What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. X)

Shine on your crazy diamond

Van Morrison "Keep It Simple"

Tracy Grammer "Flower of Avalon"

Tori Amos "A Piano: The Collection"  Disc C

Emil Gilels: Live Recording 9 August 1976 from the Salzburger Festspiele

Ludwig van Beethoven:

Piano Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31 no 1

Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat major, Op. 26

Robert Schumann:

Toccata in C major, Op. 7

Johannes Brahms:

Four Ballades, Op. 10

Robert Schumann:

Arabeske in C major, Op. 18

Emil Gilels is one of my favourite pianists so I pick up whatever I can.  Interpretation is always second to none but sonics of the recording are not ideal.

Richard Thompson "Celtschmerz: Live UK '98"

Pierre Fournier (Cello), Franz Holetschek (Piano):  Live Recording 3 August 1958 from the Salzburger Festspiele

Another great instrumentalist, Pierre Fournier ranks up there with the best.  Even though the cello playing is that from another time you can trust it for its own sensibilities.  Sonically though, the Gilels is just so much better in comparison.  Again, performance is there but for me fairly hindered by the sonics that we have.  Still, glad to have the recording as a document of times past.  Better to have a marginal recording of a great musician than forego all recordings that are hampered by poor sonics.  Being in the audience to hear these concerts would have been incredible.

My real motivation for this particular disc came after I noticed that one of my scores of the Debussy (International Music Company) was edited by Pierre Fournier so I thought it would be interesting to hear him.

Harvest Black Label rip to HDX. Sounds superb. G

Clavecin pour le matin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tenr-eYC5CU

The 1st two in my 45rpm singles/EPs session.

Mikhail Pletnev in Person (Piano) 

Date of Recording: 06/1998 
Venue:  Villa Senar, Weggis, Lucerne 

If you like the playing of Pletnev you will appreciate this disc.  I know I do.

In the world of interpretations you have every view under the sun from those who focus on only the notes but have no emotion or personality to those who have only personality but no intellect.  I enjoy whatever I hear from Pletnev as I would categorize him as someone who somehow delivers such musically focused performances with personality and is intellectually supremely gifted.  The combination for me is unbeatable.  Most of the very greats have this trait.

What I am implying is that most performers have to reach the first level of merely being competent with learning the notes.  Many believe that this is where it is at and ends here since intellectuals believe the music stems only from the notes.  Don't add anything to this recipe as the notes speak for themselves.

Most musicians, if they will themselves, can deliver a non-intrusive, mediocre, generic bland type of playing and meet this standard.  Problem is that everyone, within degrees, starts to sound the same.  It is like a great army of millions of marching soldiers - all making the same movements with exactness, all dressed in the same uniform, all following a very strict formula.  Fall out of line and you will be picked on and chastised because you are different.

For me, the breath of fresh air comes when you have performers such as Edwin Fischer, Gilels, Richter, Horowitz, Brendel, Kempff, Gould, Argerich, Perahia etc. etc. give you an interpretation that is so sincere and reflects who they are and their vision (not mine as the receiver).  Listening to someone else's views means I should not be imposing my views back at them.  The other amazing reality is that it is very near impossible to copy the playing of these great visionaries.  Everyone starts with the same score of notes on a page.  What you hear is so convincing that you can't argue with it.  Then you go to your instrument and find that is near magic what they have created as you cannot replicate what they can do.  It is not written in the score.  The score is only a guideline, a starting point to a different world.

If you can believe what is written then Pletnev is in the league of those rare individuals who is technically unchallenged and simply places his hands on the keyboard and his mental vision of what he wants to convey musically is accomplished.  Stories are told and the impossible seems possible.  From what I hear, I believe this too.

Two to start my Singles/ EP weekend..

An all time favourite of mine. Disc one from the Complete Columbia Albums Collection. This is now the third copy I have of this particular Mahavishnu album, but this also contains a live recording of 'The Noonward Race' recorded at the Mar y Sol festival, April 3, 1972. CD ripped to NS01, streaming through the NDS.

White Crane - good luck then, yours truly

White Crane is an Indie Rock Band from Münster/Germany.
Firmly rooted in the 90s, their music sits somewhere in ...between 90s Emo and melodic Indie sounds. The first EP "good luck then, yours truly" has been released on July, 3rd 2013. By now, you can get it for free (or name your price)...

http://whitecrane.bandcamp.com/music 

Gun - Race With The Devil

Ten Years After - Love Like A Man

Derek & The Dominos - Layla

The Yardbirds - For Your Love

All 45rpm original singles.

Paddy Casey "Amen (So Be It)"

Not everyone's idea of a Carly Simon album.  Age is showing in the voice but it is such an honest and raw recording. A live feeling which get's straight to the music imho. G

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0sBwFV-eto