Search Results

Staring: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins Rated: R “Citizen Kane” is often credited as the greatest movie ever made and Orson Welles is synonymous with it as its co-author, director, and star. However, “Mank” focuses on the other writer of this famous film: Herman J. Mankiewicz. Mankiewicz (played by Gary Oldman) was a New York journalist in the 30’s and 40’s who was hired to come to Hollywood to pen the first draft of the screenplay that was known at the time as “The American.” Soon after arriving in California he has a car accident and Mank is setup in a desert guesthouse to write the script. He is attended to by a German therapist and an English secretary to help heal him and make sure he gets the job done. Their job is difficult because Mankiewicz is a heavy smoker with a drinking problem. The film has many themes. Certainly, the focus is the scriptwriting process and is told from the writer’s point of view as you see a typewriter pluck out section titles as each scene opens. However, Mank’s relationships with his wife, the women who are assisting him and his friends and enemies all play rolls. Also, key is the politics of Hollywood and the world at that time. MGM films, Louis B. Mayer, William Randolph Hearst, and Marion Davies and WWII are all woven into the story. At times, the movie seems confusing because it uses many flashback scenes to provide background information and it was difficult to keep track of what period was being shown. However, the acting and visuals are captivating and held my attention. David Fincher (the author and director) beautifully crafted each scene in the style of the original “Citizen Kane”. Filmed in black and white, the sets, costumes and score are very realistic for the era and he even used the old devise of little white dots that would flash that were embedded in the film that were a signal to the film operator that it was time to load the next reel of film to projector. Mank is a film for movie lovers. It does not have car chases or sexy scenes to hold attention. It will probably never make the big box-office number movies like “Titanic” or “Star Wars” did, but it is a beautifully made movie about a man who was a gifted writer and what motivated him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSfX-nrg-lI

The new movie "Nishikita Chopin (Left of Chopin)" will be released on March 26 at "Cine Pipia" (Mefu, Takarazuka City, Japan). Prior to the release, I participated in a two-hour on-line event sponsored by the Kansai Center of Japan-Poland Association, featuring the director and producer of the film on Zoom and YouTube. The event provided me new insights on film production, history of Poland, and its relationship with Japan. The film will also be released on March 20 at "Motomachi Movie Theater" (Kobe), "Cine Nouveau" (Osaka), and "Ikebukuro Cinema Rosa" (Tokyo), and on March 26 at “Kyoto Minami Kaikan” (Kyoto). (The dolls below are Polish dolls that I bought as souvenir when I traveled several times to Poland for business during my expatriate-years in the 1970s in Hamburg, Germany. I also have personal memories and attachment to Poland.) Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SygxF9bjomg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpObjDJOBfA "Nishikita Chopin" (Left of Chopin) is an independent film produced and filmed in the Kobe region. "A full-scale piano movie was born under the two themes; “passing on the memories of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake"; and "supporting the pianists playing the piano with their left hand." The film is with full of piano music, including Chopin's masterpieces, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (a piano solo version arranged by Erika Numamitsu), and the left-handed piano pieces composed by Kohei Kondo. The film is a human drama of two young students aiming to become pianists. The director is Yoshino Takemoto, a female "weekend film director" who is a research engineer during weekdays. Although this is her first feature film, it has already won several awards from around the world. (From the website of "Nishikita Chopin") https://office-hassel.com/n-chopin/ Story "Rinko and Kentaro are childhood friends and are both students of high school music teacher called Daruma-sensei because of his appearance looks like Daruma. Kentaro is extremely talented, who also also composes. Rafmaninoff played by Kentaro's big hands is wonderful, and he is the best student technically among students. Rinko loves the piano, but she is not as technically skilled as Kentaro and must work hard and diligently. She loves Chopin. The "Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake" and "focal dystonia" hit them as a big test that could close the path as a pianist. Despite struggling and suffering, the two pursue "sounds that resonate with the soul." (From the website of Nishikita Chopin) https://office-hassel.com/n-chopin/ (translation by the editor) Left-handed pianists Takeo Chinai and Yasuyo Segawa, both helped writing the scenario. There are other great left-handed pianists in the world. One of the famous pianists is Paul Wittgenstein, a left-handed pianist who was injured in World War I and lost his right hand. Here is some additional background information of the film. Filming Locations around Kobe Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya High School, Kobe College, Shukugawa Park (around Hanshin Koroen Station), Shukugawa Green Town (in front of Hankyu Shukugawa Station), Japan Evangelical Lutheran Nishinomiya Church, Nishinomiya East Wholesale Market, Medical Corporation Jitokukai Uegahara Hospital, Piano bar Odenden Awards ・ Antwerp Film Festival, Jury Award, Official Selection ・ Kosice International Monthly Film Festival, 2021, Official Selection ・ Japan 12th Video Grand Prix Screenplay Award ・ Milan Film Festival, 2021, Official Selection ・ Southeastern International Film and Music Festival, 2020, Official Selection ・ others How the director and producer of the film met Director Takemoto met Producer Kondo for the first time in October 2017 when Director Takemoto found the filming site for the movie "Arcadia". The site she found was a cafe restaurant that Kondo was managing. Kondo hit it off with the talent and spirit of Director Takemoto. Apparently, Takemoto's feelings toward Polish films started when she saw and fell in love with a film directed by Agnuska Holland, a Polish female film director. Participants (MC) Hiroko Sadato, Associate Professor at Hannan University (a member of the Kansai Center of Japan-Poland Association) (Director) Yoshino Takemoto (Producer) Shuhei Kondo Kazuo Fujii, Professor Emeritus, Kwansei Gakuin University (Chairman, Kansai Center, the Japan-Poland Association) Taku Okazaki, Full-time lecturer at Hagoromo University of International Studies (a member of the Kansai Center, Japan-Poland Association)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKrxPTePXEQ Samuel Barber (1910-1981) is an American composer. “Adagio” was composed in 1935 as a string quartet No. 1 in B minor while Barber was studying in Italy. The second movement became particularly famous as "Adagio for Strings". The above original string quartet performance is by the Dover string quartet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1kmvF1w7yk The following performance of "Adagio for Strings" by Sir Simon Rattle (conductor) with Berlin Philharmoniker Orchestra is also wonderful as the tempo is not too slow and it sounds as if it were a like the flow of a river. Leonard Slatkin (conductor) conducted the BBC Orchestra on September 15, 2001, entitled "In memory of 11 September 2001". It is a sentimental performance including a video of the scene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4PWdOoOQjI "Adagio for Strings" was said to be one of John F. Kennedy's favorite music. Jackie Kennedy arranged a concert by the National Symphony Orchestra (without an audience) on Monday immediately after John Kennedy's assassination. The concert was broadcasted on the radio, and Barber received a radio interview with WQXR about this concert, saying "I know this music is always played in memory of the dead, but I hope they play my other music as well. " (Wikipedia) Barber's "Adagio for Strings" is said to be the saddest music ever written, and there is also a book about “Adagio for Strings”, called "The Saddest Music Ever Written". Perhaps it is the results of a survey of FM radio listeners, an UK-based Classic FM (100-102FM) lists top 10 of the "saddest" classical music. I cannot say listen to these top-10 music "in the long autumn night" as we are now welcoming the arrival of the string day by day, but I think it is worth listening to when “you feel like it" as they are interesting choices and I think they are worth listening to. https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/10-classical-music-tear-jerkers/ 1. Puccini: ‘Sono andati?’ from La Boheme 2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: ‘Requiem’ 3. Edward Elgar: Nimrod from the Enigma Variations 4. Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings 5. Tomaso Albinoni: Adagio in G minor 6. Johann Sebastian Bach: Come, Sweet Death 7. Henryk Gorecki: Symphony of Sorrowful Songs 8. Henry Purcell: Dido's Lament 9. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, fourth movement 10. Giuseppe Verdi - V'ho ingannato, from Rigoletto

Rated: R Staring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn Frances McDormand plays a woman named Fern who is recently widowed and has lost her job due to the closing of the gypsum plant she worked at for many years. She sells most of her belongings and buys a van to live in while she drives around the country looking for work. Soon she finds a job at an Amazon center where she meets several people who are nomads traveling from place to place seeking employment where they can find it. One of her newly made friends invites her to visit a desert location where she meets other nomads that provide a support system for each other. While at first this lifestyle may seem depressing, you soon get caught up in the strong sense of community this group has for one another and the dignity they display. Frances McDormand is the perfect actress for this role. She makes a single glance or gesture say a lifetime of words. You feel her heartbreak, but don’t pity her. She is a person of strength who lives life as she wants it. This is a quiet movie. You have time as viewer to experience the loneliness and silence of being alone. It is also beautifully filmed. The cinematography of the Badlands National Park is truly wonderful. It is honest movie making. No tricks, no special effects and many of the actors are actual nomads in their real life. The lovely music score by Ludovico Einaudi is the perfect accompaniment to each scene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-D4YKZ4LM0&list=PLez_NgpsuzWHqv5z1DiosiKFRU1A_1HOj Released in 2020, Nomadland has already received many awards for its actors, director and cinematography. It seems destined to be a winner at the 2021 Golden Globes and Academy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sxCFZ8_d84

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVd5efkUnw The performance is by Borodin Quartet recorded in1973. The quartet members at that time were Rostislav Dubinsky, Yaroslav Alexandrov, Dmitri Shebalin and Valentin Berlinsky. This is a wonderful piece for a cellist and the first violinist to play if you like Russian music, but not easy for amateures to paly "well" as the interpretation of the music, tempo, dynamics, are so very different by each player. I particularly like this recording by the Borodin Quartet in1973, as it is so easily, naturally and beautifully played (as some quartets play it with too much of their bare emotions and exaggerations). Perhaps Russian music belongs to Russians, or the recording techniques were simpler then, thus sounds more natural. There are a lot written about Alexander Borodin (12 November1833 – 27 February1887). He was an established research organic-chemist, a musician part time, and was a member of the mighty "Russian Five"* (see note below for its members). This "Mighty Five are prominent19th-century Russian composers who worked together to create a distinct national style of classical music: They lived in Saint Petersburg, and collaborated from 1856 to 1870. The Five struggled to promote Russian music." (Wikipedia) Serge Dianin, an author of a biography "Borodin", the son of Borodin's adopted daughter and the man who succeeded Borodin as Professor of Chemistry, wrote detailed biography of Borodin. "The book is in two parts, the first dealing with Borodin's life and the second with his works." "The fascinating personal information that only Dianin could have adds strikingly to Borodin's profile. What emerges, perhaps quite justifiably, is a great man indeed, and certainly the author can be forgiven for avoiding certain items that seem embarrassing in a milieu far puritanical than that in which Borodin lived." (Wikipedia) Borodin in fact seemed a very kind and joyous man indeed. Charles Bukowski, a German born American poet wrote in his book "Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame" (1974) a poem about the life of Borodin entitled "The Life of Borodin". It could be just an imagination of the poet, but it is worth reading the poem. The music is today's selection by Burton-Hill, perhaps to commemorate his death on 27 February1887. Burton-Hill wrote "My own Borodin reaction was further improved when I discovered he was an ardent advocate of women's rights, promoting equality of education in Russia and founding the School of Medicine for Women in St. Petersburg. What a guy." * Russian Five: Mily Balakirev (the leader), César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin

This time, I would like to introduce WCPE (https://theclassicalstation.org/), a radio station that provides only classical music 24 hours a day, without commercials. Based in Wake Forest, a small town north of Raleigh, North Carolina, WCPE has been operating for over 40 years with donations from listeners and a small staff and volunteer commentators (and nearly 200 volunteer-helpers). Radio stations specializing in classical music are getting rarer, so they are invaluable, and thanks to the benefits of the Internet, WCPE fans are not only in their hometown in North Carolina, but all over the world. Since 2006, when we moved to North Carolina, we have been listening to WCPE every day from the morning until the evening. With the countless repertoires and high-quality recordings aired uninterrupted, this luxury would not be possible without WCPE. Even without commercial sponsors, and the funding from government and educational institutions, because there are many WCPE fans who feel the same way, their independent policy of airing classical music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (without commercials), has been maintained. Most of the station's operating funds are obtained from donations during weekly fund-raising activities, held twice a year in spring and autumn. At that time, many listeners pledge as sustaining members. The program has various themes depending on the day of the week and the time of day, and commentators. For example, the early morning slot is a program called “Rise and Shine”, with a lot of bright and refreshing music, a "commentary opera" on Thursday night, and "sacred music" on Sunday morning. I could feel the passage of time in the day with the commentators’ voices and their choices of music. I am often surprised to find WCPE while driving away from home and feel relieved by the familiar voices from the station. Last year, the number of nighttime listeners increased. WCPE is always there, perhaps, when you cannot sleep, when you want to relax, or when you want to be energized. You may like to tune in and enjoy. https://theclassicalstation.org/listen/

Winter’s grasp has held tight to February with prodigious amounts of freezing rain and two ice storms. When not frozen, the grass is soggy and slippery as the ground can no longer absorb any more rain, and our pond is bulging with the excess water. Exercising and entertaining our five German Shepherds requires that we are outside both morning and afternoon, regardless of the weather conditions. Happily, for them, they have double coats and they relish frolicking in the cold, wet yard. We gear up with warm clothes, covered by waterproof layers. It has been a long month. Late in the month, after yet another rain storm, I went out with my dogs for their afternoon play session. The remnants of storm clouds filled the skies and yet the afternoon promised an end to the storms and a few dry days ahead. After an hour of playing, and having fed and put them back in their freshly cleaned kennels, I returned to the house to gather their “good-night” treat. The sun was just starting to set. When I stepped back out into the yard I beheld the most spectacular sight. All around me, beyond the long shadows cast by the days ending, was a beautiful glow of gold on the hills and trees. It is golden hour, the time just after sunrise or before sunset, when the sun touches everything with a soft golden hue. But this time was truly glorious, for the angle of the sun brought the light beneath the clouds and the gold tone was intense. I have never seen anything like this before. Such a beautiful sight to see the world bathed in gold ending the chill of winter and ushering in the hope of spring. “Gold are the great trees overhead, And gold the leaf-strewn grass, As though a cloth of gold were spread To let a seraph pass. And where the pageant should go by, Meadow and wood and stream, The world is all of lacquered gold, Expectant as a dream” Carmen Bliss

(a holy mythological‐beast, Kirin) The airing of the “Taiga drama” (series of NHK history drama) 「Kirin ga Kuru 」“Qilin is coming*” (see notes below) has ended. From the time it started, I was wondering what kind of ending it would be. The unexpected last episode was excellent. Somehow, I think it was more suitable for the image of Mitsuhide made in this program than the theory established in academia. I read Eiji Yoshikawa's「Taikoki」when I was in the sixth grade of elementary school. Both my father and brother were avid readers so even shortly after the war, there were quite a few books available at home, and elsewhere in used book stores. When I browsed books on Japanese history, most of them were old-fashioned where the emperor was highly respected. Therefore, in such a trend, a rather negative image of Mitsuhide was firmly established in my mind. The reason why there were many foreign literary works I read when I was in junior high school and high school was probably because of the youth culture at that time. When I got to know Ryotaro Shiba in later years, I fell in love with “Shinsengumi Blood Wind” on TV, and I read a lot of his books up to his mid-term of his career. Since I did not diligently attend Japanese history classes in high school, my knowledge or understanding of the history of early-modern Japan depends entirely on Shiba's novels (Historians do not think much about Shiba's view of history, and I understand he is purely a novelist). The image of Mitsuhide drawn by Shiba is not a person whose life is the realization of an ideal as is portrayed in this TV series. Rather, it is written as a tragic hero who has been forced into a situation where power is inevitable. Of course, I do not know how it really went, but the feeling of regret that Mitsuhide could not bring Kirin (giraffe) in the warring period in Japan is often reflected in the scene where Nobunaga's end is seemingly on the horizon. The depiction of Hiroki Hasegawa's (acted Mitsuhide) facial expressions before and after that scene pierced my heart. Without Hideyoshi's folly of conquering Korea, and without the dismay of Hideyoshi’s final years (I think this is the difference in intelligence of Hideyoshi compared to Ieyasu, and the limit of Hideyoshi's outlook on life). Hideyoshi could have become a Kirin. I wonder whether "the world where people could live without wars" in the Tokugawa era, which lasted for three centuries, was in fact the most peaceful time in the history of Japan. There are various negative analysis on Edo era, including feudalism, social division, male-dominated society, (and mean magistrates who seem always appearing in historical TV dramas), but the Edo era also created the world-class art and culture, the beauty and silence of Kyoto, and the ethics of the people that supported the splendid shift to the Meiji era. Compared to the history of Western Europe, which was devoted to the war and the colonialism at that time, I wonder “Kirin was there in Japan already.“ To this day since the defeat in 1945, no Japanese youth have died in the war in the last 75 years, knowing that there are all sorts of debates in the process, this is true no matter what. Of course, there are various arguments, including there were no politicians who appealed to the people like Churchill and Merkel; it was Americanism; it was a coincidence, and so forth. But I am convinced that centuries later historians could interpret this era as the best time in Japanese history. Whether it is because of Kirin or not. ＊"Kirin is a (a holy mythological‐beast, a symbol of peace, that always appears when the king (or a ruler) conducts politics with benevolence." https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7zh9o5

“Alternation of three cold and four warm days（三寒四温)” Here in the western part of Tokyo, the temperature on warm days is higher than usual in February of this year, and yellow rapeseed flowers that make you feel the arrival of spring are in full bloom. On a clear day, the sky is blue, and the weather is gradually getting better, but the difficult season for hay fever has begun 😿. I have been watching a lot of movies on TV NHK BS Cinema since “stay-at-home” restraints started in Tokyo last spring. There are many old movies. I do not normally watch violent movies, but this time, I watched so called in Japan “Macaroni Western” (I just learned however the other day that these Western movies filmed in Italy is called “Spaghetti Western” in the U.S.), starring Clint Eastwood. "For a Few Dollars More" was filmed in Italy in 1965, directed by Sergio Leone with music by Ennio Morricone. After watching the movie, I was listening to the theme music on YouTube, so today I will talk about the music for films. There are variety of different performances of this theme music, but let’s start one with the sound of whistling and guitar. https://youtu.be/PgtKt3wgcas The next one is performed by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. First, just listen to the music without looking at the screen and guess which sounds are coming from which instruments. “For a Few Dollars More” https://youtu.be/DT1NJwEi6nw “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” https://youtu.be/enuOArEfqGo According to Wikipedia, "Leone's ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ filmed in 1964 changed the relationship between film and music (or picture and sound). Instead of the orchestral background-music that was the way sound was treated in the past, now sound and music lead and draw the scene, and music tells the story without lines of words by actors.” This same method seemed to be used for "For a Few Dollars in the Sunset" filmed in 1965. It was a pity to see Lee Van Cleef, who has acted many villains, acts again “the Bad” in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" although it was “cool” to see him in the scene when he finally leaves. I also listened to the consolation by Liszt played by Horowitz in his later years (the YouTube URL was provided by Emi, the editor of the blog, in her one of blogs). It was a performance that struck my heart ♫ but I was surprised to hear suddenly “For a Few Dollars More” right after this subline music! YouTube continued to play the music I was listening to before. Reminder, this is the way YouTube works, just in case. .☆.・＊*・.☆.・＊*・.☆.・＊*・.☆. ・＊*・.☆.・＊*・.☆.・＊*・.☆. Here are some extras for those who love cats (as I do) and hopefully bring some smiles in your face, but those who do not like cats should not click 🐈. Although they are window ads, I am healed by watching these ads; "Window and Cat Series" (remember that I am not trying to sell you these windows) Meow. “Similar things” https://youtu.be/i5RdHVTFm_M “Too much to see” https://youtu.be/38HrjVBbxzY “Answering machine” https://youtu.be/6lPoXyp0tWs

Anyone who is a lover of food or Italy, will find this six-part series on CNN a delight. Each of the one-hour episodes focuses on six of Italy’s regions: Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Bologna, Milan, Tuscany, and Sicily. Stanley Tucci is known as a fine and versatile actor who has been in many films and TV shows over his career is the guide and the person who wrote each program. In addition to his incredible acting skill, he is also an accomplished cook and author of two cookbooks: “The Tucci Cookbook,” and “The Tucci Table: Cooking with Family and Friends.” Being of Italian heritage, Tucci brings knowledge and passion to each scene as he describes the food, people and landscapes he experiences. Each segment is beautifully filmed and was largely made before the first wave of COVID-19 hit Italy. This was another thing that makes the series so charming. It depicts a simpler life we all long for again. The first episode aired on CNN at 9:00 pm on Sunday, February 14th. The last episode will air on March 21st. It is possible to see any show missed by viewing through your cable provider such as Comcast or streaming the program on Hulu, You Tube TV or Sling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCixgQe48Yw

It has been more than ten plus some years since I heard the first “live” Schumann’s piano quartet in E flat major, op 47, with my late husband, at a small church on the right bank of the 6th arrondissement in Paris. My husband was born in the 5th arrondissement (left bank) and is a genuine Parisian as Luxembourg Park was his childhood playground. He therefore also knew of the existence of this small church on the right bank where the performance took place. The piano quartet was performed by young French musicians, and I still remember vividly how impressed I was by these young musicians’ performance and enthusiasms. The third movement, Andante Cantabile, is a particularly beautiful and moving, and is generally a well-played movement. According to Burton-Hill, Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann had never composed a full-fledged chamber music until June 1842 (except for simple ones that Robert Schumann wrote when he was a teenager). From June to the end of the year of 1842, Robert Schumann had composed three string quartets, one piano quintet, and this piano quartet op 47. The year is thus called the "Year of Chamber Music". Although it is true to artists in general, Burton-Hill explains that Robert Schumann is "a composer whose character and his life are most apparent and reflective to the music he composed." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QDYe916B98&list=RD6VsLshXUyio&index=6 Cello: Gautier Capuçon Viola: Lyda Chen Piano: Martha Argerich Violin: Renaud Capuçon I chose this recording because violinist Renaud Capuçon and his younger brother, cellist Gautier Capuçon, are highly regarded young French musicians. Particularly, violinist, Renaud Capuçon, is considered one of the best France's extant violinists. And the "live" performance which I heard in Paris, was in fact performed by these brothers when they were much younger.

The "Bach Double" concerto is a pure musical dialogue with "two soloists passing back and forth melodic ideas," said Burton-Hill. Bach Double is a piece practically all violine students play (or study) both the first and the second violin parts at fairly young age. "Bach renders - and rends - the human heart in a way that very few other composers have even come close to" Burton-Hill concludes. In Bach's biography (1873) Philipp Spitta wrote, "Dem D moll-Concert ist unstreitig der höchste Werth eigen und in dieser Eigenschaft findet es auch unter der heutigen musikalischen Welt schon eine erfreuliche Beachtung. Zwei Soloviolinen sind hier herangezogen, doch kann man nicht wohl von einem Doppelconcerte reden, da die beiden Geigen weniger unter sich, als vereinigt gegen den Instrumentalchor concertiren. Eine jede ist natürlich mit der Selbständigkeit behandelt, die bei dem Bachschen Stile ohne weiteres vorausgesetzt wird. Im Mittelsatze, einer wahren Perle an edlem, innigem Gesange, verhält sich das Orchester fast nur accompagnirend, wie es bei den Concertadagios ja das Gewöhnliche war." (Philipp Spitta) "The D minor concerto is without doubt the finest of the set and is held in due esteem by the musical world of the present day. Two solo violins are here employed, but it is not, strictly speaking, a double concerto, for the two violins play not so much against one another, as together against the whole band. Each is treated with the independence that is a matter of course in Bach's style. In the middle movement, a very pearl of noble and expressive melody, the orchestra is used only as an accompaniment, as was usual in the adagios of concertos." (translation by Bell/Fuller Maitland) Among so many recordings by established performers, I chose the performance by one of my favorite violinists, David Oistrakh and his son, Igor Oistrakh, with Moscow Chamber Orchestra recorded in Moscow in 1974. (The record jacket, right, is by Deutsche Grammophon, a German classical music record label, published in 1963.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mcucvpIatY&list=RD4mcucvpIatY&start_radio=1&t=142 PS：　Oistrakh died of a myocardial infarction at 66 during a performance trip in Amsterdam in October 1974. If the recording were made in Moscow in 1974, it would be the same year. Is it too much to think that somehow, he seems tired? According to Menuhin, Oistrakh was managing an extremely hard schedule unthinkable in the west.