#137 The Smell of Snowflake

Coming from monotone heavy sky, just one and only, a snowflake. Dancing in wind, going up and down, waiting for a sun beam to shine on it–to be sparkling, to be beautiful. And then, second, third... the air is full of them and they're all the same and they're all uninteresting.

Matsuev makes the lovely music sing. Soft, romantic touch... one can get intoxicated very easily.

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Work: The Seasons, V. May - White Nights
Recording: Denis Matsuev

#51 The Smell of Loneliness

Mariinsky cannot match the deadly drive of BPO/Levine but there's a different kind of fire. It's sparky, emotional, there's unspoken violence.

The soft solo sections are the most beautiful ones. Here stands a man, abandoned, lonely, and yet willing to survive.

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov
Work: Piano Concerto No 3
Recording: Denis Matsuev, Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev