The Great Guitar Concertos

Classical Music

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

Includes work(s) by Ester Mägi. Ensemble: Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Arvo Volmer.

This is a reissue of a performance originally released on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi in Europe, one of the label’s final offerings before it was dissolved in 2008, and an import rarity that found little distribution in what was left of record retail in the US at the time. It was a shame because the recording features truly great performances in glorious, audiophile-quality sound of some of Handel’s most important and beloved orchestral works. Thankfully, Arcana has chosen to make it available once again.

For years my two longstanding reference recordings of this–the later, grander 1749 revision of the Royal Fireworks Music–were performances by Jordi Savall directing Le Concert des Nations (Astrée, now AliaVox) and Trevor Pinnock with the English Concert (DG Archiv), and I enjoyed both for different reasons. Much had to do with the tempo choices. Savall’s broader, more gracious approach–a 23-minute performance–provided a nice contrast to Pinnock’s more uptempo, often thrilling 18-minute run. At 21-plus minutes Zefiro’s performance strikes me as a “just right” middle course.

In my reference recordings I also appreciated how the relatively more spacious sound engineering of Savall’s recording complemented his performance, and how in a similar way the thinner, somewhat more detailed acoustic afforded to Pinnock complemented his. The DHM engineers astonishingly provide Zefiro with the best of both approaches in creating the illusion of a rich array of life-like instrumentation set in a convincingly wide, open-air soundstage. Savall enters the work without fanfare while Pinnock begins with a brief, celebratory drum roll. Zefiro ups Pinnock’s ante, opening the festivities with an opulent, elongated percussive roll, joined at the last moment by harpsichord and strings, in effect heightening the grandeur of the following, spectacular overture by the full orchestra. Perfect!

Zefiro’s performances of the three Concerti a due cori compare very favorably with Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music’s reference versions (L’Oiseau-Lyre, now Decca). Timings, the way the movements are shaped, and the dynamics are nearly identical, though again, Zefiro benefits from noticeably superior sound. The definition of the strings, and especially the brass, far surpasses what was possible with digital recording more than 30 years ago.

Mary Pardoe’s engaging notes, loaded with fascinating quotes and anecdotes, thankfully have been retained for this reissue. Arcana’s packaging and presentation, as usual, are second to none. Don’t miss this!

-- John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Soloists: Clara Rockmore, Nadia Reisenberg.

This is the fourth CD in a seven-CD series presenting all of Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst's compositions for the first time. It contains some of his most important compositions: an early Concertino with a melancholy slow movement and charming waltz finale; the fiendishly difficult Concerto that had a deep influence not only on Liszt's Piano Sonata but also on concertos by Brahms and Sibelius; and the late String Quartet, with echoes of Beethoven and Mendelssohn and an inwardness, charm and energy all of it's own.

Paul Badura-Skoda Plays Mozart: Piano Concertos: No. 25 in C, K503, with Horst Stein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (performed live 15 June 1978) and No. 22 in Eb, K482, with George Szell conducting the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra (performed live 19 & 20 Dec. 1959). K503: first release; K482: first time on CD. Extensive notes on the music and on these performances by Badura-Skoda. Booklet includes his CD discography. A co-production with the VPO and ORF1 (Austrian Radio). Sparkling performances of two Mozart gems by one of his foremost 20th century interpreters, in the best possible sound.

Essential Classics: Trumpet Concertos

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3

Beethoven, L. Van: Symphony No. 5 / Piano Concerto No. 4

Harvey: Concerto Antico - Gray: Guitar Concerto

Classical Music

These performances from the inaugural 1950 Prades Festival are unforgettable. The Sonatas evince a grandeur and humanity that was quintessential Casals.

'The work of all artists stands as a symbol of human freedom; no one has enriched that freedom more signally than Pablo Casals'; President John Kennedy's tribute to the great Catalan cellist on the occasion of his fabled White House appearance in 1961 resounds eloquently across the decades in these reissues. A passionate antagonist of tyranny and injustice, Casals withdrew from public life in 1945, having settled in Prades as a refugee in 1939. His return to the concert stage during festivals at Prades and Perpignan between 1950 and 1966, was catalogued by inspirational performances originally mustered on mediocre-sounding Columbia LPs.

...[T]he Bach performances from the inaugural 1950 Prades event are unforgettable; Casals recorded these sonatas, written for viola da gamba with pianist Paul Baumgartner, and directed the Festival Orchestra in the Fourth Brandenburg Concerto. If the latter recalls inflated pre-war emasculations from the Busch ensemble and others, the Sonatas evince a grandeur and humanity that was quintessential Casals, and in uncommonly decent sound.

-- Michael Jameson, BBC Music Magazine

Giacomo Facco (1676–1753), born near Venice, was active in southern Italy as violinist, choirmaster and teacher before his appointment to the Spanish royal court c. 1720. Although highly esteemed in his own time, Facco had disappeared from musical history until his Pensieri Adriarmonici were discovered in a Mexican library in 1962. Bright and buoyant, they have much in common with the music of Vivaldi, Albinoni and Facco’s other Venetian contemporaries – but are here given a distinct twist with a basso continuo of vihuela and guitarrón, as they might have been performed in 18th c. Mexico.

This selection received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)."
This selection is available in standard CD, Super Audio CD and Mini Disc formats.
Arcadi Volodos' concerto recording debut is an involving and exciting Rachmaninov Third which is quite unlike any of the other classic accounts that come to mind. Not for him the manic intensity of Horowitz or the hell-bent impetuosity of Argerich, this particular virtuoso has his own signature gifts, a golden tone that never tarnishes under duress, a mastery of overall form that might be viewed as restraint, and then of course, the killer technique. In this last regard Volodos truly sets himself apart, for his magic is not all speed and power. One is often held breathless by his control in quiet moments, especially where the combination of dexterity and delicacy is called for, and he revels in passage work, making every note count and shine where other pianist seem to merely be moving on to get to the next big hurdle. Then, when the big hurdles of the "Rach III" arrive, Volodos dispatches them with such level command that one is truly awed. No wonder the live Berlin audience breaks into hysterics at the end. They, like you, are lucky to be alive to hear this.

There's revealing diversity in these pre-'West Side Story' works of Bernstein, as well as harbingers of that landmark musical and film. Among them is the dramatic horn work in the title composition, which also certifies the classical chops and sureness in syncopation of jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman. The modernist flurries of the saxophone arrangements are evocative of the much later work by the avant-garde ROVA ensemble.
The 'Fancy Free' ballet appears along with the "Three Dance Episodes" from 'On the Town,' a 1944 show envisioned by Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins as an extension of 'Fancy Free.' The ballet (reproduced here from a monaural recording) presents a remarkable array of emotional dramas - some with Coplandesque bravado, some with Latin touches of tango and fandango, some with the sassy strut which is so Manhattan. The dances showcase Bernstein's facility at reusing and combining themes, some taken from 'On the Town's' most famous number, "New York, New York" (not to be confused with the John Kander-Fred Ebb song of the same name sung by Liza Minelli in the 1977 film "New York, New York"). The composer conducts with vigor.
By contrast, the 'Serenade' lacks the expected Bernstein lyricism and clear, tight structure, but is interesting in concept and shows off the dynamic palate and authority of violinist Zino Francescatti.

Classical Music

Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 2, 4 & Overture on Hebrew Th

Mercadante, S.: Flute Concertos Nos. 1, 2 and 6

Classical Music

Dissatisfied with the traditional concerto form, Bussoni created a monumental work lasting 68 minutes which is symphonic in scale and intent, requiring of the pianist virtuosity and stamina of the highest order, yet also a sensitive, even intimate, collaboration with the orchestra. In this well-proportioned performance by Egon Petri's foremost pupil Gunnar Johansen, that above all respects Busoni's large-scale architecture, listeners will hear both the trancendental virtuosity and the poetic sensitivity called for by the score. Released with the kind cooperation of the Gunnar and Lorraine Johansen Foundation.

Classical Music

Classical Music