Mozart, with Renaud Capuçon and Kit Armstrong

Many major composers such as Wagner, Bruckner, and Mahler did not bother much about chamber music. When I was growing up, Mozart was mainly about his 41 symphonies, his concertos, and his operas. I have now realised that much of his genius is to be found in his vast library of chamber music. I have been sampling nine of his many sonatas for violin and piano and am considerably impressed with the quality of the music in these works. One marvels at the sheer inventiveness of the composer; music positively dripped from his fingers, whatever he wrote. Hardly any trace of routine, or composing by numbers.

Renaud Capuçon is turning out to be the 21st century's equivalent of Arthur Grumiaux in the 20th. He has long been one of my favourite modern violinists, especially in the classical music of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. He does not disappoint in these nine Mozart sonatas; he also appears to have a knack of picking excellent pianist partners: David Fray in Bach, Frank Braley in Beethoven, and Kit Armstrong in Mozart. I had never come across the Chinese-American pianist Kit Armstrong before, but he impresses greatly as Capuçon's partner in these Mozart sonatas. The sonatas are properly titled "piano and violin", since the piano has the dominant role in all of them. Armstrong and Capuçon play the works in a grand,18th century classical manner, with excellent rhythms. For a change, the recording engineers in Berlin in 2022 understand the balance between piano and violin and mainly get it right, something that does not always happen when a violin is pitched against a piano with the latter's superior dynamic range.

The DG-label set is highly recommended for the music, the playing, and the recording. Not too often all things go right. In the current phase of my musical life, I incline strongly towards chamber music, and to the music of the 18th century. For much of my life, Mozart was usually regarded by me as a precursor to the "great" 19th century composers. Sometimes, old age brings a more realistic evaluation. The music of Mozart will outlast me -- and any 21st century composers -- for more than the next millennium.

Shostakovich Ninth and Tenth, with Kirill Petrenko

I have always loved the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. His music is 100% Russian, and could not come from anywhere else. Shostakovich, in his orchestral works, uses the full orchestra, from double basses, to piccolos. Much of the tenth symphony, to which I have just been listening, is loud; much is almost chamber music. I have given up trying to follow the music's structure, and just sit back and enjoy, and be entertained.

Today's traversal was with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Kirill Petrenko. A magnificent performance, with the orchestra sounding almost like real Russians, rather than Germans. The Berlin Digital Concert Hall recording is little short of miraculous; balancing the various parts of a large symphony orchestra where many individual instruments make solo contributions, is no joke. But the Germans have always been good at recording classical music, and its best sound engineers come from a long tradition. Listening through high-quality headphones is almost a must for enjoying the wide-ranging sound and extreme dynamics. Anyway: hats off all round. Along with the eighth symphony, the tenth is one of my favourites. Although in the current era most of my listening is to music of the 18th century, or chamber music and instrumental music; I always make an exception for Shostakovich. I have seven recordings of the tenth symphony, only two of which have gained my personal three stars: Vassily Petrenko with the Liverpool Philharmonic, and Kirill Petrenko (no relation) with the Berlin Philharmonic. I suspect Berlin trumps Liverpool with its superior recorded sound, though Liverpool is available on Naxos, whereas Berlin is hard to get hold of.

Written in 1945, Shostakovich's ninth symphony is in a popular mood; the music at times reminds me of Haydn, or Igor Stravinsky. Coming between the weighty and more complex eighth and tenth symphonies, it has a similar role to Beethoven's "Pastoral" symphony between his fifth and seventh. In the recording with Kirill Petrenko and the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin woodwind really shines. Not my favourite Shostakovich symphony, but well played and well recorded, like the eighth and tenth from the same forces.