Beethoven - Piano Concerto 5 'Emperor' [Brendel/Haitink-London Philharmonic Orchestra] 

This is a lovely recording to own, Brendel is a real master with Beethoven, and it's good to have his Fifth on a single disc, with a logical coupling of the Piano Fantasia, an underestimated work, the recording is lively and present, it's surprising to realize it's over 35 years old, Haitink seems to have recorded this work with everyone [Perahia, Schiff, Arrau etc], and Brendel himself has also recorded it multiple times [Haitink, Rattle, Levine, Mehta etc], a real favourite of his, i played this recording early in my Blog in 2010 [13th February 2010].

Alfred Brendel is Austrian, yet born in Czechoslovakia, he has been living in London for years, and is a British Citizen, he made this recording in 1976, he's now retired, and has left us with some wonderful recordings, especially Schubert, the front cover photo [by Alecio De Andrade] is a nice portrait, i like these Insignia Series recordings, a clever and wonderful idea, the box with the lettering is always inspired, nicely laid out and clear, and the colour schemes are always great, this one has Brendel leaning up against some porch post, nice and casual, the background and three dimensional-ness is great.

The whole of this Concerto is just fantastic, and yet i found it getting better and better as i listened to it, after the tremendous first movement, the second movement Adagio is so heavenly, delicate and melting, but it was in the last movement, a real tour de force of joy, that things came alive for me, there's a free flowing feel of unbuttoned spontaneity from Brendel, 

Here's Daniel Barenboim playing the third movement on YouTube.

Shostakovich - Symphony 10 [Solti-Chicago Symphony Orchestra] 

I believe that Solti came late to the works of Shostakovich, but made up for lost time in getting to know and conduct his works, i got to know Shostakovich's Tenth through listening to Karajan's digital version, the long first movements dissonance came into tuneful focus out of the swirl, that was a great moment when i first learnt to embrace dissonance as my friend, rather than the enemy of sweetness, in comparison i haven't heard Solti's Tenth anywhere near as much, and i guess the jury is still out on his interpretation, this is the fourth time i've listened to this disc, and the second time it's appeared in my Blog [25th April 2010], it's certainly a dour work, and yet... like the Fifth Symphony, there's a triumph there, a blaze of glory over adversity.

Georg Solti [1912-1997] was a Hungarian Conductor, he had a long tenure with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and made many great recordings, this one he made in 1990, it's a live recording, and i must admit it's not perfect, there's a shrillness there, not enough warmth, the front cover is artwork of Shostakovich, nicely laid out, the blues and purples nicely juxtaposed with the orange lettering.

I guess i always seem to enjoy the first movement the most, but on this listen i found myself so much enjoying the third movement Allegretto, i found Solti to be a bit quirky at the beginning of the Symphony, but i must admit he's good at the fortes, and when the music gets intense he really gets into it, i enjoyed the ending of the Symphony, really whipped up into a frenzy, and a spontaneous roar of well deserved applause at the end,

Here's Georg Solti conducting the third movement on YouTube.

Bruckner - Symphony 8 [Skrowaczewski-Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra] 

First off, the booklet cover proclaims Bruckner's Eighth as the 'Apocalyptic', this wasn't Bruckner's idea, and most recordings don't use this title, i started a discussion on this on the Good Music Guide, a nice name, but just invented up by someone else, this is a mammoth Symphony, over 80 minutes long here, taking up 2 discs, it takes patience to listen to it, but is so much worth it, a lot of it can wash over you, but once you've listened to it say 25 times, you get to know your way around, and you develop favourite bits, this is probably where i am now, on my 20th listen, i once suggested you only really get to know a work once you've listened to it a hundred times!, i played this nearly 2 years ago [14th June 2010].

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski was born in Poland in 1923, making him 88 today, he's getting on in age, and he made this live recording in 1993, Oehms Classics have made a full cycle of the Bruckner Symphonies with him, and it's good to dip into these recordings, buying separate issues, i like the front cover picture [by Peter Kloos], laying out the lettering nicely in different colours.

Here's Bernard Haitink conducting the fourth movement on YouTube.

Glazunov - The Seasons [Svetlanov-Philharmonia Orchestra] 

I don't play this work all that often, and i only have a couple of recordings of it, it's a 40 minute Ballet, roughly along the lines of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, though not as memorable in the tunes department, it was clever of Glazunov to start with Winter, it means he ends with Autumn, which is a nice season to finally rest at, unlike Vivaldi's Seasons which rest in an icy wilderness, Glazunov is clever at these short tone poems, each representing something pictorial, Winter is portrayed as glissandos on the strings, Spring is of course very dance-like, Summer is lazy and languid, while Autumn is very much nostalgic, a time of remembering all the other seasons, there's 19 individual tracks, so that each number lasts an average of 2 minutes, enough to convey a mood, and then it's gone, individual numbers stand out from others, and i'm sure you'll develop some favourites like i have, Glazunov is certainly an underestimated Composer.

Yevgeny Svetlanov was a Russian Conductor [1928-2002], he made this recording in 1978, the front cover picture is not credited, i think it's a Sycamore or a Maple leaf, covered in water droplets, a nice idea, the EMI logo is well placed.

The two big slow numbers are the sweetest and softest centres in this array of chocolates, the Adagio from Autumn, and especially the Barcarole from Summer, a short introduction, and then the sweet violins serenade us with the main tune [0:26+], it's a truly gorgeous moment, the music slightly swells [0:58+], creating a dark cloud on the otherwise sweetness, and there's this sort of culmination that Glazunov creates, and there's this moment which just sounds so perfect [1:20+], it's hard to use words to how i feel, Glazunov uses piccolos towards the end [2:17+], Glazunov could have used this for a whole slow movement, enlarged it out, or made a larger Tone Poem out of it, but here it is tucked away in the middle of Summer, 3 minutes of rhapsody.

Here's Stephen Michael Smith conducting Summer by Glazunov on YouTube, the Barcarole starts at 4:55.

Schubert - 4 Impromptus D899 [Arrau] 

Surprisingly, this is the first time this Schubert boxed set is mentioned in my Blog, and it was a great experience listening to it all, it's 3 discs housed in a 'fatbox', the only regret about this set is it's such a shame only having 4 Impromptus, it would have been wonderful to have the full set of 8 on one disc, this time in listening, i realize the quirkiness of Arrau, he can play music revelatory, but he also has his moments, the very hesitant opening of Piano Sonata 21, his speeds can be a touch too slow, awkward staccato moments when a smooth seam of legato would have been a stroke of genius, his loud fortissimos, his constant sniffing, but for a guy in his mid to late seventies, he seems so spritely and alive, and i'm sure he can play all of this music without a score, the gains are certainly more than the losses i just listed.

Claudio Arrau was born in Chile in 1903, and died in 1991, he recorded this work in 1978, as with other issues in this Arrau Edition, it shows a nice sharp portrait [by Christian Steiner] of Arrau superimposed with sheet music in the background, the box with the lettering is lightened and highlighted, it looks and feels great [and sounds even better!].

I feel that these 4 pieces get better and better, the Third is sublime and soothing, but i find the Fourth shows Arrau at the height of his powers, like everything Arrau does, there's imperfections, and things that i disagree with, i like to think he played these four pieces straight off one after the other, and he was warming up in genius as he went, this last Impromptu of the set is fairly free from hesitations, and awkward joins, and shows a great concentration and flow over its 8 minutes,  

Here's Claudio Arrau playing the Third Impromptu on YouTube.