All just my personal opinion
Listening Diary — violin sonatas by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, & Schnittke, played by the late Lydia Mordkovich (1944 – 2014). Cross-checking Shostakovich’s op.134 against Gringolts/Vonsattel, and Faust/Melnikov
Comparing recordings with the following artists: Müllejans/Bezuidenhout (2008), Tetzlaff/Vogt (2011), Oistrakh/Badura-Skoda (1972), Grumiaux/Haskil (1956)
Mozart: Adagio & Fugue in C minor, K.546 — Hagen Quartett / Chiaroscuro Quartet;
Mozart: 6 Variations for Piano & Violin on “Au bord d’une fontaine” in G minor, K.360/374b — David Oistrakh, Paul Badura-Skoda / Petra Müllejans, Kristian Bezuidenhout
Handel: Sonatas for Woodwind Instruments (recorder, oboe, flauto traverso) — Michael Schneider (recorder), Camerata Köln / Frans Brüggen, Bruce Haynes, Hansjürg Lange, Anner Bylsma, Bob van Asperen / Maurice Steger (recorder), Continuo Consort, Naoki Kitaya; for comparison: Andrew Manze (violin), Richard Egarr
Just some fragmentary, amateurish thoughts on a complex topic of which a detailed discussion is way beyond the scope of a blog entry (I’m not qualified to provide comprehensive coverage of this topic anyway). When thinking about cultural and technological evolution since medieval times, it is common to assume / state that things happen at an exponential pace…
(…) throughout high school I was (day)dreaming about what I wanted / liked / wished to make out of music in my life: I had the idea of becoming a conductor! I mostly kept that for myself, certainly did not mention it to schoolmates — but I have once mentioned it to my violin teacher at high school. He told me to …