BÉLA FLECK — Perpetual Motion (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck has certainly broken more boundaries than any other picker in recent memory, from his early days performing bluegrass-inspired folk compositions on Rounder in the late '70s to his quirky jazz freak-outs with the Flecktones throughout the '90s. In late 2001, this peculiar innovator released an album of banjo interpretations of classical works by Bach, Chopin, and Scarlatti. Before classical purists roll their eyes, they must remember that the banjo hasn't always been seen as the instrument of choice of backwoods musicians in the Appalachian mountains, but as recently as the 1940s was used as a primary rhythm instrument in all manner of parlor music. That being said, Perpetual Motion is a bright and unique take on several well-known classical pieces (Moonlight Sonata, Bach's Cello Suite No. 1) as well as a number of interpretations of Bach's two-part and three-part inventions. These light and brief inventions act as buffers between the longer, more dramatic pieces, but end up serving as some of the highlights of the album. With Fleck often accompanied by Evelyn Glennie on marimba and Appalachia Waltz musicians Joshua Bell and Edgar Meyer on violin and bass, these short, delicate pieces weave in and out of the album, proving that the banjo can be seen in a different light altogether. Fleck's picking is uniquely unparalleled in that he can so easily dip his feet into so many different genres with an instrument that is so quickly pigeonholed. The album drifts easily into the background, which is not necessarily a detraction but, knowing the fire that Fleck can unleash from his fingertips, it would have been nice to have a few more impassioned numbers on the album. The closest the ensemble comes to really making some noise is the final track, Paganini's Moto Perpetuo (arranged in a bluegrass style), which is not necessarily more forceful, but is certainly faster and louder. Zac Johnson
Tracklist :
1. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata In C Major K.159
2. Bach: Two-Part Invention No. 13
3. Debussy: ''Dortor Gradus Ad Parnassum'' From Children's Corner
4. Chopin: Mazurka In F-Sharp Minor
5. Bach: ''Prelude'' From Partita No. 3 For Solo Violin
6. Chopin: Etude In C-Sharp Minor
7. Chopin: Mazurka In F-Sharp Minor
8. Bach: Three-Part Invention No. 10
9. Tchaikovsky: Melody In E-Flat
10. Brahms: ''Presto In G Minor I After Bach''
11. Bach: ''Prelude'' From Suite For Unaccompanied Celllo No. 1
12. Bach: Three-Part Invention No. 15
13. Paganini: Moto Perpetuo
14. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata In D Minor K.213
15. Bach: Two-Part Invention No.6
16. Beethoven: ''Adagio Sostenuto'' From ''Moolight'' Sonata
17. Bach: Two-Part Invention No. 11
18. Beethoven: Seven Variations On ''God Save The King''
19. Bach: Three-Part Invention No. 7
20. Paganini: Moto Perpetuo (Bluegrass Version)
Credits :
Banjo – Béla Fleck
Bass, Piano – Edgar Meyer
Cello – Gary Hoffman
Guitar – John Williams
Mandolin – Chris Thile
Marimba – Evelyn Glennie
Steel Guitar [Steel String Guitar] – Bryan Sutton
Violin – Joshua Bell
Arranged By – Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer

STEVEN ISSERLIS - Plays Kabalevsky, Mendelssohn and Brahms (2011) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Performers: Steven Isserlis - cello, Joshua Bell - violin, Dénes Várjon - piano [4-7] | Stephen Hough - piano [8-10], Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra - Kirill Karabits

BRAHMS, SCHUMANN - Violin Concertos (Joshua Bell) (1996) APE (image+.cue), lossless

In his early thirties, Bell is already a big-name violinist. Hearing him in these two works affirms the correctness of that coveted status. He has technique, a gorgeous, if slightly icy, tone, and a mature interpretive sense. In short, he has all the tools necessary to continue the rise to the top of his trade.
Bell's reading of the Brahms may not be revelatory (whose of late has been, though?), but neither will it detract from his meteoric ascent. This is a fine account, with intelligent phrasing, scrupulous attention to detail, a subtle, well-judged use of portamento, and a technique that can summon both a feline finesse for moments of delicacy and a lean, lionesque attack for assertive passages. The cadenza (Bell's own devising) is surprisingly interesting and expectedly well-played (track 1; beginning at 17:24). The delicious swagger in Bell's rendering of the double-stopped theme in the finale is another highlight here. Recent recordings of some merit in the Brahms have been the Zukerman/Mehta (RCA) and Mullova/Abbado (Philips). I've had a predilection for the Kremer/Bernstein (DG) from the early digital era.
But the Schumann ... This may be the primary reason to purchase this disc. As the reader may know, this work from 1853 languished in obscurity, unperformed until 1937, owing to the artistically myopic vision of Joseph Joachim, whose violinistic virtuosity was surpassed only by his musicological stupidity in surpressing the work after Schumann's incarceration in an insane asylum where the composer spent the last two years of his tragic life. Luckily Joachim didn't destroy or lose the score poor Schumann had written for him, but placed it instead in the Prussian State Library from where his great-niece, violinist Jelly d'Aranyi, rescued it in the 1930s. It has steadily grown in popularity over the years and is now rightly entering the standard repertory.
Bell declares his special affinity for this work in a note included in the album booklet, and his committed playing corroborates his strong feelings. He catches those elusive, emotionally neutral elements in the first movement with the appropriate classical grace and muscle. He renders the beautiful second movement with tenderness, and never succumbs to any tendency to overstate the main theme's sweetness with too much vibrato or other affectation. Bell reads the finale with energy and wit, but doesn't skirt the quirkiness (vague hints of the composer's insanity shortly to come or just typical Schumann?).
I don't want to make it sound as though this disc is strictly Bell's show. Christoph von Dohnanyi leads the Cleveland Orchestra with an insightful baton throughout. He draws crisp, powerful playing from his Clevelanders in the Brahms and just as alert and incisive support in the Schumann. And, oh, how he so beguilingly reads the the opening orchestral crescendo of the Schumann, teasing out neurotic indecision, mystery, beauty--all in just four measures! This is a moment to savor! Good notes and excellent sound by London. Recommended. by Robert Cummings