Book #88 The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, 3.5 stars I reckon. This gentle perambulation through small town America is charming enough but drags on for rather too long with little or nothing happening. Sara Lindqvist, a bookseller in Sweden, has corresponded with Amy in Broken Wheel, Iowa for several years. An invitation from Amy sees the young protagonist arrive in Hope, Iowa for a few weeks holiday - expecting to be met by Amy, or someone, for the brief journey to Broken Wheel. I half expected Robert Kincaid to turn up, given the State location. But no, Sara finds herself waiting for a non-event.

The inevitable book-shop for Broken Wheel is just over the horizon. The plot line is so often soporific (is something ever going to happen?!) There are likeable characters, some amusing moments, plenty of thumb twiddling leading to further procrastination on behalf of just about everyone living in Broken Wheel. So, what will happen to Sara as events unfold? Will she, Won't she? Was I really that bothered? Just glad that I finished it...

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Book #87 The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories

The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories by P.D. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have always been a fan of P.D.James and her elegant writing about her poetry loving detective Adam Dalgliesh, wonderfully portrayed by Roy Marsden in a series of excellent TV broadcasts. This book contains four short stories two of which feature Dalgliesh, one as Detective Sergeant and the other as Detective Chief Superintendent. My favourite was The Twelve Clues of Christmas with DS Dalgleish in particularly perceptive mood, stitching clues together rather like Hercule Poirot. It's a little gem making this well worth the modest purchase price.

P.D.James died in November 2014 at the age of 94; a sad loss to the world of detective fiction. If you are a fan you should add The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories to your collection.

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Book #86 The Last Time I Saw Paris

The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A romance, a drama that unfolds in occupied France during the 2nd World War. Lynne Sheene is a longtime Francophile (I count myself as one) and her research for this novel has been impeccable. I was able to follow the exploits of Claire Harris Stone through familiar streets of Paris, with ease. Claire flees a glamorous Manhattan lifestyle built on lies and follows her lover to Paris. Perhaps rather naive of events unfurling in Europe she finds herself in a city overrun by Nazi soldiers and, in exchange for false identity papers, Claire agrees to aid the French Resistance.

TLTISP is well written with a plot that contains many moments of suspense and after many incidents of despair leads to a satisfying conclusion. Another novel that evinces the courage of Parisians in the face of Nazi brutality, not quite as harrowing as The Nightingale, but an enjoyable read nevertheless.

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Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra

I have managed to purchase premium tickets to see the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra in concert on Sunday 5th February at the Brighton Dome concert hall. The programme will include:

Mozart Symphony No.29 In A major K201 

Haydn Cello Concerto No.1 In C major

Mendelssohn Symphony No.4 In A major Op.90 (Italian)

Conductor and cellist Thomas Carroll will make a welcome return to Brighton exploring more late Classical and early Romantic music. Initially a student at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Thomas went on to study with Heinrich Schiff in Austria, becoming a highly sought-after soloist, chamber musician and, more recently, conductor. Thomas is Artistic Director of the Orpheus Sinfonia.

The Haydn Cello Concerto in D Major is one of my favourite works. It was written in 1783 for a cellist in the Prince of Esterhazy Orchestra and is a very relaxed and lyrical concerto.

Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ Symphony No.4 was written in 1833. He was on tour in Italy, aged 24, when he sketched out the work, completing it after a request for a symphony by the Royal Philharmonic Society in London.

An event to look forward to.

The Finest Piano Concerto

Since I was a child I have been passionate about classical music. I remember in my teenage years listening to 'Semprini Serenades' on a Sunday on the BBC Light radio programme (or wireless as it was then called). He introduced his programme with the words: "Old ones, new ones, loved ones, neglected ones".  He introduced me to 'The Warsaw Concerto' by Richard Addinsell, 'The Dream of Olwen' by Charles Williams, 'Cornish Rhapsody' by Hubert Bath - and so many more light classics. But his signature tune was taken from Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto and I fell in love with a piece of music that has stayed with me for sixty years.

I have listened to Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 for six decades and I never tire of hearing it. It is, quite simply, the best piano concerto ever composed. Over the years I have collected many recordings of this opus. But there is one, just one, that always reduces me to tears. I listened to it again, just today. How many times have I listened to this sublime recording since it was released in 1971? I have no idea. Vladimir Ashkenazy, more than any concert pianist I know, lives and breathes Rachmaninov. His performance with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of André Previn stands head and shoulders above any other recording I own - and I have many. Ashkenazy's playing is so full of emotion and the LSO provides the perfect accompaniment to his virtuoso performance. The quality of the Decca recording is astonishing, given its age.

The most beautiful, romantic piano concerto of all time. If you don't know it, take a listen. If you do, like me, listen again, and again. And enjoy something that is beyond perfect....

Book #85 An Equal Music

An Equal Music by Vikram Seth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A tour de force. Enthralling. Unequalled by anything I have read before that has music as a central theme. And such music; the music I love. J.S.Bach, The Art of Fugue, Schubert, String Quartets, the ‘Trout’ Quintet, Haydn String Quartets - all played by the renowned Maggiore Quartet of which the protagonist Michael plays second violin (occasionally the first). Michael, who walked out on love ten years ago in Vienna. Julia, a highly accomplished pianist was devastated by his desertion. A pianist with a secret…. Why did he disappear? So many years later a chance sighting on a bus. Julia is in London where Michael has been for the past decade, playing second fiddle, travelling the world with the Maggiore. He still loves her. Why did he walk away? Will love be rekindled? Lost again?

This is a beautiful story, a symphony of a novel with a passion for music that runs like a fugue throughout, a learned opus that reveals a comprehensive knowledge of musicianship such as variant tuning, the value of playing scales before rehearsals, a world populated by wonderful characters that resonates long after reading the last page.

A love story for the music lover about the power of music. If you love classical music you must read An Equal Music. My finest read of 2016.

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Allegro Moderato

How does an orchestra conductor interpret 'Allegro Moderato'? it means 'moderately quick' between 112 and 124 beats per minute. That sounds fairly straightforward. Or is it?

My favourite symphony is Rachmaninov's 2nd Symphony. Always has been; always will be. I have listened to so many performances of this great opus. Many delight, others leave me perplexed.

The first movement - the Largo - Rachmaninov calls for allegro moderato. Did he have in mind a number of beats per minute? Orchestral conductors over the years of performing and indeed recording this magnificent work seem to have different opinions. For me, moderately quick is the essence of that first movement.

I have many recordings of the 2nd Symphony. I listen to them all regularly. I have always favoured the 1973 recording by André Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra. Previn works his way through that first movement in 19:10. For me that is pretty damn well perfect and what I suspect Rachmaninov planned. A more recent recording in 2006 by Evgeny Svetlanov conducting the USSR State Symphony Orchestra achieves a remarkable 18:11 for that first movement, the last 16 bars taken at tremendous tempo. It is exciting.

I like the 2010 recording by Valerie Gergiev conducting the LSO. He slows the pace of the first movement to 22:33. The slower tempo is rich and nuanced. The recording is warm and slightly understated but for all that a beautiful interpretation. Allegro Moderato? Who can judge what is right?

On the other hand, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky conducted the LSO in 2005 in a recording where he decided to slow the tempo in the first Largo movement to 24:30. Why? it is almost dirge-like and I reckon that Rachmaninov would have winced if he had ever heard this. Allegro Moderato means 'moderately quick' Mr Rozhdestvensky. Why do you drag it out for more than 5 minutes beyond my expectations?

If you have no recording of this most significant opus by Rachmaninov my recommendations are obvious. For me it will always be the Previn, closely followed by the Svetlanov.

Book #84 Watching the Dark

Watching the Dark by Peter Robinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was my first DCI Banks novel and it's Robinson's 20th! Well, I had to start somewhere. Having watched every episode of DCI Banks on television I started this book with preconceived ideas only to find that TV scriptwriters have their own ideas and embellish character backgrounds with gay abandon! I thought Annie Cabbot was married with a child! Anyway, I digress. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Watching the Dark; it can be read as a standalone. The plotting is meticulous with pitch-perfect characterisation (I couldn't help but visualise Stephen Tompkinson as our protagonist!). Banks is something of a maverick and is fanatical about his music. Unlike some reviewers I liked the numerous references to stuff he listens to even going as far as searching iTunes for one of the Bill Evans albums mentioned.

The plot here is slow to unravel and is very moving in parts, covering the dark issues of people trafficking and loan sharking. How is the murder of a DI linked to these events and even more so to the disappearance of an English girl six years ago in Estonia? Robinson handles all of this with deft precision and draws you into this labyrinthine procedural. I won't say more about the plot - others have done that. I do give this 5 stars unreservedly. One of my best reads this year.

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