Few pianists can equal Charles Rosen for sheer lucidity of thought... the playing is big and confident (nothing frail about Rosen's vision of Chopin). Then, too, his fastidious attention to detail—especially his rhythmic acuity and his scrupulous inner lines—often lights up the music in revealing ways (note how he puts into relief the dotted gestures in the Polonaise-fantaisie). And his sympathy for the avant-garde carries over to the finale of the Second Sonata, which has rarely had its modernistic spirit so persuasively conveyed.

-- Peter J. Rabinowitz, FANFARE [1/1991]

This selection contains both ADD and DDD recordings.

Music and Arts has unearthed what it calls "lost Feuermann," recordings the great cellist made during tours of Japan in 1934 and 1936. The 1936 sessions are mostly fluff, the sort of ear candy that makes for nice encores, and were staples of the 78 rpm era. Feuermann, of course, elevates them to the realm of high art. His seamless legato makes fascinating listening experiences of Mendelssohn's Spring Song and Rubenstein's Melody, and he sings Godard's Berceuse and Schubert's Serenade with bel canto phrasing worthy of a Golden Age tenor. His tonal command is complete, ranging from rich, dark tones in Tchaikowsky's Valse sentimentale to the light and airy in Schumann's Zigeunerleben. Unfortunately, the transfers obscure much of Feuermann's golden tonal resources through aggressive noise-reduction techniques. Compare, for example, the wooden mid-and lower registers in the Spring Song to the multi-colored hues of the same Japanese recording on Pearl 9446. The 1934 sessions sound much better, more vibrant and alive, with unobjectionable 78 surface noise. Those recordings offer real novelties--arrangements of Japanese folk songs, one by a composer named Taki on the back of the jewel box, and three by a man the skimpy booklet notes identify as "eminent Japanese composer and conductor" Kosaku Yamada. These are also of the bob-bon persuasion, and frankly imitative. Yamada"s Karatachi no Hana reminds one of "Old Folks at Home," while Ojoro Takashima sounds more Jewish than Ernest Bloch's Prayer from the 1936 set, making it a perfect choice for a "name the composer" quiz. The disc is filled out with three European recordings made early in Feuermann's tragically brief career--a saccharine Bach--Gounod Ave Maria, a gorgeously played Bruch Kol Nidrei, and the second and third movements of Haydn's Concerto in D disfigured by a scrappy orchestra and a slow movement of such gross sentimentality that its only redeeming features are Feuermann's rich tone and its suitability as a torture device for aficionados of the authentic instruments school. But this interpretation too, is authentic in the sense that it's the way Haydn was done at a certain place and a certain time. There's some wonderful cello playing on this disc and it will be welcomed by all who admire Feuermann's art, both for his playing and for the opportunity to hear some of his most rare recordings.

--Dan Davis, ClassicsToday.com

None of the material on this compilation has circulated beyond the scope of Japanese and Russian imports. Disc One's centerpiece is a 1945 broadcast of the Beethoven Concerto, reproduced in dry yet full-bodied sound. Lacking the rapt introspection coloring Menuhin's 1947 commercial recording with Furtwängler, the performance still remains one of the violinist's most eloquent and cleanly played versions of a work that was with him throughout his career. Three movements from Lalo's Symphonie Espagnol follow, impressively reproduced and played with fire and brimstone by the San Francisco Symphony under Pierre Monteux's expert baton. The second disc is less persuasive. While Menuhin and fellow violin legend David Oistrakh sensitively merge in a 1958 Bach D minor Concerto (BWV 1043), one has to listen past George Georgescu's slightly plodding Enescu Philharmonic. Poor sound, however, mars an inspired 1947 Lucerne Festival pairing of Menuhin with conductor Ernest Ansermet, who leads his L'Orchestre de La Suisse Romande in Bartok's Second Violin Concerto. Fortunately, Menuhin recorded the work four times, the best of which is his first stereo version (Dorati/Minneapolis/Mercury). Disc two closes with an interview excerpt where Menuhin speaks to Frederic Maroth about Bartok as both man and musician. The booklet notes reprint Allan Kozinn's comprehensive and frank obituary on Menuhin published in the New York Times.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

The present program serves to demonstrate the lively diversity of the American musical heritage. The immediate lineage of all these composers came from other lands, and the European influences are reflected in much of the material heard here. This is the third in Terry King's ground-breaking series "Cello America" on the Music & Arts label which earned critical praise worldwide. King, a protégé of the legendary Gregor Piatigorsky, has been called "a wonderful cellist" and "a master player" by the New York Times. Many prominent American composers have written works for him as well as entrusted him with premieres, including Roy Harris, Virgil Thomson, Halsey Stevens, Paul Creston, Lou Harrison, Lukas Foss, Otto Luening, and Lalo Schifrin.

Kempff: Rare Recordings (1936-1945)

Clara Haskil's Salzburg recital from August 8, 1957, is familiar from the pianist's Philips studio versions--but these live traversals are preferable. Haskil's sonority, for one, benefits from a closer mike pickup that conveys the full measure of the Romanian pianist's gutsy, musicianly playing. Her angular passagework in the wonderful Mozart C major Sonata K. 330 is more controlled than in her Philips recording. Likewise, the biting, woodwind-like left hand lines in the Scherzo of Beethoven's E-flat major Sonata Op. 31 No. 3 swagger with more conviction. Oddly, she omits the first movement repeat honored in her two studio versions. There's also a greater degree of risk as well as accuracy in this live Schubert B-flat Sonata--a performance filled to the brim with touching lyricism and tensile strength. A tip of the hat, then, to Music and Arts for making this material available in very good mono broadcast sound. Haskil may have had a saintly reputation, but as a pianist she was one tough cookie! --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Francescatti who was a year younger than Heifetz, was among the foremost violinists of the mid-20th century, from about 1935 to 1975. In the words of critic Henry Roth, there was "a special character, a vitality and a savoir faire to his playing that set him apart from a host of gifted virtuosi who possessed vibrant sound and creditable musicianship." The concert performances collected here, all of them previously unissued, provide good examples of his Italianate lyricism and ravishing tone.

Few things small enough to fit in the palm of the hand can inspire wonder about the limitless potential of human creativity. A collection of early Renaissance devotional objects- elegantly precise boxwood carvings of miniature rosaries, prayer beads and altarpieces, on display as part of a major international exhibition- served as the direct inspiration for this musical program. These objects draw viewers into a private and intimate world of meditation; religious scenes carved with precision and poetry evoke a bygone world of intense spiritual devotion- sometimes tormented, sometimes luminous, but always fascinating. The music in this program is designed to elicit similar sensations in listeners. Originating in northern European circles, contemporary with those who produced these boxwood carvings, these spiritual pieces are not intended for grand cathedrals or public ceremony, but for personal meditation, private chapels and rooms, family houses and assemblies. Like the beads and rosaries, their craftsmanship is precise, superb; rich in subtle details, they lead us to wonder, and to contemplation.

Gates of Dream features a selection of solo and chamber works for the flute family by the Romanian composer Doina Rotaru as performed by Serbian flutist Iva Ugrcic.
Rotaru works with archetypes and symbols that she carefully weaves into liquid-like heterophonies, blending archaic Romanian influences with contemporary techniques and structures. With the flute as her chisel, she sculpts inventive sonorities while drawing from the past evoking a melancholic atmosphere and feeling of a painful beauty.

Award-winning flutist Iva Ugrcic (pronounced Ooo-gr-cheech) is one of the most exciting and adventurous flutists in the international pantheon. Winner of The American Prize in Woodwind Performance 2023, named BRAVA Magazine’s 2022 “Woman to Watch” and “Musician of the Year for 2018” by The Well-Tempered Ear, Ugrcic is known for her technical brilliance, expressive musicianship, and remarkable versatility. She has garnered international acclaim for her performances, both as a soloist and a collaborator in chamber and orchestral settings in venues across the world.

Three world premiere recordings!

The breadth of Anton Rubinstein’s contribution to the development of Russian culture in the 19th century cannot be overstated. His multifaceted genius can be divided into three areas: Rubinstein the composer, the pianist, and the educator. This third release in the series of recordings of his works for piano and orchestra focuses on Rubinstein’s role as a pianist. Hailed by The New York Times as a pianist of a fiery sensibility and warm touch, Anna Shelest is an international award-winning pianist who has thrilled audiences throughout the world. Champion of esoteric repertoire, Anna’s collaboration with the legendary conductor Neeme Järvi on a project of recording the complete works for piano and orchestra by Anton Rubinstein has been praised by Gramophone Magazine for “…power and agility… effortless effect… nuanced and incisive all around.”

Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983) came of age in the explosively creative days of 1920s Paris. Well-known as the only female member of Les Six, the group of composers which included Darius Milhaud, Louis Durey, Georges Auric, Francis Poulenc, and Arthur Honegger, her circle of friends also included Charlie Chaplin, Picasso, Modigliani, Diaghilev, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Monteux. This recording features works originally for solo piano, as well as transcriptions and excerpts from ballets and film scores. The music spans 60 years and represents some of Tailleferre’s best and most significant work, some of it rarely played or recorded. Praised by The Boston Globe as “a musical and expressive player” who is “sensitive and poetic, and excels in everything that requires elegance, proportion, balance, taste, and wit,” the award-winning Vietnamese American pianist Quynh Nguyen was named one of the “19 Young Stars of Tomorrow” by Musical America. She has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, to wide critical acclaim. The Flower of France marks her debut recording on the Music & Arts label.

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