The Lindsay String Quartet are from England, they closed up shop in 2005, after 40 years in the business, this Quartet was recorded in 1984, roughly halfway through their career, and they re-recorded the Beethoven Quartets at the end of their career.

My favourite movement for this work is the opening movement, it has a real sweep to it, the cello has such a joyous tune in getting this work going, no intros here, but straight to the heart of full flowing music, however on this listen i must admit that i was really affected by the second movement Allegretto Vivace e Sempre Scherzando, this movement descends into the strange-ish key of B Flat Major, used by Brahms for his Second Piano Concerto for instance, i find it an 'ambiguous' key, here Beethoven uses it as a vehicle for quite a fiercely driven piece of music, it has a sort of jumpiness about it, but also there's a degree of annoyance and turmoil, with outbursts that the Lindsay Quartet slightly overdo [0:32-0:38 & 1:42-1:51], it's certainly a piece which needs a great recording, as there's so much extremes in dynamics, at times the music has a forced sweetness to it [3:11-3:39], but you get the feeling that it's fake, as the real feelings of angry outbursts aren't far away [4:59-5:05 & 6:11-6:19], towards the end there's a short passage started by the cello [7:37-7:55], deep in its bass, but it rises, and the viola joins in, and they both rise, and the violins join in, until it becomes a high treble outburst!, a lovely idea, and immediately afterwards all the instruments play a short melody [8:00-8:04], but one string at a time, playing a game of tag, starting with treble violins and moving down to bass cello in quick succession, but then right after they all do the exact opposite [8:09-8:14], from bass cello to treble violins, a neat and musically satisfying idea, it's an emotional tour de force to fall in love with.

Here's the Talich String Quartet playing the second movement on YouTube.

Mendelssohn - Symphony 4 'Italian' [Belohlavek-Prague Philharmonia] 

This coupling is the most famous and usual of all Mendelssohn's symphonies, they're very different, and yet fit together perfectly, i bought this disc because of the front cover booklet for one thing, i believe it's of a Loch in Scotland, which ties in with the 'Scottish' of Symphony 3 on the disc, the photography is by Ondrej Zacek, a picture of an overcast day, with dull colours, Mendelssohn is in blue in the lake, and the rest of the words in white on the shore, very nicely laid out, and the Supraphon logo gives it that splash of red, i like it very much, there's a great symmetry to it all.

Jiri Belohlavek is a Czech Conductor, born in 1946, now 65 years old, he has extensively recorded for Supraphon and Chandos, and seems to have concentrated more on Bohemian composers [Martinu / Dvorak / Suk etc], this recording was made in 2006, it's very well recorded, i can't fault it at all, Belohlavek seems to hold a nice middle ground in all respects in his interpretations. 

I very much liked the first two movements, they go so well together, the fast and slow twins of the Symphony, ying and yang etc, however it was only when i got to the last movement that the extreme brilliance of Mendelssohn came to the fore, it's an exhilarating Saltarello Presto, played at breakneck speed, i can really feel it would make a phenomenal virtuoso piano transcription, just over 5 minutes of breathtaking-ness, the machine gun opening is startling, with high trills on the woodwind, and those opening flutes have lively dancing figures [0:06], and everyone seems to join in the tune, the violins especially get frantic [0:39], there's a shimmering and pulsating here, the violins display a fleetness which is hair-raising, and Mendelssohn never lets anyone have a rest, the whole thing is so incessant!, there's a sort of middle trio section, where the violins drizzle all over the place [2:25], and the cellos play copycat too [2:38], and so do the woodwind to some degree, but the opening riffs keep threatening to come back, and they do with a vehement forte [3:34], and the timpani join in the anger too, afterwards all the different string sections drizzle all over the place one by one [3:54], the opening shimmering riffs come back again and again, until the final curtain, a really breathtaking movement, it dances and jives all over the place.

Here's Juri Gilbo conducting the Fourth movement on YouTube.

Haydn - Symphony 87 [Dutoit-Sinfonietta De Montreal] 

It's good to dip into this 4 disc box set again [with the Roy Goodman Paris Symphonies i added to the back of this set], last month i played Symphony 84 [22nd February 2011], Haydn has 104 Symphonies, so it's a lot to get to know, i don't know anyone who can really delve into his Symphonic oeuvre properly, i certainly know these 6 Paris Symphonies more than his other Symphonies put together, and i prefer them to his London Symphonies.

Charles Dutoit is Swiss, born in 1936, now 84 years old, he was with the Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal for 25 years [of which this smaller band is culled from], the front and back inserts show the fleur-de-lis symbols in mauve with a sort of wallpaper background in purple, a nice idea on which the photograph [by Julian Broad] and lettering are placed, looks great, this Symphony was recorded in 1991.

Well for me the first movement is incredible, and it's a shame Haydn couldn't keep the high level of creation in the rest of the movements, the opening first movement Vivace in my opinion is better than the other three movements put together, it's not a long movement [just 6:32], there's no intro by Haydn unlike other Symphonies, we go straight into the rapid gunfire delivery, and it's those darker strings, no doubt cellos and basses that have that wonderful rapid fire tutti [0:08 & 0:16], that the violins join in right away [0:11 & 0:19], it's so enthusiastic and contagious, the opening comes to a head at [0:53], where the music has an extra burst of energy, and the violins have a couple of downward slashing figures one after the other [1:02 & 1:06], which are such a satisfying culmination at the end of this opening, however the whole thing erupts again [1:39], and it's certainly a feature of Haydn to present things in little cells, and then have them return again and again, like an ever revolving carousel, after a middle trio where some different variations of the opening material are presented, the opening returns again [4:48], but more with a 'culmination' feel to it all, it's a fairly short movement that hits you again and again, i just love some of the opening movements by Haydn, and this is one of them.

Here's Hubert Soudant conducting the first movement on YouTube.

Schubert - Piano Sonata 20 [Schiff] 

Well yet another Schubert Piano Sonata, that's three in a row, and only two days ago from playing this same Sonata by Alfred Brendel [20th March 2011], and it's always interesting to compare interpretations, especially when i play two different performances so close together, i really do play my compact discs on a fairly random basis, and that can mean playing the same work twice in a row by different performers, that's the strange world in which i play my compact discs, plus this two disc set of the last Sonatas is complemented by the 4 Impromptus D 899, and i played these last month, and spoke about them in my Blog [7th February 2011].

Andras Schiff is Hungarian, born in 1953, and recorded this Piano Sonata in 1993, he seems to be quite a Schubert specialist, having recorded the complete Schubert Piano Sonatas, it's good to have these three of Schubert's greatest Sonatas on one disc, i like this Decca Double booklet cover picture, a nice sparse picture of a wood of thin trees.

A bright recording, where the treble really sings out, sometimes quite fiercely in fortes, plus the bass can sound quite dull and dead, it doesn't rumble with a nice bloom, but Schiff's playing suits the recording, again i found the first movement the really most sublime, as i've mentioned in other posts, Schiff falls into the staccato camp of Pianists, and Brendel is certainly more towards legato, so Schiff brings out the jumpy rhythms and 'historical-ness' of the piece, also he plays a Bosendorfer, which is a step towards a FortePiano, so his performance can possibly be considered more towards what Schubert himself would have played, also Schiff likes to play exposition repeats in Schubert's Sonatas [here at 4:10], where Brendel does not, and so it is here, and therefore Schiff adds roughly 5 minutes to the performance [16:20 total], about halfway through there's a really nice passage [8:14-9:24], where Schiff plays quick bass beats, while the treble has a nice tune, high and singing [8:14-9:01], but then it turns louder and more angry, with nice stabbings in the mid / upper keyboard, while the bass now plays the melody [9:01-9:24], i mentioned this passage two days ago with Brendel, and it's good to notice it again with Schiff, another excellent view from a different angle with Schiff.

Here's Alfred Brendel playing the first movement on YouTube.

Schubert - Piano Sonata 21 [Tabe] 

From one Sonata to the next, yesterdays Blog entry was about Schubert's Piano Sonata 20 by Alfred Brendel [20th March 2011], Kyoko Tabe's way with Schubert is different, she's certainly slower and thoughtful in her interpretations, but also a word about the recording, it's very warm, and quite reverberant, there's a glow to it, i felt that i wanted more treble, more of an analytical recording, it can certainly sound like a warn bassy mush at first, but the ear quickly adjusts, and i found that it hardly got in the way of the enjoyment of the work.

Kyoko Tabe is Japanese, born in the late Sixties / early Seventies i believe, she must be roughly round 40 today, she has recorded extensively for the Denon Classical label, and made quite a number of Schubert recordings, this Sonata was recorded in 1993, the booklet front cover shows an excellent photograph of Kyoko Tabe [by Toshiaki Takeuchi], a very soft focus shot, with a very thoughtful pose, and with a nice balance along with the lettering.

Tabe makes the first movement take a mammoth 22 minutes almost!, but she does play the exposition repeat, which makes it even longer, and being fairly slow too, also adds to the minutes, the rest of the Sonata takes roughly 23 minutes!, so the first movement now becomes nearly half of the work under her hands, she takes the very opening slow indeed, almost like chanting a sacred incantation, soft and reverent [0:00-1:03], i must admit that this opening has the utmost delicacy and... well, just something i can't even name, i fell in love with it when i first heard Alfred Brendel play it, and it still gets to me, Kyoko Tabe playing it slow makes sense too, treated in all its beauty and tenderness, with those deep deep rumbling bass trills at the end, and then it opens out, like a flowering / blooming [1:06-1:26], lovely and just so right and perfect, the opening gentle tune comes back in power [1:47-2:11], when she plays the exposition repeat opening [5:45-6:45], it now sounds a bit faster, but only 3 seconds on the clock, but surprisingly it sounds more 'right' than the opening, and a further repeat of the opening [15:23-16:24], is similar in duration, right after the exposition repeat, new material starts up, a variation of things that have gone before [11:02-11:38], sounding sadder / melancholy, there's a lovely aching note sustained [11:32], just so perfect, Schubert knows how to tug at your heart, and later a triptych of deep bass trill rumblings [13:51, 14:08, & 14:27], deep down you can take at random any one minute section in this movement, and find so much to enjoy and talk about, for me one of the most perfect Piano Sonata movements.

Here's Alfred Brendel playing the first movement on YouTube.