This was Davide's Christmas rip for Chamaeleo (and all the rest of us have a chance to hear it as well).
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This was Davide's Christmas rip for Chamaeleo (and all the rest of us have a chance to hear it as well).
Time here for some earlier music again, I think.
These are part of the French Institut National de l'Audiovisuel's INA/mèmoire vive series, released from their incredibly rich recording archive. They're beginning to disappear from the catalogue; hope to find a few more before they're introuvable.
Ross plays Bull, Blow, de Cabezón, Correa de Arauxo, P de Araujo, Frescobaldi, Scheidt, JS Bach and d'Anglebert on the first CD (organ; recorded 1974-75), and Forqueray, Duphly and JS Bach on the second (harpsichord; recorded in several sessions in 1979, 1981 and 1983). The set was issued in 1999.
Out of print, as far as I can tell. One file per disc, .flac+cue (small covers and a tracklist in the first folder; scans in a separate link -- see comments).
From Davide:
This one is a favourite lost recording of mine. Greek forgotten mega-virtuoso Dimitris Sgouros was 15 and at the peak of a promising career which alas didn't last for the same obscure reasons which brought to unexpected oblivion the name of too many pianists... pressure? Sudden fame when still too young to cope with lots of engagements in the concert halls of the world instead of - say - playing football in the courtyard with your pals? Who knows....
Sure enough, this stunning recording from 1983 (here ripped from the Japan CD of the time) shows a superb technique, an intense musicality, paired with a youthful energy which has the Berliner Philharmoniker (no less) struggling to catch up with! The Karajan orchestra, here conducted by Yuri Simonov, is a pleasure to listen to, displaying a full tone warmer sound than in the DG recordings of the same golden years. My Neapolitan friend Giorgia Tomassi, who won the Rubinstein Competition back in 1992 with this very piece, loved it too! Enjoy!
One more from Davide's library of "extinct" recordings.
His comment:
A true masterpiece of the Spanish piano literature – Granados’ Goyescas. This is indeed a most beautiful ultra-rare CD by the German virtuoso Beate Berthold. Born in 1964, we know very little of her. She put out three albums in the early 90s for EMI (1 Rachmaninov/Tchaikovsky solo works and 1 Chopin) and this one here. She was, and I guess still is, a beautiful woman and a superb musician, and well worth listening to before she's forgotten. None of her albums (boasting a stunning recorded sound too) have ever been re-published by EMI. So here's a good chance from 1992 to have her playing for us all the sublime piano suite by the Catalan Maestro. The disc is even more precious as it features the three tonadillas of the Maja dolorosa, where Berthold is joined by Argentinian soprano Graciela Medina - Here’s the APEs and scans…
The next of Davide's LPs:
Here's the agile and passionate Brahms 1st with the young Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic from 1973 (DG).
A recommended LP rip from Davide, who says:
Another "introuvable" for the lovers of the New York Philharmonic. I transfered a CBS LP from 1979 with a stunning performance of Tchaikovsky's 4th under Daniel Barenboim. The orchestra had just passed from Boulez's to Mehta's tenure, and showcases its beautiful rich string section, the natural affinity with Tchaikovsky's music, and of course the flexible and legendary brass section, powerful yet always in full control of the dynamics. A beautiful disc, gone completely missing after this 1979 issue (this one I bought in an old English countryside bookshop). Try the 4th movement, hope you'll love it as I do.
(FLACs and label)
This LP was transferred by Davide in response to a request from visitor Katamarano.
Davide said:
What a pleasure to listen to this glorious recording again!
The next in the series of LP rips from Davide.
Davide's comment:
Prokofiev's sublime War Sonatas (#6, 7, 8) in my transfers from rare nowhere-to-be-found LPs by three stunning pianists showing similar approaches in their early performances here. No. 6, by Brazilian virtuoso Roberto Szidon from his 1975 DGG début album; No. 7 from Alexander Toradze's 1986 EMI début album; No. 8 played by Russian virtuoso Mark Zeltser, in his 1978 CBS début LP. Such beautiful music...
The file includes the LP rips (one sonata per track; .flac), a cover for Toradze and a Gramophone review each for Szidon and Zeltser.
Another LP transfer from Davide:
So, here's another gem, another lost treasure: Georges Prêtre conducting the wonderful Philharmonia Orchestra in 1983, in an awesome early digital recording for RCA Red Seal of Strauss' immortal Also sprach Zarathustra. Enjoy the spaciousness and colourful sound of this great London orchestra (recorded at the Walthamstow Town Hall) and the passionate approach by the French Maestro, with his unmistakable tempo changes (e.g., in "Of the great Longing"') and luscious and dynamic sound...
LP rip (.flac) + covers
MIMIC is pleased to welcome a new contributor -- Davide recently began posting links in the c-box to out-of-print recordings of performances he treasures and recommends.
Davide's comment on this one:
A stunning LP, out-of-print from 1977, transferred here for you all. James Levine conducts the Chicago Symphony in Petrushka. A rare album, a superb recording, used in the old days by Gramophone (no less) as a reference performance for this wonderful Stravinsky ballet score.
If you need more than that, David Hurwitz also liked it (!!):
"James Levine's Petrushka is amazing, one of the most brilliant, hard-hitting, rhythmically sharp performances that you are ever likely to hear. The crowd scenes in the two outer tableaux sizzle with energy, while the more intimate moments feature some stunning solo work from the CSO principals, flute and trumpet especially."
LP rip, includes front and back covers.
Robert Schumann
Symphonies Nos.2 & 3
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kurt Masur
Teldec CD
As someone said in a comment to Schumann's symphonies by Bernstein. There is never enough Schumann.
Richard Strauss
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert Von Karajan
Deutsche Grammophon CD (out of print)
Today Mr. 7.000.000.000 should be born. I think Zarathustra could be a nice birthday present for Mr. 7 billion (or mister 7KKK). And maybe some contemporary Don Juan has also played a small-not-completely-irrelevant role in all this...so....: a classic, if there ever was one.
Nowadays it has almost become fashionable to dismiss Karajan, af if he was more a marketing/commercial phenomenon rather than a great conductor. Not that fashion should ever be taken too seriously, but a recording of this stature should suffice to shed any doubts.
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No.4
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Guenter Wand
RCA CD (out of print)
For me, Wand's last Brahms cycle is possibly the best currently (un)available.
This closes the cycle.
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No.1
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Guenter Wand
RCA CD (out of print)
For me, Wand's last Brahms cycle is possibly the best currently (un)available.
No reviews. But don't say you like Brahms aloud if you don't try this one.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Requiem
Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Deutsche Grammophon 463 1812 6 GH
No review. Just music. Sorry to disappoint those who'd prefer it the other way around. Life is tough. And I'm 100% sober. Therefore life is very tough....
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No.6, The Golden Spinning-Wheel
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras
Supraphon- SU 3771-2 031(CD)
Classics Today Rating: 10/10
In his equally laudatory review of this fantastic new release, my colleague Christophe Huss salutes Supraphon for managing to remain true to its dedication to Czech music while at the same time upholding the highest standards of performance quality. To this observation I can only add "Amen!" The label already has a couple of noteworthy versions of Dvorák's luminous Sixth Symphony with the incomparable (in this music anyway) Czech Philharmonic--a very good one by Neumann and a classic account by Ancerl. In fact, this symphony has been very well-served on disc, with excellent recordings by Kubelik, Rowicki, and Suitner, to name three of the best that come immediately to mind. Nevertheless, this newcomer bids fair to move right to the top of the available discography.
Recorded live, the rapport in evidence between Charles Mackerras and the orchestra really is the stuff of legends. There are so many outstanding moments that it's hard to settle on just a few, but consider the fortissimo counterstatement of the opening tune, just a touch "pesante" for added emphasis, or the gorgeously natural rubato between phrases of the same movement's second subject, and the way the coda really takes off and builds in energy straight through to the final climax. Then there's the usual gorgeous wind playing from the orchestra, so evident in the Adagio. Mackerras drives the scherzo with exhilarating abandon, and although he never bears down on the rhythm too heavily (always maintaining the lilt of the dance), the clarity of texture allows such characterful touches as the offbeat timpani in the reprise to register with full impact. I also love the extra punch he brings to the principal section's return after the trio.
Best of all, Mackerras treats us to what must be the most thrilling account of the finale yet captured on disc. It takes off like the wind and never looks back, simply accumulating energy as it goes. The great string fugato that initiates the coda flies by as if on mighty wings, and the grandiosity of the closing pages never loses that vital rhythmic impulse that gives the music its inner life. I wish that Supraphon had not included the applause at the end, but when you consider that all of this, and so much else besides, is happening in real time you will understand that anyone who believes that the era of "great" conductors is past simply hasn't been listening. If this sort of artistic communion between conductor and orchestra in the service of a brilliant interpretation isn't greatness, then we need to ask whether the term has any meaning at all.
The Golden Spinning Wheel (a studio recording this time) also receives what is arguably its finest performance on disc, even considering Harnoncourt's outstanding recent version. The opening, usually a blur of muddy rhythms in the lower strings and indifferently played percussion, here sounds as crisp and clean as a spring morning. I have never understood why some performances cut the central episode wherein the holy hermit gets back the heroine's various body parts (so he can patch her together again) in exchange for the components of the golden spinning wheel. The threefold musical repetition is not literal, and the orchestration is enchanting. The section is, in effect, the slow movement following the scherzo in which poor Dornicka gets hacked to bits in the first place, and it's a necessary four minutes of contrast. Finally, this is the moment where we encounter most of the "spinning wheel" music of the title. Mackerras rightly doesn't delete it, and hearing those deliciously chubby brass chorales and lovely wind solos alongside such characterful phrasing, you can't imagine why anyone would. The last few minutes offer as pure an expression of joy as you'll ever hear.
Supraphon's engineering is outstanding in both works, a touch warmer in the symphony (perhaps as a result of the presence of an audience), but in all respects as fine as any from this source. That audience, by the way, is absolutely silent, and with music-making of such spellbinding quality going on it's no wonder. Coming hard on the heels of his sensational Janácek double CD a few months ago, it's clear that Mackerras' Supraphon recordings will comprise a small but outstanding legacy worthy to stand beside the great recordings of such legends as Talich or Ancerl, and that the great Czech tradition is very much alive both in Prague and at Supraphon. Buy a few of these: they make terrific gifts for special occasions, and you can be sure to get a hearty "Thank you!" from the lucky objects of your affection. But first, treat yourself. [6/11/2004]
--David Hurwitz
Johannes Brahms
Symphonies Nos.2 & 3
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Guenter Wand
RCA CD (out of print)
For me, Wand's last Brahms cycle is possibly the best currently (un)available.
No reviews. Austerity. And laziness. Expressed in bytes.
Belgium's La Monnaie/De Munt, recently named "Opera House of the Year" by Opernwelt magazine, has announced they'll be streaming all their operas this season (from after the performance, for three weeks). Free.
Announcement on La Monnaie's website: http://www.lamonnaie.be/en/402/Free-Online-Streaming
They'll be doing Oedipe (Enescu), Cendrillon (Massenet), Salome (R Strauss), Rusalka (Dvorak), Theodora (Handel), Thanks to my eyes (Bianchi), Orlando (Handel again), Otello (Rossini), and Il Trovatore (Verdi).
Check the program for directors and casts: http://www.lamonnaie.be/en/opera/
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No.7, Suite in A major ('American')
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer
Channel Classics- 30010(SACD)
Classics Today Rating: 9/9
Unlike the release of the Eighth and Ninth symphonies, which are reissues of earlier Philips recordings, these performances are new, and quite beautiful. The Suite never has been done better; its melodic freshness and rhythmic verve leap from the speakers, and like all of Dvorák's supposedly "light" music it proves rather more substantial than you might at first suspect, especially when it's this well-played. As the title suggests, this is a late work, dating from the composer's stint in New York, and it's full of the same kind of tuneful, possibly African-American inspiration that we find in the "New World" Symphony, the Cello Concerto, the "American" Quartet, and the contemporaneous String Quintet.
There's a great deal of competition in the symphony, and Ivan Fischer does particularly well in two particular ways. First, he doesn't monkey with the orchestration in the powerful coda of the finale or in the fortissimo counterstatement of the first movement's opening theme. Amazingly, in this latter passage the winds cut through the texture with perfect clarity, bespeaking the performers' thorough preparation and attention to details of ensemble balance. Second, his scherzo is amazing: fleet, gorgeously light on its feet, and (at the return after the trio) simply exciting as hell. Only in the first movement does Fischer sometimes sound a touch stiff (though again, the climax toward the end is powerful).
Sonically, there's plenty of warmth and depth (particularly in SACD multichannel format), but the loud tuttis turn a touch opaque. A bit more presence from the trombones and timpani could have turned an otherwise very fine performance into a great one. Still, this is awfully good, and if the coupling interests you then by all means enjoy this release without qualms. [6/15/2010]
--David Hurwitz
Antonin Dvorak
Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras
Supraphon- SU 3848-2(CD)
No comment from me.
I didn't even get get a chance to listen to this one yet...
Classics Today Rating: 10/10
At 80 years young, Charles Mackerras remains one of the great conductors of our era, not to mention one of the most unheralded. His unfailing musicality, intelligence, and sheer joy in performing communicates vividly in these two glorious performances, beautifully recorded live in September, 2005. They are the kind of interpretations that make you listen as if for the first time to music you probably know well. This isn't just because Mackerras opts for the Urtext editions of both scores, most noticeable in the finale of the Eighth Symphony, where after the central climax he has the cellos play the variant of the main theme contained in Dvorák's autograph (Harnoncourt and a few others do similarly). What really distinguishes these performances is their sheer excitement and vital sense of flow, a function of rhythmically characterful phrasing allied to ideally transparent textures.
This is as true of the bucolic first two movements of the Eighth Symphony, where the woodwinds are especially delightful, as it is in the tremendously physical and passionate initial allegro of the Ninth. Has this movement's coda ever sounded more stormily agitated? And notice how marvellously Mackerras judges the tempo of the ensuing Largo, perfectly poised between rapt contemplation and easeful forward motion. Rhythmic acuity is the hallmark of both scherzos: a deliciously pointed waltz in the Eighth, and a swiftly vivacious Slavonic dance in the Ninth.
In the two finales, so often turned into stop-and-start affairs by less adept conductors, Mackerras creates an irresistible feeling of culmination, choosing rousing initial tempos and then for the most part sticking to them. The Eighth's concluding variations seldom have come across more cogently, particularly the lazy last three, which never bog down in excessive Romantic reverie. The Prague Symphony Orchestra responds to Mackerras' direction with amazing gusto, as if it doesn't already know the music backwards and forwards, and the audience is admirably silent. There are other wonderful performances of this music out there, but this truly is as good as it gets. [12/01/2005]
--David Hurwitz
Paul Hindemith
Mathis der Mahler - Symphonie, Symphonische Metamorphosen, Nobilissima Visione, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Deutsche Grammophon 447 389-2
.flac+.cue+.log
Sank decided to cut on the scans. This time I'm cutting on the reviews. Fiscal austerity is making itself felt...
Anotnio Vivaldi
L'Estro Armonico
Federico Guglielmo, L'Arte dell'Arco, Christopher Hogwood
Chandos CHAN 0689(2)
Francesco Maria Veracini
Sonate Accademiche
The Locatelli Trio, Elisabeth Wallfisch
Hyperion CDS44241-3
Fascinating inventive works, showing their little-known composer as a great deal more than a historical figure. The recording is vividly real and immediate. - The Penguin guide to Compact Discs
This ambitious and beautifully realized set is certainly going to be met with the same enthusiasm as has their previous work...clearly a must for collectors of Baroque music. - Fanfare USA
The performances by the Locatelli Trio respond with spontaneity and expressive warmth to the wide-ranging affects, sometimes playful, at others sober and occasionally harmonically idiosyncratic of these fascinating pieces. Violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch articulates Veracini's melodic line with clarity and communicative charm. - BBC Music Magazine
Johann Sebastian Bach
Das Wohltemperirte Clavier, Book 2
Angela Hewitt
Hyperion CDA67303-4
'The first recorded performances by a pianist of Book I that have made me want to hear them many times over. Strongly recommended' (Gramophone)
“Admirers of Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt's lightly articulated and elegantly phrased Bach playing won't be disappointed by this recording.
These qualities characterise the playing of each and every one of these profoundly didactic yet sublimely poetic pieces. Her restrained use of the sustaining pedal, her consequently clearly spoken articulation, and the resultant lucidity of musical thought, bring to mind the recorded performances of Edwin Fischer. Hewitt certainly sounds more comfortable in a studio than Fischer ever did, and her technique is more consistently disciplined than his was under these circumstances. Her reflective view of the more inward-looking fugues, such as the lyrical one in E flat minor, is most attractive. Taut, but with a suppleness that's entirely devoid of stiffness, this is indeed cogent and gracefully beautiful playing of a high order. You may sense, from time to time, an overtly intense element of subjective thought in her understanding of the music, a quality which seems to be endorsed by occasional references in her lively, illuminating and detailed introduction, to Bach's 'sense of inner peace', and so on. However, to conclude on a thoroughly positive and enthusiastic note, these are performances of Book 1 that you'll want to hear many times over. The recording and instrument sound well, too.
Hewitt's Book 2 is a delight to both ear and mind. Everything is in the best taste and free of exhibitionism. There are subtle tonal nuances, natural rises and falls of dynamics, well-defined differentiation of contrapuntal lines and appreciation of the expressive implications of Bach's chromaticisms. Throughout her playing of these preludes and fugues – several longer, more mature and more demanding than those of Book 1 – there's a sense of unhurried poise, with flowing rhythm. The air of tranquillity is underlined by her frequent adoption of very quiet openings, many of which then take on a warmer tone towards the end – even the E major Fugue, which Landowska labelled 'combative', is handled quietly, yet she's able to sound contemplative (as in the E major Fugue) without lapsing into Tureckian reverentiality.
Just occasionally Bach's more intense movements tempt her into emotional rubatos which, though musically affecting, take Bach out of his century, and not everyone will care for the big allargandos she makes at the ends of some of the earlier movements. Otherwise these are musicianly and imaginative performances.”
Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010
Johann Sebastian Bach
Das Wohltemperirte Clavier, Book 1
Angela Hewitt
Hyperion CDA67301-2
'The first recorded performances by a pianist of Book I that have made me want to hear them many times over. Strongly recommended' (Gramophone)
“Admirers of Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt's lightly articulated and elegantly phrased Bach playing won't be disappointed by this recording.
These qualities characterise the playing of each and every one of these profoundly didactic yet sublimely poetic pieces. Her restrained use of the sustaining pedal, her consequently clearly spoken articulation, and the resultant lucidity of musical thought, bring to mind the recorded performances of Edwin Fischer. Hewitt certainly sounds more comfortable in a studio than Fischer ever did, and her technique is more consistently disciplined than his was under these circumstances. Her reflective view of the more inward-looking fugues, such as the lyrical one in E flat minor, is most attractive. Taut, but with a suppleness that's entirely devoid of stiffness, this is indeed cogent and gracefully beautiful playing of a high order. You may sense, from time to time, an overtly intense element of subjective thought in her understanding of the music, a quality which seems to be endorsed by occasional references in her lively, illuminating and detailed introduction, to Bach's 'sense of inner peace', and so on. However, to conclude on a thoroughly positive and enthusiastic note, these are performances of Book 1 that you'll want to hear many times over. The recording and instrument sound well, too.
Hewitt's Book 2 is a delight to both ear and mind. Everything is in the best taste and free of exhibitionism. There are subtle tonal nuances, natural rises and falls of dynamics, well-defined differentiation of contrapuntal lines and appreciation of the expressive implications of Bach's chromaticisms. Throughout her playing of these preludes and fugues – several longer, more mature and more demanding than those of Book 1 – there's a sense of unhurried poise, with flowing rhythm. The air of tranquillity is underlined by her frequent adoption of very quiet openings, many of which then take on a warmer tone towards the end – even the E major Fugue, which Landowska labelled 'combative', is handled quietly, yet she's able to sound contemplative (as in the E major Fugue) without lapsing into Tureckian reverentiality.
Just occasionally Bach's more intense movements tempt her into emotional rubatos which, though musically affecting, take Bach out of his century, and not everyone will care for the big allargandos she makes at the ends of some of the earlier movements. Otherwise these are musicianly and imaginative performances.”
Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010
If the analogy can be made that the contributions of Marais to the literature and technique of the viol are in some way similar to Chopin's contributions to the piano, then this recording must reflect the interpretation of these works by the "Rubinsteins" and "Horowitzes" of the viol. Most of us are familiar with the reputation of August Wenzinger as a performer on the viol for more than fifty years, as a teacher at some of the world's most prestigious institutions, as a first-class scholar, and as director of many recordings for Deutsche Gramophon's Arkiv series. Appearing with Wenzinger on this recording is harpsichordist James Weaver, Director of Concerts in the Music Division of the Smithsonian; and Oberlin Baroque Ensemble members Marilyn McDonald (baroque violin), Robert Willoughby (baroque flute), James Caldwell (viola da gamba), Catharina Meints (viola da gamba), and Lisa Goode Crawford (harpsichord). The performers have all served as faculty members at the distinguished Baroque Performance Institute held at the Oberlin Conservatory each summer since 1972. The contents of the recording are the Pieces a trois violes in G major from Livre IV, Pieces a une et trois violes (1717); two Pieces de viole d'un gout Etranger (Livre IV), the Pieces en trio in E minor of 1692, and the Sonnerie de Ste. Genevieve du Mont de Paris (1723).
This reviewer can only think of superlatives to describe the playing of this music. There are several points which deserve special mention. The performance of the many ornaments seems completely effortless, allowing them to take on their true role as ornaments and not to sound forced or overly virtuosic or to obscure the melodic line. The performers' tasteful use of limited vibrato is likely to satisfy all but the most radical on either side of the vibrato controversy. The tempos are very convincing-neither too fast nor too slow. This is especially in evidence in the Sonnerie, which is here performed slightly faster than in other recordings, resulting in an entrancing, hypnotic performance of this ostinato piece which could, in less able hands, easily become boring. Catharina Meints extracts a very good bell effect from the bass viol in this piece. In the Pieces en trio in E minor, Wenzinger displays his mastery of the treble viol by producing an unusual richness of tone in the lower register of the instrument, and by frequently matching the tone quality of Willoughby's flute.
In addition to the fine performances, the disc itself is a wellmade product. The copy received for review is a flawless pressing, an item becoming increasingly rare these days. The balance is good, although perhaps a bit more volume would be welcome from the harpsichord. The tone quality is rich and satisfying, leading one to speculate that the recording engineers may have taken the time to grasp a basic concept of the ideal sound of the viols. This product of a small new company compares favorably with those of the major European and American recording companies.
John A Whisler in J Viola Gamba Soc 1979; XVI, 76-78 (from his review of the 1978 LP)
Bedrich Smetana
Ma Vlast
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Rafael Kubelik
Supraphon 11 1208-2 031 CDC
.ape+.cue+.log
Some more Czech music.
Musicweb-International
As so often with live performances, the freedom of pulse and moments of pointed emphasis are hallmarks of a great occasion, and the sort of thing one seldom finds (or which seldom work) in studio recordings. Subtlety is the order of the day: there’s drama in plenty, but no bombast! So the weaker moments (and let’s not pretend that there aren’t any) often emerge with real strength, and the patriotic shouting (at the end of Blaník, say) is never marred by noisy over-statement.
As I commented in my review of the Ančerl recording (11 1925-2 011: same label, same orchestra), our familiarity with the timbre of the great ‘Western’ orchestras often leads us to question the sonorities of the great East European and Russian orchestras. And yet the extraordinarily distinctive colours of the Czech Philharmonic are precisely what Smetana would have heard and wanted. Their range of colour (from the moonlight scene of Vltava to the dark introduction to Tábor) is to be wondered at. And throughout, the playing is wonderfully secure and committed, with distinguished and characterful solos far too numerous to mention.
The recording is digital, but you may nevertheless find that it lacks the bloom, warmth and depth that this music of all music needs and deserves, and which Supraphon have commonly been able to deliver in other issues of similar vintage – such as the Mackerras recording of Má Vlast on Supraphon 3465-2 031. Regrettably, both audience and ambience are intrusive, sometimes when least welcome (such as in the delicate opening of Vltava, where coughing and shuffling mask all the musical detail), and applause – which is (unsurprisingly) rapturous! – is not edited out.
The booklet notes are unhelpfully brief, including as they do nothing about the music itself. Black marks here, I’m afraid.
At the end of the proverbial day, no recording of music so varied and so vital as this deserves to be singled out as a ‘winner’. So I hope no one’s wanting me to declare this the ‘best recording’, or not, as the case may be. But it is, literally, incomparable. Buy it, whether or not you have a Má Vlast already on your shelves!
Peter J Lawson
Antonin Dvorak
Symphonies Nos. 7, 8, 9
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Vaclav Neumann
Supraphon- SU 3705-2 032(CD)
.flac+.cue+.log
Filling and embarassing Dvorak vacuum here at MIMIC. Even Hurwitz agrees it's a goody! We can now safely aim for unanimity.
Classics Today Rating: 10/10
Václav Neumann concludes his remarkable Dvorák symphony cycle on a high note, turning in what is arguably the finest and most consistent set of the last three symphonies since George Szell. All of the competition in this area has problems: Kubelik's Seventh isn't fabulous, and neither is Kertesz's (who did a better "New World" in his earlier VPO rendition). Rowicki, also less good in the Seventh than in the later two works, like Kertesz has an LSO whose playing is no match for that of the Czech Philharmonic. Colin Davis and the Concertgebouw offer a stunning Seventh and a decent "New World", but an unremarkable Eighth. Järvi turns in fine accounts of Nos. 8 and 9, but makes heavy going of the Seventh, and he's cavernously recorded too. Neumann, by contrast, shines in the Seventh, perhaps Dvorák's greatest symphony. His attack on the first movement's climax remains unrivaled, and he milks the finale's tragic foreboding for all it's worth but never lets the music bog down (those marvelous Czech winds help a lot too).
The Eighth is noteworthy for its effortless sense of flow, and also for a finale that, in the Czech tradition of Talich, takes the scherzo variations in tempo yet still has sufficient rhythmic kick to provide an exciting conclusion. Neumann recorded the "New World" Symphony more times than I care to count, his last efforts revealing sadly diminished capacity. This is his best version, a "traditional" performance in the sense that it doesn't bring new revelations to this oft-played symphony, but it's also one whose feeling of "rightness" (note the beautifully relaxed yet seemingly self-propelled Largo and the trenchantly argued finale) married to superb playing places it among the handful of great accounts. Supraphon's first-rate sonics also distinguish this, the most consistently excellent of all complete Dvorák symphony cycles, from the rest of the pack. Supraphon's happy decision to offer the nine symphonies in sets of three also means that you don't have to commit to the whole production until you've had a chance to sample--but sample you certainly should. [3/22/2003]
--David Hurwitz
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.4*, Symphony No.2 "Resurrection"^
*Frederica von Stade, *Wiener Philharmoniker,
^Eteri Gvazava, ^Anna Larsson, ^Orfeon Donostiarra, ^Lucerne Festival Orchestra,
Claudio Abbado
La Musica di Repubblica-L'Espresso
.flac+.cue+.log
I'm on vacation, so I'll look for suitable reviews when I'm back. I hope you enjoy it anyhow. After all, it's Abbado on Mahler: if you don't like it, it's OK. Just a tad eccentric.
If you think you could do better yourself, you probably are Dave "Abbado's-too-damn-good-for-me-to-like-him" Hurwitz's clone. Consider sueing your irony teacher for theft.
Update: now we even have an enthusiastic review, courtesy of our good friend Anchusa:
Fanfare
The Mahler symphony sounds terrific, too—the bass is deep and well defined, while there is a clarity and depth to the soundstage that greatly enhances Abbado’s dramatic conception of the piece. The engineers have provided another vivid experience, which places the listener very close to the action without sounding in the least bit cramped or artificial.
The performance will offer few surprises to admirers of Abbado’s previous Mahler recordings. As before, the lyrical and melodic are given high priority, while Mahler’s dramatic contrast is fully in evidence. In the first movement, Michael Tilson Thomas, in his own recent recording, brings more depth of feeling to the peaceful second theme in the development, and thereby provides even more contrast to the tense first theme material of the exposition. Abbado’s Andante movement proceeds at a free-flowing tempo that certainly evokes the hurly-burly of life but sacrifices some of the Viennese warmth that others (Bernstein, Tennstedt, Thomas) have found here; he does find the gentle humor in the pizzicato section. Where Tilson Thomas contrasted an expansive Andante with a brisk Scherzo, Abbado reverses this, taking the third movement at a moderate tempo that highlights its clumsiness; MTT was able to get more contrast out of the dreamy E-Major interlude. Abbado’s “outcry” section is suitably, convincingly dramatic.
Anna Larsson sings a very sensitively phrased “Urlicht,” equal parts nobility and melancholy. The finale arrives with lightning speed, yet isn’t quite the startling explosion I would have expected—the sound has just a bit less impact here. The episodes that follow comprise a dramatically coherent whole; the off-stage instruments are effectively distanced, especially the “Great Call,” wherein the entire dramatic scenario is marvelously evocative. After the entrance of the chorus, the focus of the recording grows just a little gauzy, with less sharpness and clarity in the orchestra; at the same time, possibly to enhance the more importunate nature of the drama at this point, the tension slackens. But the momentum soon returns, and the “Aufersteh’n” comes to a rousing close. The audience is heard to give its clamorous approval.
Christopher Abbot
The Allegri Miserere, yes, but not the way you know it. And have you ever even heard the Misereres of Francesco Scarlatti, Giovanni Moro da Viadana or Leonardo Leo?
A splendid CD, and marginally still in print, so buy a copy soon. Worth every penny (cent, fillér, grosz, Rappen, ban, haléř, øre, whatever...).
Reviewed at ClassicsToday by the other David (Vernier):
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=4776
Alex Steinweiss (24 March 1917 - 18 July 2011)
Not quite about music, but a facet that's almost indivisible from its recorded form for many of us -- the cover art.
Alex Steinweiss, graphic artist and album cover designer par excellence, died last week at 94.
A couple of obituary notices:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/business/media/alex-steinweiss-originator-of-artistic-album-covers-dies-at-94.html
http://jazztimes.com/articles/28200-alex-steinweiss-album-cover-art-pioneer-dead-at-94
Visit his website:
http://www.alexsteinweiss.com/as_index.html
Even if you don't have €500 for the book on his work, you can page through it at Taschen Verlag:
http://www.taschen.com/lookinside/05039/index.htm
http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/design/all/05039/facts.alex_steinweiss_the_inventor_of_the_modern_album_cover.htm
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 3
Michelle DeYoung, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Chicago
Bernard Haitink
CSO Resound - CSO 901 701
.flac+.cue+.log
Am I entitled to comment on this one? Not really. No matter how hard I've tried, the 3rd is still on the list of works with which I still have to develop a satisfactory acquaintance.
So I'll let Dave Hurwitz talk, hoping that his reserves will provide the sufficient motivation for you, more competent Mahler listeners, to give it a try. One reason I really hate critics for is that once you've gotten hold of a hard earned CD, you just stumble into a review telling you it wasn't actually worth bothering...
Classics Today Rating: 7/8
The Chicago Symphony under the leadership of Henry Fogel started the trend of releasing its own recordings, initially as a fundraising opportunity, so it was only a matter of time before the orchestra launched its own label more formally. While I certainly welcome the initiative, this first title represents a mixed success. On the surface, the orchestra is leading from strength: both it and Haitink have excellent Mahlerian credentials. But let's face it--the CSO already has one excellent Mahler 3 (Levine's; Solti's was dreadful), and so does Haitink (his first Concertgebouw recording; his Berlin remake was dreadful). Actually, if you throw in Haitink's live Amsterdam recordings and his Berlin video, this is his fifth Mahler Third, which, coming from a conductor often heard to moan about the excesses of the recording industry in this regard, seems little short of bizarre.
Unquestionably Haitink knows the work, and so does the Chicago Symphony, and the orchestra's legendary brass section certainly lives up to its collective reputation, particularly in the closing chorale of the finale. But this is a symphony that thrives on color, and here Haitink is at his weakest. His first recording featured an orchestra (the Concertgebouw) that at the time had such an individual timbral profile, and was so steeped in the Mahler tradition, that he couldn't help but take credit for the excellent results. That performance remains a favorite, if only because it has the most glowing, organ-like final chord ever captured. Here, in the first movement, Haitink misses those touches of color at lower dynamic levels from the percussion and the harps that help lend the work its special character.
There's also a certain staidness to the tempos, a lack of contrast in such places as the vulgar eruption of winds and brass before the first movement's recapitulation, and throughout the scherzo, that risks turning into dullness despite the excellent playing everywhere in evidence. Furthermore, the fifth movement simply lacks the picture-postcard brightness that Mahler builds into his scoring and that creates the atmosphere of brittle unreality that so brilliantly sets up the finale's serene opening (Bernstein I on Sony has never been equaled here). Mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung's voice also has developed what comes very close to a wobble, and this makes her work in both the fourth and fifth movements less than ideal. The engineering is clear and vivid, but also a bit flat in perspective, with the brass at times overbearing (not that fans of these players, who are legion, will care).
In sum, this is a good if flawed performance, but more to the point, a redundant one. If you want Chicago in this music, seek out Levine (particularly the Japanese RCA reissue), which also has a very significant asset in Marilyn Horne in the vocal bits. If you want Haitink, Philips has recently reissued his first and best Concertgebouw recording, coupled with a fine Das Klagende Lied. And if you must have Haitink and Chicago together, then you may want to consider this, but only if the identity of the artists is far more important than the actual musical results.
--David Hurwitz
Much of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is on liveweb.arte.tv.
Some of the Festival de Beaune is on also on liveweb.arte.tv.
Much of the Verbier Festival is on medici.tv.
Some of the BBC Proms will be on the iPlayer.
Six concerts from the Festival de Saint-Denis are still available on liveweb.arte.tv.
Pretty much all concerts are available on demand for a while (between a week and several months) after the event.
Please add other video webcasts of classical music festivals in the comments.
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 6
Wiener Philharmoniker, Pierre Boulez
Deutsche Grammophon 445 835-2GH
Say whatever you like. This is my favorite version of my favorite Mahler symphony.
Gramophone
There are inescapable comparisons to be made here between Boulez and Bernstein. Two composer-conducting former directors of the New York Philharmonic, latterly granted carte blanche by the same record company to re-record the music that made them famous (and let's not forget it was sometimes the other way round). Boulez may not be everyone's idea of the perfect Mahlerian, but it is splendid to see DG's ambitious series starting to embrace repertoire he has not previously committed to disc. Conveniently, the yellow label has been responsible for almost every great recording of the Sixth — "the only Sixth despite the Pastoral" according to Alban Berg (and Boulez has not recorded much Beethoven). So Boulez the conductor is in safe hands, the more so since he has the Vienna Philharmonic to offset any tendency to cerebral introspection. The results are fascinating if not exactly compulsive and those sympathetic to his interpretative approach will find plenty to enjoy.
Returning to performing the symphony after a gap of more than15 years, Boulez launches the first movement at a pace slightly slower than the latter-day norm, though he does not seek to emulate Barbirolli's world-weary trudge (now available on CD — to be reviewed shortly). He has the same orchestra as Bernstein in his live 1988 DG version, but at once you notice the different quality of ensemble, adequately precise but softer-grained, lacking the hysterical precision (some would say overwrought quality) of his rival. One might expect parallels with Sinopoli in that Boulez too is concerned to ensure that as much as possible of the score be made audible to the listener. The difference is that he does not see it as his role to choose between competing musical ideas, never spotlighting one significant detail at the expense of another, so that a certain coolness prevails. Nor does he swing into the so-called Alma theme to the manner born — compare the instinctive emotional thrust of a Bernstein or, more surprisingly, a Karajan. It is only the development's interlude of idyllic, cowbell-encrusted calm that finds him at a loss. Seemingly embarrassed by such naïve nature symbolism he puts on the blinkers and keeps going.
The slow movement is placed third. Having been alerted to the prospect of a relatively rapid tempo, I was expecting something unorthodox. True. Boulez disregards Karajan's Brucknerian revivification, but the lighter intermezzo-like quality of his own account is by no means implausible and works beautifully in its own way. The finale will be more of a problem for some listeners. Boulez's structural imperatives do seem to preclude an appreciable sense that there are elemental forces at work here. One would not expect him to identify with romantic notions that limit the scope of the music by presenting it as the ravings of a hero-protagonist-conductor felled by the malign workings of Fate. That said, my own preference is definitely for something more searingly intense. Speeds as such are well chosen, on the fast side but uncontroversially so: l was puzzled only by his unsteady reading of the 'heavy' brass chorale at fig. 106 (23811).
For all the care devoted to problems of balance and articulation, the questions remain. How important is the lack of 'idiomatic' rubato? Is this Mahler limpid or merely limp in its avoidance of 'imprudent ecstasy'? Let's side-step the issue and end on a positive note: DG have managed to squeeze the performance on to one disc — Sony might have done so with the earlier Bernstein but didn't — and there are copious notes by Henry Louis de la Grange. The International Mahler Society Edition (1963) suggests a running time in the region of 80 minutes. In this respect, Boulez is spot on. DSG (David Gutman)
Gustav Mahler
This one won't be everyone's front runner, but certainly worth a hearing. Some think it's a penetrating view, others say it lacks warmth; some that the lines are beautifully defined, others that he's fussy and overly meticulous. Restrained and rational vs. unexpressive. Intellectual vs. boring...
You get the idea. Only way to find out is to listen to it yourself.
JS Bach Goldberg Variations BWV 988
Charles Rosen, piano
Sony; recorded in 1967 (out of print)
Bela Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussions and Celesta, The Miracolous Mandarin - suite, Divertimento
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Decca - 430 352-2
.ape+.cue+.log
I decided to fill a gap in our collection with one of the greatest of works of the 20th century. The present recording has been repackaged in "The Originals", and later in the "Double Decca" collection to also include the Concerto for Orchestra, thus providing a small collection of Bartok's greatest orchestral works.
A review of the "Double Decca" is reported below.
Classics Today Rating: 8/9
These performances by the Chicago Symphony under Georg Solti are of exceptional quality, fusing phenomenal orchestral virtuosity with the conductor's famous authority in this repertoire, in radiant, resonant Decca recordings. The Concerto For Orchestra, Solti's 1980 Orchestra Hall reading, lacks something of the dry humour he injected into the Shostakovich parody section of the "Intermezzo" in his own earlier London Symphony version (generally less well played), but otherwise this is marvelous on all counts. The Miraculous Mandarin suite sounds almost too highly polished at times--trombones near the start haven't the required slithering vulgarity, and the brilliantly executed fugal section led off by the violas near the climax glosses over the music's intended lurid pictorialism. The Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta also brings some incredible playing, with every dynamic detail and nuance in place. But the piano sounds too remote and Solti's clinical precision sometimes robs the music of the raw-nerved vitality that Bartók clearly desires. For that you can always have Ferenc Fricsay's Berlin Radio performances from the mid-1950s (available on DG) on your shelves--but beyond that, you'll find nothing lacking in the rest of this excellent program (the Dance Suite is especially brilliant). [9/23/2002]
--Michael Jameson
More post-baroque...
Get it while it lasts -- counterpoint, thorough bass and Affekte could return at any time!
Schubert: Piano Sonata D 960, Ländler D 790
Leon Fleisher, piano (recorded in 1956)
Fleisher's approach to the Romantic repertoire was mature right from this first album given his intepretive options and his sense of drama that nevertheless remained free of pathos. In the Andante sostenuto, each note of the melody resonates as though it were meant to be the last without ever affecting the clarity of line or the precision of the median voices. As for the Allegro vivace con delicatezza, it is played with an irony that verges on mockery whilst consistently maintaining rhythmical rigour, a rich palette and inventiveness.
Finally, and better than most, Fleisher knew how to perform a simple section with simplicity whilst maintaining incredible presence. Even at moments that appear trifling, we are surprised with a feeling of renewed pleasure; the falsely superficial Ländler D.790 intelligently complete the difficult choice of repertoire that this 28-year-old musician had to make.
from the notes by Eric Guillemaud (trans. Christophe Evans)
Arnold Schoenberg: Ein Ueberlebender aus Warschau*
Anton Webern: Orchestral Works
*Gottfied Hornik, *Wien State Opera Chorus,
Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Deutsche Grammophon - 431 774-2
.ape+.cue+.log
This release could actually stake a partial claim at being (partially late baroque, due to Webern's arrangement of the Maestro Bach's Ricercar a 6 from the "Musikalische Opfer".
The rest is your usual, trite, overly popular repertoire, of MIMIC's "Low Empire".
To entertain these fair well-spoken days...
...we shall continue our series The Late Post-Baroque, or What Happened After 1760?
András Schiff, Panocha Quartet: Jiří Panocha (violin), Pavel Zejfart (violin), Miroslav Sehnoutka (viola), Jaroslav Kulhan (cello)
recorded in Berlin, 1997
(Elatus reissue out of print; the Teldec original still pops up from time to time)
Franz Schubert
Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9
Staatskapelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Deutsche Grammophon 437 669-2
.ape+.cue+.log
Friday, December 23, 2011
Bruckner: Symphony nº 5 - C von Dohnányi/Cleveland Orch (1993)
This was Davide's Christmas rip for Chamaeleo (and all the rest of us have a chance to hear it as well).
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Hommage à Scott Ross (orgue et clavecin)
Time here for some earlier music again, I think.These are part of the French Institut National de l'Audiovisuel's INA/mèmoire vive series, released from their incredibly rich recording archive. They're beginning to disappear from the catalogue; hope to find a few more before they're introuvable.
Ross plays Bull, Blow, de Cabezón, Correa de Arauxo, P de Araujo, Frescobaldi, Scheidt, JS Bach and d'Anglebert on the first CD (organ; recorded 1974-75), and Forqueray, Duphly and JS Bach on the second (harpsichord; recorded in several sessions in 1979, 1981 and 1983). The set was issued in 1999.
Out of print, as far as I can tell. One file per disc, .flac+cue (small covers and a tracklist in the first folder; scans in a separate link -- see comments).
Rachmaninov: Piano concerto nº 3 in D minor Op30 - Sgouros/Simonov, Berlin Phil (1983)
From Davide:This one is a favourite lost recording of mine. Greek forgotten mega-virtuoso Dimitris Sgouros was 15 and at the peak of a promising career which alas didn't last for the same obscure reasons which brought to unexpected oblivion the name of too many pianists... pressure? Sudden fame when still too young to cope with lots of engagements in the concert halls of the world instead of - say - playing football in the courtyard with your pals? Who knows....
Sure enough, this stunning recording from 1983 (here ripped from the Japan CD of the time) shows a superb technique, an intense musicality, paired with a youthful energy which has the Berliner Philharmoniker (no less) struggling to catch up with! The Karajan orchestra, here conducted by Yuri Simonov, is a pleasure to listen to, displaying a full tone warmer sound than in the DG recordings of the same golden years. My Neapolitan friend Giorgia Tomassi, who won the Rubinstein Competition back in 1992 with this very piece, loved it too! Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Granados: Goyescas/La Maja dolorosa - Berthold, Medina (1992)
One more from Davide's library of "extinct" recordings.His comment:
A true masterpiece of the Spanish piano literature – Granados’ Goyescas. This is indeed a most beautiful ultra-rare CD by the German virtuoso Beate Berthold. Born in 1964, we know very little of her. She put out three albums in the early 90s for EMI (1 Rachmaninov/Tchaikovsky solo works and 1 Chopin) and this one here. She was, and I guess still is, a beautiful woman and a superb musician, and well worth listening to before she's forgotten. None of her albums (boasting a stunning recorded sound too) have ever been re-published by EMI. So here's a good chance from 1992 to have her playing for us all the sublime piano suite by the Catalan Maestro. The disc is even more precious as it features the three tonadillas of the Maja dolorosa, where Berthold is joined by Argentinian soprano Graciela Medina - Here’s the APEs and scans…
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Brahms: Symphony nº 1 - Abbado/Wiener Philharmoniker (1973)
The next of Davide's LPs:Here's the agile and passionate Brahms 1st with the young Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic from 1973 (DG).
Monday, December 19, 2011
Tchaikovsky: Symphony nº 4 - Barenboim/New York Philharmonic (1979)
A recommended LP rip from Davide, who says:Another "introuvable" for the lovers of the New York Philharmonic. I transfered a CBS LP from 1979 with a stunning performance of Tchaikovsky's 4th under Daniel Barenboim. The orchestra had just passed from Boulez's to Mehta's tenure, and showcases its beautiful rich string section, the natural affinity with Tchaikovsky's music, and of course the flexible and legendary brass section, powerful yet always in full control of the dynamics. A beautiful disc, gone completely missing after this 1979 issue (this one I bought in an old English countryside bookshop). Try the 4th movement, hope you'll love it as I do.
(FLACs and label)
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Brahms: Symphony nº 3, Haydn Variations - Abbado/Staatskapelle Dresden (1973)
This LP was transferred by Davide in response to a request from visitor Katamarano.Davide said:
What a pleasure to listen to this glorious recording again!
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Prokofiev: The War Sonatas - Rare LP recordings (Toradze, Szidon, Zeltser)
The next in the series of LP rips from Davide.Davide's comment:
Prokofiev's sublime War Sonatas (#6, 7, 8) in my transfers from rare nowhere-to-be-found LPs by three stunning pianists showing similar approaches in their early performances here. No. 6, by Brazilian virtuoso Roberto Szidon from his 1975 DGG début album; No. 7 from Alexander Toradze's 1986 EMI début album; No. 8 played by Russian virtuoso Mark Zeltser, in his 1978 CBS début LP. Such beautiful music...
The file includes the LP rips (one sonata per track; .flac), a cover for Toradze and a Gramophone review each for Szidon and Zeltser.
Friday, December 16, 2011
R Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra - Prêtre/Philharmonia Orchestra (1983)
Another LP transfer from Davide:So, here's another gem, another lost treasure: Georges Prêtre conducting the wonderful Philharmonia Orchestra in 1983, in an awesome early digital recording for RCA Red Seal of Strauss' immortal Also sprach Zarathustra. Enjoy the spaciousness and colourful sound of this great London orchestra (recorded at the Walthamstow Town Hall) and the passionate approach by the French Maestro, with his unmistakable tempo changes (e.g., in "Of the great Longing"') and luscious and dynamic sound...
LP rip (.flac) + covers
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos.2 & 6 - Helsinki Phil. Orchestra, Segerstam
Jean Sibelius
Symphonies Nos.2 & 6
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Leif Segerstam
Ondine CD
No comment from me.
They liked it over at classicstoday.com ('course they did: after all, it doesn't go against any of their dogmas, and neither the Helsinki Phil. or Segerstam are on their 'enemy-of-the-people list').
Classics Today Rating: 9/10
Leif Segerstam's new Sibelius cycle continues in strength with this fine pairing. Symphony No. 2 receives a first-rate performance that offers biting energy and taut rhythms despite the generally relaxed tempos. In fact Segerstam's natural and idiomatic phrasing and the fulsome sound he draws from the Helsinki Philharmonic gives the music a special vitality, whether in the first movement's climactic development (where the strings soar sweetly and the brass offer golden-toned declamations), in the andante's somber drama, or in the finale's grandly sweeping rhetoric. The great performances of this symphony remain those of conductors such as Barbirolli, Bernstein, and Szell, but Segerstam's handsomely played rendition stands as a fine modern alternative, worthy to take its place beside them.
The Sixth is an outright marvel. Again, Segerstam employs relatively slow tempos, but such is the beauty of sound and rhythmic vibrancy that the music maintains a fluidity that defies the pacing. Segerstam's careful rendering of Sibelius' precisely calculated balances draws you irresistibly into this symphony's special sound world. The tranquil slow movement achieves a near-hypnotic effect through the exceptionally vivd woodwind detail. The gently dancing scherzo here suggests Debussy, while the slightly relaxed finale evokes a uniquely refined euphoria and gentle melancholy. This Sixth is a triumph, one of the finest available. Ondine's realistic recording perfectly complements Segerstam's ravishing sound concept.
--Victor Carr Jr
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Leif Segerstam
Ondine CD
No comment from me.
They liked it over at classicstoday.com ('course they did: after all, it doesn't go against any of their dogmas, and neither the Helsinki Phil. or Segerstam are on their 'enemy-of-the-people list').
Classics Today Rating: 9/10
Leif Segerstam's new Sibelius cycle continues in strength with this fine pairing. Symphony No. 2 receives a first-rate performance that offers biting energy and taut rhythms despite the generally relaxed tempos. In fact Segerstam's natural and idiomatic phrasing and the fulsome sound he draws from the Helsinki Philharmonic gives the music a special vitality, whether in the first movement's climactic development (where the strings soar sweetly and the brass offer golden-toned declamations), in the andante's somber drama, or in the finale's grandly sweeping rhetoric. The great performances of this symphony remain those of conductors such as Barbirolli, Bernstein, and Szell, but Segerstam's handsomely played rendition stands as a fine modern alternative, worthy to take its place beside them.
The Sixth is an outright marvel. Again, Segerstam employs relatively slow tempos, but such is the beauty of sound and rhythmic vibrancy that the music maintains a fluidity that defies the pacing. Segerstam's careful rendering of Sibelius' precisely calculated balances draws you irresistibly into this symphony's special sound world. The tranquil slow movement achieves a near-hypnotic effect through the exceptionally vivd woodwind detail. The gently dancing scherzo here suggests Debussy, while the slightly relaxed finale evokes a uniquely refined euphoria and gentle melancholy. This Sixth is a triumph, one of the finest available. Ondine's realistic recording perfectly complements Segerstam's ravishing sound concept.
--Victor Carr Jr
Stravinsky: Petrouchka -- Levine/Chicago SO (1977)
MIMIC is pleased to welcome a new contributor -- Davide recently began posting links in the c-box to out-of-print recordings of performances he treasures and recommends.Davide's comment on this one:
A stunning LP, out-of-print from 1977, transferred here for you all. James Levine conducts the Chicago Symphony in Petrushka. A rare album, a superb recording, used in the old days by Gramophone (no less) as a reference performance for this wonderful Stravinsky ballet score.
If you need more than that, David Hurwitz also liked it (!!):
"James Levine's Petrushka is amazing, one of the most brilliant, hard-hitting, rhythmically sharp performances that you are ever likely to hear. The crowd scenes in the two outer tableaux sizzle with energy, while the more intimate moments feature some stunning solo work from the CSO principals, flute and trumpet especially."
LP rip, includes front and back covers.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Schumann: Symphonies Nos.2 & 3 - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Masur
Robert SchumannSymphonies Nos.2 & 3
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kurt Masur
Teldec CD
As someone said in a comment to Schumann's symphonies by Bernstein. There is never enough Schumann.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan - Berliner Philharmoniker, Karajan
Richard StraussAlso Sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert Von Karajan
Deutsche Grammophon CD (out of print)
Today Mr. 7.000.000.000 should be born. I think Zarathustra could be a nice birthday present for Mr. 7 billion (or mister 7KKK). And maybe some contemporary Don Juan has also played a small-not-completely-irrelevant role in all this...so....: a classic, if there ever was one.
Nowadays it has almost become fashionable to dismiss Karajan, af if he was more a marketing/commercial phenomenon rather than a great conductor. Not that fashion should ever be taken too seriously, but a recording of this stature should suffice to shed any doubts.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Brahms: Symphony No.4 - NDR Sinfonieorchester, Wand
Johannes BrahmsSymphony No.4
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Guenter Wand
RCA CD (out of print)
For me, Wand's last Brahms cycle is possibly the best currently (un)available.
This closes the cycle.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Brahms: Symphony No.1 - NDR Sinfonieorchester, Wand
Johannes BrahmsSymphony No.1
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Guenter Wand
RCA CD (out of print)
For me, Wand's last Brahms cycle is possibly the best currently (un)available.
No reviews. But don't say you like Brahms aloud if you don't try this one.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Mozart: Requiem - Berliner Philharmoniker, Abbado
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Requiem
Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Deutsche Grammophon 463 1812 6 GH
No review. Just music. Sorry to disappoint those who'd prefer it the other way around. Life is tough. And I'm 100% sober. Therefore life is very tough....
Monday, October 24, 2011
Dvorak: Symphony No.6, The Golden Spinning-Wheel - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Mackerras
Antonin DvorakSymphony No.6, The Golden Spinning-Wheel
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras
Supraphon- SU 3771-2 031(CD)
Classics Today Rating: 10/10
In his equally laudatory review of this fantastic new release, my colleague Christophe Huss salutes Supraphon for managing to remain true to its dedication to Czech music while at the same time upholding the highest standards of performance quality. To this observation I can only add "Amen!" The label already has a couple of noteworthy versions of Dvorák's luminous Sixth Symphony with the incomparable (in this music anyway) Czech Philharmonic--a very good one by Neumann and a classic account by Ancerl. In fact, this symphony has been very well-served on disc, with excellent recordings by Kubelik, Rowicki, and Suitner, to name three of the best that come immediately to mind. Nevertheless, this newcomer bids fair to move right to the top of the available discography.
Recorded live, the rapport in evidence between Charles Mackerras and the orchestra really is the stuff of legends. There are so many outstanding moments that it's hard to settle on just a few, but consider the fortissimo counterstatement of the opening tune, just a touch "pesante" for added emphasis, or the gorgeously natural rubato between phrases of the same movement's second subject, and the way the coda really takes off and builds in energy straight through to the final climax. Then there's the usual gorgeous wind playing from the orchestra, so evident in the Adagio. Mackerras drives the scherzo with exhilarating abandon, and although he never bears down on the rhythm too heavily (always maintaining the lilt of the dance), the clarity of texture allows such characterful touches as the offbeat timpani in the reprise to register with full impact. I also love the extra punch he brings to the principal section's return after the trio.
Best of all, Mackerras treats us to what must be the most thrilling account of the finale yet captured on disc. It takes off like the wind and never looks back, simply accumulating energy as it goes. The great string fugato that initiates the coda flies by as if on mighty wings, and the grandiosity of the closing pages never loses that vital rhythmic impulse that gives the music its inner life. I wish that Supraphon had not included the applause at the end, but when you consider that all of this, and so much else besides, is happening in real time you will understand that anyone who believes that the era of "great" conductors is past simply hasn't been listening. If this sort of artistic communion between conductor and orchestra in the service of a brilliant interpretation isn't greatness, then we need to ask whether the term has any meaning at all.
The Golden Spinning Wheel (a studio recording this time) also receives what is arguably its finest performance on disc, even considering Harnoncourt's outstanding recent version. The opening, usually a blur of muddy rhythms in the lower strings and indifferently played percussion, here sounds as crisp and clean as a spring morning. I have never understood why some performances cut the central episode wherein the holy hermit gets back the heroine's various body parts (so he can patch her together again) in exchange for the components of the golden spinning wheel. The threefold musical repetition is not literal, and the orchestration is enchanting. The section is, in effect, the slow movement following the scherzo in which poor Dornicka gets hacked to bits in the first place, and it's a necessary four minutes of contrast. Finally, this is the moment where we encounter most of the "spinning wheel" music of the title. Mackerras rightly doesn't delete it, and hearing those deliciously chubby brass chorales and lovely wind solos alongside such characterful phrasing, you can't imagine why anyone would. The last few minutes offer as pure an expression of joy as you'll ever hear.
Supraphon's engineering is outstanding in both works, a touch warmer in the symphony (perhaps as a result of the presence of an audience), but in all respects as fine as any from this source. That audience, by the way, is absolutely silent, and with music-making of such spellbinding quality going on it's no wonder. Coming hard on the heels of his sensational Janácek double CD a few months ago, it's clear that Mackerras' Supraphon recordings will comprise a small but outstanding legacy worthy to stand beside the great recordings of such legends as Talich or Ancerl, and that the great Czech tradition is very much alive both in Prague and at Supraphon. Buy a few of these: they make terrific gifts for special occasions, and you can be sure to get a hearty "Thank you!" from the lucky objects of your affection. But first, treat yourself. [6/11/2004]
--David Hurwitz
Friday, October 21, 2011
Brahms: Symphonies Nos.2 & 3 - NDR Sinfonieorchester, Wand
Johannes BrahmsSymphonies Nos.2 & 3
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Guenter Wand
RCA CD (out of print)
For me, Wand's last Brahms cycle is possibly the best currently (un)available.
No reviews. Austerity. And laziness. Expressed in bytes.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Good news for opera fans
Belgium's La Monnaie/De Munt, recently named "Opera House of the Year" by Opernwelt magazine, has announced they'll be streaming all their operas this season (from after the performance, for three weeks). Free.Announcement on La Monnaie's website: http://www.lamonnaie.be/en/402/Free-Online-Streaming
They'll be doing Oedipe (Enescu), Cendrillon (Massenet), Salome (R Strauss), Rusalka (Dvorak), Theodora (Handel), Thanks to my eyes (Bianchi), Orlando (Handel again), Otello (Rossini), and Il Trovatore (Verdi).
Check the program for directors and casts: http://www.lamonnaie.be/en/opera/
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Dvorak: Symphony No.7, Suite in A major ('American') - Budapest Festival Orchestra, Fischer
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No.7, Suite in A major ('American')
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer
Channel Classics- 30010(SACD)
Classics Today Rating: 9/9
Unlike the release of the Eighth and Ninth symphonies, which are reissues of earlier Philips recordings, these performances are new, and quite beautiful. The Suite never has been done better; its melodic freshness and rhythmic verve leap from the speakers, and like all of Dvorák's supposedly "light" music it proves rather more substantial than you might at first suspect, especially when it's this well-played. As the title suggests, this is a late work, dating from the composer's stint in New York, and it's full of the same kind of tuneful, possibly African-American inspiration that we find in the "New World" Symphony, the Cello Concerto, the "American" Quartet, and the contemporaneous String Quintet.
There's a great deal of competition in the symphony, and Ivan Fischer does particularly well in two particular ways. First, he doesn't monkey with the orchestration in the powerful coda of the finale or in the fortissimo counterstatement of the first movement's opening theme. Amazingly, in this latter passage the winds cut through the texture with perfect clarity, bespeaking the performers' thorough preparation and attention to details of ensemble balance. Second, his scherzo is amazing: fleet, gorgeously light on its feet, and (at the return after the trio) simply exciting as hell. Only in the first movement does Fischer sometimes sound a touch stiff (though again, the climax toward the end is powerful).
Sonically, there's plenty of warmth and depth (particularly in SACD multichannel format), but the loud tuttis turn a touch opaque. A bit more presence from the trombones and timpani could have turned an otherwise very fine performance into a great one. Still, this is awfully good, and if the coupling interests you then by all means enjoy this release without qualms. [6/15/2010]
--David Hurwitz
Friday, October 14, 2011
Dvorak: Symphonies Nos.8&9 - Prague Symphony Orch., Mackerras
Antonin DvorakSymphonies Nos. 8 & 9
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras
Supraphon- SU 3848-2(CD)
No comment from me.
I didn't even get get a chance to listen to this one yet...
Classics Today Rating: 10/10
At 80 years young, Charles Mackerras remains one of the great conductors of our era, not to mention one of the most unheralded. His unfailing musicality, intelligence, and sheer joy in performing communicates vividly in these two glorious performances, beautifully recorded live in September, 2005. They are the kind of interpretations that make you listen as if for the first time to music you probably know well. This isn't just because Mackerras opts for the Urtext editions of both scores, most noticeable in the finale of the Eighth Symphony, where after the central climax he has the cellos play the variant of the main theme contained in Dvorák's autograph (Harnoncourt and a few others do similarly). What really distinguishes these performances is their sheer excitement and vital sense of flow, a function of rhythmically characterful phrasing allied to ideally transparent textures.
This is as true of the bucolic first two movements of the Eighth Symphony, where the woodwinds are especially delightful, as it is in the tremendously physical and passionate initial allegro of the Ninth. Has this movement's coda ever sounded more stormily agitated? And notice how marvellously Mackerras judges the tempo of the ensuing Largo, perfectly poised between rapt contemplation and easeful forward motion. Rhythmic acuity is the hallmark of both scherzos: a deliciously pointed waltz in the Eighth, and a swiftly vivacious Slavonic dance in the Ninth.
In the two finales, so often turned into stop-and-start affairs by less adept conductors, Mackerras creates an irresistible feeling of culmination, choosing rousing initial tempos and then for the most part sticking to them. The Eighth's concluding variations seldom have come across more cogently, particularly the lazy last three, which never bog down in excessive Romantic reverie. The Prague Symphony Orchestra responds to Mackerras' direction with amazing gusto, as if it doesn't already know the music backwards and forwards, and the audience is admirably silent. There are other wonderful performances of this music out there, but this truly is as good as it gets. [12/01/2005]
--David Hurwitz
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Hindemith: Mathis der Mahler, Symphonische Metamorphosen, Nobilissima Visione -Berliner Philharmoniker, Abbado
Paul HindemithMathis der Mahler - Symphonie, Symphonische Metamorphosen, Nobilissima Visione, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Deutsche Grammophon 447 389-2
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Sank decided to cut on the scans. This time I'm cutting on the reviews. Fiscal austerity is making itself felt...
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Vivaldi: L'Estro Armonico - L'Arte dell'Arco, Hogwood
Anotnio VivaldiL'Estro Armonico
Federico Guglielmo, L'Arte dell'Arco, Christopher Hogwood
Chandos CHAN 0689(2)
Monday, September 19, 2011
Veracini: Sonate Accademiche - The Locatelli Trio, Wallfisch
Francesco Maria VeraciniSonate Accademiche
The Locatelli Trio, Elisabeth Wallfisch
Hyperion CDS44241-3
Fascinating inventive works, showing their little-known composer as a great deal more than a historical figure. The recording is vividly real and immediate. - The Penguin guide to Compact Discs
This ambitious and beautifully realized set is certainly going to be met with the same enthusiasm as has their previous work...clearly a must for collectors of Baroque music. - Fanfare USA
The performances by the Locatelli Trio respond with spontaneity and expressive warmth to the wide-ranging affects, sometimes playful, at others sober and occasionally harmonically idiosyncratic of these fascinating pieces. Violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch articulates Veracini's melodic line with clarity and communicative charm. - BBC Music Magazine
Saturday, September 17, 2011
JS Bach: Das Wohltemperirte Clavier, Book 2 - Angela Hewitt
Johann Sebastian BachDas Wohltemperirte Clavier, Book 2
Angela Hewitt
Hyperion CDA67303-4
'The first recorded performances by a pianist of Book I that have made me want to hear them many times over. Strongly recommended' (Gramophone)
“Admirers of Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt's lightly articulated and elegantly phrased Bach playing won't be disappointed by this recording.
These qualities characterise the playing of each and every one of these profoundly didactic yet sublimely poetic pieces. Her restrained use of the sustaining pedal, her consequently clearly spoken articulation, and the resultant lucidity of musical thought, bring to mind the recorded performances of Edwin Fischer. Hewitt certainly sounds more comfortable in a studio than Fischer ever did, and her technique is more consistently disciplined than his was under these circumstances. Her reflective view of the more inward-looking fugues, such as the lyrical one in E flat minor, is most attractive. Taut, but with a suppleness that's entirely devoid of stiffness, this is indeed cogent and gracefully beautiful playing of a high order. You may sense, from time to time, an overtly intense element of subjective thought in her understanding of the music, a quality which seems to be endorsed by occasional references in her lively, illuminating and detailed introduction, to Bach's 'sense of inner peace', and so on. However, to conclude on a thoroughly positive and enthusiastic note, these are performances of Book 1 that you'll want to hear many times over. The recording and instrument sound well, too.
Hewitt's Book 2 is a delight to both ear and mind. Everything is in the best taste and free of exhibitionism. There are subtle tonal nuances, natural rises and falls of dynamics, well-defined differentiation of contrapuntal lines and appreciation of the expressive implications of Bach's chromaticisms. Throughout her playing of these preludes and fugues – several longer, more mature and more demanding than those of Book 1 – there's a sense of unhurried poise, with flowing rhythm. The air of tranquillity is underlined by her frequent adoption of very quiet openings, many of which then take on a warmer tone towards the end – even the E major Fugue, which Landowska labelled 'combative', is handled quietly, yet she's able to sound contemplative (as in the E major Fugue) without lapsing into Tureckian reverentiality.
Just occasionally Bach's more intense movements tempt her into emotional rubatos which, though musically affecting, take Bach out of his century, and not everyone will care for the big allargandos she makes at the ends of some of the earlier movements. Otherwise these are musicianly and imaginative performances.”
Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010
Thursday, September 15, 2011
JS Bach: Das Wohltemperirte Clavier, Book 1 - Angela Hewitt
Johann Sebastian BachDas Wohltemperirte Clavier, Book 1
Angela Hewitt
Hyperion CDA67301-2
'The first recorded performances by a pianist of Book I that have made me want to hear them many times over. Strongly recommended' (Gramophone)
“Admirers of Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt's lightly articulated and elegantly phrased Bach playing won't be disappointed by this recording.
These qualities characterise the playing of each and every one of these profoundly didactic yet sublimely poetic pieces. Her restrained use of the sustaining pedal, her consequently clearly spoken articulation, and the resultant lucidity of musical thought, bring to mind the recorded performances of Edwin Fischer. Hewitt certainly sounds more comfortable in a studio than Fischer ever did, and her technique is more consistently disciplined than his was under these circumstances. Her reflective view of the more inward-looking fugues, such as the lyrical one in E flat minor, is most attractive. Taut, but with a suppleness that's entirely devoid of stiffness, this is indeed cogent and gracefully beautiful playing of a high order. You may sense, from time to time, an overtly intense element of subjective thought in her understanding of the music, a quality which seems to be endorsed by occasional references in her lively, illuminating and detailed introduction, to Bach's 'sense of inner peace', and so on. However, to conclude on a thoroughly positive and enthusiastic note, these are performances of Book 1 that you'll want to hear many times over. The recording and instrument sound well, too.
Hewitt's Book 2 is a delight to both ear and mind. Everything is in the best taste and free of exhibitionism. There are subtle tonal nuances, natural rises and falls of dynamics, well-defined differentiation of contrapuntal lines and appreciation of the expressive implications of Bach's chromaticisms. Throughout her playing of these preludes and fugues – several longer, more mature and more demanding than those of Book 1 – there's a sense of unhurried poise, with flowing rhythm. The air of tranquillity is underlined by her frequent adoption of very quiet openings, many of which then take on a warmer tone towards the end – even the E major Fugue, which Landowska labelled 'combative', is handled quietly, yet she's able to sound contemplative (as in the E major Fugue) without lapsing into Tureckian reverentiality.
Just occasionally Bach's more intense movements tempt her into emotional rubatos which, though musically affecting, take Bach out of his century, and not everyone will care for the big allargandos she makes at the ends of some of the earlier movements. Otherwise these are musicianly and imaginative performances.”
Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010
Friday, September 9, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Marin Marais (1656-1728) - The 250th Commemoration
If the analogy can be made that the contributions of Marais to the literature and technique of the viol are in some way similar to Chopin's contributions to the piano, then this recording must reflect the interpretation of these works by the "Rubinsteins" and "Horowitzes" of the viol. Most of us are familiar with the reputation of August Wenzinger as a performer on the viol for more than fifty years, as a teacher at some of the world's most prestigious institutions, as a first-class scholar, and as director of many recordings for Deutsche Gramophon's Arkiv series. Appearing with Wenzinger on this recording is harpsichordist James Weaver, Director of Concerts in the Music Division of the Smithsonian; and Oberlin Baroque Ensemble members Marilyn McDonald (baroque violin), Robert Willoughby (baroque flute), James Caldwell (viola da gamba), Catharina Meints (viola da gamba), and Lisa Goode Crawford (harpsichord). The performers have all served as faculty members at the distinguished Baroque Performance Institute held at the Oberlin Conservatory each summer since 1972. The contents of the recording are the Pieces a trois violes in G major from Livre IV, Pieces a une et trois violes (1717); two Pieces de viole d'un gout Etranger (Livre IV), the Pieces en trio in E minor of 1692, and the Sonnerie de Ste. Genevieve du Mont de Paris (1723). This reviewer can only think of superlatives to describe the playing of this music. There are several points which deserve special mention. The performance of the many ornaments seems completely effortless, allowing them to take on their true role as ornaments and not to sound forced or overly virtuosic or to obscure the melodic line. The performers' tasteful use of limited vibrato is likely to satisfy all but the most radical on either side of the vibrato controversy. The tempos are very convincing-neither too fast nor too slow. This is especially in evidence in the Sonnerie, which is here performed slightly faster than in other recordings, resulting in an entrancing, hypnotic performance of this ostinato piece which could, in less able hands, easily become boring. Catharina Meints extracts a very good bell effect from the bass viol in this piece. In the Pieces en trio in E minor, Wenzinger displays his mastery of the treble viol by producing an unusual richness of tone in the lower register of the instrument, and by frequently matching the tone quality of Willoughby's flute.
In addition to the fine performances, the disc itself is a wellmade product. The copy received for review is a flawless pressing, an item becoming increasingly rare these days. The balance is good, although perhaps a bit more volume would be welcome from the harpsichord. The tone quality is rich and satisfying, leading one to speculate that the recording engineers may have taken the time to grasp a basic concept of the ideal sound of the viols. This product of a small new company compares favorably with those of the major European and American recording companies.
John A Whisler in J Viola Gamba Soc 1979; XVI, 76-78 (from his review of the 1978 LP)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Smetana: Ma Vlast - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Kubelik
Bedrich Smetana
Ma Vlast
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Rafael Kubelik
Supraphon 11 1208-2 031 CDC
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Some more Czech music.
Musicweb-International
As so often with live performances, the freedom of pulse and moments of pointed emphasis are hallmarks of a great occasion, and the sort of thing one seldom finds (or which seldom work) in studio recordings. Subtlety is the order of the day: there’s drama in plenty, but no bombast! So the weaker moments (and let’s not pretend that there aren’t any) often emerge with real strength, and the patriotic shouting (at the end of Blaník, say) is never marred by noisy over-statement.
As I commented in my review of the Ančerl recording (11 1925-2 011: same label, same orchestra), our familiarity with the timbre of the great ‘Western’ orchestras often leads us to question the sonorities of the great East European and Russian orchestras. And yet the extraordinarily distinctive colours of the Czech Philharmonic are precisely what Smetana would have heard and wanted. Their range of colour (from the moonlight scene of Vltava to the dark introduction to Tábor) is to be wondered at. And throughout, the playing is wonderfully secure and committed, with distinguished and characterful solos far too numerous to mention.
The recording is digital, but you may nevertheless find that it lacks the bloom, warmth and depth that this music of all music needs and deserves, and which Supraphon have commonly been able to deliver in other issues of similar vintage – such as the Mackerras recording of Má Vlast on Supraphon 3465-2 031. Regrettably, both audience and ambience are intrusive, sometimes when least welcome (such as in the delicate opening of Vltava, where coughing and shuffling mask all the musical detail), and applause – which is (unsurprisingly) rapturous! – is not edited out.
The booklet notes are unhelpfully brief, including as they do nothing about the music itself. Black marks here, I’m afraid.
At the end of the proverbial day, no recording of music so varied and so vital as this deserves to be singled out as a ‘winner’. So I hope no one’s wanting me to declare this the ‘best recording’, or not, as the case may be. But it is, literally, incomparable. Buy it, whether or not you have a Má Vlast already on your shelves!
Peter J Lawson
Monday, August 22, 2011
Dvorak: Symphonies Nos. 7, 8, 9 - Neumann, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Antonin Dvorak
Symphonies Nos. 7, 8, 9
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Vaclav Neumann
Supraphon- SU 3705-2 032(CD)
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Filling and embarassing Dvorak vacuum here at MIMIC. Even Hurwitz agrees it's a goody! We can now safely aim for unanimity.
Classics Today Rating: 10/10
Václav Neumann concludes his remarkable Dvorák symphony cycle on a high note, turning in what is arguably the finest and most consistent set of the last three symphonies since George Szell. All of the competition in this area has problems: Kubelik's Seventh isn't fabulous, and neither is Kertesz's (who did a better "New World" in his earlier VPO rendition). Rowicki, also less good in the Seventh than in the later two works, like Kertesz has an LSO whose playing is no match for that of the Czech Philharmonic. Colin Davis and the Concertgebouw offer a stunning Seventh and a decent "New World", but an unremarkable Eighth. Järvi turns in fine accounts of Nos. 8 and 9, but makes heavy going of the Seventh, and he's cavernously recorded too. Neumann, by contrast, shines in the Seventh, perhaps Dvorák's greatest symphony. His attack on the first movement's climax remains unrivaled, and he milks the finale's tragic foreboding for all it's worth but never lets the music bog down (those marvelous Czech winds help a lot too).
The Eighth is noteworthy for its effortless sense of flow, and also for a finale that, in the Czech tradition of Talich, takes the scherzo variations in tempo yet still has sufficient rhythmic kick to provide an exciting conclusion. Neumann recorded the "New World" Symphony more times than I care to count, his last efforts revealing sadly diminished capacity. This is his best version, a "traditional" performance in the sense that it doesn't bring new revelations to this oft-played symphony, but it's also one whose feeling of "rightness" (note the beautifully relaxed yet seemingly self-propelled Largo and the trenchantly argued finale) married to superb playing places it among the handful of great accounts. Supraphon's first-rate sonics also distinguish this, the most consistently excellent of all complete Dvorák symphony cycles, from the rest of the pack. Supraphon's happy decision to offer the nine symphonies in sets of three also means that you don't have to commit to the whole production until you've had a chance to sample--but sample you certainly should. [3/22/2003]
--David Hurwitz
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 2 - Claudio Abbado
Gustav MahlerSymphony No.4*, Symphony No.2 "Resurrection"^
*Frederica von Stade, *Wiener Philharmoniker,
^Eteri Gvazava, ^Anna Larsson, ^Orfeon Donostiarra, ^Lucerne Festival Orchestra,
Claudio Abbado
La Musica di Repubblica-L'Espresso
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I'm on vacation, so I'll look for suitable reviews when I'm back. I hope you enjoy it anyhow. After all, it's Abbado on Mahler: if you don't like it, it's OK. Just a tad eccentric.
If you think you could do better yourself, you probably are Dave "Abbado's-too-damn-good-for-me-to-like-him" Hurwitz's clone. Consider sueing your irony teacher for theft.
Update: now we even have an enthusiastic review, courtesy of our good friend Anchusa:
Fanfare
The Mahler symphony sounds terrific, too—the bass is deep and well defined, while there is a clarity and depth to the soundstage that greatly enhances Abbado’s dramatic conception of the piece. The engineers have provided another vivid experience, which places the listener very close to the action without sounding in the least bit cramped or artificial.
The performance will offer few surprises to admirers of Abbado’s previous Mahler recordings. As before, the lyrical and melodic are given high priority, while Mahler’s dramatic contrast is fully in evidence. In the first movement, Michael Tilson Thomas, in his own recent recording, brings more depth of feeling to the peaceful second theme in the development, and thereby provides even more contrast to the tense first theme material of the exposition. Abbado’s Andante movement proceeds at a free-flowing tempo that certainly evokes the hurly-burly of life but sacrifices some of the Viennese warmth that others (Bernstein, Tennstedt, Thomas) have found here; he does find the gentle humor in the pizzicato section. Where Tilson Thomas contrasted an expansive Andante with a brisk Scherzo, Abbado reverses this, taking the third movement at a moderate tempo that highlights its clumsiness; MTT was able to get more contrast out of the dreamy E-Major interlude. Abbado’s “outcry” section is suitably, convincingly dramatic.
Anna Larsson sings a very sensitively phrased “Urlicht,” equal parts nobility and melancholy. The finale arrives with lightning speed, yet isn’t quite the startling explosion I would have expected—the sound has just a bit less impact here. The episodes that follow comprise a dramatically coherent whole; the off-stage instruments are effectively distanced, especially the “Great Call,” wherein the entire dramatic scenario is marvelously evocative. After the entrance of the chorus, the focus of the recording grows just a little gauzy, with less sharpness and clarity in the orchestra; at the same time, possibly to enhance the more importunate nature of the drama at this point, the tension slackens. But the momentum soon returns, and the “Aufersteh’n” comes to a rousing close. The audience is heard to give its clamorous approval.
Christopher Abbot
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Allegri, F Scarlatti, Viadana, Leo: Miserere - O'Reilly, Ensemble Wm Byrd
The Allegri Miserere, yes, but not the way you know it. And have you ever even heard the Misereres of Francesco Scarlatti, Giovanni Moro da Viadana or Leonardo Leo?A splendid CD, and marginally still in print, so buy a copy soon. Worth every penny (cent, fillér, grosz, Rappen, ban, haléř, øre, whatever...).
Reviewed at ClassicsToday by the other David (Vernier):
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=4776
Saturday, July 23, 2011
The man who made music for the eyes
Alex Steinweiss (24 March 1917 - 18 July 2011)Not quite about music, but a facet that's almost indivisible from its recorded form for many of us -- the cover art.
Alex Steinweiss, graphic artist and album cover designer par excellence, died last week at 94.
A couple of obituary notices:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/business/media/alex-steinweiss-originator-of-artistic-album-covers-dies-at-94.html
http://jazztimes.com/articles/28200-alex-steinweiss-album-cover-art-pioneer-dead-at-94
Visit his website:
http://www.alexsteinweiss.com/as_index.html
Even if you don't have €500 for the book on his work, you can page through it at Taschen Verlag:
http://www.taschen.com/lookinside/05039/index.htm
http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/design/all/05039/facts.alex_steinweiss_the_inventor_of_the_modern_album_cover.htm
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Mahler: Symphony No.3 - Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Haitink
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 3
Michelle DeYoung, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Women of the Chicago
Bernard Haitink
CSO Resound - CSO 901 701
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Am I entitled to comment on this one? Not really. No matter how hard I've tried, the 3rd is still on the list of works with which I still have to develop a satisfactory acquaintance.
So I'll let Dave Hurwitz talk, hoping that his reserves will provide the sufficient motivation for you, more competent Mahler listeners, to give it a try. One reason I really hate critics for is that once you've gotten hold of a hard earned CD, you just stumble into a review telling you it wasn't actually worth bothering...
Classics Today Rating: 7/8
The Chicago Symphony under the leadership of Henry Fogel started the trend of releasing its own recordings, initially as a fundraising opportunity, so it was only a matter of time before the orchestra launched its own label more formally. While I certainly welcome the initiative, this first title represents a mixed success. On the surface, the orchestra is leading from strength: both it and Haitink have excellent Mahlerian credentials. But let's face it--the CSO already has one excellent Mahler 3 (Levine's; Solti's was dreadful), and so does Haitink (his first Concertgebouw recording; his Berlin remake was dreadful). Actually, if you throw in Haitink's live Amsterdam recordings and his Berlin video, this is his fifth Mahler Third, which, coming from a conductor often heard to moan about the excesses of the recording industry in this regard, seems little short of bizarre.
Unquestionably Haitink knows the work, and so does the Chicago Symphony, and the orchestra's legendary brass section certainly lives up to its collective reputation, particularly in the closing chorale of the finale. But this is a symphony that thrives on color, and here Haitink is at his weakest. His first recording featured an orchestra (the Concertgebouw) that at the time had such an individual timbral profile, and was so steeped in the Mahler tradition, that he couldn't help but take credit for the excellent results. That performance remains a favorite, if only because it has the most glowing, organ-like final chord ever captured. Here, in the first movement, Haitink misses those touches of color at lower dynamic levels from the percussion and the harps that help lend the work its special character.
There's also a certain staidness to the tempos, a lack of contrast in such places as the vulgar eruption of winds and brass before the first movement's recapitulation, and throughout the scherzo, that risks turning into dullness despite the excellent playing everywhere in evidence. Furthermore, the fifth movement simply lacks the picture-postcard brightness that Mahler builds into his scoring and that creates the atmosphere of brittle unreality that so brilliantly sets up the finale's serene opening (Bernstein I on Sony has never been equaled here). Mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung's voice also has developed what comes very close to a wobble, and this makes her work in both the fourth and fifth movements less than ideal. The engineering is clear and vivid, but also a bit flat in perspective, with the brass at times overbearing (not that fans of these players, who are legion, will care).
In sum, this is a good if flawed performance, but more to the point, a redundant one. If you want Chicago in this music, seek out Levine (particularly the Japanese RCA reissue), which also has a very significant asset in Marilyn Horne in the vocal bits. If you want Haitink, Philips has recently reissued his first and best Concertgebouw recording, coupled with a fine Das Klagende Lied. And if you must have Haitink and Chicago together, then you may want to consider this, but only if the identity of the artists is far more important than the actual musical results.
--David Hurwitz
Monday, July 18, 2011
Live video webcasts from this summer's classical music festivals
Much of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is on liveweb.arte.tv.Some of the Festival de Beaune is on also on liveweb.arte.tv.
Much of the Verbier Festival is on medici.tv.
Some of the BBC Proms will be on the iPlayer.
Six concerts from the Festival de Saint-Denis are still available on liveweb.arte.tv.
Pretty much all concerts are available on demand for a while (between a week and several months) after the event.
Please add other video webcasts of classical music festivals in the comments.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Mahler: Symphony No.6 - Wiener Philharmoniker, Boulez
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 6
Wiener Philharmoniker, Pierre Boulez
Deutsche Grammophon 445 835-2GH
Say whatever you like. This is my favorite version of my favorite Mahler symphony.
Gramophone
There are inescapable comparisons to be made here between Boulez and Bernstein. Two composer-conducting former directors of the New York Philharmonic, latterly granted carte blanche by the same record company to re-record the music that made them famous (and let's not forget it was sometimes the other way round). Boulez may not be everyone's idea of the perfect Mahlerian, but it is splendid to see DG's ambitious series starting to embrace repertoire he has not previously committed to disc. Conveniently, the yellow label has been responsible for almost every great recording of the Sixth — "the only Sixth despite the Pastoral" according to Alban Berg (and Boulez has not recorded much Beethoven). So Boulez the conductor is in safe hands, the more so since he has the Vienna Philharmonic to offset any tendency to cerebral introspection. The results are fascinating if not exactly compulsive and those sympathetic to his interpretative approach will find plenty to enjoy.
Returning to performing the symphony after a gap of more than15 years, Boulez launches the first movement at a pace slightly slower than the latter-day norm, though he does not seek to emulate Barbirolli's world-weary trudge (now available on CD — to be reviewed shortly). He has the same orchestra as Bernstein in his live 1988 DG version, but at once you notice the different quality of ensemble, adequately precise but softer-grained, lacking the hysterical precision (some would say overwrought quality) of his rival. One might expect parallels with Sinopoli in that Boulez too is concerned to ensure that as much as possible of the score be made audible to the listener. The difference is that he does not see it as his role to choose between competing musical ideas, never spotlighting one significant detail at the expense of another, so that a certain coolness prevails. Nor does he swing into the so-called Alma theme to the manner born — compare the instinctive emotional thrust of a Bernstein or, more surprisingly, a Karajan. It is only the development's interlude of idyllic, cowbell-encrusted calm that finds him at a loss. Seemingly embarrassed by such naïve nature symbolism he puts on the blinkers and keeps going.
The slow movement is placed third. Having been alerted to the prospect of a relatively rapid tempo, I was expecting something unorthodox. True. Boulez disregards Karajan's Brucknerian revivification, but the lighter intermezzo-like quality of his own account is by no means implausible and works beautifully in its own way. The finale will be more of a problem for some listeners. Boulez's structural imperatives do seem to preclude an appreciable sense that there are elemental forces at work here. One would not expect him to identify with romantic notions that limit the scope of the music by presenting it as the ravings of a hero-protagonist-conductor felled by the malign workings of Fate. That said, my own preference is definitely for something more searingly intense. Speeds as such are well chosen, on the fast side but uncontroversially so: l was puzzled only by his unsteady reading of the 'heavy' brass chorale at fig. 106 (23811).
For all the care devoted to problems of balance and articulation, the questions remain. How important is the lack of 'idiomatic' rubato? Is this Mahler limpid or merely limp in its avoidance of 'imprudent ecstasy'? Let's side-step the issue and end on a positive note: DG have managed to squeeze the performance on to one disc — Sony might have done so with the earlier Bernstein but didn't — and there are copious notes by Henry Louis de la Grange. The International Mahler Society Edition (1963) suggests a running time in the region of 80 minutes. In this respect, Boulez is spot on. DSG (David Gutman)
Friday, July 15, 2011
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Ozawa
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 4
Kiri Te Kanawa, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
Philips 422 072-2PH
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Can't find neither the details of this recording, nor reviews of it. But I hope this doesn't diminish the listening pleasure you'll derive from listening to it...ooopppss! I found a partial endorsement by David "samurai's'r'cool" Hurwitz whose en-passant endorsement should suffice to fill our bosoms with infinite delight for this performance...
...and now we even have a review from the Gramophone.
Classics Today:
Extract from the review of Ozawa's 'Resurrection' with the Saito Kinen
Seiji Ozawa's credentials as a Mahlerian have not received the recognition that they deserve (the same holds true of his Bruckner). His complete symphony cycle recorded in Boston includes two excellent versions of the First Symphony (the one for Deutsche Grammophon slightly better than the later one for Philips), equally superb performances of the Third, Fourth, and Ninth Symphonies, and fine efforts in Nos. 2, 5, 7, and 8. The Sixth would have been very good also had it not been compromised by wretchedly dull recorded sound....
Gramophone
There are aspects of Ozawa's Fourth that I enjoyed greatly. He would seem to be temperamentally better suited to this particular piece, to what Deryck Cooke described as its "neo-rococo" stylizations, than to any other Mahler that I've heard him conduct. Even so, by no stretch of the imagination could Ozawa be described as a natural Mahlerian. He is all too inclined to tidy up the awkwardnesses, temper the extremes, and generally somehow rationalize the music's inherent neuroses (that was especially true recently of his disappointing Second). Take the first movement of this Fourth; there is poise, charm and grace from the very outset, the lower strings tripping lightly over their staccato semi-quavers just after
Tempo I; the phrasing generally is elegant and unfussy, the rubato well-mannered. But what Ozawa fails to catch (and for this you must look to Bernstein/DG—would that he had recorded the piece as written, with a soprano, and not a treble--or Maazel/CBS) is the playful, quixotic nature of this movement. One needs to point-up more the sudden and mischievous shifts in mood and movement, the excitable bursts of energy, those characteristically abrupt Mahlerian 'commas'. Similarly, a higher profile is called for in the wry country dance of the second movement. Ozawa's rustic hobgoblins are rather too lovable; there must be more of 'Death, the friendly fiddler' about the movement with spikier and more acidic woodwinds for one thing.
The slow movement is very lovely, and here Ozawa has caught the equivocal nature of the music; the underlying darkness. Off-setting the warmth and luminosity of those rapt string lines is a profound sense of sadness and disquiet with baleful sounds from low-register horns exceptionally telling at each abortive climax. The climax is certainly thrilling, Ozawa throwing open 'Heaven's Gate' with a truly breath-catching luftpause and ever-assertive Boston trumpets providing the blinding light (the recording is first rate, warm and naturally ambient with an impressive bass extension). And I have nothing but admiration for Ozawa's serene way with those hearteasing final pages: the Boston strings at their very best.
Which leaves Dame Kin. And to my surprise, I find myself more, not less convinced, than I did when she recorded the piece with Solti (Decca). The naturally plushy tones have once more been discreetly pared down, the delivery is fresh and appropriately wide-eyed with only one or two phrases betraying a self-conscious 'girlishness' in the characterization. Technically, this is actually better singing than that provided by Judith Raskin for Szell in his famous Cleveland version of 1966. Many collectors, like myself, will have been waiting in anticipation of its re-appearance on CD—and they will not be disappointed. CBS have come through with a pristine digital remastering of the open and exceptionally well-balanced Columbia original. Some hardening of tone under pressure was always a problem, even on LP, but on the whole you would never credit that this was a 1960s recording. As to the performance, the assurance and precision of its execution is something quite remarkable—an orchestra in the very peak of condition: ensemble absolutely unanimous, rubato finely-turned to a man, not a blemish in earshot. There is no better tribute to Szell's achievements in Cleveland. If I'm absolutely honest, though, it's been some time since I sat down and listened to the performance and this time round I must say it struck me as far more dispassionate and calculated in effect than I had remembered. I'd willingly sacrifice some of the precision for a greater sense of spontaneity at the moment of performance (Szell was always at his best in the concert hall). It's a very subjective reaction, of course, but when I compare the cool, pellucid beauty of Szell's Cleveland strings in the slow movement with the home-spun sweetness of their Vienna Philharmonic counterparts in the CBS recording under Maazel, I know instinctively which reading I would choose to live with. In my opinion, Maazel has put few finer performances on disc.
- Edward Seckerson
Kiri Te Kanawa, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
Philips 422 072-2PH
.ape+.cue+.log
Can't find neither the details of this recording, nor reviews of it. But I hope this doesn't diminish the listening pleasure you'll derive from listening to it...ooopppss! I found a partial endorsement by David "samurai's'r'cool" Hurwitz whose en-passant endorsement should suffice to fill our bosoms with infinite delight for this performance...
...and now we even have a review from the Gramophone.
Classics Today:
Extract from the review of Ozawa's 'Resurrection' with the Saito Kinen
Seiji Ozawa's credentials as a Mahlerian have not received the recognition that they deserve (the same holds true of his Bruckner). His complete symphony cycle recorded in Boston includes two excellent versions of the First Symphony (the one for Deutsche Grammophon slightly better than the later one for Philips), equally superb performances of the Third, Fourth, and Ninth Symphonies, and fine efforts in Nos. 2, 5, 7, and 8. The Sixth would have been very good also had it not been compromised by wretchedly dull recorded sound....
Gramophone
There are aspects of Ozawa's Fourth that I enjoyed greatly. He would seem to be temperamentally better suited to this particular piece, to what Deryck Cooke described as its "neo-rococo" stylizations, than to any other Mahler that I've heard him conduct. Even so, by no stretch of the imagination could Ozawa be described as a natural Mahlerian. He is all too inclined to tidy up the awkwardnesses, temper the extremes, and generally somehow rationalize the music's inherent neuroses (that was especially true recently of his disappointing Second). Take the first movement of this Fourth; there is poise, charm and grace from the very outset, the lower strings tripping lightly over their staccato semi-quavers just after
Tempo I; the phrasing generally is elegant and unfussy, the rubato well-mannered. But what Ozawa fails to catch (and for this you must look to Bernstein/DG—would that he had recorded the piece as written, with a soprano, and not a treble--or Maazel/CBS) is the playful, quixotic nature of this movement. One needs to point-up more the sudden and mischievous shifts in mood and movement, the excitable bursts of energy, those characteristically abrupt Mahlerian 'commas'. Similarly, a higher profile is called for in the wry country dance of the second movement. Ozawa's rustic hobgoblins are rather too lovable; there must be more of 'Death, the friendly fiddler' about the movement with spikier and more acidic woodwinds for one thing.
The slow movement is very lovely, and here Ozawa has caught the equivocal nature of the music; the underlying darkness. Off-setting the warmth and luminosity of those rapt string lines is a profound sense of sadness and disquiet with baleful sounds from low-register horns exceptionally telling at each abortive climax. The climax is certainly thrilling, Ozawa throwing open 'Heaven's Gate' with a truly breath-catching luftpause and ever-assertive Boston trumpets providing the blinding light (the recording is first rate, warm and naturally ambient with an impressive bass extension). And I have nothing but admiration for Ozawa's serene way with those hearteasing final pages: the Boston strings at their very best.
Which leaves Dame Kin. And to my surprise, I find myself more, not less convinced, than I did when she recorded the piece with Solti (Decca). The naturally plushy tones have once more been discreetly pared down, the delivery is fresh and appropriately wide-eyed with only one or two phrases betraying a self-conscious 'girlishness' in the characterization. Technically, this is actually better singing than that provided by Judith Raskin for Szell in his famous Cleveland version of 1966. Many collectors, like myself, will have been waiting in anticipation of its re-appearance on CD—and they will not be disappointed. CBS have come through with a pristine digital remastering of the open and exceptionally well-balanced Columbia original. Some hardening of tone under pressure was always a problem, even on LP, but on the whole you would never credit that this was a 1960s recording. As to the performance, the assurance and precision of its execution is something quite remarkable—an orchestra in the very peak of condition: ensemble absolutely unanimous, rubato finely-turned to a man, not a blemish in earshot. There is no better tribute to Szell's achievements in Cleveland. If I'm absolutely honest, though, it's been some time since I sat down and listened to the performance and this time round I must say it struck me as far more dispassionate and calculated in effect than I had remembered. I'd willingly sacrifice some of the precision for a greater sense of spontaneity at the moment of performance (Szell was always at his best in the concert hall). It's a very subjective reaction, of course, but when I compare the cool, pellucid beauty of Szell's Cleveland strings in the slow movement with the home-spun sweetness of their Vienna Philharmonic counterparts in the CBS recording under Maazel, I know instinctively which reading I would choose to live with. In my opinion, Maazel has put few finer performances on disc.
- Edward Seckerson
Friday, July 8, 2011
JS Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV 988 - Charles Rosen, piano
This one won't be everyone's front runner, but certainly worth a hearing. Some think it's a penetrating view, others say it lacks warmth; some that the lines are beautifully defined, others that he's fussy and overly meticulous. Restrained and rational vs. unexpressive. Intellectual vs. boring...You get the idea. Only way to find out is to listen to it yourself.
JS Bach Goldberg Variations BWV 988
Charles Rosen, piano
Sony; recorded in 1967 (out of print)
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussions..., the Miracolous Mandarin - suite, Divertimento - Chicago Symphony Orch., Solti
Bela Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussions and Celesta, The Miracolous Mandarin - suite, Divertimento
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Decca - 430 352-2
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I decided to fill a gap in our collection with one of the greatest of works of the 20th century. The present recording has been repackaged in "The Originals", and later in the "Double Decca" collection to also include the Concerto for Orchestra, thus providing a small collection of Bartok's greatest orchestral works.
A review of the "Double Decca" is reported below.
Classics Today Rating: 8/9
These performances by the Chicago Symphony under Georg Solti are of exceptional quality, fusing phenomenal orchestral virtuosity with the conductor's famous authority in this repertoire, in radiant, resonant Decca recordings. The Concerto For Orchestra, Solti's 1980 Orchestra Hall reading, lacks something of the dry humour he injected into the Shostakovich parody section of the "Intermezzo" in his own earlier London Symphony version (generally less well played), but otherwise this is marvelous on all counts. The Miraculous Mandarin suite sounds almost too highly polished at times--trombones near the start haven't the required slithering vulgarity, and the brilliantly executed fugal section led off by the violas near the climax glosses over the music's intended lurid pictorialism. The Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta also brings some incredible playing, with every dynamic detail and nuance in place. But the piano sounds too remote and Solti's clinical precision sometimes robs the music of the raw-nerved vitality that Bartók clearly desires. For that you can always have Ferenc Fricsay's Berlin Radio performances from the mid-1950s (available on DG) on your shelves--but beyond that, you'll find nothing lacking in the rest of this excellent program (the Dance Suite is especially brilliant). [9/23/2002]
--Michael Jameson
Friday, July 1, 2011
Schubert: Piano Sonata D960, Ländler D790 - Leon Fleisher
More post-baroque...Get it while it lasts -- counterpoint, thorough bass and Affekte could return at any time!
Schubert: Piano Sonata D 960, Ländler D 790
Leon Fleisher, piano (recorded in 1956)
Fleisher's approach to the Romantic repertoire was mature right from this first album given his intepretive options and his sense of drama that nevertheless remained free of pathos. In the Andante sostenuto, each note of the melody resonates as though it were meant to be the last without ever affecting the clarity of line or the precision of the median voices. As for the Allegro vivace con delicatezza, it is played with an irony that verges on mockery whilst consistently maintaining rhythmical rigour, a rich palette and inventiveness.
Finally, and better than most, Fleisher knew how to perform a simple section with simplicity whilst maintaining incredible presence. Even at moments that appear trifling, we are surprised with a feeling of renewed pleasure; the falsely superficial Ländler D.790 intelligently complete the difficult choice of repertoire that this 28-year-old musician had to make.
from the notes by Eric Guillemaud (trans. Christophe Evans)
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Schoenberg: Ein Ueberlebender aus Warschau / Webern: Orchestral Works - Wiener Phil., Abbado
Arnold Schoenberg: Ein Ueberlebender aus Warschau*
Anton Webern: Orchestral Works
*Gottfied Hornik, *Wien State Opera Chorus,
Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Deutsche Grammophon - 431 774-2
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This release could actually stake a partial claim at being (partially late baroque, due to Webern's arrangement of the Maestro Bach's Ricercar a 6 from the "Musikalische Opfer".
The rest is your usual, trite, overly popular repertoire, of MIMIC's "Low Empire".
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Dvořák: Piano Quintet Op81, Piano Quartet Op87 - Schiff, Panocha Quartet
To entertain these fair well-spoken days......we shall continue our series The Late Post-Baroque, or What Happened After 1760?
András Schiff, Panocha Quartet: Jiří Panocha (violin), Pavel Zejfart (violin), Miroslav Sehnoutka (viola), Jaroslav Kulhan (cello)
recorded in Berlin, 1997
(Elatus reissue out of print; the Teldec original still pops up from time to time)
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9 - Sinopoli
Franz Schubert
Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9
Staatskapelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Deutsche Grammophon 437 669-2
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Sinopoli was a great conductor. But, influenced by some negative reviews, I once almost sold this CD. Fortunately I didn't, and came to appreciate it again when I realized one should make up his own mind. Sinopoli's readings are clear, with the risk of becoming "dry". But no sense of drama gets lost in this "surgical" approach (Sinopoli was also a physician - a psychiatrist to be precise -, as well as an archeologist). Maybe not the top pick on these works, but worth listening to.
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