Not so many years ago in real time, Sir Adrian Boult was a name known to concertgoers and record buyers and those who were up on the music scene. Today his name is almost unfamiliar, although his recorded performances are still highly thought of (by those who think of them at all) and even HMV, the company for whom he recorded exclusively during the 1930s and well into the post-World War II era is no more. The decline and fall of The Gramophone Company, once the greatest recording company in the world, the company that owned HMV, Angel, Columbia, Parlophone, Capitol, et al, is a cautionary tale but not an uncommon one. Adrian Boult was born in the north of England in 1889 to a well-to-do family who supported him in his interest in music. As a youth studying in London, he attended concerts between 1901 and 1908 where he heard such luminaries as Debussy, the already famous Richard Strauss, Henry J. Wood and Arthur Nikisch among many others. Still a schoolboy, he met Edward Elgar with whom he enjoyed a lifelong friendship and whom he would later champion. Attending the Leipzig Conservatory in 1912 and 1913 he was indelibly impressed by the precision of Nikisch’s conducting technique, although not by his interpretations. Boult’s first professional public concert was on February 27, 1914 with members of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Eclectic hardly describes the program… works by Bach, Mozart, Schumann, Wagner, Hugo Wolf and George Butterworth plus, for an abundance of riches and likely the star attraction, Mrs. Hamilton Harty, the deservedly acclaimed soprano Agnes Nicholls, who sang arias by Mozart and Verdi.

Boult’s repertoire was vast but he was regarded by many as merely a British conductor of British music.

A new CD from ICA Classics contains two previously unissued performances, a live Elgar Second Symphony from the Royal Albert Hall on July 24,1977 and a BBC studio recording of the Overture and Venusberg Music from Tannhäuser, both with the BBC Symphony plus the BBC Chorus in the Tannhäuser (ICAC 5106). By 1977, Boult had recorded the Elgar five times, beginning in 1944, and this was to be his last performance. This is no fading reading of a score that he knew so well. The tempi are alert and vital, often more telling than in the recordings. The orchestra, his orchestra from 1930 to 1950, plays their hearts out for him. With all this in mind, listening now is quite an experience. The Tannhäuser music is essentially a live performance given in the BBC’s Maida Vale Studio 1 on December 8, 1968. It is an intense, reverent reading befitting the noble subject matter and the antithesis of the pomposity favoured by some. You may not be aware of this until you don’t hear it. The Venusberg ladies are warmly enticing. Arguably, these may be the best versions around of both works. Excellent sound throughout.

Curiously, the late piano superstar, Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) played only two of the Beethoven piano concertos, the First and the Third. Both works receive splendid performances, recorded live, on Volume 22 of Doremi’s ongoing treasury of Richter Archives (DHR-8022/3, 2 CDs). The First Concerto comes from 1963 with Kurt Sanderling conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and from 1973 Rudolf Barshai and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra support Richter in the Third Concerto. Both find the pianist in remarkable shape delivering superb realizations of the two works. He is magnificent in the lyrical segments and dazzling in the faster passages. Altogether this is high voltage musicmaking with both conductors in tune with the soloist’s buoyant interpretations. This all-Beethoven set includes the Diabelli Variations, the Sonata No.28 and two Rondos, Op.51 all recorded at a recital on July 3, 1986 in Heide, Germany. Richter is in fine form with an unusually cohesive Diabelli.

The other piano giant from the Soviet bloc of the era was Emil Gilels (1916-1985). Volume 10 (DHR-8000) of the ongoing Doremi series contains live performances of Brahms and Mozart. Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto was performed in 1972 with Kondrashin and the Moscow Philharmonic, four months ahead of the well-known recording with Eugen Jochum. I find that the chemistry between soloist, conductor and orchestra works far better under Kondrashin than it does with Jochum. Gilels’ approach is similar but the Moscow Philharmonic partnership brings more sizzle and support. Splendid mono sound. The two short Mozart gems are the Rondo K382 with Neeme Järvi and the Leningrad PO (1968) and the solo Gluck Variations K455 (Salzburg 1970). All performances are new to CD.

It is always a pleasure to find another Isaac Stern recording from his early years in the late 1940s and 50s. At that time his artistry and individual sonority made him an ideal performer of the classics, the romantic and the contemporary. He always had something special to say. He was perfect in every detail, the spontaneous aspect of his musicmaking was engaging, convincing and sweeping. One has to remember that Stern was rising to fame and influence at the time the violin world was overshadowed by Heifetz and Oistrakh, but hearing Stern was a special experience for me. He was the classical model of perfection as a soloist and a chamber musician (check out his Casals Festivals recordings). Examples of these qualities may be heard on an Audite CD (95.624) which has two live performances from the Lucerne Festival that I have been playing repeatedly since it arrived. The Tchaikovsky Concerto is conducted by Lorin Maazel (1958) and the Bartók No.2 by Ernest Ansermet (1956). These are performances to treasure.

The Berliner Philharmoniker Centenary Edition (DG 4791049, 50 CDs) celebrates “100 years of Great Recordings.” The first disc, of interest only to archivists, contains the usual orchestral excerpts from Parsifal conducted by Alfred Hertz (12 to 16 September 1913) and Arthur Nikisch conducting Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (1913) and Le carnaval romain (1920). Disc two contains a Beethoven Fifth from Furtwangler (Oct 1926), Fingal’s Cave conducted by Bruno Walter (1924) and into the electric era, short works and overtures conducted by Richard Strauss and Hans Knappertsbusch, both from 1928. On disc three Jascha Horenstein conducts the Bruckner Seventh from that same year. On disc four Karajan’s first Pathetique Symphony (1939) is well played and recorded as is a very affectionate Moldau (1940). Discs 5/6/7/9 feature Furtwangler in the Beethoven Fifth (27 March 1947), Mozart 39th (1942/43), the Schubert Ninth, the Haydn 88th and his own Second Symphony (all 1951) plus the Brahms First (1952) and the Schumann Fourth (1953). There are 42 more discs of notable performances by eminent artists who played with this great orchestra in good times and bad. See the complete details at arkivmusic.com.

When Fritz Reiner came to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1953 it presaged an exceptional, albeit short-lived era during which they produced recordings that half a century later are still lauded and sought out for their spectacular performances and exceptional sonic excellence. The Hungarian conductor arrived in the United States to take the post as conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony where he remained until 1931. Reiner had found it very difficult to get an engagement in the 1930s. He was disregarded by orchestras across the country until 1938 when he began his ten-year engagement as music director of The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra where he recorded extensively for Columbia. Thence he became a familiar conductor at the Met.

After Arturo Toscanini, RCA’s star attraction, conducted his last concert on April 4, 1954, it was necessary for RCA Victor to fill the void. They had recorded Reiner conducting pick-up groups in New York and the Reiner/Chicago Symphony marriage was garnering some critical acclaim where RCA had already recorded an extraordinary Also Sprach Zarathustra in Chicago in March. So there it was ... RCA’s new star attraction in the quality of sound never accorded “The Maestro.” By April RCA had assigned Richard Mohr as producer and the now legendary Lewis Layton as recording engineer and there followed a stream of superlative recordings of distinguished performances of repertoire from Richard Strauss, Brahms, Prokofiev, Beethoven, de Falla, Tchaikovsky, et al. to Rolf Liebermann’s Concerto for Jazz Band and Symphony Orchestra.

When RCA issued their Living Stereo Series many of these recordings were the backbone of that program as they were of the SACD issues. Mohr and Layton, who would eventually be deified by audiophiles, also produced equally fine-sounding recordings elsewhere, particularly in Boston with Munch and Fiedler, which discs are still available on RCA Living Stereo.

Fritz Reiner Chicago Symphony Orchestra – The Complete RCA Album Collection (RCA 888837019828, 63CDs ) has all 130+ recordings newly re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, each sturdily sleeved in reproductions of their original LP covers. A 150-page, full-colour hardcover book gives biographical material and details of each recording. Soloists include Maureen Forrester, Arthur Rubinstein, Byron Janis, Jascha Heifetz, Inge Borkh, Emil Gilels, Lisa Della Casa, Antonio Janigro, Rosalind Elias, Van Cliburn, Leontyne Price and many more.

This set is a trove for both discerning music lovers and devoted audiophiles alike. Those who worship analogue sound will be very happy here. You can find full details at arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=1014187.

In the November issue of BBC Music Magazine David Oistrakh was voted by today’s leading players to be the greatest violinist of the 20th century. Coincidently, Doremi issued David Oistrakh, Volume 14 (DHR-8020-21, 2 CDs) containing five concertos, in excellent stereo sound, derived from Swedish Radio archives of 1970 to 1974. These performances appear for the very first time with three items that are new to his discography; the Haydn Sinfonia Concertante Op.84 and two works by Swedish composers. The collaboration between soloist and the Swedish musicians is of the highest quality imaginable, treating us to a stirring Brahms Double Concerto, a crisp Bach Concerto for violin and oboe, a refreshing Mozart Third and an involving Prokofiev First. The romantic Stenhammar Sonata and a Berceuse by Tor Aulin bring this collection to a pleasing conclusion. These were played by Oistrakh in the last years of his life yet his proficiency and artistry are undiminished.

Footnote: Oistrakh’s universally acclaimed first concerto recordings in the West (June 1954, Beethoven and Sibelius) were made in Sweden as were, ironically, these swan song performances.

Finally, two historic concertos from the Lucerne Festival. From September 8, 1959, Clara Haskil, Otto Klemperer and the Philharmonia Orchestra play Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.20 K466 and from September 1, 1957, Robert Casadesus, Dimitri Mitropoulos and the Vienna Philharmonic play Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto. “She was sent to earth to play Mozart” wrote a critic quoted in the accompanying booklet. Never were truer words written. Haskil and Klemperer are hand in glove in this exceptional performance which she declared “unforgettable.” French pianist, Robert Casadesus, too, was a highly respected Mozart interpreter as his recorded legacy attests. Also Beethoven, and the sense of occasion in this grand performance is unmistakable. The perfectly balanced sound on this disc (Audite 65.623) was transferred directly from the original analogue master tapes and not off the air. 

Two notable big cubes of CDs this month are well worth investigating. One is from the Metropolitan Opera’s own archives containing ten significant performances of Verdi operas and another from DG, containing their complete recordings of Herbert von Karajan in the 1970s.

October 10 was the 200th anniversary of Verdi’s birth although his mother remembered the 9th as his natal day. The Met, in collaboration with Sony Classical has selected outstanding performances of ten Verdi operas to commemorate this bicentennial year. The first offering in Verdi at the Met is La Traviata from January 5, 1935 and is deservedly legendary. Rosa Ponselle is Violetta with Frederick Jagel as Alfredo and Lawrence Tibbett as Germont. The conductor is Ettore Panizza. Callas said that Ponselle was “the greatest singer of us all” and here is a good reason why. The sound is admittedly very dated, watery in the two preludes, but by and large good enough to hear and appreciate this memorable performance. Panizza also conducts a mighty performance of Otello from February 24, 1940 with Lawrence Tibbett as Iago, Giovanni Martinelli as Otello, Elizabeth Rethberg as Desdemona and Nicola Moscona as Lodovico. This familiar drama’s production is involving and persuasive.

Maestro Panizza’s final outing in this collection stars Jussi Björling and Zinka Milanov in the December 14, 1940 mounting of Un Ballo in Maschera. My late friend Aldo Maggiorotti, who lived and breathed opera, said that Björling sounded better on records than live. So which would this be? Björling is heard a year later as The Duke in Rigoletto from December 29, 1945, together with Leonard Warren as Rigoletto and the legendary Bidu Sayao as Gilda. From February 26, 1949, Fritz Reiner conducts a star-studded Falstaff, illuminated by Giuseppe Di Stefano, Leonard Warren, Regina Resnik, Giuseppe Valdengo and Licia Albanese. Leonard Warren is Simon Boccanegra supported by Astrid Varnay and Richard Tucker under the direction of Fritz Stiedry. From November 29, 1952, now two years into the era of the great and powerful Rudolf Bing (the Met’s general manager from 1950 to 1972) we hear Zinka Milanov, Richard Tucker, Leonard Warren, Jerome Hines and Mildred Miller heading a fine cast in a gorgeous, attention-grabbing and holding performance of La Forza del Destino under Stiedry. The pick-up on the voices and the orchestra is very natural and correctly balanced, supported by convincing dynamics. On February 21, 1959, Leonard Warren assumed the title role in Macbeth with Leonie Rysanek making her triumphant Met debut singing Lady Macbeth, a role she assumed following Callas’ celebrated departure. Jerome Hines is Banquo and Carlo Bergonzi plays Macduff. Erich Leinsdorf conducts. On December 3, 1960, Rysanek, now a Met regular sang Abigaile to Cornell McNeil’s Nabucco with Cesare Siepi and Rosalind Elias, conducted by Thomas Schippers. Part III opens with “Va, Pensiero,” the chorus of the Hebrew slaves that is as familiar to the general public today as it was in Verdi’s time. Finally, Aida from the February 25, 1967 broadcast conducted by Schippers. There could be no other choice for the title role than the pre-eminent Leontyne Price, with Carlo Bergonzi as Ramades, Grace Bumbry as Amneris and Robert Merrill as Amonasro. A living tribute to all involved, although I was very surprised when the audience began applauding before “O terra, addio” was quite finished.

Verdi at the Met (Sony 88883 721202, 20 CDs) is a well-chosen collection of performances spanning 35 years featuring many of the justly celebrated idols of their day. The costly and meticulous restoration of these broadcast recordings was borne by the Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E. Deutsche Foundation and the Dunard Fund USA, who also funded the excellent Wagner at the Met set reviewed earlier this year.

Glenn Gould was a great admirer of Herbert von Karajan and the admiration was reciprocated to the extent that they had attempted to co-ordinate their windows of opportunity to record a Beethoven concerto cycle. They had performed together in Berlin on May 26, 1957 playing the third concerto. Gould said that the only live performance he would ever wish to attend was a Karajan concert. They were like-minded about the merits of studio recordings which could be honed to “perfection” versus those of a one-shot, live concert performance.

Karajan 1970s (DG 4791577) is an 82-CD set containing all his orchestral recordings made by DG in that period. They are analog “studio” recordings. Until 1973 they continued to use the acoustically perfect Jesus Christus-Kirche, Berlin and after that they recorded in the Philharmonie.

There is no way of knowing how much time was spent rehearsing the familiar warhorses on disc 10, Opernballette, containing “The Polovtsian Dances,” the usual two from Eugen Onegin, ballet music from Aida and Otello and the “Dance of the Hours.” All familiar pieces but what made these performances outstanding was Karajan’s characteristic total dedication to each work, according it the care and attention to the composer’s intentions that he bestowed on more demanding works. By the time these recordings were made, January/February 1971, conductor and orchestra were already a single entity and they continued to produce outstanding, often unrivaled performances, as the more than 200 on these discs of repertoire from Corelli, Vivaldi and Bach to Berg, Schoenberg and Webern attest. There are no ho-hums here.

Each of the 82 discs bears the Original Image Bit Processing identification that the early mastering has been superseded by newer technology to replicate the original tapes. An informative book contains biographical material and a Karajan timeline together with details of the recording sessions. Missing, I regret, is a simple alphabetical listing of the pieces to make it simple to locate any work in the box. See a presentation video at arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=993685. 

It may have occurred to regular readers and those who listened to “Records in Review” on CJRT that I am enamored by Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, written in 1899 for string sextet. The composer made his final arrangement in 1943 for string orchestra. Schoenberg wrote it in just three weeks when smitten by his teacher’s sister, Mathilde von Zemlinsky, and motivated by Richard Dehmel’s melodramatic poem. He married Mathilde and Verklärte Nacht became his most popular opus.

Naïve has produced “La Collection Naïve ... sixteen rare and precious jewels waiting to be discovered or revisited.” Verklärte Nacht played by the Arditti Quartet is one of them.

The Arditti string quartet, founded in 1974, specializes in contemporary music. Over the years there have been exits and entries in the personnel, and for this 1993 recording there were violinists Irvine Arditti and David Alberman, violist Garth Knox and cellist Rohan de Saram plus Thomas Kakusa, violin, and Valentin Erben, cello (Naïve NC 40022). Their version is completely new to me and this re-issue is a first hearing. It is cast in the mould set by the Hollywood String Quartet in 1950, which was, I believe, the very first recording of the sextet. Schoenberg stated that the music “does not illustrate any action or drama but was restricted to portray nature and to express human emotions.” His notes for the Hollywood recording conclude ... “It should not be forgotten that this work, at its first performance in Vienna, was hissed and caused riots and fist fights. But it soon became very successful.” The very fine Hollywood performance borders on the passionate, and that differs from many of the subsequent readings from other groups that strive for a harmonious approach. However, it wasn’t until I heard the Arditti disc that it became clear that the Hollywood Quartet did not go far enough in articulating the raw emotional conflicts and the final resolution. The Arditti’s is a thrilling, sinuous performance, fervent and intense, unlike any other of which I am aware. The passionate conflicts between the woman and man overflow as all six musicians vehemently climb the top of their “voice.” The recording is first rate and the dynamics are thrilling. Lasting less than 28 minutes, a CD of only one work may seem pretentious but in this case it’s a very good buy. The work could easily pass for absolute music and many will hear it this way without regard to the inspiration.

Supraphon has released an irresistible 2-CD set entitled Rostropovich plays Shostakovich that is self-recommending (SU 4101-2). In 1958 Shostakovich, reviewing a Rostropovich concert, wrote in Pravda, “I am overpowered by the artist’s authoritativeness. He is always convinced of the correctness of his opinion, which he expresses with such zealousness that it is impossible not to believe him.” With Rostropovich in mind he wrote the First Cello Concerto. There are two performances here, both live; the world premiere recording, from Moscow on October 6, 1959, conducted by Aleksandr Gauk and from the following May in Prague with the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Kirill Kondrashin. The premiere performance is carefully played and amply virtuosic from all concerned but some eight months later the audience heard a stirring performance, refreshingly played with irresistible enthusiasm. In the Second Cello Concerto (1966) the conductor is Yevgeny Svetlanov from a concert in Prague on December 11, 1967. Of the two cello concertos, I do prefer the second. It is a contemplative work that presages much of what the composer would express in his later works right up to the 15th Symphony. No quibbles about this performance. Lastly Rostropovich, with the composer at the piano, plays the lyrical Cello Sonata, Op.40 (1934) recorded in 1959. Rostropovich later recorded this sonata accompanied by Benjamin Britten in 1964 but that must take second place to this one. Shostakovich plays Shostakovich! The recordings are all mono which is of little consequence as the sound is crystal clear with a front to back perspective.

Robert Lortat? Have you ever heard of him? Today, very few have. Lortat (1885–1938) was a French pianist, renowned for his interpretation of Chopin and who made one of the very first recordings of any Chopin in 1904. He was a very successful concert pianist in his youth. The reason for his obscurity was chronic ill-health, the memento of a poison gas attack while serving in the French army in WWI. This severely curtailed his concertizing and he turned mostly to teaching and, as it happened, to recording. As one of the most respected interpreters of his generation, the Columbia Graphophone Company (later Columbia Records) invited him to record the music of Chopin. Lortat recorded the Waltzes, Etudes, Preludes and the Second Sonata. These recordings were so successful that Columbia issued them in five continents. Unfortunately, Lortat did not complete the Chopin project, nor continue with any other recordings. It is likely that with the wide availability of his recordings in these late years of the 78rpm era that the leading pianists of the day heard them. It would not be at all fanciful to believe that pianists of Dinu Lipatti’s time were influenced by Lortat’s interpretations. A new release from DOREMI (DHR-7994/5, 2CDs) contains all these recordings. Lortat plays with ease and authority, arguably more appealing than Cortot with the advantage of being virtually note-perfect. This set is a real find, both welcome and necessary, reintroducing these cornerstones of the modern French school of piano playing. These recordings from the 1920s and early 30s are a credit to engineers in Paris. Now faultlessly restored and most certainly belying their vintage, they are easy on the ears and listening to these performances was a great pleasure. A well-merited release.

Doremi has issued Volume Two of Julian von Karolyi, the Hungarian-German pianist who enjoyed tremendous success for his Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Chopin and other Romantic composers. Volume I featured Tchaikovsky, Schumann and Liszt. On this new CD (DHR-8009) Karolyi plays the Emperor Concerto with Robert Heger conducting (1958); the Haydn Piano Concerto in D, Hob.XIII/11 with Richard Schumacher conducting (1967) and Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy (1958). As in the first volume, the unanimity between soloist and orchestra, particularly in the Haydn that sparkles and is laced with humour, makes this a very attractive offering. The sound, by the way, is exemplary.

Nathan Milstein was one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, along with Heifetz, Oistrakh, Menuhin and Francescatti, all of whom had long, illustrious careers. Milstein’s attributes were his pure, unaffected stylistic approach and violin technique that was breathtaking, athletic and secure. He came to North America in 1929 as did Horowitz and Piatigorsky, with whom he had played trios earlier. As with many artists, Milstein’s live performances had an extra sizzle. Listening to a new CD from Doremi (DHR-7752) makes this point. We hear the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, from Paris in 1969 with Jean Martinon conducting; Mozart Violin Concerto No.5, K219 in 1961 with Carl Schuricht conducting, along with Bach’s Chaconne and three Paganini Caprices from 1957, all from Ascona, Switzerland. Another disc for the fans presented in fine sound.

Benjamin Bitten: The Complete Works.
Limited Edition of 3,000 copies world-wide.
Benjamin Britten, conductor, pianist.
DECCA 4785364 The deluxe boxed set of 65 CDs, one DVD
includes a 208 page, 6”x 8” illustrated hard cover book.

Of all the omnibus anniversary sets and innumerable artist-driven collections that have arrived recently, none has been more eagerly anticipated in this house than this Benjamin Britten collection. Now it is here in a limited edition of 3,000 copies worldwide in a deluxe boxed set of 65 CDs, with a DVD and a 208-page 6˝×8˝ illustrated book and there is not one whit of disappointment.

My first awareness of Britten (1913–1976) came on recordings of a handful of his arrangements of British folk songs from HMV with Britten accompanying Peter Pears: The Foggy Foggy Dew; The Ploughboy; Come you not from Newcastle?; Oliver Cromwell; The Sally Gardens and some others. I found them very pleasing and looked for more Britten in the record shops. One piece led to another, evolving into a continuing interest in Britten’s other works. Even more enticing was that he was alive then and there would be more to come. And there certainly was!

The Complete Works is divided into four groups: The Operas (CDs 1-20); Stage and Screen (CDs 21-32); Voices (CDs 33-48) and Instruments (CDs 49-61). There are four extra discs described below.

In Voices, discs 46, 47 and 48 contain 100 songs and folksong arrangements, including the above and all the others of that era (1945–47) plus later recordings, including six settings of W.H. Auden sung by Pears, Philip Langridge and Felicity Lott with various accompanists. This group includes the War Requiem, recorded in 1963, with soloists Galina Vishnevskaya, Pears and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, plus three choirs, organ, the Melos Ensemble and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Britten (CD 33).This compelling work was commissioned for the consecration of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral in 1962 for which Britten, who had a completely free hand, chose the traditional Latin text from the Missa pro defunctis juxtaposed with nine poems by Wilfred Owen, who was slain in the last days of the First World War. Other works in Voices are the Spring Symphony; Cantata Academica; Saint Nicholas; A Boy was Born; A Ceremony of Carols; Rejoice in the Lamb; Missa Brevis; The Serenade for tenor, horn and strings (with Barry Tuckwell); Les Illuminations; The Five Canticles; The Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo; and all the others including the shorter works.

Until 1945 Britten was widely thought of, particularly in the older British music circles, as clever but superficial ... that was until June 7, 1945. That date marked the first performance of his second opera, Peter Grimes. The audience went wild as did critics and the British music establishment. Britten had emerged as an overnight, international success. He was now a composer of stature, lauded by all and sundry. In the premiere, the wronged, anguished Grimes was superbly realized by Pears, as he was on the 1948 recording of an abridged performance conducted by Reginald Goodall (EMI) and a decade further on in the 1959 complete recording conducted by Britten (CDs 3&4). Once a listener tunes in to Pears’ unmistakable timbre and the emotional depth of his performance, it is very easy to understand why Britten so vehemently disliked Jon Vickers in the role.

With the exception of the brilliant A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CDs 15&16), central to Britten’s operas is a misunderstood, injured and/or offended character who is also something of an innocent. The lonely and misjudged Peter Grimes is a perfect example, but none more deeply touching than Aschenbach in Death in Venice (CDs 19&20), based on Thomas Mann’s well-known story and the last of Britten’s operas. They are all here including Gloriana (CDs 11&12), conducted by Charles Mackerras in 1993. I am particularly fond of The Rape of Lucretia (CDs 5&6) which followed one year after Peter Grimes. Reginald Goodall conducted the Royal Opera House Orchestra with Pears and Joan Cross in 1947 in a truncated version (HMV) that sold me on the work but under Britten in 1971 with Pears (the male chorus) and Heather Harper (the female chorus), plus Janet Baker, Benjamin Luxon and others we have the definitive version.

As there is little space left to muse upon the many more works that continue to attract, let me direct you to the Decca website (deccaclassics.com) where there is a detailed list of the complete contents.

The last four discs (CDs 62 to 65) are unique to this edition. They are: Making Music with Britten — a documentary with singers, instrumentalists, orchestral musicians and producers recalling their experiences with Britten; rehearsal excerpts of the War Requiem recording sessions; historic recordings from 1944 to 1953 — four recordings including the 1948 Serenade for tenor, horn, and strings with Britten, Dennis Brain and the Boyd Neel Orchestra and also the Four Sea Interludes with Eduard van Beinum and the Concertgebouw; and supplementary recordings from 1955 to 1989. The extra disc is a DVD of the Tony Palmer video of the recording of The Burning Fiery Furnace.

The recordings heard are mainly from Decca, who also drew upon the archives of EMI, Virgin, Warner Music, Onyx, Bis and 14 other labels. It is of no consequence, except to pedants, that some very early works and film music are not included.

Earnestly recommended and a must see for those who might be interested is Benjamin Britten: The Hidden Heart, a DVD from EMI (509992 165719). Subtitled A Life of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, this 78-minute film produced in 2001 contains interviews and quotes from their associates, friends and relatives together with rare archival footage of significant performances. This is not an apologia but an appreciation and recognition of their symbiosis.

To paraphrase Clara’s lullaby in Porgy and Bess, summertime and the listening is easy. How much easier and “cool” could it get than listening to the original performances of the legendary Modern Jazz Quartet, particularly their early recordings from 1956 through 1960? The group came together in 1952 with pianist and leader John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Percy Heath and (from 1955) percussionist Connie Kay. Their complete Atlantic recordings can be found a new four-disc set for about the price of one CD (Enlightenment EN4CD 9008). The 52 tracks include some 20 popular ballads, many jazz classics and original material. The first CD is monaural, the rest in stereo.

Mercury Living Presence guarantees on the label that the recording, from performance to finished product, has maintained a sonic integrity that could very well mirror the Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm.”

The first of their recordings came to us in Australia on the HMV label and I can still recall the excitement generated by the astounding realism of the 12” LP of the 1951 performance of Rafael Kubelik conducting the Chicago Symphony in Pictures at an Exhibition. That performance remains a first choice in every respect. It mattered not that the recording was superior to the commercially available pick-ups and electronics of the day. Mercury has come a long way since then but the truthfulness of all their recordings remains and we hear what was heard at the sessions, without an engineer spotlighting or rebalancing the dynamics as chosen by the performer or conductor.   

Mercury Living Presence: The Collector’s Edition, Volume 2 (028947 85092, 55 CDs) in a limited edition is now available, filling in some of the omissions in Volume One. (Issued 15 months ago Volume One is now out of print and copies offered on-line range from $500 to a ridiculous $1900). In addition to some usual repertoire items, including Beethoven’s Fifth, Sixth and Seventh (Dorati), complete ballets: The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Sylvia and Le Sacre du Printemps (Dorati, 1953); there are many composers and compositions that could only appear in a collection so diversified as this one. There are eight discs of Paul Paray’s superb performances of French music with the Detroit Symphony including a ripping version of the Saint-Saëns Third Symphony with Marcel Dupré, Florent Schmitt’s La Tragédie de Salomé, his own Mass for the 500th Anniversary of the Death of Joan of Arc, plus all the overtures and bonbons you could wish for by Ibert, Ravel, Gounod, Saint-Saëns, Bizet, Berlioz, Massenet, Thomas, Herold, Auber, Debussy and lots of Chabrier. Also works by Liszt and Richard Strauss. Marcel Dupré has a disc of Widor and Franck. Harpsichordist Rafael Puyana has three CDs containing works by Picchi, Frescobaldi, Telemann, Scarlatti and the Bachs, JS, JC and WF. The third disc, The Golden Age of Harpsichord Music from anonymous to Couperin le Grand is quite enchanting. Howard Hanson with the Eastman Rochester has no less than ten discs, eight of which are devoted to American composers including, to my great pleasure, Chadwick’s 30-minute Symphonic Sketches that comprise four pieces including Jubilee. Also two volumes aptly titled Music for Quiet Listening. 

And that’s not even half of what’s in the box. For detailed contents go to deccaclassics.com/us/cat/single?PRODUCT_NR=4785092.

Today millions of people around the world, sitting comfortably in their local cinema, are seeing live performances direct from the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Previous generations only heard live Met performances at home, sitting around their radios and for the most part not visualizing the settings but simply listening to the music and enjoying the artistry of a favoured singer and conductor.

Recently, Sony Music has issued a few single CDs of complete operas from the radio era derived from the Met’s own archives. Now they have a 25-CD boxed set of nine renowned performances of Wagner’s music dramas from 1936 to 1954. 

The earliest of these is Götterdämmerung from January 11, 1936 boasting the incomparable Wagnerian heldentenor of the day, or maybe any day, Lauritz Melchior as Siegfried and Marjorie Lawrence singing Brunnhilde. Friedrich Schorr was Gunther and Ludwig Hoffmann sang Hagen. Artur Bodanzky conducted. Lawrence made history when she surprised and thrilled the audience and horrified the Metropolitan management by mounting and riding a live horse into the flaming Valhalla. I had hoped that the sound on the Götterdämmerung transfers would be cleaner than the Naxos edition but it is not. Clearly they are each based on the same source. The valorous decision to include this performance was an artistic choice, not a technical one. The sound of Götterdämmerung is atypical of the rest of the Ring and the other five dramas which are all eminently listenable and enjoyable. As a matter of interest, the selection of the repertoire was discussed between the Metropolitan Opera and Sony Masterworks who came to a joint agreement on the performances.

Very briefly, the others are Das Rheingold (1951) with Set Svanholm singing Loge, Hans Hotter is Wotan, Jerome Hines is Fasolt, and Jarmila Novotná is Freia. Fritz Stiedry conducts. Siegfried (1937) has Melchior at the anvil with Kirsten Flagstad’s Brunnhilde and Friedrich Schorr as Wanderer. Die Walküre (1940), complete with a wind machine in the opening, has Melchior and Lawrence as Siegmund and Sieglinde with Flagstad as Brunnhilde. Leinsdorf conducts.

Another Flagstad/Melchior collaboration is Tristan und Isolde (1938) and while the original discs are not quite pristine, the voices are clear. Bodanzky conducts. Lohengrin (1943) stars Melchior with Astrid Varnay as Elsa conducted by Leinsdorf. Fritz Reiner conducts Der Fliegende Holländer (1950) with Hotter, Varnay and Svanholm. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1953) is conducted by Reiner with Hans Hopf as Walter, Victoria de los Angeles is Eva and Paul Schöffler is Hans Sachs. Finally, Tannhäuser (1954) has George Szell in the pit with Varnay as Venus, Raymón Vinay as Tannhäuser and George London as Wolfram.

This impressive collection of legendary performances, Wagner at the Met (88765 427172, 25 CDs) includes a 128-page booklet with historic photographs, etc. but, of course, no libretti. The Met is quite serious about bringing their archives to life: Grace Row, the producer who oversaw the restoration and mastering of these performances, was previously a producer at Sony Classical in the 1990s and is now the in-house producer at the Met.

A similar collection of Verdi at the Met will be issued this fall… a welcome prospect of hearing further legendary voices in their prime.

In 1941 Deutsche Grammophon was purchased by Siemens Electronics and following WW2 in 1947 it was proclaimed that DGG, Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, had formed Archiv, a special division to document Germany’s rich musical culture. Performances were to be historically correct in every detail with musicians playing on authentic period instruments following the performing practice of the time. Their first recording was of Helmut Walcha playing works by Bach on a small baroque organ built in 1636 housed in the Lübeck Jacobikirche. Those first sessions are to be found on the first disc of an important, strictly limited edition, Archiv Produktion 1947-2013 (00289 4791045, 55 CDs) that contains delicious performances of treasures from Gregorian Chant to Beethoven. Sometime after 1947 it was reported to “Mister Siemens” that the Archiv division was losing money. His emphatic response, I am told, was that this was of no concern as they were not in it to make money! Meticulously assembled, the early LPs were in fold-out jackets with a certificate enclosed, signed by the persons involved in the production of the disc! The 55 CDs are housed in a silver presentation box that contains a 200-page booklet detailing all the particulars of each disc plus a history of the label and lots of colour photographs of the artists. I’m sure many will find this package, subtitled “A Celebration of Artistic Excellence from the Home of Early Music,” irresistible… and rightly so. For full details check deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/single?PRODUCT_NR=4791045.

In its june 1935 issue, the opinionated periodical Etude ranked Myra Hess among the twelve greatest pianists of all time and more recently she was included in the Philips omnibus edition, Great Pianists of the 20th Century. Julia Myra Hess was born in London in June 1890. At the age of seven she was the youngest person ever to receive a certificate from Trinity College. She next studied at the Guildhall School where she was awarded the coveted Gold Medal and then went on to the Royal Academy of Music where she studied with Tobias Matthay, with whom she had been awarded a three-year scholarship, and where she befriended fellow pupil Irene Scharrer. Hess made her debut, aged 17, playing the Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto with the 29-year-old, newly knighted Thomas Beecham conducting. She concertized extensively and in 1922 made her debut in the United States, instantly becoming a concertgoers’ favourite as she was in Europe.

Myra Hess – The complete solo and concerto studio recordings (Appian APR 7504, 5 CDs) presents her once-prized recordings to a new audience. Disc 1, the American Columbia recordings from 1928 to 1931, has 21 selections beginning with her celebrated transcription, Jesu, joy of man’s desiring, that became her signature piece. It was the first and also the last (in 1957) piece she recorded. These early performances are immediately captivating as the music appears to simply emerge, drawing the listener into a private, one-on-one appreciation of the composer. Lots of Bach, Schubert, Schumann and Debussy concluding with, surprisingly, Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance! Here are only some of the highlights of the four other discs: Disc 2 has the four English Columbias from 1933 and the HMVs from 1937–1949 including the 21st Mozart concerto conducted by Leslie Heward (1942). The HMVs from 1937–1949 continue on disc 3 with Schumann’s Carnaval (1938) and the Concerto in A Minor under Walter Goehr (1937), Franck’s Symphonic Variations under Basil Cameron (1941) and Howard Ferguson’s F Minor Sonata (1942). The HMVs from 1952 to 1957 on the last two discs include the Beethoven Sonatas Opp. 109 & 110 (1953), another Schumann A Minor Concerto with Rudolf Schwarz (1952) and his Symphonic Etudes Op.13 (1953). A final session took place on October 12, 1957 that included an inspired performance of Granados’ Maiden and the Nightingale, concluding as mentioned with her Jesu, joy of man’s desiring.

The generous liner notes are typical of Appian, being very readable with ample biographical material, recording dates and original matrix numbers, etc. The transcriptions are exemplary. This set is issued as a commemoration of the artistry of Myra Hess and while not every performance herein is equally praiseworthy, complete means complete; all 397 minutes! Those who revel in and look for the latest, fastest and loudest fingers around must look elsewhere.

Footnotes: by definition, not included is the 1927 Columbia recording of the Schubert Trio D898 with Jelly d’ Arányi and Felix Salmond or the 1935 d’ Arányi and Gaspar Cassadó Brahms Trio, Op.87 that Appian issued on APR7012. At the 1960 Edinburgh Festival she and Isaac Stern played sonatas by Brahms, Schubert, Ferguson and Beethoven that were recorded by the BBC and issued by Testament (SBT1458, 1 CD). There are a few other live performances to be found on Sony, BBC and Music and Arts CDs. Myra Hess died in London in 1965.

In audiophile circles, the reference recording of the Sibelius Symphony No.2 is usually the Sir John Barbirolli 1962 version for Readers Digest now on Testament. A new Barbirolli performance that sweeps the field has appeared on an ICA Classics release of a concert from February 7, 1969 with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra (ICAC5096, 2 CDs). The program opens with an elegant reading of Schubert’s Fourth Symphony followed by Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. The tenor for the Britten is Gerald English whose voice has a texture and timbre different from Peter Pears’ for whom the work was written. Although Decca recorded the definitive version of the work in 1944 with Britten conducting the Boyd Neel Orchestra with Pears and, who else but Dennis Brain as the horn soloist, this version from Cologne is absolutely gorgeous, beautifully nuanced and abetted by the virtuoso horn soloist, Hermann Baumann.

Barbirolli’s reading of the Sibelius is exceptional even by his own high standards. He may have thought, “I’m not holding back any longer ... it’s now or never.” Perhaps not, but it certainly sounds like it. From the confidently measured opening to the closing measures this is a mighty performance from one of the very best orchestras around. In the coda of the Finale Barbirolli unexpectedly broadens the tempo as if to hold back the inevitable. The effect is stunning, a real lump-in-the-throat experience. The recording of all three works is state of the art, crystal clear and dynamic with wide open tuttis. 

One of the less talked about Shostakovich works is the Symphony No.8 Op.65, written in 1943 during World War Two. Of one hour’s duration, on first hearing it may feel to be an enigmatic, sprawling work… the first movement alone lasts nearly 25 minutes. This impression should be dispelled by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky in a live performance from The Royal Festival Hall on October 30, 1983 (LPO 0069). Rozhdestvensky is intuitively in sync with the Shostakovich of the time and is perfectly suited and able to pass it on to the audience and to us, 30 years later. The performance, while rather straightforward, is flavoured with many empathetic moments, but the most arresting surprise is the very long fermata in the percussion a few bars from the end of the third movement. The effect is still chilling after many hearings. As the final movement closes I feared that there would be an outbreak of applause to shatter the tranquility but happily there is none. Perfect!

As 2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), record companies are issuing new and re-issuing existing recordings. Decca has outdone them all with the ultimate collection! As extensive as their catalogue and archives are, it was necessary for Decca to look beyond its own resources to assemble Verdi – The Complete Works (4784916, 75 CDs plus two 265-page hard-bound, informative books) and truly include everything. The majority of the performances come from Decca’s own archives, some from DG and two operas from EMI plus some oddments from elsewhere. Every opera is here, all 29 of them (30 if you include the 1869 version of the 1862 La Forza del Destino as a different opus), plus the Manzoni Requiem, the string quartet, sacred music, songs, ballet music, sinfonias and a group of “discoveries.” An astonishing achievement at a very low price. The packaging is unique, with each opera in an individual cardboard package listing the full cast. Synopses are included but not the libretto translations which can be found on the website. The musicians involved comprise a virtual who’s who of the last half century. Tebaldi, Pavarotti, Domingo, Caballé, Milnes, Gobbi and a page full of other great voices. Conductors include Karajan, Chailly, Abbado, Giulini, Kleiber, Muti, Solti, Levine et. al. Complete details at Arkivmusic.com.

A curiosity, The Hymn of the Nations played by the Philharmonia Orchestra and chorus and Pavarotti turns out to be a boring, indifferent piece. Compare it elsewhere to Toscanini’s electrifying arrangement and extension filmed by the American Office of War Information in December 1943. Toscanini added both the Internationale (hacked out of all subsequent audio and video reissues shortly after the war) and a heroic Star Spangled Banner.

In 1900 Schoenberg began setting to music verses by Danish poet Jens Peter Jacobsen that related the story of the doomed love of the Danish King Waldemar and his beloved mistress Tove, who is murdered by Waldemar’s jealous wife Helvig. Schoenberg worked on the project until 1903 when he laid it aside. In 1910 he applied himself to the task of setting and orchestrating parts two and three and by 1911 Gurrelieder, Songs of Gurre (Waldemar’s Castle) was completed. It is full of good tunes, clearly post-Wagnerian and regarded as Schoenberg’s Tristan and Isolde.

Leopold Stokowski conducted the North American premiere in Philadelphia on April 8, 1932 with repeat performances on April 9 and 11. RCA recorded and issued the final performance on 28 78rpm sides that included Stokowski’s brief discussion of the work. It is readily available on CD and the second performance, given on April 9 and taken from 33 1/3 transcription discs, is available on Pearl (CDS 9066, 2CDs).

There was much excitement when it was announced that Stokowski would conduct the work at the Edinburgh Festival in 1961 and Stoki’s admirers overseas awaited hearing it via the BBC transcription service. Alas no. The story in circulation was that the BBC tapes had been lost between Edinburgh and London. A recording of that historic performance has surfaced and it would be picayune and pointless to critique any of the soloists by comparing them to their counterparts in other recordings. James McCracken is Waldemar, Gré Bouwenstijn is Tove and Nell Rankin is the Wood Dove. Forbes Robinson is Bauer, John Lanigan is Klaus-Narr and Alvar Lidell is the speaker. The London Symphony Orchestra is joined by the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union. The raison d’être for the publication of this performance is Stokowski who really gets what its all about and is completely immersed in the music. Under his baton the score grows organically, culminating in the glorious and overwhelming choral sunrise. The mono recording is not quite as articulate as we now take for granted but it is eminently fulfilling with unrestrained dynamics. I was not in any sense disappointed (Guild GHCD 2388/89, 2 CDs).

Included in this set is Verklärte Nacht that was recorded by Victor in 1952 just months after Schoenberg’s death. The string orchestra was comprised of New York musicians chosen by Stokowski, whose practice it was to telephone each individual and personally engage them. Here is a passionate, heartfelt performance that, while amply dramatic, has no hint whatsoever of bathos. The transfer is exemplary. This is the first of Stokowski’s three recordings of the work. Incidentally, Stokowski is unique in having performed all of Schoenberg’s orchestral works during the composer’s lifetime.

Canada is blessed with a certain number of outstanding classical musicians of international calibre and reputation. Flutist Robert Aitken is one of them, still enjoying an impressive international career spanning more than 50 years. In addition to his engagements as a flutist, he is a composer, conductor and the founding artistic director of Toronto’s New Music Concerts. Aitken also held the position of professor of flute at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany until his retirement in 2004.

With more than 60 recordings over the years, his collaborations have included a host of luminaries, including the late, great harpsichordist Greta Kraus. This disc features Aitken and Kraus in live direct-to-disc recordings from 1979 of J.S. Bach’s Three Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord BWV1030-1032 and from 1969, the Partita BWV997. Bach composed the partita for lute alone and here Aitken and Kraus play their own transcription.

This new CD amply demonstrates Aitken’s supremacy in his field ... silky tone, breathtaking virtuosity and fluid pyrotechnics. His always immaculate intonation and artistry communicate the best of the composer to his audience. In the familiar C.P.E. Bach Concerto Wq22, with John Eliot Gardiner conducting, Aitken and the Vancouver Chamber Orchestra offer a crisp and enthusiastic performance as fine as any that I’ve heard. Live from 1981, the restored sound is outstanding, as it is on each and every track on this CD (DOREMI DHR-6611). 

Although Gramophone Magazine recently determined that Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Orchestra was the finest orchestra in the world, other surveys have given that honour to the more highly esteemed Vienna Philharmonic. Unlike the Concertgebouw and other orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic does not engage a permanent conductor. It draws its members from the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera and its home is Vienna’s illustrious Musikverein where most of its recordings are made. TV viewers around the world know the Musikverein thanks to the annual telecast of the Philharmonic’s New Year’s Day concert.

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is a democratic, self-governing body founded in 1842 by composer Otto Nicolai (The Merry Wives of Windsor) and since then the greatest conductors of their time have stood before them, from Hans Richter, Gustav Mahler, Felix Weingartner and Wilhelm Furtwangler to Arturo Toscanini, Bruno Walter, Clemens Krauss and George Szell. The list goes on to include the maestros who are heard in the Wiener Philharmoniker Symphony Edition from Deutsche Grammophon (4790718, 50 CDs) containing 95 symphonies by 13 composers.

In June 1984, James Levine recorded Mozart symphonies 28, 29 and 30, initiating what would become a complete cycle. A year later, in June 1985, he set down six more, with further sessions in December 1986, December 1987 and June 1989, with the final two sessions in February and December 1990. Levine was George Szell’s apprentice in Cleveland in 1964 and 1965 and assistant conductor until 1970. Levine absorbed Szell’s characteristically crisp articulation and clarity of the melodic line, qualities that serve Mozart well. Unavailable for many years, the return to active duty of this complete cycle, occupying the first 11 discs, is more than welcome.

Discs 12 and 13 are devoted to Haydn’s symphonies 88 to 92 and 105 conducted by Karl Böhm whose traditional Kapellmeister elegance will charm those who look for such music making (1972/73 recordings). Discs 14 to 18 find the nine Beethoven symphonies divided up between Bernstein (1, 3 and 9); Abbado (2 and 4); Kleiber (5 and 7) and Böhm (6 and 8); judiciously allocated, as demonstrated by the selection of Böhm’s perfect realization of the “Pastoral” from 1971.

Discs 19 and 20 contain Schubert’s 3, 5, 8 and 9 with Kleiber, Böhm and Gardiner while disc 21 has Gardiner again in Mendelssohn’s 4 and 5. Discs 22 and 23 have Bernstein’s final recorded interpretations of Schumann from 1984/85 revealing an understanding and commitment beyond him ten years earlier in New York. Discs 24 to 26 find the Brahms symphonies allocated to Bernstein (1, 2), Giulini (3) and Kleiber (4). No arguments here. Discs 27 to 32 have six of Bruckner’s nine, with three given to Abbado (1, 4 and 5), Karajan’s swan song 7 (1989) and 8 (1988), with the 9th under Giulini. Discs 33 to 35 have Karajan’s arguably finest performances of Tchaikovsky’s 4, 5 and 6, all from 1984.

Discs 36 and 37 offer only four of Dvořak’s nine: unexpectedly by Myung-Whun Chung (6, 7) and Maazel (8, 9). Discs 38 to 47 offer an almost complete Mahler cycle: Abbado (2, 3, 4 and 9), Bernstein (5, 8 and the Adagio from 10) and Boulez gets the 6th.

Discs 48 to 50 are given to Leonard Bernstein conducting astounding performances of Sibelius 1, 2, 5 and 7 and finally the 6th and 9th by Shostakovich. Both Sibelius and Shostakovich receive performances of a lifetime, no ifs, ands or buts. A supercharged, over-the-top coda to this exemplary, ridiculously inexpensive collection.

We know Menahem Pressler primarily as the pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, the group that he founded in 1955 which soon became one of the most respected chamber groups in history. He also performed and recorded outside the trio as a soloist and in concerted works. The trio disbanded in 2008 but Pressler continues to perform as soloist and accompanist. DOREMI has issued a set of CDs featuring Pressler’s Chopin recorded c.1960 (DHR-7989/90, 2 stereo CDs). Heard are three works with orchestra, the two concertos and the Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brilliante, Op.22 together with three polonaises and five mazurkas. Pressler was evidently in top form on each occasion and we witness his Chopin to be expressive and eloquent with touches of refreshing originality.

The sound is pleasantly warm and quite convincing due to the tube-based electronics used for the meticulous transfers. I must comment that, as in the original LPs, the sound in the three concerted works (all with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra) tends to favour the piano. This is volume two in a series and I am informed that volumes three and four contain Pressler’s entire Mozart, Prokofiev and Shostakovich recordings including concertos.

When Classical Barbra was issued in 1976 a few “classical music lovers” expressed righteousness indignation at the thought of Barbra Streisand even attempting to perform “their” repertoire. Claus Ogerman made the arrangements and conducted the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. Ten tracks were issued on the LP and then on a CD which has never left the catalogue. It is now exactly 40 years since these songs were recorded and Columbia has taken the opportunity to remaster the ten originals and add two unreleased songs (Sony 92255-2).

No one is claiming that any one of these is the best version but Streisand fans will enjoy 40 minutes of hearing her distinctive voice in unusual and attractive, evocative repertoire including chansons of Debussy, Cantaloube and Fauré and lieder of Wolf, Schumann and Schubert among other offerings. 

Many of us have attended or heard performances of the Brahms First Symphony that for the most part have slipped from memory. As important as it is, this symphony has fallen into the war-horse, crowd-pleaser category and a performance whether heard live or via recordings can appear to be just another work on the program, or a revelation! Granted any first hearing will be a unique experience but one would need to be quite familiar with a few different versions to recognize that a particular new performance is exceptional. Case in point is a new release of a concert performance by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sergiu Celibidache (Vienna Symphony CD, WS002 mono).

Celibidache refused to make commercial recordings, stating that such documents would only reveal how he conducted the work at that time of day, on that date, in that venue ... etc., etc. On the evening of October 30, 1952, in the Konzerthaus, this is how they played! It remains a truly memorable event. The playing is articulate, no slurring, clean winds and brass and no pregnant pauses. The music seems to drive itself. This is a passionate performance directed by a young firebrand and is no way akin to his later settled-in and comfortable versions — from the 1976 Stuttgart RSO (DG) and the 1987 Munich Philharmonic (EMI). This performance remains not a monument to Brahms but a celebration. The mono sound is full bodied and dynamic, typical of the best engineering of the day.

Although there were others, for the second half of the 20th century and beyond, when one considered performances of Schubert lieder, the late Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau enjoyed his well-deserved prime reputation. Of course, he was also known for his Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Hugo Wolf, Mahler and Richard Strauss and others from Bach to Berg and Britten. And he loved to make recordings.

He recorded the three Schubert cycles many times, because, unlike instrumentalists and some conductors, he wanted a wide audience to know how he sang it that day with that accompanist. He talks about this in a charming interview/conversation dating from the 1985 Schubertiade, part of a DVD release from Arthaus Musik of Schubert (Arthaus 107523, 2 DVDs). Die Schöne Müllerin was recorded live in 1991 at the Montforthaus in Feldkirch with Andres Schiff including, as a bonus, the conversation with Franz Zoglauer. Winterreise was filmed a dozen years earlier in Siemens Villa, Berlin in 1979 and includes almost an hour of rehearsal for the recital with Alfred Brendel. So why would this singer require a rehearsal of what was his basic repertoire? As he says on the other disc, different accompanists can elicit different variations in his interpretation and together they work it out. Together, the two DVDs provide a most satisfying evening.

I must remind readers of what I consider to be the most satisfying recording ever of Das Lied von der Erde: Fischer-Dieskau conducting the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra with alto, Yve Janicke and tenor Christian Elsner (Orfeo C494001 B). Not surprisingly, the orchestral playing is unusually expressive and much more sublimely lyrical than other versions particularly, but not only in the winds. The overwhelming loneliness and resignation of Der Abschied is heart-breaking. Recorded in concert on June 22 at the 1996 Schubertiade in the medieval town of Feldkirch, this would be one of my ten Desert Island discs.

Alfred Cortot was one of the most respected musicians and pianists of the early 1900s and into the 1950s. His recordings were once the cornerstones in the libraries of Chopin and Schumann aficionados around the world. Cortot was born in 1877 in the Suisse Romande and studied and was awarded in Paris. He was choral conductor in Bayreuth in 1901 and was responsible for the mounting of Götterdämmerung in Paris in 1902 which he also conducted. The Cortot, Casals and Jacques Thibaud Trio had a well-deserved reputation and was in part responsible for elevation of the trio form from the salon to the concert stage. Cortot was a sensitive accompanist for singers and string players alike. He also conducted notable recordings.

Today, perfect technique has become the norm and the prime concern of audiences who, to paraphrase Professor Higgins, don’t care about what instrumentalists play as long as they play all the right notes. Cortot was one of the last musicians from the times when personal and intuitive interpretations overrode minor concern for technical perfection.

The motherlode of his recordings, Alfred Cortot An Anniversary Edition, contains every EMI recording from 1919 to 1959 including unreleased items (EMI 5099970490725 40 CDS). As of this writing, a complete list of the some 275 works can only be seen at Arkivmusic: arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=817326.

Chatting about this totally new, all newly remastered set recently, I was asked “Did they leave in all the wrong notes?” Yes, they did.

ICA Classics continues to release DVDs of concert performances featuring Benjamin Britten conducting the English Chamber Orchestra in The Maltings Concert Hall in Aldeburgh as they were recorded for broadcast by the BBC. From June 16, 1968 (ICAD 5025) Mstislav Rostropovich is the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations Op 33 and the Pezzo capriccioso Op.62. The orchestra plays the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture. Also on this DVD, the orchestra is joined by the Aldeburgh Festival Singers on June 5, 1970, from a performance of a suite from Britten’s Gloriana: The Tournament, The Lute Song (with Peter Pears) and Apotheosis. As this is the only recording of Britten conducting anything from Gloriana it will be of particular interest to collectors. 

The difficulty for this reviewer with any of the many different omnibus collections that have appeared in cubes of various sizes over the last while is where to start, what to sample first? Sometimes it is easier ... in any Beethoven Symphonies collection I start with the Fourth, but let me share a new quandary:

Deutsche Grammophon has released a further inexpensive collection to commemorate their 111th anniversary, MOZART 111 containing 111 compositions on 55 CDs (DG 4750059). Representing his entire oeuvre are 111 complete works played by various artists from every performance practice. I acknowledge that I know most of the works reasonably well and some quite well. Also many of the various recordings are in the back of my mind somewhere. So what would you listen to first when every disc is equally enticing? Here is the menu: Symphonies 25, 26, 29, 38, 39 (Pinnock/ECO), 28, 33 (Levine/PO), 32, 35, 36 (Karajan/BPO), 40, 41 (Minkowski/Musiciens du Louvre); Piano concertos 6, 17, 21 (Anda/Salzburg Mozarteums), 27, 10 for two pianos (Emil & Elena Gilels/Böhm/VPO), 19, 23 (Pollini/Böhm/VPO), 20, 24 (Bilson/Gardiner), 14, 26 (Pires/Abbado/VPO); Various concertos, violin 3, 4, 5 (Perlman/Levine/VPO), Sinfonia Concertante K364, Concertone K190 (Perlman/Zukermann/Mehta/Israel PO), clarinet K622, flute K313, flute and harp K299, Andante for flute K315, oboe K314, bassoon K191, horn 1, 2, 3, 4 (Orpheus Chamber); Serenades: K361; wind serenades K375, K388 (Orpheus Chamber),”Posthorn” K320, “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” K525 (Levine/VPO), Serenata Notturna K239, Divertimento K334 (Karajan/BPO); String quartets, the six Haydn Quartets (Hagen); Miscellany, Divertimento K334, Masonic Funeral Music K477 (Böhm/VPO). And that’s only the first 23 discs out of 55, and the best is yet to come! The church music, the Requiem (Abbado/VPO), more chamber music, many recitals and complete operas: Idomeneo, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte and Die Zauberflöte. For many decades the DG sound has been ideal for Mozart and with these acknowledged masters of the repertoire, it really wasn’t that hard to get into the collection; getting out was hard.

“Nobody that I have ever heard played the piano any better than Alexis Weissenberg.” This pronouncement was made by Glenn Gould on August 24, 1977 on a CBC radio program devoted to Weissenberg. The evidence to support this statement can be certainly heard on a new collection devoted to the artistry of the young Alexis Weissenberg, recorded between 1949 and 1955 (The Sigi Recordings DOREMI DHR-7987/8, 2 CDs). Until his mid-20s he went by the name Sigi Weissenberg and his first three LPs are credited to that name. Every bar on these recordings made by Columbia and the French label Lumen confirms an innate pianistic and artistic talent of immense stature. One could now easily argue that he never played better than he is heard here. He recorded much of this repertoire again for EMI but not nearly at the same level of bravura, freshness and excitement. I went directly to a particularly favourite work, the Liszt Sonata and was literally astounded by the towering performance and the true-to-life sound. Incomparable on any level! Similarly, the other works portray the same pianistic achievement, from Bach-Liszt, Haydn, Soler, Czerny, Prokofiev, Scriabin and more Liszt. An unexpected and important release. You must hear that Liszt Sonata!

Before he came to Hollywood in 1934, Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957) was lauded as a child prodigy and then as a prodigious composer. One of his more renowned operas was Die Tote Stadt, first performed in 1924 in Berlin with Lotte Lehmann and Richard Tauber in the leads. Korngold’s movie scores are today accepted as classics, Anthony Adverse, King’s Row, The Sea Hawk, Robin Hood and many more, but his operas are rarely mounted. Die Tote Stadt is full of great romantic tunes and falls comfortably on the ear. However, the plot is quite macabre and more than somewhat difficult to grasp. Some of it is real and the rest is in the skewed and haunted mind of Paul, the central figure who, it seems, killed his wife earlier. This 1983 production by the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Arthaus Musik 101656) staged by Gotz Friedrich stars his wife, Karan Armstrong and James King as Paul. The set and costumes are perfect for the 1920s and, at last, the plot is clear ... I think. The conductor is Heinrich Hollreiser and there is a bonus track with Friedrich introducing the opera and clarifying the plot.

Readers with an awareness of historic performers may be wish to spend an hour or so with Benjamin Britten conducting the English Chamber Orchestra on a new DVD from ICA (ICAD 5083). These are live performances from Fairfield Halls in Croydon on December 20, 1964 as telecast in black and white by the BBC. The concert begins with a nifty performance of the Mozart Symphony No.40, quite straightforward but beautifully played with sustained lines. To end the concert Peter Pears joins Britten for a magnificent performance of Britten’s Nocturne Op.60 for tenor, seven obbligato instruments and strings. I have been listening to this work for decades but the intensity of this performance touched me, revealing its true quality. Britten admirers owe it to themselves to hear and see this outstanding performance. There are two bonus tracks in full colour from a concert at The Maltings on June 5, 1970, in which they play the Adagio and Scherzo from Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony.

One of the most pleasant CDs to come my way recently is Ofra Harnoy and Friends (DOREMI DHR 6609). The selections were recorded during the 1980s and 1990s but most are new to her discography. Repertoire ranges from Vivaldi to Gershwin via Mozart, Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov, de Falla and several lesser known names. She impresses by her versatility in adapting to the various styles, projecting the joy of music making in whatever the repertoire. It is also evident that her enthusiasm is shared by her colleagues. Harnoy was popular with young audiences and with her special appeal had drawn them into classical music. She was, as they say, a natural! Before her retirement from the concert stage to raise a family, the cellist had close to 40 discs listed in the Schwann catalogue. Additionally hers was a familiar name on Billboard’s International Best Sellers charts. Included on this refreshing compilation are performances with Igor Oistrakh in the Vivaldi Double Concerto RV546 and Maureen Forrester in Massenet’s delightful Élégie. An enjoyable 80 minutes. 

Arguably the most illustrious achievement in Decca’s history, and in the industry’s, was the realization of a staged for stereo production of Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelungen featuring the world’s eminent Wagnerian voices to be supported by the incomparable Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI had recorded the Karajan cycle live in Bayreuth in 1951 but getting it to market didn’t get beyond the planning stage. Some years later a tentative release date for the complete cycle was announced but the project was shelved when, as I understand the situation, EMI was unexpectedly required to pay all the musicians involved with a fee equal to what they would be paid if they were to record it at this later date. Fortunately, EMI secured the rights and issued the Furtwangler Ring recorded in Rome in October and November 1953. The story of getting that cycle to disc is a saga in itself.

In addition to engaging singers the Decca project required a conductor of stature. Hans Knappertsbusch was considered but Georg Solti was the final choice. John Culshaw was the producer who led the Decca team responsible for everything necessary to get some 16 hours of intense music making onto a finished tape. To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the composer in 2013 and the conductor’s 100th this year, Decca has assembled an extraordinarily opulent edition with many extras that are listed at the bottom of this review.

Das Rheingold was recorded in the Sofiensaal during September and October 1958 with an all-star cast including George London (Wotan), Kirsten Flagstad (Fricka), Set Svanholm (Loge), Paul Kuen (Mime), Gustav Neidlinger (Alberich) and other luminaries of the day. The closing scene following Donner’s summoning the thunder is most impressive with London the perfect Wotan who has unknowingly set in motion the inevitability of the far off twilight of the gods. Many of us looked forward to London’s Wotan in Walküre and Siegfried but it was Hans Hotter who sang the role in both.

Initially, there were very real concerns as to whether demand at retail would be large enough to make the project worthwhile. After all, there had never been an undertaking of this magnitude. Decca/London’s classical manager in the United States, Terry McEwan, was very positive about the sales potential and it is claimed that his enthusiasm and initial first order ended any doubts about the future of the cycle. The three LP set of Das Rheingold was issued in 1959 to universal acclaim, both artistically and sonically. No one had ever heard a recording to match the realism of Decca’s “Sonic Stage” stereo sound and such opulence from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a milestone. It has been in the catalog ever since as LP, then tape and finally CD ... well not quite finally as related below.

In Die Walküre the real story begins as Sigmund (James King) and Sieglinde (Regine Crespin) are thrown together, discover that they are brother and sister, fall madly in love and run off into the woods and conceive Siegfried. Hunding is sung by Gottlob Frick, Wotan by Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson is Brunnhilde and Christa Ludwig is Fricka. The eight Valkyries include Brigitte Fassbaender and Helga Dernesch who would later be Karajan’s Brunnhilde in his cycle for DG. Die Walkure was recorded after Siegfried during October and November 1965. Siegfried had been set down in May and October in 1962. The legendary Wolfgang Windgassen is really into the role of Siegfried who knows not fear, slays the dragon Fafner (Kurt Bohme), kills Mime (Gerhard Stolze) then learns of and finds the sleeping Brunnhilde thanks to the Wood Dove (Joan Sutherland).

Nowhere better is the opulent sound and full glory of the Vienna Philharmonic heard than in Götterdämmerung, where all the machinations are paid for, all the principal mortals killed off, Loge has his revenge on the gods as Valhalla burns and the gold is restored to the Rhine Maidens.

There are, of course, many passages in this recording of a very long and complex work that the listener may wish to compare favorably or unfavorably with another performance or performances. That’s what collectors and music lovers do and enjoy.

The Solti Ring is a living tribute, a monument, to everyone involved; the singers, the orchestra and to Solti himself and of course Wagner, the librettist and composer. All perpetuated by Decca who had the remarkable foresight to hand over reigns to producer John Culshaw and a totally enrolled support team.

I must comment on the single Blu-ray audio disc that contains the entire cycle. There is a total absence of any processing artifacts and the listener is immediately and unmistakably right there in the acoustic of the Sofiensaal, witnessing the nuances and dynamics of a live performance. I have heard every iteration from the stereo LPs on, and this sound really is a fresh experience.

There remains something very special about the EMI recordings produced by Walter Legge of the, actually “his” as it turned out, Philharmonia Orchestra, particularly but not only those with Herbert von Karajan before his ascent to the Berlin Philharmonic. Legge had been producing Karajan’s recordings since the conductor’s first post-WWII 78s with the Vienna Philharmonic beginning with the Beethoven Eighth in 1946. The Ninth was recorded in 1947 and although Karajan has recorded it many times since then this is my favourite version (EMI 72434 76878). There is an air of expectant optimism (which is what this symphony is all about) not present elsewhere in the catalogue. Legge founded the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1945 with the expectation that he and Beecham would run it together. The two fell out and the orchestra became essentially a recording orchestra, producing landmark recordings with conductors and soloists of now legendary fame. Karajan’s first concert with them, April 11, 1948, included the Schumann piano concerto with Dinu Lipatti which they recorded for EMI later that month. All but a few of the EMI Philharmonia/Legge recordings have been re-issued and available on CD, attesting to the excellence of the performances by what had become one of the best orchestras in the world and the instantly engaging EMI sound, whether the earlier monaural or the later stereos. In all of them there is a sense of listening in on a formal performance and not a recording of musicians making a recording. Such is a new re-issue of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony and the suite from Swan Lake recorded in 1955/56 with Karajan and the Philharmonia (EMI 6022992). This is the third of Karajan’s seven recordings of the Pathétique and the most satisfying in the sense described above with music making of the very highest quality. Most impressive in both works are the flowing tempos without any bumps, the unanimous strings, outstanding brass and winds all captured in the best analog sound. I enjoyed it immensely.

Jean Martinon was a superlative conductor excelling in the repertoire of the 20th century, especially French composers, as his recordings will attest. During his time as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director (1963-68) he made only a couple of LPs of Ravel but when he returned to France was engaged by EMI to record the orchestral works of Debussy with the Orchestre National de ORTF in 1973 and then the music of Ravel with the Orchestre de Paris through 1974. These renowned performances and recordings have since seen many incarnations but now EMI has grouped them all together in an irresistible 8-CD box, Debussy, Ravel Orchestral Works at an ultra budget price (EMI 70444421). There are 18 of Debussy’s well-known and some lesser known works and 15 by Ravel including the obvious titles plus the complete Daphnis et Chloe (with the Chorus of the National Opera) and the two piano concertos. Without exception, the performances are commanding and authoritative and the naturally balanced recordings, made in Paris’ Salle Wagram, are a credit to France’s famed producer, René Challan.

I don’t suppose that these days when collectors express their preferences among competitive versions of certain works it is likely that Clifford Curzon would come readily to mind and yet in the day he was a frontrunner in most of the repertoire that is to be found in a new collection from Decca of all his recordings made for them since 1937, augmented with interviews and recitals as late as 1980 (4784389, 23 CDs + 1 DVD). Curzon possessed impeccable and unerring taste and musicianship and one can sense that every note is played with the assurance of a mind totally in control. Surprisingly, on first hearing, the all-Liszt recital from Vienna’s Sofiensaal (1963) seemed to be too closely miked, contributing to the impression that Curzon’s interpretation was ill-conceived. But on second hearing everything came into perspective, revealing a towering version of the structured B Minor Sonata and pristine versions of the shorter pieces. In addition to many solo recitals including Schubert, Schumann and Brahms, there are concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, de Falla and the dashing Scherzo by Litolff. Time has not dimmed these superb recordings. The full contents can be seen on deccaclassics.com.

Helmut Walcha was internationally respected as an interpreter of the music of Bach and other composers of the baroque era. DG (DGG at the time) and EMI had both featured him twice in almost the entire Bach keyboard repertoire. For DG he was Walcha the organist, for EMI the harpsichordist. It is interesting to note that this authoritative performer was totally blind from the age of 16 and possessed the astonishing ability to have memorized his repertoire from hearing others play. His commanding performances are luminous and transparent. The sound of the harpsichord on a new DOREMI release of performances from 1957–1960 is detailed and pleasant although some may have reservations that in these recordings Walcha, unlike most interpreters, observes no repeats. He plays a modern Ammer harpsichord. Bach: Six Partitas, BWV 825-830; Italian Concerto; Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D Minor (DHR-7985/6, 2 CDs).

What a pleasure to hear the Bach Six Suites for Solo Cello played with such unusually heartfelt expressivity and warmth as is heard from Antonio Janigro on another new DOREMI collection (DHR-8014/6, 3 CDs). A singing tone, perfect intonation, beautiful articulation and a refined style were his trademarks. In the three gamba sonatas, BWV1027 – 29, with harpsichordist Robert Veyron-Lacroix he is similarly impressive. In the mid 1950s he made a recording of the popular Boccherini B-Flat Major Cello Concerto, however here we have the young Janigro from 1948 ... rare and captivating. A splendid collection, faithfully remastered, the suites are derived from 1954 Westminster LPs. Here is beautiful music making in the grand sense and not simply for cello lovers. 

In march 1960 the 18 year old Maurizio Pollini won first prize in the Sixth International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. The prize earned him a three LP contract with EMI. The first, completed by April 21, 1960, was the Chopin First Piano Concerto, recorded by with Paul Kletzki and the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. The second sessions were in September when he recorded the two sets of Etudes, Op. 10 and 25. Although he gave no specific reason, Pollini refused to allow them to be released. EMI paid the cancellation penalty for the third recording and said goodbye to Mister Pollini who, ironically, would re-emerge as a superstar on Deutsche Grammophon.

Testament has issued the now legendary complete Chopin Etudes (SBT1473, stereo CD) and we can only wonder why the pianist said no at the time. Listening to these reproachless performances is completely disarming. Peter Andry, the producer for these recordings, writes that “When I heard him play, his strength and flair for the piano were prodigious. Hearing him perform the first of Chopin’s complete sets of etudes that we recorded was a spine tingling experience, with great rolling waves of sound coming from the grand piano. This was pianism of the very finest kind. Rarely had I heard such perfection. He seemed to play these demanding works effortlessly. I remember the occasion even now as one of my greatest musical experiences.”

Why Pollini withheld permission to release the Etudes is explained by Peter Andry in his book of enticing memoirs, Inside the Recording Studio, published in 2008 as a quality paperback by Scarecrow Press (ISBN 13 978-0-8108-6026-1). Aware that EMI was losing interest in Pollini, DG was wooing him and promising that they would record the Etudes. They eventually did so ... in 1972. The DG recordings are fine performances but quite different from the EMI whose recorded sound is cleaner and more pleasant to the ear. There is a higher level of virtuosity in these early performances, his lighter touch befitting the repertoire. This recording would be a gem in any thoughtful collection and is recommended without reservation.

For the first half of the 20th century HMV was, by default, the only recording company that meticulously documented the art of singing lieder, particularly, but not exclusively, Schubert Lieder. The HMV catalogue was populated by the leading artists of their time — Leo Slezak, Elena Gerhardt, Frieda Hempel, Alexander Kipnis, John McCormack, Richard Tauber, Meta Seinemeyer, Georges Thill, Vanni Marcoux, Feodor Chaliapin, Lotte Lehmann, Charles Panzera, Elisabeth Schumann, Gerhard Hüsch, Frida Leider — to mention some of the pre-c.1950 luminaries of the field. Adding to this cast were the many lesser known but not lesser artists of the period. The generation of singers since then should be familiar to concert goers and record collectors; Schwarzkopf, Pears, Baker, Hotter, Ameling, Ludwig, Fischer-Dieskau (he has his own disc), Wunderlich, Bostridge, Hampson, and others. Die Schöne Müllerin is given to Peter Schreier, Schwanengesang to Olaf Bär, and Winterreise to Thomas Hampson. Hampson is also heard on the 17th disc in a discussion, Schubert’s Journey: An Exploration of his Lieder. The grand total is 91 singers singing 213 songs in Schubert Lieder on Record 1898-2012 (EMI 3275752, 17 CDs). Clearly, some singers sing more than one song and some songs are sung by more than one singer. Erlkönig has seven versions including the spine-tingling 1930 recording with tenor Georges Thill, sung in French with a baritone and a boy soprano.

This set has a heritage. Schubert Lieder on Record 1898-1952 was released in 1982 on a mammoth (for the day) 8-LP set (later on six CDs) compiled by the late Keith Hardwick. The invaluable Hardwick was the engineer who did many of the transfers from 78s for EMI’s acclaimed series Great Recordings of the Century on LP.

Expanded to 17 CDs with recordings made since 1952, the spiritual worth of the interpretations herein can’t be measured. The recording dates are given in the enclosed booklet but no translations. This unique collection will give endless satisfaction to the select group of devotees of this repertoire.

A generation or two ago it was the Budapest String Quartet that came first to mind when someone mentioned string quartets. In the 1930s they recorded several of the Beethoven quartets for HMV and in 1951 and 1952 Columbia recorded a complete monaural cycle for release on LP. Columbia returned them to the studio for a stereo remake in sessions that spanned 1958 to 1961 with Josef Roisman, first violin; Boris Kroyt, viola; Mischa Schneider, cello; and Alexander Schneider replacing second violinist Jac Gorodetzky. Fifty years later, time has not reduced the charm and beauty of these later committed performances. Sony has reissued these valuable stereo recordings, in immaculate sound at an ultra-budget price, as The Budapest String Quartet Plays Beethoven – The Complete String Quartets (Sony Masters, 886977 767821, 8 CDs). Arguably, one hasn’t really experienced these works unless you’ve heard such performances as these. Devotees may wish to compare these late performances with the highly regarded 1951/52 mono recordings that are available in fine sound from United Archives (NUA01, 8CDs) at a somewhat higher price. Founded in 1917 by four members of the Budapest Opera Orchestra, the Budapest String Quartet disbanded in 1967.

For about three decades circa 1940 to 1960, Hungarian-German pianist Julian von Karolyi’s popularity was such that both DG and EMI signed and recorded him in solo and in concerted works. His performances were insightful, authoritative and assured. Karolyi attained his popularity with audiences from numerous concert appearances without the kick-start of being a competition winner.

His recordings are starting to appear on CD, the latest being from DOREMI (DHR-7984). Heard on this new re-issue are two staples of the concerto repertoire, the Tchaikovsky First and the Schumann A Minor, both in collaboration with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. The 1948 Liszt Hungarian Fantasia from Munich is an attractive bonus. The word collaboration is well considered. Karolyi is a team player who displays strength and sensitivity in partnership with the orchestra, not jockeying for position. The two concertos are in stereo.