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The Chopin Project by Olafur Arnalds & Alice Sara Ott - Dec 2022

Odd reviewing The Chopin Project by Olafur Arnalds & Alice Sara Ott (2015) as most of my reviews included an AUDIOPHILE angle. There is nothing to shout about in terms of recording canvas as it is anything but pure. Instead, period (analogue) recording technology of yesteryear was employed. Venue wise, it was far away from pristine studio level quiet canvas and background noise was ad nauseum in some of the tracks. The chief instrument that produced most of the content was an old and slightly out of tune piano in place of the common modern day Steinway with pristine tonality. The musical interpretation was not of any historically informed genre either.

Two things attracted me to this recording while audio surfing through my Spotify account kindly extended to me by my daughter. The composer Chopin and secondly the pianist Alice Sara Ott.

Chopin's music fills great concert halls and recording studios but this particular recording is unique in more ways than one.

This is not another recording that boasts of puritanical interpretation or purports to be closer to what Chopin had in mind when the music was written. Of the nine tracks on this recording only 3.5 tracks are majority based on mainstream scoring of Chopin and the remainder are the artists' re-interpretations of

Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 : Largo,

Nocturne No. 20 in C♯ minor, Op. posth,

Nocturnes, Op. 37,

Nocturne No. 21 in C minor, B. 108 (partially).

The main thing that jump out of the recording making it worth a listen is the artists' ability to achieve a high level of originality without scarring the roots from which the music was based on. This delicate balance can be seen on tracks 3 and 4 which is bridged together as one with the latter aptly titled Reminiscence being a re-encounter of the motif of of former.

Track 5 was recorded in less than pristine surroundings with little whisperings littering the music. Do not attempt to trouble shoot your equipment while listening as it might be the artists' intention to transport the audience back to its original context.

Pianist Alice Sara Ott extraordinaire needs little or no introduction with many renown recording on Deutsche Grammaphon. Apart from the tragic news that Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has visited since 2018/2019, she remains a bastion of hope for MS suffers. She intends and has been living a normal life with new recordings and concert tours.

Alice Sara also enjoys piecing jigsaw puzzles together and solving Rubik's cube.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter
lkypeter@gmail.com Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye (c) Peter Lye 2021

SG50@VCH: LYNNETTE SEAH & SHANE THIO on Sat, 21 Mar 2015, 7:30pm at Victoria Concert Hall

Lynnette Seah

The exquisite sound string from the violin and violinist blended nicely with the acoustics of Victoria Concert Hall. It produced a sonority that reverberate my tympanic cavity through the auricle to produce a romantic and lyrical tonality that transported me into musical nirvana.

Shane Thio

Opening number was Johann Sebastian Bach’s Violin Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord BWV 1016 which his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, wrote to his father’s biographer Forkel in 1774, describing

Johann Sebastian Bach

the six sonatas for violin and harpsichord (BWV 1014-19) was among the best works of (his) late beloved father. The exquisite rendition by Lynnette Seah on the Violin was marred in part by her partner in crime for the evening Shane Thio on the harpsichord. Having heard the duo’s performance of other pieces on Seah’s debut CD “a musical odyssey”, I can only reach a verdict of insufficient practice on Thio’s part as someone of Thio’s stature, stage fright should no longer be an issue. The hall was mostly full and the audience a fairly well informed group should had been a morale booster.

Seah had her score on stand but Thio might have overestimated his memory capacity and sailed without score and page turner for the first two pieces and resorted to them only in the third and final piece after the intermission. For a piece like BWV 1016, it is tantamount to harakiri or stupidity as his part is fully scored by the composer with little or no room for variation except for some ornamentation.

Seah’s performance was mostly probably modeled after Arthur Grumiaux and Christiane Jaccottet in the area of tempo, phrasing and most vividly the tonality of the violin. Viktoria Mullova teaming with OttavioDantone is more celebratory whereas Seah’s and Grumiaux’s lean towards a contemplative aura. Emotion is the undertone for this piece with heavy Italian emotional mojo to boot. Mullova’s sounding with lighter bowing is in line with the faster tempo most prevalent in the second of the four movement piece. Rachel Podger is one of my favorite violinists but for her rendering of this piece with one of the better informed baroque musician Trevor Pinnock did not strike my heart string for some unknown reason. Her tone was thick like Grumiaux but is contaminated by some purposeful higher harmonics which might not reflect the intention of the composer. Perhaps the problem is mine as who am I to critique a baroque giant like Pinnock.

Arcangelo Corelli

Progressing from Bach a German composer writing a piece in BWV 1016 with strong Italian overtones, the next piece Violin Sonata Opus 5/12 by Corelli was truly all Italian. The basic ingredient is based on later Follia which is one of the oldest remembered European musical themes. Although the theme is centred around a minor mode, the expression sways dynamically from a sombre Adagio beginning in the first movement to expansive Vivace celebratory dance in the middle movement before coming full circle to end with another Adagio.

Seah took to lighter bowing in the slower movements to a naturally spirited at the height of the Vivace movement. One of the corner stone of this piece being a La Follia lies in the beauty of the chord progression. I wonder how Thio could have contaminated it by improper chord formations in a few instances. Wrong chord is forgivable but wrong chord formation is blasphemous as they are mathematical DNA deeply ingrained in musicians all and sundry.

Cesar Franck

Thio reclaimed his reputation in the final piece Franck Sonata for Violin and Piano as out went the harpsichord and in came the piano with score and page turner in toll as well. The transition from baroque to romantic era as well as a piece with more virtuoso part for the piano compared to the two earlier pieces by Bach and Corelli providing Thio with more newsprint. Thio’s solid control over the sustain pedal needing sudden hold back was exquisitely executed. Incidentally, this piece was a wedding gift from the composer to violinist Eugene Ysaye. Ysaye performed the piece during the wedding after a hurried rehearsal accompanied by one of the wedding guest who is a pianist. I guess there is unlikely to be a lack of musician to rise to the occasion as an accompaniment in a musician wedding especially of Ysaye standing. Wedding repertoire has a special place in my musical journey having played at many weddings when I was young. Another Siamese twin to this piece you must hear is Wieniawski Légende Op 17 in G minor which was written as abetrothal in my humble opinion on my blog.

There was resounding encore and gifts of a few garland of flowers to Seah but none to Thio not that I want to rub salt to the wound further. Thio is there as an accomplice rather than the star of the show and he has done it very well as a reflector so that the lime light in on Seah. The encore Melodie for Violin and Piano by Gluck was dedicated to Seah’s mother and it is one of the pieces in her CD.

A Musical Odyssey by Lynnette Seah

To appreciate Seah’s long sojourn with Singapore Symphony Orchestra as one of the founding artist of Singapore Symphony Orchestra, do buy her CD “a musical odyssey”. The entire CD makes for good nocturnal listening pleasure. All 10 sonatas recorded at Esplande Recital Studio were sonically well done by my audiophile peers I dare venture to be presumptuous. Track 11 of Bruch Violin Concerto seems to be incidental recording lifted off a live performance at EsplanadeConcert Hall and not up to the sonic quality the audiophile community would expect.

Lastly, the audience were impeccably well informed with no inappropriate clapping between movements and seems to connect with the performers in like manner of ‘may the force be with you’ in Star War speak. You cannot hear, see or feel it but its presence is beyond a shadow of doubt.

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Beethoven on the ‘A’ Train

Be careful what you wish for as it can turn out negatively when it is granted. My wish to hear Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) perform in Victoria Concert Hall (VCH) 7 years ago at their 29^th Anniversary concert was full filled this week when she celebrated her 36^th anniversary concert at VCH. I attended the second of the 3 night repeat performance on Friday 13^th 2015 which to some is an inauspicious date but I have no such tendencies.

No one could fault SSO in choosing Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony Opus 125 in D minor “Ode to Joy” nick named “The 9^th”. The 9^th appeals not only to classical music aficionados but also enjoy universal suffrage having been transcribed into more modern renditions by the likes of Michael Jackson and many notable modern artists.

Having heard SSO under the baton of Lan Shui performing The 9^th in 2009 at Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore, he did not disappoint in terms of speed as he chose the more modern faster meter totalling just under an hour whereas performers of older vintage like Furtwangler clock up to 70 minutes. Compared to the 2009 performance, players were better prepared though a tinge of tension still hung over the orchestra. I see no reason for Lan Shui to try to catch the ‘A’ train figuratively speaking. He can afford to clock slightly past the hour whilst still keeping the grandeur and celebratory mode of the piece.

The 9^th demands both a large stage and a larger hall for the music to breathe.

The stage was so crowded that the four cellists had to sit shoulder to shoulder and they can be forgiven if they slip as there is barely room for them to maneurve. The 4 soloists were awkwardly positioned between the second violin and the brass section and their voices were drowned out by the orchestra as a result. Beautiful inter leaving between the 4 soloists and the choir were mostly lost and came across as a boutique of badly chorused flowers.

The smaller and more intimate size of the hall did not provide enough air and good mix of both direct and reflected sound waves. In audiophile speak, it is akin to how large speakers would sound in a small room generally. It’s a pity to have BBC Singers fly all the way here without the correct venue to stage the performance.

Although SSO delivered a much better performance compared to their 2009 performance, the wrong stage and hall ambience made this performance less enjoyable overall. As the refurbished VCH had only reopened recently, is definitely has the potential todeliver better sonics. Fine tuning the hall is more of an art than science and we must allow it time to mellow. As for the 'A' train thingy, Lan Shui has chosen to be in the company of modern Beethoven interpreters.

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Music, Medicine and Trout

Oil painting of Franz Schubert
by Wilhelm August Rieder (1875)

Lunch time talk with my business partner who was a doctor for many years drifted into our founder Sir Stamford Raffles suffered from syphilis which is a STD and he also kept a Chinese mistress in Singapore.

The composer of "The Trout" Franz Peter Schubert in my previous article on Omega-3 died a bachelor of syphilis. Some music historian attribute his death to typhoid perhaps to remove the shame attached.

For those who are familiar with classical music, please skip the next two paragraphs as I explain the nomenclature.

Why label great classical works with monolithic and unimaginative titles? Having a meaningful name "The Trout" is a rare honour. The technically correct name is Piano Quintet in A major D.667 and lets unravel the actual name. Piano Quintet means a Piano accompanied by a String Quartet. Quintet is a root word for 5 and therefore 5 performers. A string quartet; quartet meaning 4; normally consists of 2 Violins, Viola and Cello but Schubert had one of the two violins substitued with a double bass in this case. The line up would be Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass. The D.667 is a reference number and most commonly used as Opus except for some composers like Schubert and Bach. A WvO or Posth means no reference attached or done posthumously after the death of the composer.

The next piece to unravel are the movements. Most pieces come in 3 or 4 movements. The transition from one movement to another can be punctuated with a pause or can be stringed together with no pause. Have attended concerts where some audience clap inappropriately between movements. If unsure, follow the crowd in your next visit to a concert. The label attached to each movement normally indicates the speed, mood and other special instructions. The Trout has 5 movements in our piece are I Allegro vivace, II Andante, III Schrezo: Prestissimo, IV Andantino - Allegretto, V Allegro guisto. Most of these words are Latin in origin. Some popular musicians attach titles like Andante Cantabile without reference the composer and title which shout of their possible lack of knowledge in classical music.

The maxim dead artists are worth or cherish more after their death hold true in this piece. The piece was written when he was 22 years old but was only published 10 years later or one year after his death. The piece was commissioned by a weathy music lover Sylvester Paumgartner. In current context, it means a for profit work where the artists gets funding ( and directions ) from the customer.

Jeremy Siepmann have this to say about this work "..irresistible piece of such infectious good humour....(how a) tightly structured quartet conjure up such a crystal clear aquatic picture" which explains the special name of The Trout. Perhaps you are more more ready to dive into the entire 5 movements now and enjoy it in the process.

Trout like most oily fish is a good source of Omega-3 as opposed to whitefish. Oily fish have oil in many parts of their body and contain an avergae of 30% more oil than whitefish which only have oil in their liver.

Lastly, for the more adventerous, these are highly recommended recordings gleaned from Gramophone Classical Music Guide.

1. James Levine, Gerhard Hetzel, Wolfram Christ, Georg Faust, Alois Posch. DG 431 783-2GH DDD
2. Christian Zacharias, Leipzig Quartet (Andreas Seidel, Ivo Bauer, Matthias Moosdorf ) Christian Ockert. MDG 307 0625-1 DDD

Reaching the Pinnacle. - Janos Starker

The verdict is a difficult one but certainly drives home the point that the pinnacle is definitely not a sharp point with room for only one or few but more likely to be broader with space for a few more but certainly not a village.

Just like caveats doled out by investment peddlers that ‘past performance is no guarantee of future performance’, the same sometime applies to talented musicians that fall flat when rewarded with a promotion to first chair, concert master or conductor only to be classed as a one hit record thereafter. Such outcomes are very costly to both the organization as well as the talent. Especially for the talent, it might be a regressive step career wise that he might not recover from. Janos was one such talent but he recovered well by retreating (or more appropriately switching as neither role supersedes the other) back to “SoloShip”.

We can draw valuable lessons from both Harvard Business School case study "When a New Manager Stumbles, Who’s at Fault?" by Gordon Adler as well as the life of great cellist Janos Starker that has left us in recent past.

In the world of classical music performance, the apex is occupied by soloists or conductors. Conducting mirrors management in business world as in getting things done THROUGH people. For the conductor to do likewise, he must maintain a macro view of the music and seduce the orchestra to do his bidding. His main instrument; the baton is more likely to produce more noise than music especially in a not so abiding orchestra. Off stage, he is responsible for maintaining good human capital hygiene and leadership for the orchestra. With strong anecdotal evidence that musicians in general are more eccentric does not make the task simpler. Add the idiosyncrasies of the conductor and multiplicity of viewpoints as music is more of an art than science and you have an enigmatic brew in the making. It is a great wonder that we have so much great music made under such circumstances.

The path to a conducting career is made after being good but not necessarily great or greatest in one or more instruments of which violin and piano are the most common. Generally they will work their way to first chair. For violinist, there is a promotion to concert master just a grade below a conductor but the differential is liken to heaven and hell. Most great conductors like Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado have never been featured as soloist or first chair and might not know ground zero that well. On the other hand, we have Vladimir Ashkenazy started life as pianist and profess he never aspired to be a conductor but got into it by 'accident'. Nikolaus Harnoncourt was bred from a rare specie; tympanist, to a conductor. Mstislav Rostropovich like Starker, started life as cellist for which the path to enlightenment is that of a celebrated soloist rather than a conductor.

I always have a soft spot for Rostropovich as he is such a warm and humble person to be around. On the other hand, I am less forgiving in the case of Starker for his smarty two pants persona. In addition, Rostropovich has stood up for political causes repeatedly with little or no private agendas except with very genuine and emotive tears of joy or sadness depending on the occasion. Unlike most Russian musicians of his era that seek political at the earliest opportunity, his was the reverse as the Russian government renounced his citizenship. I think his love for motherland Russia is deep as he returned to Russia once his citizenship was reinstated.

Starker is quite a departure from the norm in more ways than one with a mostly technical and stoic posturing on stage and sanguine and opinionated off stage. He openly said in one of the press interviews that "Conductors are the most over rated" of all musicians. I can see where this might have originated as there were a few occasions that the conductor walked out mid way through a performance forcing the concert master to take over for varied reasons. Some of which are the orchestra working against him or divergent views with the soloist. A conductor once made a public proclamation before the piece that he had very different view of the music from the soloist but allowed the soloist view to prevail. This actually happened to the famous but queer Canadian pianist Glenn Gould unsurprisingly. This view point does hold some truths in a limited sense in a corporate setting. Most companies will continue to function in the short to medium with the COO, CFO or a board member taking the role temporarily if the CEO takes leave suddenly.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Starker's conducting career was a bit 747 heavy and did not quite take off in aeronautic speak perhaps because of the much higher expectation placed on him as an already famous cellist. However, he got his just reward in winning a Grammy award for his highly stoic and technical recording of Bach cello suites. Winning a Grammy is a rare occasion for classical musician and some sour grapes attribute it to his friendly relations with the press.

Peter Lye aka lkypeter
Safe HarborPlease note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copyrights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

Henryk Szeryng and Brahms Violin Concerto in D minor Opus 77

Henryk Szeryng (Photo credit:Wikipedia)

I bought Brahms symphonic works set by Decca with Bernard Haitink conducting Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) for the 4 symphonies and it was on sale. While browsing in the comfort of my home, (model customer buying without testing and much forethought) opus 77 caught my sight being one of my favorite pieces having written a review of it previously. Was pleasantly surprised by the very crisp tonality (not necessarily a plus point) of solo violinist Henryk Szeryng with Bernard Haitink conducting RCO.

This recording is a recent remastering by Decca of the original by Philips and expected a darker background but there is still evidence of tape hiss which disappeared once the beautiful music lure you away from it. The remastering engineer could have decided to sacrifice a bit of the tape hiss for a more full bodied sound as I have heard some remastering that are clinical but lacked energy.

For more background on this composition, refer to my previous review so there is no need to repeat it.

This piece most probably have a special place in Szeryng heart being his coming of age first public performance in 1933 with his motherland orchestra; Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. Like most Polish, Szeryng is a Jew but was spared the horror of 2nd world war holocaust. During the war, he made over 300 appearances to cheer the Allied Forces on top of helping about 4,000 Jewish refugee in their passage to Mexico in 1941.

Specific to this interpretation, I particularly like the grand entrance by Szeryng that is controlled without maximum volume. It is beyond words and you should listen it yourself. The cadenza might not have the technical mastery of Heifetz but is waxed lyrical with the beautifully executed phrasing. As this is an audio, I can only try to imagine what Szeryng did during the famously long break for the soloist while the wood winds take centre stage in the second movement. Wonder if any soloist has ever missed the timely return? It is also for this reason why some violinist stay away from this piece.

Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Copyrights of all contents in this blog belongs to Peter Lye unless stated otherwise.

Janos Starker-Highly Complex Muscian

Hugarian Jewish cellist Janos Starker. (photo credit: courtesy)

Of late, I seems to be writing tributes to public figures like Margaret Thatcher. When news of famous cellist Janos Starker death on 28 April 2013 reached me, writing a tribute to this great musician has been on must do list.

Thanks to marketing hype, Yo-Yo Ma rings most bells and some might ask who is Starker. Ma is sort of a crossover performing both popular and classical music that reaches a larger audience.It includes performances in key events like the inauguration of president Barack Obama which was inflamed by voice over tactics having criticized China of the same during the Beijing Olympics.

In China's case, it was a straight forward case as both the recorded voice talent and the live performer were two different persons; Yang Peiyi and Lin Miaoke respectively. The USA presidential staff defended their move ferociously stating categorically that it was not voice over as the artist and performers were the same person and the 'mixing' of the two was due to strong wind conditions that could decapitate the microphones. The first few rows of audience clearly heard the dissonance and it quickly became news. Whether it was a lame excuse to ensure near perfect performance or otherwise, only God knows.

My knowledge of Starker is gleaned from his recordings as well as second hand accounts from the media. Cellists are most probably a distant second only to violinists in terms of works to show case them on the pedestal. These works can be classed as solos, sonatas and concertos. Some of the famous cellists both past and present includes Rostropovich, Piatigorsky, Maisky,DuPre and Casals that popularize Bach Cello Suites which the general public might hear excerpts of as background music. Starker won a Grammy award for his recording of this much recorded piece which says volumes of his skills.

Starker's parentage were both of Jewish stock with father of Hungarian and mother of Ukrainian descent. During the Second World War, he cheated death although he was interned in a Nazi prison that deeply affected him as he made much reference to it thereafter. Without being racist, even Adolf Hilter listens to records by Jewish musicians when they found records of them in his personal bunker.

He was a child prodigy and much sought after during his life time. It saddens me that such a great musician spent his final days in a hospice in Bloomington, Indiana USA instead of his home according to New York Times corrigendum who thought he died in his home instead at a ripe old age of 88. Plus he is survived by many close ones like his two daughters, three grand children and his second wife. His first marriage ended in divorce like most talented musician perhaps due to their idiosyncrasies.

Starker's persona seems like polar opposites to his musical style. He was well known for his technical mastery sometimes edging on being a stoic. He recounted in an interview with Internet Cello Society in 1996 that he is a musician, not an actor and criticizing some musicians for acting like making love to themselves on stage. To add leanness to this, he was judicious in the use of vibrato which only gain fade in recent past. Excessive vibrato is like women smearing lipstick on their face according to him. This was an interesting conjecture as he lost the top place to his student Ivan Janzer in a Geneva Cello Competition in 1946 on account of technical accuracy. This did not dampen the teaching aspect of his career as he himself remarked that he cannot perform without teaching and cannot teach without performing.

Just as well that this humiliating episode happened early in this life as humility wass certainly not in his dictionary. Fellow peer Rostropovich shared this about Starker “What I’d like to see is a little more humility and dignity displayed towards our art, and less self-aggrandizement,” in a 1980 interview with People Magazine.On one occasion reported by The Telegraph, he remarked that Rostropovich is more famous but he is a greater cellist. For Jacqueline DuPre whose life was cut short by multiple sclerosis, his view being that she gave too much of her life to music until there was not much left.

This off stage behavior was not only limited to his peers but also to conductors.He was quoted by New York Times reporters that "conductors are the most overrated musician" having cross swords with giants like Herbert von Karajan and Eugene Ormandy. In the case of Ormandy, the feud lasted 30 years after a joint performance of Die Fledermaus on account that Ormandy did not know the score according to Starker. The verdict on who rules the stage; conductor or soloist will never cast in stone. My own opinion is more about harmony as well as seducing rather than forcing each other into their agendas.

Cigarettes and Scotch were his other habits or rather addictions as he keeps them close with him always. It was rumored that he once cancelled a concert as the hall imposed a strict no smoking rule.

Which was his real character? As expressed by his music or his off stage character? You be the judge.

Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 Opus 107-A long wait

Good things are worth the wait cannot be more true than in the case of Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 composed in 1959 and dedicated to Rostropovich. Rostropovich had been yearning for Shostakovich to write him a cello concerto but had to harbor it secretly on advisement of Shostakovich's first wife Nina. When asked by Rostropovich how to ask Shostakovich to write him a cello concerto, her advice was not to mention or even hint anything about it. It must have been a long wait as Nina passed away in 1954 and the composition was only realized in 1959; at least a good 5 years. Many did not realize that it was such a long wait until we put the time-line together. When the composition arrived, Rostropovich received it with such enthusiasm by committing it to memory in a matter of 4 days.

Shostakovich was teacher to Rostropovich I believe for orchestration in the 1940s and he certainly held a deep respect for his teacher. When interviewed by The Strad in their May 1959 issue by M.B.Stanfield, his account of the Shostakovich and Prokofiev cello concertos as "They are supreme masterpieces and one cannot expect all music to come up to their standard" says it all.

Both Shostakovich and Rostropovich share a common trait in having a heavy dose of Russian politics intertwined into their musical career. Shostakovich did it mainly through his composition and Rostropovich his stellar cello performance. Shostakovich had many brushes with Stalin having been publicly denounced by Stalin and thereafter living in paranoia fear of death as people who cross path with Stalin have a habit of disappearing from the face of the earth. Although he outlived Stalin who died in 1953, the mental torture has left a debilitating mark on his psychological landscape as evident in many mysterious and unexplainable passages in his compositions. It was mentioned in passing that the fear of death might have been a greater torture than death itself.

As for Rostropovich, it could have been a soul born in the wrong country so to speak as he was very much a libertarian at heart living in communist Russia. In-spite of this, he had great love for motherland Russia choosing to return once his revoked Russian citizenship was restored and was laid to rest in Russia. Some of his landmark political highlights including performing in London in 1968 on the day when Russian tanks rolled into Poland. There was widespread protest at the concert but Rostropovich continued playing Polish composer Dvorak piece with tears in his eyes. The second significant event this time of his choosing was an impromptu basking in front of the Berlin wall in 1989 when the wall came down.

As with most Shostakovich composition, there is little explanation or narration giving the performer and audience almost total free play in interpreting the music with little or no point of reference save for the historical canvas against which it was written in. My main aim in the review of this cello concerto is to provide that backdrop so that you can enjoy the music more deeply in whichever way you heart bring you as there are enough exposition on the music itself.

Briefly, the piece has the signature Shostakovich motif DSCH written all over the piece. Mainstream opinion that it is only a translation of his name could be too simplistic for this four note motif. I think this queasy four note motif that pervades most of his work has a very deep meaning of a man that has gone through much psychological torture and the equation to his name could be a mere coincidence.

This four movement piece also has a unique feature of having the third movement almost exclusively a cadenza. The possible raison detre is to hall mark the piece as a virtuoso to allow Rostropovich latitude to display his prowess. In reviewing the piece with Shostakovich, Rostropovich has told him not to worry about the outer limits of the cello and just let his soul lead the way. This also explain why this piece is one of the more technically challenging piece amongst the limited cello concerto repertoire.

In the last movement, there lies a distorted version of Suliko song which is a favorite of the now dead Stalin. Perhaps it is meant as a mockery of Stalin than a respectful acknowledgement. Unfortunately, he has brought it to the grave without mentioning anything about it.

Lastly Shostakovich has mentioned personally that he drew much inspiration of this piece from Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante but perhaps my limited understanding of Prokofiev music has me finding it hard to see the relationship between the two. Maybe my love for Shostakovich music as this juncture has to do with the circumstances I am embroiled in.

Some of the recordings I have listened to while writing this article are as follows and it is not in any particular order of preference or merit.

1. Mstislav Rostropovich, Seiji Ozawa, London Symphony Orchestra
2. Mstislav Rostropovich, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, USSR State Symphony Orchestra

3. Mstislav Rostropovich, Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra
4. Yo-Yo Ma, Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra
5. Heinrich Schiff, Maxim Shostakovich, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
6. Jiri Barta, Maxim Shostakovich, Prague Symphony Orchestra
7. Alexander Ivashkin, Valeri Polyansky, Moscow Symphony Orchestra

8. Frans Helmerson, Valeri Polyansky, Moscow Symphony Orchestra

9. Mischa Maisky, Tilson Thomas, London Symphony Orchestra

Brahms Violin Concerto Opus 77-The Heart Strings Concerto

Heart strings concerto because after listening about 5 versions of this piece, I was getting increasingly emotive. I was definitely not sure whether it is melancholy, romanticism, anger, triumph or perhaps a combination of them. Perhaps, I should change my will to have this played during my funeral, or over a romantic dinner or perhaps over a deeply philosophical reflective canvass. It did not help that Brahms did little commentary to help in the interpretation except dedicating to great hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim who was introduced to Brahms by another hungarian violinist Eduard Remenyi. Both violinists contributed much to this piece as Brahms was primarily a pianist but it was Joachim that premiered and gained most of the recognition for his contribution. My recommendation for enjoying this wonderful piece is against a dimly lighted room with a glass of full body and long finish french red wine and allow your mind and body to relax. Just in case, I am not an alcoholic.

Remenyi was no ordinary person and supported the Hungarian revolution of 1848-1849 and had to leave Hungary as a result. Career wise, though with less limelight than Joachim, he was a notably successful violinist with calling cards that included solo violinist to Queen Victoria. Remenyi was mostly remembered for dropping dead in the midst of giving a concert in San Francisco.

Although there is some evidence from various correspondents that Brahms intended it to be a 4 movement piece with a scherzo in between but the final product was a 3 movement piece. As with most Brahms music, there is little guesswork on the authoritative source as Brahms made sure only the final piece remains and discarded all work in progress.

The cadenza has about 16 versions by musicians like Leopold Auer, Henri Marteau, Max Reger, Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, George Enescu, Nigel Kennedy, Rachel Barton Pine and Ruggiero Ricci. On this count, it could be classed as a virtuoso show piece rather than a symphonic work. A symphonic work is most probably more appropriate as it comes with a 90 bar introduction by the orchestra and also a pretty substantial melody line on the oboe in the second movement. When attending a concert of this piece, be prepared to see the solo violinist standing doing nothing there for a good part of the work.

Joan Chissell seems to imply that this concerto was written by Brahms to bridge the quarrel with Joachim for openly siding with Amalie Schneeweiss during her divorce proceedings in 1880. It is more likely for the another Brahms piece Double Concerto opus 102 composed in 1887 as an apology instead. Not exactly sure why Brahms remained single although he claimed that his love for music is too overwhelming to accommodate another love for a wife. However, he seems to be associated with wives of his friend like Clara Schumann in addition to Joachim's divorce.

The piece was premiered on 1st January 1879 by Joachim as soloist and Brahms conducting at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. There were two major views on the program for that concert based on historical records. This is not uncommon even in modern day concerts due to no-show or last minute logistical problems for the actual concert to vary with the program. The majority view was the concert went as per the program note with Beethoven Violin Concerto in D opus 61 for the first half and Brahms Violin Concerto also in D major opus 77 for the second half. This was most probably Joachim's idea to have a more familiar piece by Beethoven to pave the way for the new work as Brahms clearly preferred it the other way. The second view held by Charles O'Connell with the concert consisting of Beethoven 7th symphony and a handful of other minor works. This seems highly unlikely as it would have stretched beyond the normal duration of a concert.

My favorite movement is the subdued second movement with the woodwinds dominated introduction that moves my heart strings greatly. Another favorite part is the cadenza part of the first movement where the soloist can demonstrate their skills. The third movement provides a contrast to the first 2 movements but I cannot finger it as being celebratory, anger or triumph.

This piece is classed as one of the four great German violin concertos along with those by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Bruch. As such, it is also recorded by many artists but I would limit it to those I have heard and personally like it. Actually the inclusion of Mendelssohn can be a joke as the name itself is as Jewish as can be but he converted away from Judaism though.

For the more recent recordings, the two pieces that comes to mind are Joshua Bell and Julia Fischer. Another recording that has been highly acclaimed is Anne-Sophie Mutter second recording with Kurt Masur in 1997 after the death of her husband in 1995 as one of the more emotive perhaps emitting from her personal grief. As for the more dated recordings, I like Nathan Milstein second recording with conductor Eugene Jochum and David Oistrakh recording with Pierre Fournier. I understand from literature that Milstein first recording in mono is supposedly one of the best but I cannot comment as I have not heard it.

Here are the albums:

Peter Lye aka lkypeter

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