Beethoven. Eroica Symphony. Cluytens.

It is a fact that one has to leave a door open for other possibilities no matter how much experience or knowledge one accumulated. When I thought that I heard everything that is to be heard and everything that is to be understood about Beethoven's great 3rd symphony, another recording comes along and proves that this infinitely reach piece of music can provide land for new discoveries and revelations. This new recording comes from the French conductor Andre Cluytens. He has as musical vector the great Berliner Philharmoniker, already, at the time, Karajan's orchestra and already an extremely well-polished instrument. Strangely or not, the Berliners play for Cluytens better than they did for their director. They sound more refined and elastic than under the baton of the Austrian master. And I think part of the reasons can be found  in the artistic personality of Cluytens as we'll see below.

The first thing that impressed my musical brain was the fundamental rhythm that sustains the whole musical edifice. It's as commendatory as the pulse of life itself. It takes the power of concentration and the logic of a master to accomplish such a consistent musical foundation. The phrasing is as accurate and makes the individual ideas and the fine interplay between them come forth with utter eloquence. Mindful power drives a character play that keeps you on the edge of the seat.

It is difficult to imagine that such a powerful statement could be made after the profound versions of the likes of Furtwangler, Wallter, or Klemperer, yet Cluytens manages to change all the lenses and provide a marvelous construction that brings the great masterpiece in front of the auditory with magnificent clarity and beautiful musical drive.

Karajan and the Strauss Family

Strauss family music is for most the introduction in the universe of classical music. Beautiful melodies of an intoxicating dance sweep everyone in the uniquely rich sound of a symphonic orchestra. However that is just the first step. Once you get passed the surface beauty you start discovering that not even what seem leasure pieces are not interpreted equally by the masters of the baton. And one step further you realize that a lot of the interpretations leave a lot to be desired.

As such, myself, as probably a lot of you, I began a journey to find the recordings that do justice to both the wonderful dance and the huge amount of skilful music. The journey stopped at Herbert von Karajan. From the greats he is the one that manages to recreate the entire personality of these creations. He brings them to life and makes them vibrant, elegant, and seductive in the most charming way. Whether with the help of the magnificent begemoth that was the Berliner Philharmoniker or through the infinitely subtle and elegant voice of the Wiener Philharmoniker Strauss's music comes to life in the most amazing way.

I chose to illustrate one of the numerous meeting of HvK with the Strausses with one of the most emotional documents: the recording of the New Year's Concert in Vienna, in 1987, just two years before his death.

Every virtue that Karajan version of the numerous pieces you find in this recording is enriched here with the energy and thrill of a live event of such magnitude. Every voice in the orchestra can be heard perfectly, in a fine texture that upholsters a powerful pulse of perfect rythm. Elegance and brilliance, gorgeous tone and mesmerizing power, music serious to the bone and an unfailing sense of humour that knows when to let everybody smile and enjoy the beautiful ballroom enthusiasm.

I am not saying that nobody does it better, but for me is the version that makes everything pale and boring. Grace, elegance, power, fun, and thrill in an uniquely skilful interpretation.

Perlman on Paganini, Tone and brilliance

It may look like quite a leap the jump from Beethoven's Piano Concertos to Paganini, yet this is about another titan among the great soloists of our time: Itzhak Perlman. For Paganini fans and for Perlman fans as well these two names aer strongly linked through the great recording of Paganini Caprices by Perlman. However it is not the subject of our meeting today. The subject comes from the recording of Paganini Violin Concerto No. 1.

Most likely one of the greatest achievements of Paganini, the composer, this concerto is a very interesting mix of virtuosity, pure energy, and tenderness. It is, as such a very difficult piece for the interpreter as well as for the listener. Play like a madman and you loose its soul and it becomes tiring. Don't take it seriously and it makes no sense. The technical difficulty is self-implied, given the composer, yet the emotional difficulty is hidden and even more demanding. In 1972, the year of this recording, Perlman was at the height of his powers and a profound musician as you know him. Consequently, this recording is a great spectacle. The technical fireworks are displayed with high energy and enthusiasm, while the lingering passages are exposed with great sensibility. It's in this passages that Perlman produces an intoxicating tone from his wonderful violin. It is this tone that is the landmark of this recording. Full-bodied, round, powerful and soul-filling tone. I remember him in the movie on the great violinists of the last century comparing the piano and violin playing, noting that a violinist has to work to produce the tone that for the piano is implied. He is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest craftsmen in this field that ever lived. And it is the way he puts this gorgeous tone in the service of profoundly meaningful music-making that makes this recording the best, as far as I am concerned.

The filling of this cd is another great recording that displays the same qualities: Carmen Fantasie by Sarasate. It is again a great achievement. Energy, spirit, technical show-off, profound understanding of this very emotional piece. It is, for many, the reason to buy this cd. One of the few very best if not the very best recording.

As it's all about hearing his violin in the best possible way allow me to suggest to you the remastering JVC made of this recording. The XRCD that resulted has the best possible sound a regular cd can have and I recommend you find the xrcd version of the recording to enjoy the music and the music-making to its fullest.

Beethoven Piano Concertos - Two cycles

Once again, dear friends, we come back to Beethoven Piano Concertos. No wonder, as such genius-filled masterpieces speak differently each day and even more so at different age. Even more so as all the pianists that reached the climax of their artistic power try to penetrate the world of these masterpieces and bring Beethoven's soul to light.

In the continous wondering through archives of recorded music I came across two complete cycles from two living giants of our time: Murray Perahia and Alfred Brendel. The temptation was to great to put these two head to head as a couple of very interesting differences emerge at a closer look. Murray Perahia is at full maturity and comes with an impecable record of recording classics (his Mozart cycle is a landmark). Alfred Brendel is enjoying a glorious sunset and has all the insight and experience that only a full and accomplished life can give you. Perahia's is his first take on these magnificent works, while Brendel is at his third, the one of full maturity.

My intention is not to make an anatomical dissection of each concert. Instead I would like to share with you the overall "feeling" of each set and try to grasp the untouchables that make them so unique in themselves and so different from each other. The first thing you notice is the compeltely different setup that each conductor creates for their soloists. On one side you have Haitink, with a long history of great cycles on his portfolio (the great one with Claudio Arrau should be in every collection), creates a roman cathedral of sound (Hegel said beautifully and extremely inspired that architecture is frozen music) classic to the bones and with a cold crisp mind that doesn't allow any emotional getaway. On the other side is Rattle, that finds spirit and emotion in every bar and allows music to sing of human experiences in the most profound and "classical" way. It's like building musically Sagrada Familia withholding nothing back. With great orchestras to match their impeccable conception (Royal Concertgebouw and Wiener Philharmoniker respectively) the stage is set for the full manifestation of their soloists creative prowess.

A magnificent tour the force on both sides they couldn't be more different nor more true to Beethoven's music. Perahia is displaying in perfect technique all the lines and reliefs of Beethoven's music. Everything is in right place perfectly finished and leaving no room for improvement. And while building like a great master mason of ancient times he manages to bring forth with utter power of conviction all the inner humanity that Beethoven engraved in his music. A mastery achievement I hope you agree with me. And when you think that nothing else can be said in every concert along comes Brendel's mind blowing account of these works. He starts from the other end. He puts together every bit of human emotion and piece of mind building, at times with spine chilling freedom of creation, an entire world that makes sense and is so soul searching. he's life work with these masterpieces gives the liberty to nuance to molecular levels every musical idea in the all so clear construction that takes form under your amazed eyes as music unfolds. In the end you have the same intense feeling of Beethoven being in the same room with you. Almost the same effect in both cycles but with such a different approach.

It is so conforting to have the mature and complete version of the conception of two great musicians at the end of their carrers, Haitink in one set and Brendel in the other. It is equally conforting to know that this great music will have more to say in the future in the hands of Perahia and Rattle, as I am pretty sure that they will come back to these works again.

Harman Kardon Citation, absolute music

The search for the perfect interpretation of a masterpiece is, for many, paralleled by the search of that combination of audio gear that will bring that recording to life. I come back with a review of music making machines as I feel they deserve it.

It all started with the pretty lucky acquisition of a Harman Kardon Citation Seventeen. When I first saw it the almost fourty years of age were pretty obvious on this glorious machine until I touched and turned a couple of times the volume knob. The feeling of perfectly spaced steps spoke about a machine that made history. The work needed to make it look young once again wasn't much and soon it sat in the company of valuable team mates (the likes of Sony TA-N80ES and Infinity Rennaisance 90) and made music in a way I couldn't think possible. Unbelievable all the way. I will not go on and blab in all sorts of "audiophile" terms. I will only tell you that there is one word that describes this machine almost perfectly: space. Amazingly wide space and a gorgeous clean air filling it. It trasnports you immediately in the middle of a beautiful garden with no walls in sight and places with surgical precision all the instruments of a recording at their designated places. And they sound so natural as being happy of being liberated. It is like it is disolving itself in music and music is all that's left.
Absolute timbre fidelity, efortless dynamics, the ease of adding new instruments to a larger than life sonic picture were so effective that music became instanly a drug. You needed your continous intravenous dose in order to be able to keep going.

Needless to say that impressed to the bones by the work of Matty Ottala and Sidney Harman back in the days I made a pledge to bring along him a worthy family member to work their magic as they're supposed to. After intense detectivistic work and with mandatory percent of luck I managed to find a Harman Kardon Citation Twelve Deluxe in pristine condition. The joy was second just to the impatience of finally putting them together. But that day came and the equation of happiness finally had a solution. And what a solution this is. It is indeed a wonderful brother of the Seventeen. They share the same qualities. The twelve just takes that amazing space with every detail that seventeen so beautifully recreates and pushes them to forward with the authority and self-confidence of a great conductor. But donn't get me wrong. It is as "invisible" as its broher. You are not aware it's there. It just takes the gorgeous musical universe its brother creates and magnifies it in a completely undistorted manner. And it does it with the same unbelievable ease and lack of strain. Every nuance, every bit of directional energy, every single note, no matter what produces it is propelled so naturally.

Needless to say that from the moment the Harman Kardon family reunited in my listening setup music became as necessary as air and I rediscover the essence of the genius that went into the great musical masterpieces and their interpreters.

Mozart and Bach with Clara Haskil, finding a jewel

From time to time a big discovery just happens and lightens your entire day. There where you thought that nothing else is left to be found you come across a jewel. That was my strong feeling when I stumbled upon this cd. Everything on the cd is top notch yet one of the concertos is the jewel I am talking about.The Mozart's concerto for two pianos and orchestra in E flat minor, KV 365. I heard before with Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia and that was a very rewarding recording. However the recording on this disc is on a completely different level.

First just a few words about the conductor of this concerto, as I think he is one of the most underrated conductors. I made his acquaintance through the recording of the Barber of Seville with Callas and Gobbi, and, since then, every recording I heard proved him to be a great conductor. He has a gift of injecting life in everything he plays that is most gratifying. And this is also the case here. He accompanies his soloists in perfect style, creating with his orchestra a well defined and nourishing environment for the two-fair musical play. Lively, Mozartean to the bone, with very fine detail and phrasing he leaves very little to be desired. His orchestra, the famed Philharmonia of that period, is in top shape and responds beautifully to its inspiring conductor. A very solid performance from them.

The soloists are both very distinguished interpreters of Mozart piano music, especially Clara Haskil. The Romanian pianist, already a prominent figure of the piano at the time of this recording, has a very special affinity towards Mozart's music and a extremely effective way of transmitting it through the keyboard. All her well-established qualities are manifest to the full in this recording. The phrasing, the punctuation of the melodic lines, the careful choice of tempi and the overall expression, everything makes for an authentic Mozart expression. Her musical intelligence is enveloping and transposes you in the thoughtful silence beyond the music. Geza Anda is a most competent partner. He understands this music with similar depth and manags to express it with a beautiful style and tone.

But what makes this recording really amazing is the outstanding quality of the blend between all those implicated. It is as all of the musical ideas were put into a furnace and the essence poured evenly through all the instruments. The pianos, both individually and their dialogue are so beautiful and so similar, and their musical expression is so right that listening to them creates goose-bumps. The flow of the musical ideas is so logic and so soul-bound that, at least in my mind they created a separate world where I could hardly wait for the next discovery behind a bush of roses. A wealth of musical pictures all beautifully shaped, characterized, and presented with an graceful, unobtrusive vital force behind them. A complete artistical experience indeed.

Beecham, style and elegance

Schubert is one composer that at least I took lightly in the beginning. Completely immersed in the profound musical dramaturgy of Beethoven's music and bewildered by the genial creativity of Mozart, Schubert was at the periphery of my musical interest. He didn't meet the criteria of any of the things I just discovered and understood in music.
Fortunately, with time, I came to realize what a great composer Schubert was. His music, now, is a continuous source of delight and profound excursion into the soul of man. As usual, getting the grip of ones compositions generates the search for the interpretation that brings the most out of it to ones best understanding. Unexpectedly, the search proved to be very difficult. It is very hard to manage grace, rhythm, elegance, yet undemonstrative masculinity, relentless pace yet relaxation and contemplation. And the recorded leagcy is a prove to that. However, sooner or later, one comes across the masters of Schubertian music. With a very rewarding stop at Bohm's recordings, and a nice breakaway with Carlos Kleiber (about all of them, soon on the lists), I came to Sir Thomas Beecham, said by many to be the Master of this music. And I must say that I couldn't agree more.

His recorded legacy on Schubert is present in two cd's: one coming from EMI in their Great Recordings of the Century series (comprising the 3rd, the 5th, and the 8th) and the other one from Sony (1st, 2nd, and 8th). Perfectly listenable sound on both cds and what proof of music making. Beecham manages an almost perfect blend of all the attributes mentioned above. His orchestra (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, his own creation) responds with all their hearts and minds to Beecham demands and the result is delightful. Just listen to the unimposing elegance in the strings at the beginning of the 5th symphony and the conception and perfect execution of the orchestra is obvious. It is hard to point out certain moments as all the symphonies form uniform bodies, perfectly carved in sound. Incredible insight governs Beechams choice of tempi and phrasing. He carefully puts the accents and injects energy in the right spots managing to keep things balanced and make everything sound light but serious, smiling with confidence, coming forward with being aggressive, describing nice landscapes without becoming self indulgent or dreamy. In Beecham's

hands Schubert's music is on the verge of ethereal never falling to the ineffable. It is as real as it gets and actually it conveys an energy that moves every bit of sensible matter inside you.

So, here I stand, achubert's music is brought to light close to perfection by the nother guy saying that Beecham is great in Schubert or that great British conductor. Give it a try and have his take on this wonderful, youthful musical masterpieces. You won't be dissappointed. Maybe you look for something slightly different in this music but nevertheless Beecham will bring so much that it will be so worthwhile.

Klipschorn, an audio nirvana

When one listens to music as a consuming hobby then, sooner or later, one comes to search for the audio equipment that brings music to life to the best of his auditive apparatus knowledge. My search started a good decade ago and since I had the chance to run over and to listen to some exquisite music machines. The last great encounter happened last week, when I had the chance to audition the famed design of Paul Klipsch, the Klipschorns and Belle. And what a setup that was as their owner, Kerry, had not two but four Klipschorns serving as fronts and backs and Belle, serving a center channel. A huge surround setup, will you agree, and a even huger satisfaction source for my thirsty musical brain.

For a guy with such great taste in speakers you would expect a great musical program and that's exactly what we got. We listened to Tchaikovsky's Marche Slave with the Kiev Philharmonic, to Dave Brubeck Quartet and its Take Five, to concert performances from Cream and Nirvana. First thing first. The Klipschorns provide an unique musical experience. Their effortless rendition of every instrumental nuance on a huge and precise sonorous soundstage is the first thing that strikes you. No meter how big the Kiev orchestra got the speakers just poured the music into the room. Hearing them was like seeing Pavarotti sing. They conveyed every nuance of the very rhythmic piece with tight and generous dynamics. That was the second thing that struck me and it adds to the sense of ease these big speakers breathe. I heard the air in between the instruments, I heard every instrument alive and natural with every nuance the soloists gave them making everything a very emotionally involving experience.

With Dave Brubeck enormously famous Take five the speakers showed another one of their multiple beautiful virtues. The sax was enveloping. I never heard this instrument like that from a speaker. The reproduction was so complete that you actually could hear all the microscopic inflections put in the instrument. You could feel the soul of the man coming out through his instrument. Again an experience so involving and so wonderfully close to what listening to music should be.

From the rest I will only mention the Cream dvd. We listened to the impressive drums solo of Ginger Baker. It was yet another big discovery and jaw-dropping Klipschorn performance. Every drum was perfectly defined, in timber and amplitude. No matter how many beats per second Baker managed to pull off the Klipschs just enetered the soul of the artist and the bone marrow of the instrument and created everything with amazing detail and dynamics. It was a very impressive display of power and utmost control of low frequencies amidst the other qualities displayed already.

All in all a huge musical and audiophile experience. I still thank Kerry in my mind a week later for the great occasion he offered us. The Klipschorns are everything you read about and a lot more. Is getting to the core of the music and to the soul of the artists what makes listening to music through these speakers an experience apart. I sure hope next time I'm in Houston I will get the chance of another meeting with the outstanding design of Paul Klipsch.

Science gets closer to the wonders of the past - Stradivarius and Guarnieri

This article roots from a completely different source than usual. It is not caused by a listening experience, yet rather a reading experience. The Dean of science journals, Nature, has in its issue from November 30th, a very interesting brief communication on the wood that Stradivarius and Guarneri del Gesu used to build their violins. It is the beginning of a salutary scientific look into the mysteries of some of the greatest creations of humankind. To give you a taste of this work let me quote the authors on the key aspects. They motivate their research as such: "Whether or not the great Italian violin-makers used wood that had been chemically processed in order to preserve it and enhance the instrument’s sound quality has long been a contentious issue1,2." Then, they go and briefly describe the methods they used: "Here we use nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy to analyze organic matter in wood taken from antique instruments made by Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu." Their results are intriguing: "Our results indicate that the wood used by the masters could indeed have been chemically treated, a technique that may inspire an approach to violin making that is more chemistry-based." You can read the details and the actual data in the article.

For those of you that are not completely familiar with the subject of the paper I will try to give you a flavor of these exquisite instruments. Both violin makers families, as more than just one member was in this business, built their instruments in the second half of the seventeen and the first decades of the eighteen centuries. Both learned the art of violin making from Nicolo Amati yet, most importantly, both tried to create better instruments. And while they did that they created instruments with a very particular sound. At least for me the Guarneri is unsurpassed in the way it produces the high end of the spectrum. Not only is it full bodied and tonally perfect but is also sweet and almost form a different world. Here I definitely prefer it over Stradivari. At the middle of the spectrum Stradivari comes ahead. The amount of tone and its beauty are above any other instrument. It is rich and manages to bring out all the saps of the earth. Don't get me wrong, Guarneri is close and both are far away from any competition. It is just that here Stradivari reaches the absolute. At the lower end of the spectrum it is extremely difficult to set them apart and is just a matter of the hands they're in and your personal preferences. Sometimes I hear the Guarneri a little more "polished" and more "human" if you want. Nonetheless the Stradivari makes up in power and transparency. It is a tie as it is the whole "competition". It is an immense pleasure to listen to any of them as often as you have the chance.

Allow me to point to two cds that can illustrate best the amazing qualities of these violins. I picked one for each, both in the hands of favorite violinists: Nathan Milstein and Ruggiero Ricci. Nathan was playing on a Stradivari and in my view he is a perfect example of what can be made out of such a great instrument. His tone is sublime and his artistry makes the instrument live the most accomplished life. One of his great recordings is described in extenso here and you can hardly find a better illustration for the instrument (the quality of the recording is gorgeous).

Ricci on the other hand played a Guarneri and him too makes an almost perfect case for what this instrument can do. Below you have details on one of the reissues of some of his recordings in impeccable sound. It doesn't get any better than this. Give them a try and I am pretty sure one question that will pop out is: How could those guys build such wonders? I really hope that the research we are talking about here will go on and will give us some insights in an old and, obviously, extremely efficient technique, the geniuses of the men aside.

And because they form a special case I will also mention here the Alban Berg Quartet. One of the very special things about them is that all the instruments are Stradivari. The result is obvious on the spot as the tonal quality of the quartet is one of their landmarks. All over their recordings their artistry is helped hugely by their beautiful instruments. Clearly that's the case in their recording of Beethoven's String Quartets, one of the great victories of the recorded music.