#217 The Smell of Motion

Wind mills, trains, big wheels: It's the revolving motion that characterizes this movement. It's presto, yet the motion is not fast: it's bigger than life, very regular, continuous, unmatched.

Stern is iconic here. His playing works magnificently with NYP. A very pleasant recording.

Composer: Samuel Barber
Work: Violin Concerto, III. Presto in moto
Recording: Isaac Stern, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein

#3 The Smell of Betrayal

It's a weird situation: Vanessa is expecting her lover Anatol but she doesn't want him to see her face. She has waited for him for twenty years and now she's afraid she's old, not pretty anymore. So she's asking him to declare his love to her shadow (remember, after twenty years of abandonment!) or leave at instant.

Now here's the thing. Vanessa does not know she's not talking to her Anatol but to his son. She knows nothing about the tragedy to come. However, the music knows. It gives you a hint: Something's very wrong. The mirrors will be covered again.

Composer: Samuel Barber
Work: Vanessa, "Do not utter a word"
Recording: Kate Royal, Orchestra of English National Opera, Edward Gardner