What I listened to today

[Rach3]

Great selection,Wallingford.

Those 3 Schnabel's are among the great ones , IMHO. And the "Haffner" one of my fav Mozart symphonies.Krips was an under-rated conductor,IMHO.

[Rach3]

Arbirer Records cd of 1907-1927 acoustical recordings of Vladimir de Pachman:

https://arbiterrecords.org/catalog/pach ... c-pianist/

While the Chopin/Godowsky left-hand alone "Revolutionary" is a mess, and there are a few dropped notes elsewhere, I am largely in accord with these very positive Amazon reviewers:

https://www.amazon.com/Mythic-Pianist-V ... merReviews

[Lance]

Listening to some Schumann as performed by pianist Florian Uhlig who is, apparently, recording all of Schumann's music for the Hanssler label. I was not very impressed with the edition put out by the Italian company, Nuova Era as performed by Jorg Demus, whose art I have always enjoyed. The piano and recording quality was not up to par and the edition was really not "complete," which was a deterrent to Demus's playing. Uhlig is an impressive musician who seems to have a special sense about the performance and interpretation of Schumann's music.

[maestrob]

Being in stay-at home mode this past year, I've done tons of music listening, but especially now, since one of my New Year's resolutions has been not to spend so much time at the computer or with the TV on (impossible this past year what with the political situation and world events).

Right now I've been pulling out stacks of vinyl including the following:

Ravel’s Daphnis & Chloe—both suites (Skrowaczewski)
Mussorgsky’s Bald Mountain and Liszt’s Les Preludes (Boult)
Schubert’s A minor Sonata—the one that was once “Opus 42” (Richter)
Mozart’s Haffner & Haydn’s “London” Symphonies (Krips, w/RPO)
Shostakovich’s 9th and Brahms’ 3rd (Koussevitzky)
Stravinsky himself conducting The Fairy's Kiss (w/Cleveland Orch.)
R. Strauss himself conducting Ein Heldenleben (VPO)
Beeethoven’s ‘Waldstein”, “Tempest” & “Funeral March” sonatas (Schnabel)
Ravel’s Histoires naturelles (Bacquier)
Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole & Alborada (Leibowitz)
….plus liberal helpings of Arthur Fiedler and those Reader’s Digest pops sets

Excellent choices, all!

I have particularly fond memories of the titles I've bolded above.

[Rach3]

Daniel Steibelt’s rarely heard ( if ever) 1798 Piano Concerto No.3, Howard Shelley,pianist and conductor of Ulster Orchestra.Steibelt lost a salon improvisations piano duel with Beethoven in Vienna,1800. About 20 minutes in to the broadcast.A one-hear, but an interesting historical artifact.The “outburst” in the last mov. suggests a weak effort to emulate Beethoven-esque drama.Also on the program the 1959 Violin Concerto of American composer Roy Harris, my first hearing.At about 2:05:00 in to the broadcast. A single movement, pleasant, pastoral,somewhat nostalgic and melancholy work I thought. Glad I heard it, but probably won’t acquire a recording.I did not hear the rest of the broadcast works.

Stanford: A Song of Agincourt Op. 168
Ulster Orchestra
Howard Shelley, conductor

Daniel Steibelt (1765-1823): Piano Concerto No 3 in E major 'L'orage' Op 33
Ulster Orchestra,
Howard Shelley, conductor and soloist

Holst: Cotswolds Symphony
Ulster Orchestra,
JoAnn Falletta, conductor

Hellawell: Wild Flow
Ulster Orchestra
Paul Watkins, conductor

Mathias: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 68:
Michael Collins (clarinet/conductor)
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Roy Harris: Violin Concerto
Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000rd09

[Wallingford]

Arbirer Records cd of 1907-1927 acoustical recordings of Vladimir de Pachman:

https://arbiterrecords.org/catalog/pach ... c-pianist/

While the Chopin/Godowsky left-hand alone "Revolutionary" is a mess, and there are a few dropped notes elsewhere, I am largely in accord with these very positive Amazon reviewers:

https://www.amazon.com/Mythic-Pianist-V ... merReviews

I have two Pachmann CDs, one the 80s Pearl issue of some acousticals, and the Dante/LYS disc of his complete issued electricals. This latter issue perturbed me somewhat: the guy doing the transferring equalized and processed all the discs so that he sounds like any old pianist currently studying in a conservatory....you can almost feel him straining to put enough weight in to match any pianistic colleague of his! I re-equalized the CD on cassette, in order to thin down the sound again. He really had an in incomparably light, ravishing touch that may not have suited him to, say, the Brahms B-flat Concerto or any Beethoven sonata, but were perfect for Chopin (I just wish he'd recorded some Grieg!).

My experience, the one true reproduction of his sound from the post-acoustic days was on an old RCA LP reissue anthology, Great Pianists of the Past Play Chopin. Very fragile, ineffable tone.

[Lance]

THAT is a most impressive list of listening! You are filling your ears with some great stuff.

Being in stay-at home mode this past year, I've done tons of music listening, but especially now, since one of my New Year's resolutions has been not to spend so much time at the computer or with the TV on (impossible this past year what with the political situation and world events).

Right now I've been pulling out stacks of vinyl including the following:

Ravel’s Daphnis & Chloe—both suites (Skrowaczewski)
Mussorgsky’s Bald Mountain and Liszt’s Les Preludes (Boult)
Schubert’s A minor Sonata—the one that was once “Opus 42” (Richter)
Mozart’s Haffner & Haydn’s “London” Symphonies (Krips, w/RPO)
Shostakovich’s 9th and Brahms’ 3rd (Koussevitzky)
Stravinsky himself conducting The Fairy's Kiss (w/Cleveland Orch.)
R. Strauss himself conducting Ein Heldenleben (VPO)
Beeethoven’s ‘Waldstein”, “Tempest” & “Funeral March” sonatas (Schnabel)
Ravel’s Histoires naturelles (Bacquier)
Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole & Alborada (Leibowitz)
….plus liberal helpings of Arthur Fiedler and those Reader’s Digest pops sets

[Rach3]

I'd never actually seen the score. Warning: Dont try this at home.

Pianist Hiromi Okada (1958 - ), Liszt’s “Don Juan” Fantasy, live , audio with score:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI6JfJXcUjU

One of the YT comments suggests Scriabin injured his right hand trying to play this Liszt.I have not independently researched , but I wont be trying.

[Wallingford]

More vinyl:

Haydn's Paukenmesse (Gillesberger,Thomann, Jahn, Wing, Kawamura)
Grieg's Concerto (Dorfmann/Leinsdorf)
Gershwin's Concerto (Wild/Fiedler)
Chopin's Barcarolle, Berceuse and Tarantella (Rubinstein)
Sibelius' Second (Barbirolli, w/RPO)
Holst's Planets (Steinberg)

[maestrob]

More vinyl:

Haydn's Paukenmesse (Gillesberger,Thomann, Jahn, Wing, Kawamura)
Grieg's Concerto (Dorfmann/Leinsdorf)
Gershwin's Concerto (Wild/Fiedler)
Chopin's Barcarolle, Berceuse and Tarantella (Rubinstein)
Sibelius' Second (Barbirolli, w/RPO)
Holst's Planets (Steinberg)

Again, grew up with the bolded ones, and love them still!

[Rach3]

More vinyl:
Haydn's Paukenmesse (Gillesberger,Thomann, Jahn, Wing, Kawamura)

Grieg's Concerto (Dorfmann/Leinsdorf)
Gershwin's Concerto (Wild/Fiedler)
Chopin's Barcarolle, Berceuse and Tarantella (Rubinstein)
Sibelius' Second (Barbirolli, w/RPO)
Holst's Planets (Steinberg)

The Wild/Fiedler Gershwin PC is the gold standard for me, even over Levant's. The Rubinstein cd listed I believe also contains Chopin's "Bolero " ? In any event, neither the "Bolero" nor " Tarantella" seem to get played much, at least in my limited experience.

[maestrob]

More vinyl:
Haydn's Paukenmesse (Gillesberger,Thomann, Jahn, Wing, Kawamura)

Grieg's Concerto (Dorfmann/Leinsdorf)
Gershwin's Concerto (Wild/Fiedler)
Chopin's Barcarolle, Berceuse and Tarantella (Rubinstein)
Sibelius' Second (Barbirolli, w/RPO)
Holst's Planets (Steinberg)

The Wild/Fiedler Gershwin PC is the gold standard for me, even over Levant's. The Rubinstein cd listed I believe also contains Chopin's "Bolero " ? In any event, neither the "Bolero" nor " Tarantella" seem to get played much, at least in my limited experience.

I believe it's this one, which I remember, and it does include Chopin's Bolero, the only recording of that piece that I've ever heard. Of course it's been reissued on CD by now.

[Rach3]

I believe it's this one, which I remember, and it does include Chopin's Bolero, the only recording of that piece that I've ever heard. Of course it's been reissued on CD by now.

Indeed. I do have the cd, some of AR's best Chopin playing,IMHO.

[Rach3]

Whew ! Certainly have to admire the courage of presenting this program. Often distinctive, interesting musical ideas presented. One has to have both a huge technique and personal vision for such a program , and Giltburg has both , even if I often wondered at some of his interpretative choices . Usually, technical issues were not a distraction, but not always. Of the TE’s, Nos. 1, 8 ,10 were successful for me, Nos.5,9 and 11 not ( 11 “ Harmonies” my fav of the set ). No one could present this program live without some strain ( not sure Richter or even Liszt presented the TE’s complete ? Or, Rachmaninoff the Preludes ?), which leads me to wonder the wisdom of presenting the TE’s or even the Op.32 complete live.The Rachmaninoff set was, for me, on balance more successful than the Liszt. All easy for me to say from the cheap seats. Nonetheless, a must hear recital I think.Giltburg is a pianist I follow, more interesting now than when he was on the competition circuit.

Enregistré le 20/09/2019 au Dvorák Hall, Rudolfinum, Prague

Franz Liszt : 12 Études d'exécution transcendante, S. 139

Serge Rachmaninov - 13 Préludes, op. 32

Robert Schumann - Arabesque en do Majeur, op. 18 (bis)

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2727241

[maestrob]

Whew ! Certainly have to admire the courage of presenting this program. Often distinctive, interesting musical ideas presented. One has to have both a huge technique and personal vision for such a program , and Giltburg has both , even if I often wondered at some of his interpretative choices . Usually, technical issues were not a distraction, but not always. Of the TE’s, Nos. 1, 8 ,10 were successful for me, Nos.5,9 and 11 not ( 11 “ Harmonies” my fav of the set ). No one could present this program live without some strain ( not sure Richter or even Liszt presented the TE’s complete ? Or, Rachmaninoff the Preludes ?), which leads me to wonder the wisdom of presenting the TE’s or even the Op.32 complete live.The Rachmaninoff set was, for me, on balance more successful than the Liszt. All easy for me to say from the cheap seats. Nonetheless, a must hear recital I think.Giltburg is a pianist I follow, more interesting now than when he was on the competition circuit.

Enregistré le 20/09/2019 au Dvorák Hall, Rudolfinum, Prague

Franz Liszt : 12 Études d'exécution transcendante, S. 139

Serge Rachmaninov - 13 Préludes, op. 32

Robert Schumann - Arabesque en do Majeur, op. 18 (bis)

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2727241

I have this repertoire from Giltburg on CD, and can attest that he's amazingly perceptive in all. It will be interesting to hear him live, with an audience this time. Thanks!

[maestrob]

What a massive program!

I heard the Liszt today complete, and will hear the Rachmaninov excerpts tomorrow.

In spite of the occasional slight misjudgements in the Liszt, this was a hugely successful reading for me. You could hear a pin drop in the quieter moments. His CD, of course, is in better sound and contains the corrections that second thoughts can bring to the studio, making for a more perfect reading. It was interesting to compare both efforts in my mind.

[Wallingford]

Dvorak’s book two (Op.72) of Slavonic Dances (N.Jarvi…also his discs Festival of Fučík and Offenbach overtures )
Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite (Fiedler 2)
side one of Volume 3 of deLarrocha’s Mostly Mozart (including a couple of Bach transcriptions)
Mozart’s Rondo in A minor and Brahms’ Rhapsody #2 (Schnabel)
Saint-Saens’ “Organ” Symphony (Paray, Munch 2 and Ormandy 2)
Mozart’s Violin Conc. #3 (Fujikawa, Weller)

[maestrob]

Dvorak’s book two (Op.72) of Slavonic Dances (N.Jarvi…also his discs Festival of Fučík and Offenbach overtures )
Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite (Fiedler 2)
Side one of Volume 3 of deLarrocha’s Mostly Mozart (including a couple of Bach transcriptions)
Mozart’s Rondo in A minor and Brahms’ Rhapsody #2 (Schnabel)
Saint-Saens’ “Organ” Symphony (Paray, Munch 2 and Ormandy 2)
Mozart’s Violin Conc. #3 (Fujikawa, Weller)

Good morning, Wallingford!

Haven't heard Jarvi's Dvorak, and will have to check him out. Grew up with Kubelik's LP set of the complete Slavonic Dances on DGG, and then acquired CDs by both him and Von Dohnanyi (Cleveland), a conductor I don't normally like.

Love Alicia De Larrocha in anything Mozart or Bach. I think she's vastly under-appreciated in other than Spanish repertoire.

Ormandy's stereo recording for Columbia of the Saint-Saens Organ Concerto is, I think, his best. The Telarc CD that he recorded later just doesn't capture the Philadelphia string sound well for some reason, IMHO.

There's nobody like Schnabel in anything.

Grew up with and bonded to Bernstein's Grand Canyon Suite, but Arthur Fiedler is fine as well. Too bad pops orchestras don't really exist any more as a category of recordings. It's all so serious now!

[maestrob]

Daniel Steibelt’s rarely heard ( if ever) 1798 Piano Concerto No.3, Howard Shelley,pianist and conductor of Ulster Orchestra.Steibelt lost a salon improvisations piano duel with Beethoven in Vienna,1800. About 20 minutes in to the broadcast.A one-hear, but an interesting historical artifact.The “outburst” in the last mov. suggests a weak effort to emulate Beethoven-esque drama.Also on the program the 1959 Violin Concerto of American composer Roy Harris, my first hearing.At about 2:05:00 in to the broadcast. A single movement, pleasant, pastoral,somewhat nostalgic and melancholy work I thought. Glad I heard it, but probably won’t acquire a recording.I did not hear the rest of the broadcast works.

Stanford: A Song of Agincourt Op. 168
Ulster Orchestra
Howard Shelley, conductor

Daniel Steibelt (1765-1823): Piano Concerto No 3 in E major 'L'orage' Op 33
Ulster Orchestra,
Howard Shelley, conductor and soloist

Holst: Cotswolds Symphony
Ulster Orchestra,
JoAnn Falletta, conductor

Hellawell: Wild Flow
Ulster Orchestra
Paul Watkins, conductor

Mathias: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 68:
Michael Collins (clarinet/conductor)
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Roy Harris: Violin Concerto
Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000rd09

Finally got to this today. What an interesting set of recordings, all works new to my ears. I was particularly interested in the concerti, particularly the Mathias (1975) and the Roy Harris, both of which I've been meaning to get to for quite some time. I thought the Mathias the more concise work, persuasively played by one of my favorite artists, Michael Collins. The Harris tended to meander and was a bit overly long, but I'll want to hear both works again.

The other earlier works were good to hear as well, especially the Piano Concerto by Stiebelt, a name I had heard before but didn't realize he had challenged Beethoven to a piano duel in concert! The story about that was very entertaining.

The only work on the program that I didn't connect to was the atonal "Wild Flow" by Hellawell, a composer not known to me. Just seemed to go on and on without any resolution.

Thanks for posting this, Rach3. I enjoyed hearing all of this very much.

[Wallingford]

Sibelius' Seventh and Tapiola(Beecham, w/Helsinki Phil., '54, Sibelius Festival, Finland)
Grieg's Holberg Suite (Abravanel....puts all others' to shame, I've always thought)

[Wallingford]

Too bad pops orchestras don't really exist any more as a category of recordings. It's all so serious now!

Hoo-boy....it takes lots of mental strain to explain the modern pops program, at least here in the States. Just about every major US orchestra worth its salt has a pops series, it's just that what constituted 'pops' repertory in the old days isn't even played anymore. Today it's truly 'pop' for the first time--pop hits & film music & show tunes. A pops concert almost invariably has a big-name popular performer to guarantee the big bucks to--wish, wish--help an orchestra be a little less in the red.

Stuff that, way back when, was relegated to mere pops status--Peer Gynt excerpts, for instance--has made its way back into the regular classical repertory. And other works, like Capriccio espagnole or the William Tell overture, are saved for community concerts, stuff that's done in the "outreach" programs. There's just about nothing anymore that was once deemed as light music. Just some nice 'old Vienna' stuff at New Year's eve, and that's it.

You'd have to go all the way back to the days of Fiedler himself to find names like Boieldieu or Waldteufel or any other forgotten (why?) masters of light music on a program. Don't ask someone either still among the living (Doc Severinsen) or not (Skitch Henderson) when was the last time they did something considered in the old days as 'classical.'

[maestrob]

Good morning, Wallingford!

I see the problem as germinating from schools not having the funding to support programs in musical education, i. e. school bands, orchestras, even choirs, not to mention music appreciation.

I watched a fascinating documentary on cable just a few days ago about Blue Note Records, and even the jazz musicians that were interviewed were complaining about the same phenomenon, that kids today are not being exposed to instruments, so that even the traditions of playing jazz are falling by the wayside.

All we seem to do as a society is listen to music, not make it happen.

When I was a lad, everyone had a piano in their house, and we all took piano lessons. It was just part of life. I was given, for free, a trombone and offered free lessons when I was in middle school. I didn't take to the instrument, but I won the elementary school talent competition playing Liszt and Mendelssohn in front of an audience of about 800 schoolmates in fifth grade. (For the record, I don't play now.)

Further, our school music program became an outlet for my singing talent, and I became class soloist in high school, and also received free tickets to Philadelphia Orchestra concerts. I was appointed the classical music expert on the school panel that would compete in a quiz program sponsored by Scott Paper, and when we won, was given the assignment of spending $800 to buy a record collection for the school library! What a blast!

All of this because classical music was then at the center of our culture.

Such programs have mostly faded away now. We have friends with teenage boys, one of whom is quite talented and performs musicals with a neighborhood group. No mention is ever made of classical music beyond the fees he has to pay to sing in his school choir! This, in a high-tax, prosperous suburb. Yikes!

The Harlem Boys' Choir had to disband years ago here in New York City. AND I won't even get into how many opera companies have foundered on the financial rocks here in the past ten years because everything is just too expensive. You know all that already, I'm sure.

Being able to create as well as listen to music has been the joy of my life, yet for the younger generations, that option seems to be closing except for the wealthy in our society. In my experience, there is so much talent in our population, and it's a terrible crime to neglect that. Human beings need to have self-worth, and mastering music gives you that in spades.

[Rach3]

Vaughan Williams' " Songs of Travel", a 1995 DGG cd with then 29-year old baritone Bryn Terfel and pianist Malcolm Martineu.

Amazing music and performance, my first hearing of the work. Starts about 39:00 into this BBCR3 broadcast:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000rmkv

[Rach3]

Benjamin Britten’s “Diversions” , Op.21, for piano left-hand and orchestra, here Steven Osborne ,pianist,and BBC SSO,Ilan Volkov (2008 cd). My first hearing of the work , very-well crafted for the genre, lyrical and delightful.Will consider acquiring a recording. The work a Wittgenstein commission, who premiered it himself in Jan.,1942 with Ormandy/PO.Britten’s Piano Concerto and Violin Concerto are favs of mine in their genres.

Another first hearing for me , the 1915 “Concertino” for piano and orchestra by John Alden Carpenter, Michael Chertock,piano,BBC Concert Orchestra,Keith Lockhart. Attractive,although a bit dated and not as interesting as the Britten, but worth at least one hearing.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000rd91

[Rach3]

The recital's organizing ideas.


Two compact 10-minute sonatas:
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No 24 in F sharp major, Op 78 'A Thérèse'
Boulez: Piano Sonata No 1

Ohana inspired by Debussy:
Maurice Ohana: 12 Études d'interprétation, Book 1: No 2 Mouvements parallèles; No 5 Quintes; No 4 Main gauche seule
Debussy: Études, Book I: No 2 Pour les tierces; No 4 Pour les sixtes; No 5 Pour les octaves

Encore: Debussy," L'Isle joyeuse"

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano), Wigmore Hall, May,2015

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b05w7tdx

[Rach3]

Steven Osborne's absolutely stunning performance live in London today of Rachmaninoff's First Piano Sonata finished in 1908:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000qlk2

[maestrob]

All three links intrigue me, Rach3! I'll catch up with them later on.....

[Wallingford]

Light entertainment....A few booby prizes among my LPs:

Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite, played by 101 Strings. Wilhelm Schuechter conducting. My aunt in St. Louis had this album, and it’s piqued my curiosity these last fifty years. Now my curiosity’s satisfied, and I promptly placed it in the “donate” bin. Some unintentional entertainment here: the strings all over on the left channel, while winds, brass, percussion, wind machine and piano are all crammed on the right side of the stage. These European clarinetists still can’t do a good lip glissando. You can’t make out the four horns echoing each other in the ‘Sunset’ movement. The whole thing sounds like a monkey was at the mixing board….sudden cranking up of the volume level when things get too soft.

American composer Alec Wilder was the person most responsible for introducing me to The Instruments of the Orchestra, the second volume in a set of kiddie records I grew up with. I now have a VG-condition copy of this album, and the varied solo numbers Wilder wrote for all the different instruments still hold up, so wittily and gratefully written are they. And some major stars among the instrumentalists: David Oppenheim on clarinet, Bill Bell on tuba, Frank Miller on cello….and Mitch Miller himself on oboe.

And finally, side two of a 1972 Columbia LP, Monster Concert. 10 pianos, 16 pianists. Eugene List leads a large group of prize pupils of the Eastman school. Popsy repertory without exception.

[Rach3]

An interesting recital, several first hearings for me. I do not speak French, thus do not know the reasons for this grouping of selections, if given by the RTBF presenter, although I believe all brief sets of a theme with variations (?).The Crumb work and Cage “Landscape “ were very interesting, attractive , the others not much. Tiberghien a pianist I follow.

Enregistré le 23/02/2020 au Wigmore Hall à Londres

Ludwig van Beethoven - Cinq Variations sur 'Rule Britannia' en Ré Majeur, WoO 79

Morton Feldman - Last Pieces

Ludwig van Beethoven - SIx Variations sur un Thème Original en Sol Majeur, WoO 77

John Cage : Seven Haiku

Ludwig van Beethoven - Neuf Variations sur une Marche de Dressler, WoO 63

George Crumb - Processional

Ludwig van Beethoven - 12 Variations sur 'Menuet à la Viganò', WoO 68

John Cage - In a Landscape

Ludwig van Beethoven - Sept Variations sur 'God Save the King', WoO 78

Johann Sebastian Bach - Aria, des Variations Goldberg, BWV 988 (bis)

Cédric Tiberghien, piano

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2729841

[maestrob]

Benjamin Britten’s “Diversions” , Op.21, for piano left-hand and orchestra, here Steven Osborne ,pianist,and BBC SSO,Ilan Volkov (2008 cd). My first hearing of the work , very-well crafted for the genre, lyrical and delightful.Will consider acquiring a recording. The work a Wittgenstein commission, who premiered it himself in Jan.,1942 with Ormandy/PO.Britten’s Piano Concerto and Violin Concerto are favs of mine in their genres.

Another first hearing for me , the 1915 “Concertino” for piano and orchestra by John Alden Carpenter, Michael Chertock,piano,BBC Concert Orchestra,Keith Lockhart. Attractive,although a bit dated and not as interesting as the Britten, but worth at least one hearing.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000rd91

I agree, some interesting music on this program. Thanks!

I have and recommend the recording of Britten's work by Fleisher/Ozawa, which you can stream before you buy on amazon if you like. Britten recorded his Op. 21 with Julius Katchen for London records, but I'm not aware of that being reissued on CD, unfortunately. Here's that LP cover:

[Wallingford]

Offenbach’s Gaite Parisienne (Fiedler 3)
Janacek’s Sinfonietta (Szell)
Dukas’ Sorcerer, Glinka’s Russlan overture & Chabrier’s Danse slave (Jorda)

and a few Horowitz encores

[Rach3]

Mieczysław Weinberg's Cello Concerto ,Op.43, my recording by cellist Nicholas Alstaedt,German Symphony Orchestra of Berlin. Here Rostropovich,Kondrashin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rsNM9BFeXg

A great place to start if not familiar with this composer.

[Wallingford]

Bartok's Suite #2 (Dorati)
Debussy's Images (Casadesus)
Schumann's Carnaval (Dorfmann)
Debussy's Nocturnes (Ormandy 2)
Brahms' two overtures (Toscanini)
Schumann's Sonata #2 (Turini)
Franck's D minor (Boult)
Beethoven's Sixth (Ansermet)

[Wallingford]

Tchaikovsky's Capriccio italien (Ahronovitch)
Schubert's Ninth (Walter,w/Stockholm Phil.)

[maestrob]

Bartok's Suite #2 (Dorati)
Debussy's Images (Casadesus)
Schumann's Carnaval (Dorfmann)
Debussy's Nocturnes (Ormandy 2)
Brahms' two overtures (Toscanini)
Schumann's Sonata #2 (Turini)
Franck's D minor (Boult)
Beethoven's Sixth (Ansermet)

Wonderful recordings, all!

This time, I've bolded the ones that I don't know and look forward to hearing, if I can find them somewhere. Don't know the two pianists at all, Dorfmann & Turini.

[Rach3]

Young Dutch pianist I follow, Hannes Minnaar, plays Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto Jan.9,2021 live with Resident Orkest under Jun Marki at TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht. Enjoyed much more than his recent recording of same, a first mov.cadenza about 15:00 in I had not heard before, perhaps his own ?

https://www.nporadio4.nl/concerten/9617 ... -beethoven

[Rach3]

At 2020’s Schwetzingen Festival, “ award winning” 29 -year old German pianist Fabian Muller ( my first hearing of him) plays Brahms’ Op.117, and then ( the reason for my post ) Ives’ “Concord “ Sonata live ! With flute and viola !

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000rw98

Cant recall last time I heard the Sonata ( mine a Nonesuch lp with Gilbert Kalish ) , nor when I would plan to hear it again.I actually “ enjoy ” Ives’ First Sonata somewhat , mine a Nonesuch lp with Noel Lee.

[Rach3]

Mitsuko Uchida playing Schubert Piano Sonatas D.840 and D.894 live in London,Dec.2020:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000rw9n

[Rach3]

Mitsuko Uchida playing Schubert Piano Sonatas D.840 and D.894 live in London,Dec.2020:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000rw9n

Sir Andras Schiff plays Bach’s Capriccio,BWV 992, Haydn’s Sonata No.44, Beethoven’s “ Waldstein” Sonata, and Schubert’s Sonata,D.960, live in Copenhagen, Nov., 2020. I heard only the “ Waldstein “ and D.960. Schiff’s readings very muscular, majestic, extroverted, even in the “Waldstein” and D.960 slow mov., more Classical than Romantic, influenced, too ,I think by his Bach playing.

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2732406

Mitsuko Uchida a more Romantic approach than Schiff.

Wonderful Winter here. Another 3 inches ( 80 mm ) of snow tomorrow, then for the next few days daily low actual air temps about - 10F. ( -23 C. ) , and wind-chill “ feels like “ temps of possibly -20F. ( -32 C.) as wind will be about 30 mph at times ( 50 kmph).

Hope all our East Coast USA friends are managing their terrible storm.And our Aussie friends enjoying a warm Summer, but for Perth.

Stay safe and well.

[maestrob]

As a lover of great choral works, the above Grammy-nominated recording of Kastalsky's long-neglected Requiem for Fallen Brothers which commemorates the terrible carnage of WWI piqued my curiosity and, I'll admit, the 45 five-star reviews on amazon's website urged me to listen as well. This World Premiere Recording of Katalsky's grandest version was recorded in Washington D. C.'s National Cathedral with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the four choirs listed above recruited from around the U. S. is led by Leonard Slatkin. While I don't always agree with the reviewer who writes for Fanfare quoted below from amazon's webpage, I found his command of detail and the history of this remarkable work quite illuminating:

It was a great idea, but the wrong circumstances and the wrong composer.

In 1915, Alexander Kastalsky (1856–1926), a former pupil of Tchaikovsky, had the idea of composing an international Requiem for organ and chorus to honor the fallen soldiers of Russia and her allies—a Requiem that would combine a number of musical heritages, including Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic. From the outset, it was the kind of work that would be difficult to get performed, given the limitations imposed by censorship from the Russian Orthodox Church. And when Kastalsky expanded the musical landscape by adding an orchestra and incorporating music to honor non-Christian casualties, its distance from the Russian tradition only increased.

As the work developed, Kastalsky produced a number of alternate versions—for unaccompanied chorus, for chorus and organ, for chorus and orchestra—with a varying number of movements (from 11 to 17), with some different music, in different orders, and with different texts in different languages.Bits and pieces were performed, and the 14-movement chorus-and-orchestra version was presented in 1917. But the world changed around Kastalsky, too, and after the Revolution, a different kind of resistance arose. Once problematic because it was insufficiently religious, the Requiem now seemed too religious, and even though Kastalsky himself went on to hold prestigious positions in the Soviet musical hierarchy, the Requiem fell beneath the radar.

Back in 1977, Svetlanov offered a live performance of a 14-movement chorus-and-orchestra version with a new, more secular Russian text (see James H. North’s review, Fanfare 20:1); more recently, Stephen Fox recorded an 11-movement offshoot for unaccompanied chorus (titled “Memory Eternal to the Fallen Heroes” and reviewed by James Altena in 42:3); now we get what is apparently the first recording of the final 17-movement chorus-and-orchestra version, which includes texts in Russian, Italian, French, English, Latin, and Greek, and musical references to numerous other traditions.

As I said, it was a great idea—“a rich and varied mosaic,” as the jacket copy puts it. But while the internationalism and the textual mixture may seem to look ahead to the Britten War Requiem, and while the combination of musical idioms (especially in the 14th movement, which superimposes “Rock of Ages” on the Funeral March from Chopin’s Second Sonata) may seem to suggest a kinship with Ives, Kastalsky did not have the imagination necessary to ignite his ideas. The result is a fairly inert work, heavily weighed down by pre-existing thematic material (especially Russian Orthodox and Gregorian material) and very familiar gestures (Boris Godunov’s coronation bells) that aren’t developed with any particular ingenuity. Apparently, he himself was worried (rightly so) that the work was too uniform in tempo; but even the introduction of interludes honoring the Japanese and “Hindu” soldiers did little except to add a few sprinkles of generic spice. The Requiem is certainly worth hearing for its moments of rapt beauty and its occasional blasts of grandeur (most notably, the closing pages).

But it’s not the “peerless stylistic collage” that Vladimir Morosan, in his notes, promises.Would it make more of an impact in a less heavy-handed performance? Perhaps. Would it make more of an impact had it been recorded in a less resonant acoustic than the Washington National Cathedral, which blurs orchestral detail to the point where it’s hard to hear what instruments are playing? Definitely. But reviewing the far more focused and dramatic Svetlanov account, North said “The composer’s high intentions are not matched by corresponding inspiration”—and nothing on this disc makes me want to disagree.

Still, ours may be minority opinions—this disc has gotten exuberant reviews elsewhere, so you might want to sample the music before accepting our judgments.As I said, the sound is surprisingly inadequate. The notes are disappointing as well. They begin with an astonishing statement: “Alexander Kastalsky’s Requiem for Fallen Brothers stands as the only large-scale choral-orchestra work written specifically in response to the unprecedented loss of life and devastation brought about by the First World War,” as if Elgar’s Spirit of England, Foulds’s World Requiem, and Bliss’s Morning Heroes had never been written. Then, too, his account of the multiple variants of this project is sometimes confusing. If you’re looking for a good account of the involuted process of composition, Svetlana Zvereva’s “Alexander Kastal’sky: A Russian Requiem,” in The Choral Journal, 42:5, will give you better guidance.

My own opinion is that Kastalsky's Requiem is a fascinating work, and I'm gratified that I finally have been offered the opportunity to hear it. This is a remarkable recording, and it should never go out of print.

For even more about this recording, do go to amazon where there is much more information about both him and the performers involved. The disc is available for streaming there, naturally.

Here also is Wikipedia's page on the composer, mentor to Rachmaninoff and others:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kastalsky

There is also a 3 hour+ video of this performance on youtube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCXAhD7-G7Y

All that said, I still believe that Kabalevsky's great Requiem, written to honor the estimated 26 million Russians (both citizens and soldiers) that were killed as a result of the German invasion during WWII and the Siege of Leningrad (America had roughly 407,000 military casualties in both the European and Pacific theaters by comparison), is a far stronger and more moving composition. Kabalevsky conducted and recorded his masterpiece for Melodiya in 1962, which was released here on an Angel/Melodiya LP set of 2 discs in excellent stereo sound for the period, several years later: it is his greatest recording. Long out of print although it did appear briefly on the Olympia CD label, it should be remastered with modern technology and reissued by Melodiya immediately. Kabelevsky also conducted the U. S. Premiere himself in Washington D. C. in 1975 to great acclaim.



Kabalevsky's Requiem has, of course, also been uploaded to youtube here, so you can compare for yourself. It begins here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PloCRU_UlNM

[Wallingford]

Schubert’s Sonata in D—the one that was once “Opus 53”(Schnabel)
Fiedler’s albums Pops Caviar and Good Music to Have Fun With
Ormandy’s album Invitation to the Dance

….also, Debussy’s piano rolls for the Welte company c.1913—this one’s the Sony Superscope LP (this, and the Welte Legacy LP were both issued in the 60s, using the same rolls, same repertoire). While piano roll transfers were quite variable by the 60s & 70s and the CD era (paper deterioration, naturally), the present album I’ve always found quite instructive because it seems to present a credible picture of the composer’s keyboard technique, five years before cancer claimed him. There are a good number of wrong notes and near-lapses of memory, and a little blurred pedaling; but there’s a good sense of concept that overrides all that.

I sort of prefer the Welte Legacy issue, but it sells on ebay for $75.

[Wallingford]

https://www.discogs.com/Grieg-Halvorsen ... er/1640935

Listened to side A just the other night. Charming works, all.

[maestrob]

Schubert’s Sonata in D—the one that was once “Opus 53”(Schnabel)
Fiedler’s albums Pops Caviar and Good Music to Have Fun With
Ormandy’s album Invitation to the Dance

….also, Debussy’s piano rolls for the Welte company c.1913—this one’s the Sony Superscope LP (this, and the Welte Legacy LP were both issued in the 60s, using the same rolls, same repertoire). While piano roll transfers were quite variable by the 60s & 70s and the CD era (paper deterioration, naturally), the present album I’ve always found quite instructive because it seems to present a credible picture of the composer’s keyboard technique, five years before cancer claimed him. There are a good number of wrong notes and near-lapses of memory, and a little blurred pedaling; but there’s a good sense of concept that overrides all that.

I sort of prefer the Welte Legacy issue, but it sells on ebay for $75.

I was lucky enough to download about 8 or 9 CDs worth of piano rolls by various composer-pianists redone for Emusic.com about 20 years ago, including Debussy's complete collection of his own works. I love hearing them and bring them out quite often. I agree with your assessment of his playing: it certainly doesn't fit the style that Gieseking established for playing Debussy's music. Very impressionistic, with blurred passages, perhaps done intentionally, they provide a fascinating historical document.

[Wallingford]

I’ve been downloading historic pre-stereo performances of the Grieg Concerto these days to store on my laptop’s music library:

Lipatti/Galliera
Michelangeli/Fruhbeck de Burgos
Arrau/Galliera
Moiseiwitsch/Ackermann

I was only half-listening to the Lipatti while searching for some other things on the internet; I found the performance rather uninvolving (I later found he did another recording with Karajan, surprisingly).

Arrau was very slow and meditative—32 minutes-- and I coulldn’t get into it, but it warrants a rehearing. He has a surprising number of wrong notes. (Lipatti didn't quite have every single note in place himself....surprising, two technical giants.)

By far the most riveting recording was the Michelangeli, with the NYP under Fruhbeck de Burgos. Really rapid tempos in the outer movements, and excitement to burn.

[Rach3]

By far the most riveting recording was the Michelangeli, with the NYP under Fruhbeck de Burgos. Really rapid tempos in the outer movements, and excitement to burn.

Yes.Another Grieg I fancy is Rubinstein / Wallenstein, especially the slow mov.

Do also hear one of Lipatti's last, the 1967 (?) Mozart K.467 with Karajan , at Salzburg if I recall correctly.

[Rach3]

Toradze was a competitor at the 1977 Cliburn Competition.How time flies. The “old” lion in Winter still roars. I thought the orchestra had to catch up to him at the very beginning.The concerto a guilty pleasure of mine.I heard only the concerto; well-done by all concerned. The slow mov. unusually slow here, a very personal statement by Toradze ?

Enregistré le 6 février 2020, au 'LAC' de Lugano

Mikhail Glinka - Ouverture de Ruslan et Ludmila

Dmitri Chostakovitch - Concerto No. 2 en Fa Majeur pour piano et orchestre, op. 102

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Symphonie No. 3 en Ré Majeur, op. 29

Alexander Toradze, piano
Orchestre de la Suisse Italienne
Direction : Jérémie Rhorer

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2733943

[Ricordanza]

Orchestre de la Suisse Italienne

Any relation to Orchestre de la Suisse Romande?

[Rach3]

Piano music of Howard Hanson, Thomas Labe, Naxos cd , audio only:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YASzvR4 ... H2StMwjUZ4

Godowsky’s “ Walzermasken", Konstantin Scherbakov, Marco Polo cd , audio with score:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88F6wYqspyc

[maestrob]

Both of those look interesting, Rach3! Will try them later, after I finish with Bohm's 1967 Bayreuth Siegfried.

[Rach3]

A 5 minute good quality video of pianist Florent Boffard playing the first mov. of Boulez' 1st Piano Sonata, a challenge for the page turner, too.


https://www.francemusique.fr/concerts ( Scroll down to Florent Boffard )