In the car for a short trip, part of:
Calvin Harris - I created Disco
On repeat all day at home:
Shostakovich - Violin Sonata, Viola Sonata
In the evening changed to:
Beethoven - Piano Concertos No.2 and No.4
Probably it for the night!
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Don't know what the Harris is. Shos is good, but Beethoven is (much) better! Contrary to popular view, I personally think that PC2 is a better work than PC4. But, as I've got older, it's true that I've come to love PC4 more and more. The sonority of some of the chords in Mvt 1 are fab, but the piano (and orch) sure have to be in tune (critically, because there are some serious discrepancies here between equal and true temperament).
ReplyDeleteI'd disagree with the "DSCH good/LVB better" assertion. For me the DSCH viola sonata beats Beethoven's entire output. But that's a matter of taste...
ReplyDeleteWhich recordings of the two Shostakovich sonatas do you have, Ann? Not the Kagan/Richter/Bashmet disc, I hope... when I listened to the reading of the violin sonata on that I had to go back to Lydia Mordkovitch's recording straight after to reassure myself that I did still like the piece, as Kagan/Richter are terrifically dull.
I find Bashmet and Richter terribly turgid in the viola sonata too. Their tempi in the first movement are _so_ slow as to be unbearable for my ears. Have you heard Kim Kashmashian's recording of it?
Oops... typo alert! I meant Kim Kashkashian, of course.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - I have a particular fondness for 4 I have to say, although 2 is great too.
ReplyDeleteStuart - no surprise that you prefer DSCH to LVB!!! I have the Van Keulen / Brautigam recording of the Sonatas, which I like very much. Would love to hear the Kashkashian though - generally a fan!