2 Sem 2014 - Part Two

Mischa Maisky
10 Classic Albums



By David H. Bailey
This collection is an amazing deal -- most of the included CDs are available for sale separately but the total cost would be much higher than buying this collection. I ordered it for my wife for Christmas since there were 3 CDs of Mr. Maisky's that she asked for and they were all included in this set. She is ecstatic over the collection and has discovered even more excellent recordings that she had previously not known about. Buying this set was truly a no-brainer -- anybody who loves cello music should buy this set!
Tracks:
- CD 1 & 2
J. S. BACH: 6 Suites for Solo Violoncello
CD 1: nos. 1, 2 & 6
CD 2: nos. 3, 4 & 5
463 3142 (CD 1 & 2 only) Recorded July & August 1999
- CD 3
MEDITATION
Works by Bach/Gounod, Handel, Lully, Gluck, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, De Falla, Fauré, Massenet, Saint-Saens, Ravel, Anon, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Kreisler
Pavel Gililov, piano
431 5442
Recorded October 1987
- CD 4
ELGAR: Cello Concerto in E minor op. 85
TCHAIKOVSKY: Variations on a Rococo Theme op 33
Philharmonia Orchestra / Giuseppe Sinopoli
431 685-2 Recorded March 1990
- CD 5
SHOSTAKOVICH
Cello Concerto no. 1 op. 107
Cello Concerto no. 2 op. 126
London Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
445 8212 Recorded August 1993
- CD 6
SAINT-SAËNS
Cello Concerto no. 1 in A minor op. 33
The Swan
Allegro appassionato op. 43; Romance op. 36; Suite op 16;
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Cello Sonata no. 1 in E minor op. 32
Daria Hovora, piano
457 5992 Recorded March 1997, January 1998 (Sonata)
- CD 7
SCHUMANN
Fantasiestücke op. 73; Adagio and Allegro op. 70; 5 Stücke im Volkston op. 102
Martha Argerich, piano
Cello Concerto in A minor op. 129
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 469 524-2 Recorded March 1997 (Concerto), December 1999
- CD 8
APRES UN REVE
Works by Bizet, Chausson, Debussy, Duparc, Fauré, Hahn, Massenet, Poulenc, Ravel
Daria Hovora, piano
457 6572 Recorded May 1999
- CD 9
MENDELSSOHN
Cello Sonata no. 1 op. 45
Cello Sonata no. 2 op. 58
Variations op. 17
Songs without Words op. 109, op. 62 nos. 1 & 6; Auf Flügeln des Gesanges, Schilflied, Suleika, Die Liebende schreibt
Sergio Tiempo, piano
471 5652 Recorded February 2002
- CD 10
DVORÁK: Cello Concerto in B minor op. 104
R. STRAUSS: Don Quixote
Tabea Zimmermann, viola (Strauss) / Berliner Philharmoniker / Zubin Mehta
474 7802 Recorded December 2002 Live recording
- CD 11
VOCALISE - Russian Romances
Works by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Dargomizhsky, Mussorgsky, Rubinstein, Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky, Cui, Glazunov, Rachmaninov. Anon.
Pavel Gililov, piano
477 5743 Recorded January 2005
Live recording

Lorin Maazel 1930 - 2014

By Martin Kettle at The Guardian
Lorin Varencove Maazel, one of the most high-achieving and highly paid orchestral conductors of the past half-century, died on Sunday at his home in Virginia in the United States, after suffering complications from pneumonia. He was 84.
Maazel was music director of a gallery of top orchestras in Europe and the United States – including Cleveland, Paris and Munich – for more than 40 years, and had been chief conductor of opera houses in West Berlin and Vienna too. His last major post was as music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 2001- 2009, during which he led the orchestra on a controversial and ground breaking visit to Pyongyang, North Korea.
In Britain his principal connections were with the Philharmonia Orchestra, of which he was an associate principal conductor from 1971. Maazel continued to conduct the Philharmonia until the end of his life. His last concerts with the orchestra were in London in March. The orchestra tweeted last night that it was "devastated" by the news of Maazel's death.
Born in France in 1930 to Jewish American parents, Maazel was brought up in the United States, where he became a famous child prodigy. By his 11th birthday he had already shared a podium with Leopold Stokowski, while the no less legendary Arturo Toscanini was responsible for getting Maazel his first steady conducting job in 1942, when Maazel was only 12.
A talented violinist, Maazel was briefly a member of the Fine Arts Quartet and of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He gave violin recitals throughout his career and wrote for the instrument. His conducting career was littered with firsts, most notably as the first American to be invited to conduct at the annual Wagner festival in Bayreuth, where he first conducted in 1960.
Maazel had a long association with Vienna, where he had a brief and stormy period in charge of the Vienna state opera, and with the Vienna Philharmonic, whose annual new years' day concert he directed regularly in the 1980s, returning for the last time in 2009.
Never a musician to hide his light under a bushel, Maazel tried hard to succeed Herbert von Karajan as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra when the long Karajan reign came to an end in 1989. The orchestra's choice of the late Claudio Abbado was a huge blow.
Maazel was a composer as well as a conductor, writing an opera based on George Orwell's 1984 that was performed, under his own direction, at Covent Garden and the New York Metropolitan, to generally lukewarm reviews.

2 Sem 2014 - Part One

Duo Concertante
Beethoven: Complete Sonatas For Violin and Piano

By Anthony Kershaw at audiophilia.com
The ten sonatas for violin and piano by Beethoven are a string of beautiful pearls composed during the early to middle years of his life. All but the last were completed before the Eroica Symphony (1805), but many portend the markers of Beethoven’s coming greatness — wide dynamic range, syncopation, arching melodies and complex harmonies. Under the guise of what some consider Beethoven’s salon music, especially in the earlier sonatas, there are indications of deep soil.
Duo Concertante has recorded all the sonatas in this new Marquis CD set. Based at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, this married and musical partnership has spent many years developing their interpretations and performing the sonatas in concerts. Duo Concertante is Nancy Dahn, violin and Timothy Steeves, piano.
The Beethoven Violin Sonatas would seem to be the perfect repertoire for the Duo. The pair perform music that utilizes both instruments as equal soloists and accompanists. The Beethoven Violin Sonatas are most definitely an equitable division of labour — they are sonatas for two solo instruments, just one of the many original details that Beethoven would introduce in his chamber music, symphonies and solo works.
Both Dahn and Steeves are expert instrumentalists. I’ve heard them in concert and they have serious chops. Dahn is Juilliard/New England Conservatory trained and Steeves studied in Germany. Additionally, they are both very musical — they consistently make beautiful music together. As such, my interest never waned, even after three CDs of Beethoven sonatas.
So, expertise, great training, lots of time developing interpretations, musical, etc. How does that list measure up as complete musicians against the masters who have recorded these works? Dahn and Steeves are placing their performances against Mutter, Kremer, Stern, Menuhin, Grumiaux, Dumay, Szeryng, Perlman, Heifetz and every other stellar fiddler of this century and last. What makes pedagogues from Newfoundland have the courage to stand with giants?
I’m not sure of the answer to the last question, but stand they do, and stand confidently in and among them. This is a wonderful new set to add to the list.
First, we get consistency. I love consistency in large sets. So many sets are performances plucked from hither and thither. Not, Duo Concertante. The interpretations, recorded over a twelve month period, are no fuss, no muss. Nothing like the Romanticism that Anne Sophie Mutter brings to her highly regarded DGG set. Sure, Mutter’s playing is beyond reproach, but there’s a lot of syrup in the sound. Dahn eschews this approach and lets the beautiful melodies sing, adding even more tasteful vibrato when things get intense. And, Steeves matches her with a clear technique all the way.
Compare the glorious second subject of the Kreutzer Sonata’s opening movement. Dahn and Steeves allow the melody to breathe and sing, without adding affectation. Kremer’s guilty of a lot of affectation, but fiddle devotees would know that before plonking down the cash for his set. If you like your Beethoven fresh, clean and inspiring, this new Marquis may well be for you. If you are a fan of the Perlman and Grumiaux sets, try Duo Concertante.
As for the recording, it’s an absolute beauty. For pure audiophilia, no other Beethoven Violin Sonata recording I know comes close — even the famous Perlman/Decca takes second place. Natural music making in a natural space. The Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto is a gem of a hall, and engineer Dennis Patterson has captured it perfectly. Clinically, even. That, of course, can bring a few problems. Bow arms at the ends of phrases and piano pedals under a microscope can be problematic. The resolution from my reference system uncovered one or two minor blemishes but nothing that hindered my enjoyment and my admiration of this set in any way.
Duo Concertante took their name from the Kreutzer Sonata’s inscription: ‘in stile molto concertante’. It was the first piece this musical couple played together. And, their musical devotion to ‘two equal and dynamic voices’ is perfectly highlighted in this superb new recording. Very highly recommended.
Track Listing:
CD 1
Sonata in E flat major, op. 12, no. 3
1. Allegro con spirito
2. Adagio con molt’ espressione
3. Rondo: Allegro molto
Sonata in A minor, op. 23
1. Presto
2. Andante scherzoso, piu allegretto
3. Allegro molto
Sonata in D major, op. 12, no. 1
1. Allegro con brio
2. Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto
3. Rondo: Allegro
Sonata in G major, op. 30, no. 3
1. Allegro assai
2. Tempo di menuetto, ma molto moderato e grazioso
3. Allegro vivace
Total Playing Time: 1:10:02

CD 2
Sonata in F major, op. 24, “Spring”
1. Allegro
2. Adagio molto espressivo
3. Scherzo: Allegro molto
4. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo
Sonata in A major, op. 12, no. 2
1. Allegro vivace
2. Andante piu tosto allegretto
3. Allegro piacevole
Sonata in A major, op. 47, “Kreutzer”
1. Adagio sostenuto–presto
2. Andante con variazioni
3. Presto
Total Playing Time: 1:12:54

CD 3
Sonata in C minor, op. 30, no. 2
1. Allegro con brio
2. Adagio cantabile
3. Scherzo: Allegro
4. Finale: Allegro
Sonata in A major, op. 30, no. 1
1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Allegretto con variazioni
Sonata in G major, op. 96
1. Allegro moderato
2. Adagio con espressivo
3. Scherzo: Allegro–Trio
4. Poco allegretto
Total Playing Time: 1:14:55