Grasshopper

Mozart’s relationship with perfection is reminiscent of Messner’s with the 8000-meter peaks: as incredible as it may seem to us humans, he frequents them with a certain consistency. The Mozart conducted by Bohm, especially regarding the symphonies, is a reference point for any classical music enthusiast. There are only two things that stand out (in my opinion) in this review: one is the difficult philosophical introduction, a bit too much for insiders; the other is the now habitual dismissal, without ifs or buts, of 20th-century music, which, as I said before, I find excessively drastic, although I fundamentally agree that music in the last century experienced an undeniable decline compared to the previous two golden centuries.

The only other album I know by Bruch (besides the Violin Concerto, of course) is from the Apex series, and by the way, it costs 4.90 euros. You should be able to find it, for example, in the stores of the Expert chain or at this address, which I found by googling: link rotto I found it at "La Fenice" - musical distribution - Via Santa Reparata, 8/B FIRENZE - tel. 055/2381880 (so I'm giving a little publicity to a store that specializes almost exclusively in classical music, and I've always wondered how it survives... who knows, maybe it's the tourists). But I don’t know if you’re nearby, or perhaps a thousand kilometers away. The album is definitely worth purchasing, regardless of its very low cost.

Drawing a clear line beyond which "there is no more music" seems to me a risky and somewhat arbitrary move. For me, the ideal music spans from the late 18th century to the 19th century (with the enormous exception of Bach, whose music is timeless), but it cannot be denied that the 20th century, particularly in its early decades, offered a number of respectable composers (those mentioned by Josi, to whom I would add the often undervalued Prokofiev). Not to mention phenomena like Rachmaninoff, who continued unabated in the midst of the 20th century to compose typically romantic music. In short, the 20th-century landscape is broader than it appears, and even "experimental" composers like Hindemith, Berg, Schönberg, Janáček, and others—typically "tough" and cerebral—have produced some works that are appreciated by music lovers like me and George Dabliu.

In this case, it's an absolute masterpiece (probably the Nocturnes are Chopin's most successful works, along with the Preludes Op. 28, the Études Op. 10, and the two Concertos). Moreover, played by a monster like Pollini, so 5 stars are a must, in fact, it feels a bit tight. But it's true that "classical music" doesn’t necessarily mean "5 stars": there are symphonies by Haydn (who produced them in series, writing 104 of them!) that deserve 4 and sometimes even 3 stars, just to make an example. Or many of Vivaldi's more than 500 concertos are certainly not absolute masterpieces worthy of 5. In short, classical music = 5 is not a perfect equation, although often the two go hand in hand.

What annoys me (good-naturedly, of course) about Punisher is that he can delight us with these incredibly funny fantasies and then he digs in his heels because someone (me included) uses what he deems a somewhat too lofty language to talk about Mozart, or Beethoven, or Bach, etc. It seems clear to me, even obvious, that the sacred (Beethoven, a truly spiritual person) requires expressions very different from the profane (Wojtyla, the showman pope).

Looking back: a "2" given a bit too hastily. Perhaps it would have been better to take a cue from Copernicus. Alright: I’ve been strict, but I don’t want to discourage our new addition to the "loggione" debaseriano. Surely in the next review, they will share something more, and maybe even something personal.

What can I say? I'm sorry to be harsh, but a masterpiece like this, performed by an artist of this level, truly deserved much, much more.

Practically known only for this splendid concert, worthy of the greatest of the 19th century, but it’s an injustice. For example, I know of another "double" concerto (for viola and clarinet, a combination reminiscent of Mozart's "Kegelstatt" Trio) and some chamber pieces for viola and piano that are true gems: pure romantic melody, at times not too far from the greatness of Brahms. Excellent Wanderer for bringing it to mind, and for the way he did it. I see that classical music is resurfacing on Debaser, and I hope this encourages me to break my unwanted "exile" (read: lack of inspiration), which has lasted almost two months now.

For me, the best album by Pino Daniele, miles away from the current syrupy stuff. Incredible that there wasn't a review yet. A gap that has been filled quite well.

How harsh the judgment towards an artist who may not have been a phenomenon of creativity and has sometimes (especially in the latest albums) repeated herself a bit, but who nonetheless has offered technically impeccable and very enjoyable music, and (a noteworthy detail) a beautiful voice. An album rated 3.5 that I round up to 4 because it has been very poorly treated so far.