Sunday evening (basking after "The Return of the King" on Saturday) listened with great pleasure to Michael Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra in Tchaikovsky's Pathétique. This is a work I really like. Tried to follow it with Mahler's 9th (Haitink) but this just didn't work; Mahler sounded all noise and not much substance, after Tchaikovsky. Turned instead to Chausson and the Poème de l'Amour et de la Mer. Chose the new version with Felicity Lott; this really is very good indeed.

A question mark under all these different versions; when I want to listen to the Pathétique, I always turn to the Pletnev recordings. And when I want the Chausson, I think I'll always turn to Felicity Lott. So what am I going to do with all these alternative versions? Mahler's 4th will always be Barbirolli from now on (with perhaps just occasional excursions into the old Kletzki). I think that one of these days I am going to have a truly massive throw-out !