Mahler - Symphony 5 [Ka Lok- Russian Philharmonic Orchestra]

This is a new disc that i bought on Ebay, Mahler's Fifth is my favourite Symphony by him, so i'm always on the lookout for a disc that might complement my collection, this was unknown to me, so i took a risk, it looks like it's a Hong Kong based company, i guess the jury's out on this disc at the moment, but i will certainly want to hear it again.

Mak Ka Lok is from Hong Kong, this disc was recorded way back in 1993, so it's certainly not recent, the front cover shows Ka Lok in a wood of birch trees i think, lots of leaves on the ground, and there's a lovely side lighting, the box with the lettering is opaque, showing the photograph underneath, and the Hugo logo gives a nice splash of red colour.

Well this was a very even Symphony, no real movement stood out from any other, i must admit that it's a fairly reverberant acoustic, the orchestra sound a little set back, but there's certainly a nice bloom in the bass, and maybe that can be a problem somewhat, it's a bass heavy recording, the brass gets mixed in the background somewhat, you can't hear individual voices all that well, i'm playing it on my portable player, and i've got it playing at full volume, and yet still want a tad more, and maybe some treble to balance things out, it's still a nice recording though, it's good to hear the harp clearly in the fourth movement Adagietto, and if i have to pick a movement, it would be the second movement, it's full of brass, almost a 'Concerto for Brass', and here i admit that even though the brass / percussion is menacing enough [0:00-0:33], there's something missing somehow, there's dull thuds instead of cymbals crashing and dying slowly, certainly not a front row seat, yes it's obvious that everything is just a bit too far away, i like the sound of the timpani though, nice bass rumblings here, timewise compared to my favourite two versions, it's a midway reading

Christoph Von Dohnanyi = 12:54

Mak Ka Lok = 13:58

Riccardo Chailly = 14:58

with each one minute apart, and yet Ka Lok sounds like he lets things drag somewhat, a good sound can make things sound more thrilling and tighter, there's certainly good things here, especially in fortissimos, the trumpets reach a nice crescendo [7:56-8:07], and a little later the high woodwind scream out [8:35-8:42], with the upper brass pleading a shade later, a nice moment, the great climax / resolution near the end is done very well [11:19-12:31], it's probably my favourite moment in the Symphony, and at the end of this moment the music quietens down to hear the sorrowful horns nicely, a nice blaze of brass is well caught [13:01+], Ka Lok doesn't lack any passion, it's just that it would be nice to be 'amongst the orchestra' instead of 'in a seat at the back'!, the 'inner voicings' are a real key to a successful performance.

Here's Gergiev conducting this movement on YouTube.

Schubert - Piano Quintet 'Trout' [Levine/Hetzel/Christ/ Faust/Posch]

This work gets played modestly in my player, i think i used to play it more, i guess it's somewhat slipped off the radar a bit, i still love this though, but there always seems more and more stuff to play these days, that's the downside of having a huge successful variety of music to play, something ends up getting played less, the main / favourite version is Schiff / Hagen on DG, but this is a nice little alternative version.

James Levine is an American Conductor, but also appears on a few recordings as a Pianist, this work was recorded in 1990, the front cover painting is by James Marsh, i don't usually like paintings / artwork as front covers, but this is a good one.

It was both the first and fourth movements that i really enjoyed, the fourth is an ingenious set of variations, and where the work gets its name, but i guess i'd like to talk about the first movement, here's my feelings on it, the whole thing is cast in the unusual form of five movements, the first is roughly twice as long as any of the others, it may start off slow and tentative in the introduction, but before the first minute's out, it comes to life, a lively skippy tune, the work is in the sunny key of A Major, the piano plays cascades of notes [3:17+], and the string players reply with more frantic playing, there are moments where the opening returns, and the whole thing unfolds again, it's certainly fun and enjoyable, and those frantic cascades of notes return [7:30+], after this there's some sort of reflective middle section, maybe in a minor key, but this fairly quickly livens up, and in volume too [9:30+], but of course the original flourishes aren't far away, it shows how much of an accomplished Pianist Levine is.

Here's the Trout Quintet being played on YouTube.

Bruce Springsteen [The Essential Bruce Springsteen]

This is a two disc compilation set, entitled 'Essential', whatever that means, it's a thirty song collection that's actually compiled by the Boss himself, so i guess no arguing over what's included, and left out!, as the Boss must know best, basically he chooses a couple of tracks from each of his back catalogue, if you want to explore further, then of course you can buy the individual albums, so i guess with Brucie, some of his output is hit, and others are a bit of miss, but this is a nice way to have an easy slimline set of songs that explains the Bruce Springsteen story from 1972-2003, so yes i guess it's already a decade outdated!, but it still works, makes me want to explore him some more.

Bruce Springsteen is American, he's now 65, this compilation came out in 2003, now the front cover isn't great, a really out of focus shot of Springsteen [by Mary Alfieri], but i like the lettering on the top, the back inlay photograph is better, showing Springsteen in a hall / stadium, guitar in hand, empty chairs, and a wonderful sparkling light from above, dazzling the seats of the chairs, i like the track listing also, orange and black, easy to see and read.

On this listen i like tracks 4, 12, 14, 18-20, 23, 25-26 & 29-30, with tracks 14, 19-20 & 25 the very best of all, and it's these four tracks i would like to speak of here,
14 Nebraska - From the album of the same name, there's a smoky hiss of a track, gently strummed guitar, and atmospheric reverb harmonica intro [0:00-0:30], a lazy couldn't care less vocal delivery, roughly a song about a Bonnie & Clyde partnership that killed ten innocent people, during the second half of the song, quiet twinkling glockenspiel starts up [2:38+] when he's about to be executed, which is really quite affecting, the best lyric 'into that great void my soul'd be hurled', it ends with that with Springsteen's harmonic playing.
19 Tunnel Of Love - Also from the album of the same name, a gentle Rock song, likening a relationship to the dangers of a tunnel of love at a fairground, best lyric 'you've got to learn to live with what you can't rise above'.
20 Brilliant Disguise - Probably the best track from the Tunnel Of Love album, a great beat and rhythm, with woodblock hits, Springsteen has such a strong purposeful voice, the longer the song continues, the stronger the rhythm and feel of the song gets, there's instruments / complexity slightly added as it goes, which creates a great feel of it getting better and better, best lyric 'God have mercy on the man, who doubts what he's sure of '.
25 The Ghost Of Tom Joad - From the album of the same name, though certainly not the best track on the album by far, similar in a way to Nebraska, a short harmonica solo, Springsteen singing quiet in a gruff voice, about the homeless and forgotten, people sleeping rough and hungry, the last verse references the book The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck, where the protagonist Tom Joad is saying goodbye to his Mother, the song is punctuated by Springsteen's harmonica, and like Nebraska it outro's with the same, best lyric 'he pulls a prayer book out of his sleeping bag'.

Maggie Holland [Down To The Bone]

Here's a disc that's making it's first appearance in my Blog, in fact it's the first time i've ever played it, i saw it on Ebay for a fairly cheap price, listened to some samples, and was impressed enough to obtain it, it's a compilation album, some of her best known songs, i guess she's a Folk Artist, a bit like Joan Baez i guess, sparse instrumentation, i admit that it's only a first listen, so a really well informed opinion of her will take more listens, but i like what i hear already.

Maggie Holland is English, not sure how old she is, but i would guess she was born in the Fifties, so putting her roughly around sixty today, this album was recorded in 1991, in fact not a compilation album per se, but rather a re-recording of all her best music, the front cover photo [by Dave Peabody] is a beaut, a close up head shot, lots of out of focus, which works so well, most important is in focus eye, it has a gorgeous stream of side sunlight on the right, bringing wonderful highlights to the mainly in shadow face, and the somewhat haphazard lettering is excellent, and well placed too.

Of these 17 songs, the one's that caught my eye / ears the most were 2-3 & 14, and i would like to talk about each here,
2 Black Crow [2:37] - She plays banjo, and sings about social and political issues, this track is really sparse just Holland singing and playing her banjo, there's a degree of talk-singing, very much the style of old Folk, yes i like the banjo, and i like the middle instrumental refrain [1:26-1:43], it's well played, and well recorded, her voice is marvellously caught as well, even though she does do covers, this isn't the one by Joni Mitchell. 
3 Levi Stubbs Tears [3:40] - A Billy Bragg song, still sparse, some nice guitar work going on here, about a lonely woman, runs away from home, marries too young, gets injured by her husband, ends up alone, it's the 'ordinariness' of the everyday that really gets to me, most people sing about something profound, but this songs hits you with lyrics like 'she takes off the Four Tops tape, and puts it back in its case', huh?, really important stuff, especially since the previous verse she got shot by her Husband!, sounds like two guitars here, making a beautiful noise, i love the way the beginning chords start up again halfway through [2:16+], a glorious moment of repetition, incidentally Levi Stubbs was the lead singer of the Four Tops, still not exactly sure what his tears are though!.
14 Company Policy [3:14] - Banjo again, and with a gentle tapping percussion, it's a Martin Carthy song, sounds like a song about the Falklands War, and some girl's love died in battle, references Margaret Thatcher at the end too, a nice lilt to the song, twelve lovely verses, best lyric 'an empty shell pressed to my ear, the only sound is the sound of cash'.

This album makes me want to explore other Artists more, especially Billy Bragg.

Beethoven - Violin Sonata 9 'Kreutzer' [Kubota/Kuyumjian]

This is only the second time i've played this disc, and already it's developing into a real little treasure, Kubota is nice and passionate, as good as others i've heard, maybe she makes the violin 'scream' a bit in louder passages, but she really gets into the music, this is a Japanese issue, i found this on Ebay, discs like this are almost impossible to get in the West, there's a treasure trove of stuff just waiting to be discovered.

Takumi Kubota is Japanese, she recorded this disc in 1996, so already almost twenty years old, not something recent, the front booklet cover is a marvel [by Tai Tsutomu], it's a truly glorious upper body shot of Kubota playing her violin, the most gorgeous light from the left, and clear precise focus, i like the lettering too, this is how booklet photos should be done!.

The first two movements were magic, i think the middle movement variations just pip it, endless inventiveness, here's a synopsis with all the variations,
Theme [0:00-2:58] - The theme is a fairly lazy affair, first introduced by the piano, and the piano and violin keep taking it in turns presenting this simple theme, Kubota / Kuyumjian present it a little slow, but very nobly.
Variation 1 [2:59-5:18] The first variation is a little imp, darting here and there, mainly lopsided piano, with odd notes by the violin, i love Kuyumjian's piano work here, he gets the rhythm right, the genius of Beethoven shines through.
Variation 2 [5:18-7:29] Now it's time for the violin to shine, and the piano to drip drop notes here and there, it's a little disjointed on purpose, 
Variation 3 [7:30-10:31] Almost an intermezzo break, a bit of a lament. 
Variation 4 [10:32-13:30] The violin starts to use pizzicato here, and both Kubota and Kuyumjian are on their toes, i think the violin and piano try to imitate each other at certain points, it's a dazzling variation, and even within it has lots of variety.
Variation 5 [13:29-16:] What sounds like some sort of coda or epilogue at first, branches out into a meditative fifth variation [14:16+], trills on the violin, there's a sort of finality to the whole thing [14:45+], piano and violin are in contemplative mood.

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

Chopin - Piano Concerto 2 [Weissenberg/ Skrowaczewski-Orchestre De La Societe Des Concerts Du Conservatoire]

This is the very first time i've played this disc, and i was surprised at how good it was, it's a 1967 recording, and i can hear it's age, but it's been remastered very well, quite a bright recording, but really thrilling too, maybe Skrowaczewski takes the slow movements a little too slowly, but he holds it up well, the piano is very alive and forward in the recording, somewhat spotlit in the aural picture, i'm not all that enamoured by the Chopin Piano Concertos, and i don't have that many recordings as a consequence, but today i feel i've developed a new love for these works.

Alexis Weissenberg was Bulgarian, he died three years ago [1929-2012], and he recorded this disc in 1967, this is a re-issue on the red line series for EMI, with some really nice discs in this series, and i certainly enjoyed this one, the front cover photography is really excellent, showing ornate windows with shutters, and balconies with iron railings, there's a gorgeous symmetry to it all, and the white box for the lettering, and the dash of red, make the black & white photo really stand out, a lovely finished product.

So onto the music, and the first movement was tremendous, and yes i must admit that i've never been so thrilled with this work as on this disc, i now have a new appreciation of it, because of the recording fortes can sound a little shrill, but regardless the 1967 recording is a marvel, Skrowaczewski develops real drama in the orchestral introduction [0:00-2:55], whipping up the players into a nice passion, and when Weissenberg comes in, yes it really is louder than life, very spotlit in retrospect, but it's so good to hear Weissenberg precisely and clearly, great piano sound, i feel that he's a hard hitter of the piano, if i could only turn the piano down a notch, and turn up the orchestra a notch too, it would sound more balanced, it's amazing how quiet the background is, you can even hear the slight creak of a chair clearly!, also i appreciate more than ever Chopin's beautiful melodies and ideas, there's real romance hear, even though it may seem that in this Concerto the orchestra are reduced to accompanists, Weissenberg's playing is virtuosic in complex passages, and compassionate in quieter passages, the final conclusion is that yes, i do have a problem by the balance between the piano and orchestra.

Here's Weissenberg playing this movement on YouTube.

Rossini - Opera Overtures [Halasz-Zagreb Festival Orchestra]

In my early years of compact disc buying, i bought a fair number of Naxos discs, the idea was that they were cheap, and i could get three for £15, instead of a single full priced disc for £15, that's three times the amount of discs!, it made perfect sense back in the early nineties, now because i almost exclusively buy second-hand, that now not a lot of difference, now i just go purely for the best version, plus over the years i've purged lots of iffy discs, so quite a number of those Naxos discs have fallen by the sword, this is one of those that remain, and regardless of the obscure Orchestra, these are scintillating accounts of the Overtures, been a regular in my Blog [28th August 2010 & 7th January 2013].

Michael Halasz is Hungarian, he's now 77, this recording comes from 1989, i must admit that on the whole i don't like the Naxos philosophy of artwork on their covers, and even the back inserts are not very inventive, however i've fallen in love with the music / performance on the disc.

On this listen i really enjoyed Overtures 1, 3 & 5-6, it's hard to pick a winner, but i think that The Silken Ladder just pips it, here's my thoughts on it,
5 The Silken Ladder [6:20] - Like quite a number of Rossini's Overtures, there's a long introduction, the thing takes time to really get going, with long oboe / woodwind lines, and chattering oboe later, before it explodes into full blown orchestral mode [1:54+], and even then the real heart of the piece keeps revealing itself like layers of an onion [2:22+], with excellent use of chattering oboes [2:28-2:42], the woodwind again have a dialogue back and forth [2:42-2:50], i guess Rossini likes to hand out each piece to a certain instrument, and in this Overture it's certainly the oboes, he repeats everything twice, also Rossini is an expert at rhythms, his Overtures are like well oiled machines!.