William Primrose Collection, Vol. 3: Mozart

Léopold Simoneau & Pierrette Alarie, Vol. 1

Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) was a Lithuanian-born violinist, who is considered by many music scholars to have been the greatest violinist of all time. He moved to the United States as a teenager, where his Carnegie Hall debut was famously well-received. A virtuoso since childhood, Fritz Kreisler, another leading twentieth century violinist, wrote upon hearing Heifetz’s debut: “We might as well take our fiddles and break them across our knees.” This is the first volume from DOREMI of monumental historic broadcasts of Jascha Heifetz, made at the pinnacle of his artistry, and includes 1932 Bell Laboratories test recordings in superb sound. This album received the coveted Diapason d'Or in France.

Ofra Harnoy & Friends

When Julian Olevksy made his first tour of the Orient in 1959, the Tokyo Shimbun declared him to be "the most exciting violinist to appear in Japan next to Heifetz and Oistrakh." - as his remarkable performances on this release of violin sonatas by G. F. Handel and Domenico Scarlatti so eloquently bear witness. Julian Olevsky was born in Berlin on May 7, 1926. The son of a professional violinist, he began his studies at 7. In 1935, mindful of the growing danger in Germany, the family moved to Buenos Aires. He made his recital debut at 10 and his orchestral debut at 12 in Buenos Aires under the baton of Fritz Busch. In 1947 he immigrated to the United States. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s he performed widely, touring and appearing with the finest world orchestras. He recorded extensively for the American label Westminster. Olevsky had a distinguished career as a teacher as well. In 1967 he was appointed Resident Artist and subsequently Professor of Violin at the University of Massachusetts. Olevsky died in Amherst on May 25, 1985. The eminent violin critic Henry Roth, in his survey of the great violinists said of him that he was "a brilliant virtuoso, a fine tonalist with glowing temperament and a tasteful musician and stylist."

Historic live performances, never released in any form, from one of the greatest and most popular classical pianists of all time.

Tracklist: MEDTNER: Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 21 • Piano Sonata No. 10, Op. 38, No. 1 • 10 Romances and Songs from Opp. 13, 32, 36 & 52

Julian Bream, who passed away in August 2020, is the finest classical guitarist in the second half of the 20th century. DOREMi is proud to release this tribute to his wonderful artistry. The program of works for lute and guitar solo and in a variety of ensemble settings, never before released, offers a remarkable panorama of Bream's magnificent playing between 1956 and 1965, including performances from the 11th, 16th, 17th, and 18th Aldeburgh Festivals, the 18th Edinburgh International Festival, a 1956 Broadcast House recital, and two studio broadcasts. The repertoire ranges from Josquin des Pres to Dowland and other Elizabethans, to Baroque lutenists, and contemporary British composers. We hear a very early version of Britten's "Nocturnal", songs accompanying Peter Pears and Carmen Prietto, a Haydn string quartet, and the Concierto de Aranjuez.

Isaac Stern's career as a solo artist, chamber musician, and much else (he led the movement to save Carnegie hall) was remarkable. This album of his live performances is an eloquent testament to his musical insights, technical command and his gorgeous, luminous tone. Isaac Stern was born in 1920, in Krimieniecz, now in Ukraine. A year later his parents came to San Francisco. Violin lessons began at eight, with Naoum Blinder. Two years later he made his debut, playing Bach double concerto with his teacher. His Town Hall debut in 1937 was followed by a Carnegie Hall debut in 1943. He was the first American artist to tour the former Soviet Union-and as a result became a deeply respected figure there. The campaign to save Carnegie Hall began in 1960. The Six-Day War of 1967 saw his iconic performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Leonard Bernstein on Mount Scopus. His involvement with Hollywood, which began in 1948 with his performance in the film Humoresque, was followed up in 1971, when he played on the soundtrack of "Fiddler on the Roof". His travel to China in 1979 led to a resurgence of classical music in that country, documented in "From Mao to Mozart". He recorded prolifically and received countless honors and tributes. Isaac Stern passed away at the age of 81 in 2001.

The Trio A Cordes Fran�ais was founded in 1959 by violinist G�rard Jarry (1936-2004), violist Serge Collot (1923-2015), and cellist Michel Tournus (1922-2006), and was active for over thirty years. They toured the world and made many notable recordings. At the age of fourteen, G�rard Jarry gained a Premier Grand Prix at the 1951 Concours Long-Thibaud. In addition to his many years performing with the Trio, he was concertmaster of the Orchestre de Chambre Jean-Fran�ois Paillard, and a noted soloist. He was also a professor of violin at the Conservatoire de Paris. Serge Collot studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Maurice Vieux, one of the greatest viola virtuosos. Graduating with a Premier Prix in 1944, he had a long and distinguished career as a chamber musician. As well as his long tenure with the Trio, he was principal violist with the Orchestre de l'Opera National de Paris from 1957 to 1986, and also was a member of several string quartets - the Parrenin, the Radiodiffusion Francaise, and the Bern�de. He was particularly influential in encouraging the composition of contemporary works for viola by such composers as Boulez and Berio. Like his colleague Jarry, he was professor of viola at Conservatoire de Paris for many years. Michel Tournus gained Premiers Prix in cello and in chamber music from the Conservatoire de Paris. Like his colleagues, he was also a member of several other chamber ensembles, including the Quatuor Indig and the Octuor de Paris. Like Collot, he was first cello with the Orchestre de l'Opera National de Paris. Active as a teacher at the Conservatoire de Musique de Versailles, and was the author of a cello method. This set contains many of the Trio A Cordes Fran�ais' recordings of Mozart.

When Dino Ciani died in 1974 in a car accident in Rome at age 32, the world lost a great pianist. He was described by his teacher Alfred Cortot as "a youth possessing the rarest gifts bestowed by nature.” Today he is considered an icon among classical record collectors. This new release from DOREMI features 1970 and 1973 Live broadcasts of the Beethoven Piano concertos No. 1 and No. 3. This is the first time that these recordings have been available to the public.

Flutist Robert Aitken and harpsichordist Greta Kraus were active as a world-renowned duo. They made many fine recordings of mostly baroque and the early classical era. Each artist had an impressive solo career in addition to their duo work, and the couple were not only known for their impressive performances, but also for their dedication to pedagogue and education. Presented on this new release from DOREMI are 3 J.S. Bach Sonatas recorded in 1979, and a Partita recorded in 1969 captured here in superb audiophile quality. Also included is a scintillating performance of CPE Bach's Flute Concerto in D, recorded in concert in Vancouver in 1981 by Robert Aitken and conductor John Eliot Gardiner.

Emil Gilels was born in Odessa on October 19, 1916. At five, he began to take lessons from Yakov Tkach. Gilels development was astonishingly rapid and by twelve, he had mastered Chopin's etudes. He gave his first public performance in 1929. The following year he was accepted to the Odessa Conservatory in the class of Berta Reingbald. Under her tutelage, Gilels blossomed. When Arthur Rubinstein came to Odessa in the early 1930s, he predicted that young Emil would one day eclipse them all. Gilels entered the first "All Union Competition" (1933), which he won unanimously. He then toured the Soviet Union and was acclaimed as the standard-bearer of a "new" Soviet pianism. In 1935 he moved to Moscow and entered the class of the legendary pianist and pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus. At the start of 1936, Gilels performed Beethoven's third piano concerto with Otto Klemperer. Two years later, he took part in the "International Brussels Competition." The jury, numbering such luminaries as Leopold Stokowski, Otto Klemperer, Walter Gieseking, Emil von Sauer, Carlo Zecchi, Robert Casadesus and Samuil Feinberg, awarded him first prize. It was planned that he set forth on a long tour, including of the United States, but these were scotched by the Second World War. Throughout the war, Gilels performed all over the country. Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto was a staple of his repertoire. When the war ended, he toured Europe and in 1955, became the first Soviet musician to tour the United States. Until his death in 1985, Emil Gilels continued to perform and record widely. He is universally acclaimed as one of the greatest pianists of all time. We are honored to present here live performances of two of his sterling concerto performances.

One of the most respected violinists of the 20th century! This set contains many items not previously available on CD, and some that have never been released at all. - Allegro

Featured Artists:
Oscar Shumsky: violin/Maureen Forrester: alto/Lois Marshall: soprano/Nadia Reisenberg piano/James Melton: tenor/Mario Bernardi: piano/Primrose String Quartet.

The 3 CD set also features arrangements of unspecified arias from Cantatas No. 120 & 132 by Bach and unspecified songs by Rachmaninov.

Aïda Stucki's recognition as an artist is both inevitable and overdue. Her artistry is a timeless inspiration. Her interpretation incorporates bewitching sound, personal instinct coupled with great insight to the wishes of the composer. These recordings are a must for any string player and music lover. This second volume of her works shows her broad repertoire, and includes works from Brahms, Schumann, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Dvorak.

Born July 10, 1923, in Tiflis (later named Tbilisi), Georgia, Rudolf Kerer (also spelled Kehrer) was descended from Swabian immigrants and grew up within the Pietist community in Georgia. He began piano studies at six, and by twelve qualified for the gifted class at the Tbilisi Conservatory. In 1938, he performed in public Tchaikovsky's first Piano Concerto. In October 1941, Kerer and his surviving family were deported as enemy aliens to Kazakhstan. Without a piano, he devised a “table piano,” a table on which he painted a keyboard, so he could “practice.” By 1949-at 26-he had given up his dream of a musical career but in 1954, in Uzbekistan, he was accepted at the state conservatory as a student in the class of Zelma Slonim-Tamarkina. Three years later, Kerer graduated, and began teaching piano in Tashkent. Four years later, in 1961, he competed in the second All-Union Competition in Moscow and won the first prize. Following this winning, Kerer became a professor at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He performed throughout the Soviet Union but was not allowed to concertize abroad. In 1988, at 65, he was allowed to serve on the jury of the Beethoven competition in Vienna. He remained there to teach at the Musikhochschule for eight years. Later, he moved to live in Zurich, where he died on October 29, 2013. This release hears him performing some of music’s most beautiful piano concertos and sonatas.

DAVID OISTRAKH COLLECTION, VOL. 13 • David Oistrakh (vn); Vladimir Yampolsky (pn) • DOREMI 7950, mono (70:19) Live: Paris 1/21/1959; Los Angeles, 1965 1


TARTINI Violin Sonata in g, “Didone abbandonata.” FRANCK Violin Sonata. SCHUMANN (arr. Kreisler) Fantasia in C. RAVEL Tzigane. BACH Violin Sonata No. 2 in a: Andante 1


DOREMI’s 13th volume dedicated to David Oistrakh combines what seems to be a complete recital with Vladimir Yampolsky from 1959 with a quasi-encore, the third movement from Bach’s Second Solo Violin Sonata, from 1965. The recital program opens with Tartini’s “Didone abbandonata,” a work that Oistrakh recorded for Melodiya, along with the “Devil’s Trill,” with Frida Bauer in 1970. Oistrakh sounded magisterial from the first measure of the first movement; but he didn’t pause to wring sentiment from the sprightly second movement, nor did he play the final Allegro commodo (he interposed an extraneous Largo in B? Major—published with the other movements—as was common at the time) in such a way as to suggest the pathos of Virgil’s tragedy. Nevertheless, his performance strikes a balance between expressivity and objectivity, an intoxicating antidote to the tendency to deprive this Sonata of Tartini’s hallmark vitality. Throughout his career, Tartini progressively dispensed with the heavily worked-out figured bass, and some have suggested that even the skeletal version of the bass that’s left in the “Devil’s Trill” could simply be omitted. So it’s perhaps no criticism to mention that Oistrakh dominates Yampolsky in this work.


DOREMI’s series reveals Oistrakh’s commitment to chamber music as well as his willingness to “sink the individual,” and his performance of Franck’s Sonata illustrates both of these attitudes. Yampolsky may not have possessed the dynamism of Sviatoslav Richter, three of his live performances of the work with whom from the mid 1960s have been available from time to time (he made studio performances with Oborin in 1950 and with Yampolsky in 1954); but Oistrakh, though the dominant partner, didn’t run roughshod over his frequent accompanist. Testament has released a live performance by the duo from the preceding year (9/20/1958) in Bucharest (1442); this one seems more given to subtlety and nuance.


The Bucharest recital also included Schumann’s Fantasia, which Oistrakh seems never to have recorded in the studio, and Ravel’s Tzigane , which he did (with Kondrashin and the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, a solid performance, the recorded sound of which still seemed more than acceptable in the mid 1960s, when it appeared on LP as Monitor MC 2073). In Bucharest, Oistrakh projected a strong individuality as well as a captivating (and in the last pages, downright scintillating) virtuosity through both Schumann’s work and Kreisler’s arrangement, and he did so as well in his performance in Paris. Oistrakh spits out the passages on the high G string in Ravel’s opening cadenza. Oistrakh didn’t play the Tzigane with Francescatti’s arch wit nor with Heifetz’s white-hot intensity, but his performances generally could serve as models of Gypsy excess rationally moderated. In this reading, he explores the beginning of the accompanied section almost tentatively before throwing himself into the spiky passagework. This performance, perhaps more than the others, creates an atmosphere suggesting a Gypsy campfire—or at least the reflection of one on the wall of a French drawing room.


Since so few examples of Oistrakh playing Bach’s solo sonatas or partitas have become available (DOREMI 7760 included a complete performance of the First Solo Sonata, 24:6), every stray movement should be particularly welcome to collectors. If his live performance of the Andante from the Second Sonata communicates an impression of strength rather than of subtlety; Oistrakh demonstrates through his deployment of a wide dynamic range just how tall an edifice he could erect with this movement’s building materials.


The recorded sound from Paris (air-checks?) balances the instruments fairly well; and, while it may not be particularly lively, communicates adequately a sense of Oistrakh’s sound, at once oleaginous and fibrous. In an interview, Yehudi Menuhin noted that Oistrakh fused control with abandon, and he appears to have struck a different balance from performance to performance, even those close in temporal proximity. That’s why it’s easy to recommend this recital strongly, despite its similarity in content to the one Testament has released.


FANFARE: Robert Maxham

Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) was a Lithuanian-born violinist, who is considered by many music scholars to have been the greatest violinist of all time. He moved to the United States as a teenager, where his Carnegie Hall debut was famously well-received. A virtuoso since childhood, Fritz Kreisler, another leading twentieth century violinist, wrote upon hearing Heifetz’s debut: “We might as well take our fiddles and break them across our knees.” This is the fifth volume from DOREMI of historic Heifetz recordings, and features the newly discovered recordings of the ten-year-old Jascha, made in Russia in 1911. It is their first release in 105 years.

William Primrose Collection, Vol. 2: Brahms

Oleg Kagan and Natalia Gutman's performances of the Brahms Double Concerto were widely acclaimed. They were featured on a 1986 international tour of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra conducted by the famous conductor Yevgeni Svetlanov. On October 12, 1986 they performed it in Roy Thompson Hall, Toronto, Canada. This exciting concert is now presented on this live album. Natalia Gutmam is noted for her superb, authoritative performances of the Shostakovich cello concerto No. 1. She recorded it three times during her career. Presented here is a sparkling live version given in 1980 in Holland.

Zino Francescatti (1902 - 1991) was one of the most loved and admired violinists of the 20th century. His musical lineage can be traced to the legendary Niccolò Paganini. His father, a noted violinist and teacher, studied with Camillo Sivori (1815 - 1894) who was a student of Paganini. He performed internationally with the world leading orchestras and conductors. Francescatti is still considered a violin icon - for his great musicianship and performance style, his amazing virtuosity, and for his unique, distinctive beautiful, warm tone. Included in this release are his Paris 1946 live performances of the Beethoven and Mozart #3 violin concertos, released here for the first time ever.

Of Armenian heritage, Manoug Parikian was born on September 15, 1927 in Mersin, Turkey. After studies in England, he d�buted as a soloist in 1947. In the course of his career, he was concertmaster of London's famed Philharmonia Orchestra and also held that post with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the English Opera Group Orchestra and the Yorkshire Sinfonia. In addition, he directed the Manchester Camerata and often performed at the Aldeburgh Festival. As a soloist, he was particularly noted for his magnificent interpretation of Mozart. Parikian also dedicated himself to the performance of contemporary violin concertos and several leading British composers wrote concertos for him. Parikian was an acclaimed teacher at the Royal Academy of Music for many years. He passed away on Christmas Eve, 1987. On the day of his death, the BBC broadcast a performance by him in the Antonio Stradivari Gala Celebration. Parikian was an outstanding musician and violinist. He was a great inspiration to other violinists and had great integrity and a marvelous ability to adapt and change style from one composer to another.

This outstanding release was recorded live at The Library of Congress on January 28, 30, and February 1 1946, and this is the first time they have ever been available to the public! Beethoven’s 10 Sonatas for Violin and Piano are performed by Henri Temianka and Leonard Shure, two of the finest musicians of the first half of the twentieth century. This remastered recording has received glimmering reviews: “The performances are magnificent: bold and fresh, technically fluid and musically insightful… exciting…elegant…exceptional grace… this duo balances formidable power with magisterial command.” (The New York Times) “A great hit in the Beethoven discography… one of the most beautiful surprises to the discophile in recent years… makes you hold your breath constantly… A priceless treasure.” (Diapason)

This one-of-a-kind release features two of the leading musicians of the twentieth century, Mstislav Rostropovich and Sviatoslav Richter in live performances of sonatas. Especially notable is the Prokofiev sonata from Moscow 1950, which was the piece’s world premiere performance. Two other sonatas, by Beethoven and Brahms, are being released here for the first time. These two concerts took place in March 1950 and June 1964, when both of these remarkable twentieth century musicians were at the peak of their careers.

This new release is the thirteenth volume in DOREMI’s Svaiatoslav Richter Archives series. Considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century, Svaiatoslav Richter was known for his virtuosic technique, vast repertoire, and the depth of his interpretations. On this volume, he performs Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 alongside the USSR State Orchestra, George Georgescu conducting. The performance was recorded live in Moscow in 1958. The other performances are of Etudes on Caprices by Paganini, Marchenbilder for Viola and Piano, and 3 Fantasiestucke for Cello and Piano recorded in 1986, 1985, and 1969, respectively. He is joined on this volume by cellist Pierre Fournier and violist Yuri Bashmet.

Hungarian-German Pianist Julian von Karolyi (19914-1993) studied with Erno Dohnanyi and Alfred Cortot. He excelled in the romantic repertoire and possessed a prodigious virtuoso technique. He was particularly known for his interpretations of Chopin and Liszt. Von Karolyi has recorded for both Deutsche Gramophone and Electrola. This release, which features these recordings available for the first time on CD and digital platforms, includes a varied programme of Tchaikovsky, Schumann, and Liszt.