Finghin Collins and Trio in Mozart

There are a few great classics of recorded music: Kreisler playing Kreisler, the Busch Quartet playing the Beethoven string quartets, Maria Callas singing Tosca, Otto Klemperer conducting Beethoven's Eroica symphony, Clara Haskil playing Mozart .... and several others. Then there are the top "brand names" who became top partly from talent, partly from adroit PR and slick marketing and sales promotion. Much like the choice of your breakfast cereal or toothpaste: major brand name, or little-known store name at half the price. After around 70 years of buying music recordings, I had never heard the name of the Irish pianist Finghin Collins. And here he was playing with an assembled trio of violin, viola and cello in two Mozart piano quartets (K478 and K493). Apparently Collins won 1st prize at the 1999 Clara Haskil contest, and I can quite believe it. His playing in Mozart has the elegant simplicity that Haskil brought to this music. In music such as this, one can often forget big brand names and go for real quality. Nicely recorded in an Irish church, to boot. Sometimes musicians of whom you have never heard, can turn out performances that are really top class. Such is the case here.

Schubert's Die Winterreise with Hans Hotter and Michael Raucheisen

I grew up in the 1950s with Schubert's Die Winterreise, sung at the time by Hans Hotter with Gerald Moore at the piano; three sides of 12 inch LPs. Today, on a snowy morning, I listened again to the work, this time sung by Hans Hotter in 1943, with Michael Raucheisen as the pianist. An impressive performance that, for me, brought out all the angst in Schubert's 24 songs, with no little thanks to Raucheisen's piano playing. What an impressive work this is! The constant harmonic changes show what Schubert might have written had he lived beyond the age of 31. A classic for all time.

Capuçon and Argerich at Aix-en-Provence

Live recordings ain't what they used to be. In the old days, you had coughs, shuffling, the occasional bang as a trumpet was dropped, dubious balance. I have just been listening to Renaud Capuçon and Martha Argerich recorded live in Aix-en-Provence on 23rd April 2022 and, apart from applause at the end of the CD, you would never guess the recording was live. Well done the engineers (and the audience). All well-balanced, to boot (balancing a piano and a solo violin is not plain sailing). The recording illustrates one of the advantages of live, versus studio.

Capuçon has always been one of my preferred modern violinists (which is why I broke my rule and added this new CD to my collection). I have not been a fan of Argerich; too tigerish for me (can you imagine her pleasing in music by Mozart or Debussy?) This Aix-en-Provence CD assembles Schumann's first violin and piano sonata, with Beethoven's Kreutzer sonata, and César Franck's sonata; all beefy 19th century works that suit Argerich's piano playing. I greatly enjoyed Capuçon's playing, and the duo balance with Argerich, though I would have preferred a less flamboyant pianist. Not a CD I really needed, having innumerable recordings of the Schumann, Kreutzer and Franck on my shelves; and the Kreutzer is not my favourite violin & piano sonata, since I rarely enjoy Beethoven in macho mode. Probably not a CD I should have bought, though I do enjoy Capuçon's violin playing here, so I'll keep the recording.