Sunday 25 September 2005

Five hours this weekend listening to ... Mozart; the complete sonatas and variations for piano & violin, from K 296 to K 547. A very enjoyable way to spend five hours! Players were Vaclav Snitil and Jan Panenka; Panenka surprised me, since I had always considered him a kind of Czech Emmanuel Bay but, on this CD set, he plays with verve and sparkle. This is my third complete set of the Mozart sonatas (all sent to me by others). There is Joseph Silverstein and Derek Han, and Oscar Shumsky and Artur Balsam. From recollection, both are as good as the Snitil / Panenka set. Three fine sets!

Wednesday 21 September 2005

Seized once again by Georg Friderik Haendel; this time by Saul in the new vigorous recording by René Jacobs. Very fine music indeed. The performance and recording are great, but one suspects that the desire to get all the 150 minutes on to just two CDs means that some of the pieces are brisker than might be thought desirable. Still, glorious music well performed. Handel is definitely up with my front runners when it comes to listening for enjoyment.

Sunday 11 September 2005

My first internet-download CD: Philippe Koch playing morceaux de salon by Vieuxtemps. CD created with no problems, and music is most enjoyable in the background.