Music to Shake a Stick at

I’ve been passed that ‘musical baton’ questionnaire thingy that has been circulating recently (thanks, Phil!): here is my attempt at completing it… The total volume of music on my computer is 13.6Gb, which comprises 2,834 tracks from I-don’t-know-how-many albums. I’d guess that only about 5% of those tracks were downloaded, legitimately or otherwise, the remainder being ripped from my CDs.

The last CDs I bought were a pair classical discs on the Finnish Ondine label: one features three compositions by Einojuhani Rautavaara, including his new-ish Clarinet Concerto, while the other is a selection of works by John Corigliano. Those arrived in the mail yesterday, while the day before brought The Tain by The Decemberists, which completes my set of recordings by that admirable band.

The track playing right now, is the first movement of the Rautavaara Clarinet Concerto already mentioned. I’ve been lukewarm about some of this composer’s other recent concertos, so I’m not sure how I’ll like this one. As for five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me, well, here I will change the subject like a dissembling politico, and answer a question other than the one asked, as I had an old draft entry lying about concerning some of my favourite (vinyl) LPs, that I’ve harvested from the junk-shops and charity-stores in the town where I live: I’ll pick out a half dozen tracks from those:

1. Chopin’s Rondo à la Krakowiak, perfomed by the Residentie Orkest Den Haag, conducted by Willem van Otterloo, with Nikita Magaloff on piano, this is one of Chopin’s early works for orchestra & piano, composed when he was just nineteen, & appears on the LP in question as the side-B filler for a rather frenetic performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto. Magaloff plays the Krakowiak with passion (& a couple of bum notes) to richly bittersweet & poignant effect.

2. Shostakovitch’s Piano Concerto no. 2 as performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, with Leonard Bernstein as both conductor and soloist. I’ve heard a few versions of this piece on CD, but none of them have quite the sparkle of this old rendition. I don’t know how Bernstein managed to conduct while playing like his life depended on it (with his eyebrows?), but anyhow, this is exhilarating music.

3. From the Sinatra at the Sands double live LP, which is all good, except perhaps for Frank’s twelve-minute mid-set monologue, the song I’ve Got You Under My Skin is one that stands out, wherein Sinatra’s voice & Count Basie’s band combine memorably to polish an old chestnut until it positively glows.

4. Out of the several fine tracks on Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, I have a particular weakness for Visions of Johanna, which must be one of the most evocative of urban nocturnes.

5. My Dad bought a copy of The Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams the year it came out, which was a bit of a departure from his usual musical diet of The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, & Creedence Clearwater Revival. I always liked it too, and while the title track and Love is a Stranger are both excellent, my favourite song on the LP is the layered, atmospheric The Walk.

6. And, lastly, from Prince’s Sign ☮’ The Times, the live track It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night is one that never fails to uplift & entertain me.

The five people to whom I’m passing the baton? Uhmmm, I think I must have dropped it somewhere, clumsy oaf that I am, and, as I’m heading back to the clubhouse-pavilion for a round of drinks, I’ll just leave it for anyone who cares enough to pick it up.