Smash hit

There is no doubt when listening to these works that something bigger than any of us is at work — that we are all linked, that our Universe is really just a speck and we as individuals are little more than near-invisible dots. But, as the music plays, it is blindingly apparent that we are all being held by something overwhelming, comforting and beyond comprehension that is always present.

Solitude

There have been times when I have felt utterly and completely alone. Girlfriends come and go, wives leave, money disappears, family disappoints, work becomes soulless and life becomes full of sham and drudgery. My one and only constant is this music. It is a friend, a bringer of joy and comfort, a shrink and a non-judgmental, hand-holding, non-manipulative lover without agenda or need. It will not and cannot ever let me down.

Listen to the Seventh Symphony, the A major piano sonata Op 101, the A major cello sonata or the Archduke piano trio. And then tell me that you still feel alone.

Shame

I used to have overwhelming urges to self-harm . They were my “Razor Blades and Little Pills” period. This last year has been a great catharsis in the land of the “Big Pianos” . It has stopped those inner demonic voices from persuading me to act on their wishes. No other composer has done more to still the noise in my head than Ludwig van Beethoven. He has balanced out the inner struggle and has brought an intermittent but yet lasting sense of peace and strength. There are no side-effects, no danger of overdosing, no shame.

Listen to his Ninth Symphony and I hope you’ll see why.

Where to start

Piano Concertos 1 & 4: Glenn Gould (piano)

Cello Sonatas 1-3: Rostropovich cello/Richter piano

Piano concerto 5: Mikhail Pletnev (piano)/Christian Gansch (conductor)

Piano Sonatas 30-32: Alfred Brendel (piano)

Symphony Nos 3 & 9: Mikhail Pletnev (conductor)

Violin Concerto: Nigel Kennedy (Violin)

Archduke Piano Trio: Beaux Arts Trio

Diabelli Variations: Olli Mustonen (piano)

— James Rhodes’s debut album, Razor Blades, Little Pills, Big Pianos, is out now on Signum Classics. www.jamesrhodespianist.com

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