#208 The Smell of Nerves

The first calling, that's a fanfare before a crippled waltz, before a ball of monsters. A ball taking place in a head of somebody exhausted, enervate.

Volodos jumps from creepy playing to high-toned dignity, changes tempi. He's luring us away from the sane world.

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov
Work: Morceaux de fantaisie No 5, Serenade
Recording: Arcadi Volodos

#207 The Smell of Tense

This song never ends but it's not a stream, it's not a spinning wheel. It's more elastic, tense, and strung. The smell is somehow honey-sweet and honey-fluid.

Hampson keeps the tense constantly, his voice is vehement and insistent.

Composer: Robert Schumann
Work: Diechterliebe, "Aus meinen Tränen sprießen"
Recording: Thomas Hampson, Geoffrey Parsons

#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

#205 The Smell of Two Monologues

This is the first CD I bought after arriving to San Francisco. British opera kept me connected to Europe. Sorcerer, die, is about a total misunderstanding. It's not a dialogue, we have two monologues here, two persons not listening. Listen to the beginning: Sorcerer, die! – Caliban, why? How pregnant.

Smell the music itself. How it goes up, how quickly it is reversed. How the motifs are different for Caliban and for Prospero. How they merge into something taunting. How it gets basilisk touch.

Composer: Thomas Adès
Work: The Tempest, "Sorcerer, die"
Recording: Ian Bostridge, Simon Keenlyside, The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Thomas Adès

#204 The Smell of Eagerness

The waves are rolling, the flow is rushing, and it's all very impatient and eager. I want this and this and all! The low tones at 0'54'' are crying: mine, mine, mine! The central part is very strong, calmly strong, unshakable. After that, sharpness dims. Eagerness, however, nervously stays.

Buchbinder has a special way how to send tones to a listener. It's so natural and elegant at once. Very impressive.

Composer: Frédéric Chopin
Work: Impromptu No 4
Recording: Rudolf Buchbinder