#230 The Smell of Snow Paperweight

I smell how artificial and distorted this music is. It's like behind a thick round glass, always kind of out of focus, and never real. All the dramas are just a comedy, fights between plastic figures: and snow, snow everywhere.

Pešek's reading is precise, and maybe a little bit distant, keeping it–despite the orchestration–on the colder side.

Composer: Josef Suk
Work: A Fairy Tale, II. Playing at Swans and Peacocks
Recording: Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pešek

#162 The Smell of Aging

Moving continuously, never stopping, never resting but not growing, not building anything: mining, going under surface and beyond. It dissects us, our surroundings, leaving us sad, empty, awaiting. The effect is hollow, the experience is the aging.

Bělohlávek delivers rich, spontaneous performance. Strings soften the shades, wood instruments are so crushing, rapacious.

Composer: Josef Suk
Work: Ripening, II. Poco allegro inquieto e poco rubato
Recording: Jiří Bělohlávek, BBC Symphony Orchestra

#99 The Smell of Prudence

This piece of music is not in a hurry. Even when you'd expect it to get faster, to start act the fool, it's still prudent, judicious, broad, playing on its own terms.

PSO shines in strings, especially cellos and double basses have very vidid color with wonderful dark shadows. Right now I'm desiring to taste Bělohlávek's approach (much faster than this one) and compare him to Netopil (his pupil). Voracity, thy name is music.

Composer: Josef Suk
Work: Symphony in E Major, IV. Allegro
Recording: Prague Symphony Orchestra, Tomáš Netopil