During 2020, the classical music world celebrates, or at least recognizes, the 100th anniversary of the Salzburg Festival. Each year, for five weeks beginning in late July, Salzburg is teeming with all things Mozart, who was born there on January 27, 1756. It is a joyous time of music and theatre with a special focus on opera.

Over the years Unitel, in cooperation with Austrian Broadcasting, preserved these operas and has selected ten titles to issue in DVD and high-definition Blu-ray video discs in an Anniversary Edition boxed set, Salzburg Festival 100 (Cmajor 755704 naxosdirect.com/search/755704). Here are the operas, year, set designer, conductor, orchestra and leading voices: Verdi Otello (2008) [George Souglides] Riccardo Muti, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Aleksandrs Antoņenko, Marina Poplavskaya, Carlos Álvarez; Handel Theodora (2009) [Annette Kurz] Ivor Bolton, Freiburger Barockorchester, Christine Schäfer; Janáček The Makropulos Affair (2011) [Anna Viebrock] Esa-Pekka Salonen, VPO, Angela Denoke; Schubert Fierrabras (2014) [Ferdinand Wogerbauer] Ingo Metzmacher, VPO, Michael Schade; Strauss Der Rosenkavalier (2014) [Hans Schavernoch] Frans Welser-Möst, VPO, Krassimira Stoyanova; Strauss Salome (2018) [Romeo Castellucci] Welser-Möst, VPO, Asmik Grigorian; Rossini L’Italiana in Algeri (2018) [Christian Fenouliiat] Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Ensemble Matheus, Cecilia Bartoli; Mozart Die Zauberflöte (2018) [Katharina Schlipf] Constantinos Carydis, VPO, Matthias Goerne; Tchaikovsky Pique Dame (2018) [Christian Schmidt] Mariss Jansons, VPO, Brandon Jovanovich; Verdi Simon Boccanegra (2019) [Harald B. Thor] Valery Gergiev, VPO, Luca Salsi. 

I wonder how these ten performances were selected from what must have been quite an assortment of available choices. Most probably these were acclaimed productions that deserve the opera lover’s attention. As such, here is an esoteric collection that, from those I have watched, fills that bill. 

The latest edition, at this writing, of the Michael Gielen Edition is Volume 9, the Beethoven Complete Symphonies, Overtures and Mass in C Major (SWR19090, nine CDs and one DVD naxosdirect.com/search/swr19090). For those who are unfamiliar with Michael Gielen, he was a German-Argentinian conductor and composer who studied piano, composition and philosophy in Buenos Aires. He performed Schoenberg’s complete piano works there, and was also coach and assistant conductor of the Teatro Colón. He joined the Vienna State Opera in 1951 and was permanent conductor there from 1954 to 1960. He was also assistant and répétiteur for conductors such as Karl Böhm, Clemens Krauss and Herbert von Karajan. No better way to immerse in the classics than rehearsals and performances. From 1960 he was the first conductor of the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm. Gielen was principal conductor of the National Orchestra in Belgium from 1968 to 1973 and of the Dutch Opera in Amsterdam from 1973 to 1976. He later conducted the West German Radio Orchestra in Cologne and from 1977 to 1987 was general music director of Oper Frankfurt. Concurrently from 1980 to 1986 he was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony and from 1986 to 1999 principal conductor of the of the SWR Orchestra of Baden-Baden and Freiburg. 

In Europe, Gielen was the most radical innovator of Beethoven’s music. He conducted the first live performance in Germany of the Eroica based on Beethoven’s tempo markings, in Frankfurt in October 1970. That performance is to be heard on the sixth CD in this set.

Outside the opera house he conducted contemporary music. He was a performer and promoter of works embracing the Second or New Viennese School, having premiered several works in the new tradition of Ligeti, Stockhausen, Zimmermann et al. His own works were premiered by respected soloists and ensembles of the day. 

Along with his involvement with the New Viennese School, throughout his career he paid particular attention to the First Viennese School of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. His first recordings of Beethoven were Symphonies Two, Seven and Eight which had been allocated to him as part of a complete Beethoven Symphonies edition with various conductors, made for Vox and later available on Audio Fidelity. The orchestra, incidentally, was composed of members of the Vienna Volksoper, identified on the label as the Wiener Staatsopern-Orchester.

Now, back to 1980 in Cincinnati where Vox made a widely discussed recording. During October of Gielen’s first year there, he recorded Beethoven’s Third Symphony, observing the composer’s prescribed tempos and markings in all four movements, particularly effective in the first, previously ignored by traditional conductors. Those were the days when it was claimed that Beethoven’s metronome was defective, only to be countered by the growing number of groups observing original performance practices. This collection offers the listener three performances of the Eroica. The 1970 from Frankfurt mentioned above, the celebrated 1980 from Cincinnati and another from the Festspeilhaus, Baden-Baden in February 2000 that is also to be seen on the enclosed DVD. Of the three I am attracted to the 2000 performance because of the distinct feeling that everyone in the orchestra, as a group and individually, is very happy to be there playing this music. That stood out to me on the first hearing and has not lessened in subsequent listenings. 

Along with the symphonies, Gielen offers these overtures: Egmont; Consecration of the House and two from Fidelio. Also, Gielen’s orchestration of the Grosse Fuge, and the Mass in C Major, Op.86 for soloists, choir and orchestra. There are many exciting differences from the accepted practice here. For instance, the first movement of the Fifth Symphony is not a proclamation of defiance or victory, but simply Allegro con brio. We hear with new and different ears throughout. In every respect, the SWR orchestra plays with effortless virtuosity. Note that these are modern instruments and not original instrument performances. The sound is uniformly ultra-realistic and articulate wherein the various instruments are clearly located. 

This could be the first choice for anyone thinking about a Beethoven set updated from the same-old, same-old weighty, routine editions. 

SOMM has issued Volume II of Elgar from America containing three archive performances of his music played by the NBC Symphony Orchestra (Ariadne 5008 naxosdirect.com/search/ariadne+5008). On this disc we are treated to three favourites, all from Studio 8H in New York’s Rockefeller Center, now the home of SNL. In 1945, Arturo Toscanini, conductor of the NBCSO, had invited Malcolm Sargent to conduct four concerts of English music. On February 18, 1945 Sargent conducted the Cockaigne Overture (In London Town) Op.40. One week later, Yehudi Menuhin joined Sargent for the Violin Concerto in B Minor Op.61. The Introduction and Allegro for Strings Op.47 had been in Toscanini’s repertoire since 1911 when he prepared the orchestra there for Elgar’s impending arrival. This is the third work on this disc in a hugely impressive Elgarian performance from April 20, 1940. Toscanini evinces a rounder sound, more akin to a British orchestra than Sargent does in the overture and the concerto, but both performances are most enjoyable and Menuhin is inspired. 

The restoration, from available sources, is produced by Lani Spahr, who was responsible for earlier discs devoted to historic Elgar performances.

Annie Fischer was a Hungarian pianist who was born in Budapest in 1914 and rose to become a much-admired artist for her freedom of expression over half a century. But she is not so known nor appreciated here, although she had a loyal following in the Classical Record Shop where news of a new Fischer disc spread… albeit mostly to Hungarians. She died in Budapest in 1995. Annie Fischer SECRETS (Hungaroton HCD 32845-46, 2CDs, naxosdirect.com/search/5991813284525) features two of her beloved composers, with Schubert Sonatas D845 and D959, and Schumann’s Fantasiestücke Op.12 and Kreisleriana Op.16. As a little encore, Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, Op.27 No.1. The “secret” of these recordings is quite fascinating but too long for here. You’ll just have to check it out for yourself. You’ll find it well worth the effort!

British pianist Solomon Cutner, who had a natural talent for the piano, was born in London on August 9, 1902. He was the seventh child of musical parents of German-Jewish and Polish-Jewish extraction and began to play the family piano aged five. He made his debut, of sorts, aged seven, in his father’s tailor shop playing his own arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. He became a pupil of Mathilde Verne, herself a former pupil of no less than Clara Schumann. He learned well. As did she. She tied him to a five-year contract with her company and toured him as “Solomon, the Child Prodigy.” Solomon made his real debut in Queen’s Hall in 1911. In 1914, the 12-year-old played Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto at the Proms. Proms founder, Sir Henry Wood insisted that he continue his studies and he made it to Paris where he studied with Marcel Dupré and others. He appeared in the United States in 1926 and again in 1939. During WWII and after, he played for the Allied troops around the world including Australia and New Zealand.

Solomon was a mighty talent whose brilliant recordings produced by English Columbia and His Master’s Voice, EMI were treasured by discerning music lovers everywhere who appreciated his artistry and technique. He first recorded in 1929. He was in the midst of recording the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas for EMI Records when he suffered a devastating stroke in 1956, which paralyzed his right arm. He never recorded or performed in public again, but lived on for another 32 years, dying in 1988 in London.

The recordings that Profil selected for the collection Solomon – Concertos, Sonatas and Pieces (Profil PH20032 naxosdirect.com/search/881488200324) cover repertoire from J.S. Bach to Sir Arthur Bliss and include concertos, duos and solo works all in the best HMV/Columbia sound. There is not a single performance that is anything less than individual and many that surprise. On CD8 is the most welcome first recording of the unique and devilishly difficult 1938 piano concerto by Bliss, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. The Bliss concerto was written specifically for the New York World’s Fair in 1939 and the familiar gestures of the grand Romantic manner were calculated to please audiences of the day. Listening to Solomon play the poetic Grieg concerto that follows, conducted by Herbert Menges, the listener can only but marvel at how, in the first movement, the keys could be depressed so gently and still be making the notes. That disc concludes with two pieces by Brahms, the Intermezzo in B-flat Minor, Op.117 No.2 and the Rhapsody in G Minor, Op.79 No.2 in definitive performances. As may be expected by now, this listener is attuned to expect Solomon’s articulation and clarity, and so, Schumann’s Carnaval is unusually fresh. On CD5, The Beethoven “Archduke” Trio with Henry Holst (violin) and Anthony Pini (cello) follows the Brahms Piano Sonata No.3 Op.5. CD6 contains three of Beethoven’s most loved piano sonatas, Pathétique, Moonlight and Appassionata. To put the icing on the cake, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky joins Solomon for the Cello Sonata No.5, Op.102 No.2. 

What a shock on CD7 when the stentorian Liszt’s Hungarian Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra conducted by Walter Susskind lashes out following Scriabin’s Concerto in F-sharp Minor and Tchaikovsky’s First, both conducted by Isssay Dobrowen. 

On these ten discs, there are concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin and Bliss of course, in addition to a multitude of piano works by Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Chopin. The sound throughout this valuable collection is utterly true, particularly the piano solos, a tribute to EMI’s people and whoever did the transfers to disc for Profil.

This year the German label Orfeo is celebrating its 40th anniversary of issuing significant recordings of live performances given by various artists that were not made available elsewhere. Devout collectors who look beyond the well-known labels may well own, or know of, some of the treasures in the Orfeo catalogue. Orfeo has chosen a collection featuring 20 Soloists and Conductors and 20 Legendary Voices and issued them all on two CDs as Orfeo 40th Anniversary Edition – 40 Ultimate Recordings (Orfeo ORF-C200032 naxosdirect.com/search/4011790200323). The soloists and conductors disc running just seconds short of 80 minutes contains Wolfgang Sawallisch in the overture to The Magic Flute, Otto Klemperer in Bach’s Overture No.3 in D Major; Carlos Kleiber in the Adagio from Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony; Wilhelm Furtwängler in the finale of the Haydn Symphony No.88; Rafael Kubelik conducts Rudolf Serkin in the Adagio from Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.2; etc. etc. The generous program continues with performances featuring Gerhard Oppitz, Andris Nelsons; Oleg Maisenberg, Neeme Järvi; Vaclav Neumann and the music goes on… Sir Thomas Beecham would have called this pleasing program not “lollipops” but “bonbons.” 

The accompanying 20 Legendary Voices belong to 20 males and females singing mostly arias from operas by Rossini, Spohr, Gluck, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Cilea, Bizet, Richard Strauss, Gounod, Moniuszko and the rest of the usual suspects. The voices belong to Agnes Baltsa, Jessye Norman, Kurt Moll, Julia Varady, Edita Gruberová, Carl Bergonzi, Lucia Popp, Michael Volle and others. Each of these discs is a perfect example of putting together an educated and harmonious, never-a-dull-moment program.

The other offering for this Orfeo anniversary year is the ten-CD Orfeo 40th Anniversary Edition – Legendary Conductors (Orfeo ORF-C200011 naxosdirect.com/search/4011790200118) featuring 11 maestros directing complete performances of 16 masterpieces, recorded live from 1961 through 1991. Rather than choosing a few examples which amounts to deciding what not to mention, here are the entries. Karl Bohm: Schubert Second and Ein Heldenleben. Wolfgang Sawallisch: Bruckner Fifth. Carlos Kleiber: Beethoven Fourth. Dimitri Mitropoulos: Prokofiev Fifth. Hans Knappertsbusch: Beethoven Coriolan Overture and Third Symphony. Otto Klemperer: Brahms Third and Beethoven Seventh . Ferenc Fricsay: Tchaikovsky Sixth. Herbert von Karajan: Beethoven Ninth (VSO, 1955). Sergiu Celibidache: Les Preludes (Liszt) and Brahms First. Sir John Barbirolli: Brahms Second and Vaughan Williams Sixth. Wilhelm Furtwängler: Bruckner Fourth. 

These live recordings of the SWS Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony Orchestras are full bodied and richly detailed and if there were such an absolute, the performances may be considered definitive.

Edward Cowie – Concerto for Orchestra; Clarinet Concert No.2
Alan Hacker; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Howard Williams
Metier msv 92108 (naxosdirect.com/search/809730210822)

Hearing Edward Cowie’s Clarinet Concerto is like opening the door into a room where a glorious family tragedy is unfolding; one can observe the mayhem without interrupting it. Three abrupt fortissimo pitches in the low brass and timpani, from lower to higher, initiate the action with an interrogative accusation presupposing the worst possible answer. And the arguments devolve.

Clarinetist Alan Hacker, with his excellent technique, portrays an articulate yet seemingly incoherent character. At the midpoint, the centre of this labyrinth, one encounters the motivation behind the arduous musical journey of the past century: nostalgia for tonality, and a sinking suspicion that we can’t get it back. Carl Nielsen described, in his own clarinet concerto, the disintegration of a personality; my sense is that Cowie is doing something similar in a more daring vein. In fact, the composer is inspired by natural settings, most especially the ocean. Perhaps the coda conveys the end of a storm, and not what I hear: dénouement following personal crisis.

The second piece on the disc is the Concerto for Orchestra. As in the introduction of the other work, Cowie favours jangle and jolt, though here with somewhat less of the latter. Following the introductory passage is an extremely virtuosic section for all the woodwinds, then the brass interrupt to announce a matching answer from the strings. Cowie’s strokes are clear and precise, his expression of sound via the orchestra, confident. He reminds me of Alfred Schnittke in his exploitation of quasi-tuned percussion instruments to undermine the security of pitch to which we are so accustomed. 

The material lasts just under 45 minutes in total. The recording was made in 1983-84, by the excellent Royal Liverpool Philharmonic under Howard Williams and was originally issued on LP by Hyperion.

49th Parallel
Neil Swainson Quintet
Reel to Real RTRCD004 (cellarlive.com/collections/all) 

Bassist Neil Swainson has been a significant figure in Toronto jazz for over 40 years. During that time, he has released one recording under his own name, 49th Parallel, in 1988. The style is mid-60s Blue Note post-bop, announced immediately in a frontline made up of two of the style’s stars, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and trumpeter Woody Shaw, musicians with few peers even in New York. Swainson had toured with Shaw and appeared on two of his recordings, a source for the empathy evident here. Two Toronto musicians deserving of much wider recognition, pianist Gary Williamson and drummer Jerry Fuller, make up the rest of the band.

Swainson crafted most of the compositions, solid idiomatic material that catches fire in the hands of this short-lived band. The session gives the Canadian contingent rare opportunities to shine at the highest levels. Swainson, as leader, gets to solo out of customary order, sometimes coming to the fore as first or second soloist, highlighting his inventive, articulate playing rather than leaving it a closing afterthought. Williamson was a fine soloist, and he also had a gift for multi-dimensional support. Port of Spain, a lyrical feature for Shaw, finds Williamson still adding energetic, expansive detail to the trumpeter’s final theme statement. Fuller gives and takes inspiration with Henderson, fuelling the saxophonist’s kinetic, bouncing lines on Southern Exposure.

This is a distinguished session, one that definitely merits its reissue on both CD and LP.

Listen to '49th Parallel' Now in the Listening Room

The late Isaac Stern exhibited the highest level of musical taste and a charisma on stage, qualities that uniquely come through in his recordings, particularly those from his early years. The young Stern was a highly first-class violinist and virtually one of the best in history. He had a lush, beautiful incandescent sound, perfect intensity and power. He concentrated on music for its own sake and generally did not present fireworks displays although he was perfectly capable of doing so. On Isaac Stern – The Complete Columbia Analogue Recordings we find him featured more in the repertoire of the likes of Mozart, Schubert and Brahms. He was also deeply involved in chamber music which was a big part of his activities. As a young man he was one of the busiest musicians anywhere and was in high demand as a guest artist by the likes of the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Boston Symphony, and distinguished conductors such as Bruno Walter. He was also to be heard in chamber music festivals including the now legendary Casals Festival in Prades. Stern regularly appeared with the most respected musicians such as Dame Myra Hess, William Primrose and David Oistrakh. His early (November 1951) recordings with Sir Thomas Beecham and the Royal Philharmonic playing the Brahms and Sibelius Violin Concertos remain the most impressive performances compared with anyone else, even his own later recordings of these works. His programs were the epitome of serious musical thinking and were influential on violinists who followed. As an example, programs by such artists such as Kreisler, Elman and even Heifetz could include concertos in which the orchestral part was played by the accompanying piano. This convention was eliminated in Stern’s recitals, setting an example, and today it is gone.

Stern was born in Kremenets, Ukraine in 1920 and was brought to San Francisco as an infant. His mother was a singer and he began musical studies at home. He studied violin with Naoum Binder and Louis Persinger, making his debut at the age of 11 with the San Francisco Symphony. His New York debut was on October 11, 1937. His tour of Russia in 1956 was a triumph. There was a story going around many decades ago that I first heard in Australia. It concerns a group of young string players in San Francisco playing for pleasure in their home. A passerby who turned out to be Isaac Stern, heard them and asked if he might join them. He did. True or apocryphal, it is a nice story. 

As a centenary tribute, Sony has issued Stern’s analogue recordings in a 75-CD set containing all those wonderful Columbia mono and stereo riches, carefully and knowingly prepared from the original sessions. Checking the dates on the genesis of each disc, Stern’s first recording was on April 26/30, 1945 in Columbia’s New York studios playing Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No.7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No.2. The pianist was Alexander Zakin, Stern’s accompanist from 1940 to 1977. On the same disc is Mozart’s Violin Concerto in G Major, K216 recorded with Stern also conducting a chamber orchestra on March 28, 1950. This is the most musically exquisite performance one could ever hope to hear. 

These are all irreplaceable performances from his vast recorded repertoire of the most beloved concertos, sonatas, melodies et al., and here are just a few reminders: five CDs from the Casals Festival at Prades featuring, in various combinations, Dame Myra Hess, Alexander Schneider, Paul Tortelier, Milton Thomas, John Wummer, Eugene Istomin, Milton Katims and Madeline Foley. Lalo’s five-movement Symphonie Espagnole in D Minor is conducted by Eugene Ormandy coupled with the Max Bruch Concerto No.1. There are Prokofiev’s First and Second Violin Concertos conducted by Leonard Bernstein, and the Brahms Double Concerto with Leonard Rose, Bruno Walter conducting the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York before they became the New York Philharmonic. 

So well-remembered is the trio of Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose and Eugene Istomin who recorded the complete Beethoven trios between 1965 and 1970 and the complete Brahms trios in 1964-70. Here they all are in pristine sound. Also the Stravinsky Violin Concerto with the composer conducting, from 1961. Even in this syncopated, jaunty piece the signature Stern sound beams. Add the ”Concert of the Century” in Carnegie Hall on May 18, 1976 featuring Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic, Rostropovich, Horowitz, Fischer-Dieskau and the Oratorio Society of New York. 

Many music lovers of a certain age may not remember the first time they heard Stern. Perhaps it was in a movie theatre in 1946 watching Humoresque as the driven violinist John Garfield and Joan Crawford play out their tragic love story. Audiences were treated to several repertory pieces woven into the plot. Stern recorded all the performances in addition to filming close-ups of the fingering and bowing from all angles which were edited into the film. Moving on… In 1960 Stern was a leader in the successful drive to save Carnegie Hall when the famous NYC institution was threatened by demolition. He then served as president of the hall’s new governing body at that time.

Isaac Stern: The Complete Columbia Analogue Recordings (Sony Classical 972425 isaacsternlegacy.org), comprise 75 CDs with each recording in a replica of its original jacket, in a sturdy box with a 214-page hardcover book that includes a biography and details of each recording and an index by composer. A set to be treasured!

Profil has issued a ten-CD set of notable performances conducted by Jascha Horenstein, Jascha Horenstein Reference Recordings (Profil Edition Hänssler PH19014 naxosdirect.com). Horenstein was born in Kiev in 1898 and died in London in 1973. His family moved to Vienna in 1911 and in 1916 he was studying at the Vienna Academy of Music, including composition with Franz Schreker. In 1920 he went to Berlin and became an assistant to Wilhelm Furtwängler. In the 1920s he conducted the Vienna Symphony and the Berlin Philharmonic. He became music director of the Düsseldorf Opera in 1929, getting out in 1933 ahead of the Nazis. He moved around, travelling as far as Australia before settling in New York in 1939. In 1947, he returned to Europe and conducted in Paris, Vienna, Bamberg and also Baden-Baden, the home of the Sudwestfunk Broadcasting Company whose SWF Symphony Orchestra was second to none. In his last years he was conductor of the LSO.

Perhaps because he was not connected to any one orchestra, the major record companies effectively had no interest in preserving his performances or they would have done so. In the 1960s and 1970s many avid in-the-know music lovers and collectors relied upon smaller independent companies to deliver Horenstein recordings. Vox issued a few, as did Unicorn, Music and Arts, and Koch, and the BBC issued some of their own. For this edition, Profil has selected 22 first-class Horenstein recordings. 

Outstanding performances include Liszt’s A Faust Symphony with the choral ending; also Wagner’s A Faust Overture both from the SWF orchestra and chorus. Other highlights include the Eroica with the Vienna Pro Musica and an extraordinarily powerful Death and Transfiguration with the Bamberg SO. No less impressive are the Mahler First and Third Symphonies and Kindertotenlieder (Heinrich Rehkemper) and the Bruckner Eighth. A list of the works would be too long but here are the composers: Bruckner, Mahler, Hindemith, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Ravel, Bartók, Janáček, Wagner, Brahms, Liszt, Beethoven and Richard Strauss. Orchestras are the LSO; Pro Musica, Wein; SWR Symphony, Baden-Baden; Colonne Concerts Orchestra, Paris; Orchestre Radio Symphonique, Paris; the Berlin State Opera Orchestra; the ORTF and the Bamberg Symphony. Soloists are Claudio Arrau, David Oistrakh, Vlado Perlmutter and Ivry Gitlis.

Horenstein conducted every work as if it were the most interesting and important composition ever before him. He demonstrated a concentration and focus that breathed new life and dimension into the most familiar works. The tuttis are organic. His commanding performances are persuasive and consistently engaging.

Ignaz Friedman Complete Recordings (1923-1941)
Ignaz Friedman
Danacord DACOCD861-864 (naxosdirect.com/items/ignaz-friedman-complete-recordings-1923-1941-532264) 

Ignaz Friedman was born in Podgórze, near Kraków in 1882. His prodigious abilities were apparent and he studied with Hugo Riemann in Leipzig. He entered the class of the renowned pedagogue, Theodore Leschetizky in Vienna. “Under Leschetizky he developed a technique surpassing all others and in 1904 made his concert debut that became the stuff of legends.” In 1914 he settled in Berlin where there is a plaque in Pariser Strasse that commemorates his stay in the city. He toured in Europe and America until 1914 when the outbreak of war found him touring in Australia where he remained, enjoying a successful career, there and in New Zealand, as a teacher and performer. He was married to a Russian Countess, Manya Schidlowsky, a relative of Tolstoy. Friedman was deservedly acknowledged by critics including Harold C. Schonberg and colleagues, Sergei Rachmaninoff and others, as pianist-among-pianists. He died on Australia Day, January 28, 1948. Friedman was an editor and a composer with several of his compositions heard here meticulously restored, as are all entries in the set Ignaz Friedman Complete Recordings from the LP years, 1923-1941 (six cds for the price of three). 

When I was quite young, the usual, most-expressed evaluation of a neighbours’ child playing our piano was he or she “has a nice touch.” Those two words seemed to cover the situation quite nicely and pleased the proud parent. Back to the present. In these recordings, in gentle passages, there is often the illusion that Friedman is able play the notes without striking the keys. Now, that is a “nice touch.” This is not to say that this quality is omnipresent but it is there often enough across the 87 tracks on the six discs. Included are works by Scarlatti, Mozart, Widor, Beethoven (Moonlight Sonata) Schubert, and lots of Chopin (Mazurkas. Waltzes, Polonaises, etc.), for which he was renowned. Also Mendelssohn (Songs without Words), Gluck, Brahms, Hummel, Paganini, Liszt, Dvořák, Grieg, Rubinstein, Moszkowski, Paderewski, Suk, Mittler, and, of course, Ignaz Friedman. Bronislaw Huberman is heard in the Kreutzer Sonata.

I put disc one in the player with but a cursory look at the contents and was so enamored that I soon had no inclination to do anything else but sit back and enjoy disc two…

Mozart – Serenade in B-Flat K361
Toronto Chamber Winds; Winston Webber
Crystal Records CD646 (crystalrecords.com)

In his novel Steppenwolf, Herman Hesse depicted Wolfgang Mozart as a smiling Buddha-like immortal. Peter Shaffer, in his play Amadeus, depicts him as human, a vulgar young goofball with uncanny abilities, who had a sense of his music’s importance beyond that assigned by his patrons. In the play, upon hearing the slow movement of the Serenade No.10 in B-flat Major K361”Gran Partita,” the character Antonio Salieri describes with awe the beautiful simplicity of its construction; he believes he is hearing the voice of God. His disillusion with the human form supplying that voice provides the drama for the entire play. 

The theme of immortality rises before me as I listen to this release: these are all voices from the past, a recording made in Massey Hall in 1982, featuring some of the finest Toronto wind players from the time. Many of them were my heroes as I grew into the profession, and some remain active today. It is also an artifact of the time when the elite musical world was a men’s club. 

The performance is very fine, and if it tends more toward a representation of Hesse’s Mozart than Shaffer’s, it does so with warmth and style, and with a commitment to proper performance practice. This feature makes the CD well worth owning: the research into proper articulation and ornamentation was carried out by Daniel Leeson, one of the performers and a Mozart scholar. The results are quite pleasant, and instructive as well. It’s good to hear the freedom from the page that James Campbell’s ornaments demonstrate. The virtuosic Finale: Rondo Allegro molto is packed with flurries of 16th notes articulated at blinding speed.

Among the voices singing out from the recent past, I am most affected by that of Harry Sargous, at one time the principal oboe of the Toronto Symphony. If the account of the piece here has a flaw it would be that it is careful, rather than joyous. Sargous, however, seems to call out to his colleagues with his tone, and beseech them to revel in both the sacred and profane aspects of the music of this immortal fool.

A few months ago, I drew the reader’s attention to Volume Two of Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts, recorded during the late 1960s. Volume Three is now available, again on four Blu-ray video discs (Unitel 800704 naxosdirect.com). 

As to be expected, Bernstein is again both entertaining and informative as he outlines musical forms and terms to his young audience. An inside view into each work is followed by the performance with the New York Philharmonic. Volume Three includes 18 episodes – the Concerts Nos. 29-43 plus Young Performers Nos. 7-9 (featuring Edo de Waart, Horacio Gutiérrez and Young Uck Kim). The repertoire is surprisingly broad including works rarely presented to such a young audience.  

“The Road to Paris” includes Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Bloch’s Schelomo with cellist Zara Nelsova plus dances from De Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat. “The Sound of a Hall” lays out the daunting tasks faced by the acoustician in the new Philharmonic Hall in Lincoln Center. Works are Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture, shorter pieces by Copland and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with a riotous outing for the many percussionists. In “A tribute to Teachers,” Bernstein conducts works by his teachers, Randall Thompson and Walter Piston and honors Fritz Reiner in a stunningly exuberant version of Brahms’  Academic Festival Overture. “The Genius of Paul Hindemith” features excerpts from a dozen of his works together with a most persuasive, lengthy appreciation of Hindemith’s music. In “Farewell to Nationalism,” Bernstein demonstrates to his audience that a composer’s country of origin is not necessarily reflected in his or her compositions. 

In “Charles Ives: American Pioneer,” Bernstein discusses and performs the music of Charles Edward Ives, “the first great American composer.” In “Forever Beethoven,” the master is profiled and his works are performed and discussed. “Fantastic Variations” is a full program devoted to Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote. This is Bernstein’s very detailed exploration of how Strauss depicts the self-styled Knight Errant’s various delusional encounters, his final return to reality and peaceful last breath. In “Bach Transmogrified,” Bernstein discusses the many different transmogrifications of the “Little” Fugue in G Minor BWV578 for organ. After hearing the original, the first iteration is the celebrated transcription for orchestra by Leopold Stokowski, who was on hand to conduct the orchestra. Next, the audience watched a Moog synthesizer rolled across the stage and listened to that version. Then came the Lukas Foss transformation of the little Bach piece. 

The third Blu-ray disc contains “The Anatomy of a Symphony Orchestra,” in which Bernstein draws the audience’s attention to the sections of the orchestra, strings, winds, brass and percussion. He puts it all together in a complete performance of Respighi’s The Pines of Rome with a roof-raising finale, as the tread of the unstoppable Roman legions gets closer and closer through The Pines of the Appian Way. In sharp contrast is “A Copland Celebration,” featuring the Clarinet Concerto and closing with a ballet suite from Billy the Kid. In “Thus Spake Richard Strauss,” Bernstein examines Strauss’ musical interpretation of Nietzsche’s writings. Interesting. “Liszt and the Devil” examines A Faust Symphony, a work in three movements, Faust, Gretchen and Mephistopheles. Liszt’s symphony was deservedly a favourite of Bernstein who had recorded it in New York in 1960 and would so again with the Boston Symphony in 1976. Here he was happy to explain all about the Faustian subject and Liszt. Fascinating insights into both composer and compositions. “Holst: The Planets” (minus Saturn and Neptune), is the last work in this collection of annotated concerts for a young audience. 

Bernstein had loads of charisma and he was certainly the right person, arguably the only person, for these events, to the extent that still today, half a century later, he can hold the viewer’s undivided attention. Lenny never spoke condescendingly to his young audience, always treating them with respect.    

Each Blu-ray disc, except for the fourth, holds five concerts and plays for over four hours. The fourth contains young, some very young, performers as soloists playing with the orchestra. The set, which feels as fresh today as when the concerts took place, is also available on seven DVDs. 

One of the treasures of recorded music is Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde recorded over three days in May 1952, in Vienna. The Vienna Philharmonic was conducted by Bruno Walter and soloists were Kathleen Ferrier and Julius Patzak. That Decca recording has never been out of print. Back in 1947-48 Walter wanted to conduct a festival performance of Das Lied and had searched in vain for a contralto who could live up to the demands of this remarkable work. “I was told of a young English singer who made quite a great impression on all those who heard her… and she came and sang for me and she began to sing the Sapphic Ode of Brahms and I said, ‘You are engaged.’ Because it was of such rare beauty, beauty of expression, beauty of voice and purity and beauty of personality. It was one of my greatest impressions in my life. Since then we became very great friends and she sang this work with me. I engaged her to sing with me in New York. She sang Lied von der Erde in New York.” He goes on to speak about making the 1952 recording, “It was unforgettable how this very beautiful girl stood at my side already in the throes of the most terrible disease. And it was the last time I saw her.” Kathleen Ferrier succumbed in 1953.

The British label SOMM, in their continuing Kathleen Ferrier series, has issued the recording of the actual New York Philharmonic’s inspired performance of Das Lied with Walter and Ferrier, January 18, 1948, Kathleen Ferrier in New York (SOMM Ariadne 5007 naxosdirect.com). The tenor is Set Svanholm whose prophetic Das Trinklied sets the stage for the kinetic performance to follow. And here is the pristine voice of Ferrier confirming to those in Carnegie Hall and the radio listeners that Walter had not exaggerated one little bit. The CD also has an informative 1956 interview by Arnold Michaelis with Walter, excerpted above, in which he talks about Ferrier, his close friend Gustav Mahler and Bruckner. The sound has remarkable presence and is not an aircheck but an in situ recording by the Carnegie Recording Company. Some unobtrusive, slight surface noise occasionally, but the balances are perfect.

After Der Abschied (Farewell), SOMM adds three short, gentle Bach settings of love songs from a recital in Town Hall, New York on January 8, 1950. Vergiss mein nicht (Do not forget me) BWV505; Ach, dass nicht die letzte Stunde (Ah! Why has not the final hour) BWV439; and Bist du bei mir (If thou art near) BWV508. Perfect choices. Her accompanist is pianist and friend John Newmark.

This is a unique document, earning a place in every collection.

Pianist Friedrich Gulda is certainly not a household name today but from the 1960s on he was indeed recognized by classical LP collectors as a master, and by thinking jazz fans as a progressive jazz innovator. He toured worldwide, including appearances with the polished SWR Radio Symphony Orchestras of Stuttgart and Baden-Baden. The SWR recorded all the performances that they presented and their CDs reflect care and expertise in documenting these concerts. Their latest release is a three-disc set of concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Richard Strauss (SWR Classic SWR19088CD naxosdirect.com). Here they are all recorded between 1959 and 1962 with their conductors: Mozart No.14 in E-flat Major K449 and No.23 in A Major K448, Hans Rosbaud; No.24 in C Minor K491, Joseph Keilberth; Beethoven No.4 in G Major Op.58, and Haydn No.11 in G Major XVIII:11, Hans Muller-Kray;  Strauss Burleske in D Minor, Muller-Kray, with a solo encore, Zugabe; and finally Debussy’s solo piano Feux d’artifice.

All these were recorded before appreciative audiences, resulting in personal performances closer to the heart and different from playing to microphones. This is perhaps not always the case, but certainly is so in the music-making on these three discs. The kind of music-making that has you hanging on every note. There is the age-old question of who is in charge in a concerto, the conductor or the soloist? Here we have three different conductors each tuned to this articulate pianist. 

The 1960s was the era during which many prodigiously talented USSR instrumental virtuosi were at last permitted by their government to concertize in the West. None elicited more universal excitement than Sviatoslav Richter who possessed a seemingly limitless technique, equally at home in Beethoven and the German Romantic composers, the French Impressionists and, of course, contemporary Russian composers. He is now recognized as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. He made his American debut in Chicago on October 15, 1960, gave a series of concerts in New York that season and appeared as soloist with the New York Philharmonic. To hand is an 11CD set Sviatoslav Richter plays Rakhmaninov & Prokofiev (Profil PH19052 naxosdirect.com).

Many of these recordings pre-date his American debut. There are two versions of the Rachmaninov First Piano Concerto: the version from March 9, 1949 is conducted by Oleg Azarov followed by a performance from February 18, 1955 under Kurt Sanderling. The second concerto also has two performances: live under Agarkov on May 19, 1948 and with Sanderling on February 6, 1959. He also plays eight of the Etudes-Tableaux from Opp.33 and 39. The “bonus” on this disc is two songs sung by soprano Nina Dorliac, Richter’s lifelong partner. Rounding out the Rachmaninov entries are some preludes. Richter had put together a suite of 12 preludes heard live, also another of six preludes. 

There are so many works of Prokofiev on the seven remaining discs! The First Piano Concerto with Kondrashin and the Moscow Youth Symphony Orchestra in 1952, followed by two performances of the Fifth: with Kondrashin and the Moscow Philharmonic on April 24, 1961; and a real gem, a previously unreleased concert recording with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy in Leningrad from June 14, 1958. Another interesting entry is the recording of the world premiere performance of Prokofiev’s Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in E Minor, Op.125. The dedicatee, Mstislav Rostropovich, is the soloist, and the conductor is Sviatoslav Richter. There are seven piano sonata performances, 11 Vision Fugitives, Op.22; piano transcriptions from the ballet Cinderella; the second and third cello sonatas, two performances of the Suggestion diabolique No.4, Op.4, and eight songs sung by Nina Dorliac.  

Paul Tortelier was a French cellist born Paris in 1914. He won First Prize in cello at the Paris Conservatoire at 16. He became principal cellist of the Boston Symphony in 1935 returning to France in 1939. He settled in Israel in 1955, travelling to Europe for concerts. He recorded major concerted works for EMI and was also a member of the Casals Festival in Prades with Casals, Stern, Istomin, Menuhin and the rest. He died in 1990.

A three-CD set Paul Tortelier – The RIAS Recordings (Audite 21.455 naxosdirect.com) is devoted to cello sonatas recorded by the Radio in the American Sector in 1949, 1962 and 1964 and are released here for the first time. These are superlative performances that from the first bar of the Beethoven Sonata No.5 leave no doubt that these musicians love what they are doing. The accompanist, or rather partner, is Lothar Broddack with whom he collaborates in the Mendelssohn No.2; Fauré No.2 and Papillon; Paganini Introduction and Variations on Dal tuo stellate soglio from Moses in Egypt; and Casella’s Sonata No.2. Pianist Klaus Billing replaces Broddack for Brahms Sonata No.1, Schumann’s Fantasiestücke Op.73 and Tortelier’s own Trois p’tits tours. He needs no accompanist for the Kódaly Sonata Op.8. These are immaculate recordings of wonderful performances. 

How fondly remembered are Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic as seen on CBS Sunday afternoons from 1958 to 1972 and held in the new Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center. Years later the videos were first issued by Sony on VHS but those are long gone. We now have some of them on a four Blu-ray video disc set from Cmajor as Volume Two of these concerts (Unitel Edition 800504 naxosdirect.com).

For these readers who may not be aware of these still-memorable concerts, the intention was to introduce younger people, and anyone else, and help them appreciate and hopefully understand classical music, new and old. Bernstein explained in easily understood language, with examples conducting the orchestra, what the music is all about and what the composer intended. Bernstein himself wrote all his scripts, over which he devoted enormous time and care. What we see and hear appears completely spontaneous, sharing information and never talking down to his audience.

In this collection there are 14 programs on subjects of interest upon which he elaborates and illustrates, each of which turn out to hold our attention even when presenting familiar works. For instance, Two Ballet Birds, aired on September 14, 1969, tells us that there are basically two kinds of ballet, one that tells a story and the other which does not. Les Sylphides is a perfect example of the latter. Bernstein illustrates a combination of both with music from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. All very beautiful Romantic music, but with an abundance of simply abstract dancing for our pleasure, choreographed to show what the dancers can do and not to advance the story. On the other hand, in Stravinsky’s thrilling ballet, The Firebird, what is unfolding on the stage is precisely described and reinforced by the orchestra in the pit. Bernstein treats the audience in the hall with Stravinsky’s own suite from the ballet.

The set includes a tribute to Shostakovich on the great composer’s 60th birthday, January 5, 1966, including a very interesting analysis and complete performance of the compact Symphony No.9. There is also a tribute to Sibelius with a discussion and performance of Finlandia on the composer’s 100th anniversary, February 19, 1965. I found What is a Mode? most fascinating and somewhat of a revelation concerning popular music of the time, including an appreciation of the Beatles. The last example in this concert illustrating modes is a smashing performance of Debussy’s Fêtes. In Berlioz Takes a Trip, we are treated to an examination of the idée fixe in the Symphonie fantastique all with the aid of the Philharmonic. Bernstein is very positive about the “flawed masterpiece” Fidelio, the opera that Beethoven wrote and rewrote. He explains the ins and outs of the whole opera with the plot and sub-plots which attract critical attention. In truth, according to Bernstein, the blame lies with the author who saddled the composer with a problematic libretto. Bernstein introduced four young voices to perform some “charming excerpts.”

The last of the 14 individual programs in this set is the Aaron Copland Birthday Party, celebrating his 60th on the evening of February 12, 1961, which ended with Copland conducting his well-known El Salón México. But there is more, much more! Plus, there are three episodes of “Young Performers” introducing, among so many of outstanding talents, pianist André Watts, violinist James Oliver Buswell IV and the 30-year-old Claudio Abbado. This is a unique, engaging collection; a pleasure to watch and listen to the articulate Lenny talk about music and music-making. Volume Three on Blu-ray has been announced and is imminent.

Hans Rosbaud was one of the few great conductors of his time who rarely performed beyond Germany, Switzerland and France. Undoubtedly, he would have been internationally recognized had he been active in the outside world. However, his name was somewhat familiar as the conductor in many records by Wilhelm Backhaus, Walter Gieseking, Pierre Fournier and various singers. DG issued their complete catalogue of Rosbaud recordings in 2004 but it is on SWR Classic CDs that he is now best represented. In addition to single CDs they have numerous composer-dedicated sets: Bruckner, Haydn, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Brahms, Chopin and now a Schumann collection (SWR19085CD, 3 CDs naxos.com). Disc One has the First and Fourth Symphonies and an overture to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Op.128. Disc two has the Cello Concerto, Op.129 with Pierre Fournier and the Violin Concerto, WoO23 with Henryk Szeryng. The Third CD finds Annie Fischer playing the Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op.54. Schumann, as some readers may know by now, is my most cherished composer and I am critical of any performer, live or recorded, who skews the score by straying too far from what is written. Here are perfectly balanced performances, meticulously prepared but not for a moment sounding over-rehearsed or uninspired. Were it not that I have a copy, I would want this set.

On the other hand, Austrian conductor Karl Böhm (1894-1981) was recognized across the music world, emerging, in the 1930s with his superb recordings from Dresden with the then Saxon State Orchestra. After WWII he was a major maestro worldwide until his death in 1981. From the late 1930s on just about any station in the world that played any classical music even for only a few hours on the weekend, most probably would have a 78 rpm record or two of light classics by the Saxon State Orchestra. Conducted by Böhm, a part of their recorded repertoire consisted of overtures and entertaining concert pieces, the genre of music that Sir Thomas Beecham would refer to as “lollypops.” Their 78s were sold in stores around the world.

Today it is interesting to see some of the repertoire that did so well for Electrola, HMV, et al. being reissued by Profil as Edition Staatskapelle Dresden, Vol. 43: Karl Böhm (PH18035, 2 CDs naxosdirect.com). The performances are absolutely first rate and the recordings full bodied and dynamic. Do they have the same attraction all these years later? Here is the list of just the overtures: Die Fledermaus, Abduction from the Seraglio, Marriage of Figaro, Egmont, Leonore 3, Der Freischütz, Oberon and The Bartered Bride. That’s only CD1 of two. More overtures to follow plus the Rákóczy March, the Emperor Waltz, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Capriccio Italien, and more to a total of 24 complete little showpieces. Two and a half hours of “never-a-dull-moment.” A lot of contagious energy here. 

Ludwig van Beethoven advanced music from the salon to the concert hall, from castle to cottage and made it the most democratic thing in the aesthetic world.” This year we celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth in Bonn on December 16, 1770. Many recording companies have assembled extensive collections of performances including previously unrecorded items to create complete editions. Inevitably, the contents of some collections are more “complete” than others. The all-encompassing Beethoven site, The Unheard Beethoven, published their overview. They found that the Naxos edition has an astonishing 89 items not found on any other label, many times the highest number of unique-to-them compositions of any of the other complete editions. 

The Beethoven Complete Edition (Naxos 8.500250 naxos.com) contains 90 CDs derived from their own archives, new recordings and more. Each disc is in a fine cardboard sleeve with colour-coded border to match the category; red is orchestral, orange for concertos, yellow for keyboard, green for chamber (the largest collection), blue for stage, purple for choral and pink for songs and lieder. The collection comes, together with booklet, in a box that occupies the shelf space of 21 regular CDs.

In the Orchestral section, the symphonies are played by the Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia, a chamber orchestra formed in 1992 in Budapest with personnel from the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra. Their purpose was to make recordings using an ensemble comparable in size to the groups known to Beethoven. Their maestro, Béla Drahos is a Hungarian conductor and flutist. The group plays modern instruments but the balances and recording quality result in natural, effortless transparency, esteemed upon their first release. Without any spotlighting, all the instruments’ voices are heard, appearing in clear perspective across the sound stage. The recordings date from 1995, and 1996 for the Ninth. In addition to the symphonies, there are the overtures, Coriolan, Leonora 1 & 3, et.al. Also, in this section are Dances… Dances, German Dances, Viennese Dances, Contradances and Minuets, plus Wellington’s Victory, etc. conducted by Oliver Dohnányi, Leif Segerstam, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Stephen Gunzenhauser and Drahós. The Dances are all charming and not for one moment tedious. 

The Concertos, violin, piano and triple, and some shorter fragments are on six discs. The five piano concertos are played by Stefan Vladar in astonishing performances conducted by Barry Wordsworth plus the E-flat Concerto Wo04 conducted by Dragos. Takako Nishizaki, who may be the most recorded violinist of the digital era, plays the Concerto and the two Romances. On that same disc Jakub Junek plays a fragment of the Violin Concerto in C Major Wo05. Soloists in the Triple Concerto from Budapest, conducted by Drahos, are Dong-Suk Kang (violin), Maria Kliegel (cello) and Jenö Jandó (piano). 

The 20-CD Piano category contains every note of all you’ve ever and never heard written by Beethoven for one and two pianos. Except for the 32nd, performed by Boris Giltburg, the 32 Sonatas are played by Jandó, a Hungarian pianist and professor of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. All the other repertoire pieces are here, four CDs of Dances and Bagatelles, four discs of Variations plus a feast of music new to our ears, in addition to his transcriptions for piano of his various major works. Artists include Jandó, Carl Petersson, Sergio Gallo, Konstantin Scherbakov and many others. 

Listening to Beethoven speak through his chamber music is, for me, a most gratifying and valuable part of this set. There are 30 CDs containing, of course, the 16 String Quartets together with another 95 other chamber works for diverse instruments, from duets to septets. Many of us know the Septet Op.20 in E-flat Major for clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello and double bass but few, if any, would recognize or be aware of the Wind Quintet Wo0208 in the same key for oboe, bassoon and three horns. Fortunately, the String Quartets are played by the distinguished Kodály Quartet, three of whom also play the string trios. The quartet was founded in 1966 by graduate students of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest; they play with the sound and innate musicality that distinguishes the finest Hungarian musicians, so many of whom are featured in this collection. Some exceptions though. The Fine Arts Quartet are prominent. The Violin Sonatas are played by Nishizaki accompanied by the ubiquitous Jandó. Also, the three Piano Quartets Wo036 are played by the New Zealand Piano Quartet. The Xyrion Trio from Germany plays the seven Piano Trios and their cellist Maria Kliegel and pianist Nina Tichman play the Cello Sonatas and three sets of popular variations. There are a host of other musicians playing a miscellany of great chamber works to discover. 

There are seven discs in the Stage section featuring the 1805 version of the opera Leonore and the eventual Fidelio of 1814. The Leonore is from Leipzig conducted by Herbert Blomstedt with Edda Moser in the title role. Fidelio is conducted by Michael Halász with Inga Nielsen as Leonore. The Creatures of Prometheus Overture and Incidental Music, also scores for King Stephen, Egmont and the premiere recording of the complete The Ruins of Athens were recorded in Turku, Finland directed by Leif Segerstam. They are also responsible for Leonore Prohaska and other surprises. 

The five Choral discs contain a somewhat esoteric entry, The Glorious Moment, Op.136 and also the familiar Choral Fantasy. The Missa Solemnis enjoys an outstanding performance from Nashville conducted by Kenneth Schermerhorn. The Mass in C Major, Christ on the Mount of Olives, two versions of Opferlied and the rest are directed by Segerstam in Finland. 

Few would have imagined that Vocal would require 13 CDs. Songs of the British Isles occupy more than five CDs and Miscellaneous Folk Songs another one. There are four CDs of Lieder and another for voice and orchestra. Wrapping up this complete edition is the 90th CD of Canons and Musical Jokes.

Considering the quality of the performances throughout, the extent of the unique repertoire and the reality of the recorded sound, the Naxos box of Beethoven has it all. 

DOREMI has embarked on a survey of the many recordings of the Trio à cordes Français, one of the prominent chamber groups active internationally in the second half of the 20th century. The trio was formed in 1959 by violinist Gérard Jarry, violist Serge Collot and cellist Michel Tournus, each of whom was a highly respected musician. Their repertoire ranged from classical to contemporary. In addition to their recordings as a trio, they were also heard performing and recording with luminaries such as Jean-Pierre Rampal, Maurice Bourgue, Michel Debost, Pierre Pierlot and others. Volume One (DHR-8091-4, 4cds) is dedicated to the music of Mozart and comprises their complete Mozart recordings. It includes a wonderful rendition of the Divertimento for String Trio, K563, one of Mozart’s greatest masterpieces as well as the two duets for violin and viola and the beautiful quartets with flute, oboe and piano. The set includes a curiosity… an unfinished movement for string trio, K562e. The captivating performances throughout these four stereo CDs were recorded between 1966 and 1977.

These musicians were active as soloists and this set includes a very fine, crisp performance of the Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, K364, accompanied by the Toulouse Chamber Orchestra conducted by Louis Auriacombe. 

During Mozart’s lifetime, J.S. Bach was almost forgotten, only to be resurrected by Felix Mendelssohn decades later. It is therefore very interesting that Mozart took Bach works and arranged them for string trio and even composed his own preludes to the Bach fugues for contemporary performance. All these Bach/Mozart arrangements for string trio are included in this important set. 

In the day… a rather long-gone day, if you listened to the ABC’s classical radio station in Sydney, Australia you would immediately recognize the name William Murdoch. Next to Percy Grainger, who today is remembered almost solely as the composer, Murdoch was acknowledged to be the finest Australian pianist in the first half of the 20th century. Born in Victoria in 1888, he showed an early aptitude for music but wished for a career in law. He won a preliminary legal scholarship at the University of Melbourne, all the while continuing his musical studies at the Melbourne Conservatory of Music. At the age of 17 he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. He travelled there in 1906 and studied four years under Frits [sic] Hartvigson, gaining two gold medals, a Bechstein grand piano and the praise of Sir Hubert Parry who described Murdoch as “gifted and charming.” His London debut was in 1910. However, it was his reception on his tour of South Africa as accompanist for contralto Clara Butt (not yet a Dame) that finally decided him on music. He concertized and toured Scandinavia, also Canada and the United States, Australia and New Zealand. He began making acoustic recordings which he criticized openly because of the engineer’s manipulation of the dynamics. From 1925 he was heard on electrical recordings, collected here as The Complete Columbia solo electrical recordings from 1925 to 1931 (Appian Recordings APR6029, 2CDs naxosdirect.com). The two Beethoven sonatas, Pathétique and Appassionata, sonically most impressive and interpretively unique, were recorded at Murdoch’s insistence in an empty Wigmore Hall in London on October 12, 1926 and January 19-20, 1927. These recordings pre-date the Schnabel recordings by at least five years and it is obvious that Murdoch’s interpretations are the product of his original thinking which holds our close attention to the very last note. I played a few tracks for my friend, a renowned critic, whose attention did not waver.

There are 43 tracks of the most beautiful versions imaginable of piano favourites, all reflecting his original thinking. As an example, Murdoch’s gentle, poetic performance of the dramatic Rachmaninoff Prelude in C Sharp Minor, Op.3 No.2 will convince with newly found eloquence. The entire contents may be checked at Amazon UK for titles. William Murdoch, the consummate musician, died on September 9, 1942.

Another fine set of interest has arrived from Appian Recordings. The label is devoted exclusively to restoring historic recordings by pianists both universally known and, in many cases, those known only to the cognoscenti. Here we have The Complete French Columbia Recordings 1928-1939 by Robert Casadesus (APR7404, 4 CDs naxosdirect.com). Included are all the commercial releases from 78rpms together with a first release of a performance of the Mozart Piano Concerto K537 “Coronation” recorded in March 1931 by Casadesus with the Walther Straram Orchestra. Casadesus was born in Catalonia. He lived in France and changed his name to Casadesus, meaning the house above the village. English-speaking people were at a loss to pronounce his name correctly. It is “Cazadsu.” Robert was a child prodigy who played The Harmonious Blacksmith at the age of nine without using any pedals… he couldn’t reach them. At the Paris Conservatoire be was friends with Fauré, who much admired his playing, particularly playing the composer’s own works. He was also good friends with Ravel. When Ravel came to the studio to make piano rolls, he found two sections beyond him, La Gibet and the Toccata from Le Tombeau de Couperin and he persuaded Casadesus to record them instead. The Aeolian Company released the rolls as the playing of Ravel but sister Gaby Casadesus later admitted that her brother was very well paid.

Other concerted works in this collection include Fauré’s Piano Quartet No.1 in C Minor, Op.15 with Joseph Calvet, violin, Léon Pascal, viola, and Paul Mas, cello, recorded in May 1935. Also, Georges Witkowski conducting his Mon Lac with the Orchestra Symphonique de Paris as recorded in June 1928. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.24 in C Minor K491 was conducted by Eugène Bigot with the same orchestra in December 1927. Weber’s well known Konzertstück in F Minor finds Bigot conducting again on June 8, 1925.

There are some interesting duos here, including the Debussy Cello Sonata and Caplet’s Danse des petits nègres both with Maurice Maréchal from June 3, 1930. Casadesus’ own Flute Sonata Op.13 finds him in the studio with René Le Roy on that same date five years later. Some of the major works included in this historic collection are 11 Scarlatti Sonatas recorded on June 15,1937, Schumann’s Études symphoniques, Op.13 together with Vogel als Prophet from Waldszenen from 1928. He plays lots of Schubert, Mozart, Schumann, Chopin, Fauré, Beethoven, Chabrier and a lone piece by Marie-Joseph-Alexandre Déodat de Séverac titled Le retour des Muletiers. That was on November 21, 1935. This set will be welcomed by those who would enjoy these pre-WWII performances collected nowhere else. The transfers are, as always with this label, state of the art. In this case by Mark Obert-Thorn.

Vladimir Ashkenazy was never regarded as a child prodigy at the Moscow Conservatory where he was studying in 1955, aged 18. Nevertheless, he received second prize in the International Chopin Competition that year and gained attention in Soviet cultural circles. A year later he won the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels. That drew him into touring but after winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1962 his life changed. He was free to spend six months in London with his family and then decided to live there permanently. He was lauded by the critics as the most exceptional pianist of his generation. The critics were right. He was not only an exceptional pianist but a complete musician who today is known also as a symphony orchestra conductor of the first order. His recording of the Rachmaninoff symphonies with the Concertgebouw Orchestra are, to my ears, way ahead of the competition in every aspect. Also, there are his complete Shostakovich and Sibelius symphonies.

Profil has issued a four-CD set, Vladimir Ashkenazy The First Recordings (PH19030 naxosdirect.com), gathered from various sources. The first disc, recorded at the 1955 Chopin Competition contains 11 familiar Chopin works including the Ballade No.2, two Mazurkas, a Nocturne, four Etudes, the Prelude Op.45, the Polonaise in A flat Major, Op.53 and the Scherzo Op.54. The Barcarolle Op.40 from 1961 rounds out the disc.

The second disc, recorded in Moscow in 1959 and 1960 contains the two sets of Chopin Etudes, Opp.10 and 25. Disc three opens with the Liszt Mephisto Waltz and the Fifth Transcendental Etude, Feux Follets, followed by two Chopin waltzes and mazurkas and the Third Piano Sonata, Op.58 finishing with Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Corelli from Berlin 1957 and Moscow 1953. Finally, disc four gets serious with performances from 1957 in Berlin: Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No.7 Op.83 and two Beethoven sonatas, the Waldstein and No.32, Op.111. Hearing the playing on these four discs is a rare chance to knowingly hear greatness in the making. The playing is supported by full-bodied, uncluttered, dynamic sound with negligible variation between the venues.

In the last century, many superb conductors, in North America at least, did not achieve the fame that was accorded to the matinee-idol maestros under contract to and promoted by the major record labels.

Over the decades, many of these first-rate musicians, conductors and soloists alike, were engaged by the SDR (Southern German Broadcasting of Stuttgart) and SWF (South West Radio, Baden-Baden) to appear with their incomparable orchestras. In 1998 the two merged as the SWR. Some recent SWR releases in a sub-section, “20th Century Classics,” include Debussy Orchestral Works (SWR 19508) under the baton of the French conductor Sylvain Cambreling. The three Images: Gigues, Iberia and Rondes de printemps are conducted with enthusiasm, as are the two Danses: Danse sacrée and Danse profane, closing with a very credible La Mer. 

Roger Norrington also has several surprisingly impressive versions of some familiar favourites for SWR. His recent releases in “19th Century Classics” include two Mahler symphonies, the First and the Fifth. One might wonder why they selected Norrington, well known in Baroque and early music interpretations, for that repertoire. Listening, it becomes clear that he was the right man for the job. The First Symphony includes the Blumine movement making this a five-movement work (SWR 19510). There is a palpable sense of discovery throughout, leading to the closing pages that are keenly driven to a positive resolution. The sound is thrillingly open and clear with no instrument obscured. Norrington is also responsible for desirable performances of the Dvořák Seventh and Eighth Symphonies (SWR 19511). Three more Norrington performances in “20th Century Classics” are Elgar’s First Symphony with Wagner’s Meistersinger Prelude (SWR 19520), Holst’s The Planets with Elgar’s Serenade for Strings (SWR 19507) and Elgar’s Enigma Variations, In the South and the Introduction and Allegro (SWR 19509).

Looking back, previous SWR releases that may have gone unnoticed include these favourites: The Mahler Sixth Symphony under Kirill Kondrashin from 1981 (SWR 19416); a 3-CD set of the legendary pianist Wilhelm Backhaus recorded in 1953, 1959 and 1962 playing Beethoven’s Third and Fifth Concertos and the Waldstein and Hammerklavier Sonatas; the Brahms Second Concerto and some short encores (SWR 19057, 3CDs); and violinist Ida Haendel in captivating performances of two concertos, the Tchaikovsky (1960) and the Dvořák (1965), conducted by Hans Müller-Kray (SWR Hänssler 94.205).

It is a truism that a composer does not automatically make a conductor, even of their own works, but there are, of course, exceptions. Paul Hindemith and Benjamin Britten have both conducted notable performances for the SWR: Britten conducts the Suite from Gloriana, the Sinfonia da Requiem, Variations on an Elizabethanian Theme and Chaconne from Purcell’s King Arthur (SWR Hänssler 94.213); and, from June 24, 1968, the prolific conductor Hindemith directs the Bruckner Seventh Symphony (SWR 19417) replete with composerly insights.

The most popular and successful film biography of the 1940s was the 1945 biopic, A Song to Remember, a portrait of Frédéric Chopin, with José Iturbi as the pianist on the soundtrack. So convincing was his “playing” that for the longest time, star Cornel Wilde received earnest invitations from various groups to engage him for a recital. Iturbi’s recordings on RCA/HMV became bestsellers, particularly his Chopin. Similarly, Song Without End, the story of Franz Liszt, is a 1960 movie in which Jorge Bolet (1914-1990) was the pianist for Dirk Bogarde’s Liszt, but in Bolet’s case purists condemned him for his ultra-Romantic playing in the film. All was forgiven after a triumphant Carnegie Hall recital in 1974, after which music lovers sought out his recordings on various labels, and he became a virtuoso among virtuosi. The Havana-born Bolet studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia with Leopold Godowsky, Josef Hofmann and Moritz Rosenthal. In 1937 he won the Naumburg Competition and made his debut. In 1942 he joined the army and was sent to Japan as part of the Army of Occupation. He conducted the first performance in Japan of The Mikado!   

Amazon has 274 Jorge Bolet discs listed, the latest release being The RIAS Recordings Vol.3: Berlin 1961-1974 (Audite 21.459 3CDs). The repertoire is slightly esoteric, from Beethoven to Norman Dello Joio. In performance order, Chopin’s 12 Etudes Op.25 is followed by Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3 with the Berlin Radio Symphony conducted by Moshe Atzmon (1974). CD2 opens with Schumann’s Piano Sonata No.3 Op.14 (1964), followed by 12 excerpts from Grieg’s Ballade in G Minor, Op.24; continuing with César Franck’s Prelude, Aria et Final, FWV 23 and concluding with Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu. CD3 opens with four polonaises of Chopin; The Grande Polonaise in E flat major, Op.22 and three numbered ones, No.3 Op.40/1, No.4 Op. 40/2 and the very famous No.6 in A-flat Major Op.53, followed by Liszt’s arrangement of Schumann’s Frühlingsnacht from Liederkreis, Op.39 No.12, and three pieces from Debussy’s Images II plus Masques. To most listeners the Piano Sonata No.2 by Dello Joio, “whose rugged – partly modernist, partly expressionist, soundscape Bolet mastered with aplomb” will be something new. The collection ends with an arrangement of themes from Die Fledermaus, the second part of Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Johann Strauss II, written by Bolet’s teacher, Godowsky. 

Even now, over 65 years after her death, the British contralto Kathleen Ferrier remains a voice of interest to music lovers around the world thanks to her legacy of fine recordings. Ferrier was born on April 22, 1912 in Lancashire, living until October 8, 1953. She was much admired for her Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar as well as for folk song interpretations. And she remains so. She was catapulted to fame when the 1952 Decca recording of Das Lied von der Erde, conducted by Bruno Walter with Julius Patzak and the Vienna Philharmonic, hit the world. That recording has never been out of print. SOMM Recordings has issued a first release of the Bach Magnificat, BWV 243.2 in a live performance from June 10, 1950 in the Musikverein in Vienna (Kathleen Ferrier: In Celebration of Bach, ARIADNE 5004). Ferrier is joined by Irmgard Seefried, Otto Edelmann and five other distinguished soloists with the Chorus of the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Volkmar Andreae. This is an exuberant performance, clearly and dynamically recorded. A treasure. Three cantatas that were recorded in London in 1949 with the Jacques Orchestra and Reginald Jacques fill out this most welcome collection. Sung in English are Cantata No.11, Praise our God; Cantata No. 67, Hold in affection Jesus Christ and Cantata No.147 Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. An added bonus: the informative booklet contains a chronology of Ferrier’s life. 

In its halcyon years, listening to the CBC was a significant part of most everyone’s routine, featuring Canadian events from far and wide that were of necessity recorded for broadcast in the different time zones. Skylark Records (skylark-music.com) has negotiated a contract to reissue the highly respected recordings by Canadian pianist Jane Coop on CD. Coop has won many awards, including the Order of Canada. She was tutored by Anton Kuerti from 1968 to 1972 and from 1973 to 1976 studied with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody. Coop made her professional debut in 1973 at the St. Lawrence Centre in Toronto. If you are interested, YouTube has many, many videos of Coop in recital and in concertos.

The CDs in this collection have been available since 2017 but few knew that they existed. We hadn’t noticed until Skylark Music sent us these discs for comment. Chamber Music of Brahms and Jenner (SKY1701) is a program of trios featuring Coop with Martin Hackleman, French horn; Martin Beaver, violin; and James Campbell, clarinet. The six songs by Brahms “sung” on Hacklemnn’s horn are a treat. English Piano Concerti (SKY1702) finds Coop with Mario Bernardi conducting the CBC Radio Orchestra. It contains entertaining concerti by Britten, Alan Rawsthorne, John Ireland and Gerald Finzi. These are, for want of a better word, captivating, and dismiss any expectation that these works are esoteric or obscure. The bravura passages present no strain on Coop.

Piano Concerti Prokofiev/Bartók/Forsyth (SKY1703) once again has Bernardi on the podium, this time from Calgary. All three discs reveal the outstanding quality of performance and recording that was once the stock and trade of our national broadcaster. Kudos to Skylark for bringing them back into the catalogue. 

Great Soloists from the Richard Itter Archive (ICA Classics, ICAC 5199, 4 CDs naxosdirect.com) is a delightful little collection of performances of ten concertos recorded in the 1950s by the BBC of various soloists that will surely whet the appetite of music lovers. Itter was the owner of the by-now-legendary Lyrita Records and these recordings are from Itter Broadcast Collection.

The incomparable David Oistrakh is heard on November 29, 1954 in BBC Maida Vale Studios playing the Tchaikovsky with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. Oistrakh, although from Odessa in Ukraine, was considered to be the greatest Russian violinist. The Sibelius concerto is next, played by Ida Haendel. Her Sibelius, a specialty, was lauded far and wide. Here she is on August 16, 1955 before an appreciative audience in the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron.

Remember Gioconda de Vito? The Italian violinist was one of the many fine artists who emerged from Italy after WWII and was known mainly to the cognoscenti as she did not care to concertize widely and retired from the stage in 1961. She is heard on August 23, 1953 at the Edinburgh Festival playing the Viotti Concerto No.22 with Fernando Previtali and the Rome Radio Symphony. Alfredo Campoli plays Lalo’s most popular work, Symphonie espagnole accompanied by Alfred Wallenstein and the BBC Symphony on April 10, 1955. Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations from April 10,1955 features cellist André Navarra accompanied by the BBC Symphony Orchestra directed by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt. Navarra and the BBC Symphony are also heard in the Lalo Cello Concerto with Jean Martinon conducting on October 27, 1954.

Another biggie: the Dvořák Cello Concerto with Zara Nelsova, who was born in Winnipeg and was dubbed by audiences worldwide “the Queen of Cellists,” dates from August 17, 1955 with Malcolm Sargent and the BBC Symphony. Just about everyone knows the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and here is a stunning performance from October 30, 1955 by Monique de la Bruchollerie with Eugene Goossens and the BBC Symphony. Hornist Dennis Brain plays the final three works in this singular collection of Goehr and the LSO and the fourth with Paul Sacher and the RPO followed by the Richard Strauss Horn Concerto No.1 (Boult, BBC, March 19, 1956). Of course, all the recordings are monaural but these are performances par excellence, eminently listenable and certainly more than simply of historic interest.

In a new set from Doremi we hear the still active Menahem Pressler earlier in his career in the mid-1960s in a long-awaited Volume 3 of series devoted to the art of the universally admired pianist (Doremi DHR-8083-5, 3 CDs naxosdirect.com/). Pressler, born in Germany in 1923, won the Debussy International Piano Competition in San Francisco in 1946 leading to his Carnegie Hall debut with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He made his chamber music debut in July 13, 1955 as junior member of the newly formed Beaux Arts Trio with Daniel Guilet, violin and Bernard Greenhouse, cello. Throughout the years the group, held together under the leadership of Pressler, was always a treat to watch. Although there were many changes in the strings, they remained one of the pre-eminent trios until they finally disbanded. They gave their last performance in Lucerne on September 6, 2008. Over the years, before and since, Pressler himself concertized and this new set embraces all the commercial recordings made by the young Pressler of Mozart and Beethoven. Now in his 90s he is continuing as a soloist and doing rather well.

Hearing Pressler on this set, recorded in Vienna between 1966 and 1968, we are witnessing a fabulously talented musician. Every phrase is shaped with impeccable taste. A natural Mozart player, we hear his classical approach in these concertos: No.14 in E flat Major, K449; No. 15 in B flat Major, K450; No.17 in G Major, K453; No.24 in C Minor, K491 all with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra conducted by Edgar Seipenbusch (K449, 450, 491) and Wilfried Böttcher (K453). Also, Piano Sonatas K331, K570 and K576. Finally, the Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1, plus the utterly charming Rondo in B flat Major, Wo06 for piano and orchestra, both with the Vienna Opera Orchestra under Moshe Atzmon. Pressler is a pianist second to none, making these recordings of great interest. The stereo sound of these recordings is of high quality, well recorded and transferred. Doremi promises there is more Pressler to come.

Cellist Janos Starker is one of only a handful of cellists whose names are familiar to the general public. He rose to fame in the 1960s when he recorded for Mercury Living Presence. Since then he made over 150 recordings for multiple companies. Some outstanding performances and recordings made for broadcast have been issued by German Sudwestfunk (South West Broadcasting) whose SWR Sinfonieorchester stands with the finest anywhere. From their archives, Starker is heard with them in three interesting concertos. From Stuttgart on January 14, 1973 there is the Hindemith, written in 1940, conducted by Andreas von Lukacsy. Two works from Baden-Baden: on August 17, 1975, the Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante in E Minor Op.125 conducted by Ernest Bour; and from February 5, !975, conducted by Herbert Blomstedt, we are treated to the rarely performed or recorded Cello Concerto No.1, Op.41 by Einojuhani Rautavaara. Rautavaara (1928-2016) was a Finnish composer who wrote eight symphonies, nine operas, 12 concertos and various chamber works and vocal works. This concerto was written in 1968 and really does showcase the cello. It is dramatic and, to my ears, thoughtful and thought provoking. An interesting work.         Over the many weeks, the three works on this disc have not strayed far from my player. Starker is in top form throughout all three and the orchestra is, of course, superb. The recordings from SWR’s archives are brilliant (naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=SWR19418CD).

When Seiji Ozawa took over the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1973, his was not a new name to Toronto concertgoers as he had been music director of the Toronto Symphony from 1965 to 1969. I warmly remember one of his very first concerts here in which he conducted the Fauré Ballade Op.19 for piano and orchestra with his wife, pianist Kyoko Edo wearing a kimono. Rather charming. In Boston, although he had studied and worked with Charles Munch, Ozawa began turning the Boston Symphony from a French orchestra under Munch and Monteux, into a heavier-sounding German orchestra. Members of the orchestra were not happy at all about this and expressed their displeasure openly. In fact, the orchestra’s internationally recognized and esteemed concertmaster/assistant conductor, Joseph Silverstein eventually resigned in protest. DG has gathered all their Ozawa recordings, mainly with the Boston Symphony, also the Berlin Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony. Seiji Ozawa Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon (DG 4836484, 50 CDs deutschegraommophon.com) is the result.

The repertoire is varied and colourful across the orchestral spectrum from Bartók to Ambroise Thomas. Collectors may be relieved to know there are no Beethoven symphonies, no complete Brahms cycle, no Mozart nor Rachmaninoff symphonies nor a complete Tchaikovsky. I’m thinking that these are staples already in one’s collection. What is here are illuminated performances of selected concertos featuring soloists Anne-Sophie Mutter, Christoph Eschenbach, Itzhak Perlman, Krystian Zimerman, Joseph Silverstein, Rostropovich, Yundi Li and Gidon Kremer, together with first-desk soloists from the orchestra. Orchestral favorites from the repertoire that enjoy standing ovation performances include Symphonie fantastique, Brahms First and Second Symphonies, Mahler’s First Symphony, Gaité Parisienne, a dozen popular favourites by Ravel including a ravishing Daphnis et Chloé with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Pictures at an Exhibition and Respighi’s Roman trilogy, an opulent Scheherazade and lots of Tchaikovsky including the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies. There are also Prokofiev’s complete symphonies, his Romeo and Juliet and more. And there is one complete opera! Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann recorded in Paris in 1986 with the Orchestre National de France. This effervescent, never-a-dull-moment, performance stars Plácido Domingo as Hoffmann; Edita Gruberova as Olympia, Antonia and Guilietta. James Morris is Miracle, Christa Ludwig is heard as the voice of Olympia.

Not every one of the 50 CDs contains a definitive performance of the work therein and some miss the mark entirely. This glowing collection happily defines the often-used term, Music for Pleasure, and as such is a great success and should keep giving joy to the listener.

I had intended only to sample the sound of a first CD release of the February 6, 1961 performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus recorded in performance by the BBC in London’s Royal Festival Hall (ICA CLASSICS, ICAC 5157, 2 CDs naxosdirect.com). Time passed and I had listened to every last note on the two CDs, totally immersed in the genius of Mozart … his ineffable genius. Where did it come from? The soloists in this were, as Count Almaviva, Ernest Blanc; the countess was Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Susanna was Elisabeth Söderström. Figaro was Fernando Corena and Teresa Berganza was Cherubino.

Fascinating and informative liner notes describe the evolution of Giulini’s Figaro and an appreciation of the rest of the cast that includes Edda Vincenzi, Georgio Tadeo, Hugues Cuénod, Heather Harper and Piero Cappuccilli. This is a very special performance, a must for a Mozart lover, cleanly preserved in mono. Incidentally, there is a set of CDs from Walhall with substantially the same cast recorded live in 1971. It originated in the Royal Albert Hall. It does not display the brio of the RFH performance. Nor the fine recording.

Another new release from ICA is a 3-CD boxed set of first CD releases of some interesting works conducted in typical flamboyant style by Sir Thomas Beecham (ICA ICAC 5168, 3 CDs naxosdirect.com). Briefly, for the benefit of those readers who don’t know the name, Thomas Beecham (1879-1961) was recognized and respected worldwide as a very special conductor and a wit. He first appeared on the podium in 1905 conducting London’s Queen’s Hall Orchestra. He was knighted in 1916. He was highly esteemed for his Richard Strauss, Mozart, Sibelius and Haydn, and championed and edited Delius. All his many recordings were best sellers everywhere. His concerts often included shorter works which he called “Lollipops” and his one-liner witticisms are still quoted. Regard each of the three discs as a concert. CD1 opens with Chabrier’s Gwendoline Overture, then Franck’s Le Chasseur Maudit; Gretry’s ballet Zémíre et Azor and the G-Minor Symphony by Lalo. The second disc has only three works; Etienne-Nicolas Méhul’s Second Symphony; Saint-Saëns ballet music from Samson et Dalila including the Bacchanale and finally Delius’ North Country Sketches. CD3 has the Balakirev First Symphony and Richard Strauss’ Ballet Suite from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. These are all BBC recordings made between 1952 and 1959 in various venues for later use and foreign broadcasts. The two orchestras heard on these recordings are the BBC Symphony and the Royal Philharmonic, the orchestra founded in 1946 by the affluent Beecham because he could not return to the London Philharmonic where he reigned before WW2. If you don’t know some of the works in the package, this may be an ideal way to expand your musical horizons.

A few years ago, SOMM released six CDs of previously unissued recordings of Edward Elgar in astounding new restorations by Lani Spahr. Spahr was given access to Elgar’s private library of test pressings that had been sent to the composer by HMV for approval. Whether he approved them or not, they remained in Elgar’s possession and are now archived by the Elgar Society. There were two sets issued, Elgar Remastered on four discs (SOMMCD 261-4) followed by Elgar Rediscovered on two discs (SOMMCD 0167). Included was Elgar conducting his two symphonies and cello concerto, all heard, thanks to Mr. Spahr, in genuine stereo played by Beatrice Harrison with Elgar conducting. Two fascinating collections, the 2-CD set being the more desirable.

Spahr follows up with more Elgar on Elgar from America Vol.1 (SOMM ARIADNE 5005 naxosdirect.com). Arturo Toscanini is heard in a previously unreleased performance of the Enigma Variations live from an NBC Symphony concert on November 5, 1949. There are already other Toscanini Enigmas in the catalogue, from June 3, 1935 with the BBC symphony and also with the NBC. New to the catalogue is this 1949 performance and the sound is surprisingly vivid and articulate. The performance is interesting and devoid of any sentimentality in the Nimrod variations (played today to respect a death). Two valuable performances with the New York Philharmonic also occupy this disc, the Cello Concerto conducted by Sir John Barbirolli played with flair by Gregor Piatigorsky (1940) and Falstaff, a Symphonic Study in C Minor conducted by Artur Rodzinski (1943). Altogether, a satisfying release. 

Ferenc Fricsay conducts Rossini, Strauss, Kódaly, Ravel, Honegger, Zimmermann (SWR CLASSIC, 19070CD, mono naxosdirect.com). New recordings, well, unpublished ones, conducted by Ferenc Fricsay are always a source of pleasure for his admirers. Most recent is the complete evening’s concert with the Südfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, Stuttgart, in the Villa Berg, from October 10, 1955.The audience (and now us) was treated to a program of enjoyable light classics. The evening started off with Rossini’s overture to the seldom-heard, The Journey to Reims followed by Richard Strauss’ Burleske, for piano and orchestra played by Margrit Weber. Kodály’s Dances from Galánta were followed by Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Cabocio from his ballet suite Alagoana. Weber returned for Honegger’s Concertino for Piano and Orchestra. A high-spirited performance of Ravel’s Boléro was the rousing finale to the evening’s program. That orchestra and other radio orchestras of the day and since are brilliant ensembles, being at least the equal of the “philharmonics.” The audience in this live recording is unheard and the dynamic sound is excellent.