For some time now, Toshiba EMI has been remastering existing stereo recordings from EMI into SACD s that have been the buzz in audiophile circles around the world, in spite of the very high price tag. More expensive yet are the SACD re-masters processed and marketed by Esoteric, selling for around $75 a disc. Both companies do their conversions in Japan from the “master tapes” owned by EMI, Decca and Sony. EMI has the real masters in its Abbey Road Studios in London and utilizes EMI technology for the High Definition Sound reissue series. The process consists of painstakingly comparing the original analog productions to determine the correct equalization and play-back curves to ensure a truthful realization of the original sound of the analog originals. This multi-step process is described in the notes that are bound into individual hard cover art books into which the discs and original production documents, in full colour, are reproduced. They are distributed by EMI Canada and sell for domestic prices. So far, there is no duplication of albums. With one exception the discs are stereo hybrid SACD/CDs. I was intrigued by the concept of an SACD version of an original monaural recording, in this case the famous Debussy’s Complete Piano Works played by Walter Gieseking (509999 559172, 4 discs). Although it should not have been, what I heard was a complete surprise. From between the speakers came the familiar sound of Gieseking’s piano, as fresh as it was when he recorded these works in Abbey Road’s Studio 3 between 1951 and 1954 when he was acknowledged as the supreme interpreter of Debussy’s piano works. It was a thorn in the French psyche that a German pianist eclipsed their own as the great Debussy interpreter. How appropriate that these treasured performances are included in this first release of the new reissues.

Bruckner’s Eighth and Ninth Symphonies are heard in recordings from 1963 and 1961 with Carl Schuricht conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, recorded in the Musikverein (509999 559842, 2 discs). Schuricht was a consummate Bruckner conductor long before the composer became fashionable, amply demonstrated in these two powerful readings.

It has been a few years since I heard the following symphonies under the baton of Otto Klemperer and I had remembered them as, well, a little stodgy. Mozart: The Last Six Symphonies with the Philharmonia and the New Philharmonia (509999 559322, 3 discs) and Mendelssohn’s Third and Fourth Symphonies plus Schumann’s Fourth Symphony with the Philharmonia (509999 559102, 2 discs). Mozart’s scores might seem to be weighed down by a modern orchestra but that was the fashion until recently. Klemperer hears it the “old” way and, in fact, makes a reasonably good case for the practice. The Mendelssohns are well sprung and the Schumann is quite convincing. The recorded sound is true to the originals … only cleaner.

This first release would not be complete without Jacqueline du Pré’s most famous recording, the Elgar Cello Concerto under the direction of Sir John Barbirolli who also conducts Elgar’s often sublime song cycle, Sea Pictures with Janet Baker at her very best (509999 559052, 2 discs). The second disc is all Delius; the Cello Concerto with du Pré, Songs of Farewell and A Song Before Sunrise all conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. The disc is a treasure that should be gracing every collection.

Sviatoslav Richter plays piano concertos by Dvorˇák, Grieg and Schumann conducted by Carlos Kleiber (Dvořák) and Lovro von Matacic. Here is Richter in his prime (1976 and 1974) and the emerging Carlos Kleiber yet to hit the big time (509999 559892, 2 discs). Powerhouse performances from Richter in all three with matching support from his conductors.

Pianist Georges Cziffra truly was a legend in his own lifetime. He was simply untouchable in Liszt’s keyboard extravaganzas and EMI recorded him extensively including the 12 Transcendental Etudes and the complete Hungarian Rhapsodies, in addition to The Mephisto Waltz No.1 and Gnomenreigen. Recorded between 1957 and 1975 in the Salle Wagram, Paris, assembling and issuing them in this series was a stroke of genius (509999 55962 2, 3 discs).

Giuseppe di Stefano sounds very fresh singing 33 Neapolitan Songs, recorded in Milan in 1953 and 1961 (509999 55926 2, 2 discs).

In his early years, could any singer top the late Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in Schubert Lieder? Every month, music lovers everywhere looked for new releases. He was incomparable. Selected recordings from 1955 through 1959 appear on an invaluable collection, newly prepared for this series (509999 559692, 4 discs).

And one more: the Beethoven Triple Concerto with David Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich and Sviatoslav Richter conducted by von Karajan in Berlin plus, from Cleveland, George Szell conducting Oistrakh and Rostropovich in the Brahms Violin Concerto and Double Concerto (509999 55978 2, 2 discs).

These reissues are a perfect example of the art that conceals the art, as there is absolutely no evidence that there have been adjustments in the sound of the originals. Maybe their motto is Do No Harm.

Complete recordings of Gotterdammerung on LP date back to a special performance centred around the renowned, now legendary, soprano Kirsten Flagstad who had been the Wagnerian soprano, recognized in opera houses around the globe. This was a concert production intended as a farewell performance recorded in the studios of Norwegian Radio, the missing passages being recorded two months later and a virtually complete version prepared for commercial release by Decca. Set Svanholm is the Siegfried with an impressive Egil Nordsjø as Hagen, supported by a first class cast with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian State Radio Orchestra and a studio chorus all conducted by Øivin Fjelstad. Naxos has thankfully returned it to the catalogue in a newly restored four CD set (8.112066-69). This is a full-scale production with much to offer and little or nothing to complain about. In crystal-clear, distortion-free monaural sound with fine presence and ample dynamics, this is a full-blooded realization of the closing chapter of Wagner’s ultimate music drama, the ever fascinating, incomparable Ring cycle.

Mercury is the latest major record label to issue an omnibus collection of their recordings packed into the now familiar 5½ inch box format, in this case entitled Mercury Living Presence Collector’s Edition (4783566) (50 CDs, a 63-page booklet plus an interview CD with Wilma Cozart Fine, Mercury’s producer). Mercury was founded in 1945 in Chicago as a pop label, then jazz, and in 1951 Mercury emerged as a company of major classical interest with their ground-breaking Olympian Series with the Chicago Symphony under Raphael Kubelik. The era of high fidelity was about to emerge and their adopted logo, Living Presence, became a beacon familiar to record collectors and in particular the nascent, yet to be named, audiophiles. Music lovers around the world soon looked for new Mercury recordings from Chicago … or anywhere else. Mercury’s Olympian Series boasted “single microphone” recordings updated to three microphones with the advent of stereo in 1958. Their production of the 1812 Overture with Antal Dorati and the Minneapolis Symphony, with overdubbed cannons and bells, exploded onto the scene, racking up unheard of worldwide sales. To this day, it has never been out of print. Inevitably, Mercury’s engineers and their equipment went overseas to make recordings, including an historic trip to Russia in 1962 where they documented their “house pianist” American Byron Janis playing with Kiril Kondrashin and the Moscow Philharmonic. Mercury made the first complete Nutcracker with ballet conductor Dorati, a stalwart figure in their catalogue along with Paul Paray (Detroit), Howard Hanson (Eastman-Rochester), Frederick Fennell (Eastman Wind Ensemble) and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (Minneapolis). Soloists, including Janos Starker, the Romeros, et al., along with the complete contents of this absurdly inexpensive collection, are detailed at www.deccaclassics.com. This is not intended to be a basic collection, but it is a well-chosen array of sparkling and rousing performances of alternate repertoire.

My introduction to Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony was on an RCA Victor Long Playing Record (“LP” was the property of Columbia) recorded in 1949 by Toscanini and the NBC Symphony. It remains for me the performance against which all those that followed have been weighed. None has equaled the intensity of that 1949 performance, particularly, but not only because of, the ferocity of the closing pages of the first movement. Unequalled until now.

On the evening of 26 August, 1992 at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall, Yuri Temirkanov conducted the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in an extraordinary performance of Manfred, telecast by the BBC and now on a new DVD from ICI Classics (ICAD 5065). Temirkanov was Mravinsky’s assistant when the orchestra was known as the Leningrad Philharmonic and in 1988 he became their music director and chief conductor. Following the drama of the first movement, the two middle movements depicting romantic ideals and aspirations are played without bathos but with passion and often lace-like delicacy. What makes this performance unique is the re-introduction of the entire first movement coda to bring the work to an over-the-top conclusion reflecting absolute despair rather than Manfred’s redemption and consolation in Tchaikovsky’s original. The program includes Berlioz’ Corsair Overture and several, worth the price of admission, encores including a Mravinsky specialty, the pas de deux from the second act of The Nutcracker. Also an inspired “Nimrod” from Elgar’s Enigma Variations and finally the “Death of Tybalt” from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Wide open sound and faultless video makes this stunning DVD a must-have.

1940 saw the beginning of a six year association of the New York Philharmonic and Igor Stravinsky as conductor during which they recorded many of his popular ballets and shorter pieces. A new release from Naxos contains brilliant transfers of the three best known ballets, Firebird, Petrushka and Le Sacre du Printemps (8.112070). This may not have been particularly significant except for the fact that these are the most vital and close to artifact-free transfers of these historic performances to find their way to CD. Somewhat surprising are the perspectives, so clearly heard here. The orchestral playing is immaculate and the musicians are alert and enthusiastic. Stravinsky’s tempi and drive are compelling and a revelation, arguably definitive.

The Firebird is the 1945 suite (26 minutes), Petrushka is a suite of eight sections from the 1911 score (16 minutes) and Le Sacre is the complete 1913 original. Actually “original” is not exactly accurate. Some half dozen years after the premier Stravinsky was asked to correct the many copyist’s errors in the existing originals. As it happened, Stravinsky had some second thoughts and new ideas that he substituted for the original passages. In 1947 he would publish a new revision which would take it out of the Public Domain. In addition to achieving a miraculous recovery of the details within these old 78s, shaming the other re-issues over the years, an unsuspected mistake in the accepted recording date of Le Sacre has been corrected.

Being obsessive and believing that the recording date of Le Sacre was April 29, 1940, I questioned April 4th as shown on this CD. Naxos’s Director of Media Relations, Raymond Bisha forwarded Mark Obert-Thorn’s reply: “My date came from James H. North’s discography, The New York Philharmonic – The Authorized Recordings, 1917–2005 (The Scarecrow Press, 2006). Under the date of April 4th that he gives for this recording, he has a reference to the following note: “The misreading of a single Columbia fact sheet (now in Sony’s archives) led to the incorrect dating of all Philharmonic recordings in the spring of 1940 [ … ] Those erroneous dates have persisted over decades of record issues — including the Dutton and Andante CDs — and discographic listings. The dates on that sheet are for “re-recording,” a further step in the process [i.e., transferring from the 33 1/3 rpm lacquer masters to 78 rpm wax masters], not for orchestra recording sessions. The correct dates, taken from the orchestra personnel manager’s hand-written weekly reports, are listed here. So, the April 4th date for Stravinsky’s recording of Sacre is correct, and the date of April 29th refers to the re-recording process.” Sometimes you just have to ask!

EMI continues to issue well-chosen performances by the greatest musicians of the recent past in artist-driven compilations of recordings from the 1930s forward.

Their most ambitious collection was the 2008 issue of the complete EMI audio recordings by Herbert von Karajan in two boxes: the complete orchestral recordings on 88 CDs and the operas and vocals on a second box of 72 discs. In all of these compilations the most up to date transfers from their own archives are utilized making these boxed sets the ultimate source for acquiring and listening to the individual performances by deservedly legendary artists doing what they did best. All of the sets come in neat clam-shell packaging with informative booklets at about $5 per disc.

It was said of Bruno Walter that he could make any orchestra he conducted sound like the Vienna Philharmonic. In Bruno Walter – The Early Recordings (EMI 679026 2, 9 CDs) we hear him with the Vienna Philharmonic in performances from 1935 to 1938. These performances set the standard by which others were judged for years to come and music lovers everywhere argued the “correctness” of Walter versus Toscanini, particularly in Mozart. This collection includes some recordings with the British Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony and the Paris Conservatory Orchestra but the real gems are with the Vienna Philharmonic, recorded in the Musikvereinssaal. In addition to works by Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Johann Strauss and Wagner with Lotte Lehmann and Lauritz Melchior, there are the celebrated recordings of Mahler, including Kindertotenlieder with Kathleen Ferrier and Das Lied von der Erde, live from 1936 with Kerstin Thorborg and Charles Kullmann. Also that remarkable live Mahler Ninth dating from January 1938 when the atmosphere in Vienna before the Anschluss was fearfully chaotic. I still find this performance utterly devastating although, after the war, Walter expressed some discomfort with how his inner turmoil and apprehension was clearly reflected in the recording. Those sentiments elevate this Ninth from an historic performance to an irreplaceable historic document. The final CD, Remembering Bruno Walter is an interesting appreciation.

Not as widely appreciated as he well deserved to be was Rudolf Kempe (1910–1976), born in Dresden and in 1929 appointed first oboe of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig. He was a master conductor in every sense of the word. An engagement in 1951 by the Vienna State Opera spring-boarded him to international acclaim and he was soon in demand in opera houses and concert halls around the world. He declined the earnest invitation to become music director of Covent Garden. The knowledgeable listener will be, I believe, delighted with the instrumental balances in familiar works which emerge here as ensemble pieces involving every player without the necessity of any spotlighting of a particular instrument or section for heightened effect. The various engineers involved over the many orchestras featured appear to have documented exactly what they heard. I confess that I did not fully appreciate these qualities in the performances/recordings as they were issued over the years. Beethoven’s First, Third, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies (Munich Philharmonic) are followed by the Third and Fourth of Brahms (Royal Philharmonic). One needs only to hear the beautifully turned and polished account of the usual four excerpts from Mendelssohn’s incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Royal Philharmonic), particularly the feather-like transparency of the Overture, to know that there is indeed something very special about the conductor. In the four Richard Strauss tone poems, Don Juan, Don Quixote (with Paul Tortelier), Till Eulenspiegel, Ein Heldenleben, and in Tod und Verklärung plus Dance of the Seven Veils (all with the Staatskapelle, Dresden), we again hear the transparency, even in the tuttis, that is one of Kempe’s trademarks. It takes a very rare sensibility to have the closing moments of Heldenleben unfold across the orchestra and bloom rather than merely getting louder. Karajan could do it and so does Kempe. EMI included generous helpings of Wagner, both orchestral and operatic, and two discs of what Beecham termed lollipops, all in full-range correctly balanced sound. This admirable collection, Rudolf Kempe, Shy Genius of the Podium (EMI 629557 2) contains 11 CDs and this listener wishes there were more.

Frederick Delius (1862–1934), for those who may not know, was an English composer who spent his last years in France where he gradually became blind, relying on his amanuensis Eric Fenby to write down the scores as he dictated them. In the pre-LP days the music of Delius was esoteric, the recordings were few and far between and almost exclusively conducted by Beecham on Columbia 78s funded by the Delius Trust which was financed by Delius’ late widow Jelka who had willed her entire estate to the dissemination of her husband’s music (phew!). Beecham was named to have complete authority over every aspect. Some of these Beecham recordings have been assembled, together with others from the 1930s forward, in a Delius 150th Anniversary Edition (EMI 8417527) comprising 18 mono and stereo CDs. Included are critically esteemed performances of concertos, tone poems, operas, choral and chamber music. Conductors include Beecham, Barbirolli, Sargent, Groves, Meredith Davies, Mackerras, Hickox, Marriner, Handley and the aforementioned Fenby. The complete details of this definitive edition with detailed track listings can be found at emiclassics.com.

DECCA also has a commemorative edition of Delius essentials in contemporary recordings on eight CDs (4783078) which will satisfy the less committed collector. Check this package on deccaclassics.com.

In 1968 the late Ken Russell made a remarkably sensitive movie of Delius’ last five years in collaboration with Eric Fenby, with Max Adrian as Delius and Christopher Gable as Fenby. The Song of Summer is available on DVD in Ken Russell at the BBC (300001708), a collection of six of Russell’s BBC films. Whether you care for Delius or not, this is a must see.

Last month some of us, in fact many of us around the world, “attended” the MET’s production of Gotterdammerung, the final opera of their “Ring Cycle” live in HD at local movie houses. The conductor was Fabio Luisi who has taken over at the MET from the incapacitated James Levine. Luisi can be seen and heard on many CDs and DVDs, one example of which is a live performance of Mahler’s First Symphony that is outstanding in every way. The concert took place in the Philharmonie in Gasteig, Munich, with the Staatskapelle Dresden of which he was the music director at the time, in April 2008. From the first few bars of the first movement Luisi emerges as a true Mahlerian. His tempos and pacing are flawless as are the dynamics. It’s a gift to know what to do between the notes and, at least here, Luisi gets it. When he lets the orchestra out in the coda of the fourth movement the effect is spectacular in the grand manner. Earlier, the concert opens with a performance of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1 with pianist Margarita Hohenrieder. Her brilliant performance is engaging, witty and animated, proving that one can play Beethoven and smile at the same time. She and Luisi are on exactly the same page (EuroArts DVD 2057718).

Back to the MET …

Some of their productions have been issued on DVD by other companies but recently the MET has begun issuing selected performances from their archives that were broadcast live. The tapes of the selected performances are produced, transferred, restored and re-mastered by the MET themselves. Sony, who publishes them, has issued eight new two-CD sets since our first reviews some months ago and, as before, offer singers and conductors no longer with us.

Risë Stevens, one of the favourites of the day, stars with Richard Tucker and Nadine Connor in Bizet’s Carmen, conducted by Fritz Reiner in the performance of February 16, 1952 (Sony 88697 96189). Reiner was then a staff conductor at the MET but a year later he was appointed music director of the Chicago Symphony, a post that lasted for an illustrious ten years. Risë Stevens and Richard Tucker are featured again in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann with an all star cast including Roberta Peters, Lucine Amara, James McCracken and Martial Singher conducted by Pierre Monteux (88697 96190). This production was broadcast live on December 3, 1955, and the sound, as it is in all these sets, is clean and clear monaural, complete with some sounds of stage business that contributes, for me at least, to the illusion. In this case, however, the home listener of the time would not have heard the fidelity we have here. Hoffmann is one of my favourite operas and I listen to it regularly. This production does in no way disappoint.

Risë Stevens is joined by James Melton, Mimi Benzell and Ezio Pinza for Thomas’ Mignon from January 27, 1945 (88697 96192). Canadian Wilfrid Pelletier is the conductor and Pinza, who would retire from the Met in 1948 after 22 years, was still four years away from playing Emil de Beque. Handsome James Melton was a popular tenor in the 20s and 30s until the popularity of ballad singers and the romantic repertoire declined. He sang at the MET in suitable roles for just a few years only and here is a rare chance to hear him.

Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment was once the property of Lily Pons and here she is on December 28, 1940 assisted by Raoul Jobin, Salvatore Baccaloni and others conducted by Gennero Papi (88697 96191). It is the great bass Baccaloni as Suplice who dominates every time he opens his mouth and Lily Pons and the rest of the cast are swamped. Still, she has her moments and the whole production is good fun. Very good sound, too.

Moving into the 1960s, the usual suspects included Carlo Bergonzi, Leontyne Price, Cornell MacNeil, Carlotta Ordassy, Giorgio Tozzi, Roald Reitin and Robert Nagy and here they are in Verdi’s Ernani from December 1, 1962 under Thomas Schippers (88691 90996). The opera is basically about ill-fated lovers … the same old story of girl meets bandido, conspirators, revenge, the Holy Roman Empire and 16th century Spanish politicking. A good plot for an opera which this cast makes believable. A new production was seen in HD in movie theatres on February 25 with an encore presentation for those who missed it, or wish to see it again, coming up on March 31.

From March 5, 1966, we have Roberta Peters, Carlo Bergonzi, Frank Guarrera and Fernando Corena in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore conducted by Thomas Schippers (88691 90991). Love makers again, this time between a “poor villager and the beautiful, alluring landowner; the pair exude charm and vivacity...” It’s an amusing story with many comic situations that the cast have a great time conveying to the audience.

Thomas Schippers also conducts Verdi’s Luisa Miller from February 17, 1968, featuring Sherrill Milnes, Montserrat Caballé, Richard Tucker, Ezio Flagello and Giorgio Tozzi … a dream cast if there ever was one (88691 90994). This opera is a fine example of love – both requited and unrequited – deception and betrayal, with a tragic last scene. In other words, melodrama at its best. The artistry of the entire ensemble draws the listener in and holds on until the final curtain.

Finally, the double bill of “Cav & Pag,” Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci broadcast on April 14, 1954 (88691 90999). “Cav” features Richard Tucker, Eileen Farrell, Lili Chookasian, Cesare Bardelli and Mildred Miller. “Pag” stars Anselmo Colzani, Franco Corelli, Franco Ghitti, Lucine Amara and Calvin Marsh. Nello Santi conducts. The evening could not have been in better hands. Each singer brings his or her character to life, reacting seamlessly to the various situations. These really are marvelous performances.

Concert Notes: You can hear an abridged version of La Fille du Régiment at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music’s annual Opera Tea at MacMillan Theatre on April 1. The Canadian Opera Company presents The Tales of Hoffmann in performances at the Four Seasons Centre April 10 to May 14.

In 2002 Radio Netherlands Music issued the first volume of an Anthology of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, a 13-CD box of live performances from 1935 to 1950. Five future volumes were promised that would cover performances, decade by decade, to the end of the century. The projected series is now complete with Volume Six containing great performances from 1990 to 2000 (RCO 11004, 14 CDs). Artists in that first volume included Walter, Monteux, Ansermet, Mengelberg, van Beinum, Abendroth, Jochum, Karajan, Kleiber, Boult, Klemperer, Furtwangler and others, all of whom were deceased by 1990. The works were from the standard concert repertoire of the day. This final edition brings us pretty well up to date with performances by eminent maestros and soloists of the decade. The editors who selected performances for inclusion have done well as there are no second rate renditions to be heard in any of the 37 individual works presented. Collectors may be relieved to know that there is no Beethoven Fifth or Ninth, (but there is a Sixth with Sawallisch); no Brahms symphonies, no Le Sacre du Printemps or Bolero to add yet another version to a balanced collection. There are two Shostakovich symphonies, the First (Solti) and the Fifth (Kurt Sanderling); an Elgar Second (Previn); an overwhelming Mahler Fifth (Tennstedt); Sibelius Fourth (Berglund); Bluebeard’s Castle (Ivan Fischer) and scores conducted by Chailly, Dutoit, Skrowaczewski, Jansons, Flor, de Leeuw, Fournet, de Waart, Boulez, Harnoncourt, Gardiner, Rozhdestvensky, Berio, Haitink and others. Composers include Frank Martin, Dutilleux, Lutosławski, Ravel, Zemlinsky, Bartok and the list goes on. Check Archivmusic.com for the complete contents … but buy it in Canada where it’s cheaper. Not only are the performances exemplary but the recorded sound is of audiophile quality throughout, aided by the special acoustics of the Concertgebouw. The Dutch engineers have the art of recording this orchestra down pat. An impeccable, if somewhat esoteric (but not for long), collection.

Although it has been 22 years since his death in 1989, Herbert von Karajan’s entire recorded repertoire, beginning in 1939 with Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” symphony, is still available. He recorded the nine Beethoven symphonies four times; for EMI in the early 1950s and then a new cycle every decade with his Berlin Philharmonic for DG. When that final nine was issued, the critics had a field day comparing and twittering about the felicities of movement versus movement of the three DG cycles. His interpretations did evolve through the years culminating in the 1982-4 performances which is the cycle chosen for Beethoven: Karajan, a 13-CD set of all Karajan’s Beethoven repertoire with the Berlin Philharmonic (DG 4779830). Also included are all the overtures, all the concertos – piano (the first with Eschenbach, and Weissenberg for the rest), violin (Mutter) and the triple (Zeltser, Mutter and Ma); Wellington’s Victory; the Missa Solemnis; the Grosse Fuge, and a couple of short pieces without opus numbers. Only Fidelio is missing. This is an exceptional collection offering superb performances in state-of-the-art re-mastering at an absurdly low price that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago when, if bought separately, these discs would have left the buyer with little change from $300.

I must add that my very favourite recording, by anyone, of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 is the Karajan/Vienna Philharmonic performance recorded in the Musikverein under very difficult, near impossible conditions in 1947. The resourceful, now legendary producer, Walter Legge, was the driving force who actually did make it happen. The astute Legge engaged Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Elizabeth Hongen, Julius Patzak and Hans Hotter. It was by this recording that the world first heeded the young (not of the old school) Herbert von Karajan. This outstanding performance is a celebration, a triumphant and positive statement of what Beethoven is all about. (EMI CD 0724347687822).

EMI has been assembling their recordings of particular musicians, instrumentalists, ensembles and conductors and issuing performer-dedicated packages at super-budget prices. Sir John Barbirolli – The Great EMI Recordings (EMI 5099945776724) is a ten-CD set containing 36 of his best performances, conducting seven different orchestras, dating from 1957 to 1969. Collectors will be especially thrilled with these selections as Barbirolli was a superlative musician and one of the great conductors of the century. Many of these are not only his best but, arguably, the best available versions of many repertoire staples. The 1957 recordings are all with the Halle Orchestra: the Elgar Cello Concerto with Andre Navarra; Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye Suite; Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.4; Vaughan Williams “London” symphony; Bax’s Garden of Fand; and Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad. Some of the later recordings included here are La Mer, La Valse, Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, Mahler’s Symphony No.5 and Elgar’s Symphony No.1 and Enigma Variations. Janet Baker is the soloist in Les Nuits d’été by Berlioz, Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder and Elgar’s Sea Pictures. Brahms, Sibelius and Puccini are also represented. The sound is remarkably fresh.

Sir Charles Mackerras (1925-2010) was an Australian musician who left for England in 1947 to become a conductor after a jaunt as principal oboist in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He played oboe and cor anglais in the Sadler’s Wells orchestra and later, on a scholarship from the British Council, he studied conducting with Václav Talich in Prague. He was enamored with, and became an authority on, Czech repertoire, in addition to being a respected interpreter of music from every period. EMI’s box Charles Mackerras – Master of Orchestral Texture (5099909818927) has a delightful collection of Mackerras specialties including Mozart’s Symphony No.40 in G Minor, Dvorak’s Seventh, Janáček’s Sinfonietta, Mahler’s Fifth, Delius’ Paris – The Song of a Great City, Elgar’s Enigma Variations and some shorter showpieces including two Mackerras arrangements of Sir Arthur Sullivan: the Cello Concerto and the ballet Pineapple Poll. By the way, there is also a budget set of acclaimed performances of the nine Beethoven symphonies with Mackerras conducting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic from EMI (CFP 7243575751 5 CDs).

Up to 1948 when Columbia Records introduced Long Playing discs, 78rpm recordings were the medium for home use. These discs had a limited frequency response but in 1945 British Decca astounded the industry and the record buying public around the world with their Full Frequency Range Recordings. Thus was born the Decca Sound and the logo FFRR on the label guaranteed state-of-the-art fidelity. The FFRR technology was even better realized on their new long playing discs which sonically eclipsed the Columbia product. Later FFRR became FFSS for Full Frequency Stereo Sound. Today, as always, Decca on the label is an assurance of excellent sound.

THE DECCA SOUND (DECCA 4782866) is a Limited-Edition, 50-CD set of outstanding performances and recordings dating from 1957 until 2009 packaged in a cube taking only five and a quarter inches of shelf space. As to be expected, there are many familiar works and a wealth of off the beaten track items. A very important factor in this particular collection is the roster of artists, many exclusive to Decca, heard at their distinguished best in their chosen repertoire. Even though there are no subsequent re-mastering dates revealed, in no cases did any performance sound less than freshly minted with spacious, translucent sound clarifying textures from top to bottom. The complete list of contents may be seen on the Decca web site www.deccaclassics.com. Each of the 50 CDs is sleeved in a fine board facsimile of the original CD cover. The 198 page booklet gives complete details of recording dates, venues, producers, etc., together with an extensive history of Decca from 1937 when Edward Lewis assembled a hand-picked collection of experienced sound engineers including the inspired and inspiring, forward-looking Arthur Haddy who headed the Decca team for decades. Given the excellence of the contents and presentation, at about $2.50 per disc this package is just about irresistible.

EILEEN JOYCE: The complete Parlophone & Columbia solo recordings 1933-1945 (Appian Publications & Recordings APR 7502, 5 CDs). Today, only collectors and archivists recognize her name, but in the 1930s, 40s and 50s Eileen Joyce was a pianist held in high esteem by her fellow musicians, critics and record collectors. She was born in Tasmania in 1908 and grew up in Boulder City, Western Australia. Her talent was recognized at an early age. Later Percy Grainger described her as “the most transcendentally gifted child he had ever heard.” She studied in Leipzig from 1927 until she moved to London early in 1930 where she was accepted by Tobias Matthay, one of the great musical pedagogues of his time, whose methods had produced many successful pianists including Myra Hess and Clifford Curzon. Her career took off in 1933 and she was in demand both as a recitalist and in concertos, appearing with such conductors as Beecham, van Beinum, Karajan, de Sabata, Celibidache, Ormandy, Wood, Szell and the rest. In those days it was still accepted and indeed expected that performing artists would have their own signature style and sound. Therefore there was more variation between them, as to how they produced their sounds and how they projected it in the music. The collectors of historic recordings are fascinated by this individuality which has become rare in the last half century. Eileen Joyce’s style can be characterized as bold, assured, and confident, and from these recordings could be classified as being on the dry or percussive side, although that may be attributable to the recording. She demonstrates, however, that she delivers a singing quality when she selects to do so. As a result, her communication to the listener is not always as immediate as we find in some of her contemporaries. Bryce Morrison states in the informative liner notes that “Virtually all of her recordings in this issue have the power to reinvent themselves so that you seem to be forever hearing them for the first time.” Joyce’s public most wanted to hear her play Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, Debussy and Grieg but, as we hear here, she played Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich – the list goes on – together with such fashionable salon pieces as The Rustle of Spring, Melody in F, Lotus Land, Widmung, etc. Also included in the 94 tracks is Mozart’s Concert Rondo K386 with orchestra. Although the repertoire is attractive, this set is primarily aimed at the specialist collector of historic pianists. For those who may be interested in Eileen Joyce and her times, there is a fascinating and revealing 264 page biography written by Richard Davis and published by the Freemantle Arts Centre Press titled, Eileen Joyce: A Portrait (ISBN 186368333-X).

JOAN SUTHERLAND - The complete Decca Studio Recordings (DECCA 4783243, 23CDs, Limited Edition). The late Joan Sutherland (1926-2010) was one of the outstanding sopranos of the last century and she was known to the millions who were never privileged to hear her live through her many Decca recordings of operas and recitals. She was a commanding figure in person but it was her voice alone that won her a devoted following. To honour her, Decca has assembled every one of her studio recitals and packaged them in this attractive set. Her husband Richard Bonynge was, progressively, her pianist, coach and conductor. They married in 1954 and he directed her towards the baroque repertoire, the bel canto period and French works of the 19th century. The turning point in her career came on the evening of February 17, 1959, when she sang the title role in the first production at Covent Garden in 35 years of Lucia de Lammermoor. The performance was a well-deserved triumph for Sutherland and immediately her name was recognized in operatic circles around the world. She retired from the stage in 1990. Included in the 23 CDs are Art of the Prima Donna, Command Performance, Age of Bel Canto, The Noel Coward Album, Songs My Mother Taught Me, The Mozart Album and many more. The albums date from 1959, Operatic Arias through to 1986, Talking Pictures – Songs from the Movies and finally from 1987, Romantic Trios for soprano, horn and piano, with Barry Tuckwell and Bonynge (all born in Sydney – a nice ending to her recording career). The enclosed booklet contains full recording details and a short biography. In 1995 she acted in an Australian movie with Leo McKern and Geoffrey Rush entitled Dad and Dave on our selection. Sutherland plays Mum (a non-singing role) with no makeup or made-up to appear not to be wearing any. Set in rural Queensland, the characters are familiar to Australians. It’s a very dreary film.

Eugen Jochum: Rare Recordings (TAHRA 720) It was with singular pleasure that I listened to the second suite from Daphnis et Chloé played by the Bavarian Rundfunks Orchestra on this new release from Tahra. Jochum founded the orchestra in 1949 at the bidding of Bavarian Radio, creating one of Europe’s very finest ensembles. The often played Ravel suite is an excellent example of the composer’s meticulous craftsmanship and this virtuoso performance from October 1950 is played with an unexpected subtlety of timbre worthy of the finest French interpretation. Annelies Kupper was a German operatic soprano, well known and admired in her day as an interpreter of Mozart, Wagner and Richard Strauss. Her repertoire on CD is quite extensive but here, from December 1950 is her only recording of The Four Last Songs, richly sung with assurance and ardor and sumptuously supported by Jochum. The overture to Die Fledermaus is played with a sparkling exuberance that is usually heard only from the pit. The overture to Handel’s Agrippina is followed by Mozart’s Rondo K382 for piano and orchestra played with Edwin Fischer at the 1954 Wurzburg Festival. There are no complaints about the sound which is full-bodied, often with a natural, front to back dimension and with virtually no recording artifacts. This is the latest release from Tahra devoted to performances conducted by Jochum and all the works are new to his recorded repertoire.

Some years ago in Dallas we interviewed Andrew Litton who was then music director of the Dallas Symphony. He stated that very soon all symphony orchestras will sound the same. Well, it is very close to being true now as orchestral musicians move from orchestra to orchestra and from country to country, as do conductors. But there can be no denying that there was a unique sound to the French School of string quartet playing, such as the Calvet, Loewenguth, Parrinen, Krettley and Pascal quartets. All were characterized by their elegance and purity of style, immaculate intonation and humility in the face of the music. DOREMI has issued 22 Mozart String Quartets performed by the Pascal Quartet, circa 1952 (DOREMI DHR-8001-5, 5CDs). Mozart string quartets, particularly the ten mature ones, are arguably among the finest gems in classical music. In listening to the Pascals playing one senses that they are playing for the love of the music and that the microphone just happens to be listening in. The juvenile quartets are played with the same respect and appreciation. The original recorded sound was ideal in every respect and the meticulous transfers from the Musical Masterpiece Society LPs restore these radiant performances to life. This set is essential Mozart.

The 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s were the halcyon days of the CBC. During those years the Corporation produced programs of the highest calibre for both their radio and television networks. All the Arts were covered: theatre, ballet, opera, etc. including live concerts, recitals and intelligent and informative talk shows. In those years, Glenn Gould developed from a young pianist of obvious talent into the world famous re-interpreter of Bach and Beethoven and others and, from time to time, he shared his views with the TV audience.

SONY has issued a 10 DVD set of Glenn Gould on Television – The Complete CBC Broadcasts 1954-1977 (886979 52109). This collection could correctly be dubbed The Wit and Wisdom of Glenn Gould, for it contains every one of those original, well-prepared programmes that centered around Gould playing music close to his heart. From 1961 performances were preceded by Gould’s spoken introduction and elaboration. I hurried into the set to watch disc five containing the 1966 Humphrey Burton Interviews in which Gould very persuasively argues for his radical, in some degree or another, performances of Bach and Beethoven. On the second disc of the Burton interviews, broadcast a few weeks later, Gould argues the case for Arnold Schoenberg as the composer whose music he places above Bartók, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, or anyone else in the 20th century (up 1966, of course). Finally, Gould chooses the music of Richard Strauss to discuss and find a place for in 20th century music.

The earliest surviving video of Gould dates from December 1954 in which we hear and see him playing the first movement of Beethoven’s first piano concerto. On the same disc we jump to February 1957 and find him conducting an orchestra accompanying Maureen Forrester singing Urlicht. Sehr feierlich, aber schlicht: “O Roschen rot!” from the Mahler second symphony followed by Bach from 1957 and 1958 and from 1960 Beethoven’s “Tempest” sonata. Next, from 1961 The Eroica Variations and the third cello sonata with Leonard Rose, both of which are introduced and analysed by Mr. Gould.

Throughout these 10 DVDs, although he painstakingly prepared his spoken comments he never comes across as a fussy pedant or a know-it-all. But, as we know, he did know it all. The mind boggles when faced with the breadth of his interests and passions. We find him working and playing with Yehudi Menuhin (1966), then the famous 1970 bicentennial concert when he stepped in at a moment’s notice to sub for Michelangeli playing the Emperor Concerto with the TSO under Karel Ancerl. There really is too much wonderful music and talk about music in this set to write about here. Other artists seen or heard in this collection include James Campbell, Roxolana Roslak, Boris Brott, Adele Armin, Suzanne Schulman, The Orford String Quartet, Russell Oberlin, Julius Baker, Oscar Shumsky, Lois Marshall, Elizabeth Benson-Guy, Gordon Wry, Vladimir Golschmann, Albert Pratz, Zubin Mehta and many others. The Judith Pearlman film The Idea of the North, narrated by Gould is here, too. This is a unique collection of unique performances and commentaries. Whether you remember Glenn Gould or not really doesn’t matter.

Although available throughout the rest of the world, curiously, Sony Canada apparently declined to release the quite recent collection of Gould’s recordings of 12 Beethoven Sonatas and all five Piano Concertos. Newly re-mastered in an attractive six CD set at super-budget price, it would also have been a natural tie-in to the DVD set where many of them are referred to or discussed.

I am lost to the world is the title of an extraordinarily moving DVD (Cmajor DVD 705608) which attempts, successfully so, to outline the life and career of Carlos Kleiber and perhaps understand why he was predictably unpredictable. He was well known for not showing up or walking out of rehearsals, not showing up for concerts, and generally eccentric, unprofessional behaviour. By the end of this barely sixty minute presentation the viewer can somehow empathise with him and understand him... well, not really but get very close or imagine that you do. We see him as the son of the exalted conductor, Erich Kleiber who was, as we have been told elsewhere, also moody and easily offended. There can be no doubt that the son outdid the father in his quest for perfection (as he saw it) in the finished performance. He abhorred the press and the glitz that went with being a superstar. He is seen in rehearsals and in a non-commercial video of what seems to be a final run-through of Tristan at Bayreuth. The intensity is electrifying. Players from the Vienna Philharmonic and others give us a fair idea of the man, illustrated by videos of rehearsals and performances. His stick technique and his whole “body technique” were exuberant and flamboyant, communicating to the players exactly what he wanted to hear. It is a revelation for us in the audience to see what the musicians saw. The title of this DVD, Ich bin der Welt elt abhanden gekommen (I am lost to the World) is the title of the third song from Mahler’s Rückert Lieder.

A second documentary on Kleiber, Traces to Nowhere, covers much of the same ground and interviews some of the same witnesses but also others. We learn that he visited Karajan’s grave every time he went to Salzburg. These interviews flesh out the sequence of events and often fill in the gaps between one incident or another and the ensuing behaviour that, to an outsider would appear to be thoughtless and uncalled for (ARTHAUS DVD 101553). Both films take us to Kleiber’s final hours but I am lost to the world left me feeling very sad for him. Both films are recommendable and are complementary. As a footnote... a friend of mine in England, when in the employ of a major record company, received a letter from Kleiber expressing his admiration for, and the earnest desire to conduct, Gilbert and Sullivan.

Yet another DVD (running 102 minutes) finds Kleiber rehearsing and performing the overtures to Der Freischütz and Die Fledermaus. Until you have seen it, you cannot imagine the meticulous attention given to even the slightest passing notes and the perfection of the performances where these felicities pass fleetingly by (Arthaus DVD 101063).

Fado is a traditional art of singing in Portugal. The word comes from the Latin, fatum meaning Fate. The songs, while quite beautiful and moving, “relate a general sense of frustration and a unique Portuguese fatalism.” Amália Rodrigues - The Queen of Fado - was born in Lisbon in 1920. She sang when only four or five years old, revealing a natural talent. In 1935 she became a serious amateur and in 1939 made her formal debut. In the 1950s and ‘60s she was considered the prime exponent of Portuguese popular music, a celebrity appearing not only in Portugal but around Europe and just about everywhere else including the USA, Japan and, of course, Brazil. She died in her sleep in 1999. 15 of her songs presented in a new CD from ARC Music (EUCD2337) convey feelings of “beautiful sadness” and even though I neither speak nor understand Portuguese, I am touched by these performances, finding them very satisfying and settling. In 10 of the 15 she is accompanied by the distinctive timbre of a guitarra portuguesa. There are no texts but the song titles are translated, including: Curse; Sad Inside; Oh! To die for you; Yellow Breasted Sparrow; and One year ago today.

SONY Classical has issued four new CDs (all Verdi) and four DVDs in their ongoing series of notable performances from the Metropolitan Opera’s archives, newly remastered by The Met.

Marian Anderson was the first African–American artist to be given a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera. She sang Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera on January 7, 1955 and reprised that role on the afternoon of Saturday, December 10 in a performance that was heard by countless millions via the live radio broadcast. That afternoon’s stellar cast included Met regulars of the time: Zinka Milanov, Robert Merrill, Roberta Peters, Jan Peerce, Giorgio Tozzi and Norman Scott. Dimitri Mitropoulos conducted. (88697 91002, 2CDs)

Il Trovatore from February 4, 1961 was also a gala event. Leontyne Price and Franco Corelli had made their Met debut a week earlier to wild acclaim and now millions in the radio audience could judge for themselves. Today, fifty years later a new audience can hear exactly what all the excitement was about... and exciting it is! How could it not be? Price and Corelli both at their spectacular best, together with a fine cast including Mario Sereni, Irene Dalis, William Wilderman, and a fresh Teresa Stratas (as Ines). Fausto Cleva conducted. As usual in this series, the sound is untroubled by sonic artifacts, has realistic dynamic range and a good sense of the front-to-back perspective (88697 91006, 2CDs).

Don Carlo featured Franco Corelli in the title role in the broadcast of March 7, 1964 supported by Leonie Rysanek, Irene Dalis, Nicolae Herlea, Georgio Tozzi, Hermann Uhde and others. This performance makes a good case for the four act version heard here. Kurt Adler conducts (88697 91004, 2 CDs).

Rigoletto dates from February 22, 1964 and stars these familiar Met alumni: Robert Merrill as Rigoletto and Richard Tucker as the Duke of Mantua, Roberta Peters as Gilda, Mignon Dunn as Maddelena and Bonaldo Giaiotti as Sparafucile. Fausto Cleva conducts this stunning performance that brings this treasure trove of great arias, this cautionary tale of bad karma, to its tragic ending (88697 91005, 2 CDs).

The first of the four SONY DVDs from The Met dates from April 5, 1978 and features the usual double bill of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. As originally telecast, images and a bare outline of the plot are silently seen while the two preludes are played. The 37 years young Placido Domingo stars in both operas in performances that define the roles of Turiddu and Canio, supported by Tatiana Troyanos as Santuzza in Cavalleria and by Sherrill Milnes (Tonio), and Teresa Stratas (Nedda) in Pagliacci. The sets were designed by Franco Zeffirelli and James Levine conducts these performances that remain a lasting memento of a memorable evening (88697 91008-9, 1 DVD).

Verdi’s Otello, live from September 25, 1978, has the incomparable Jon Vickers in the title role supported by Cornell MacNeil (Iago), Renata Scotto (Desdemona), Andrea Velis (Rodrigo), James Morris, and others. This was some four years after Vickers filmed Otello in Karajan’s production in Berlin. Cornell MacNeil, who died in July this year, is perfectly cast as the schemer who brings down Otello. Production and sets by Zeffirelli (88697 91012-9, 1 DVD).

Of the four operas in this release, I found Alban Berg’s Lulu the most engrossing. Perhaps it is the lingering impression of Louise Brooks’ portrayal in Georg Pabst’s 1929 German film, Pandora’s Box. John Dexter was the producer and Jocelyn Herbert was responsible for the sets and costume design of the Met’s Lulu, all coming together in a mise en scène that is appropriately surreal and decadent, as it would be in productions of the time of Pandora. Julia Migenes is the ill-fated Lulu and Franz Mazura is Jack the Ripper, Lulu’s last customer. The Countess is sung by Evelyn Lear and Kenneth Riegel is Alwa. There are over 20 singing roles in Lulu, too many to list here. Suffice to say, this is an unusually compelling and enthralling performance in dynamic stereo or 5.1 surround sound. James Levine conducts (88697 91009-9, 2 DVDs).

The Magic Flute is the abridged, English language version as seen December 30, 2006, the first season of the Met’s “Live in HD” in theatres around the world. Intended for children of all ages, this pantomimed version has innocent charm and may be an entertaining introduction to Mozart’s masterpiece (everything by Mozart is a masterpiece). Outstanding are Nathan Gunn (Papageno), Erika Miklosa (Queen of the Night), Ying Huang (Pamina), René Pape (Sarastro) but there doesn’t seem to be any role not ideally cast. Sub-titles in many languages, including English are accessible. James Levine conducts this exuberant, brilliantly staged, happy event (88697 91013-9, 1 DVD).

TESTAMENT is the prestigious British company that licenses recordings of significant performances that are held in the archives of EMI, Decca, RCA, the BBC and other radio archives. Testament released their first disc in 1990, restoring to circulation two esteemed performances of Brahms: the Horn Trio in E flat op.40 with Aubrey Brain, Adolph Busch, and Rudolph Serkin recorded in 1933 and the Clarinet Quintet with Reginald Kell and the Busch Quartet from 1937 (SBT 1001). 21 years later, Testament, essentially artist-based, continues to liberate valuable performances from record company archives and issue them, many for the first time. Their very few DVDs include the legendary videos of Toscanini and the NBC Symphony transmitted livebetween March 20, 1948 and March 22, 1952. These black and white kinescopes from studio 8H and Carnegie Hall were once available on RCA laser discs and are now licensed to Testament (SBDVD 1003-1007, 5 DVDs available separately). They also offer many vinyl re-issues from the EMI’s LP catalogue in superior new pressings. Their recent releases include five CDs of Carlo Maria Giulini conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in live concerts from the Philharmonie, as recorded by Deutschlandradio Kultur. Giulini was Music Director and conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1976 to 1982 and these Berlin performances from that era find Giulini still at the top of his interpretative and conducting abilities. During these years while the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was still von Karajan’s, the interpretations are Giulini’s. As these are live performances they let us “attend” these joyful events in which it is clear that the conductor’s conceptions, from very subtle shadings and nuances to expansive climaxes, are delivered with a sureness of playing and ensemble that is a tribute to everyone involved. It’s such a refreshing pleasure to hear performances of this calibre. The sound is nothing short of astounding being crystal-clear, more dynamic than the sound from a broadcast, plus realistic front to back perspective. The first of the four releases is a 2CD set of the Haydn Surprise Symphony coupled, as it was in the concert in February 1976, with an radiant, extroverted reading of the Mahler First (SBT2 1462, 2 CDs specially priced). A must have. The Schubert Eighth and Ninth from February 1977 (SBT1463) are followed by a brilliant concert from January 1977 in which Pictures at an Exhibition is preceded by Webern’s Six Pieces for Orchestra, opus 6 (SBT1464). From February 1984 Giulini conducts Das Lied von der Erde with Brigitte Fassbaender and Francisco Araiza (SBT1465). Conductor and soloists seem to have been on tour with this work and, in fact, recorded it with the BPO for DG... however every performance is unique and this one has its felicities.

NEWTON Classics is a recent arrival on the reissue scene. Since their start-up in 2009 their CD releases have been judiciously selected primarily from the Philips archives. The Dutch lyric-dramatic soprano Gré Brouwenstijn has been a long time favourite, as heard in so many complete operas from Beethoven to Wagner. Eminently recommendable is her eponymous CD of arias by Wagner, Verdi, Weber and Beethoven containing recordings from 1952 and 1956 conducted by Willem van Otterloo and Rudolf Moralt (Newton 8802061). Byron Janis’s steel-fingered performances of the two Liszt concertos recorded in Moscow in 1962 by Mercury for their Living Presence series have lost none of their impact. Seven solo pieces by Schumann, Falla, Liszt and Guion complete this audiophile favourite (8802061). Peter Schreier is not only a notable tenor of opera and lieder fame, he is also a conductor of note. The 1992 recordings of the Brandenburgs by the Kammerorchester Carl Philip Emanuel Bach are conducted with refreshing panache matched by a sparkling recording. Add two triple concertos, BWV1044 & 1064 and the package is hard to resist (8802075). Saving the best ‘till last, the incomparable Ravel/Haitink/Concertgebouw 2CD set, once available on a Philips DUO, makes a most welcome return (8802068, 2CDs). All the Ravel showpieces are here; Bolero, La Valse, Rapsodie Espagnole, Le Tombeau de Couperin, Valses nobles et sentimentales, Ma Mère l’Oye, Menuet Antique, Daphnis et Chloé Suite no.2, and, of course, Alborada del Gracioso and Pavane pour une infant dèfunte. These are all vital, beautifully shaded performances captured in outstanding sound. The Bolero enjoys a rousing performance unequalled in its IMPACT... this would have provided a total workout for Ida Rubinstein, the ballerina for whom the piece was written. Welcome back to this premier collection.

DOREMI, another artist-driven label, has meticulously restored historic recordings for 17 years. Their catalogue embraces performances of works of every size and genre from every period, from early music to a lone South American 20^th century guitarist. DOREMI is well known for performances by famous and not-so-famous violinists and pianists. Of course, in this as in any other business, the consumer rules, necessitating recordings by artists for which there is a waiting, world-wide market while at the same time rediscovering and resurrecting major talents that are all but forgotten today, even by some collectors. Their recent set of the Beethoven 10 Violin Sonatas is a notable, if not colossal contribution in this direction (DHR-8011-3, 3 CDs). The performances on this set reconfirm that violinist Henri Temianka and pianist Leonard Shure were among the very finest musicians of the 20^th century. Temianka was clearly in the league of Heifetz and Milstein and Shure was similarly among the great talents, Arrau and Serkin. Oddly enough, though both Temianka and Shure had flourishing solo careers, their recording legacies are regrettably few in number. As a young man Temianka achieved international fame when he won the Third Prize in the 1935 Wieniawski Violin Competition in Warsaw; the second went to David Oistrakh, the first to Ginette Neveu. Later he played Prokofiev accompanied by the composer. He was active in England in the 1930s and made recordings for Parlophone. In 1946 Temianka founded the Paganini Quartet, in which each of its members played a Strad that had once been owned by Paganini. The Quartet was well known for many years in the mid-century and was the house quartet of RCA Victor. Just before that he had been invited by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge to perform the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas with Leonard Shure in the Elizabeth Coolidge Auditorium in the Library of Congress ... and here are those performances from January and February 1946, originally preserved on acetates and now on CD. Driven by a labour of love, it took Jacob Harnoy months of meticulous restoration to transfer the product of that old technology, which while inherently subject to surface noise, clicks and skips, did maintain the luminosity and beauty of Temianka’s playing. His violin sings and his intonation and technique are impeccable. The revelation of hidden beauties is a joy. Broadly speaking, the outer movements are taken at energetic brisk tempos while the slow movements are expressive in a way that penetrates the soul. If you have more than a passing interest in this repertoire, you owe it to yourself to hear these exceptional performances.

The high point of the 1964 Vienna Festival must surely have been the sold-out performance in the Musikverein Grosser Saal on June 14th of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Josef Krips conducting the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and soloists Fritz Wunderlich and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The Austrian Radio’s original tape cannot be found but the copy from the Krips family archive provided the source for this unique and extraordinary performance now available on DG (4778988, mono). In addition to his fame as a superb Mozart interpreter, Josef Krips, a fine Mahlerian, had a complete intimacy with the Mahler score and directs a total performance without the swooning, heart on the sleeve emotions that inhabit many others. This attentive, stoic reality is more telling and decisive when the soloists and conductor are in complete accord. There are exquisite passages when the conductor seems to be and probably is listening to and heeding the soloist. Listeners familiar with other versions will be taken aback to hear such astonishing gravitas from both singers, especially if you know the language or are following the translations provided. In this performance, Wunderlich is more fervent than he is in the Klemperer version which was recorded in London during the same year. He is positively ardent and comprehends the texts, totally conveying their determination. Fischer-Dieskau, too, is markedly expressive in all his songs. The final song, Der Abschied, The Farewell, is a profoundly moving experience the equal of which I have not heard from Fischer-Dieskau, Kathleen Ferrier, Christa Ludwig or anyone else. Fischer-Dieskau is deeply focused on the thoughts and feelings of the poet(s) as he faces the inevitable. He is quoted as saying that of all his performances of this work, this stands out as the very finest. What a convergence of talent that was and how fortunate that the Krips tapes have been faithfully restored by the Emil Berliner Studios in Berlin generating a CD that is clear as a bell, articulate and dynamic. It matters not that is monaural.

ARTHAUS has released a Winterreise sung by Fischer-Dieskau with Alfred Brendel live in Siemensvilla, Berlin in 1979 (DVD 107229). Even though pianist and singer have each performed and recorded this cycle many times, both together and with others, this studio production, without an audience, is very special. Their combined insights, eagerly shared between the two as seen in the 56 minute rehearsal sequences, produce a memorable experience.

A reminder of the superlative, must-have Verdi Requiem recorded live in the Liederhalle, Stuttgart on November 2, 1960 with Hans Mulley-Kray conducting the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra, The Stuttgart Bach Choir, The Stuttgart Singing Teachers’ Association Choir, with Maria Stader, Elizabeth Hoffgen, Fritz Wunderlich, and Gottlob Frick (DG 476638, 2CDs). The performance is uniquely communicative, being more a requiem mass than an operatic outing. Try your local classical specialist or get it from Amazon.de.

The Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache made but a few recordings in the late 1940s and early 1950s at which time he was regarded as something of a firebrand. In 1946, awaiting the return of the banned Furtwangler, he was elected to the post of acting chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, then an orchestra in disrepair, remaining in that position until 1954. He hoped to follow Furtwangler as chief conductor but Karajan won out and was appointed to the position for life. Celibidache moved on, now refusing to record, believing, rightly so, that no one performance can ever contain a performer’s definitive view of the work. He did, however “authorize” some videos for general distribution. Only after his death were many live performances issued on CD. However, he was not the same quixotic conductor of the forties and fifties. AUDITE has a set of all the Celibidache performances recorded by the RIAS, Berlin between 1948 and 1957 (AUDITE 21.406, 3CDs). The orchestras are the Berlin Philharmonic (BPO) and the RIAS Symphony (RIAS) and the repertoire is quite unusual. There is a Rhapsody in Blue (RIAS) from 1948 with Gerhard Puchelt, piano, that is totally unidiomatic... played in the manner of a nebulous English movie soundtrack. The conductor went on to be an ardent fan of Gershwin’s music. Ravel’s Rapsodie Espagnole (BPO) from 1948 is interesting but clearly a non-French performance. Four performances from 1949 with the BPO are a perfect fit: Busoni’s Violin Concerto, Op.35 with Siegfried Borries; Cherubini’s Anacreon Overture and Hindemith’s 1945 Piano Concerto again with Puchelt. Also there is the world premier of Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling’s Introduction and Fugue for String Orchestra. Harold Genzmer’s 1944 Flute Concerto with Gustav Scheck (BPO) from 1950 is followed by a surprise! A fine reading of Copland’s Appalachian Spring with the BPO. Finally, three works by Heinz Tiessen (1887-1971), the conductor’s former teacher, recorded live on October 7, 1957 with the Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berlin. Heard are The Hamlet Suite, Op.30, The Salambo Suite, Op.34a and the Symphony No.2 Op.7. Some of the pieces in this collection may be new to collectors but are well worth investigating, particularly the Tiessen works. The sound throughout runs from good to very good.

I do enjoy some rehearsal videos and often find them very absorbing and informative. I can enthusiastically recommend a new DVD, Celibidache Rehearses Bruckner’s Ninth (ARTHAUS MUSIC 101555, 1 CD). In his late years the conductor took the time to perfect minute details of balance and tempo. “I breathe with you, and that is the secret of phrasing: where you breathe and how you breathe.” This video is only of the Adagio movement and is interlaced with Celibidache’s appreciation of Bruckner the composer and visionary. Profoundly satisfying, this should not be missed by a thoughtful person who gets Bruckner.

Sari Biro, born in Budapest in 1912 was an exceptional pianist whose talent was recognized from the age of four when she would play from memory pieces that her older sister had performed. She won a scholarship to the legendary Franz Liszt Academy. Composer Vincent D’Indy said that “To hear Sari play makes one a better human being.” Biro left Hungary in 1939 and arrived in New York with her concert gowns and sheet music and very little money. It was on 4 May, 1941 that she made her New York debut and the critics fell over themselves heaping praise on her playing. The New York Times: “Sari Biro plays the piano as well as she looks, which is saying a lot.” The New York World Telegram: “Definitely belonging in the front group of the contemporary pianists, male or female.” She concertized from coast to coast, also South America, Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, always generating rave reviews for her playing, her consummate artistry and sensitivity. She was heard from coast to coast on the NBC radio network, appeared on many television programs and in 1958 she presented 13 live programs on KQED, San Francisco’s Public television station. She was not a stranger to radio or television for about the next two decades. After 1974, she retired from the concert platform but continued to conduct master classes until 1990, the year of her death. Listening to a recent set from Cambria Recordings (CD 1174, 4 CDs) gives the listener a pretty fair idea of her varied and enormous repertoire, from Bach to Scarlatti, Rameau, Kodaly, Milhaud, Beethoven, Bartok, Kabalevsky, Mussorgsky, Mozart, Prokofiev, Gershwin... two dozen composers in all. Her playing has intimacy. Her textures are transparent. Where appropriate, her touch is remarkably non percussive but with full dynamics. She embraces and adapts to the various styles with apparent ease: for example listen to her Bach and immediately play a 20^th century opus and you may find it hard to believe it is the same pianist. But you will certain that that pianist is an astounding interpreter of whatever she plays. The CDs in this omnibus collection are derived from Remington Records LPs and from recitals. Considering the dates and circumstances under which these were made it is somewhat surprising that the sound is free of any artifacts and is consistently excellent without reservation. This set has a holy mission to bring back a once important, extraordinary and superb musician who otherwise has slipped out of memory. I am pleased to note that Cambria has done it most successfully.

Since the release of Volume 1 of Aida Stucki in May 2009 we have awaited Volume 2. At last it’s here and the repertoire is mixed: Brahms, Schumann, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Dvorak (DOREMI DHR-8006-8, 3 CDs). Volume 1 (DHR-7964-9, 6 CDs) was all Mozart, concertos and sonatas, and Stucki demonstrated her close affinity with the composer with interpretations that are second to none including Grumiaux and her own student, Anne Sophie Mutter. Incidentally, that set won, most deservedly, the 2010 Preis der Deutschen Schallplatten German Critics Award. The new set opens with the three violin sonatas by Brahms in which she is accompanied by Walter Frey from a live broadcast from Zurich in 1972. These are the most musically engaging performances and the purest violin sound imaginable... the kind that you want to immediately play again. Also heard are Brahms Second String Quartet and the complete F.A.E Sonata both of them live and inspired... as are all but one work, the Schumann Fantasie for violin and orchestra, op.131 which is from a Vox disc of 1971. Along with works by the other composers this set is of unquestioned merit.

Lili Kraus, one of the most respected pianists of the 20^th century was a distinguished interpreter of the classics... Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. She was, however, best known for her recordings of the Mozart concertos and sonatas, including the violin sonatas. Her 1935-1937 recordings of the violin sonatas with Szymon Goldberg gained her a top place among classical performers. In 1954-1957 she re-recorded them with violinist Willi Boskovsky who is also the conductor on a new set from DOREMI which includes Mozart’s Piano Concertos nos.9 and 20 (DHR-7929/30, 2 CDs). These concertos date from early 1950’s derived from LPs made by the Discophiles Français and this is their first appearance on CD. They are, in my opinion, superior to her later recordings, the piano moving forward gracefully in a pure Mozart style and yet laced with refreshing expression. Also from Discophiles Français are three monumental chamber works, the Clarinet Trio K498, the Piano and Winds Quintet, K452 (which at the time Mozart considered to be his best work) and the charming Adagio and Rondo for Glass Harmonica K607. Kraus was contracted to record all the Mozart piano works for DF but the company ceased operations in 1955. A pleasant surprise is a set of Bach works. Whereas she is known for her Mozart recordings on various major labels, her Bach recordings were made for a small American company, EDUCO, as educational tools for teachers and intermediate students. She plays 22 familiar keyboard miniatures, Minuets, Polonaises and Preludes and the like, pieces usually heard from students. Each piece is a perfect gem, beautifully articulated and stylistically faultless. What a pleasure they are. Kraus made several EDUCO LPs and perhaps they will be transferred, too.

The Metropolitan Opera has instituted a program to issue classic Saturday afternoon performances from the past preserved on their own archive tapes, entrusting them to Sony Classical which is issuing them at re-issue prices. The first batch includes Tosca, Die Walküre, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Le Nozze di Figaro, Romeo et Juliette (Gounod), La Bohème, and Il Barbieri di Seviglia.

The first two to come my way are Tosca and Die Walküre. The Tosca, dating from April 7, 1962, finds Leontyne Price in the title role with Franco Corelli as Cavaradossi and Cornell MacNeil as Scarpia. The conductor is Kurt Adler (804682, 2 CDs, mono). My intention was to first dip in at significant points but I was immediately engaged from the opening bars, listening through to the finale of the Third Act. A little history... on a Sunday afternoon in January 1955 a younger Leontyne Price’s Tosca was heard and seen across the continent in the NBC Television Opera Theatre with David Poleri as Cavaradossi. She was back in The Magic Flute as Pamina in 1956 and finally in 1960 she was Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Judith Raskin and Cesare Siepi. Hence, she was no stranger to the MET audience who accorded her an enthusiastic ovation as she arrived on the stage in Act One, even before she had sung one note. Her Tosca heard on these CDs is inspired and beautifully characterized opposite Corelli whose voice was quite incomparable for its beauty and ease of delivery, making this an important document. The sound is clean and clear throughout. The booklet includes a complete synopsis of the events on stage and all the cues (30) are given but no libretto. Let’s hope that future releases will include the legendary 1961 Turandot with Corelli and Nilsson conducted by Leopold Stokowski.

The Die Walküre is from February 24, 1968 with Jon Vickers, Leonie Rysanek (Siegmund and Sieglinde); Karl Ridderbusch (Hunding); Thomas Stewart is Wotan, Birgit Nilsson is Brunnhilde and Christa Ludwig is Fricka. The conductor is Berislav Klobucar (85308, 3 CDs, mono). This was part of the Ring Cycle brought to the Met by von Karajan who was to be in charge of every aspect of the productions from casting to sets and stage lighting. It didn’t turn out too well, beginning with an inevitable clash of personalities between MET general manager Rudolph Bing and Karajan. In total, Karajan conducted only the premier performances of this production on November 21, 24, 27 and December 2 and 5, 1967 to the critical acclaim of both audience and press, with Gundula Janowitz as the first Sieglinde. For this February performance the conductor was the Croatian Klobucar and Rysanek replaced Janowitz. To hear this ensemble of singers performing live in faultless sound will be reason enough to acquire the discs.

Music lovers with an enquiring mind, who also have some interest in Mahler, particularly the unfinished Symphony No.10 and how it found its way, more or less (actually more) to the concert stage will applaud a new release from Testament (SBT3-1457, 3CDs at a reduced price). Deryck Cooke, critic, musicologist, pianist, author, etc. aroused the music world’s attention when he announced that he had prepared a performing version of Mahler’s unfinished symphony. On December 19, 1960 listeners to the BBC Third Programme heard Deryck Cooke introduce and explain the journey to Mahler’s Tenth, followed by the performance by Berthold Goldschmidt and the Philharmonia Orchestra, annotated by Cooke. The third CD in this set contains the recording of the first ever performance played by The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Goldschmidt. The complete performance dates from August 1964 predating Ormandy’s “first recording” by over a year. Certainly a unique and fascinating release.

Deryck Cooke also authored a fascinating study of Wagner’s Ring, I Saw the World End (Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780193153189, paperback). Intended to be a multi volume study, the author died before he finished but what there is here is a scholarly yet unpretentious and thought provoking revelation and a definitive statement on aspects and illusions in the monumental opus. A must read for some. Cooke also devised and narrated a unique exposition on The Ring in a two CD set, An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen (Decca 443 5812). Cooke identifies the various leitmotivs and follows their permutations and combinations as they appear and re-appear, which can be a revelation and illumination to even those who know it all. Quite important to the narrative are the passages where the character is saying one thing but the music beneath discloses that what he or she really means or intends is something quite different. The illustrations are from Decca’s Solti cycle with The Vienna Philharmonic. The discs can be heard and re-heard without any sense of ennui.

Following his big win in Moscow’s Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in 1958, Van Cliburn was a hot ticket, playing to sold out houses wherever he appeared. He played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner during April 1960 and RCA was there to document the performances. They taped the Brahms Second Concerto on the 8^th and the Schumann A minor on the 12^th. Unreleased until now, these RCA recordings have finally been issued (Testament SBT2-1460, 2CDs at a reduced price). The performances are sunny and uncomplicated with all concerned in top form. The Schumann enjoys a beautiful presentation, sensible phrasing and a distinctive conversational collaboration. The Brahms is just a wee bit lower on the adrenalin scale. In excellent stereo sound, one wonders why we had to wait so long. 

In 1972 RCA released the first of a series of new performances of memorable music written for motion pictures up to that time. Charles Gerhardt was the conductor and the producer for the series was George Korngold, son of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The first LP issued was The Sea Hawk: Classic Film Scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Here was Korngold’s film music played with all the attention usually given only the “classics” - a full symphony orchestra, state of the art engineering and flawless processing. Gerhardt was an ideal choice as he had worked for RCA and Reader’s Digest and was responsible for titles that sold in the millions! He had already created his recording orchestra, The National Philharmonic, employing the finest available musicians and London’s best recording venues were used for the sessions. 12 more of The Classic Film Scores were issued from 1972 until 1976. They were released on CD after 1983 and some were re-issued with additional music not used on the LPs or the first CDs. All these still compelling performances have been caringly transferred from the original analogue tapes to digital masters for release on 13 individual CDs.

The first in the new series is, appropriately, The Sea Hawk (RCA 88697-77932) which sounds glorious. It is an impressive tribute to the orchestra, conductor and both the original recording engineer and the people responsible for the splendid remastered sound but mainly to the composer, the acknowledged wunderkind who came to Hollywood from Vienna. The CD has music from 11 more films, including Robin Hood, Captain Blood, Anthony Adverse, and Kings Row. Korngold has another CD in the series entitled “Elizabeth and Essex” with music from seven films including Prince and the Pauper, The Sea Wolf, and Of Human Bondage (88697-81266). Korngold appears again on Captain Blood, Classic Film Scores for Errol Flynn (88697-77934), with music by Korngold, Franz Waxman, Hugo Friedhofer and Max Steiner.

Steiner’s masterpiece, the unforgettable Gone with the Wind is heard almost complete, from the opening fanfare to the final apotheosis. To my mind, this remains the finest music of the genre (88697-77935). Also by Steiner, once a pupil of Brahms and Mahler, is “Now, Voyager” which also includes King Kong, The Big Sleep, The Fountainhead, The Informer, and others (88697-81270). “Casablanca” has scores for Bogart movies by Steiner, Waxman, Rozsa and Victor Young (88697-77937). “Sunset Boulevard” has eight of Waxman’s scores including Bride of Frankenstein (88697-81265). One of my favourites, Captain from Castile (88697-77936), also contains Alfred Newman’s stirring music for The Robe, Wuthering Heights, Anastasia, and six others. The last to be recorded was “Lost Horizon” with six of Dimitri Tiomkin’s beautiful scores (88697-77933). Spellbound (88967-81269) is devoted to nine scores by Miklos Rozsa including The Red House and Double Indemnity. “Citizen Kane” has five memorable scores by Bernard Hermann including Hangover Square: the Concerto Macabre (88697-81264). “Bette Davis” has 12 scores written for her by Steiner, Korngold and Waxman (88607-81272). Finally, the odd man out... not the movie but the composer David Raksin, who conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in his own music for Laura, The Bad and the Beautiful and Forever Amber (88697-81268).

These composers did not write every note under their name. The studios all employed orchestrators on whom the composer relied to fill in the dots... in the style of. Just watch the credits... for example Edward Powell was Alfred Newman’s exclusive orchestrator for his movies.

Accolades for the people at Sony who revived this exceptional series from the golden age of classical recording.

Alfred Brendel has retired from the concert stage, although we very recently heard him in Toronto’s Koerner Hall expounding on Beethoven’s humour in music, a favourite subject of his. His interpretations of Beethoven, recorded and re-recorded, continue to attract music lovers everywhere. Decca has re-packaged his Philips recordings made between 1970 and 1977 of the complete piano sonatas and the piano concertos (4782607). Many regard his interpretations of Beethoven during this period as the most interesting, his recordings garnering favourable reviews in a crowded field. As did, and do, the concertos with Bernard Haitink and the London Philharmonic Orchestra recorded when he was their principal conductor. The new set of 12 CDs costs less than the price of 3 discs when they were first issued.

A second ultra-budget Brendel set from Decca is an all Schubert collection of the late piano sonatas, the Impromptus, the Wanderer Fantasy, the 16 German Dances and other gems recorded by Philips in 1987 and 1988 (4782622, 7 CDs). As in the Beethoven performances above, Brendel is also competing with his own earlier recordings. Collectors, of course, enjoy comparing performances while others simply want one good recording of a work. These polished, finely shaded performances reflect Brendel’s mature thoughts on this repertoire, excellently recorded.

The deservedly honoured Hungarian conductor Ferenc Fricsay (1914-1973) led the RIAS Symphony Orchestra from its inception in 1949 until 1963. In 1950 he signed an exclusive contract with DG and although he made a few recordings with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, it is with the RIAS that his recorded legacy rests. At the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest he had studied with Bartok, Kodaly and Dohnanyi all of whom he acknowledged as having the greatest influence in his interpretation of his county’s music and, of course, on the entire repertoire, orchestral music, concerti, and certainly opera. Audite has released a three CD set containing the complete RIAS recordings of Bartok performances from 1951 through 1953 (Audite 21.407, 3 mono CDs). There are no duplications of any performances that have been issued by DG. Included are concerto performances with his landsmen violinist Tibor Varga and pianists Géza Anda, Louis Kentner and Andor Földes, each of whom were his first choices... they shared the same musical language. The three well-filled CDs contain the Violin Concerto No.2; Piano Concertos 2 & 3 and Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra; Two Portraits, op.5; Cantata Profana (Fischer-Dieskau, RIAS Kammerchor & St. Hedwig’s Cathedral Choir); Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta; Dance Suite BB86; and the Divertimento for String Orchestra. It would be no exaggeration to state that these are all definitive performances, played with complete understanding and verve, heard in excellent sound from the archives of Deutschlandradio who licenced them to Audite.

Another conductor of note from about the same time was Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (1900-1973), the German conductor who, in 1945 was invited by the military authorities to form an orchestra for the North German Radio in Hamburg. In six months the NWDR Symphony Orchestra was a reality and Schmidt-Isserstedt conducted their first concert in November 1954. The very next year he made a series of LPs released by Capitol and referred to as The Capitol Recordings. These discs have virtually disappeared but TAHRA has unexpectedly issued them on three CDs (TAH 694-696, mono). Mozart, we are told, was the conductor’s favourite composer and it is appropriate that Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is the first work on the first disc. It is interesting that no matter how many times we have heard this little serenade it doesn’t become tiresome or ho-hum. This sparkling performance is freshly appealing, reflecting a real joy of music-making. Noticeable immediately is the very high quality of the sound, articulate and dynamic in a very suitable acoustic (possibly the Musikhalle, the liner notes mention no venue). The Haydn Symphony No.94 follows and then the Schubert 5th. Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto, again we are told, was the conductor’s favourite and many soloists enjoyed playing it with him. Here Ventsislav Yankov is the soloist in a pensive performance of unusual beauty. There is a moment in the first movement cadenza when the piano disappears and fades up a second or two later. The tempi in Brahms Second Symphony are well judged in a performance that is lyrical above all and never ponderous. I put this recording right behind Bruno Walter’s 1953 New York Philharmonic recording as my preferred version. Extended excerpts from Rosamunde are followed by six extracts from The Ring. The playing throughout is of the very highest calibre from all sections but the strings are exceptionally sonorous as are the brass. Not a set for everyone but I am pleased with it.

The Hungarian Quartet recorded two complete Beethoven cycles for EMI, in 1953 and in 1966 with a change of second violin and cello. Testament has issued a 2 CD package containing two Beethoven Quartets, the op.59 nos.2 & 3 and two Bartok Quartets, nos.5 & 6 (Testament SBT2 161 2 CDs at a reduced price). They were recorded on two consecutive evenings, July 6 & 7 1955 in the Freemasons’ Hall in Edinburgh. The personnel is as in the 1953 cycle. These are exciting performances, excelling their studio versions of all four quartets. The sound is clear with some audience fussing here and there and the recording is missing deep bass. Otherwise, it’s a winner.

With his seductive, smooth sound and innate sense of phrasing it was a sure thing that tenor sax man Stan Getz would be in the forefront of the Cool Jazz era that arrived in the early fifties. His career took off and he recorded extensively with groups bearing his name, backing soloists and with some bands of the day. Norman Granz of Jazz at the Philharmonic fame recorded the Stan Getz Quintets in nine sessions from 1952 through 1955. Backing Getz were selectively Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone), Tony Fruscella (trumpet), Duke Williams or John Williams or Jimmy Rowles (piano), Jimmy Raney (guitar), Bill Crow or Teddy Kotick or Bobby Whitlock or Bill Anthony (bass), Frank Isola or Al Levitt or Max Roach (drums). Over the years some of these tracks were scattered across the Verve catalogue but now they all have been assembled, including three unissued tracks, remastered and issued in a 3 CD package of an extraordinary sophisticated design (Verve B0014657-02). Inside is the kind of repertoire and seductive performances one would hear in a small bar or the basement of a jazz club. Very nostalgic listening.

Over the years live performances from Salzburg’s Grosses Festspielhaus have dribbled in from EMI, DG, ORFEO, and others depending on the artists involved. We can still buy several recordings of complete operas from the 1930s conducted by Toscanini and Bruno Walter. Some years after WW2 Salzburg became the destination of choice for the event-going Jet Setters who also frequent only the most fashionable restaurants. And a good thing too, because the most prestigious conductors, instrumentalists, singers and orchestras also wished to be seen and heard there. The house orchestra was the Vienna Philharmonic. It doesn’t get better than that. DG has issued a 25 CD set, 50 YEARS GROSSES FESTSPIELHAUS (DG 4779111) containing notable performances from 1960 thru 2009, 18 originating from ORF masters and 7 from DG and Decca. The first 11 discs contain five operas: Rosenkavalier (Karajan 1960); Idomeneo (Fricsay 1961); From the House of the Dead (Abbado 1992); La Traviata (Rizzi 2005); Eugene Onegin (Barenboim 2007). The next 10 CDs contain 8 concerts: Mozart 40 & 41 (Bohm 1966); Schubert 3rd/Heldenleben (Mehta 1967); Mahler 8 (Bernstein 1975); Haydn - The Seven Last Words (Muti 1982) and many others of equal merit. This is a rewarding collection and a welcome addition to the budget packages now available from all of the majors. Here are committed performances from all concerned in a wide range of works bound together only by the venue.

Margarita Höhenrieder came to our attention playing the Beethoven First Piano Concerto with Fabio Luisi and the Dresden Staatskapelle on a Euroarts DVD (2057718). Here, for the first time in my experience we have a pianist who displays in her demeanour and playing unalloyed joie de vivre. A must–have DVD for Beethoven lovers. A new CD from Solo Musica (SM147) contains the Chopin Third Sonata Opus 58, recorded in 2010, and a well deserved reissue of Höhenrieder’s extraordinary 1986 traversal of the Liszt Sonata in B minor. Her playing exhibits an amazing transparency and flawless articulation in performances that maintain high electricity and momentum. Her palette of textures and nuances in both works was respected by producer and engineer who recorded her performances faithfully. The Liszt sonata is not played as if it were the hundred metre dash, instead Höhenrieder reveals both the poetry and power of Liszt the Romantic; serene, contemplative episodes contrasting with dynamic passages of great power and authority. A unique interpretation, I believe, and certainly memorable.

The late Charles Mackerras belonged to the handful of conductors who became internationally known as the leading exponents in classical music in the late 20^th century. Although there are recordings of Mahler’s First, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies and Das Knaben Wunderhorn, this is his first Fourth, recorded in concert with the Philharmonia Orchestra on 16 February 2006 (Signum SIGCD219). Mackerras dusts off the score and gets straight to the point with brisk tempos and an ingenuous, optimistic outlook. The second movement is light-heartedly eerie. The third movement is extraordinarily beautiful, one of Mahler’s most expansive adagios, which could be the best on record... it certainly is for the exquisite balances and impact and timbre of the bass drum. The childlike, innocent view of heaven, sung by Sarah Fox, closes Mahler’s joyful opus. Signum Records is a privately owned company founded in 1997 and now also issues new live recordings of the Philharmonia Orchestra. Respected engineer Tony Faulkner is responsible for the exemplary recording.

In a recital given at the Edinburgh International Festival on August 28, 1960 Isaac Stern and Dame Myra Hess performed together for the last time. They played Brahms’ Second Violin Sonata, op.100; Schubert’s First D384; Howard Ferguson’s Second, op.10; and Beethoven’s Tenth, op.96. Dame Myra (1890-1965) was one of England’s best known pianists and was famous around the world. I have the feeling that she was not as flexible here as in the past. Certainly most collectors will be taking note of Testament’s new CD (SBT.1458) of this recital in order to hear the incomparable Isaac Stern. He is heard here in a period when his playing and artistry was truly second to none. In addition to his thorough understanding of Brahms, Schubert and Beethoven he had an individual expressivity and the noble dignity of his playing is unmistakably Isaac Stern at his best. This disc has found its way to my player many times over the last weeks. I like it a lot.

Erica Morini was not merely one of the greatest female violinists but one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vienna in 1905, her father studied with Joseph Joachim. Aged eight she was the youngest student and first female to enter the Vienna Conservatoire. Her artistic individuality, unique sonority and singing quality were frequently more evident than we heard from Heifetz and Oistrakh. Her playing was noted to represent the successful blending of the old-style charm (Kreisler, Elman) with the technical perfection that prevailed from the middle of the 20th century together with a good measure of her own individuality. Audite has released an excellent CD featuring the Tchaikovsky Concerto in D major (audite 95.606). She has other recordings of this concerto but here she is supported by Ferenc Fricsay and the RIAS-Symphony, live in the Titiana Palace, Berlin in 1952. Brilliant performances of shorter works by Tartini, Vivaldi, Kreisler, and Brahms, accompanied by Michael Raucheisen fill the disc. Great sound from Deutschlandradio’s archive tapes.

Jascha Horenstein fans will be happy to know that hot on the heels of the Beethoven Ninth DVD, DOREMI has issued Volume 2 of their Horenstein series containing the Prelude and Carnival from Korngold’s 1916 opera Violanta, Shostakovich’s Symphony No.1 and Hindemith’s Symphonie Mathis der Maler (DHR-7998). After a few bars of the Korngold Overture I saw, in my mind’s eye, a pastoral scene from the 1942 film, Kings Row. Of course! Korngold wrote the soundtrack score and expanded the 1916 overture to suit the 1942 film, thematically identical with characteristic orchestrations. Horenstein was one of the finest conductors of his day who, for some reason unknown to me, was never the chief conductor or music director of an orchestra. The Korngold and the Shostakovich are with the Royal Philharmonic, both in excellent stereo recorded in 1965 and 1970 respectively. The Hindemith with the Paris Radio Symphony is a live performance from 1954 that, although missing the refinement of the London orchestra, one senses that the players are doing their very best... Really quite inspiring.

From the early decades of the 20th Century Britain had an impressive array of home-grown, first class knighted conductors including Thomas Beecham, Henry Wood, Hamilton Harty, John Barbirolli, Eugene Goossens, Malcolm Sargent and, of course, Adrian Boult. Boult’s monumental recorded legacy was well captured by HMV and Decca but smaller companies, such Pye, Lyrita and Vanguard filled in the omissions. Such an undertaking was the Nixa/Westminster’s stereo sessions with the London Philharmonic Orchestra over a period of six days in August 1956. The second set of 3 CDs from First Hand Records contains the four Schumann Symphonies and eight Berlioz Overtures (FHR07). I was struck by the sheer energy and astonishing quality of the playing and Boult’s rousing tempi and revealing instrumental balances: the kind that brings a smile to your face. The digital transfers of the analog master tapes were done at Abbey Road Studios by Ian Jones and retain the full impact and weight of the originals, adding to the credibility of the performances. This is a superb set in every respect and an essential acquisition for Schumann lovers.

I compared this set to a reissue on DG Originals of the 1963/64 recordings of the Schumann Symphonies with Raphael Kubelik and the Berlin Philharmonic (DG 4778621, 2 CDs). Kubelik’s polished interpretations of the works differ from Boult in that they are quite stately with the conductor’s ear for orchestral balances putting a lie to the persistent but erroneous belief that Schumann’s orchestrations were dense and should be reworked. In fact, Gustav Mahler did do some re-orchestrations. The latest digital processing is impressive with meticulous details. But for me, the Boult set gets the vote for both performance and sound.

Another Originals reissue comes from the Decca catalogue revisiting Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in the Dvorak Eighth Symphony and the Brahms Third (Decca 4782661). These recordings of 1961/63 have justifiably remained in the catalogue for close to half a century. The new mastering is clear and fresh with a natural, pleasant stage presence, accurately conveying the original John Culshaw production. HOWEVER, Esoteric, the Japanese high-end audio equipment company, has issued a hybrid SACD which they prepared, using state-of-the-art technology, from masters supplied by Decca (ESSD 90036). Both sound very good but the Japanese is somewhat more clinical and seems to miss the natural acoustic of the Sofiensaal compared to the natural ‘feel’ of the European disc. The differences are small but telling. Small differences, in this case, come at a large price: $75 versus $16 for the European edition.

Another Esoteric hybrid SACD that can be unhesitatingly recommended is the Klemperer EMI recording of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Fritz Wunderlich, Christa Ludwig and the Philharmonia Orchestra recorded in February and November 1964 and July 1966 (ESSE 90043). This performance has been criticized by some for slow tempi but for those listeners who absorb the text of each of the six individual songs, Klemperer’s pulse and phrasing reflect total empathy. The original EMI recording is available on an EMI CD in their Great Recordings of the Century re-issues priced at around $15 (0724356694422) but for those for whom price is no object the spacious sound and refinement of the Esoteric SACD at $75 will be irresistible. American Sound in Richmond Hill (905 886 7810) has these and many others from Esoteric including the SACDs of Solti’s Ring Cycle.

“There are three pianists in the world – Kapell, Farrell, and myself” said Arthur Rubinstein. Richard Thomas Farrell (1926-1958), born in Wellington, New Zealand was a child prodigy. He was taken to Australia in 1938 and studied at the Conservatorium in Sydney. In 1947 he met William Kapell who helped in arranging a full scholarship to study at Juilliard with Olga Samaroff who said Farrell was the best student she ever had. He played with major American orchestras and toured extensively before moving to London in 1951 where he gave recitals, played chamber music and played with the best orchestras, and the most prestigious conductors. It was a great loss to music when he died in a car accident in Sussex, aged 31. Unlike his contemporaries, Dinu Lipatti and William Kapell, memories of his career and recorded legacy have unjustifiably almost completely faded. He made a handful of outstanding recordings for Pye, some unissued until now. Atoll, an independent record label in New Zealand (www.atollcd.com), has issued Farrell’s complete recordings including the unissued ones on four CDs in two volumes. I’m afraid that there are not enough adjectives in the language to fully describe the feeling of well-being and euphoria in Farrell’s music making which I believe to be peerless. The composers on these discs are all of the Romantic era, from Chopin to Rachmaninov. The sensitivity and clarity of his playing is immediately engaging, with the listener (this one) hanging on every note. He had a measure of personal touch which was always at the service of the composer, now delivering to the listener of these recordings music-making of the very highest order. Richard Farrell brings new excitement and insights to familiar repertoire making listening an experience of rewarding re-discovery. These recordings, all made by Pye between 1956 and 1958 are now owned by EMI who licensed them to Atoll. The excellent transfers from the original tapes were made at Abbey Road Studies in London by Ian Jones.

Volume 1 (ACD208, 2 CDs) contains the Grieg Piano Concerto, op.16 and the Liszt Piano Concerto no.1 in E flat, both with the Halle Orchestra under George Weldon. The solos: Brahms’ 4 Ballades op.10 and 16 waltzes, op.39; Grieg’s Ballade in G minor, op.24, 2 Popular Norwegian Melodies, op.66 nos. 14 and 17, and 9 Lyric Pieces. The Grieg works are monaural recordings.

Volume 2 (ACD909, 2 CDs) is a treasure trove of solo performances. Seven pieces by Rachmaninov include the Corelli Variations op.42 and six Preludes from Op.3, op.23 and op.32. There are 11 works by Chopin. The Brahms works include the Handel Variations, op.24, four pieces from op.119 and the Rhapsody in G minor, op.79 no.2.  Three pieces by Liszt include the Rigoletto Paraphrase. A special performance of Schumann’s Arabeske op.18 is followed by one piece each by Mendelssohn, Debussy, and Granados.

I purchased my copies from Presto Classical in the U.K. (prestoclassical.co.uk) but Atoll will ship direct from New Zealand (atollcd.com).