#224 The Smell of Accelerated Film

Swarming–people are everywhere, moving chaotically at first sight, but actually in a very organized way. There's no time to take a deep breath, not even at that almost pause at 1'03''.

Young Perlman is shining, and so is BSO. The final tones are so disburden you want to live the relief again and again.

Composer: Leonard Bernstein
Work: Serenade after Plato's "Symposium", III. Eryximachus (Presto)
Recording: Itzak Perlman, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa

#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

#210 The Smell of Attack

This music goes straightly to its point. Intention and destination are clear; no time to wait, no time to explain. It attacks you completely, subjugates you, violates you.

Mutter is able to achieve almost agonizing sound when you cannot breathe anymore. BPO is second to none.

Composer: Johannes Brahms
Work: Violin concerto, III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace – Poco più presto
Recording: Anne-Sophie Mutter, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

#202 The Smell of Missing

Dignified grief. Something's missing, and it will never come back. What is it? Why so sad? You smell the words and actions that cannot be taken back. Regret.

Haveron, of Brodsky Quartet, of BBC Symphony Orchestra, shines. His tone bends the walls, keeping a special beauty, urge, unrepeatability.

Composer: Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Work: Violin Concerto, I. Moderato nobile
Recording: Andrew Haveron, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiří Bělohlávek

#150 The Smell of Fraction

How dancing and playful it is. But the movement is also every fractional, the numbers are splattering from it. Orchestra is suppressed, almost like muted, the sound is very unified.

Zimmermann's playing is full of joy and energy. Sometimes it seems like the music is calling for help, exhaused, violin unnerved. But it's all numbers, small fractions in a landscape of beauty.

Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Work: Violin Concerto, IV. Capriccio
Recording: Frank Peter Zimmermann, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Gianluigi Gelmetti

#147 The Smell of Caprice

First, there's innocence. Then, duality and attack. Exhaustion of love. Humpiness of anger. Attempts of reaching out. Mockery, humiliation. So many caprices in one movement!

This recording has a firm and solid leading from both the conductor and the soloist. Across all the moods, there's constant inner shining in it.

Composer: Béla Bartók
Work: Violin Concerto No 2, II. Andante tranquillo
Recording: André Gertler, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Karel Ančerl

#145 The Smell of Honey

This piece is somehow sweet and dangerous. Its viscosity, its smoothness with little crystals, is so charming. The final disappearance is like the last drop of honey that almost drops and then backs off to the spoon.

Kremer and Maisenberg deliver a focused, sharp performance with wonderful dynamic levels.

Composer: Franz Schubert
Work: Rondo Brillant D895, I. Andante
Recording: Gidon Kremer, Oleg Maisenberg

#136 The Smell of Command

This is an order. The violin is in charge, dictating its conditions. It's strong, stiff, insisting.

Ehnes keeps the written rigidity and does not add one into the sound. He forms a round, sad, and very clear tone. Listen to it and you're down and lonely.

Composer: Niccolò Paganini
Work: Caprice No 3
Recording: James Ehnes

#130 The Smell of Melancholy

What a magical beginning! Soft piano and microscopic violin sounds, trying to grow, to be bigger. But there's no joy in being bigger. In full blossom, the mood is pushing again and again the same melancholy button.

Argerich and Kremer are masters. You can hardly believe it's just music. There has to be more: true magic.

Composer: Robert Schumann
Work: Violin Sonata No 2, III. Leise, einfach
Recording: Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer

#125 The Smell of Dripping Water

Drip, drip, drip... and the level goes up. Drip, drip, drip... nowhere to go, the music explodes. Drip, drip–and the next one is not coming, tension and expectation. And then: drip! Another explosion!

Chung and Solti are ideal pair for Bartók. Expressive, emotional recording.

Composer: Béla Bartók
Work: Violin Concerto No 2, I. Allegro non troppo
Recording: Kyung Wha Chung, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Georg Solti

#120 The Smell of Walking with Child

Child goes first: happy, jumping, running forward, turning, acting like a soldier, like a fairy, like a lion tamer. You're walking with a hero, trying to understand where the energy and fantasy comes from.

Mullova plays boldly, accenting the dancing rhythm. The sound harmony between her and the orchestra is exemplary.

Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
Work: Violin Concerto No 2, III. Allegro, ben marcato
Recording: Viktoria Mullova, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, André Previn

#112 The Smell of Stasis

Take in your breath (as in the recording) and hold it. There are only four instruments in this movement. First and second violins are responsible for the indifferent wheel of noise. Principal violin plays protracted sad and craving tune that's muted by viola, hung in the space, not going anywhere, just repeating its two knocks in every bar.  These two notes are not evil, just completely detached and timeless.

Beyer and Gli Incogniti go crude here. There are really only four instruments, no real orchestra. In many other recordings, viola part is buried under the mass of violins, resulting in nice and boring music. However, Vivaldi wanted viola to be played very strong and ripped (molto forte e strappato), like a crying dog. Paralyzing.

Composer: Antonio Vivaldi
Work: Violin Concerto No 1, II. Largo
Recording: Amandine Beyer, Gli Incogniti

#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

#83 The Smell of Fortress

Attack the fortress! And the warriors are attacking it. From all directions, they're moving forward, so it's encircled and beset. And the standard–violin, flapping in the wind. It's actually not the smell of fortress, it's the smell of all around it.

RLPO under Petrenko has wonderful, sharp sound. Hahn delivers full, assured performance. Higdon was born in 1962 and wrote this concerto for Hahn. She received the 2010 Pulitzer Price in Music for it.

Composer: Jennifer Higdon
Work: Violin concerto, III. Fly Forward
Recording: Hilary Hahn, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko

#67 The Smell of Dialog

Behold a shortcut! All the well known melodies from Carmen packed into 14 minutes. But forget about Carmen, focus on the dialog between violin and orchestra. It's a delicate and complicated one, no doubt.

Josefowicz can hold both lines, passion and structure. She's gliding but never too much. The dialog is balanced.

Composer: Pablo de Sarasate
Work: Carmen Fantasy
Recording: Leila Josefowicz, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner

#60 The Smell of ADD

It's a jagged piece of music for two violins. Imagine these two violins as one voice, one person, fragmentary, absent-minded. Obsessively exploring what's happening around, not able to focus, not willing to pay attention.

There's no absolution. The music is here to be accepted. Will you be able to make sense of it, will you be able to follow both lines?

Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
Work: Sonata for two violins, II. Allegro
Recording: Veronika Jarůšková, Eva Karová

#49 The Smell of Waltz

It's like a folk parody of a waltz by Strauss. Randy violin, touching melodies, jumpy rhythm.

It's fascinating how the mood is different for piano and for violins. Piano is always holding back, almost never supporting, trying to regulate violins–yes, two violins. Perlman is playing them both, overdubbing himself.

Composer: Pablo de Sarasate
Work: Navarra
Recording: Itzhak Perlman, David Garvey

#28 The Smell of Edge

The edge of hysteria. The edge of collapse. The edge of living. The smell of Le sacre du printemps but it's not spring at all. A wheel of misfortune, of regret. And at the end, pure fatalism.

I can't focus my emotions, I'm getting hyperactive. This violin concerto–only five years old!–is moving on all levels.

Composer: Magnus Lindberg
Work: Violin concerto, 3rd movement
Recording: Lisa Batiashvili, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo

#27 The Smell of Longing

First smell is the smell of Tom and Jerry. One goes after the other–pure fun, imitation, frivolity. But then... these are deep undertows. Ambition to be perfect. A younger sibling trying to match, to face up.

The performance is thrilling and intrusive. No wrong sounds, everything in place. It's delivering something complete. Nothing can or should be added.

Composer: Robert Schumann
Work: Sonata No 1 for piano and violin, III. Lebhaft
Recording: Andreas Staier, Daniel Sepec

#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