1 comments about In Dulci Jubilo: Christmas with James Galway.

1. The performers include: The Regensburg Cathedral Boys' Choir, the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra (conducted by John Georgiadis), and the immortal James Galway -- world-famous as "The Man with the Golden Flute". The boys just sing like Angels! Put them all together with a Master Flutist, a full symphony orchestra, and a lot of practice and experience -- and you're BOUND to get a work of art like THIS one!

   Rating it: You mean to tell me that I can only give this work a measly five stars? But that doesn't even BEGIN to describe it! If you want to get into the Christmas spirit -- this album would be a PERFECT place to start.

4 comments about The Art of Fritz Wunderlich.

1. Now folks, both of what the two other reviewers wrote about the tragical death of Fritz Wunderlich is wrong. Wunderlich died in hospital at September 17 1966. He had broken his skull, when he fell down the stairs in the hunting-house of a friend. Late in the evening of September 16, Wunderlich, as usual when not at home, had phoned his wife in Munich. He was very tired from strolling through the forest the whole day, making out the ideal locations for the hunt, which should start early in the next morning (Wunderlich was a passionate hunter). After he had wished his wife a good night, he went to the staircase in order to go down to his bedroom at the first floor. He still wore his heavy hunting boots - with open shoestrings! As walking downstairs, Wunderlich struggled over the open shoestrings and grabbed for the banisters, which was not more than a rope, fixed to the wall. The banisters teared out, and Wunderlich fell down the whole stairs. Fritz Wunderlich died in hospital the next day. It was only short before his 36'th birthday. An exceptional singing career had come to an untimely end. Some people believe that Wunderlich was drunken at the time of accident. If this is true can't be proven any more. But still this is not what his close friends said, regarding his accident and his death. In my opinion Wunderlich was the last of the really great tenors of the last century. All the tenors which came to fame after him (sorry folks, even such maestros as Pavarotti and Domingo) lack a certain quality in singing. It's the ease of breath flow, or singing on the breath without pushing the voice, it's the overtones, the legato, the mezza voce, the messa di voce and many more things - in short: the overall beauty of the voice through both registers. Wunderlich was the last tenor who had all this. Other examples are Caruso, McCormack, Gigli (despite the sobbing in his later recordings) and of course the wonderful Jussi Björling. But these are only some few names. If you listen for example to the cd's in the box "Famous tenors of the past" you will find that there were many very good and outstanding tenors in the first half of the 20'th century and - as we can only assume - in the time before the invention of the grammophone. Take a close look at todays famous tenors (I know, there are some quite good and promising ones) but what are they in comparison to those tenors (or better to say, to their voices and singing) I just mentioned before?
   
   Please make your own decision.



2. ... okay, maybe. It's just that I've never heard a recording I didn't love. And I prefer that he sing everything in German even when that means not using original language.
   
   This is a bit strange because I'm most often bugged by Don Carlos and Vepres in Italian (just a personal quirk). Of course, I'm also bugged by dropping the "s" in Don Carlos, which is always incorrect. The man's name IS Carlos whether in Italian or French.
   
   I tried to write Mr. Avila a personal note, but could not, so let me say that Fritz Wunderlich did not die of cancer, but a dreadful accident in Scotland (I'll not go into the whys and wherefores, I just wanted to set PART of the record straight.)



3. Deutsche Grammophone does it again! This is an extensive 3-cd compilation album featuring the artistry of the great German tenor Fritz Wunderlich in a variety of vocal repertoire - Baroque cantata/oratorio, opera and Lieder. Like the other critic pointed out, I first heard Fritz sinigng a superb Tamino in the Karl Bohm Magic Flute, although I have also heard him sing Lieder opposite the mezzo soprano Christa Ludwig and baritone Dietrich Fischer Dieskau, who were his contemporaries and colleagues. Wunderlich died tragically in 1966 of cancer. He inspired a generation of purely lyric tenors or "tenors di grazie" whose charming voice would never roughen and lack grace. His Germanic style earned him popularity in World War II Europe and he was the leading exponent of Lieder in the 50's. His tenor voice is glorious, as close to a male angel as possible. On this recording, we are treated to sumptuous arias from Bach's Christmas/Easter Oratorios, and movements from 2 cantatas. Also noteworthy are the unsurpassed performances of Mozart tenor heroes- such as Belmonte from "Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail" (Abduction from the Seraglio) and his unbeatable Tamino from Die Zauberflote The Magic Flute. He sings bel canto opera arias fo tenor, from master composers Rossinni, Bellini and Verdi. While I don't much like that he is singing Italian arias in German, one must remember that at this time, in the LP Era of World War II Germany and Austria, German-born opera singers sang Italian opera in German translation/revisions. While many German singers could indeed sing in Italian, they were mostly trained to sing it in German because of excessive national pride and because Germans viewed Italian opera as course and un-melodic. Still, there have been superb German singers who sang in Italian like Wagner diva Birgit Nilsson,baritone Dietrich Fischer Dieskau, tenor Peter Schreier, soprano Edda Moser, baritone Walter Berry, tenor Herman Pretty, all post-Wunderlich sensations. Wunderlich sings Lieder in one CD with great and unrivaled musicianship. Especially impressive are the Viennese pieces. Further to the cd's this album is equipped with photos of Wunderlich and his family and a detailed profile biography.



4. I knew little about the German tenor Fritz Wunderlich (1930-1966), except reading the accolades given to his recordings and performances by reviewers in "American Record Guide" over the past 13 years. I knew Wunderlich recorded the role of Tamino in the famous DG recording of Mozart's "Die Zauberflote", with Karl Bohm/Berlin Philharmonic (Now on DG Originals CDs), but was not aware of what a wide range of repertoire he had until hearing this release.
   
   This release has a wide variety of Wunderlich's discography, including Bach arias from his Christmas and Easter Oratorios, and movements from 2 cantatas; his Mozart roles in "Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail" (Eugen Jochum/Bavarian Radio Orchestra) and "Die Zauberflote" (Karl Bohm/Berlin Philharmonic); a variety of arias and duets by Rossini, Bellini, Verdi, Richard Strauss, mostly sung in German, and with Hermann Prey, baritone and Erika Koth, soprano in many of the duets; Baroque arias by Handel, from "Xerxes" (including the famous "Ombre mai fu" sung in German) and "Julius Caesar", selections from Monteverdi's "Orfeo" (an early track from 1955 sung in Italian); Schumann's "Dichterliebe", 4 Beethoven Lieder, including "Adelaide" and "Der Kuss"; and 9 Schubert lieder, including "An der Musik," and "Der Musensohn", all with Hubert Giesen, piano; Popular songs such as "Granada" and Viennese songs, with chamber orchestra accompaniment. There are no texts for the songs, but you may have text booklets with other CD releases, so don't really need them when you hear Wunderlich's beautiful voice.
   
   There is a booklet with articles about Wunderlich's career, including a preface by his widow, Eva Wunderlich, photos of Wunderlich as a boy and young man, with his wife Eva in 1965, and children Constanze, Wolfgang, and Barbara. I enjoy reading and looking at the booklet, even apart from listening to the beautiful recordings.
   
   Wunderlich was a genius, and his voice sounds great in every track, mono (some, but not a majority) and stereo (most of the tracks in the 7 discs are stereo) alike. If you love great music, and opera, but like me aren't often of a mind to sit still for 3 hours to listen to one, get this. It's a great release, and reasonably priced to boot. I'm thankful to God for great music, for the ability to hear and feel, and for Fritz Wunderlich and his service to music lovers everywhere.

3 comments about Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel.

1. I first heard this CD on ABC Radio when driving to work from the Blue Mountains to Sydney - a weekly 1000 km. Of course once I'd heard it I had to have it! Others have written about the musicological features of this composer's work so there's really nothing I can add to their more informed opinions. It is simply ethereal music from another dimension and after hearing the high-quality BIS production, I'm gradually acquiring more of Part's music and look forward to spending more time learning about the composer as well as enjoying the music, which is, sui generis.



2. The ping reminds me of the walking meditation of Thich Nhat Hahn. One walks slowly, but the mind wanders until the bell rings, and in that moment you are brought back to - now. So it is with this piece as the piano and the cello reflect each other in mood and tempo. The mind wanders, then ping - back to this moment.



3. These are tranquil tones - excellent background for meditation or foreground for focused listening. This music has brought tears, it is that beautiful. But it's very minimal, too. A friend of mine (a second-hand listener from across the room) was plagued by the measured "pling-pling" notes - all she could really hear from a distance. It's lovely - but take it in sips, not gulps.

5 comments about Bach: The Toccatas.

1. This is possibly the 2nd review I have given on Amazon, and I have bought many items from this site.
   
   I did not know what to expect from Hewitt's Toccatas, and ordered them based off of the reviews.
   
   I am extremely thankful that I did this; she brought all of these to life. I find other recordings are too straight forward, and lose the meaning of "Toccata". Hewitt's sound so improvisatory, powerful, and for my personal taste, she used the perfect amount of pedal.
   
   Her reputation as a Bach player is way up there, but I did not see this coming. Fantastic interpretations.



2. I have listened to this disc 20-30 times and I find it astonishing how wonderfully ms. Hewitt plays Bach. It's subtle and delicate. Well worth a listen.



3. Listen to the Fugue from BWV 915 (No 6 on this Album) and try not to smile. It is pleasant and bouncy and irresistable. I keep playing this part over and over. Angela Hewitt plays it freely and boldly like a child skipping in the park.
   
   She plays cleanly and accutrately, but what adds to the beauty is how improvisational she sounds; and we know the Baroque masters excelled at improvisation.



4. I really did not like it at all. It looks like all the magic that Gould did put in those pieces is gone. Gould's interpretation is an introspective journey in a music that seems to be just born under his fingers.
   A total dispointment after reading other reviews.



5. Many know the famous story of how an eager, young Bach journeyed 10 days by foot to a distant village to hear the great organist Buxtehude, staying many months longer than he was given permission. It is fortunate probably that he stayed so long to learn from this master - for such early yet luminous works like the toccatas here clearly show the influence of this virtuositic organist and his free, improvisatorial manner of composing (termed "stylus fantasticus"). In her abundant and well-written liner notes, Hewitt quotes one authority on this style: "It is the most free and unrestrained method of composing; it is bound to nothing, neither to words nor to a melodic subject; it was instituted to display genius and to teach hidden design of harmony and the ingenious composition of harmonic phrases and fugues." While not purposely written as a grouping or teaching tool, these seven so-called Toccatas were assembled together based on these characteristics. They are free displays of virtuosity with daring runs of scales, arpeggios and the like - music full of vitality yet free of form for the most part.
   
   The 2005 Gramophone Guide gave this CD the top "Gold Star" rating (3/3 stars) and concluded: "Her performances could hardly be more stylish or impeccable, more vital or refined. Hewitt's playing is personal and characterful without resorting to self-serving or distorting idiosyncracy." Moreover, the Penguin Guide summarized this recording this way: "We have no hesitation in declaring this the most stimulating and rewarding CD of these complex and episodic works on any instrument, consistently showing Bach's youthful explorations at their most stimulating."
   
   Indeed, there is much variety, inventiveness and drama in this music that Angela Hewitt brings out to the fullest - from the songful and even contemplative slower interludes to rippling demisemiquaver scales that open some pieces to the powerful, complex fugues. Perhaps the richest aspect of Hewitt's playing here is her ability to skillfully and subtly shape the repeating episodes within the fugues by her nuances of color and dynamics. Many of these fugues have short themes that Bach incessently repeats throughout the piece (a famous trait of Bach that he is able to pull off to great effect). With most composers or playing, such repeated motiffs would quickly become monotonous or grating to the ear - as some Toccatas can be on the harpsichord as Hewitt points out. But, with Bach's skillful contrapunctal writing and Hewitt's imaginative playing, she transforms these repetative fugal sections into music of wonderous appeal and fascination - building an unfolding drama within the piece to great effect. The G-minor and D-minor Tocattas are fine examples of how Hewitt's subtle touches transforms these incessent fugues into lumanscent wonders.
   
   One recording of the Toccata in C-minor that is quite interesting by comparison is that of Martha Argerich. While not noted for her playing of Bach, Miss Argerich in the early 80's put to disc a dynamic performance of this Toccata (along with a Partita and English suite on DG). Where Ms. Argerich's bold performance reminds one of Bach's legendary powerful tone and command, Hewitt's touch is worlds apart in its subtltry, charm, inflection and nuance. Hearing Argerich's version along side Angela Hewitt's performance helps to illuminate Miss Hewitt's style more clearly - which is one of longer, more-lyrical flow with a notably beautiful tone and something intangible that might be best called a "heartfelt quality." Hewitt's C-minor Toccata exudes a more songful flow and subtle artistry compared to Argerich's more punchy and "intellectual" reading. Actually, Hewitt's reading can easily be described as "pretty" by comparison (perhaps too pretty for some). She is always a pianist and utilizes the greater expressive range of her Steinway to achieve maximum emotional qualities and tonal beauty.
   
   So, overall, Angela Hewitt's Toccatas are at the top of the class as Penguin Guide and Gramophone notes. With repeated listening, it has become a favorite of her entire discography - part for Bach's fascinating composing and part from Hewitt's sparkling and full-of-life pianism. Compositions - 5 stars; Performance - 5 stars; Sound quality - 4.5 stars.

5 comments about The Best of the Vienna Boys' Choir (Box Set).

1. This CD is absolutely beautiful. Everything that I would expect from this famous institution and more. I couldn't be more pleased!



2. I love this bos set, especially the second one Edelweiss is simply great, it's filled with passion and truly shows the beauty of music.But if you had already bought Ave Maria and Edelweiss please don't buy this one, they are the same, this CD is just perfect!



3. Wow...That was my first word when I listend to this CD.

   I like classical numbers more than like traditional songs of
   other countries, so the 1st one was wonderful
   (Of course as well as the second one.)

   When you want to relax, you may choose the 1st one, but
   if you want to be excited, choose 2nd one!!

   You will feel as if you were out of this world.




4. When I received this album, I found that it was much, much more than I had expected. The angelic, pure, innocent yet DEFINED voices of these boys add the spark to your day. (at least to mine!)

   The first CD is absolutely beautiful choral music which is really relaxing. I DO prefer boys' singing to adults, because it just sounds so much better.
   When I bought the CD, I wasn't expecting much out of the second CD because I bought it for the first CD's sake, but the second CD turned out to be my real favorite.
   Not that I don't adore the first one, but the second one is SO IRRESISTABLY CUTE!! whenever I listen to it, I keep on smiling and going "awww. isn't this cute!"
   It is REALLY sweet and fun to listen to. I just LOVE this CDs and want to give 10 stars out of 5, but obviously there are limitations, so..

   Well, if you like choral music, you won't regret getting this one.




5. Their performance is just superb. If you like classical music. I find this elevating my spirits.

3 comments about Paganini: Music for Violin and Guitar I.

1. Paganini is the greatest of the greatest, and this is an absolutely fantastic compilation. A pleasure to listen to.



2. This repertoire by Paganini was featured most popularly on a Deutsche Gramophon CD entiltled "Paganini for Two," with violinist Gil Shaham. Scott St. John may not be a violinist in Shaham's league, but he is very good on his own terms, with a rich tone and real excitement to his playing. Simon Wynberg is a fine guitarist. I have his excellent Bach CD, and found his playing of Paganini fully representative of his artistry. In the main, these works of Paganini are salon pieces, but full of violin mastery and rhapsodic grace. They are always tuneful, and if the ensemble were more commonplace would certainly be better known. Naxos's engineering is excellent. If you are inclined to investigate this repertoire and do not want to pay full price for Gil Shaham, this CD is an excellent way to begin.



3. If you don't know this, Nicolo Paganini was like the Jimi Hendrix of the Violin. Some, back then, thought he was possessed when he played. If we could only venture back in time to hear him, huh? We can't, but these recordings of his compositions are magnificent. The violin and guitar in this recording-and volume two which you should get right away-are stunning. Very tight and crisp sounding, but still the kind of playing that can mellow you out after a miserable day full of stress and tension. Excellent sound production, as with all from the Naxos label. Don't miss out on this one. 5 Star essential rating *****. Cheers!

2 comments about Webern: Symphony; Six Pieces; Concerto for 9 Instruments.

1. I've been a rock'n'roll fan since my teens, but I
   think that this great american invention has fulled its cycle(1955 - 1985). So I turned my ears to the music made in the beggining of the 19th century, and I think that this CD is a great introduction to it.
   
   
   MÁRCIO G. SOARES
   NATAL/RN - BRAZIL



2. Anton Webern has long been cited as one of the great bugbears of 20th century music, his works often more complained about than listened to. With chances to hear his music live still comparatively rare, and the Webern discography still dominated by the two Boulez "complete works" sets, it's good to see Naxos launching what is planned as a complete Webern set under a conductor (Robert Craft) with over 50 years of experience of the composer's music.
   
   This first disc in the series provides a good cross-section of Webern's output, eleven pieces ranging from vocal to orchestral to chamber and instrumental--even a Schubert arrangement gets in. First off on the disc is Webern's Symphony. This two-movement work is certainly one of the odder symphonies in the repertoire--a slow-moving series of canons (with unvaried repeats) in the first movement and a much more fragmentary variation set as the finale. Craft certainly gets to the point of the first movement (I always hear Mahler as a strong influence here, and always feel the music is hovering on the edge of tonality), but the more abstract second movement--played extremely rapidly and effectively--is without doubt the revelation here.
   
   The disc continues with a series of three sets of brief songs, the composer's opus 16, 17 and 18. This is in some ways a slightly playful choice, as it was in the opus 17 songs that Webern took up his teacher Schoenberg's serial method of composition--yet without reading the scores it is almost impossible to tell any real change in Webern's methods. All these songs are atonal and rather coolly expressionist--they're emphatically not easy listening but I think these readings (with Jennifer Welch-Babidge a fine soloist) make them a lot more appealing than the rather stern Boulez performances.
   
   Craft then follows this with two serial chamber works. The two-movement String Trio is a tightly wrought miniature drama, given a fine, expressive performance. The brief Saxophone Quartet is rather more relaxed, and this is caught well by the players. I'm less convinced by Christopher Oldfather's reading of the Piano Variations, which to my mind doesn't fully project the wit of the piece (Webern isn't often considered a musical humorist, but a performance of this work that doesn't put a smile on the listener's face seems to me to be missing the point).
   
   Craft then moves back to early atonal-expressionist Webern for the next three works. The Six Pieces for Orchestra are perhaps the most overtly Mahlerian pieces in Webern's oeuvre, particularly the colossal funeral march that forms the fourth of the pieces. Craft has them well in hand here, but I have heard readings that projected greater intensity. In sharp contrast are the Four Pieces for Violin and Piano and the more introverted Three Little Pieces for Cello and Piano. These brief works, often shimmering on the edge of silence or stasis, suddenly burst into brief flower before dying again, and Jesse Mills and Fred Sherry do a fine job of capturing their haunting, evanescent character.
   
   Not quite so successful is the later Concerto for Nine Instruments. One of the key works in Webern's output, this is another example of the composer showing his wit in music, and to my mind, despite an excellent reading of the slow central movement, this performance doesn't quite have the necessary rhythmic sharpness in the vibrant outer movements.
   
   Finally, Craft ends with Schubert's German Dances in Webern's 1931 orchestration. These works had been rediscovered the previous year, and Webern was commissioned to produce an orchestral version. The result may not be on the level of his outstanding orchestration of the Ricercar from Bach's Musical Offering, but it's emphatically not hack-work, and it's a splendid recreation of the Schubertian style.
   
   Overall, while not perfect, this disc is still a fine collection and an inexpensive way to for newcomers to experience this very distinctive composer. At the price, long-time Webern admirers will probably find much to enjoy too, particularly in the Symphony and the songs.

1 comments about Handel: Keyboard Suites, Vol. 1.

1. This used to be available in EMI's double forte series. It went out of print but is now thankfully available in EMI's super cheap Gemini series. This Gemini series has some really great finds and this Handel set is no exception. Buy both 2CD sets and you'll get the whole of Handel's keyboard suites and they've never been realized better than here.
   
   It's strange that someone with the stature of Richter would go after this particular repertoire. There is no truly great music here, it's a bit out of the way but a wonderful counterpart to some of Handel's richer works. Richter partnered with the ,( at the time ), young Gavrilov.
   
   Gavrilov's playing is so rich and imaginative that just as Richter himself noted, people couldn't tell the difference which suite was played by old man Richter or young gun Gavrilov when they listened to this recording. ( Don't worry, the credits are marked in the liner notes for all to see. ) I would say this set is a winner on all counts. Buy this and the other volume as well.

No comments about Muffat: Concerti Grossi, Nos. 1-6.

5 comments about Cage: Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano.

1. Edward Wright (see above review) knows more about this stuff than I do. I'm impressed that he has heard not one, not two, not three, but *four* different versions of Cage's Sonatas and Interludes! I thought I was doing great to hear just this one.
   
   I have for a long time been interested in Cage as a sort of iconoclast and philosopher of sorts, so I picked this up at the good old Naxos bargain price, brought it home, listened to the first few pieces, and said, "What is this crap?"
   
   But being no complete musical moron, I figured the idea of the music would grow on me, and grow on me it did. Lately, I want to hear this CD--not my Schubert or Beethoven--all the time. What initially sounded random and chaotic now seems magical. This music is by and large more rhythm and texture based than harmony based. It's tough music. I wonder what Ives would have thought of it (he never heard it, as far as I know).
   
   When I hear Cage, I'm proud to be an American. The same goes for when I hear Ives.
   
   I like this whole CD, but my favorite piece is, now at least, probably the Second Interlude, especially the last minute or so of it. It has a droning, clocklike, dreamy quality to it, but there might also be a little menace there as well, like the soundtrack to a slightly threatening dream. Much of this is, in fact, rather dreamlike.
   
   This CD is positively not conventional Western music. The prepared piano highlights the percussive quality of the instrument (see Sonata 5), and the music seldom repeats itself thematically. It is brimming with ideas, but these are not ideas that everyone will find all that interesting.



2. John Cage was obviously both a musical visionary and renegade. Most of his key musical ideas and philosophy completely challenged and even shatttered three centuries of musical development. The idea of literally destroying a piano would have seemed blasphemous to the great classical composers, however Cage realised that music need not be so strict and constricting. The prepared piano was a simple but groundbreaking idea in its time, however today this music feels pointless and the listener is left feeling detached and uninspired. This release is probably best listened to for analytical purposes only.



3. I arrived at this cd coming from the angle of electronic (dance) music. I can stand quite a bit of experiment, and I like music that sounds like machines. Where the music on this cd is not so machine like, it does have the same clinical, at times nearly desolate feel. The way the composer creates that feeling is rather unique i'd say. The feeling reminds me of the electronic music by the likes of frank bretschneider and some other mille-plateaux artists, even though the means of performance are rather different. It's a feeling that not everyone likes. And it's a feeling for special occasions. I enjoy this cd most on traintrips very early in the morning. Should say that I can hardly ever listen the cd untill the end. That's just too much. But I have experienced some of those magical listening moments when listening to this cd.
   
   So, it may not be for everyone, it may not be for anytime, but I do recommend trying it.



4. John Cage has written his best pieces for prepared piano during 1946-1948,when he composed the sonatas and interludes for this particular genious instrument.His approach to the rythmic structure instead of the harmonic one,is shooting excellent results,which are interesting to the ear,and simply creating something new,enjoyful.Another thing no one did before Cage until this work,is putting inside the music Zen Buddhism and Hinduism influences-the music remindes us of these eastern culture very well-and only for the best.The result is amazing,feeding us with wonder and excitement.
   The work may also remind you modern-like dance tythms,and it is obvious,fore Cage has worked during that period as the director for the Merce Cunningham ballet(The works he had written for the Cunnigham ballet are some of his best).
   The percussion effects produced by the prepared piano are wonderful,,and unbelivable,hearing a whole percussion orchestra,and sometimes you may want to shake your hooks with these maccabre effects.
   A classical John Cage work from his earlier years,worth of everything in order to hear how wonderful and interesting and new it sounds,even until today.
   The performance here by Boris Berman is excellent and quite assartive-I like it very much.He truly understands The music of Cage,though sometimes I feel he lack the excitement of these works.All by all,still an excellent performance,and a very interesting conrtol over the preapred piano.



5. John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes have long been one of his most popular works (if popular means anything in the case of Cage). They are written for a piano prepared by inserting various objects onto the piano strings so as to partially dampen the sound in a variety of different ways. This preparation results in the piano becoming almost a one-man percussion orchestra (the comparison to Indonesian gamelan is useful, if oversimplistic). In addition, when the piano is prepared as Cage requests, each note has its own distinctive timbre as well as pitch, thus creating a link between these two musical elements.

   The Sonatas and Interludes were inspired by Cage's study of Hindu aesthetics as discussed by Ananda Coomaraswamy, and were an attempt to create music based around the Hindu theory of the nine emotions (the "white" emotions of heroism, eroticism, mirth and wonder and the "black" emotions of fear, anger, sorrow and disgust, all tending towards the most important emotion, tranquility). The result was a collection of twenty single-movement pieces, lasting something over an hour in complete performances. The sixteen sonatas are mostly based on repetitive rhythms and brief, fragmentary modal melodies, while the four interludes tend to be rather more rhythmically varied than the sonatas.

   There have been many recordings made of this set of works (the invaluable John Cage discography at http://www.johncage.info lists no fewer than 20 rival recordings), and it would be foolish to claim that Boris Berman's matches up to the best of them (Karis, Schleiermacher, Goldstein and Henck all have prior claims on the listener). In particular, Berman occasionally rushes the music, disturbing the intended tranquil feel, and his Russian-sounding espressivo playing in some of the sonatas seems distinctly at odds with Cage's aesthetic. I wonder if this recording was not made too soon, as Berman's second bite at the Cage cherry (a collection of miscellaneous prepared piano pieces recorded a year later and also available on Naxos), displays a distinctly greater empathy for the idiom.