Brahms, Mozart, Berg et al: a la memoire d’un ange - Christian Ferras In Memoriam
Rhine Classics
CD
$64.99May 19, 2023
All recordings are first published here, including two most important ones: Ferras's first concert in the USA (playing Brahms' violin concerto with Charles Munch in Boston) and Ferras playing Mozart's violin concerto No. 3 for Pope John XXIII in 1963, one of the most powerful experiences of Ferras' life.
Gary Lemco writes: “My own beguilement with Szeryng came with his performance in 1987 Atlanta with Louis Lane, of the North American premiere of the 1927 Concerto by Reynaldo Hahn, the French master of the Belle Epoch. “Ah, yes”, asserts Szeryng, “Reynaldo Hahn, the most Parisian of all Parisians, even though he was born in Caracas of German parents. There is even a street in Caracas named for him. I remember meeting him; and even though he was trained as a pianist, he had a natural sense of the violin. Some favor his Violin Sonata. The Concerto is published, but for some reason nobody plays it. The first movement for me is the best and most compact and makes a natural display piece. The second movement is based on a song from Tunis — absolutely genuine— and the finale sings in a typical operetta style. It starts like an extension of the second movement and has tremendous wit and charm. And, to be sure, it is a challenge.”
REVIEW:
Szeryng was a class act. His tone pure yet full-bodied, his phrasing the product of a rounded and cultivated mind.
-- Gramophone (Reissue/Archive Issue of the Month, December 2021)
Pietro Scarpini was that rare combination: a highly intellectual pianist with a virtuoso technique. He was a dignified and solitary person with a serious approach to music, single-mindedly following the course of his artistic convictions without compromise. Musicweb writes: ‘The sixth and final volume of a wonderful recorded legacy. As with the previous volumes, the remasterings are superb in every respect. The whole Scarpini project has been a labor of love for Emilio Pessina and I thank him for his commitment and endeavors.”
Discovered Tapes - Beethoven: Piano Sonatas / Scarpini
Rhine Classics
CD
$37.99Apr 01, 2022
The Italian master pianist Pietro Scarpini played Bach's "Die Kunst der Fuge" from memory and was an early pioneer of Schönberg, Berg, Busoni, Dallapiccola and Hindemith. Until now his art remained almost inaccessible. Rhine Classics' complete collection will include 33 albums to comprehensively represent all the significant recordings left by Scarpini, many recorded privately. Musicweb writes: “Scarpini’s legacy can now be seen in all its variety and richness in this series of Rhine releases and this latest example is no less impressive than the previous examples.”
Israeli violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Ivry Gitlis enjoyed a long and successful career performing alongside the world’s top orchestras including the London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In his latest years, Ivry Gitlis listened to all our restored and remastered audio tracks via video-chats and over the phone, and being very pleased with the final result, he approved them for release, as his greatest wish was that his live legacy would never be forgotten. This present collection has been conceived as a double tribute to Ivry’s art: posthumous, in memoriam of his death, and, in perspective, as a celebration for the centenary of his birth.
A young prodigy, Jean Ter-Merguerian got the “1st Prix” at the Marseille Conservatoire at the age of 11 in the violin class of Gabriel Rey. On May 18, 1947 he undertook his debut as soloist with the Vivaldi Concerto in A minor and Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor with the Orchestre du Conservatoire under the baton of André Audoli. In the same year his family immigrated to Soviet Armenia Republic, where he continued his musical studies in Yerevan with Karp Dombayev and then at the Moscow Conservatory in the class of David Oistrakh. The present release contains never before released recordings by this master.
Rachmaninoff: Complete Solo Piano Works / Fiorentino
Rhine Classics
CD
$74.99Jul 17, 2020
Recorded live in September 1987, this release features Fiorentino’s legendary complete survey of Rachmaninov’s solo piano works. “…an utterly mindblowing release of the complete Rachmaninoff solo piano music by Italian master pianist Sergio Fiorentino, to whom the piano world owes a huge debt of gratitude for coaxing the master out of retirement and ensuring that his last decade of concerts was recorded. In this set, we find in absolutely stunning sound quality Fiorentino’s masterful traversals of Rachmaninoff’s solo works, the golden sheen of his sound and refinement of his nuancing as captivating as his passionate and intelligent interpretations.” (The Piano Files)
