Sergey Rachmaninoff's symphonic career had a rocky start with the premiere of his First Symphony, now recognized as one of the Russian symphonic works of the late 19th century. Both the powerful First Symphony and the gloriously melodic Second, with its lush harmonic Adagio second movement, are haunted by the Dies irae chant melody. Rachmaninoff considered his Third Symphony to be one of his finest works, alongside the exquisitely and virtuosic Symphonic Dances. The enduring attraction of these symphonies is enhanced by the 'impressive, highly desirable interpretations' (Gramophone) in this acclaimed edition conducted by Leonard Slatkin.

Past praise for previously released volumes included in this set:

Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3, Symphonic Dances

The more garish aspects of the Symphonic Dances, with its Dies irae quotation morphing into a Russian Alleluia, and the percussion parts generally, are kept under control, while the symphony’s glorious melodies, the last stand of the Romantic era in 1936, are allowed to flower luxuriantly. A crack Russian or British orchestra might be smoother in places, but there is a confident musicality here that is immensely appealing, and it has everything to do with a group of young players who realize that they are under the gun and have what it takes to succeed, under seasoned leadership. Highly recommended.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

Rachmaninoff: The Isle of the Dead & Symphony No. 1

This recording of the First Symphony is arguably the finest since Ashkenazy’s with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for Decca. Slatkin grinds out the opening bars with real menace, and he conceals the first movement’s episodic construction with flowing tempos and smartly managed transitions. The climax of the development section uses the glockenspiel part that seems to come and go in various recordings, but not the rest of the percussion that we find, say, with Litton on Virgin. Through it all the Detroit Symphony plays splendidly.

The crepuscular scherzo has an attractive lilt, while the Larghetto is just that: a small Largo, not one of Rachmaninov’s more hot and heavy statements in the mode of Symphony No. 2. Kudos to Slatkin for catching the movement’s gentle melancholy so well. As for the finale, it begins with plenty of the requisite panache, and culminates with a dark, powerful, and threatening coda that, if not quite as screamingly intense as Ashkenazy’s (the tempo is a bit quicker), comes as close as makes no difference. The trombones really put on a show here.

As for The Isle of the Dead, Slatkin’s performance doesn’t languish as some others do, and it’s all to the good. You really feel the five-in-a-bar rhythm in this performance, the lapping of the waves against the shore. The climaxes have tremendous impact, and the final appearance of the Dies irae sends a shiver down the spine. The work is all the more gripping for having such a strong rhythmic profile, and like the symphony it’s beautifully played (and recorded). Slatkin always has performed Rachmaninov as well as just about anyone alive today, and this cycle, quietly and with little fanfare as it has gradually appeared, sustains his reputation.

-- ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz)

Performers and listeners alike have long gravitated to Louis Couperin's music more than to that of any other member of the French keyboard school of the time, probably because of its fascinating and surprising harmonic language. There are 129 pieces catalogued as authentic.

In making this new recording of all 129 pieces, Massimo Berghella has chosen to take the Preludes as starting points for ‘suites’ – 17 in all – which gather up the remaining dance movements into coherent sequences cast in the same key as the relevant Prelude.

Among the most distinguished active Italian harpsichordists, Massimo Bergella studied with Kenneth Gilbert at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. He has a 30-year-long career as a teacher himself, as well as a performance diary and discography that has taken him across Europe for recitals, broadcasts and recordings. Of a previous album of d’Anglebert, La Nazione remarked that Berghella ‘grasps the reconstructive necessity of the scores, performing them in all their poetic complexity.’

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Vaughan Williams, we are proud to reissue this outstanding symphony cycle. Started in 1999 by Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra, this was the first Vaughan Williams symphony cycle to be recorded in Surround Sound and released on Hybrid SACD. Tragically, Richard Hickox died before he was able to complete the project – a task that was undertaken by Sir Andrew Davis and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. This reissue is priced at 6 discs for the price of 2, and features almost an hour of bonus material – broadcast interviews with Sir Adrian Boult and Sir John Barbirolli, and reminiscences from both Ursula Vaughan Williams and the composer himself.

Praise for previously released recordings included in this set:

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 2 / Hickox, London Symphony

Richard Hickox gives us the chance to hear VW's original, hour-long canvas – and riveting listening it makes too! Sprawling it may be, but this epic conception evinces a prodigal inventiveness, poetry, mystery, and vitality that do not pall with repeated hearings. An essential purchase for anyone remotely interested in British music.

-- Gramophone (2001 Recording of the Year)

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 / Hickox, London Symphony

This is an exceptionally powerful yet deeply moving account of the Fifth. Aided by glowing, wide-ranging engineering, Hickox's is an urgently communicative reading. The first and third movements in particular emerge with an effortless architectural splendour and rapt authority, the climaxes built and resolved with mastery.

-- Gramophone

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 8, "Sinfonia Antartica" / Davis, Bergen Philharmonic

The Bergen Phil finds a clear affinity with the Sinfonia Antartica...There’s an inexorability about this performance and a strong tragic undertow that makes it a compelling listen throughout. Davis authoritatively builds up the tension without any fussiness.

-- The Sunday Times (UK)

A 2017 Critics' Choice Winner at American Record Guide!

Evgeny Kissin (b. 1971) made his debut with the Ulyanovsk Symphony Orchestra when he was only eleven years old. The next year, he performed his first solo piano recital in Moscow. When he recorded the two Chopin piano concertos with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow in 1984, his fame exploded. Each and every piano masterwork is included in this set, as Kissin was a master of broad-ranging repertoire. Staples by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Stravinsky, Scriabin, and more are all here. This specially priced hardcover box set documents many of Kissin’s extraordinary achievements, as it holds all of Kissin’s recordings for both RCA and Sony Classical.

REVIEW:

The contents of this set are identical to RCA’s previous Previn RVW reissue, and the discs do not appear to have been remastered. André Previn’s Vaughan Williams symphony cycle arguably is the best such offering on the market today, particularly given the difficulty of finding the similarly fine Handley and Slatkin sets domestically (or at all!). In contrast to Boult’s famous EMI set, where his all-knowing conducting (he was a lifelong friend of the composer) occasionally takes on a relaxed and autumnal air, Previn’s consistently vibrant renditions reflect his fresh encounters with the music.

Not to say that he’s always faster–Boult is noticeably quicker in many instances–yet, especially in the case of Nos. 3 and 5, Previn sounds more energized and involved despite his slower tempos. Previn also has at his disposal the London Symphony, which provides exceptionally robust playing throughout. Case in point: compare the LSO’s playing in Previn’s potent and dramatic No. 6 with Boult’s generally listless London Philharmonic in the same work.

Previn’s gripping Sinfonia Antarctica and his profoundly atmospheric A London Symphony rank among the finest versions available. However, Previn must yield to Boult in A Sea Symphony, where Boult’s grandiose vision and EMI’s ravishing recording make a tremendous impression. RCA’s sound, except for a dry and edgy No. 8 (did the master tape deteriorate?) is generally clear and well-balanced, with plenty of impact. Factor in the bonus works–the Violin concerto “Concerto accademico”, the Tuba Concerto, and the “Three Portraits” from The England of Elizabeth–and you’ve got a handsome package of memorable, recommendable performances. The bargain price makes it all the more irresistible.

-- ClassicsToday (Victor Carr, Jr.)

In celebration of the great Israeli-American violinist’s 75th birthday, Sony Classical is proud to present the first-ever collection of Itzhak Perlman’s complete recordings for RCA and CBS/Sony in a single box set: 18 CDs spanning the years 1965 to 2012.

Itzhak Perlman has dominated the world of violin virtuosos for half a century. His TV appearances had already made him a household name in the US by the time he was 13. A few years later came his Carnegie Hall debut, then the prestigious Leventritt Award, followed by triumphant tours of Israel, North America and Europe between 1965 and 1968. By then he was an international celebrity and recognized “not just as the finest violinist of his generation but as one of the greatest musical talents to emerge since World War II” (leading string authority Tully Potter writing in the NEW GROVE).

And it was then that Perlman began his illustrious, virtually unparalleled career as a recording artist. His first sessions for RCA, accompanied by pianist David Garvey – with works ranging from sonatas by Handel, Leclair and Hindemith to showpieces by Paganini, Bazzini, Sarasate and Falla – took place in New York in 1965 but were not issued for nearly 40 years because the label felt concertos would make a more suitable commercial debut for the rising star. When an album of these pieces was finally released – as “Perlman Rediscovered”, in 2004 – it was hailed “an outstanding tribute to one of the great names among violinists of any age, as well as a remarkably varied and interesting recital in its own right” (ClassicsToday). These tracks are, of course, included in the new collection.

Perlman’s first concerto efforts for RCA – the Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Prokofiev Second, with Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony – were set down in 1966/1967 and released the following years as his recording debut. ClassicsToday acclaimed them in a recent reissue as “offering playing that is gutsy and shamelessly virtuosic, and with a sharper rhythmic focus than Perlman often achieved subsequently. The finale of the Sibelius remains a potent example of the playing’s youthful fire.” In 1969, Perlman recorded what was arguably one of the finest albums of his career, the two Prokofiev Sonatas (which he never remade), partnered by pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy at the beginning of their long and distinguished collaboration: “Delicate where needs be … and yet with a Heifetzian resilience that both sonatas willingly respond to … Perlman and Ashkenazy play with astonishing virtuosity” (Gramophone).

Itzhak Perlman’s work for American Columbia began in the mid-1970s and – apart from Bach and Vivaldi multi-violin concertos with Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman and the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta – cover a wide swath of chamber music with special partners: pianists Daniel Barenboim and Emanuel Ax, cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Harrell and guitarist John Williams. The Mendelssohn Piano Trios with Ax and Ma, first released in 2010, appear here for the first time in a Perlman collection (“…ensemble balance, clarity of inner part-writing, drama, lyricism, and phrase shaping of the highest order … I find these performances not just outstanding; I find them astounding” (Fanfare).

That other John Williams, the legendary composer for the silver screen, was Perlman’s collaborator in another medium, the movies: his two best-selling “Cinema Serenade” albums arranged and conducted by Williams, with Perlman featured in selections from such classic films as Modern Times, Gone with the Wind, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Out of Africa, Cinema Paradiso, The Color Purple and, of course, the theme that Perlman memorably performed on the soundtrack of Williams’s Oscar-winning score for the Spielberg masterpiece Schindler’s List.

New to Perlman CD editions are two complete soundtrack albums: John Williams’s “elegant and thoughtful score” for Memoirs of a Geisha in which the violinist is joined by Yo-Yo Ma and to which Perlman “brings a magical and peculiarly oriental sound to his violin-playing” (Gramophone), and the music for Yimou Zhang’s Hero by Tan Dun: “Few composers today write more effective melodies for bowed strings” (Gramophone). And to round off this uniquely wide-ranging survey of the violinist’s musical passions and triumphs, in its first appearance in a Perlman collection, the artist is joined by golden-voiced cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot in Eternal Echoes, a highly praised album of liturgical and traditional selections which the violinist has affectionately described as “Jewish comfort music – everything that I recognize from my childhood is in this program.”

SET CONTENTS

DISC 1:
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63   
Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47

DISC 2:
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH 59
Dvořák: Romance in F Minor, Op. 11, B. 39   

DISC 3:
Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 80   
Prokofiev: Violin Sonata in D Major No. 2, Op. 94bis   

DISC 4:
Lalo: Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21   
Ravel: Tzigane, M. 76 (Version for Violin & Orchestra)   

DISC 5:
Paganini: Centone di sonate, Op. 64, MS 112 (Sonata No. 1 in A Minor)   
Paganini: Sonata for Violin and Guitar in E Minor, Op. 3, No. 6, MS 27   
Paganini: Sonata concertata in A Major, Op. 61, MS 2   
Giuliani: Duo concertante in E Minor, Op. 25 "Grand Sonata"   
Giuliani: Cantabile in D Major, Op. 17, MS 109   

DISC 6:
Dohnányi: Serenade in C Major, Op. 10   
Beethoven: Serenade in D Major, Op. 8   

DISC 7:
Bach, J.S.: Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043   
Vivaldi: Concerto for 3 Violins in F Major, RV 551   
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E-Flat Major, K. 364   

DISC 8:
Chausson: Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet in D Major, Op. 21   

DISC 9:
Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78   
Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100   
Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108   

DISC 10:
Mozart: Duo for Violin & Viola in G Major, K. 423   
Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola, K. 424   
Leclair: 6 Sonatas for 2 Violins, Op. 3, No. 4   

DISC 11:
Lubbock/Rosenbaum/Jones/Temperton: The Color Purple: Main Title   
Gardel: Scent of a Woman: Tango (Por Una Cabeza)   
Legrand: Yentl: Papa, Can You Hear Me?   
Bacalov: Il Postino: Theme   
Bernstein: The Age of Innocence: Theme   
Williams: Theme (From "Far and Away")   
Legrand: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg: I Will Wait for You   
Previn: Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Theme   
Williams: Sabrina: Theme   
Barry: Out of Africa: Main Title   
Bonfa: Black Orpheus: Manha de Carnaval   
Williams: Main Theme (From "Schindler's List")   
Morricone: Love Theme (From "Cinema Paradiso")   

DISC 12:
Raksin: Theme from "Laura" (1944)   
Steiner: Theme from Now, Voyager (1942)
Chaplin: Smile from "Modern Times" (1936)   
Rózsa: Love Theme from Lost Weekend (1945)
Young: St. Patrick's Day from The Quiet Man (1952) (Traditional)   
Korngold: Marian & Robin Love Theme from "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938)   
Hupfeld: As Time Goes By from "Casablanca" (1942)   
Walton: Touch Her Soft Lips and Part (From "Henry V")   
Young: Stella by Starlight from The Uninvited (1944)   
Young: Theme from My Foolish Heart (1949)
Steiner: Tara's Theme (From "Gone with the Wind" 1939)   
Newman: Cathy's Theme from "Wuthering Heights" (1939)   

DISC 13:
Tan Dun: Works

DISC 14:
Paganini: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1, MS 25   
Ben-Haim: Berceuse Sfaradite   
Sarasate: Navarra, Op. 33   
Handel: Violin Sonata in E Major, Op. 1 No. 15, HWV 373   
Hindemith: Violin Sonata, Op. 11 No. 1 in E-Flat   
Leclair: Violin Sonata, Op. 9 No. 3 in D   
Bloch: Baal Shem: II. Nigun (Version for Violin & Piano)   
Falla: Spanish Dance No. 1 (from La vida breve)   
Bazzini: La ronde des lutins, Op. 25   

DISC 15: John Williams: Works

DISC 16:
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49   
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Minor Op. 66   
Mendelssohn: Songs without Words, Op. 19, No. 1 Sweet Remembrance" - Andante con moto"
Mendelssohn: Songs without Words, Op. 38, No. 2 - Allegro non troppo

DISC 17:
Berditchever: A Dudele   
Shenker: Mizmor L'Dovid   
Goldfaden: Shoyfer Shel Moshiakh   
Schwartz: Romanian Doyne   
Rosenblatt: T'filas Tal   
Traditional: Yism'chu   
Schloßberg: R'tzay   
Traditional: Dem Trisker Rebns Khosid   
Schorr: Sheyibone Bays Hamikdosh   
Traditional: Kol Nidrei   

DISC 18:
Tchaikovsky: Sérénade mélancolique, Op. 26, TH 56   
Tchaikovsky: Valse-Scherzo, Op. 34, TH 58   
Dvořák: Romance in F Minor, Op. 11, B. 39
Dvořák: 8 Humoresques, Op. 101, B. 187: No. 7, Poco lento e grazioso (Transcribed by Oscar Morawetz for Violin, Cello & Orchestra)   
Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 90, B. 166: "Dumky", V. Allegro   
Dvořák: Slavonic Dances, Op. 72, B. 147: No. 2, Dumka. Allegretto grazioso   
Halvorsen: Passacaglia and Sarabande for Violin and Viola (With Variations on a Theme by Handel)   
Walton: Canzonetta from Henry V   
Williams: Air and Simple Gifts

As pianist Andrei Hoteev puts it, Vladimir Sofronitzki's interpretations included an "improvisatory style", which corresponds with what musicologist Sigfried Schibli has noted as a characteristic of Scriabin's own playing, going on to say Scriabin "developed his own style of playing the piano" with "alertly varied rhythms and dynamics...combined with a delicate touch and spontaneous agogics." Indeed, Sofronitzki's Scriabin performances have often been praised for their idiomatic, "poetic" rubato together with a flair for musical architecture and rhythmic precision. In his desire for fidelity to the original, Sofronitzki's highly sensitive use of the pedal reflects his striving to abide by the composer's expressive markings as closely as possible. His affinity with Scriabin's oeuvre may derive from the fact that both the composer and the pianist himself were influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Having spent his childhood in Warsaw, where his family had settled when he was two years old, Sofronitzki came to be regarded as setting new standards for Chopin interpretation - an artistic focus that goes back to his first piano tuition in the Polish capital. In 1949, the centenary of Chopin's death, Sofronitzki performed all his piano works on five successive days at the great hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.

REVIEWS:

The flow of melody and the highest transparency of musical events were top priorities for Vladimir Sofronitzky, whom Emil Gilels called the greatest piano player in the world and of whom the famous Heinrich Neuhaus said, « He plays like a god and looks like a god. » Let’s look closely at these two statements: Gilels speaks of the piano player not of the pianist. Consciously or unconsciously? And Neuhaus speaks of the god. God, is that power? Mightiness? Because Sofronitzky’s playing is powerful. It is dramatic and sonorous. This is Sofronitzky’s individualism: his feelings are those of sovereignty, of control. Poetry and tenderness are not his thing. And so the recordings of this edition impress me more than they touch me.

However, those who are intoxicated by consummate piano technique will be happy with this. In addition to the Etudes, Mazurkas, Preludes, Impromptus, Nocturnes and Poèmes, this box includes the legendary near-complete recording of the piano sonatas with Vladimir Sofronitzky. Only the first three movements of the 1st Sonata and the 9th Sonata, which the pianist never recorded out of respect for Scriabin, are missing and replaced by recordings by other pianists. Sofronitzky’s interpretations are phenomenal: he literally chisels the music into sculptures, relentless, accented, yet often very restrained and labored for nuance. Nevertheless, it is the enormously powerful playing that dominates and captivates the listener[.]

-- Pizzicato

These are historical recordings from 1946 to 1962, played primarily by Sofronitski; all the others are listed as guests. Profil celebrates Scriabin’s 150th birthday with a nearly complete collection of his solo piano works. This remastered collection has cleaned things up to today’s standards.

"Historical Recordings 1946-1962" is correct for all the recordings here except Scriabin’s tracks. There is not a bad performance in this collection. A few choices were made that I didn’t agree with, but, by and large, this is spectacular Scriabin...I was amazed at the musical concentration Sofronitsky summoned to play such beautifully shaped phrases on such an instrument. Anyone who enjoys Scriabin’s piano music will find exceptional performances on each disc here.

-- American Record Guide

When William Steinberg was appointed music director of the Boston Symphony in 1969 as successor to Erich Leinsdorf, he attained the pinnacle of his career. No previous conductor had headed two top-ten US orchestras simultaneously. It was a condition of his Boston position that he could continue to work in Pittsburgh with the orchestra that he had headed since 1952.

Born as Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne on 1 August 1899, he studied at the local conservatory with the conductor Hermann Abendroth and the pianist Lazzaro Uzielli, a Clara Schumann pupil. On graduating in 1920 he became Otto Klemperer’s assistant at the Cologne opera house. In 1929 he was appointed music director in Frankfurt. Relieved of his post by the Nazis in 1933, he conducted concerts in Frankfurt and Berlin under the auspices of the Jewish Cultural League before emigrating to Palestine in 1936 to take over the Palestine Orchestra (now Israel Philharmonic Orchestra). At Toscanini’s invitation he went to the United States in 1938 to assist in forming and training the new NBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1945, he assumed the music directorship of the Buffalo Philharmonic, where he liked to refer to himself as “Buffalo Bill”.

The Steinberg/Boston collaboration with RCA was unfortunately ill-fated and short-lived. Not because of the repertoire, but plummeting sales and spiraling costs plaguing the American recording industry in general persuaded RCA to let its contract with the Boston Symphony lapse after 52 years’ association. Gramophone magazine’s Peter Quantrill claimed in 2018 that Steinberg was “the most under-recorded of great conductors in the second half of the last century.”

In 2004, the critic Richard Freed wrote of the Schubert Ninth (CD 1) and Bruckner Sixth (CD 2) Symphonies: “Both [are] vital and inspiring performances, free of the monumentalizing all too often inflicted on such music: they are among the best entries in his discography and among the finest recordings of the works.” According to John L. Holmes in Conductors on Record, they were also Steinberg’s favorites among his own recordings. Mendelssohn’s own orchestration of the Scherzo from his Octet and Stravinsky’s Scherzo fantastique and Scherzo à la russe, coupled on CD 3 with formidable virtuoso renderings of orchestral showpieces by Dukas, Richard Strauss and Saint-Saëns, were originally prepared for release on LP LSC-3155 but remained unpublished – until now.

This survey of RCA Boston Symphony recordings during the Steinberg era is rounded off with 1970 tapings of Dvorák’s “New World” Symphony and Carnival Overture (CD 4) from the same recording period by Arthur Fiedler, former BSO violinist and longstanding conductor of the Boston Pops. His recordings of mainly light repertoire for RCA generated total sales of well over 50 million. Nevertheless, it was his ambition to record a major symphony, and here RCA belatedly granted his wish, placing the full Boston Symphony Orchestra at his disposal for the first and only time.

All recordings in the set have been newly transferred and remastered from the 3-track (CD 1), 4-track (CDs 2, 3 [1-6], 4) and 2-track (CD 3 [7-9]) analog tapes using 24 bit / 192 kHz technology.

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
• Saint-Saëns: Caprice arabe, Op. 96
• Debussy: L'isle joyeuse
• Infante: Danze andaluse (for 2 pianos): No. 2 Sentimento
• Debussy: Deux arabesques, L. 66
• Bach, J S: Fantasia in C minor, BWV906
• Granados: Danza española, Op. 37 No. 10 'Melancólica'
• Gould, M: Boogie Woogie Etude
• Gould, M: Blues
• Falla: Ritual Fire Dance (from El amor brujo)
• Falla: Dance of Terror (from El amor brujo)
• Debussy: Suite bergamasque: Clair de lune
• Liszt: Liebestraum, S541 No. 3 (Nocturne in A flat major)
• Chopin: Polonaise No. 6 in A flat major, Op. 53 'Héroïque'
• Schumann: Arabeske in C major, Op. 18
• Debussy: Rêverie
• Haydn: Theme and Variations in C major, Hob.XVII:5
• Paderewski: Minuet in G major, Op. 14 No. 1
• Beethoven: Für Elise (Bagatelle in A minor, WoO59)
• Schumann: Träumerei (from Kinderszenen, Op. 15)
• Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
• Rachmaninoff: Humoresque in G major, Op. 10 No. 5
• Infante: Danses andalouses
• Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37b: June (Barcarolle)
• Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37b: November (Troika)
• Mussorgsky: Une Larme (A Tear)
• Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 'Scottish'
• Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 'From the New World'
• Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody, S244 No. 14 in F minor
• Falla: El sombrero de tres picos: Dance of the Neighbours (Seguidillas)
• Falla: El sombrero de tres picos: Danza del molinero (farruca)
• Falla: El sombrero de tres picos: Final Dance (Jota)
• Palau Boix: Marche burlesque
• Palau Boix: Hommage a Debussy
• Iturbi: Seguidillas
• Cuesta: Danza valenciana in A major
• Falla: Siete Canciones populares españolas
• Turina: Homenaje a Lope de Vega, Op. 90: I. Cuando tan hermosa os miro
• Granados: Danza española, Op. 37 No. 8 'Sardana'
• Granados: Danza española, Op. 37 No. 12 'Arabesca'
• Granados: Danza española, Op. 37 No. 9 'Romántica'
• Turina: Mujeres Españolas, Series 1, Op. 17: 2. La andaluza sentimental
• Turina: Mujeres Españolas, Series 1, Op. 17: 3. La morena coqueta
• Infante: Pochades andalouses: Canto flamenco
• Infante: ochades andalouses: Danse gitane
• Infante: Pochades andalouses: Aniers sur la route de Seville
• Infante: Pochades andalouses: Tientos
• Albéniz: Granada (from Suite española No. 1, Op. 47)
• Albéniz: Córdoba (No. 4 from Cantos de España, Op. 232)
• Cuesta: Danza valenciana in G major
• Lecuona: Malagueña
• Griffes: The White Peacock
• Infante: Guadalquivir
• Infante: Pochades andalouses: Ritmo
• Mozart: Sonata for 2 pianos in D major, K448: Allegro molto
• Granados: El Pelele
• Granados: Goyescas (piano suite)
• Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales
• Chabrier: Scherzo-valse (No. 10 from Pièces pittoresques)
• Chabrier: Idylle (No. 6 from Pièces pittoresques)
• Chabrier: Bourrée Fantasque
• Schubert: Valses Sentimentales, D 779 Op. 50 (Excerpts)
• Schubert: 12 Valses Nobles, D 969 Op. 77: selection
• López-Chavarri: Danza de las labradoras Valencianas
• Shostakovich: Prelude for piano, Op. 34 No. 2 in A minor
• Shostakovich: Prelude for piano, Op. 34 No. 14 in E flat minor
• Shostakovich: Prelude for piano, Op. 34 No. 24 in D minor
• Fauré: Impromptu No. 3 in A flat major Op. 34
• Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 13 in B flat major, K333

The injustices of history are made to be redressed. Here a cast of international singers, under the dynamic direction of Gergely Madaras, devotes itself with conviction to the task of reviving one of the forgotten glories of French Romantic opera. Hulda, completed in 1885, was never staged in César Franck’s lifetime. This gory medieval legend recounts the multiple acts of vengeance its heroine inflicts on the Aslak clan, which slaughtered her family, and on her unfaithful lover Eiolf. The ferocious performance of American soprano Jennifer Holloway in the title role is matched by the sinister presentiments of her French colleague Véronique Gens and the tender outbursts of Dutch soprano Judith van Wanroij. Although the imaginary Norwegian setting brings Wagner to mind, Franck continues the tradition of French grand-opéra while adopting the contemporary Verdian idiom. The intensity of the action is reflected in harmonic and instrumental experiments that place Franck in the forefront of the modernists of his time. The inventiveness of the ballet is matched only by the splendour of the choral writing. How could such a masterpiece have languished in oblivion for so long? Quite simply, because it was deliberately buried by Franck's pupils, who preferred to keep for themselves the glory of personifying the French operatic revival.

Recorded between 2009 and 2021, this mammoth project drew the highest critical acclaim: ‘A project that began in 2010 is completed; what a journey it has been. Bavouzet’s gifts of insightful exposition and revelation are matched by the wisdom of his curation... A triumph’ -The Sunday Times ‘A recording worth rushing to the shops for. Bavouzet plays these inventive masterpieces with real love’ -Classic FM ‘Quite apart from his stylistic command and sheer delight in the music, Bavouzet’s mixing and matching of different periods in the composer’s awe-inspiring pianistic development ensures there is never a dull moment’ -The Financial Times ‘Bavouzet’s readings have a strong claim to be the finest Haydn playing of recent vintage on the modern piano. They are a work of an insightful musician of profound culture and wide interests, whose intellectual emotional identification with Haydn is unreserved, and whose playing, beautifully captured in technical terms, is a delight to listen to.’- International Record Review ‘A major modern recording landmark in the Haydn discography’ - Gramophone

Saint-Saens wrote five symphonies between the years 1850 and 1886. The cycle began with the Mozart-influenced Symphony in A but as a precocious composer of 17 he wrote his first numbered symphony, a work much admired by Berlioz and Gounod. He progressed to his most popular piece in the genre, the ground-breaking Symphony No. 3 with its inclusion of organ and piano. This critically admired cycle includes a sequence of atmospheric and dramatic symphonic poems, including Phaeton and the ever-popular Danse macabre.

REVIEWS:

The standard reference versions for these works have been Martinon’s EMI (now Warner) recordings, but Soustrot’s are different enough to justify duplication. In the First Symphony, particularly, Soustrot adopts a very slow, dreamy tempo for the Adagio, but it works very well, particularly in contrast to the bold and brassy finale which follows without a break. Soustrot correctly highlights the adventurous writing for the harps, but never tastelessly, and some listeners may feel that the interpretation finds additional expressive depth in music often denigrated as merely sentimental. It’s good to hear it played with no apologies.

In the Second Symphony Soustrot comes closer to Martinon in terms of timing, but there’s no denying the extra clarity and nimbleness of the Malmö ensemble as compared to the old French National Radio and Television Orchestra for EMI. Soustrot’s exciting and rhythmically sharp reading of Phaéton makes a welcome bonus. This is unquestionably one of the best recordings of the piece, with an especially effective thunderbolt as Zeus hurls the hapless chariot (of the sun) driver from his seat. Attractively natural sonics round out a very promising start to this new series.

– ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz; in an earlier review of the CD release of Symphonies 1 & 2)

Marc Soustrot has some very good ideas about how the music should go. Soustrot prefers urgency even at the expense of some occasionally blurred articulation. The very slow tempo for the introduction followed by that agitated allegro highlights the broad range of contrasts typical of the performance more generally. The organ, excellently played by Carl Adam Landström, is very well balanced by the Naxos engineers. All told, this is a very fine performance of the Thrid.

– ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz; in an earlier review of the CD release of Symphony No. 3)