KALEIDOSCOPE • Amy Schwartz Moretti (vn); Robert McDuffie (vn); Elizabeth Pridgen (pn) • DORIAN 92126 (63:36)
GERSHWIN 3 Preludes. TCHAIKOVSKY Mélodie. Valse Scherzo. NOVÁ?EK Perpetuum mobile. MARTINON Solo Violin Sonatine, op. 31/1. KREISLER Caprice viennois. Praeludium and Allegro. MASSENET Thaïs: Meditation. MOSZKOWSKI Suite for 2 Violins and Piano
According to the blurb, Amy Schwartz Moretti chose the pieces for her first solo CD because they represent a kaleidoscope of works she’s known through her years of violin playing. The recital begins with Jascha Heifetz’s arrangement of George Gershwin’s Three Preludes, pieces in which Heifetz could wow an audience with stylish verve. Moretti is not so straightforwardly energetic as Heifetz, and she doesn’t wind up the first with a knockout punch. She’s slinkier, however (in a way similar to that of Maria Bachmann), especially in the second prelude. The engineers have swaddled her sound (on an 1874 Vuillaume that seems especially rich in the lowest registers) in a decent amount of reverberation, but at times she seems more recessive than does the pianist, her colleague Elizabeth Pridgen from Mercer University, although she brings the third prelude to a satisfying conclusion.
Two contrasting pieces by Piotr Illyitch Tchaikovsky follow: the Melodie, op. 42/3, which she plays with great warmth if not Nathan Milstein’s élan, and the Valse Scherzo, op. 34. At least one virtuoso I knew well ran afoul of this brilliant showpiece (both technically and stylistically), but Moretti doesn’t, and even if her portamentos don’t always seem finely judged in the waltz-like sections, she hits the double-stops squarely, plays the staccatos lightly and gracefully, and swirls the arpeggios with the silvery elegance of a baton twirler. Ottokar Nová?ek’s popular Perpetuum mobile may not be so difficult as it sounds, but Nathan Milstein could make a very dashing impression in it. Moretti takes it a bit more slowly, but perhaps makes a bit more musical sense out of it. For that reason, his 2:35 sounds somewhat longer than her 3:10.
Jean Martinon’s Sonatine No. 5, coming near the recital’s center, provides a slice of spiced meat among the sweets. She plays with prepossessing bravado at the opening of the second movement, but spikes the whole with energy. Fritz Kreisler didn’t slink and slide in his Caprice viennois the way Moretti does (compare, however, his two recordings from May 11 and 18, 1910—which themselves differ surprisingly—to his last, much more mannered one, from January 15, 1942), but her way in it makes a sense of its own kind. Its middle section is bright enough, but the outer section is softer-grained than, say, Zino Francescatti’s. Her even quarters in the first section of Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro remind me of the similar opening of David Nadien’s recording. Kreisler himself didn’t record the piece, which has been acclaimed by critics as the best of his lot, so we’ll never know what he would have done (Moretti does play the return of the quarter notes more subtly than their initial statement), although Carl Flesch relates that the composer didn’t take the Allegro too rapidly. Neither does Moretti, though it’s fast enough to throw off highlights (she approaches the cadenza slowly, but then mixes a real cocktail of sounds at the end). Jules Massenet’s popular Meditation may be the single most frequently requested violin piece in my experience, and Moretti plays it with such beauty of tone and glowing ardor that it’s easy to see why.
The program concludes with Moritz Moszkowski’s ingratiating Suite in G Minor for Two Violins and Piano, in which Robert McDuffie joins Moretti and Pridgen. McDuffie and Moretti seem well matched tonally (though he’s playing the 1735 Ladenburg Guarneri del Gésu) and stylistically through this work’s four movements. Together, Moretti and McDuffie produce an almost orchestral sonority, a tribute perhaps to Moszkowski’s skill in writing for the instruments, but also to the two violinists channeling his spirit. If it’s lightweight fare, listeners should note that the ability to make such pieces sound worthy of a hearing used to be more highly prized in earlier eras, and Moretti and the ensemble possess this ability in abundance. Although the recital will appeal most strongly to Moretti’s followers, all the well-played numbers suggest a broader recommendation to a wider audience—especially on account of Moszkowski’s suite.
FANFARE: Robert Maxham
Kaleidoscope / Amy Schwartz Moretti
$18.99
CD
Sono Luminus
Mar 29, 2011
DSL-92126
French Piano Concertos
Vox
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$29.99
Jan 01, 1994
REVIEW:
The various soloists are a delight to listen to, and handle both powerful and sensitive passages with considerable skill. The orchestras generally play well under their individual conductors but in certain passages the horns/trombones are insecure. The background notes are more than adequate though more could have been said about the works themselves. Something should be said about the new style slim double jewel case used by Vox. The internal leaf is poorly designed and the clips, too weak to hold the discs, break off in transit. (Why redesign when an robust version exists, one wonders?)
The analogue recordings of the 70s are clear with no background noise that usually shows up in recordings of this period. The recording of the Pierné work (from 1978) is disappointing; the acoustics are particularly dry and the higher frequencies are lost. These recordings, like all previous Vox concertos reviewed, are pleasantly balanced for piano. The recording venues are not given in the notes.
-- MusicWeb International (Raymond Walker, August 2001)
French Piano Concertos
$29.99
CD
Vox
Jan 01, 1994
CDX-5110
Massenet: Werther (Recorded 1953)
Andromeda
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$10.99
Jan 01, 2012
Classical Music
Massenet: Werther (Recorded 1953)
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Andromeda
Jan 01, 2012
ANDRCD5073
Massenet: Manon (Sung in Italian)
Andromeda
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$10.99
Jan 01, 2012
Classical Music
Massenet: Manon (Sung in Italian)
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Andromeda
Jan 01, 2012
ANDRCD5089
BOLERO AND OTHER SPANISH FAVOURITES
Naxos
Available as
CD
$19.99
Sep 01, 1997
The music of Spain retains it's exotic attraction, with it's individual blend of regional and national elements, influenced by the colorful traditions of the country and of it's former colonies. It was in the nineteenth century, with the growth of nationalism, politically and culturally, that Spanish musical identity became established internationally as something apart from the main European cultural traditions of which Spain had for centuries formed apart. It was natural that something of this fascination with things Spanish should make an early appearance in neighboring France. The French composer Emmanuel Chabrier had spent the early part of his career as a civil servant, resigning his position only in 1880 in order to devote himself to music. Chabrier lacked the thorough training of the Conservatoire, but had been able to study music with some assiduity as a private pupil of a number of teachers of distinction, while mixing socially with a circle of well known musicians, painters and writers. In 1881 Charles Lamoureux made him chorus director and organizing secretary for the new concerts that he was promoting in Paris, his first professional musical employment. It was a journey to Spain in 1882 that aroused Chabrier's interest in the music of that country. Returning to Paris, he composed a fantasia for piano, based on the melodies he had collected, and played it through to Lamoureux, who encouraged him to orchestrate it. The result was the orchestral rhapsody España, first performed under Lamoureux on 6th November 1883. Chabrier won immediate fame, although his continuing operatic ambitions never brought him the success that he wanted. España, a vivid evocation of Spain, uses the contrasting elements of the jota and the malagueña in a colorfully orchestrated work. Manuel de Falla, born in Cádiz in 1876, was the leading Spanish composer of his generation, writing music that captured the essence of all that was Spanish, while proving acceptable internationally. His ballet The Three-Cornered Hat, originally a pantomime under the title El corregidor y la molinera (The Magistrate and the Miller's Wife), is based on a story by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. The plot concerns the jealousy of the miller, whose attractive wife has been subjected to the attentions of the elderly Corregidor. The ballet was first staged in London in 1919 by Dyagilev's Ballets russes, with décor by Picasso and choreography by Leonid Massin. The excerpts included here start with the Fandango for the miller's wife, followed by a Segnidillas for the neighbors, a Farruca for the miller and a final Jota. Manuel de Falla's opera La vida breve ('Short Life') was completed in 1905, before the composer left Spain for Paris, and was first staged in Nice in 1913, a year before de Falla's return to Spain. It's plot concerns the betrayal of the gypsy girl Salud by her lover Paco, who marries a girl of richer background. Salud, appearing with a companion to dance for Paco and Carmela's wedding-guests, falls down dead, as she moves forward to accuse Paco. An Interlude marks night-fall, leading to the well known Spanish Dance of the wedding-guests, familiar from arrangement after arrangement. El amor brujo ('Love the Magician'), staged in Madrid in 1915, made full use of the traditions Spanish gypsy music. It tells the story of a gypsy girl Candelas, haunted by the spirit of her dead lover, which she summons up in her ritual fire dance, in the original version the Dance of the End of the Day. A dominant figure in French opera towards the end of the nineteenth century, Jules Massenet based his opera Le Cid on the play on the subject of the Spanish hero by Corneille. The opera was first staged at the Paris Opéra in 1885. The Spanish dances on which much of the present reputation of Massenet's opera depends come in the first scene of the second act, a contrast to the tragic events that have taken place. At the heart of the drama is the conflict in the heart of Chiméne, whose lover Don Rodrigue, El Cid, has killed her father. Massenet offers, in his ballet scene, a series of characteristic dances. Composers in the newly developed Russian nationalist tradition also had recourse, as Glinka had done, to the exotic, whether to bordering countries, to the ethnic minorities of the Russian Empire or to remoter Spain. Rimsky-Korsakov's famous Capriccio Espagnol began as a Fantasia on Spanish Themes, for violin and orchestra, and was eventually completed in it's present form in 1887. The work won immediate acclaim, above all for the brilliance of it's orchestration, an achievement from which the composer drew great satisfaction. The French composer Maurice Ravel was the son of a Swiss father and of a mother from the Basque country. He was familiar from childhood with Spanish culture and language and had occasion to make use of this element in his background in a number of compositions. Boléro, which he himself described as an orchestrated crescendo, was written for Ida Rubinstein, whose ballet troupe staged it in 1928, with choreography by Nijinska. It's two thematic elements are linked by the continuing percussion rhythm that gives the work it's hypnotic fascination.
BOLERO AND OTHER SPANISH FAVOURITES
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Naxos
Sep 01, 1997
8554044
Massenet: Orchestral Suites 1-3 / Ossonce, New Zealand So
Naxos
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Apr 11, 1995
MASSENET: Orchestral Suites Nos. 1- 3 / Herodiade
Massenet: Orchestral Suites 1-3 / Ossonce, New Zealand So
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Naxos
Apr 11, 1995
8553124
Prima Voce - Alma Gluck
Prima Voce
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Oct 01, 1996
Classical Music
Prima Voce - Alma Gluck
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Prima Voce
Oct 01, 1996
NI7904
Romantic Music For Flute & Harp / János Bálint, Nóra Mercz
Naxos
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$19.99
Nov 26, 1993
These performances are also included in a 4-disc set entitled "The Romance Collection", Naxos 8-504005.
Romantic Music For Flute & Harp / János Bálint, Nóra Mercz
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Naxos
Nov 26, 1993
8550741
Prima Voce - Chaliapin
Prima Voce
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Oct 01, 1996
Includes work(s) by various composers. Soloist: Feodor Chaliapin.
Prima Voce - Chaliapin
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Prima Voce
Oct 01, 1996
NI7823-4
The Golden Age Of Singing Vol 2 - 1910-1920
Nimbus
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Oct 01, 1996
Classical Music
The Golden Age Of Singing Vol 2 - 1910-1920
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Nimbus
Oct 01, 1996
NI7052
The Lark Ascending - Violin Showpieces
Naxos
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$13.99
Mar 17, 1997
Lark Ascending (The): Violin Showpieces
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The Lark Ascending - Violin Showpieces
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Naxos
Mar 17, 1997
8553509
James Galway - Serenade
RCA
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$5.99
Jul 03, 1989
SERENADE
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James Galway - Serenade
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RCA
Jul 03, 1989
600332RC
French Opera Arias / Von Stade, Pritchard, London Po
Sony Masterworks
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$11.99
Sep 22, 1998
Frederica von Stade and French vocal music go together like peanut butter and jelly. For example, her Melisande remains unmatched in its depth of character and great musical profundity. Von Stade was meant to sing the arias on this compilation disc of recordings from her early career. Her years of living in France greatly influenced her interpretations and approach to the music. Equipped with one of the greatest mezzo instruments, von Stade sings with such natural ability and charm that it is easy to forget all that goes into preparing an aria. A case in point is Offenbach's "Ah! quel diner je viens de faire" from 'La Perichole.' Often referred to as the "drunk" aria, it is one of von Stade's signatures, and she slyly portrays the plastered dinner guest trying to hide the extent of her intoxication. In dramatic contrast, von Stade passionately sings of desperate love in "Dieu! Que viens-je d'entendre?" from 'Beatrice et Benedict.' She seems to thrive on the intricate orchestration of Berlioz, and her flawless French diction is a delight to the ear. This is an important disc for those interested specifically in this repertoire, and von Stade sings it better than anyone else.
French Opera Arias / Von Stade, Pritchard, London Po
$11.99
CD
Sony Masterworks
Sep 22, 1998
SMK60527
Dinner Classics - Romance
Sony Masterworks
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Apr 07, 1992
This CD contains both analogue and digital recordings.
Dinner Classics - Romance
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Sony Masterworks
Apr 07, 1992
MFK48260
Massenet: Thais; Puccini: Il Tabarro (Finale)
Bongiovanni
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$18.99
Jan 01, 2004
MASSENET BASTIANINI; FORTI; SCARLINI; TOFFOLO (COND) THAIS- RECORDED LIVE IN TRIESTE, 1954; PUCCINI: II TABARR0 (FINALE)- RECORDED IN HAMBURG, 1953
Massenet: Thais; Puccini: Il Tabarro (Finale)
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Bongiovanni
Jan 01, 2004
HOC003/4
MASSENET: Roma
Dynamic
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$24.99
Jan 01, 1999
MASSENET: Roma
MASSENET: Roma
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Dynamic
Jan 01, 1999
DYN-CDS267
Massenet: Thaïs / Hopkins, Staples, Wall, Davis, Toronto Symphony
Chandos
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$43.99
Jun 05, 2020
BBC Music Magazine Opera Choice - August 2020
Following acclaimed performances at the Edinburgh Festival and then in Melbourne, Sir Andrew Davis’s recording of Massenet’s opera Thaïs features an outstanding cast, and exceptional performances from his Toronto forces. Written shortly after the premiere of his masterpiece Werther, Thaïs was composed for the Californian soprano Sybil Sanderson who gave the premiere at the Paris Opéra in 1894. Sanderson's performance was a triumph, but the opera itself had a mixed reception. After Massenet revised it in 1898 it went on to worldwide success in the years leading up to World War I and has enjoyed continuous and growing success in our own time. The role of Thaïs has drawn many great artists, including Mary Garden, Geraldine Farrar, Maria Jeritza, Leontyne Price, Beverley Sills, and Renée Fleming. According to the Financial Times, ‘Erin Wall is the Thaïs of one’s dreams, wielding a soprano of radiance, pristine beauty and tingling top notes”, and she is joined on the recording by Joshua Hopkins in the role of Athanaël, while Nicias is sung by Andrew Staples.
REVIEWS:
To Thais herself Erin Wall brings a clean, pliant soprano used with discretion and judgement. Dark of presence, Joshua Hopkins makes a vehement Athanaël. Davis presents a perceptive account of one of Massenet’s best creations, the Canadian orchestra offering fine-textured playing as they respond with assurance to the composer’s unerring gift for scene painting. It surpasses many earlier efforts not only in terms of casting and conducting, but also in taking one of Massenet’s finest scores seriously.
– BBC Music Magazine
Davis's understanding of Massenet’s often deliberate blurring of the dividing line between sensual and spiritual experience is unquestionably acute. The playing is excellent, with a refined sensuousness of texture throughout. Hopkins's is a remarkable, unforgettable performance, sung with consistently expressive beauty, and quite superbly characterised.
– Gramophone
Massenet: Thaïs / Hopkins, Staples, Wall, Davis, Toronto Symphony
$43.99
SACD
Chandos
Jun 05, 2020
CHSA 5258(2)
Massenet: L'histoire de Manon / Yates, Paris National Opera Orchestra [Blu-ray]
BelAir Classiques
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Blu-Ray
$42.99
Oct 28, 2016
Since it was first published in 1731, L’Histoire du Chevalier Dex Grieux et de Manon Lescaut has been the object of numerous adaptations for both stage and screen. In the 19th century, Daniel-Francois-Esprit Auber, Jules Massenet and Giacomo Puccini used Abbe Prevost’s novel as the theme for their respective operas. After 1912, cinema transposed the story of Manon and the Knight into varying degrees of melodramatic intensity. In 1974 British choreographer Kenneth MacMillan in turn decided to focus on the two protagonists for an ambitious ballet that could translate the feelings and emotions of two souls abused by the accidents of life and their own personal weaknesses. In short, how a young girl on her way to a convent manages to elope with the young student with whom she has just fallen in love, only to leave him to escape destitution and finally allow herself to be persuaded by her brother Lescaut to yield to the advances of wealthy “protectors.” Rather than reuse the score of Massenet’s opera, MacMillan entrusted Leighton Lucas with the task of arranging a series of extracts taken from a selection of the French composer’s operatic, symphonic and vocal scores. The end result was a huge success from its debut performance in London in 1974 onwards. Sixteen years later, L’Histoire de Manon entered the Paris Opera Ballet’s repertoire.
Massenet: L'histoire de Manon / Yates, Paris National Opera Orchestra [Blu-ray]
$42.99
Blu-Ray
BelAir Classiques
Oct 28, 2016
BAC435
MANON: JURINAC-DERMOTA-OLAH-NE
MYTO Historical
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$10.99
Apr 01, 2009
MANON: JURINAC-DERMOTA-OLAH-NE
MANON: JURINAC-DERMOTA-OLAH-NE
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MYTO Historical
Apr 01, 2009
MYTO003045
Arie Favorite / Elina Garanca
Ondine
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$18.99
Oct 28, 1997
Includes aria(s) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioacchino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, Jules Massenet. Ensemble: Latvian National Symphony. Conductor: Alexander Vilumanis. Soloist: Elina Garanca.
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