Bartók: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra #1,#2

Béla Bartók's work is always quite compact. There is no waste of space or time.
Play of the first concerto is so hasty, that I personally cannot find the subtle interpretation I am used to expecting from Pollini (and I am sure it is because of my simpleness in taste). But thankfully he makes up for it in the 2nd one, especially in the second movement.
On other topic, the swirling of the orchestra intermixed with the pianissimo and fortissimo are very well accomplished. No nice melodies, but plenty to listen to.
In the 2nd concerto, there are some nice fanfares, piano solos, and a few amenities.
Claudio Abbado conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with Maurizio Pollini at the piano.

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra #1

1. Allegro moderato - Allegro
2. Andante - Allegro - attacca
3. Allegro molto

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra #2

1. Allegro
2. Adagio - Presto - Adagio
3. Allegro molto - Presto

I like this Deutsche Grammophon CD in the Awards Collection series. But, I grade it lower, because I do not see myself choosing it to listen to. This shows that it is more of a priority listening order, rather than a grading per se, something I would not attempt.

Shostakovich: Cello Concertos #1,2; Satires

If one read the booklet included in this Yedang CD, written by Boris Gontarev, one would think this is a marvelous product. He speaks so warmly about all the (major) musicians involved...
Alas, my opinion is much lesser than that. Yet, both concerti are a playful way of developing a lyrical theme, quite melodic in fact. Regardless, these concertos are necessary in a good music collection.

Interesting to know was that Shostakovich (Šostakovič ) had actually dedicated the 2nd concerto, and written for Rostropovich the 1st concerto.

Now, what an interesting duo. I have not known that Rostropovich played the piano (like that, of course). The married couple, Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya interpret the satires.


Composer: Shostakovich (Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович)
Cello: Mstislav Rostropovich (Мстисла́в Леопо́льдович Ростропо́вич)
Conductor: David Oistrakh
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

Name	Key	Catalogue	Musicians	Observations
Cello Concerto #1	Eb	Op.107		Recorded 24.01.1965, mono
Cello Concerto #2	G	Op.126		Recorded 12.11.1967, mono
Satires (Pictures of the Past) To a critic Spring Awakening Descendents Misunderstanding Kreutzer Sonata		Op.109	Soprano: Galina Vishnevskaya Piano: Mstislav Rostropovich	Five Romances for Soprano and Piano. Dedicated to Galina Vishnevskaya. Recorded 21.10.1967

Beethoven: Violin Concerto; 2 Romances

I must say that I was not thrilled by this CD. I mean, the pieces are fantastic, and the small orchestration allows for details that are not usually available in other more modern big philharmonic interpretations. Like the flute in the 3rd movement that is always hidden, or at least from me, in other versions. I personally think the cadenza is too ornamented and not in the same spirit as the concerto.

Of course, the period instruments of the Orchestra of the 18th Century allow for a very particular enjoyment  in addition to all else. All in all, it is a good buy, but I had higher expectations from Frans Brüggen. Zehetmair plays the violin in this Philips record.

Name	Key	Catalogue	Musicians	Observations
Romance for Violin No. 2	F	Op.50
Romance for Violin No. 1	G	Op.40
Concerto for Violin	D	Op.61		I. Allegro ma non troppo II. Larghetto III. Rondo. Allegro

Brahms: Piano Concertos

This is a fantastic CD from Deutsche Grammophon. Great virtuosismo and expressiveness. The orchestra is soft and full in the 2nd concerto. Supreme combination of Claudio Abbado and Maurizio Pollini.
Then I listened to the Tragic Ouverture, which was new to me. Energetic and melodic, delightful.
Lastly I would comment on the beauty of the first and third movements of the 1st concerto.
All directed by Karl Böhm and the Wiener Philharmoniker, except 2nd concerto directed by Claudio Abbado, pianist Maurizio Pollini

Name	Key	Catalogue	Musicians	Observations
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra #1	Dm	op.15	Maurizio Pollini	CD 1
Variations on a theme by Joseph Haydn		op.56a		CD 1
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra #2	Bb	op.83	violoncello solo:Robert Scheiwein	CD 2
Tragic Overture		op.81		CD 2

New 4-column Template

I thought I should write a small post commemorating the advance this blog has suffered today.
It went from a 2-column template to being 4-column. This was motivated because of the integration and new tools that Amazon and Blogger now offer.

Plus I now have a Google click-through, as well as a sell via Amazon. Thanks to those two benefactors, I am 1/10th of a US dollar richer. ;-)


I eliminated some of the Amazon gadgets that bloated the load time. And set on the left corner the navigation sections of the blog, and used the right columns for miscellaneous (toy, eg. youtube) and ad related content.

Maestros de la Música Clásica (Aguilar)

I have almost ended gathering the Aguilar: Grandes maestros de la música clásica collection. It is a collection that started as a set of 25 CD's, later became 35, and finally concluded as 40 CD's.

Each CD costs less than 3USD, and have some excellent performances. The selection of authors and pieces makes every CD, when not an instant favorite (especially for beginners or education), sure a good introduction to that author (or genre, as with the Gregorian Chants).

I will enlist the collection in its 3 stages; note, for instance, that the internal number changes from stage to stage. I think it is noteworthy that the Biblioteca del Congreso de la Nación Argentina (Library of Congress of Argentina) holds the collection upto its second stage, and ordered by composer: http://consulta.bcn.gov.ar/bcn/Catalogo.Buscar?d=TS&q=Grandes+maestros+de+la+m%FAsica+cl%E1sica

Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3
	[numbers 26-35, as proposed in number 28]. I found interesting the change in transliteration standards from the 1st to the 2nd stage: Chaikovski or Tchaikovski Handel or Händel Bartok or Bartók Schöenberg or Schönberg	[numers 35-40, as stated in number 40] Notice the reordering of the Gregorian Chants.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791 Las últimas sinfonías Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750 Conciertos Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827 Novena sinfonía Chopin, Frédéric François, 1810-1849 Estudios y baladas Vivaldi, Antonio, 1810-1849 Las cuatro estaciones Mendelssohn, Felix Jakob Ludwig, 1809-1847 Sinfonías tercera y cuarta Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883 Oberturas, fragmentos, escenas Dvorak, Antonín, 1841-1904 Sinfonía del nuevo mundo Tchaikovsky, Piotr Illich, 1840-1893 Suite de "El cascanueces" Mahler, Gustav, 1860-1911 Quinta sinfonía Strauss, Richard, 1864-1949 Poemas sinfónicos Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897 Sinfonías tercera y cuarta Rachmaninov, Sergei Vasilevich, 1873-1943 Conciertos para piano Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918 Obras orquestales Ravel, Maurice, 1875-1937 Conciertos para piano Haydn, Joseph, 1730-1809 Cuartetos de cuerda Berlioz, Hector-Louis, 1803-1869 Sinfonía fantástica Stravinski, Igor Fedorovich, 1882-1971 La consagración de la primavera Händel, Georg Friedrich, 1685-1759 Música acuática Bruckner, Anton, 1824-1896 Cuarta sinfonía Schumann, Robert Alexander, 1810-1856 Lieder Monteverdi, Claudio, 1567-1643 Madrigales Bartók, Béla, 1881-1945 Concierto para orquesta Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828 Quinteto "La trucha" Schönberg, Arnold, 1874-1951 La noche transfigurada	Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827 Cuartetos de cuerda Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791 El último concierto Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750 Cantatas Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828 Lieder Vivaldi, Antonio, 1810-1849 Música Sacra Albéniz, Isaac, 1860-1909 "España" y otras piezas para piano Modest Mussorgski, Cuadros de una exposición Telemann, Georg Philipp, 1681-1767 Conciertos para flauta Grieg, Edvard Hagerup, 1843-1907 Concierto para piano Canto gregoriano	Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886 Poemas sinfónicos Erik Satie Piezas para piano Jan Sibelius Segunda sinfonía y otras obras orquestales Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista, 1710-1736 Stabat Mater Corelli, Arcángelo, 1653-1713 Concerti grossi Canto gregoriano

Haydn: Symphonies 94 "Surprise" & 96 "Miracle"

This is a simple CD. Easy listening of very courtly music. It will be quite familiar to most listeners, and one cannot go wrong giving this Decca CD as a gift.
Christopher Hogwood directs (and plays the fortepiano) the Academy of Ancient Music on authentic instruments of the period.

Name	Key	Catalogue	Musicians	Observations
Symphony #96	D	"Miracle"		Adagio - Allegro Andante Menueto & Trio:Allegretto Finale: Vivace
Symphony #94	G	"Surprise" "Mit dem Paukenschlag"		Adagio -- Vivace assai Andante Menuet & Trio: Allegro molto Finale: Allegro di molto