Mendelssohn - Symphony 3 'Scottish' [Belohlavek-Prague Philharmonia] 

I used to like Mendelssohn's Third Symphony more than his Fourth, which i played from this disc in march [24th March 2011], but now i feel the Fourth has overtaken it, there's something about the litheness of that work, mercurial and fast, especially the last movement, really thrilling, the Third by comparison, is a slower and a more thoughtful affair, i like to use an analogy here, the Fourth [actually composed 12 years before the Third], is like a gurgling stream, full of excitement and bubbling waterfalls, composed when Mendelssohn was 21, the Third is more like a stately river, slow and meandering, full of wisdom, composed when Mendelssohn was 33 [5 years before his death], it's a symphony which quite surprisingly i haven't heard for a while, so all the more joyous to make my acquaintance again.

Jiri Belohlavek was born in Czechoslovakia in 1946, he's mainly recorded for the Chandos and Supraphon labels, lots of Martinu, Dvorak, and Suk as you would expect, but lots of Brahms lately too, he made this recording in 2006, i so much like the booklet front photo [by Ondrej Zacek], i guess from the highlands of Scotland, a solitary shot, very monotone and bleak, the red Supraphon logo giving a dash of colour, the Works / Composer lettering nicely bordering the Loch / beach. 

The first movement is the longest, and on this listen the most impressive, Mendelssohn indulges in a long and slow Andante Con Moto introduction, sounding like a serenade, that lasts for over 3 minutes, it starts to speed up [3:20+], but takes another transition minute to fully explode into the full Allegro Un Poco Agitato [4:08+], a nice use of the clarinet comes soon after [4:38-4:47 and again later 7:35-7:43], i like the vibrating strings [10:13-10:27], full of agitated animation, and almost after there's this little oasis of serenade calm [10:45-10:53], a nice breather / refresher from everything surrounding it, and near the end there's these stormy waves from the strings [13:51-14:21], going up and down the scale agitatedly, right at the end the calm of the beginning returns [14:55+], and the movement ends on two soft pizzicato string notes [15:23-15:25], a nice gentle roller coaster of an opening movement.

Here's Roger Norrington conducting the first movement on YouTube.

Beethoven - Violin Sonata 5 [Szeryng/ Haebler] 

I played this disc last month [9th April 2011], the truly inspiring Ninth Sonata, the Fifth is Beethoven's next best Violin Sonata, compared to the later work it's brief, but Beethoven can work wonders on a smaller canvas too, as i said last month, this disc cost a fortune, and yet it's still working out to be a bargain!.

Henryk Szeryng was Polish, born in 1918 and died in 1988, he made this recording in 1979, i like these 'Silver Line Classics' by Philips, supposedly a medium priced series, but they have fairly extensive booklets, and are real quality, Nikita Magaloff's Chopin Etudes comes to mind here, the photo is by Bonnie Rauch.

The whole Sonata was a revelation today, especially the slow second movement, Szeryng and Haebler really fit together like hand in glove, Haebler is the more revolutionary, more expert in the tension side of things, while Szeryng is sweet and lyrical, bringing a depth of real passion, he's an unassuming player, not forceful at all, but lets Beethoven do the talking, he may at times sound low key, but long term it pays back, he surprises me how really deep he can play [2:40-3:12], especially at [2:57, 3:21 & 3:41], Haebler reminds us that these are not merely Violin Sonatas, but rather Sonatas for Violin and Piano, though her real forte can be found in the more extrovert movements, a lovely Violin Sonata.

Here's Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich playing the second movement on YouTube.

Led Zeppelin [Physical Graffiti] 

I forget how many decades i've had this double album, and how many times i've listened to it, but it still surprises me, there's still new things to notice if you listen carefully, it's my favourite Led Zep album, i played their Mothership [Best Of] album last year [18th November 2010], and it's a great introduction to the band, but on this 2 disc set, it's fairly sprawling, and some might feel there's a slight degree of filler toward the end of the second disc, but i feel that's where Led Zep play out their low key genius, and have a degree of fun too [the childishness in 'Down By The Seaside' and the fun in 'Boogie With Stu'], it just goes to show how varied they really are.

Led Zeppelin were an English Rock Band, formed in 1968, and disbanded in 1980 after the death of their drummer John Bonham, most of the tracks were recorded in 1974, but then other tracks, originally intended for previous albums, were drafted in to beef it up to a double album, there were 8 songs recorded in 1974 especially for the album, all these other tracks were recorded from 1971-1972, the album cover is a work of genius, showing a tenement block in New York, expertly made to fit the square of the album, i own the 'fatbox' double disc album, these recordings were the first to appear on disc, and were poorly transferred, i bought the remasters, issued in a double slimline case, much superior recordings, so not wanting to lose the original case or the best recordings, i swapped the two over, now i have the best of both worlds, it's a set that is a joy to own.

On this listen it was the lesser well known tracks that i found to be more stimulating than usual, however the 3 tracks that i enjoyed the most were 4, 6 & 10, with track 6 'Kashmir' the best, but i feel to focus in on track 10 'Ten Years Gone' [track 4 on disc 2], it's one of the mellower songs, featuring Jimmy Page strumming a lot on electric guitar, a nice Bluesy feel to it, it alternates between soft and loud, the lyrics are really meaningful, i like part of the first verse,

Blind skies of fortune

each have separate ray

on the wings of maybe

down in birds of prey 

in some quartets it's read as 'Blind stars of fortune', but listening to it, it sure sounds more like 'skies', i write a Journal each year, and i name them something meaningful, and two of them are named 'Upon The Wings Of Maybe' [1982], and 'Blind Skies Of Fortune' [1986], i'm really influenced by Led Zeppelin's lyrics, in the second half of the song, the music gets more intense and louder [4:06-4:47], i like these soft / loud waves, they really get to me in the end, the whole album should come with a recommendation, 'play loud'!.

Here's Led Zeppelin singing 'Ten Years Gone' on YouTube.

Beethoven - Violin Concerto [Zukerman/ Barenboim-Chicago Symphony Orchestra] 

I played the Sibelius Concerto on this disc last month [10th April 2011], and that was such a wonderful experience, for me the Beethoven Concerto isn't a work which i would place on the same level, many people feel that Beethoven's Concerto is the greatest, i've never felt that way about it, i really do like it a lot, but i'm not sure it would even get into my top ten of Violin Concertos, today it was good to listen to this again, and maybe try and see what others see, and i don't.

Pinchas Zukerman is now 62, born in Israel, he emigrated to America, then Canada, this recording was made in 1977, the booklet photo [by Gerd Weissing] is just absolutely fantastic, the sun peeping out behind the clouds, over a lake, loads of real interest here, and the lettering box and logo are nice too, with                                a dash of orange. 

The Beethoven Concerto is vast, over 45 minutes long, with a first movement of 25 minutes, longer than the other two put together, watching some of the video of Zukerman below, these Violinists play without any score in front of them, how do they find their way around?, with so many similar phrases in this Concerto, surely it's so easy to get lost somewhere, and go round in circles, testament to the genius of Zukerman, it takes a hefty 3 minutes plus before the soloist comes in [3:21], initial listeners must have wondered if they were not listening to a Symphony by mistake, i feel that the first movement needs to be taken as a whole, and like a forest of trees, the grandeur isn't in a single tree, it's the sweep of the whole forest, however here are a few little highlight points, [6:17-6:26], a nice little surge, and the violin gets high in the treble, a nice little climax, and a nice thunderous forte by the orchestra, playing the main tune with real power [9:37-10:30], and a nice transition from quiet soloist to noisy orchestra [14:40+], and another very high treble violin climax [17:29-7:35], right  at the end there's a very long 3 minute solo cadenza [20:37-23:42], i enjoyed this today.

Here's Pinchas Zukerman playing the first movement on YouTube.