hints, allegations and things left unsaid...: Recent picks

hints, allegations and things left unsaid...

Recent picks

On a balmy Thursday evening in Chennai, I found myself strongly drawn to the new Planet M music store at Spencer’s Plaza. A visit, just minutes ago, to Landmark in the same building, had ended in a minor disappointment (which differs greatly from its musical cousin A minor dissapointment). For reasons that are best left for the shop-owners to explain, the western classical section was situated at only an arm’s length of their perfume store. The strange, pungent mixture of several strong perfumes that rendered the air (and my breathing) heavy, made it impossible for me to rummage through their almost random collection. If I hear of a new music store in a town, I make it a point to visit it – and for a good reason too. A new store is almost certain to be well stocked in western classical. As days pass by, the store comes to the irrefutable conclusion that western classical as a genre doesn’t do well and so their stock is hardly, if ever, replenished. My visit gave me a lot to cheer about (it’s a different matter that once I totaled up the bills it also gave me a severe heartburn). Here is what will prominently occupy place of pride on my CD shelf for next few days (as I tell people when I am asked about my preferred genre of music, these are mostly the golden oldies from the 18th and 19th century ;-)):

Chopin: The three piano sonatas, five etudes, four mazurkas (Pianist: Leif Ove Andsnes)

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker - highlights

Mendelssohn: Sonata Op. 6, Variation sérieuses, Preulde and Fugue Op. 35 No.1, Rondo capriccioso (Pianist: Murray Perahia)

Mendelssohn: Piano Works Vol. 5: Seven Characteristic Pieces Op. 7, Fantasia Op. 28, Prelude and Fugue, Sonata movement in B flat minor, Capriccio Op. 5 (Pianist: Benjamin Frith)

Haydn Piano Sonatas (Pianist: Leif Ove Andsnes)

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Variation for piano (Pianist: Cédric Tiberghien)

Mozart Sonatas for piano: K. 330, 331 “alla turca” and 333, Allegro K. 312 (Pianist: Georges Pludermacher)

Peace... :-)

posted: 4.12.04

2 Comments

"mixture of several strong perfumes that rendered the air (and my breathing) heavy..."
Ah and I enjoy walking into a store's perfume section...it's like heaven...have to force my legs to walk out before I reach for a bottle and my will power weakens..."You have enough" I sternly remind myself...
Hmm..guess that means I'm stronger than you when it comes to resisting my weakness ;-) LOL - what a round about way of saying that, huh? Just kidding...
Glad for you...I can just see that smile of contentment stretch from ear to ear!

By

G Shrivastava, at 4.12.04

I don't mind perfumes.. but the "general" odour - a queer mix of hotchpotch of perfumes - that just hangs about near the perfume section of any big departmental store simply stuns my nostrils! To take a somewhat musical analogy - its like playing Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky together! You might enjoy one or more or all of them, but if played together, they are sure to offend your eardrums! Perfumes are fine - their collective "cacophony" is not :-)

Hmmm.. if only you also thoroughly enjoyed Western Classical I can imagine the bill you'd have run up had you ventured close to that section... :-)

By

Deepak, at 4.12.04