’Ich habe Lust abzuscheiden’ (BuxWV47) sets the standard with a beautiful blend and balance of the three voices, rich vocality of the instrumentalists, wonderfully evocative singing, and a sonorous simplicity and elegance which permeates the entire CD. In addition to cantatas we are also treated to an enchanting little piece over a ground bass, sung eloquently by Suzie LeBlanc; and ‘chamber’ organist Robert Woolley gets his chance to shine with a Fugue in C (BuxWV174), a delightful marriage of gigue and fugue. Emma Kirkby and Peter Harvey also sing beautifully, and the members of the Purcell Quartet play with profound expressiveness without resorting to any of the excesses heard in some period string ensembles.

J.S. Bach’s three cantatas for Trinity, recorded by the Collegium Vocale Gent, date from 1724/25, Bach’s busiest years after his move to Leipzig’s Thomaskirche in 1723. BWV 2 and 20 form part of his first yearly cycle of chorale cantatas, begun in 1724. BWV 20 features an extraordinary opening chorale set in the form of a French overture; its performance here is dazzling. BWV 2, with its similarly remarkable opening chorale and the delightful oboe playing in the aria ‘Durchs Feuer wird das Silber rein,’ also makes for inspiring listening. Throughout this CD, the orchestral playing is beautifully unified and full of character, the choir is equally praiseworthy, and the soloists are exemplary. This is another in a long line of wonderful music-making by Philippe Herreweghe and his crew.

If you can only afford one of these discs, I’d vote for the Buxtehude.  But make sure someone buys you the Bach for your birthday.

Alison Melville

Henry Purcell - Sonatas and Theatre Music Chatham Baroque Dorian DOR-90309

Dollé - Pieces de Viole Petr Wagner & Jacques Ogg Dorian DOR-93246

Dorian Recordings has recently released these two exceptional cds of the music of one obscure and one celebrated composer, both of whom lived through extraordinary times. 

Little is known about the 18th century French gambist Charles Dollé except that he published a number of collections of first-rate music for viola da gamba and continuo. As the instrument waned in popularity, some composers – mostly French – tried desperately to hang on to and protect the rich tradition that had grown up around the instrument in the 17th and early 18th centuries. The music of Sainte-Colombe and Marais, masters of the instrument from two generations earlier, clearly inspires Dollé. German gambist Petr Wager – a student of Wieland Kuijken – clearly has an affinity for Dollé’s music and the technical prowess to make it all sound easy. Never mind that it’s conservative writing: I thoroughly enjoyed wallowing in the poignant, melancholy melodies and marveled again at the rich sonorities of this special instrument with its incredibly wide range and delicate timbre. 

Chatham Baroque is the baroque ensemble-in-residence at Chatham College in Pittsburgh, PA, and maintains a busy touring and recording schedule. Their two violins, gamba and lute are joined by special guest violinist Scott Metcalf (a former regular with Tafelmusik) for a charming recording of Purcell’s chamber and theatre music for strings. Purcell’s trio sonatas and sonatas in four parts are the culmination of the great English renaissance tradition of writing for viol consort: mellifluous, harmonically daring writing inspired by the early experiments in instrumental writing. Canzonas and Passacailles abound and are delivered with technical flair and a lively sense of abandon by the performers. This repertoire is juxtaposed brilliantly with two lengthy suites from Purcell’s theatre music of the 1690s. This is entertaining, dance-based music with Purcell’s unmistakable popular style. The performances are stunningly vibrant and inventive. I can’t recommend this CD too highly. It’s one of the best I’ve heard in a long time. 

Larry Beckwith

François Couperin: Keyboard music - 1 Angela Hewitt, piano Hyperion CDA67440

If Bach’s keyboard music can work on the piano, why not Couperin’s?  Both wrote for the harpsichord. But, unlike Bach, Couperin wrote out all his ornaments, and specified not just mood and tempo, but also instrumental technique. He even begged performers to play his music just as he had written it. Today, with the prevalence of period instruments, it’s a rare and brave musician who performs these works on the piano. 

The intrepid Angela Hewitt, whose recordings of Bach have had a great success, manages to adapt Couperin’s highly specific style of ornamentation, rhythm and shading to the demands of the piano, although, with the strings being hit rather than plucked, not all his intentions can be realized. In Les Baricades Mistérieuses, the piano action creates a texture more undifferentiated than the desired effect of a lute, in spite of Hewitt’s meticulous clarity. 

But what make this disc work so well are her ornaments. They flow and sparkle seamlessly, varied in speed and timing to create maximum expression. Hewitt is attuned to every nuance of these short, characterful pieces, capturing the wit, melancholy, grandeur, tenderness, gaity, social commentary and sentimentality that make these works so powerfully appealing today. 

Hewitt’s own booklet notes are, as always, a most welcome pleasure, as is the recorded piano sound. With this delightful disc, and the two more projected, Hewitt could well bring Couperin’s Pièces de Clavecin back into the piano concert repertoire. 

Pamela Margles

Howard Cable - Seasons’ Celebration Symphony Nova Scotia; Howard Cable CBC Records SMCD 5226

The Halifax-based orchestra continues its tradition of high quality recordings under the venerable Howard Cable. The 14 selections all pertain to Canada’s traditional celebrations. Cable sticks to his forte as an arranger of light orchestral bon-bons here, and the orchestra delivers a smooth well-balanced sound. 

Rodgers and Hart’s My Romance (for Valentine’s Day) is a most apt vehicle for Cable’s skills, and the track displays the considerable talents of oboist Suzanne LeMieux. Opening Night is a broad arrangement of themes from Anne of Green Gables, with a much grander orchestra than you’re ever likely to see in the pit at the Festival Theatre in Charlottetown. Youthful singer Chilina Kennedy makes a delightful appearance here. Cable’s treatment of Wassail, Wassail is exceptionally sumptuous, and bound to raise a few eyebrows among the purists.

The real gem among the disc is Cable’s own Point Pelee Reverie (for Thanksgiving Day), which features an impressive solo passage for David Parker on the horn.

There is something for just about everyone on this CD. The reverberant sonic environment of All Saints Cathedral in Halifax, previously home to SNS for their award-winning Delius CD (under the late Georg Tintner) serves ably for this repertoire. 

The accompanying booklet is well designed and easy to read. CBC Producers Karen Wilson and Adrian Hoffman can be proud of this product. 

John Gray

Qigang Chen – Iris Dévoilée Various soloists; Orchestre National de France Muhai Tang, Charles Dutoit, Didier Benetti, conductors Virgin Classics 7243 5 45549 2 6

It is rare to find a disc devoted entirely to the orchestral works of a living composer on a major label, so kudos to Virgin Classics for taking a chance with a relative newcomer like Qigang Chen. This is not to say that Chen lacks credentials—Olivier Messiaen’s final student, his works have been performed by such prestigious groups as the Ensemble Intercontemporain, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the BBC Scottish and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras. 

Chen’s blending of Eastern and Western cultures is highlighted in the works included here. Iris dévoilée (Iris unveiled) is scored for 3 female voices, 3 traditional Chinese instruments and orchestra. The sketchy program notes for this powerful, haunting and somewhat disturbing work tell us that it is intended as a depiction of “the eternal feminine and its multiple facets”. The texts are given in translation, but unfortunately without explanation. It is somehow not enough to tell us “these words have no real significance except. in the particular language of the traditional Beijing opera.”

Reflet d’un temps disparu (Reflection of a vanished time) for cello and orchestra draws on an ancient song by third century musician/philosopher Huan Yi. We are not told what the song is about, but the music, performed by Yo-Yo Ma, is positively riveting. 

These two live performances are supplemented with a studio recording of Wu Xing (Five Elements). Here the intention is to depict not “the traditional physical substances but… the cyclical movements which… constitute the Universe”—quite a lofty aspiration, but one which I must say is convincingly achieved. Highly recommended.

David Olds

Gavin Bryars - A Portrait  (60th Birthday Celebration) Various artists  Philips 2894732962 (2 CDs)

I have heard it said that a spirit enters... music of Gavin Bryars Holly Cole; Gwen Hoebig;  Gavin Bryars CBC Radio Orchestra; Owen Underhill  CBC SMCD 5223

Gavin Bryars’ music is accessible, interesting, and melodic while still presenting challenges to the listener. He is sensitive to the nature of the various instruments and voices, and he does not strain the performer with making unpleasant noises at the extreme limits of their instrument’s range. He prefers beautiful sounds. His music is subtle; a large orchestra becomes a collection of chamber ensembles. His music is complex without being academic. His output is substantial.

The Philips set is a collection of previously recorded works re-issued as “a portrait” on the occasion of Bryar’s 60th birthday. There is a good variety in these works, but I found it best to listen to them individually rather than play the CD straight through. The Cello Concerto is wonderful, sonorous, beautiful, calming, inspiring. In The Green Ray for saxophone and orchestra Bryars gets charm and grace from this often blatty instrument. Strangely, Bryars’ most (in)famous composition, Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet, is represented here in two short versions (about 4 minutes each). It is odd to hear this work, which also exists in LP and CD-length performances, in such a truncated format. I prefer the longer versions of this “infinite loop”.

There are nine works in all included in this “portrait”. It is a really good way to get into contemporary music if you are one who generally avoids “new music”.  If you are already a fan of Bryars, it’s a great collection of his recent works.

The CBC disc presents another side of this multi-faceted composer. It’s hard to categorize. This music challenges both the listener and any pre-conceived notions of  “Classical” and “Jazz.”  Bryars surprises with I have heard it said that a spirit enters, three songs written for the Vancouver Jazz Festival sung by Holly Cole, and another jazz commission, By the Vaar featuring Bryars on the double-bass. The solo part is very interesting in that it starts out fully written down and gradually shifts to improvisation. I know and know-of many remarkable double-bass players, from Serge Koussevitsky to (here) Gavin Bryars. Is there something about an instrument that you can stand up and hug all day that attracts interesting, complicated people? 

I really appreciate the sense of what-has-gone-before in Bryars’ music. The violin concerto The Bulls of Basham, performed by Gwen Hoebig, is a lyrical work for solo violin and string orchestra, which alludes to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The Porazzi Fragment uses an odd bit of unpublished Wagner as its point of departure. Bryars clearly understands and appreciates the thread of musical history. He adds his threads to the great weave.

Den Ciul

Nouveaux Territoires Ensemble Contemporain de Montreal ATMA ACD2 2208

With the second disc in their Nouveaux Territoires series, the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal solidify their place as a top-tier new music group. Led by conductor Véronique Lacroix, ECM delivers dynamic, spirited performances of music by Quebecers Sean Ferguson, Yannick Plamondon, and André Ristic. Each piece originated as part of ECM’s multimedia event Unions Libres - involving dance, film, and text, respectively. While in many cases, the autonomous presentation of multimedia components reveals their shortcomings, Nouveaux Territoires confirms the merits of each as a concert piece.

While intellectually Ferguson’s Apocryphal Graffiti exists within theframework defined by the title, providing cleverly veiled, measuredreferences and borrowings bent like the letters of a wall-painter’s ‘tag’, it does so with subtlety, and not the ‘phat’ rawness and colour implied by his graffiti inspiration.  Plamondon’s Post is a “poetical study on the notion of entropy”, concerned with artist Robert Smithson’s relations between geology and the mind - mental rivers, cliffs of thought, erosion. Plamondon traverses his conceptual terrain with layered references, in superposed, relatively strict, jazz-ish rhythmic strata - progressive, but distinctly beat-oriented. Ristic’s Catalogue des bombes occidentals employs a broad, heterogeneous approach to the ensemble, with interjections from the enchanting mezzo-soprano Marie-Annick Béliveau. While idiosyncratically mapping out and treating lists of musical objects “in the manner of large department stores”, Ristic confidently balances his political, emotional, and musical concerns in a glowingly diverse (yet unified), special, and sometimes humorous composition. All three works are performed with great commitment, accuracy, and energy from the ECM.

Paul Steenhuisen

Lento: Schnittke – Klavierquintett; Shostakovich - String Quartet No.15 Keller Quartett; Alexei Lubimov, piano ECM 461815-2

The late Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) first came to our attention with the 1980 recording of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Gidon Kremer. The long cadenza in the first movement was Schnittke’s and what outcries of righteous indignation it caused.

I confess to be somewhat in the outskirts of enthusiasm about his music but what he says in the piano quintet is clear and profound. Inspired, if that is the right phrase, by the death of his mother, grief is realized in the Schnittke’s postmodern language… stark and tender. A deeply felt and unusual work.

The mood of the Shostakovich which follows does not break the spell. This beautifully played and recorded disc should not be missed.

Bruce Surtees

Concert Note: Sinfonia Toronto’s May 3 performance at Glenn Gould Studio includes Schnittke’s Sonata No.1 for violin and chamber orchestra with soloist Stepan Arman.

Nature Boy Bill McBirnie Extreme Flute EF03

Nature Boy is a welcome addition to my collection. Flutist McBirnie is just that: a Flutist, not a saxophone player doubling on the instrument. You can tell from the full-bodied tones on the opening track that this is a guy who has serious flute chops. McBirnie’s accompanists on this recording are no slouches either – the Mark Eisenman Trio is one of the hardest swinging groups I’ve ever heard, live or on record.
 Recorded in two sessions, straight to tape with no overdubs and few takes, Nature Boy gives listeners an honest portrayal of the musicians’ skills and imparts an energy that’s lacking on many jazz recordings these days.

McBirnie’s selection of tunes would appear at first to be somewhat quirky: the opener is What A Friend We Have In Jesus. The performance here though is full of the warmth and gospel feel that this tune so often lacks. The eleven selections include tunes by Thelonius Monk (Monk’s Dream and Bye Ya), John Coltrane (Lazy Bird) and
Lester Young (Blue Lester). My personal favourite on the recording is the wonderfully languid, stretched out version of Poinciana.

I highly recommend this recording; the music is joyous and energetic throughout. I’m just itching to play it for some classical flutists I know. I can’t wait to see the expressions on their faces when they hear Bill practically turn the flute inside out on Teaneck.

Merlin Williams

Brahms - Ein Deutsches Requiem Consort Caritatis;  Howard Dyck (Independent) CC2011 (www.consort-caritatis.ca)

Since 1994 Howard Dyck’s Consort Caritatis has been riding choral warhorses around Canada and the world, in aid of humanitarian causes. It was on one of their European excursions, in 2002, that the choir had the opportunity to record Brahms’ gorgeous Ein Deutsches Requiem with the State Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg.

If we set aside all temptation towards special pleading for this disc – proceeds from the sale of this disc go to the fight against AIDS in Africa – what do we have here, musically speaking? We have a CD by an essentially amateur choir that is in many respects up to professional standards.

Dyck’s interpretation is thoroughly romantic: warm and nuanced, favouring broad, stately, tempi. His choir is well trained and responsive, and very impressive in fortissimo passages – just listen to the powerful singing in the successive entries in the fugal “Herr, du bist würdig” section, for example. Unfortunately we don’t hear as much excitement in the pianos and pianissimos as we might. When singing softly, this choir tends to sound merely soft, in a pleasant but rather generic way.

Mark Pedrotti is a solemn baritone presence, and soprano Laura Whalen warbles prettily. The Russian orchestra is excellent. Recording producer Doug Doctor captured a well-balanced sound on this live recording – but whose strange idea was it to tack nearly three minutes of applause on the end?

Colin Eatock

WORTH REPEATING
 
 

Jazz At Massey Hall The Quintet Debut DCD-124-2

There was only one time that Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charlie Mingus and Max Roach shared the same stage, and that was on May 15, 1953 at Toronto’s Massey Hall. The event, extraordinary in every way, has become the stuff of legend. Not that everything went off without a hitch.

Scheduled the same night as a televised boxing match between Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott, the concert drew a small audience and the band members, as a result, were never paid in full. We can assume that they recouped their losses with the release of the recordings later that year on Debut Records, but even here there were problems. 

The masters were poor. The bass was so under-recorded that Mingus ended up overdubbing his part in a recording studio. There was tape hiss. The balance was bad. Nevertheless, the tapes were doctored up and any problems that remained paled when weighed against the music. The records became classics, frequently reissued in North America, Europe and Japan.

The band never rehearsed for the concert, and the evening has the loose feel of a jam session. At times it’s white hot. Salt Peanuts, with Parker playing off Dizzy’s wild shouting, is scintillating. Ditto Wee. Roach’s propulsive drumming is perfection throughout, but perhaps the big surprise is Bud Powell. Ill and in need of assistance to walk to his instrument, he is inspired when seated at the piano and technically dazzling. 

With the concert’s golden anniversary comes the latest reissue, a 20-bit remastering that invests the recording with a new clarity and presence. The horns are brassier; the cymbals more vibrant; the piano less muddy. The brilliance of this music has never shone brighter.

Stewart Hoffman

Concert Note: On May 15 at 8:00 Massey Hall remembers “the greatest jazz concert ever” with The 50th Anniversary Jazz Quintet featuring modern-day jazz giants Herbie Hancock, piano, Roy Haynes, drums, Roy Hargrove, trumpet, Kenny Garrett, sax and Dave Holland, bass. While the CBC All-Stars opened for the quintet in 1953, this concert will open with a local 17-piece big band, 2003 Massey Hall All-Stars, featuring the top local players and members of the original 1953 ensemble.

Modern Jazz Group Lucky Thompson  Gitanes 159 823-2

Lucky Thompson with Dave Pochonet All Stars  Gitanes 016 496-2

Paris Blues Lucky Thompson  Gitanes 013 038-2

Laura Don Byas  013 027-2

A couple of issues back, I surveyed some recordings from the hundred- strong “Jazz In Paris” series from Gitanes/Universal. Earlier, we looked at some fine French saxophonists; here, we’ll look at a couple of Americans who were active in Paris in the ‘50s. The French capital was a welcoming place socially for black Americans still feeling racial pressures at home post-WW Two, and while the general musical level may have been a little lower, there were some excellent native jazzmen to play with, as well as other expatriates and visitors.

One restless man who found the scene inviting was Lucky Thompson. He paid a visit in early 1956 and immediately found his way into the studios, making some six albums in two months! A big-toned tenor man of the Hawkins/Webster school (though his sound became more astringent in later years), he walked the line of swing/bop more effectively than almost anyone else, defying labels. He had already achieved musical success in America, but was frustrated by ‘the business’ of music, and sought a less-stressful ambiance. 

Modern Jazz Group finds Thompson in March of ’56 with two groups featuring the fine pianist/composer Henri Renaud (who died just last year) and bassist Benoit Quersin, stalwarts of the Paris jazz world. Thompson of course is the main soloist, but there’s also a strong baritone saxist, William Boucaya, and trumpeter Roger Guerin has several good spots.

Lucky Thompson with Dave Pochonet All Stars also comes from two sessions, with drummer-leader Gerard (Dave) Pochonet, a fine player and promoter of jazz. The session from April of 1956 has Thompson’s tenor with trombone and baritone sax in the front line, and a four-piece rhythm section featuring pianist Martial Solal (still one of France’s best jazz musicians) and the excellent guitarist Jean-Pierre Sasson. Highlights include the interesting Fascinating Blues, and a lovely Lullaby of the Leaves.

The May session features as many as 10 musicians, and has a definite West Coast Jazz flavour, especially on Thompson’s originals Home Free and Easy Going, and on Neil Hefti’s Bluebird Blues.

Lucky Thompson’s flexibility and deep roots are on display in Paris Blues from July 1957, by which time he had become a French resident.  It’s really a Sammy Price session, with the blues pianist/singer up front on the blues (and a couple of standards). Thompson’s right at home here and the release, which never takes itself too seriously, is great fun.

While I should point out those three discs are relatively short by CD standards, about 40 minutes each being straight copies of LPs, Laura combines two 10-inch Blue Star LPs and runs close to an hour. It features Don Byas, a monster musician who was in Don Redman’s 1946 band when it was the first American group to visit France after the war, and who simply never returned to the U.S.

A harmonically sophisticated player of the Hawkins school, Byas’ savvy (Johnny Griffin called him the “Tatum Of The Saxophone”) allowed him to work comfortably alongside younger boppers, but it was his prowess as a ballad player that the French seemed to like. The eighteen tracks here are from small group sessions with just rhythm sections, and are indeed dominated by late-night interpretations of standards like the title tune, Georgia On My Mind (before Ray Charles did it), and Summertime. The flame is turned up a bit on Night and Day, A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody and the only original, Byas’ Riviera Blues.

Three different groups back him, and all acquit themselves well, but the six selections with fellow Americans Art Simmons, piano; Joe Benjamin, bass; and Bill Clark on drums, are the most relaxed.

Ted O’Reilly
 

DISCS OF THE MONTH
 
 

Hommage à Marius Barbeau Eric Beaudry; André Marchand; Lisan Hubert Danielle Martineau;  Lisa Ornstein; Daniel Roy CBC Records TRCD 3004

Authentic performance practice hits the oral-tradition field! This delightful disc aims to reproduce the singing style of rural francophone Canada a hundred years ago. Danielle Martineau and her colleagues use as a departure point the field recordings made 1916-20 in the Charlevoix and Gaspé regions by the renowned ethnologist Marius Barbeau. 

The pioneer published collection from this repertoire, Ernest Gagnon’s Chansons populaires du Canada, 1865, contained slightly over a hundred songs. At the time, many regarded it as exhausting the field. But Barbeau, setting out in 1916 on back roads with a recording machine and a supply of wax cylinders strapped to his bicycle, collected more than 5,000 examples; the frail originals now repose in the Museum of Civilisation in Hull. 

Barbeau’s first published selection, in 1925, depicted a jolly, pious community often nostalgic for life in the Mother Country; but he later planned more comprehensive coverage in four volumes: he issued the first in 1962, and associates assembled nos. 2 and 3 after his death in 1969; the projected no. 4 was never realised. These sources cover a wider variety of themes, with unlaundered lyrics. The twenty-seven songs on the disc offer a well-chosen group, dealing with religious miracles and kids’ games but also love (courtship, jealousy, adultery – neither Gagnon nor the fledgling Barbeau would have admitted a song called “La Jaquette,” “The nightshirt”), and murder, presented with multiple verses, twangy tone, precise rhythm and ornaments, almost impenetrable accents, and, instead of “harmony,” an engaging array of instrumental backgrounds, from fiddle, whistle, and harmonica to the occasional bombarde bass or tambourine tap to something called a “shruti petée” (trans., “farted reed-drone”).

Where more commercial performers shy away from giving all stanzas of a longish song, these roll rapidly through ten, fifteen, even nineteen.  In the cumulative “Berceuse du loup,” (the fire won’t burn the stick, the stick won’t beat the dog, &c), where most would make a tongue-twisting accellerando, Lisan Hubert keeps the same up-front tone and steady tempo throughout.  In several “en laisse” songs, where stanza 2 starts with the last phrase of stanza 1, &c., the word-repetitions become as infectious as the beat.  In “La parricide,” a girl convicted of murder is propositioned by the hangman: Beaudry’s delivery, with discreet dulcimer background, focuses on the story, his only “personal” comment being to repeat the last phrase. 

For comparison, a twenty-eighth song is added, re-mastered from one of the original cylinder takes, its ambient hiss intact. Altogether, a strongly recommended addition to the “Canadian folk music” discography.

John Beckwith

Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies Simon Rattle; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus; soloists  EMI 72435 5744524 (5 discs, with hardbound book enclosed in a presentation case)

It was not Simon Rattle’s idea to make new recordings of The Nine but it was the Vienna Philharmonic’s wish to have a Rattle/VPO cycle of the most often recorded oeuvre in the catalogues. To that end, between April 29 and May 17 of last year EMI recorded live performances in the Vienna’s Grosser Musikvereinssaal. These are not the first recordings using the recent
Urtext edition prepared by Jonathan Del Mar but the best played, the most dynamic and certainly the most sensitive. Over the past weeks I have listened to, not just heard, each symphony many times and each time new felicities, meaningful accents, small and large differences in the tempo of familiar passages reveal Beethoven anew. The lines of each group are heard in natural balance without any spotlighting, a tribute to Rattle, the orchestra and a triumph for Beethoven.

There can be no mistaking the acoustic of the Musikverein, where EMI has been making recordings since before most of us were born. This set is their crowning achievement. Unfortunately evaluating these from FM will miss the dynamics of these extraordinary performances. 

Once again I am overwhelmed by Beethoven. How did he do it? Where did it all come from? Certainly his musical genius has, as yet, not been equaled. This set is neither about new editions nor about Rattle or the VPO. This is about Beethoven. It is for Beethoven that, all things considered, this would be the desert island version.

Bruce Surtees

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