Rethink.

1. Allegro vivace part 1, part 2 | 2. Adagio | 3. Menuetto | 4. Allegro vivace part 1, part 2 Mendelssohn wrote this extremely accessible, charming work at 15. I’ll let the New York Times critic who alerted me to it tell more: This four-movement piece of nearly 30 minutes is like a concerto …

Fantasie Op. 49, Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 I can’t say I agree with all of Zimerman’s views (although I’d be pissed as all hell if customs destroyed my piano). But this recording is boss. The opening feels like a case study in picking a precise tempo, one a musician can manage. He plays slow …

Part 1: Allemande | Part 2: Courante, Sarabande, Gavotte, Bourrée I, Bourrée II, Gigue Thanks to leadingtone for bringing this to my attention: he blogged the Gigue, which alone is a short masterpiece. Please give that a listen if you don’t have much time. It goes without saying these recordings have been badly neglected: only …

Heifetz: Beethoven Violin Concerto No. 4, Op. 31, 3rd movement To say Heifetz was a rare virtuoso is like calling Einstein a genius. Heifetz is probably the greatest violinist ever recorded. You can hear that in the above link. He moves up and down scale-like passages with felicity; the notes sound clearly and distinctly and …

Horowitz, Schubert Impromptu D. 899 No. 3 I’m used to hearing this played a lot faster; I think it was Nelson Freire’s version I heard first. Horowitz takes this slowly, fusing what Wikipedia calls a “fluttering harp-like broken triad accompaniment” and a “spacious and languid melody” into a texture. The chords emerge delicately out of …

1. Molto moderato – part 1, part 2 | 2. Andante sostenuto | 3. Scherzo | 4. Allegro, ma non troppo – Presto If you’re pressed for time, the third movement is shorter than the rest. It is excited, a bit whimsical, and certainly not lacking in depth. The sheer amount of music in the …

Martha Argerich, Ravel Piano Concerto in G, Movement 2 I’m a bit reluctant to recommend this, but I’ve been listening to it quite a bit recently. Certain motifs and parts where the music gets louder will make you think of bad movie music. I prefer saying the music is “meditative” and “challenging.” The theme has …