#237 The Smell of Jazz

Monumental and modest together. Passion framed with austerity. And suddenly, coming directly from the future, out of nowhere, these rocking, jazzy moments (at 7'40'').

The old 1953 sound is strict and directive, a bit edgy. Kleiber is balancing lyricism and lamentation in a marvelous result.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Symphony No 5, II. Andante con moto
Recording: Concertgebouw Orchestra, Eric Kleiber

#206 The Smell of Disease

A very peaceful motif starts to spread like cancer. The dark tones at 1'49'' are so ill and omnious. Decorum of the beginning is returning: for the last times, with these dark tones, in an unlikely symbiosis.

Kovacevich is soft and thoughtful. Not so sparkling, not ornamental, not playful.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Piano Sonata No 22, I. In tempo di menuetto
Recording: Stephen Kovacevich

#143 The Smell of Damping

Not the moon on the cloudy sky but a damping haze is here. Low-key melancholy of tones, still the same, a mood caught in a split of second and expanded to four minutes. No tears, just catatonia.

This is not a typical Moonlight sonata, and maybe it's a recording you would not like. Gould goes for faster tempo and left hand emphasis. He deliberately keeps the magic down–no place for romantism.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Piano Sonata No 14, I. Adagio sostenuto
Recording: Glenn Gloud

#117 The Smell of Figure Skating

One leg, the other. Slow, elegant movements. Turn around, skate backward. Jump! Another! And two more! This piece of music is so instructional, you can rewrite every bar to skating terminology: spin here, toe jump there, speed up, extend arms.

Lewis is kind of strict, lathe-like. Merely dancing, more constructing. Maybe geometry is the word.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Piano Sonata No 10, III. Scherzo: Allegro assai
Recording: Paul Lewis

#111 The Smell of Romantic Love

The two voices, piano and violin, are so bedazzled here, so in love. They are walking together, holding hands, complementing sentences. Opiate infatuation of the first weeks.

The sound is soft and rounded. No thorns, even the rise at 5'14'' is so amorous. At the end, the music tells us: go, leave the lovers alone.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Violin Sonata No 5, II. Adagio molto espressivo
Recording: Oleg Kagaan, Sviatoslav Richter

#87 The Smell of Skelet

This is really just the skelet, no muscles, no fat. The symphony moves in the way it should move but there's nothing bold, no attack, no full body. The sound colors are magical, very raw, like if the primitive colors are not fully blended yet.

Grossmann's account is historical one: playing Eroica on period instruments, in the same place and with the same number of musicians as on its premiere in 1804. It's great to hear the music skeleton but the fortes are not the best ones and actually the whole dynamic range of Ensemble 28 is flat. With only eight violins, I'd expect their pianissimos to be mysterious.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Symphony No 3, III. Scherzo
Recording: Ensemble 28, Daniel Grossmann

#72 The Smell of Class

This is classy composition and classy 1960 recording. There's drive and dignity and thrill and sadness and victory. The stress of first chords is literal, the intensity does not drop.

Munch goes for clarity, it's a very classical approach, no fruitless romantism. BSO keeps beautiful, balanced sound.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Prometheus Overture
Recording: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch

#64 The Smell of Yes

What an agreeing, approving sound! In every tone, there's positive energy shining at listeners. It's not funny, it's not really joyful; it's just determined to radiate.

Immerseel is subtle and tender. Period instruments of Anima Eterna touch the chamber currents. It's a powerful recording without any obtrusive massiveness.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Symphony No 1, IV. Adagio
Recording: Anima Eterna, Jos van Immerseel

#36 The Smell of Stallion

Gallops. Frenetic turns, and there's only one direction: forward! A sprinter reaching out for victory. No shadows, no dark tones–pure pleasure. The sudden fortes are not scary, it's just funny yapping.

ORR/Gardiner recording is the finest one. Fast reading, full of joy, excellent sound. I still remember when I've heard it for the very first time. Delightful.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Symphony No 7, III. Presto – Assai meno presto
Recording: Orchestre révolutionnaire et romantique, John Eliot Gardiner

#22 The Smell of City Built

It's a city that is building itself. In strings, and then in oboes, bassoons, and horns, clean lines are designed. The building rush starts at 0'45'' and the city is built in three minutes. After that, piano makes its entrée, and we see two different layers. It's a new architect who's explaining, showing new ways, and moderating. In the seventh minute, the two layers gets synchronized and new developments are coming.

The first movement tells everything, the whole story. This recording is superbly exhibited; it's a clever, clean, architectural approach. The layers of material and spiritual are fighting, and piano is losing again and again. In fortissimo of the last tutti, it has no chance. It goes down and then up in sixteenths but orchestra is just confirming its position by two chords per bar. Yes, at the very end, piano repeats the C notes, as orchestra does. But it's not a happy reunion–we know it was swallowed by the merciless city.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Piano concerto No 3, I. Allegro con brio
Recording: Richard Goode, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer

#21 The Smell of Arms Wide Open

Glowing, sensual recording of Beethoven's string quartets. The minuet of Quartet No 4 is especially welcoming. Here we don't play silly games–it says. You're right here where you belong, feel like home.

Do it. Enjoy the sun and the half shades. The end of the movement flies high. Turn your head up to the sky.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: String Quartet No 4, III. Menuetto: Allegretto
Recording: Pavel Haas Quartet

#20 The Smell of Electricity

It's a big fight between reserve and emotion. Calm but under pressure. Will it hold?

Electricity is the result of the fight. Appassionata is a tension, a thrill in piano music.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Piano Sonata No 23, "Appassionata", II. Andante con moto
Recording: Lang Lang

#19 The Smell of Clarity

Paavo Järvi with The Kammerphilharmonie Bremen has done for Beethoven's symphonies what John Eliot Gardiner did in 1994 with his Orchestre révolutionnaire et romantique. All the pigsty is gone, only music stays.

Bremen's Beethoven Project is a wonderful achievement and the Ninth symphony is its highlight. Clean lines, pure message. A gemstone.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Symphony No. 9, IV. Presto
Recording: Christine Oetze, Petra Lang, Klaus Florian Vogt, Matthias Goerne, Deutsche Kammerchor, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Paavo Järvi

#18 The Smell of Snivel

It's not my language. Alfred Brendel describes seventh Diabelli variation as sniveling and stamping.

Here we little girl who's wanting to dance but have no idea how, too afraid of the world of and for adults. Will she try again? One more time?

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Diabelli Variations, 7. Up poco più allegro
Recording: Stephen Kovacevich

#17 The Smell of Firmness

This is a very special recording of Coriolan. Smell the force of bows in the first chord, it defines the landscape. Here I am, here I stand, live or dead.

Depending on your mood, you can sense Coriolan music as either fragmentary or concentrated. It's nervous, pushing forward. And then (after 6 minutes), the heroic theme breaks in the middle. The finale brings nothing but emptiness with no salvation.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Coriolan Overture
Recording: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, John Eliot Gardiner

#16 The Smell of Recession

It's dancing but not moving: Two steps forward, two steps back, still on the same spot. It's not about the rondo form, you can hear it even in the main theme. It does not really want to move forwards–it makes the first two steps only to make room for coming back.

The recording is 58 years old and I bet you can find better today, more enlightening and swift. But there's something about good old Schneiderhan. Maybe it's the urgency of his playing. Maybe he's not afraid to recede if music asks for it.

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Work: Violin Concerto in D Major, III. Rondo: Allegro
Recording:Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Berliner Philharmoniker, Paul van Kempen