5 comments about Bolcom - Piano Rags.

1. I bought the CD and the book containing the same titles so I could hear how these modern rags were to supposed to sound, should I decide to play them on my piano. The CD has the added advantage of allowing the player to preview the songs rather than just looking over the notation to get an idea of how the rags go. While any competent pianist can play music he has never heard before, it's always easier to play a piece that is somewhat familiar. And life is too short not to take shortcuts; get all the help available.



2. It's a matter of taste whether one likes ragtime in its "saloon" or "salon" form. Personally I prefer the former, because ragtime was originally performed in saloons and brothels in two of the main centers of early 20th Century popular music -- New Orleans and Sedalia, Missouri. In other words, it was popular entertainment for a popular audience. Admittedly, Scott Joplin, James Scott, and Joseph Lamb (among others) had higher aspirations --- nevertheless, the music's main appeal was the sheer, high-energy "charge" of the music. That's what I find largely missing in more classically-oriented pianists like John Murphy, who, like Joshua Rifkin and John Arpin before him, seem intent on turning the music into something appropriate for a staid Carnegie Hall audience. Not that there aren't fine rags here that occasionally capture the flavor of raw Bohemianism --- pieces like "Eubie's Lucky Day," "Raggin' Rudi," "California Porcupine Rag," and "The Serpent's Kiss" all have their moments. But even on these, the dead weight of Murphy's genteel hand takes a lot of the "dance" out of the music. The concert-hall "echo" effect contributes even more to the annoyingly sanitized quality. Paradoxically, from my point of view, the best piece on the entire set is the slow drag called "The Eternal Feminine," since it's a deliberately laid-back composition to begin with, much like the famous "Heliotrope Bouquet" of Louis Chauvin. For those, however, who want Rags to Really Dance To, I'd recommend Richard Zimmerman's Complete Joplin Rags, some of "Perfessor" Bill Edwards's solo ragtime discs, or, best of all, almost any of the piano rag discs performed by Scott Kirby or David Thomas Roberts. Best single "saloon" disc ever? Track down Roberts's compilation of "The Collected Brun Campbell." Now THERE'S real ragtime!!!"



3. Better to buy the sheet music to go along with this to realize how complicated these are to play. Murphy has that special 'bent' to play the details - there are no shortcuts in this set..



4. William Bolcom is undoubtedly one of America's most important living composers and musicians. Without sacrificing one iota of his stylistic integrity or musical personality, he has done much to bridge the gap between so-called serious music and the popular idioms that most people think of when the phrase "American music" is uttered: ragtime, jazz and music-hall styles. His albums of popular music from the turn of the 20th century with his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris, remain classics of their kind.

   John Murphy, who plays all of Bolcom's piano rags on this collection, is a personal friend of the composer and presumably has his seal of approval. It's good to have all of this enjoyable music in one place; still, I can't muster as much enthusiasm for this album as I would like. Murphy's technique, though serviceable, seems taxed by the more demanding moments in these frequently virtuosic pieces, and the resulting lack of rhythmic precision, in particular, frequently robs the music of its full effect. He also applies the pedal more liberally than I personally like. Nevertheless, the chances of anyone else recording all of Bolcom's 29 rags (including seven unpublished pieces) in the near future is remote, so this is an album fans of this composer ought to have.




5. Despite the origins of ragtime being a century ago, ragtime still thrives today. It is considered a legitimate classical music form. It is even more delightful to have contemporary rags get published and performed - especially when the performance captures the nuance of the composer's intentions. William Bolcom's finely crafted rags come to life under pianist John Murphy's hands. From the delicate, thoughtful Ghost Rags to the slammin' variations in the Garden of Eden, Bolcom combines the energy of turn-of-the-century ragtime with refined classical sensibility. This CD set should be a part of any and every ragtime anthology - from casual listeners to classroom teachers.

2 comments about Jean-Féry Rebel: Les Élémens; Rameau: Castor et Pollux [Hybrid SACD].

1. I guess I need to upgrade my system to fully appreciate the SACD, but this hybrid plays very well on an old-style CD player. I bought this for Rameau's "Castor & Pollux" suite, but Rebel's "Les Elemens" turns out to be a jaw-dropping, marvelously grotesque bonus. I've played the disc seven times in four days, and I'm not tired of it yet.



2. WOW! What a performance of the bizarre Rebel masterpiece, "Les Elemens" and Rameau's "Castor et Pollux" suite. This group's passion for the music and the joy they get from it really comes through here. Their phasing shapes and enhances the musical lines beautifully. The first movement called "La Cahos" depicts the formation of the universe out of chaos. "Las Cahos" is the first free orchestral composition in the history of music! Here is an except from the notes of the recording of Rebel "Les Elemens", "Rebel begins the introduction to 'Les Elemens' with a cord that must have been ear splitting for contemporary listeners. All the tones from the initial key are played at the same time in a polyphonic cluster of dissonances."
   
   I listened to the SACD surround layer and the recording is superb. The soundscape was extremely life-like with a nice amount of reverberation and ambiance to give this historical instrument group a lush sound. There are other recordings of Rebel's Les Elemens by The Academy of Ancient Music, Musica Antiqua Köln and Les Musiciens du Louvre and they are all very good and each is very different, but none of them have the beauty and realism of Super Audio technology. This is a must have SACD.

3 comments about Popper: Cello Music of David Popper.

1. I am enjoying this CD very much. I rec'd it very quickly. Thank you.



2. David Popper was the outstanding cello composer/virtuoso of the late 19th century. His music, although not profound, is quite likeable and is of generally of a high quality for the genre. With Popper's intimate knowledge of the cello, the music is written well and explores the cello's capabilities. Being a cellist myself, Popper is well known to me and other students of the cello through his "High School of Cello Playing", which is "finishing school" of cello technique.

   The present CD by Mark Moskovitz and Michael Boyd is a quite enjoyable presentation by these two accomplished artists. Moskovitz's plays his cello with a lovely singing tone that bring out the qualities of Popper's music in an ideal way.

   There are two selections on this CD that have not been recorded very often, the "Im Walde" and the Nocturne Op. 42. Several of the pieces from the "Im Walde" are heard on cello recordings, but the entire suite has not often been recorded. I prefer the piano cello version presented here, to the recently released full-orchestra version, presented on Maria Kliegel's Naxos recording. I find Popper's orchestration to be a bit on the thin side and the essential spirit of the music comes through much better in the cello piano version.

   Marc Moskovitz's playing of the Nocturne Op. 42 is sweet, but not overly sentimental. His playing has a very fluid quality that presents this miniature in a very good light.

   The last selection on the CD the "Requiem for three cellos" should perhaps have been titled elegy or remembrance of a friend, as the piece is definitely more elegiac than the somber image that the title requiem implies. In fact, it is a lovely piece for three cellos that should be heard much more often.

   Overall, and within the scope of this genre of music, I rate this CD very highly. It is a good musical window on a time that has past and very well played and listenable musical experience.

   Terry Maurice




3. Marc Moskovitz's interpretation of this music is beautiful...he has the ability to make the cello sing and soar, and his music haunts.

4 comments about Schumann: Carnaval; Fantasiestücke; Papillons.

1. Marc-Andre Hamelin,one of the most gifted pianists of our time, has recorded works of little-known composers, such as the American Leo Orenstein, together with standard works, such as a recent two-volume set of Haydn sonatas. In this CD, Hamelin performs three of Robert Schumann's most poetic and romantic works for piano, the early Papillons, the Fantasiestucke, and Carnaval. Hamelin's virtuosity on the piano is beyond question; and in this CD he displays the most lyrical and sensitive musicianship to accompany his technical gifts.
   
   Much of Schumann's early piano music draws upon his love of literature, as do each of the three works here. Schumann composed Papillons, Opus 2 in 1832 as a young man of 20 under the influence of a romantic novel by John Paul Richter. The twelve pieces in the collection are dances in a variety of moods -- some tender and reflective, others fiery and passionate. The music is full of both fluttering, light passages and of heavy, marked octaves. The Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter made a famous recording of this work, and I enjoyed comparing his reading with the varying tempos and interpretations of Hamelin. Both Richter and Hamelin offer outstanding readings of Papillons.
   
   Schumann eight "fantasypieces" opus 12 dates from 1838, six years after Papillons. I had the opportunity to hear Hamelin perform this work live in a concert at Washington D.C.'s National Gallery in 2003. (In fact, he autographed my score of the work.) Probably the best-known portion of this piece is the short selection "Warum". In listening to this recording, I was taken with the opening work, "Das Abends", and with the lightness with which Hamelin plays the difficultly syncopated theme in triplets that runs through the work. In this collection again, Schumann alternates moments of lyricism and introspection with works of bravura. Hamelin captures the impulsively changing moods of this music.
   
   Schumann's Carnaval, opus 9 is one of my beloved works of music for the piano and a highpoint of musical romanticism. I have myself attempted it on the piano. In Carnaval, Schumann depicts characters at a masked ball. He portrays two aspects of himself in the pieces called "Eusebius" and "Florestan". He offers a musical portrait of his wife-to-be, Clara Wieck, in a piece captioned "Chiarina" together with a depiction of a former romantic interest in "Estrella". Chopin and Paganini receive musical portrayals in "Carnaval" -- the latter in a devilishly difficult work which captures Paganini's violin technique, and there are dance interludes and portrayals of figures from the comedia de l'arte such as "harlequin". The work exhibits a spirit of love and artistic optimism as Schumann writes a finale depicting the triumph of art and creativity against the materialism and philistinism of his day.
   
   In its passion, lyricism and celebration of feeling, Schumann's romanticism has much to teach our skeptical age. Whether you are coming to Schumann's music anew or whether you have heard it countless times, this splendid recording by Haemelin will reveal to you the fire and imagination of this great composer.
   
   Robin Friedman



2. Marc-André Hamelin has taken some critical brickbats when he has essayed standard repertoire, and he certainly got them for his first Schumann CD, the one containing the Fantasie. I was not among those who carped about those performances. And I do not sense any deficiency in this more recent disc that contains Papillons, Fantasiestücke and, best of, Carnaval. I think one reason some critics have taken Hamelin to task is that he has such a reputation as a virtuoso that they think he must not have any of the poet in him. (One used to hear the same sort of thing about Horowitz.) But anyone who has listened to his recordings of rather more off-beat composers -- Alkan, Roslavets, Medtner, Scriabin, Catoire -- will have to admit, I think, that there is plenty of poetry in his playing. However, he does not deal in sentimentality and perhaps that is what some listeners miss.
   
   It seems to me that these readings of three of Schumann's most popular works are a breath of fresh air. Papillons and the Fantasiestücke, for instance, tend to move right along -- although the latter's 'In der Nacht' certainly dwells in a perfumed and romantic atmosphere. This briskness is all to the good, I believe.
   
   When it comes to Carnaval Hamelin has come up with a new-sounding approach -- at least in my experience -- in that he does not romanticize the little character pieces, but rather plays them almost classically. This is not to say that 'Chopin' does not partake of that composer's tonal beauty or that 'Eusebius' is not pensive, musing. But on the whole Hamelin plays this music with bracing élan and I loved it. These are pieces I've played myself for nigh on fifty years and yet I heard things I'd never noticed, or heard things I'd never thought of before, and that is something I look for in a performances of these or any familiar works. Bravo, Mr Hamelin. You clearly are not just a virtuoso, you're a thinking and feeling musician.
   
   A definite recommendation.
   
   Scott Morrison



3. I owe to Hamelin my appreciation for Schumann's music. It was not until I attended one of his recitals that I really began to make sense of Schumann's compositions and let myself into his sad, tortured and yet unexplainably redeeming world. A friend told me that he always came forth from it as a slightly better and more compassionate human being, and I quite agree with that as far as I'm concerned. I had the invaluable opportunity to watch Hamelin play live the Fantasiestücke and I certainly will never forget it. The music in this disc is deeply moving and disarming. I've never heard the Fantasiestücke being played with such wisdom and insight. From the almost unbearably poignant "Des Abends" to the exhilarating and exciting "Carnival", Hamelin plays the piano soulfully and with jaw-dropping technical dexterity. A must-have.



4. What a stunning CD!
   
   I thoroughly enjoy listening to this CD - the music is enchanting and Hamelin's performances are no less so. He has a great imagination with these groups of piano 'miniatures', giving each piece its own individual character. The 'Carnaval' is particularly spectacular, played with ease and such a high level of musicianship. My favourite moment is in the 'March of the Philistines' where hamelin plays a C octave an octave lower, with incredible sound! Not to mention the breath-taking pace at which he takes 'Paganini'!
   
   A CD well-worth buying for lovers of Schumann, as well as for Hamelin fans.

2 comments about Schumann: String Quartets Nos. 1-3.

1. This is one of the few CD's that have all 3 quartets on one CD and happily it is also one of the best. The playing is warm and very clear and add to this the budget price of Naxos , this is an unmissable treat.



2. It has been extremely unusual until very recently for all three Schumann Quartets, his Op. 41, to be recorded on one CD. Usually we would get Nos. 2 & 3, and although there have been a few other CDs that contained all three -- including those of the Quatuor Ysaye and Eroica Quartets -- this is, I believe, the best of the lot. And at budget price, too! Quatuor Ysaye, in my opinion, gives a rather flaccid account of No. 1 and has some intonational problems. The Eroica Quartet plays on gut strings, and although that doesn't necessarily disqualify them -- I'd love to hear Quatuor Mosaïques play these works -- I was somehow not terribly pleased with their accounts even though others have raved about them; I think my main objection was the sound of the cello, which seemed rather nasal.
   
   The Fine Arts Quartet has been in residence at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee for years and have been concertizing for fifty years -- three of the members have been in the quartet for twenty-five years -- and have made some outstanding recordings over that time; I particularly like their set of the Mozart quintets. (They are not, by the way, to be confused with the similarly named and similarly distinguished Pro Arte Quartet, long resident at the sister campus of the University of Wisconsin - Madison.) They are a rock-solid non-flashy but very musical quartet who have given us satisfying performances year after year.
   
   I was won over by their spirited manner with the scherzo of the First Quartet, with its galloping rhythms and daredevil tempo; the same comment applies to the quartet's finale. (A personal confession: The first time I ever heard this quartet -- played brilliantly in concert by the American String Quartet -- I thought that the group had gotten out of sync at the end of the finale, not realizing that the final low A of the cello comes an eighth note after the upper instruments play their final chord. I recall saying later something to the ASQ's cellist, David Geber, and he simply pointed to the last page of the score, to my red-faced embarrassment.)
   
   The Second Quartet begins with one of Schumann's loveliest melodies, reminding me a bit of the expansive arch of the opening theme of Brahms's First Quintet, Op. 88. The second movement, the Andante quasi Variazioni, is a somehow little less songful than one might have hoped, even though the Fine Arts give it a fine reading, but the following scherzo and allegro molto vivace bring the quartet to a rousing finish. The Andante espressivo introduction of the Third Quartet is as songful as one could ask, followed by an equally soulful Allegro molto moderato. (I think I love this movement best of all the Schumann quartet movements.) The Fine Arts do a brilliant job of conveying the movement's charming diffidence alternating with impulsive interjections. For some reason the Third's second movement reminds me of one of Rachmaninov's piano miniatures (e.g. the Humoresque); I wonder if Rachy knew this quartet? The Fine Arts play it with quicksilver charm. The deeply-felt melancholy of the Adagio molto comes as a bit of surprise after that second movement; the Fine Arts give it all the feeling it requires, even not eschewing an occasional portamento of the sort more commonly heard half a century ago but entirely appropriate and effective in this movement. The Third's finale, Allegro molto vivace, with its bouncy dotted rhythms is a bracing end to this set of three quartets. It seems odd to me that the Schumann quartets seem to reside somewhere on the margins of the standard quartet literature, at least as judged by their sparse appearances on quartet programs.
   
   The Fine Arts Quartet -- Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violins; Yuri Gandelsman, viola; Wolfgang Laufer, cello -- are one of America's best quartets and one that should be recording more. One hopes this set, recorded in January 2006 at the Wittem Monastery in the Netherlands, will be followed soon by more releases.
   
   Sound is lifelike. Keith Anderson's booklet notes are excellent; they give instructive indications of the structure of the quartets. This is an outstanding set made all the more attractive by its budget price.
   
   Scott Morrison

4 comments about Brahms, Mendelssohn: Cello Sonatas.

1. Of all the recordings I possess of the Brahms Sonatas, this one is my favourite; not least because it is almost the only one having a proper recorded balance between the 'cello and piano. It has to be admitted, however, that the Colin Carr/Lee Luvisi performances also are well recorded but in my view, their playing lacks some of the sparkle of this offering. So many CDs published are lacking this essential balance but not this one. Whilst the stylised cover illustration is rather quaint and very dated, the recording quality is bang up to the minute.
   
   Gyorgy Sebok and Janos Starker have collaborated in a number of recordings and this is amongst the best. Sebok is a very accomplished pianist and Starker's characteristically strong (almost bold) approach is well suited to the material which by Brahmsian standards, in places is unusually contemplative - even wistful - yet still possessing the hallmarks of his assertive style. The Mendelssohn second Sonata also is excellent - a pity that it was not possible to include the first Mendelssohn 'cello Sonata as well.
   
   Musically, this is a first class offering as might be expected of these consummate instrumentalists but in my view its chief virtue is the piano/'cello balance which is quite excellent; so often the 'cello is overwhelmed to the point of inaudibility by 9 feet of Steinway.
   
   Highly recommended.



2. The Brahms cello sonatas are favorites of mine. I've owned this recording, the Ma / Ax version on Sony, and the Rostropovich / Serkin version on DG. This version by Starker and Sebok takes the cake. I think Ma's playing is so refined that it can become precious. Rostropovich strikes me as being the opposite: very big and brash and overly macho. The sound quality on the DG recording is also a bit strident. Starker is somewhere in the middle, and I like that. He is probably closer to Ma, but there's a sort of honesty and straighforwardness in Starker that appeals to me more than Ma's refinement or Rostro's brashness. The Mercury sound is also top drawer. The piano is slightly recessed relative to the cello, but the effect is never distracting or unpleasing. The Sony sound is better than the DG, and maybe even slightly preferable to the Mercury. None of the pianists made enough of an impression on me to really comment confidently about their differences. Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong with this disc.



3. When I first started collecting classical CDs, I only had a few Mercury Living Presence (MLP) titles. In my quest to get the absolute best, or at least a definitive recording, of the major works of the standard repertoire, MLP discs rarely topped the critics' lists. In fact, only three MLP recordings have been earmarked as "Essential Recordings" by amazon -- Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Byron Janis performing Rachmaninov's 2nd & 3rd Piano Concertos, and Yehudi Menuhin performing Bartok's 2nd Violin Concerto, all three with Antal Dorati as conductor. It is also safe to say that three other titles are equally essential for their historical value alone. They are Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by Dorati (the first recording of the complete ballet), Janis performing Liszt's Piano Concertos (the first recordings made in the Soviet Union by American technicians, musical staff and equipment), and Kubelik's Chicago Symphony performance of Pictures at an Exhibition (one of, if not the single best mono recording ever, and the one that led the New York Times critic to coin the phrase "Living Presence," from which the label named its series). But how does a CD line go from having a half-dozen must have recordings, to being this reviewer's all-time favorite classical label?

   The answer: consistently magical performances, captured in brilliant golden-age stereo sound, that offer a slightly different take on your typical interpretation of the great works. While MLP titles may not offer the best standard account of a work, they always surprise you and open you up to all the possibilities that the music has to offer. For example, this performance of Brahms' Cello Sonatas by Starker and Sebok may not be the consensus first choice recording -- for most that would probably be the Du Pre/Barenboim, or one of the two Ma/Ax recordings -- but I constantly come back to this disc for a different perspective, and its vibrancy and splendor never disappoint me. Maybe that is why collectors prize these recordings, because they are a breath of fresh air in a homogenized world of listening. Of course, collectors love a challenge too, and MLP CDs are becoming increasingly hard to find. It has taken years for me to finally find all of the MLP CDs released to date, and unfortunately I don't think there will be any new releases forthcoming. So collectors, and even those who aspire to be, should pick up as many Mercury Living Presence discs as possible now, before they all die.




4. this is one of the best albums that i have heard on brahms over any other recordings of the prominent cellists

5 comments about Philip Glass : Orion.

1. For many, the music of Philip Glass is an acquired taste. It often takes one awhile to get the hang of the subtle variations within virtually endless repetitions of what...in comparison to more well known classical music...seems to be a few limited themes. But if one sticks with it long enough, one will begin to discover the emotional alchemy at work in these pieces. That's when the genius of it is revealed. The trick, of course, is to stick with it long enough.
   
   "Orion" is Glass' exploration and extrapolation of musical phrases that are more or less based upon traditional music of the places he names (e.g. India). Repetition is downplayed in this work and it surges playfully forward from movement to movement, thanks in part to shorter "bridge pieces" that link the longer thematic ones.
   
   If one has wondered about Glass' music, "Orion" is a splendid entry point...perhaps followed by "Passages" (with Ravi Shankar). The only decision that remains is which format to purchase.
   
   As an unabashed audiophile, I normally purchase CDs (or SACDs when available). For a variety of reasons, I purchased the MP3 download of "Orion". It was RIPed with a variable bit rate algorithm and seems to tach out between 192 and 256 KBPS with a few spurts to 320 KBPS. As such, it exhibits minimally competent fidelity compared to a middle-of-the-road CD. On the other hand, it was delivered instantly and sounds good enough that I continue to listen to it through isolation headphones while working. If I was going to listen to it critically, I would re-order "Orion" in CD format.
   
   Bottom line: in any format, this is good stuff and an excellent way to become acquainted with the work of this important living composer.



2. BASS FREAK ALERT
   
   I don't remember whether my first known exposure to Phillip Glass was the vinyl album of the soundtrack to Koyaanisqatsi or a cassette a friend loaned me of the album Glassworks shortly before I went to see a live performance of the Phillip Glass Ensemble about 1980. Glassworks was interesting but has never been on my list of favorite albums, the live performance impressed me greatly, and Koyaanisqatsi blew me away. At any rate, I have liked the music of Phillip Glass a lot and for a long time and own about 30 CDs of his music, including maybe 5 I don't ever plan to listen to again. So I recently bought Orion, enjoyed it greatly 2 or 3 times and expect to keep listening to it periodically. If you like his music, you'll probably like this one, especially if you liked Uakti. If not, you'll want to give this one a pass, too
   
   Unless maybe you are a bass freak. A fair number of Glass albums have strong bass lines. If you have a good wide range audio system, you'll notice that track one, "Australia", has a prominent bass line. I have such a system and I noticed it, so I turned on my subwoofers, which are pretty flat from about 25 to 40 hz and then drop off sharply above 40 and below the lower 20s. For most music, having the subwoofers on or off makes very little difference because there is not much happening musically in that bottom octave from 20 to 40 hz. This track is one of a handful of exceptions to that general rule. If you have flat frequency response in the bottom octave it sounds like an entirely different piece of music. For most of the rest of the 2 disc set, it doesn't make any difference whether the sub-woofers are on or off--there isn't much for them to do. But on "Australia", the difference is astonishing. Mind you I'm not talking about any old subwoofers--many subs give you bass from 40 or 50 or even 60 hz up to 100 or 200 hz--forget about them. If your subs give you flat frequency response in the octave BELOW 40 hz, you probably value and enjoy honest deep bass, and you are in for a treat with this album, at least on track one. Otherwise you'll just think "Nice bass" and not give it a second thought.



3. This set of 2 CD's is a recording of an extended musical program for the Greek Olympics performed by Glass, his ensemble, and leading "folk" musicians from each of the inhabited contenants. Glass composed the work in colaboration with at least some of his partners so the style of the work reflects a synthesis of his own and various traditional styles. The results are fascinating to the ear. All the performances are superb. The digeridoo work is particularly noteworthy, because most Americans have never heard anything like it. Uakti is present with their home-made wind and percussion instruments and you can hear hints of their album Aguas da Amazonia (Also recommended). The Canadian section features a Celtic fiddle that moves from the original theme into a classic "breakdown." The Chinese, Gambian, and Indian segments feature traditional stringed instruments as well. The variety of sounds of the different stringed instruments and the differing improvisational styles of their masters ads diversity to the program. One can listen to the program in pieces and enjoy it, but if you have the time, put it on a changer, use head phones, and let the music flow over you for a wonderful, but short vacation that will take you around the world.



4. All tracks on this cd are great but just wait 'till you hear " Brazil" . fantastic!!



5. This two-discs set brings you all over the world. It gives you a taste of different cultures and also the feeling that we all are the same, on the small grain os sand that Earth is, as it appears from the sky.

1 comments about Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique · Herminie.

1. this fantastic disc perhaps is not for everyone. You have to have an open mind.
   I don't know recordings on modern instruments. I have heard about Munch and Colin Davis. Which is better? Ask someone else. What I know are recordings on period instruments and /or HIP. Apart from this one, there are
   1- Norrington 1989, London Classical Players. The first one. Great clarity and sound, swift tempi, but an approach nearer to Haydn. After 2 or 3 listenings you realize it is a complete failure. Berlioz is not Haydn. He knew he was making new music. He was making a revolution in the orchestral forces and a new way of thinking a symphony. You simply can't go back and look for haydn because you still do not know Bruckner (the excuse of historicists)
   2- Norrington with modern instruments (a German orchestra I think). Very recent. I have heard is the same approach ...
   3- Gardiner,recorded in the place of the premiere. Another story. One of the best. Perhaps THE best and the safest choice. He offers a fresh reading with a style I would describe "romantic" but with hints of HIP "cliches". Dramatic and poetic. Far richer than Norrington.
   So if you want a safe choice with Gardiner you are not wrong.
   But ... Can somethig new be said about this great work? Can you go even further to a truly romantic interpretation without falling in the "mainstream" or "traditional" "sins" (that is, a big, flat, over-vibratoed sound?
   I dind't believed until I heard the slow movement under Minkowsky. As I said this new reading is not everyone, including critics. Minkowsky is HIP, historicist. He shapes the contours of music with crisp accents, as all HIPs do in general. In the fast sections he can be terrrific! (1st movement, last 2, passages of the rest). But the great difference is in the slow passages: the beggining of the 1st and the whole 3rd. They are slow, VERY slow (the 3rd lasts 19 min 50 secs !!!! Gardiner, 16:30 !!!). Is this boring??? NOT AT ALL. Minkowsky unfolders the music with such a mastery in dinamic contrast that you never get bored. He exploits every note to its full potential. Are these ideal ways of performing? I don't think so, buy I love the way he does and seems convincing and coherent. After all the symphony is a revolution: berlioz delivers us to the extremes of composition (no one had done the same so far), so I think tje extremes of music deserves the extremes of conducting. And Minkowsky did it! He is really brave and shows he can be truly romantic but at the same time still sounds "historicist".
   Another way this disc makes new ground is in the performing resources: a mixture of period (woodwind, brass, percussion) and modern (strings) instruments, but with very controlled vibrato and divided violins. No obligato cornet part (a feature Berlioz added much later).
   The rest of the disc is a soprano cantata which features part of the "idee fixe". perhaps not an essential Berlioz work but it shows an example of how should be sung an opera in the 19 (french) century: exemplary vocal control.
   Try the slow movement, take your time. If you enjoy, as I do, you will think this disc is a triumph. Don't miss.

No comments about Music for Motivation.

5 comments about Reflection.

1. If you are looking for a Schumann piano concerto that is not coupled with the Grieg, you've come to the right place. At first, this coupling may seem strange, but there is a compelling logic to it. Brahms was an intimate friend of the Schumanns (perhaps in more ways than one although there is no clear evidence to support this view). Clara Schumann was a fine composer in her own right, but has been overshadowed by her more famous husband (both she and Fanny Mendelssohn). Helene Grimaud proves herself to be up to the task here and she delivers a sparkling concerto performance as does the Dresden Staatskapelle orchestra (the same orchestra that premiered the work with Clara as the soloist). Five stars for her performance, five stars for the orchesta and five stars for the sound. Truls Mork recorded the Brahms E minor cello sonata previously, but coupled with the F major which is the usual coupling. The sonata was written in Brahms' youth and is full of energy, passion and stunningly beautiful melodies. Mork does not disappoint and Helene Grimaud is more than a competent partner. Her piano sings without overpowering the cello. A lovely performance, although I must confess that I am slightly more partial to Starker/Buchbinder. Very good recorded sound in the sonata. The two lieder are not familiar to me so I have no point of reference and can only say that Anne Sofie von Otter sings like an angel. (German and English texts are provided for the lieder.) The two piano rhapsodies are also unknown to me. They make a nice filler for this very fine disk but the piano gets a little clangy in the rhapsodies and I wish the engineering had been better. But no one will be buying this CD for the filler. Notes in English only. All in all, a very musical and well thought out and executed program.



2. Whispers, poems, and pages have been floating around for years about the strangely romantic triangle that bound the composers Robert Schumann, Clara Wieck Schumann and Johannes Brahms - secrets that will be forever the purview of intuitive writers and philosophers and historians. This very intelligent and tender CD REFLECTION is one way of examining the closeness of these three remarkable and very human artists. And it is a complete success, musically and thoughtfully.
   
   Incorporating some the finest artists available today this CD is the brainchild of the remarkable Hélène Grimaud, a pianist who not only is a remarkably fine artist but who also looks for more in her musical thoughts than merely the notes on the score. She offers here a collaboration with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle in an elegant and wistful performance of Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, rich in subtleties and deeply felt melodic line.
   
   Grimaud then partners with Anne Sofie von Otter in three songs by Clara Schumann: 'Er is gekommen in Sturm und Regen', 'Warum willst du and're fragen?', and 'Am Strande' - songs that give both artists the opportunity to remind us how gifted Clara was with song writing.
   
   The third member of this remembered and honored triad is Johannes Brahms and his 'Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E minor' is performed with passion and grand scale by Grimaud and the gifted cellist Truls Mørk. Grimaud then closes the recital with Brahms' 'Rhapsodies for Piano Nos. 1 (B minor) and 2 (G minor)', sublime works that not only serve as a fitting closure to this thoughtful program but that also leave us with the desire for more Brahms from Hélène Grimaud! This is a very special recording, well produced technically, and one with which we are left with the feeling that both the Schumanns and Brahms would have warmly applauded. Highly recommended as one of the important issues of the year. Grady Harp, December 06



3. Lovely and committed playing by Grimaud and all concerned combined with an inspired selection. I'm usually not a fan of "concept" albums but this recording makes its musical and intellectual point deftly and with great musicality. Highly recommended.



4. I have three previous Grimaux recording, admittedly very ambitious Brahms works, that I would say are good - say four stars. Perhaps I had been put off by the quirky CD covers & all that talk about wolves. This time she really shines & displays a deep understanding of the works. The performances could be a tad over-emotional for my taste but still rate five stars.



5. From the opening performance of the Schumann Paino Concerto, you would peg Helene Grimaud as a cool modernist with a light French touch. She is joined by Salonen, himself a musician who takes a chilly view of the Romantics (when he conducts them at all). Together, they produce a very unsentimental but sensitive reading that happens to be in exceptionally good sound. The ability of engineers to capture the actual sound of a concert grand piano is improving every day. The Staatskapelle Dresden plays elegantly. If you want a Schumann A minor that's almost chaste but very well articulated, Grimaud's is a perfect choice.
   
   She then goes on to prove herself a bit of a chameleon in the three lieder by Clara Schumann, with their restless accompaniment that often overshadow the vical part. Equally turbulent are the two Brahms Rhapsodies, although I think Grimaud strains a bit to sound individual. We're back to neutral territory in the Brahms cello sonata #1 with Turls Monk, in which both soloists are highly controlled and, if not cool, not abandoned by any means.
   
   In all, an imaginative program shows off several sides of this mercurial artist. I'm not sure I really know who the real Helene Grimaud is, but her pianism is certainly appealing.