The Rediscovered RCA Victor Recordings / José Iturbi
Sony Masterworks
CD
$62.96$125.98Save 50%Mar 03, 2023
This collection stands as a valuable time capsule from which one comes away with a fuller understanding of Iturbi’s prominence in American wartime and postwar culture.
The complete RCA Victor Recordings by José Iturbi from 1933 to 1953, include his piano duo recordings with sister Amparo Iturbi as well as Amparo Iturbi’s solo recordings on 16 CDs, restored and remastered from the original lacquer discs and analogue tapes using high-resolution 24 bit/192 kHz mastering technology with about 95% of the recordings appearing on CD for the first time and 23 pieces previously unreleased. As well as a new, captivating essay by Grammy-nominated singer, pianist, and music anthropologist Michael Feinstein on the life and work of José Iturbi and a photo book with previously unseen photos and facsimiles from the Iturbi Archives in Hollywood.
There was a time when classical music was a natural part of Hollywood. From the moments with Jascha Heifetz in They Shall Have Music (1939) to the unrivaled performances of Oscar Levant and Isaac Stern in Humoresque (1946). In its Golden Era, Hollywood adorned itself with the Who's Who of classical music. Today, alongside icons such as Marylin Monroe and James Dean, the names of Leonard Bernstein, Maria Callas and Arturo Toscanini, as well as Rudolf Serkin, Joseph Szigeti, or José Iturbi were immortalized on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. This edition is a loving homage to Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s, made possible through the generous support of the José Iturbi Foundation and the Hollywood Museum Board of Directors, who contributed to the lavish restoration of many previously lost unpublished recordings. The publication was also made possible by contributions of singer, pianist, and music archivist Michael Feinstein, the Ambassador for the Great American Songbook.
REVIEW:
During the 1940s and 1950s the “World’s Most Popular Classical Pianist” mantle fell comfortably upon José Iturbi (1895-1980). His recognition as a radio personality led to a movie career that yielded ten feature films between 1943 and 1951 where the pianist mostly starred as himself. Yet for all of Iturbi’s renown, he was hardly a poseur. He worked with Wanda Landowska in Paris, and gave Stravinsky’s Piano Rag Music its world premiere, as well as the first complete Carnegie Hall performance of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes.
He also conducted. When Eugene Ormandy assumed the Philadelphia Orchestra’s music directorship in 1936, his chief rival for the position was Iturbi, who wound up taking charge of the Rochester Philharmonic that same year. Once Hollywood beckoned, however, Iturbi became the brunt of intellectual critics, who basically wrote him off as a sell-out and an artistic lightweight.
Time, of course, brings perspective, and Sony/BMG’s lavishly produced 16-CD collection containing Iturbi’s complete RCA Victor recordings invites a fairly thorough examination of the musician behind the personality, plus an opportunity to reassess a largely forgotten body of recorded work. A 188-page coffee table book contains photos in abundance, with all original-jacket artwork represented, including the most politically incorrect cover art ever to grace Dvorák’s “New World” symphony. We get complete session and release discographies, an Iturbi filmography, plus a brilliant in-depth biographical essay by Michael Feinstein, who co-produced this collection with Robert Russ.
It’s a pity that the session discography is not cross-referenced to corresponding CD tracks, not to mention the absence of a discography by composer. This makes it difficult to navigate the contents with ease, especially in works that Iturbi recorded more than once. For example, it took some sleuthing on my part to discover that Discs 5 and 11 each contained the Liszt Liebestraum No. 3, Schumann Arabeske, Debussy Reverie, and Chopin Polonaise in A-flat Op. 53, and that the performances were not identical.
With few notable exceptions, Iturbi’s solo recordings mostly consist of short, encore-length pieces. He’s especially at home in Spanish music: Iturbi’s accentuation, phrasing, and timing throughout Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance define perfection, while he shapes Granados’ Spanish Dance No. 2 (“Oriental’) with sensitivity and tenderness. Classical selections also stand out for Iturbi’s bracing articulation. True, the outer movements of his Mozart K. 331 and 332 sonata recordings are overly facile and insufficiently inflected when measured alongside contemporaneous Mozartean rivals like Schnabel, Gieseking, Fischer, and Haskil. Yet the sheer evenness and poised symmetry of Iturbi’s finger-work easily explains why pianists like Julius Katchen and William Kapell praised his Mozart.
Iturbi also revels in the Haydn C major Theme and Variations’ sly wit. By contrast, introspection and sobriety characterize Iturbi’s measured unfolding of Beethoven’s Andante favori. Similar gravitas elevates Paderewski’s Minuet in G to near-masterpiece status. Iturbi’s virtuosic glitter befits his dashing Saint-Saëns Allegro appassionato more than in his glib Liszt Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este.
Iturbi’s Chopin hits and misses. His Mazurkas lack the ardency and rhythmic snap that distinguishes a Second Scherzo that gets better as it progresses. Also note the pianist’s dotting the duple rhythms in the A-flat Polonaise’s main theme that Horowitz, Rubinstein, and Lhevinne play straight on their rival RCA versions.
The later recordings reveal Iturbi’s pianism losing some of its erstwhile luster and subtlety, possibly exaggerated by the close microphone placement and twangy patina typical of late 1940s/early 1950s piano recordings stemming from RCA’s Hollywood recording studio. For example, the two Debussy Arabesques recorded in New York in 1939 have a supple elegance missing in their glassy-sounding 1950 Hollywood counterparts (sound clips). The blustery, hard-toned, and harshly engineered Liszt Concerto No. 1, Mendelssohn Concerto No. 1, and Beethoven Concerto No. 3 were non-starters in their day, with the piano way up in the mix, relegating the crackerjack RCA Symphony musicians to doormat status. Still, the Mendelssohn’s outer movements feature some of Iturbi’s most scintillating pianism on disc.
While Iturbi’s two-piano distribution of the solo part of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is surprisingly effective and discreet, he and his pianist sister Amparo turn in a crass, alternately whipped up, and sappily sentimentalized interpretation. Works of Mozart, Debussy, and Milhaud better represent their dazzling ensemble rapport, but again, the boxy, claustrophobic engineering undermines their efforts. Similar dryness typifies Amparo’s idiomatic solo recordings of Spanish repertoire. Still, it’s nice to have her rare 1954 Granados Goyescas back in circulation, although it pales alongside Alicia de Larrocha’s far more nuanced and texturally differentiated interpretation from the following year.
The collection also showcases Iturbi’s work on the podium. His 1940 Rochester Philharmonic versions of the Mozart D minor and Beethoven C minor concertos are more judiciously balanced than his orchestrally superior 1952 RCA Victor Symphony remakes. Each contains lively and engaging outer movements that flank wooden, hard-toned slow movements.
Iturbi’s 1951 Liszt Hungarian Fantasy with the Valencia Symphony Orchestra has a snarling rawness that differs from the sheen and suavity of the 1952 Arrau/Ormandy and late 1940s Solomon and Moiseiwitsch editions. As with many second-tier American orchestras in the 1940s, the Rochester Philharmonic boasted strong strings but less proficient winds and brass. Consequently, Iturbi’s Mendelssohn “Scottish” Symphony took a back seat to Mitropoulos’ powerful 1941 Minneapolis version, while the aforementioned Dvorák New World lacked the Szell/Czech Philharmonic recording’s flavorful ensemble discipline.
The prize of Iturbi’s Rochester discography is a snazzy and brilliantly turned-out Morton Gould “Latin American” Symphonette, which is surprisingly well-engineered for its 1944 vintage. Another delightful curiosity is William J. Reddick’s Espanharlem, a brief orchestral work whose quick changing moods and jazzy underpinnings wouldn’t be out of place in a Carl Stalling Bugs Bunny cartoon soundtrack. There’s also a previously unpublished recording conducted by Werner Janssen of Iturbi’s orchestral composition Soliloquy. The piece amounts to 14 and a half minutes’ worth of rambling 1940s film music clichés filtered through third-rate Lecuona. Why Iturbi is credited as piano soloist when there’s no piano to be heard is anyone’s guess!
Notwithstanding the artistic unevenness of Iturbi’s recorded output he always had the self-respect to keep his technique in world-class repair, unlike his rival classical pianist turned media personality Oscar Levant. Still, music lovers who don’t want to go the whole hog, so to speak, are directed to APR’s 2016 three-disc solo Iturbi compilation. I also hope to see Iturbi’s post-cinema EMI recordings restored. However, beyond purely musical considerations, Sony/BMG’s collection stands as a valuable time capsule from which one comes away with a fuller understanding of Iturbi’s prominence in American wartime and postwar culture.
-- ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)
CONTENTS:
Mozart: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra No. 10 in E flat, K365
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S124
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Chambers, J C: All American
Gould, M: Symphonette No. 4 'Latin-American'
Reddick: Espanharlem
Iturbi: Soliloquy
Mozart: Sonata for 2 pianos in D major, K448
Chabrier: Trois Valses Romantiques
Iturbi: Spanish Dance
Debussy: En blanc et noir
Milhaud: Scaramouche, suite for two pianos, Op. 165b
Nepomuceno: La siesta
Infante: Guadalquivir
Infante: Sevillana
Debussy: Suite bergamasque: Clair de lune
Liszt: Liebestraum, S541 No. 3 (Nocturne in A flat major)
Debussy: Rêverie
Beethoven: Für Elise (Bagatelle in A minor, WoO59)
Schumann: Arabeske in C major, Op. 18
Debussy: Deux arabesques, L. 66
Falla: Dance of Terror (from El amor brujo)
Rachmaninoff: Prelude Op. 3 No. 2 in C sharp minor
Liszt: Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este, S. 163 No. 4)
Falla: Ritual Fire Dance (from El amor brujo)
Saint-Saëns: Allegro appassionato, Op. 70
Albéniz: Malagueña (No. 3 from Espana, Op. 165)
Chopin: Étude Op. 10 No. 12 in C minor ‘Revolutionary'
Chopin: Polonaise No. 6 in A flat major, Op. 53 'Héroïque'
Debussy: Estampe No. 3 - Jardins sous la pluie
Schumann: Romance in F sharp major, Op. 28 No. 2
Chopin: Prelude Op. 28 No. 9 in E major
Chopin: Prelude Op. 28 No. 10 in C sharp minor
Chopin: Prelude Op. 28 No. 15 in D flat major ‘Raindrop'
Chopin: Nocturne No. 9 in B major, Op. 32 No. 1
López-Chavarri: El viejo castillo moro
Iturbi: Cancion de cuna
Granados: Orientale (No. 2 from 12 Danzas españolas)
Chopin: Mazurka No. 6 in A minor, Op. 7 No. 2
Chopin: Mazurka No. 7 in F minor, Op. 7 No. 3
Chopin: Mazurka No. 24 in C major, Op. 33 No. 3
Chopin: Mazurka No. 27 in E minor, Op. 41 No. 2
Chopin: Mazurka No. 25 in B minor, Op. 33 No. 4
Chopin: Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 31
Debussy: Children's Corner
Ravel: Jeux d'eau
Guastavino: Gato
Mozart: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra No. 10 in E flat, K365
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
Bach, J S: Passacaglia in C minor, BWV582
Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K331 'Alla Turca'
Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major, K332
Chopin: Impromptu No. 4 in C sharp minor, Op. 66 'Fantaisie-Impromptu'
Chopin: Waltz No. 6 in D flat major, Op. 64 No. 1 'Minute Waltz'
Chopin: Waltz No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2
Chopin: Mazurka No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 7 No. 1
Albéniz: Sevilla (from Suite Española, Op. 47)
Granados: Goyescas: Quejas ó La Maja y el Ruiseñor
Scarlatti, D: Keyboard Sonata K27 in B minor
Scarlatti, D: Keyboard Sonata K159 in C major 'La caccia'
Paradies: Toccata in A
Iturbi: Pequena danza espanola
Beethoven: Andante Favori in F, WoO 57
Albéniz: Cantos de España (5), Op. 232, No. 4
Lazăr, F: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 15: III Tempo di Marcia funebre
Schubert called Winterreise a cycle of "truly terrible songs," not only for it's immersive and dark subject matter but also for the compositional process itself. It is the Mount Everest of Song cycles, a form that Schubert himself perfected. Written on poems by Wilhelm Muller (1794-1827), the songs describe a timeless tale of heartbreak: boy meets girl, girl rejects boy, boy is overcome by existential feelings and sets out on a solitary winter's journey that may result in his demise. But Schubert's genius would not allow him to be content with vapid superficialities: when Schubert set these poems to music, he was confronting his own probable fate, one of agonizing pain and isolation. An unforgettable journey through one of the most powerful musical depictions of desolation Winterreise was originally composed for the tenor voice, but it has been frequently transposed to accommodate the whole gamut of vocal tessituras. Danish bass-baritone and musical scholar Jakob Bloch Jespersen has mastered a range of repertoire from Schutz to Schierbecks and well into the 21st century. His burnished resonance and restrained sensitivity well serve this existential Schubertiade. His partner, fortepianist Sharon Prushansky brings her expertise in music of the Classical and early Romantic eras, utilizing the full panoply of pianistic Affekt available to her on Robert Brown's 2015 instrument after an original by Jakob Bertsche (ca. 1810-1815). Particularly noteworthy to this instrument are it's six pedals, which serve the purpose of changing the quality and colour of the sound, including the infamous "bassoon stop!" A third, silent partner also contributes to this extraordinary production: the haunting, sepia-toned landscapes by the great Danish photographer, Tove Kurtzweil. Together, Jakob Bloch Jespersen and Sharon Prushansky take you on an unforgettable journey through one of the most powerful musical depictions of desolation this side of Mahler!
Rupert Boyd writes: “This is an album of love. But also of despair. And some things in between. Largely conceived, arranged, rehearsed and recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic, Songs of Love & Despair contains the music that we were drawn to during this time -- a time of unprecedented stillness and solitude, traveling at most a few miles from our home for months on end. As a married couple we were fortunate to be able to play music together every day, and this collection of repertoire is half love, half longing; from the delicate beauty of Debussy and the joyousness of Boccherini, to the anguish of Messiaen and heartbreaking Appalachian folk songs, which tell the stories of love, life and loss. The album is a testament to this time, and we welcome you to join us as we traverse the emotions that have enveloped us all.” The album encompasses music from Luigi Boccherini to The Beatles to Beyoncé, from Franz Schubert to Florence B. Price to Radiohead.
REVIEW:
Guitarist Rupert Boyd and his wife, cellist Laura Metcalf, have released their second recording and it includes transcriptions of well-known pieces such as Debussy’s ‘Arabesque No. 1’ with delicately articulated arpeggios by the guitar providing a graceful accompaniment to the lyrical cello melody. Schubert’s ‘Gretchen am Spinnrade’ is delivered fluidly with deep romantic passion in an arrangement by Napoleon Coste (1805–83).
‘A New York Minute’ by Marian Budos, is bursting with energy and close coordination between the two players. Metcalf’s sense of drama and razor-sharp intonation combine to achieve a powerful delivery.
Two arrangements by Lennon and McCartney are pleasantly performed and would be crowd pleasers in concert.
The recorded tone of each of the two instruments is realistic, but the cello is somewhat overpowering on some tracks.
Liner notes are informative and entertaining. All in all, this is an effective project, mixing known works with the new ones—always a plus!
Discover the timeless beauty of Franz Schubert's music with this double album. This compilation showcases some of his finest works for piano four hands, composed during his final years. Be enchanted by the Fantasy in F minor, the powerful "Lebenssturme," the Fugue in E minor, and the gentle Rondo in A major. Experience the impressive "Grand Duo" and the exquisite Variations in A-flat major from the summer of 1824. Immerse yourself in the emotional depth and human drama that Schubert masterfully captures like no other - a true treasure trove of piano artistry.
Humans’ hope lies in art. The music of Schubert or Beethoven in particular, which gives us some idea of what worlds can still exist. What words can we use to make these works of art tangible? Not explainable, but tangible.
With this album, Turkish-born pianist Gülru Ensari and Romanian-born Herbert Schuch want to provide a space for experience, a place where they can carefully and tentatively approach the subject of eternity. The connection between Messiaen and Schubert, Beethoven and Brahms? Nothing more or less than a perceived truth. An involuntary connection of lines that are already there, but are drawn into infinity and meet somewhere, like the parallel rails of a dead-straight track that stretches right into infinity!
With this new recording “Eternity”, Gülru Ensari and Herbert Schuch entail the music lover to understand the act of listening as a dialogue with oneself (« let us experience it ourselves, recognising the infinitely varied ways in which people perceive things as something enriching instead of something striving for uniformity »).
The 37 songs in this recital, written by 27 composers – male, female, English, French, Swiss, German, Romantic, modern and contemporary – bear witness to the richness of Shakespeare’s works to which this recital is dedicated. Organised in the form of a play in five acts, including prologue and epilogue, the songs, which include several duets, are in turn cheerful and sad, light and profound, classical and jazzy – thus allowing, in Carolyn Sampson’s words, ‘a breadth of responses to these great texts’. Alongside well-known melodies, such as those by Schubert, there are musical adaptations by different composers of the same texts, as well as a contemporary reflection for the two voices by Hannah Kendall exploring the question of gender fluidity and identity through the elusive character of Rosalind from As You Like It.
After many acclaimed releases on BIS, including Album für die Frau, a collection of songs by Clara and Robert Schumann, A Soprano’s Schubertiade and Elysium, two Schubert recitals, as well as a number of themed recitals, some of which were named ‘Recording of the Month’ by MusicWeb International and ‘CD-Tipp’ by BR Klassik, Carolyn Sampson and Joseph Middleton are joined here by renowned British baritone Roderick Williams.
REVIEW:
Soprano Carolyn Sampson and baritone Roderick Williams are prolific singers who can handle almost any kind of repertory but have a strong connection to the English tradition from the Baroque to the 20th century. It would be hard to imagine better singers for this collection of Shakespeare songs, for on one hand, Shakespeare settings are about as traditional as one can get, while on the other, this is an exceptionally diverse collection. Listeners unaware that Haydn set Shakespeare should make it their business to hear Sampson in She never told her love, as soon as possible. There are settings of German Shakespeare translations by Schubert, Schumann, and Hugo Wolf, a French one by Arthur Honegger, and an entrancing English-language Fancy by Poulenc. This album represents, in short, an embarrassment of riches, and it is one of the finest Shakespeare song releases to come along in quite some time.
-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)
CONTENTS:
Ireland: Full fathom five
Vaughan Williams: Dirge for Fidele
Moeran: The Lover and his Lass
Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Arise, "Sea Murmurs"
Smith, J C: You spotted snakes
Tippett: Songs for Ariel
Arne: Under the Greenwood Tree
Gurney: Under the greenwood tree
Parry: Sonnet LXXXVII
Ireland: When daffodils begin to peer
Haydn: She Never Told Her Love, Hob. XXVIa:34
Schubert: An Silvia, D 106
Schubert: Ständchen 'Horch! Horch! die Lerch!', D889
Schubert: Trinklied D888
Schumann: Schlusslied des Narren, Op.127 No. 5
Wolf, H: Lied des transferierten Zettel
Cornelius: Komm herbei, Tod, Op.16 No. 3
Frances-Hoad: Rosalind
Poulenc: Fancy
Britten: Fancie
Honegger: Deux Chants d'Ariel
Bridge: Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Dring: Take, O Take Those Lips Away
Dankworth: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
At the beginning of the 19th century, the guitar experienced a true heyday in several European cities. Numerous guitar virtuosos sparked a wave of enthusiasm for the guitar. The guitar, long overlooked and, unlike the lute, without a tradition in art music, entered concert life and became a fashionable instrument. However, the majority of these concerts were not public in the modern sense; rather, they took place in the private salons of the nobility and the wealthy middle class. Those with social ambitions hosted musical soirees. The private spaces for these soirees were not the size of a concert hall, and a piano was not always available. Songs with guitar accompaniment and works for smaller chamber music ensembles with guitar, which were published in large numbers at the beginning of the 19th century, therefore enjoyed great popularity.
Three years after recording Franz Schubert’s Schwanengesang (arranged by Liszt), pianist Can Çakmur launches a new series called Schubert. Describing the Viennese composer as “a constant companion” in his life, Çakmur’s aim here is to juxtapose his complete major piano solo compositions with works by other composers that were inspired by his music, thus providing the opportunity to see these works in a new light. While making up a near complete anthology of Schubert’s completed major piano music, each disc is also intended as a self-sufficient recital. In this first instalment, two sonatas by Schubert, respectively D 537 and D 959, are juxtaposed with Arnold Schoenberg’s Three Pieces op. 11. The reason for this combination is that, firstly, the same theme is shared but treated differently in Schubert’s sonatas, and secondly, Schubert and Schoenberg seemingly sharing the same conception where the natural flow and direction of the music appear consciously deconstructed. With different means and a hundred years apart, both Schubert and Schoenberg, the former with his aversion to formal boundaries, the latter with his efforts against the natural tendencies of Western harmony, managed to strengthen the subjective expression of their music.
Meta - Schubert: Piano Sonatas Nos. 18-21; Lieder / Huangci
Berlin Classics
CD
$13.49$26.99Save 50%Oct 20, 2023
For her 10th anniversary with Berlin Classics, the US pianist Claire Huangci presents herself and her label with a weighty recording project, Schubert's late sonatas D 894, D 958, D 959, and D 960, as well as the Three Piano Pieces D 946 and a selection of songs from Schwanengesang. She accompanies the baritone Thomas E. Bauer in four of the songs and plays two in an arrangement by Franz Liszt. To be heard in a box with three albums under the title META.
META stands for the importance of Schubert's music in Claire Huangci's personal and musical life. Schubert's compositions, which she has played since her earliest youth, "show my development, that reflects unconscious emotions," as she writes in the booklet. Schubert's music is "the music I would like to take with me to a desert island...Schubert has accompanied me through all times", especially the late sonatas, which are at the center of the META box.
With Marimba, David Moliner presents an extraordinary album that places this unique instrument and it's manifold colors and sounds at it's core. Moliner's masterful arrangements and two original works composed specifically for the instrument take listeners on a sonic journey through the centuries, combining both technical skill and creative expression. The album brings together works from various epochs and styles. Particularly notable is his arrangement of Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites, which he transforms into new, polyphonic textures using his four Marimba mallets. Moliner successfully combines Bach's rhythmic pulse and musical complexity with the Marimba's unique tonal color. In addition to the Baroque works, the album also features pieces by Claude Debussy and Franz Schubert. Moliner brings a new dimension to Debussy's impressionistic Arabesques, allowing the Marimba to bloom in a delicate, almost pictorial soundscape. Schubert's romantic Impromptu, transcribed by Moliner for Marimba, unfolds in it's poetic beauty and gains expressive depth through the instrument's distinct timbre. Another highlight is the composition Jalak Suren by contemporary composer Alexander Liebermann, inspired by the bird songs of Indonesia. Moliner brings the subtle melodies and rhythmic structures of this music to life, allowing the Marimba to shine as a sensitive storyteller of a musical nature portrait. The album concludes with Moliner's own Marimba composition, making a powerful statement: the Marimba is not just an exotic instrument but a full-fledged member of the classical music scene, capable of interpreting the entire spectrum of the repertoire from Baroque to Modern. A must for lovers of sophisticated percussion and for all those who want to experience classical music in a new, captivating sonic dimension. Recorded at Kloster Lankwitz, Berlin October 2024
Significant new additions to the recorded catalogue of this most broad-minded of Danish conductors, working in the last two years of his life and featuring several composers of his own time who were writing in their own post-Nielsen styles. Hardly less novel is the wartime recording of Coates’s Knightsbridge March, never reissued since first appearing on 78s. Several other light-orchestral classics are complemented by spontaneous-sounding live Tchaikovsky in the hands of a little-known French violinist.
The latest instalment in this popular series takes us through the life and times of Franz Schubert. Written by Davinia Caddy, narrated by Leighton Pugh, and featuring a wide selection of musical excerpts from the Naxos catalogue and affiliated labels.
Insomnia is a persistent or recurrent sleeplessness. When we sleep fitfully or lie awake night after night, we conjure up all manner of images, fantasies and feelings, which in the hours of darkness or twilight mostly seem confused, larger than life and very existential. That is how it is with our choice of Lieder. The pieces examine the great feelings and issues like love, death, hate, yearning, under the magnifying glass of nocturnal sensitivity. Worlds arise in which one no longer knows what is true and what is not. And that is what is special about our Insomnia: everything is possible, and everything is to be found in the ears and the eyes of the listener.
At the heart of this album from the Gould Piano Trio is Schubert's Piano Trio in E-flat major, D. 929, a late masterpiece of emotional depth and formal ingenuity. Heard here in it's complete version, the finale restores the haunting B minor passage, it's circling piano figures echoing Der Leiermann, while the Andante's cello theme weaves through the work like a recurring memory. Alongside it is the youthful Piano Trio in B-flat major, D. 28 - fresh, lyrical, and full of promise, whilst Schubert Dances - a charming new suite of waltzes, Landler and Deutscher arranged for piano trio by Brian Newbould, completes the programme and showcases Schubert's lighter side. Together, these works chart a compelling path from teenage inspiration to late-style mastery.
Messiaen, Schubert, R. Schumann & Webern: On the Shoulders of Giants / Bohórquez, Eschenbach
Berlin Classics
CD
$10.99$21.99Save 50%May 26, 2023
On the Shoulders of Giants is the latest album from the renowned cellist Claudio Bohórquez, with works ranging from Schumann to Webern, from Schubert to Messiaen, this album is a journey on the shoulders of musical giants, both in the compositions and in the interpretations. Accompanied by the legendary conductor and pianist Christoph Eschenbach, Bohórquez delivers an extraordinary performance that is a treat for the ears and soul. With his exceptional skill and technique, he explores the depths of the cello's sound, bringing out the unique beauty and emotion of each piece. The album features Schumann's Adagio & Allegro op. 70, a powerful and expressive work that showcases Bohórquez's impeccable bowing and phrasing. The 2 Pieces for Cello and Piano by A. v. Webern are a masterclass in modernist composition, with Bohórquez and Eschenbach expertly navigating the intricate and complex melodies. Schubert's Sonata (Arpeggione) is a true gem of the cello repertoire. Finally, O. Messiaen's Louange à l‘Éternité de Jésus is a beautiful and moving work that showcases the cello's ability to convey deep spiritual emotions.
Schubert: Sonatas for Violin & Fortepiano, Op. 137
Resonus Classics
CD
$16.99Aug 15, 2025
Schubert's three Sonatas for Violin and Fortepiano, Op. 137, may nod to Mozart in their delicacy, but their spirit is firmly rooted in the early Romantic imagination. Written in 1816, they seem to inhabit the intimate world of Lieder, where song-like melodies and expressive dialogues between violin and piano take centre stage. Violinist Peter Hanson and fortepianist Andrew Arthur bring these works to life on period instruments, revealing the subtle textures and nuanced interplay that modern pianos often obscure. Hanson's phrasing echoes the expressive lyricism of Schubert's vocal writing, while Arthur's fortepiano-modelled on an early 19th-century Walther & Sohn-illuminates the sonatas' delicate, shifting colours. This recording invites us to experience Schubert's Sonatas as a cycle, as they may have been heard in a Viennese salon: a journey from charm to melancholy, from innocence to reflection, all shaped by the ephemeral beauty of song.
Schubert-Liszt: Transcriptions for Solo Piano / Doria-Miglietta
Piano Classics
CD
$10.99$21.99Save 50%Jan 19, 2024
Beginning in 1838, Franz Liszt began to produce transcriptions of Schubert's Lieder almost as rapidly as they had been written in the first place. Within eight years, Liszt had produced 56 such transcriptions, which are models of their kind: faithful, ingenious and gratifying to play.
As the great pianist of his own age, Liszt rewrote the Wanderer Fantasy in an act of homage, firstly as a concerto, then a solo piece, and this lesser-known version is recorded here by Giovanni Doria Miglietta.
Finally, Doria-Miglietta includes Liszt’s more complex rewritings of two Impromptus. In D899 No.2 he does indeed make the harmony more complex and the effect more brilliant, whereas he leaves the divine simplicity of No.3 almost untouched except for changing the key from G flat to G major, perhaps to make it easier to play for the amateur pianist.
Please note: the audio narration for this program is in French, with English subtitles.
In his Parisian living-room, music critic André Tubeuf (1930-2021) tells, with his knowledge, his language and his memory, the story of the German Lied. From Mozart and Beethoven to Mahler and Strauss, through Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Wolf, a major part of the European culture and of music history is reborn before our eyes and ears. A series in seven episodes by Martin Mirabel. “Of course, there is much grander music, more sublime music, but there is no music that is more direct or intimate. That is to say, there is nothing we need more.’’ (André Tubeuf)
Introducing a revolutionary new CD that challenges the stereotypes and prejudices against the double bass. This tribute album showcases the full potential and versatility of the instrument, featuring compositions by renowned composers such as Myroslav Skoryks, John Rutter, Peteris Vasks, and Sergei Rachmaninov. Experience the warm, soft, and welcoming tone of the double bass as it takes center stage in this diverse collection of music. From the spiritual anthem of Ukraine, Melodie by Myroslav Skoryks, to the familiar choral sounds of John Rutter's The Lord Bless You and Keep You, this album is a love letter to the double bass and an invitation to embrace its songful and tuneful credentials.
Thomas Jensen Legacy, Vol. 7 / Jensen, Tivoli Concert Orchestra, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Danacord
CD
$18.99Jan 21, 2022
A magical evening at the Tivoli Gardens! This new compilation features live and studio recordings of light orchestral waltzes and polkas, including the greatest hits of the Danish 'Waltz King', HC Lumbye. Several studio recordings from the 1940s receive their first release on album. Album 2 features a previously unpublished live concert broadcast direct from the Tivoli Gardens, where the people of Copenhagen have enjoyed relaxation and entertainment ever since 1843. Thomas Jensen directs the Tivoli orchestra with the same authority he brought to his classic recordings of Nielsen and Sibelius.
