What I listened to today

[maestrob]

Love those, and will get to your links soon. Thanks!

[Wallingford]

I guess you could say I didn't give this work the fair hearing it should've gotten, but you can just about never make me sit still for a whole hour-and-fifteen minute symphony. I realize any piece must be heard holistically, like a prof reading a student's mammoth thesis, I merely tried listening to the opening movement one evening, the other two about ten days later. In any case, didn't get too much from it.

https://www.discogs.com/Paderewski-BBC- ... e/11293201

But I hasten to add that Paderewski had considerable acumen as a composer--his A Minor Piano Concerto is a worthy companion to Grieg's and Schumann's in the same key....a masterpiece.

[Rach3]

But I hasten to add that Paderewski had considerable acumen as a composer--his A Minor Piano Concerto is a worthy companion to Grieg's and Schumann's in the same key....a masterpiece.

Completely agree, my recording Earl Wild on an RCA lp. Not quite equal, but a worthy companion for sure. Inspired slow mov.

[Wallingford]

But I hasten to add that Paderewski had considerable acumen as a composer--his A Minor Piano Concerto is a worthy companion to Grieg's and Schumann's in the same key....a masterpiece.

Completely agree, my recording Earl Wild on an RCA lp. Not quite equal, but a worthy companion for sure. Inspired slow mov.

Amen to everything you say. The very first recording done in the late 30s by Sanroma and Fiedler, is well worth investigating. Paderewski himself was at the session, and he warmly commended their job.

As per the slow movement, the composer dropped in on an extremely occupied Saint-Saens, who grudgingly welcomed him in. Paderewski played thru the whole thing, Saint--Saens following the score. Afterward, Saint-Saens told the composer, "What a delightful Andante!" and asked him to repeat the movement. The Frenchman concluded that the concerto will be engrossing for the public, and that Paderewski not change a note.

[Rach3]

Amen to everything you say. The very first recording done in the late 30s by Sanroma and Fiedler, is well worth investigating. Paderewski himself was at the session, and he warmly commended their job.

That 30's is at YT, as is my Wild/Fiedler/LSO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFM3Gh1 ... c&index=14

[Wallingford]

Amen to everything you say. The very first recording done in the late 30s by Sanroma and Fiedler, is well worth investigating. Paderewski himself was at the session, and he warmly commended their job.

That 30's is at YT, as is my Wild/Fiedler/LSO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFM3Gh1 ... c&index=14

Yeah....have had it, off and on, on vinyl.

[Rach3]

Coronavirus Etude for Piano and Disinfecting Wipes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whNICyl_et0

[Wallingford]

Debussy's complete Images (de Froment)
Bartok's Third Quartet (Fine Arts Qrt.)
Borodin's First Symphony (Andrew Davis)
Franck's Le chasseur maudit (Rodzinski, also Freccia.....may later try and dig up my old Albert Wolff/Lamoureux performance)

[Wallingford]

https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/15982468?ev=rbRo

You need go no further than this disc if you want an hour-plus of offbeat Romantic piano literature.

There's one lone copy on sale at Discogs going for $7, shipping included (US).

[maestrob]

Listened to this delightfully optimistic and virtuosic performance of arrangements of Schubert's most popular songs for piano and horn by Carl Czerny for the first time in many years. Played with exquisite virtuosity and finesse by Barry Tuckwell and pianist Daniel Blumenthal, this recording on the Etcetera label sadly went out of print years ago, and, while a few used copies at a reasonable price have turned up here on Amazon, they didn't stay there long. This is obviously a labor of love, as both participants evidently relish Czerny's clever fantasies. Somehow, this delightful 1991 disc MUST be reissued, perhaps by Brilliant, as it's even more of a treasure today, now that Tuckwell has left this earth forever. If you don't have this, do keep checking amazon for it. Your efforts will be well rewarded.

[maestrob]

British composer York Bowen (1884-1961) is a name that I'm familiar with but I had not heard any of his music until today. Bowen wrote in a very conservative, melodic style, and thus was out of fashion for much of my life, but he is now returning to prominence thanks to recordings like the fine one pictured above. This 2014 CD features Bowen's Phantasy Quartet, two of his Piano Trios, and Clarinet Sonata, with Robert Plane as clarinet soloist with the Gould Quartet on the Chandos label. The disc is recorded in Chandos's usually glowing, rich and very natural sound, and can be heard through Amazon's streaming service. Wonderful music, with rich melodies and beautifully played, it rates five stars from amazon's discerning listeners, and I agree. I plan on adding it to my library quite soon.

[Rach3]

British composer York Bowen (1884-1961) is a name that I'm familiar with but I had not heard any of his music until today.

Quite agree about Bowen's excellence ,although I have none of his chamber music so thanks for this recommendation ! His flute works apparently very fine,too,fww.

He was also a virtuoso pianist, and APR did have a cd or cd set of his transferred 78rpm solo piano recordings ; I have not heard the APR.

I do own Stephen Hough's single cd on Hyperion of solo piano music of Bowen, including his wonderful 24 Preludes, Ballade, and 5th Piano Sonata.I also have an mp3 download of Danny Driver's recording of Bowen's excellent 2nd Piano Sonata,Hyperion again I think ( did not care much for the other pianos sonatas ) , and 3rd and 4th Piano Concertos. The Hough is sine qua non Bowen, for me ; the concertos fine , but you may wish to hear first.

I also have and can recommend his Violin Concerto, mine a Dutton cd, Lorraine Macaslan,violin,BBC Concert Orchestra under Vernon Handley.

Thanks again for your post.

[maestrob]

British composer York Bowen (1884-1961) is a name that I'm familiar with but I had not heard any of his music until today.

Quite agree about Bowen's excellence ,although I have none of his chamber music so thanks for this recommendation ! His flute works apparently very fine,too,fww.

He was also a virtuoso pianist, and APR did have a cd or cd set of his transferred 78rpm solo piano recordings ; I have not heard the APR.

I do own Stephen Hough's single cd on Hyperion of solo piano music of Bowen, including his wonderful 24 Preludes, Ballade, and 5th Piano Sonata.I also have an mp3 download of Danny Driver's recording of Bowen's excellent 2nd Piano Sonata,Hyperion again I think ( did not care much for the other pianos sonatas ) , and 3rd and 4th Piano Concertos. The Hough is sine qua non Bowen, for me ; the concertos fine , but you may wish to hear first.

I also have and can recommend his Violin Concerto, mine a Dutton cd, Lorraine Macaslan,violin,BBC Concert Orchestra under Vernon Handley.

Thanks again for your post.

Steve:

You may be interested in hearing this Lyrita CD of York Bowen playing his own piano music. Amazon has it available for streaming:

[absinthe]

The last 3 movements of Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony
for several orchestras and choirs.

A massive thing, this one remarkably well recorded by Hyperion, with the BBC Welsh Orchesra, the BBC Concert Orchestra and various choirs. Cond: Martyn Brabant.

Comes over 'modern' given it's in the same era as Elgar's 2nd Symphony.

[Rach3]

The remarkable early Shostakovich Piano Trio No.1, Op.8, another lesson how to pack great music into 13 minutes, my very fine ca.1995 recording a Naxos cd by the Stockholm Arts Trio , also at YT, but here a live:


Sjostakovitsj: Pianotrio nr. 1 in c, op. 8
Janine Jansen, viool
Torleif Thedéen, cello
Eldar Nebolsin, piano

Opgenomen tijdens het Internationaal Kamermuziekfestival Utrecht 2012, op 30 december in Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht

[maestrob]

The remarkable early Shostakovich Piano Trio No.1, Op.8, another lesson how to pack great music into 13 minutes, my very fine ca.1995 recording a Naxos cd by the Stockholm Arts Trio , also at YT, but here a live:


Sjostakovitsj: Pianotrio nr. 1 in c, op. 8
Janine Jansen, viool
Torleif Thedéen, cello
Eldar Nebolsin, piano

Opgenomen tijdens het Internationaal Kamermuziekfestival Utrecht 2012, op 30 december in Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht

Nebolsin is a fine pianist that I follow, but how about a link, Rach3

[Rach3]

The remarkable early Shostakovich Piano Trio No.1, Op.8, another lesson how to pack great music into 13 minutes, my very fine ca.1995 recording a Naxos cd by the Stockholm Arts Trio , also at YT, but here a live:


Sjostakovitsj: Pianotrio nr. 1 in c, op. 8
Janine Jansen, viool
Torleif Thedéen, cello
Eldar Nebolsin, piano

Opgenomen tijdens het Internationaal Kamermuziekfestival Utrecht 2012, op 30 december in Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht

Nebolsin is a fine pianist that I follow, but how about a link, Rach3

Oops,sorry,another senior moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCsgygEWtHY

[maestrob]

Fascinating! I just checked my library because I don't recall hearing the Op. 8 before, and sure enough, I've got several versions of No. 2, but not a single recording of the Op. 8.

That performance was excellent, and now I'm even more glad that I read this thread every day. It was a new piece for me, in spite of my erroneous memory that told me that I knew it already until the video started playing.

Many thanks, Rach3!

[Rach3]

Thomas Ades’ Piano Concerto, Kirill Gerstein, pianist and for whom the work written, with the Bavarian Radio Symphony,under Ades himself, in Feb.,2020, a “proper piano concerto” per Gerstein:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000twbs ( About 15 minutes into the broadcast. )

I had heard the work before, but still don't connect with it.

[maestrob]

Thomas Ades’ Piano Concerto, Kirill Gerstein, pianist and for whom the work written, with the Bavarian Radio Symphony, under Ades himself, in Feb.,2020, a “proper piano concerto” per Gerstein:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000twbs ( About 15 minutes into the broadcast. )

I had heard the work before, but still don't connect with it.

Truthfully, I have the same problem with his music. I'll give this a try, but I don't expect much.

[Rach3]

77-year old Eliso Virasaladze in Tokyo, 2020.Challenging program. I forgot how long-winded Tchaivovsky can be ; “Novellette" similarly long-winded, for me. Not sure I had ever heard all the Prokofieff “Sarcasms”, wonderful work ,playing.She had her hands full in the well-known Toccata , perhaps slight misses at very end, but still an effective reading. A fine Schumann “Fantasy “ , if some fatigue in the final mov. , a work I prefer over the Liszt B minor Sonata.She was Bronze medal winner at 1962 Tchaikovsky Competition ; Susan Starr and Yin Chengzong were co-Silver ; Vladimir Ashkenazy and John Ogdon shared Gold. Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliso_Virsaladze Her students include Berezovsky, Volodin, Shishkin.

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2755646

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Extraits des 'Saisons, op. 37b' (Juin, juillet, août)

Serge Prokofiev - Sarcasms, op. 17
- Toccata en ré mineur, op. 11

Robert Schumann - Novellette No. 8 en fa dièse mineur, op. 21/8
- Fantaisie en Do Majeur, op. 17

Frédéric Chopin - Valse brillante en La bémol Majeur, op. 34/1 (bis)

[maestrob]

77-year old Eliso Virasaladze in Tokyo, 2020.Challenging program. I forgot how long-winded Tchaivovsky can be ; “Novellette" similarly long-winded, for me. Not sure I had ever heard all the Prokofieff “Sarcasms”, wonderful work ,playing.She had her hands full in the well-known Toccata , perhaps slight misses at very end, but still an effective reading. A fine Schumann “Fantasy “ , if some fatigue in the final mov. , a work I prefer over the Liszt B minor Sonata.She was Bronze medal winner at 1962 Tchaikovsky Competition ; Susan Starr and Yin Chengzong were co-Silver ; Vladimir Ashkenazy and John Ogdon shared Gold. Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliso_Virsaladze Her students include Berezovsky, Volodin, Shishkin.

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2755646

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Extraits des 'Saisons, op. 37b' (Juin, juillet, août)

Serge Prokofiev - Sarcasms, op. 17
- Toccata en ré mineur, op. 11

Robert Schumann - Novellette No. 8 en fa dièse mineur, op. 21/8
- Fantaisie en Do Majeur, op. 17

Frédéric Chopin - Valse brillante en La bémol Majeur, op. 34/1 (bis)

I have nearly every CD Georgian pianist Wirssaladze has ever recorded, and admire her playing a great deal. I do wish her recordings were marketed better here in the USA. I will hear this very soon. Many thanks!

[Wallingford]

Franck's D Minor (Albert Wolff/Lamoureux)
Saint-Saens' Fourth Piano Concerto (Casadesus/Bernstein)
Rossini-Respighi's La Boutique Fantasque (Fiedler)
Bach's First Violin Partita (Enescu)
Dvorak's first set of Slavonic Dances (Dorati/Bamberg)
Bartok's First Quartet (Fine Arts Qrt.)
Brahms' Second Serenade (Toscanini)
Grieg's Sigurd Jorsalfar suite (Schneevoigt)

[Rach3]

Franck's D Minor (Albert Wolff/Lamoureux)
Saint-Saens' Fourth Piano Concerto (Casadesus/Bernstein)

That S-S 4th PC recording is wonderful, mine the Columbia lp, coupled with some Faure.
Try to hear the Cortot / Munch 4th on Naxos, too.Think it's at YT.
I feel the big theme of the final mov. is almost another French National Anthem.

[maestrob]

Franck's D Minor (Albert Wolff/Lamoureux)
Saint-Saens' Fourth Piano Concerto (Casadesus/Bernstein)

That S-S 4th PC recording is wonderful, mine the Columbia lp, coupled with some Faure.
Try to hear the Cortot / Munch 4th on Naxos, too.Think it's at YT.
I feel the big theme of the final mov. is almost another French National Anthem.

I grew up with Ormandy/Entremont in the Saint-Saens, and recently heard the Casadesus/Bernstein for the first time as I've been traversing the Bernstein Concertos Box. Both are equally wonderful, IMHO. I have the Cortot/Munch in the recent Cortot Anniversary Box from EMI (recorded at Abbey Road Studios in 1935), and admire that one as well.

Rach3: Just finished with the Elisso Wirssaladze recital from January 2020 from Tokyo. She's quite wonderful. I do hope she got home OK. Traveling at age 77 is no joke. Her Schumann was quite wonderful, and the Tchaikovsky (never recorded by her) displayed more personality than is usually on offer with that work, but, although the Prokofiev Toccata was good, I still think Horowitz did better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv80qkxNCYY

[Rach3]

I am a huge Faure fan , but have no recording of his presumably early First Violin Sonata,Op.13 ( or any any later ) , and do not recall ever hearing the First ( or any later ) . Delightful here. I did not hear the Mozart ( 28 ??!! ), nor the Schubert . I am also a huge Poulenc fan, yet his extraordinary, and somewhat dark -hued Violin Sonata also a first hear for me. I’ll get a recording of the Poulenc , probably the Kopatchinskaja.

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2755989

Enregistré le 17/11/2019 au Grand Hall, Musikverein à Vienne

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Sonate No. 28 en Mi bémol Majeur pour violon et piano, K. 380

Gabriel Fauré - Sonate No. 1 en La Majeur pour violon et piano, op. 13 ( 18 minutes in )

Francis Poulenc - Sonate pour violon et piano, FP 119 ( 44 minutes in )

( No break before Schubert )

Schubert, Fantasy for Violin and Piano, D.934

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Mélodie, extraite de 'Souvenir d'un lieu cher, op. 42 (bis)

Julia Fischer, violon
Aris Alexander Blettenberg, piano

[maestrob]

I am a huge Faure fan , but have no recording of his presumably early First Violin Sonata,Op.13 ( or any any later ) , and do not recall ever hearing the First ( or any later ) . Delightful here. I did not hear the Mozart ( 28 ??!! ), nor the Schubert . I am also a huge Poulenc fan, yet his extraordinary, and somewhat dark -hued Violin Sonata also a first hear for me. I’ll get a recording of the Poulenc , probably the Kopatchinskaja.

https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_concert?id=2755989

Enregistré le 17/11/2019 au Grand Hall, Musikverein à Vienne

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Sonate No. 28 en Mi bémol Majeur pour violon et piano, K. 380

Gabriel Fauré - Sonate No. 1 en La Majeur pour violon et piano, op. 13 ( 18 minutes in )

Francis Poulenc - Sonate pour violon et piano, FP 119 ( 44 minutes in )

( No break before Schubert )

Schubert, Fantasy for Violin and Piano, D.934

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Mélodie, extraite de 'Souvenir d'un lieu cher, op. 42 (bis)

Julia Fischer, violon
Aris Alexander Blettenberg, piano

The Schubert rarely-done is a great work IMHO, with its haunting opening theme. Do give it a chance! Mine the Vox recording with Igor Oistrakh (now sadly OOP), although I also have the mono Heifetz. Isabelle Faust's 2004 recording can be streamed on amazon:

[Rach3]

The Schubert rarely-done is a great work IMHO, with its haunting opening theme. Do give it a chance!

I did decide to hear the Schubert from the Fischer recital.Enjoyed.My first hearing of it as well.

Of my 3 first hearings on this recital , decided to purchase a 320kpbs mp3 download from Presto of the Poulenc Violin Sonata, a track from a 2015-16 Deux cd by Kopatchinskaja and Leschenko , $ 3. Compared to Fischer's recital, the K/L (not surprisingly ) more extroverted, dramatic, "Russian".Some may feel Fischer more "French", thus more Poulenc-ian.I think Poulenc would have liked both, and I'm glad I have the K/L. The opening mov. is marked " allegro con fuoco " . The last mov. is marked " presto tragico " , but not without many of his usual moments of high spirits. Whether or not all this Wiki article is accurate, fascinating history to the work:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Sonata_(Poulenc) :

" Poulenc wrote, when he completed the draft of the sonata:
The monster is finished. I will begin the realization. It is not bad, I think, and in any case very different from the eternal "violin-melody line" of the French sonatas of the 19th century.... The violin prima donna over piano arpeggio makes me vomit."

Perhaps I chose wisely.

[maestrob]

The Schubert rarely-done is a great work IMHO, with its haunting opening theme. Do give it a chance!

I did decide to hear the Schubert from the Fischer recital.Enjoyed.My first hearing of it as well.

Of my 3 first hearings on this recital , decided to purchase a 320kpbs mp3 download from Presto of the Poulenc Violin Sonata, a track from a 2015-16 Deux cd by Kopatchinskaja and Leschenko , $ 3. Compared to Fischer's recital, the K/L (not surprisingly ) more extroverted, dramatic, "Russian".Some may feel Fischer more "French", thus more Poulenc-ian.I think Poulenc would have liked both, and I'm glad I have the K/L. The opening mov. is marked " allegro con fuoco " . The last mov. is marked " presto tragico " , but not without many of his usual moments of high spirits. Whether or not all this Wiki article is accurate, fascinating history to the work:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin_Sonata_(Poulenc) :

" Poulenc wrote, when he completed the draft of the sonata:
The monster is finished. I will begin the realization. It is not bad, I think, and in any case very different from the eternal "violin-melody line" of the French sonatas of the 19th century.... The violin prima donna over piano arpeggio makes me vomit."

Perhaps I chose wisely.

I love the Poulenc Violin Sonata. Don't have Kopatschinskaja, but Midori does very well for me:



There is also this one that I plan on hearing later today:

[maestrob]

Just finished hearing the Julia Fischer concert. Absolutely magnificent. Many thanks, Rach3.

[Rach3]

Vitezslav Novak’s ( 1870-1949) Piano Sonata “Eroica “, Op.24 ( 1900 ), Frantisek Rauch,pianist, from my Suraphon cd set to the composer’s complete solo piano works played by Rauch. For awhile, the Sonata was in the active recital repertoire of Ignanz Friedman. Here audio plus score:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKR6p-IL-Rc ( 22 minutes )

[Wallingford]

This is a nice, varied musical bill of fare--
https://www.discogs.com/Gennady-Rozhdes ... se/6195159

[maestrob]

Vitezslav Novak’s ( 1870-1949) Piano Sonata “Eroica “, Op.24 ( 1900 ), Frantisek Rauch,pianist, from my Suraphon cd set to the composer’s complete solo piano works played by Rauch. For awhile, the Sonata was in the active recital repertoire of Ignanz Friedman. Here audio plus score:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKR6p-IL-Rc ( 22 minutes )

Thanks for that, rach3! A first hearing for me.

Am fond of Novak's Piano Concerto, which can be found on amazon, or on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfYIVA1fYs0

[maestrob]

This 2016 recording by violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen, with the BBC Symphony led by Andrew Litton, finally makes a compelling case for Roy Harris' unjustly neglected Violin Concerto. Wonderfully recorded, Waley-Cohen draws out the meaning in every line, with a rock-solid technique that gives her the ability to negotiate even the difficult last movement with ease. The John Adams concerto is better-served here than in its premiere recording (with the composer conducting) on Telarc. Litton is, as usual, a sensitive accompanist who leaves no orchestral detail to chance. I will be adding this to my library. Recommended. Five stars.

[Rach3]

Richter,Prokofieff's Piano Sonata No.6, live at Carnegie Hall, 1960, perhaps the one on my "Richter Rediscovered" 2-cd set on RCA/BMG, audio with score ( I'd never seen before ) here:

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

[maestrob]

Richter,Prokofieff's Piano Sonata No.6, live at Carnegie Hall, 1960, perhaps the one on my "Richter Rediscovered" 2-cd set on RCA/BMG, audio with score ( I'd never seen before ) here:

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

Nobody played Prokofiev better than Richter and Horowitz. No one. Rubinstein didn't even try the Sonatas, although he played a few short pieces here and there. Van Cliburn tried Sonata VI and had some success, but he lacked the sheer gall of the two great Russians.

Been listening to this OOP set of 13 Kondrashin CDs from Profil, now available only in mp3 format on amazon. Kondrashin's talent is on full display, even with a rare recording (from a mono LP) with the RCA Symphony of Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien. Each selection demonstrates anew that he was the Soviet Union's best conductor of his generation. Shostakovich chose him to record his Symphonies in stereo over even Mravinsky, as well as the modern premieres of IV (1962) & XIII. His Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings rivals Ormandy's with its sheer enthusiasm & energy (from Dresden). Too bad a hard copy is not available.

[Rach3]

This 2016 recording by violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen, with the BBC Symphony led by Andrew Litton, finally makes a compelling case for Roy Harris' unjustly neglected Violin Concerto.

Thanks, heard at YT, had not heard before. Very pleasant.

[Rach3]

Sir Andras Schiff live here at Gstaad's 2020 Menuhin Festival, my 2 fav LvB piano sonatas:

Bach
Prelude & Fugue in E, BWV.878 (Well-Tempered Klavier, Book II)

Beethoven
Sonata in E, Op.109
Sonata in A flat, Op.110

Schubert
Allegretto in C minor, D.915

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000v306

[maestrob]

Sir Andras Schiff live here at Gstaad's 2020 Menuhin Festival, my 2 fav LvB piano sonatas:

Bach
Prelude & Fugue in E, BWV.878 (Well-Tempered Klavier, Book II)

Beethoven
Sonata in E, Op.109
Sonata in A flat, Op.110

Schubert
Allegretto in C minor, D.915

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000v306

A great find, Rach3!

I'll be playing this tomorrow.

[maestrob]

Listening now to Andrew Litton's recent Prokofiev VI from Bregen, CD just ordered from Presto. Their "My Library" feature let's me hear the CD with lossless 96kHz/24bit sound while awaiting delivery of the hard copy. While not as massive a sound as Philadelphia/Ormandy, Rozhdestvesky/Moscow or Leningrad/Mravinsky, let alone Leinsdorf's rather harsh sounding Boston Symphony or Gergiev's sloppily managed London Symphony, Litton does take full advantage of the power and transparency of his Bregen orchestra. I do wish Vassily Petrenko would record a cycle. Recommended.

[jserraglio]

Schubert Club presents, a Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Sanborn International Artist Series virtual concert featuring:
Beatrice Rana, piano
Ludovica Rana, cello

PROGRAM:
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Fantasy in G minor
Clara Schumann: Songs (TBD)
Felix Mendelssohn: Sonata No. 2 in D major, Opus 58
Robert Schumann: Fantasy Pieces, Opus 73; Three Romances, Opus 94

Program notes https://schubert.org/wp-content/uploads ... ITAL02.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYIoYKvmyp0

[Rach3]

Max Reger’s Violin Concerto, Op.101, at about 1: 38 : 00 in to this live broadcast, a work Reger apparently called “ a monster “ , but which the BBC presenter said one might “easily mistake “ for Felix Mendelssohn or “perhaps” Max Bruch ( ??!! Fww, I dont think I would have made such a mistake.) My first , and last, hearing of the Reger VC:

Reger
Violin Concerto in A, op. 101
Kristian Winther, violin
Gruppo Montebello
Henk Guittart, conductor
Orlando Festival,2019

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000v3p1 ( Approx. 55 mins. ! )

[maestrob]

Wonderful concerts from the Rana sisters and Andras Schiff. Many thanks, Rach3!

This morning, I donated $50.00 to the Schubert Club. So very glad to see this without commercials.

Both Beatrice Rana and Andras Schiff are premiere pianists, and I'm glad to hear from both of them. Schiff's playing of the Beethoven was rich and full-toned, as it should be. I plan on a repeat hearing during the coming week. I do hope Rana makes more CDs for Sony. Her Goldbergs are my current favorite of 21st Century interpretations: so full of energy and sparkle. Been following her since she was 2nd Prize winner at the Cliburn.

[maestrob]

Brazilian conductor John Neschling's survey of Respighi's complete orchestral output has just moved forward with this latest release of that composer's transcriptions of some of Bach's most famous organ works, plus renderings of five of Rachmaninov's Etudes-tableaux, made with the encouragement of the composer in 1929-30. Respighi had just previously enjoyed much success with his Roman Trilogy, thus all these works were commissioned by various American conductors, including Toscanini and Koussevitsky, to be played by their various orchestras. Unjustly neglected, this is the first recording that I'm aware of to put them all together. Wonderfully recorded by Bis, and issued in SACD sound, the Orchestra Philharmonique Royal de Liege plays with great finesse and sensitivity without sacrificing the full-throated climaxes. Maestro Neschling (b. 1947) is plainly dedicated to leaving his mark on Respighi with his fine orchestra. Five stars. I will be adding this entire series (five releases so far) to my library.

[Wallingford]

Two weeks back I obtained a mono 50s Living Presence of Dorati's Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. About halfway into the first movement I coiuldn't grasp Dorati's scheme, but I then figured out that Dorati is really giving an intimate look at the piece and showing us real scholarship in his understanding of it. The second movement ('presentation of the pairs') goes at such a clip, clocking in at less than six minutes. All details fall perfectly into place as the work progresses, but special accolades go to the finale's performance, which nearly every other performance has turned into a mishmosh, but here Dorati makes every fraction of a second count; and he makes whatever voice which should actually be heard come out. No mumbo-jumbo separating any of its main tunes. It's in the finale that Dorati gives even Reiner a good run for his money.

[maestrob]

Two weeks back I obtained a mono 50s Living Presence of Dorati's Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. About halfway into the first movement I couldn't grasp Dorati's scheme, but I then figured out that Dorati is really giving an intimate look at the piece and showing us real scholarship in his understanding of it. The second movement ('presentation of the pairs') goes at such a clip, clocking in at less than six minutes. All details fall perfectly into place as the work progresses, but special accolades go to the finale's performance, which nearly every other performance has turned into a mishmosh, but here Dorati makes every fraction of a second count; and he makes whatever voice which should actually be heard come out. No mumbo-jumbo separating any of its main tunes. It's in the finale that Dorati gives even Reiner a good run for his money.

Antal Dorati is a conductor that is not so well remembered these days, possibly because he recorded for Mercury instead of a more famous label, and he was the music director of the Detroit Symphony instead of one of the Big Five, even though Detroit's reputation at the time, when that city was a center of industrial activity with more than twice the population now living there, was that of a major orchestra.

Nevertheless, Dorati also recorded extensively with the London Symphony & London Philharmonic, including much of Tchaikovsky's output, both symphonies & ballets. He was the first to record the early symphonies I, II, & III, even before Ormandy, on 35mm magnetic film, recordings that have stood the test of time and still overshadow most modern performances. He also, being Hungarian, was allowed to return to Hungary during the height of the Cold War to record the first complete cycle of Haydn Symphonies with the Philharmonia Hungarica, this time for Decca/London. He even managed to record Haydn's operas, and even the keyboard concertos for the first time with his pianist/wife Ilse von Alpenheim and a rather scrappy-sounding Bamberg Symphony that sound like they are just reading through the music for the first time.



As for Bartok, Dorati recorded quite a bit of Bartok's music for Mercury, including the Second Violin Concerto with Yehudi Menuhin, all of which can be streamed on Amazon or bought in a 5CD box for $70.00. He did manage to record The Miraculous Mandarin & the Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta in a riveting digital performance for Decca that I play often with his Detroit Symphony just before his passing in 1985.

A great Maestro, not often discussed these days.

[maestrob]

Bartok's early Piano Quintet w/Janine Jensen, a new work for me and one I will return to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpT0CvuDCQI

[Rach3]

Bartok's early Piano Quintet w/Janine Jensen, a new work for me and one I will return to:

Agreed, especially the Adagio.Mine is the Kodaly Quartet with Gyorgy Pauk.

[Wallingford]

Maestro--

Yes, yes, to the above, with these corrections:

Dorati died in 1988. He was also by no means the first to record Tchaikovsky's first three symphonies--there were RCA's early 40s sets of Goossens/Cincinnati in the Second, Hans Kindler with NSO(D.C.) in the Third, and Fabien Sevitzky's Indianapolis Symphony in the First.

Also, IIRC, Jacques Rachmilovitch (BOY, talik about a forgotten maestro!) did one or maybe all three in the late 40s.

Regarding Dorati, I've always been a fan, and think that he along with Monteux were the two conductors who could always be counted on for patrician, solid, well-thought-out interpretations.

[jserraglio]

Beethoven in Beijing
Great Performanes Season 48 Episode 16 | 1h 23m 37s
Experience the international impact of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s historic 1973 trip to China, offering a story of cultural reversals and a glimpse into the worldwide future of classical music.

https://www.pbs.org/video/beethoven-in-beijing-plbtrs/