Saturday 20 July 2002

Bought and listened to Mahler's 9th Symphony in the 1938 Vienna public performance (VPO) conducted by Bruno Walter. Of great historical interest, and the finale was most moving. I still don't like the scherzo one little bit. The recording (restored by Michael Dutton) is a bit off-putting in that the solos are at the same volume as the full orchestral fff. But you become used to it. And it's nice to hear the Vienna Philharmonic from the old days -- another time, another place, another way of doing things. All in all, a good acquisition (cost me £4.99).

Yesterday evening had another bowl of Lazar Berman. This time, I enjoyed the second Schumann sonata; I might even come to be fond of it, in time. And really enjoyed Berman playing the march from Tchaikovsky's Pathétique (arranged by Feinberg). I must compare it back-to-back with the Arkady Volodos performance that I also have.

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