My musical listening remains dominated by Johann Sebastian and Georg Frideric. This evening I sat back and basked in the new Acis & Galatea (John Butt). Music to sit back with and enjoy. Then on to three Bach cantatas directed by Sigiswald Kuijken; as I wrote very recently, what appeals to me about Kuijken in Bach is the exemplary concentration on clarity of texture; with Sigiswald, you hear all the notes. I must augment my collection of Kuijken Bach cantatas -- I am missing three of the current seven volumes.

Meanwhile, I have become the true champion cook of braised oxtail. The remains this evening were of world championship standard. I must embark on a new stew-up (oxtail, onions, carrots, mushrooms, many herbs, and good red wine, plus 5-6 hours of slow cooking).

It is not often I sit down and listen to three different recordings of the same work. This weekend, however, I did just that to Bach's cantata BWV 21: Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis. It was Sigiswald Kuijken versus Philippe Herreweghe versus Masaaki Suzuki. The winner was: Sigiswald Kuijken, by quite a margin with a 20 year old recording with La Petite Bande and the Nederlands Kamerkoor. Kuijken's soprano (Greta de Reyghere) was as good as Herreweghe's (Barbara Schlick) and both were superior to Suzuki's (Monika Frimmer). Kuijken had Christoph Prégardien as his ever-admirable tenor. But what gave Kuijken his big advantage was the supreme clarity of his orchestral and choral textures. Bach's textures are often dense and complex (a source of much criticism during his lifetime), and in this cantata the bass line often has a key role in heightening the harmonic tension. With Kuijken, you hear all the parts, and his choir during the fugal passages thins down to just one or two per part. In additon, with Kuijken's direction you sense a deep love of this marvellous cantata by all concerned.

Nine times out of ten, it is wise to have alternative recordings of major works. One learns more about the music from different approaches by different musicians. There are exceptions: and Bruckner's 9th symphony is one such exception. The public broadcast performance on 7th October 1944 in Berlin by Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Berlin Philharmonic is one such exception. The performance is simply glorious, inevitable and hors concours. I no longer see any point in listening to the same work conducted by the likes of Horenstein (very good), Giulini (very good) and Knappertsbusch (very good) all of which I have. The 7th October 1944 Furtwängler performance is simply it, for this work. And the recording quality is quite good ! And thank you, DG, for the superb transfer from the original tapes.

I think I have mentioned Stephanie-Marie Degand before, in this diary. Now,  a web download of Paganini caprices, the Ysaÿe third solo sonata, plus the Bach chaconne from the second partita, have given me enormous pleasure. Degand is one of those artists who simply pick up their instruments and play. No posturing, no preening, no attention-seeking, no artifice. Ms Degand makes music. And we listeners are privileged to enjoy it.

It was interesting, this evening,  listening to Charles Mackerras's old (1969) recording of Purcell's sublime Ode to St Cecilia: "Hail, bright Cecilia". Mackerras, of course, is highly "historically informed",  as the saying goes. But the performance does illustrate the pluses and minuses of prevaling fashion. Forty years ago, women were frowned upon in performances of Purcell or Bach (the Taleban mullahs would have been happy). So here, in 1969, we have an assortment of boy tenor, counter tenors, and tenors, basses. They all cope well with the technical challenges without always sounding at ease in the vocal dextrity often demanded by Purcell.

The orchestra (English Chamber Orchestra) is a great treat, and it's nice to be rid of sour baroque bands ... for the moment.  The chorus, however, is sung by the Ambrosian Choir supplemented by the Tiffin Choir (presumably to stop any women appearing). It sounds massive and dwarfs orchestra, soloists and music; quite in the English choral tradition I have grown to dread -- along with my neighbours, I suspect, who must be blown out of their armchairs when these choirs sing at full, enthusiastic blast.

One day, there will be an ideal "Hail, Bright Cecilia" with superb, professsional soloists, a band of virtuoso instrumentalists, and a light, compact choir. I hope I shall be around to see it, since the music is superb.

The 1952 recording of the performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio by Gilels, Kogan and Rostropovich has to be one of music's top 100 recorded performances. It is like four minds (including Tchaikovsky) singing the same song. I know, I have said it before. But this is a recording I keep near my CD player, since I often want to come back to it and, when I do, I always enjoy it. Well done the four Russkies ! And the new transfer by Jakob Harnoy just completes the excellent job.

Dvorak's String Quintet

Dvorak's Op 97 string quintet left me pretty cold, despite the 1968 efforts of the Budapest String Quartet. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that Haydn, Dvorak and Liszt are a lost cause in so far as I am concerned. Odd, and personal, that I can love Handel but be bored by Haydn, like Mendelssohn and love Schubert, yet yawn at Liszt, and love Janacek yet always fall asleep in Dvorak. Mais c'est comme ça. Dvorak ain't for me.

Thanks to my good friend Carlos, I have a most interesting set of "Belgian Violin School" four CDs (transferred from four HMV LPs of recordings from the 1960s and 70s). The violinists featured are Rudolf Werthen, Carlo van Neste, Marcel Debot and Maurice Raskin (I have so far listened to all except Raskin). The music played is by Vieuxtemps, de Bériot, Léonard and Ysaÿe thus, an all-Belgian affair.

I am not a fan of Walloon Belgium ... but happily make an exception when it comes to the violin. Following on from my satisfaction with the French Philippe Graffin the other day, it is pleasant to re-encounter the Franco-Belgian school of violin playing with its sophistication, good taste and dedicated artistry. The Russo-Israeli-DeLay school of power playing may be appropriate for Brahms, Tchaikovsky or Shostakovich; but not for Ysaÿe. Interestingly, the other day I switched on my car radio to catch the end of someone playing Chausson's Poème. Wonderful full-blooded romantic playing, I thought; but hardly suitable for Chausson. When the performance ended, I learned that it had been David Oistrakh, Charles Münch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Enough said. Take me back to the Franco-Belgians in that kind of music.

I bought and have listened to the Hyperion CD of Nikolay Roslavets' two violin concertos (the first early in his life, the second much later). The first concerto (1925) strikes me as interesting and expertly written. Let down, as so often with so many composers, by the lack of any melodic or thematic gifts; the first two movements last nearly 30 minutes but cannot summon a theme between them. The third movement is more attactive -- a sort of Ukrainian saltarella -- and at last produces a couple of worthy themes. The second concerto (1936) strikes me as Soviet People's Music at its uninspired worst. Throughly admirable soloist in both works in Alina Ibragimova: the thinking man's violinist.

An excellent CD comes from Philippe Graffin. Under the vague heading Hungarian Dances he assembles 26 short bits. "Hungarian" is to be interpreted broadly: the selection includes Debussy's La plus que lente, Vecsey's Valse Triste, and Liszt's Romance Oubliée. But an attractive and varied selection, really well presented by Graffin who may not have the PR clout of Janine Jansen or Joshua Bell, but who is a violinist to be listened to with interest.

The evening started well with one of my favourite steak koftas (lots of garlic and coriander). We continued with Joyce DiDonato's new CD of Handel arias (with Christophe Rousset): Furore. DiDonato is an excellent singer for this music: passionate, involved, dexterous. A bit like the younger Fischer-Dieskau, she is sometimes just a little too involved for comfort and almost seems to be "hamming" it. But no great matter; it's a most enjoyable 75 minutes listening to her in Handel's varied and inventive music.

Then on to "Laureates", a CD from Russia consisting of excerpts from the public recitals of violinist winners of the Tchaikovsky Prize in Moscow. Six violinists: Ruben Agaronyan, Sergei Stadler, Rafael Oleg, Viktoria Mullova, Ilya Kaler .. and Akiko Suwanai who really takes the biscuit with a scintillating and devil-inspired rendition of Sarasate's Carmen Fantasia. The Russian audience (quite properly) goes wild. Quite difficult to listen to anyone else in this piece after this public performance by Ms Suwanai.

Handel's 1707 cantata (written when he was 22 years old) Aminta e Fillide must be one of the loveliest musical works ever written. Hit follows hit, broken by short recitatives. The new recording from La Risonanza (directed by Fabio Bonizzoni) is near ideal, as so often in this series from the Glossa label. The singers, Maria Grazia Schiavo and Nuria Rial, are exemplary and it is nice to hear Italian sung by Italians, for a change (though Rial is Catelan, of course but doesn't sound it here).

Back from France and from Eisenach. The city of Bach was really enjoyable -- calm, serious and newly prosperous. The Hotel Kaiserhof just by the city gate was an extremely pleasant place to stay; I must go back there.

To celebrate my return, I listened to the Stratton String Quartet and Harriet Cohen in a 1933 recording of Elgar's Piano Quintet. Since I encountered this music around ten years ago (at a concert in Boxgrove Priory) it has become something that touches me deeply -- more than anything else by Elgar. This "authentic" recording also astonished me by the fidelity of the sound: well balanced, and with beautiful burnished string tone. Three stars in my catalogue.

After feeling somewhat bored recently listening to four short violin & piano pieces by Medtner, it made a pleasant change to be thoroughly entertained listening to a whole CD of violin & piano pieces by Antonio Bazzini. The music is light, tuneful and holds the attention; almost Handelian, in fact.

The CD was very ably played by Chloe Hanslip, who had all the necessary virtuosity for this technically challenging music, as well as a lightness of touch that suits Bazzini well; a change from Power Violinists such as Alexander Markov. Miss Hanslip is doing well (and is also, commendably, avoiding the hackneyed bye-ways of everlasting Beethoven, Kreisler, Ravel and Brahms). The only silly feature was an annoying outer sleeve (why, Naxos?) with a colour photo of Miss Hanslip staring at the camera, a bit like a rabbit caught in car headlamps. However, the outer sleeve is easily jettisoned and all the information, minus the photo, is on the jewel case. Presumably someone thought young men would queue up to buy a Bazzini CD if a pretty girl were on the cover. Some classical recording promotion personnnel have even less intellectual acumen than derivative investment bankers. I'll keep this Bazzini CD handy; a good disc to put on when one wants to be dazzled and entertained. Her Ronde des lutins is, however, too rushed for my taste (comes in under 5 minutes). Fast playing can be exhilarating; but we do need to hear the notes and the music cleanly and clearly, and speed for speed's sake is not a good idea.

The Prom performance this summer of Vaughan Williams' Lark Ascending by Akiko Suwanai (with the Philharmonia under Susanna Mälkki) is pretty well ideal in terms of balance, recording quality and performance. One of those rare occasions when everything comes together.

Earlier, I plunged into Handel's Athalia. I am usually a bit wary of Handel's oratorios, with all those Old Testament Israelites. But the music of Athalia (written for and first performed in the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford) is completely and utterly first class. The Drabinghaus & Grimm recording (directed by Peter Neumann) is also excellent, although I do have doubts about Simone Kermes here; when drama or emotions run high, any concept of bel canto appears to fly out of the window with Ms Kermes.

Sunday, and another three and a half hours of George Frideric Handel, this time the 1725 opera Rodelinda. Over three  hours of exquisite music, and Handel at his best. Il Complesso Barocco was directed by Alan Curtis -- a reliable Handelian -- and Simone Kermes headed the caste.  Along with Schubert and Mozart, Handel was the greatest consistent melody writer of all time.

I have never come across the Norwegian Henning Kraggerud before, but his new CD of the six solo sonatas by Eugène Ysaÿe is most impressive. Kraggerud does not differentiate the individual works quite as remarkably as did Fanny Clamargirand in her recent traversal, but his Guarneri del Gesù makes a lovely gritty sound and his playing is spot-on accurate and quite up to Ysaÿe's severe violinistic demands.

It's attractive music and has been lucky on CD. At around 67 minutes it is tailor-made for CD, of course, and record companies also love the fact they only have one artist to pay. Apart from Kraggerud and Clamargirand, there are Shumsky and Kavakos, plus a number of other excellent recordings. I like all six sonatas ... as long as I am not required to play them.

Recently, I listened with enjoyment to Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos played by members of the Philharmonia orchestra conducted by Otto Klemperer. Going back even more years, I now really liked the six concerti as played in 1935 by Adolf Busch and the Busch Chamber Players. What Bach needs to be convincing is love, a sense of rhythm, a sense of style, and musical intelligence. Harpsichords v pianos, flutes v recorders, baroque violins v modern violins really do not matter, since Johann Sebastian rarely wrote with precise sounds in mind (unlike, say, Debussy or Mahler). Busch is great and fully  deserves his high reputation over 70 years on. EMI has done well to reissue the Brandenburgs (plus the four Suites) in new transfers in its Great Recordings of the Century series. Three classic CDs for all time and all ages ... pace the Baroque Brigade.

Back from France, well full of various shellfish. L'Ecailler in Boulogne-sur-Mer is truly terrific: not just a great selection of all sorts of ocean fodder, but all fresh, fresh, fresh and at very reasonable prices. I returned to England with a magnificent 1 kg crab (just €6.18). With deep regrets I turned aside from the 1 kg plaice (carrelet). Almost opposite L'Ecailler is an excellent boucherie with a vast range of first-class pâtés, terrines and rillettes; I bought a couple of specimens, including a truly excellent frommage de tête. And, of course, I was accompanied home by 48 bottles of Le Chevalier Collier (2005 St. Emilion).

Awaiting me were numerous CDs, including a two-CD pack of Frank Peter Zimmermann and Enrico Pace in the six Bach duo sonatas for violin and keyboard. Exemplary performances; tasteful, well recorded and well balanced. No "baroque" stuff from Zimmermann, thank the Lord, and no harpsichord as per Mullova's recent ill-judged sortie into these pieces. I know the sonatas well, both from playing them and from listening. The quality varies from movement to movement, but the works are never less than interesting, especially when played as well as they are here.