*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. ***

Over the course of the ten performances which comprise the Favorite Christmas Hymns collection, Marian Anderson restores the spiritual power inherent in songs like "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Away in a Manger" and "Silent Night" that's so often neglected in light of the crass commerciality of the season; in her hands, these holiday favorites once again resonate with the true Christmas spirit.

-- Chuck Donkers, AllMusic.com

Sir Colin Davis’ sensitivity is effortlessly mirrored by Larrocha with her enviable ease, her avoidance of all artifice or attention-seeking dalliance. Few other pianists are more attuned to Mozart’s mix of pain and radiance.

Alicia de Larrocha’s and Sir Colin Davis’s Mozart concerto cycle, while rarely less than distinguished, grows in stature with each new issue. Indeed, so musicianly and distilled are both these performances that the casual listener is in danger of taking them for granted, mistaking their classic sobriety for monotony and their devotion for a monochrome quality.

Sir Colin’s unforced way with the opening tutti of K595, his awareness of “all passion spent” is haunting but unobtrusive. Such sensitivity is effortlessly mirrored by Larrocha with her enviable ease, her avoidance of all artifice or attention-seeking dalliance. Few other pianists are more attuned to Mozart’s mix of pain and radiance, of the subtle major-minor shifts commencing at 6'34'' and, throughout, her economy ensures that every passing mood is unmistakably yet unobtrusively registered. Again, tempos are ideal whether in K595’s gently paced final Allegro (less idiosyncratically slow or autumnal than from Kempff on DG) or in the central Allegretto of K459. Even in the finale’s opera buffa high-jinks she captures the music’s undertow, a poise and equanimity like “the still point of the turning world”.

Balance and sound (grainy but apt) are exemplary, and this issue is graced with a fine portrait of the pianist by Christian Steiner.'

-- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone [12/1997]

LEONTYNE PRICE— THE PRIMA DONNA COLLECTION • Leontyne Price (sop); Various accompaniments • RCA 61236 (4 CDs: 276:29 Text and Translation)


Arias by BARBER, BELLINI, BIZET, BOITO, BRITTEN, CHARPENTIER, CILEA, DEBUSSY, DVO?ÁK, FLOTOW, GIORDANO, GLUCK, HANDEL, KORNGOLD, LEONCAVALLO, MASCAGNI, MASSENET, MENOTTI, MEYERBEER, MOZART, OFFENBACH, POULENC, PUCCINI, PURCELL, J. STRAUSS II, VERDI, WAGNER, WEBER, ZANDONAI


This B-to-Z assemblage from 1992 brought Price’s complete “Prima Donna” albums together with many recordings of arias and scenas from operas she never performed, such as Elizabeth’s “Soliloquy and prayer” from Britten’s Gloriana , for example, or the aria of another Elizabeth, “Dich, teure Halle,” from Wagner’s Tannhäuser . Though Price retired from the stage in 1985, she taught master classes at Juilliard and continued to sing recitals from time to time, giving her last in 1997. The recordings here were all made between 1965 and 1979 and catch her at her peak. And at her peak, she was one classy singer.


Such a sense resides first of all in the sound of a voice: it must be literally attractive in itself. Listening to Rusalka’s “Song to the Moon” from Dvo?ák’s opera of that name, say, or to Meleagre’s aria, “Care selve,” from Handel’s Atalanta , one is taken by the sheer beauty of it, a sound that floated high pianissimos with dead-accurate pitch, without the slightest strain. When that beauty combined with well-focused power, as in Donna Anna’s call for revenge in Mozart’s Don Giovanni , “Or sai chi l’onore,” it was a spine-tingling experience for me. Add to that the fact that Price was a most intelligent singer, whose words and stage character counted for a great deal, and we are in the presence of someone who understood what musical theater was all about. Writers on music are supposed to resist using the word “thrilling,” but I can think of no other, objective, word. If you are not ravished by this sound, you are probably deaf.


We rightly associate Leontyne Price with the great roles in Verdi and Puccini, and the core of her repertoire—perhaps of that of most lyric sopranos—was Italian Romantic opera. As near as I can tell, apart from Carmen and a go at The Prioress in Poulenc’s Les dialogues des Carmélites , she did not sing much French opera, and only Strauss’s Ariadne from the German repertoire. An interesting aspect of this collection, therefore, is to discover her forays into other operas, many not much known at all in the United States at the time: Dvo?ák’s Rusalka , Korngold’s Die tote Stadt , Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini , Weber’s Oberon , Britten’s Gloriana , and still others.


Price fans will already have this collection. For those who have never heard this wonderful singer, it will make a generous introduction to a great artist. It is good to note that it has been re-released by arkivmusic.com.


FANFARE: Alan Swanson

Includes work(s) by various composers. Ensemble: Salon Orchestra.

By 1845, only two years before his death, Mendelssohn at 36 was an eminent 'establishment' figure—but one whose creative imagination no longer had its first freshness. I entirely agree with the American sleeve-note writer that the Quintet's crowning glory is its slow movement, "an elegaic Adagio in D minor, remarkable especially for the way Mendelssohn uses his small ensemble to suggest deep contrasts of light and shadow". And though the elves and sprites of the Scherzo, marked Andante scherzando, sound a little middle-aged in comparison with their nimbler cousins in the Octet and other earlier marvels, they are certainly not without charm. In the active flanking movements Mendelssohn's motivation seems impersonal, like a return to eighteenth-century delight in superlative craftsmanship per se. Here the Guarneris and Zukerman greatly help the composer with their urgent drive. Some of the tremolo down below emerges just a bit hard in the first movement, but their assualt on the finale's con fuoco counterpoint makes for an exciting finish. They find the grace for the Scherzo, and the expressive intensity for the Adagio.

-- Gramophone [2/1980, reviewing the original LP release of the Mendelssohn Quintet]

Like several of Massenet’s later operas, Chérubin dispenses with a tenor lead – bad for box-office, no doubt, yet highly appropriate for what amounts to the éducation sentimentale of Mozart’s page, susceptible as always and still given to jumping from great heights and getting in everybody’s way. Who better to impersonate him, therefore, than Frederica von Stade, with innumerable Cherubinos to her credit? True, a slightly darker voice might have set his moments of anger in sharper relief, as well as distinguishing him from the admirable Ensoleillad of June Anderson in their love duet of Act II, arguably among Massenet’s finest. But let us remember that the original Chérubin was the soprano Mary Garden, creator of Debussy’s Mélisande, who, alive in Aberdeen until 1967, could have told us much about the opera’s rapturous premiere at Monte Carlo, had she not remained firmly uncommunicative to interviewers (‘Och, I cannae remember...’). Clearly in 1903 the composer’s granary of attractive melodies was still well stocked, if none are as memorable as those of Manon or Werther; and the elegant, colourful, at times Spanish-inflected score retains much of its appeal today. Nor is it unworthily served here. Samuel Ramey exploits his smooth sonority to splendid effect as the sententious yet comprehending Philosophe. Among the lesser vignettes Michel Sénéchal’s Duc is outstanding. The revelation, however, is Dawn Upshaw: sweet-toned, infinitely touching, as Nina, the girl to whom Chérubin eventually turns.

-- Julian Budden, BBC Music Magazine

LIONEL HAMPTON - REUNION AT NE

This performance is also available on RCA Victor 68365.

This recital reveals Leontyne Price as a natural interpreter of both Lieder and melodies - her refusal to indulge herself through slow speeds and self-regarding gestures consistently takes her to the heart of the matter.

This disc provides a treasurable pendant to RCA's comprehensive reissue of Price's opera recitals (12/92). The singer's debut recording, made in the Town Hall, New York in January 1959, reveals her as a natural interpreter of both Lieder and melodies so much so that one must regret that she didn't devote more time to pursuing a career in this field. Where she scores so easily over many of her American successors is in her refusal to indulge herself through slow speeds and self-regarding gestures: she sings the songs for what they are and with scrupulous attention to text and (mostly) dynamics, no more, no less, and thereby usually goes to the heart of the matter. Nowhere is that truer than in her Faure: each of the five performances here is a delight, not only for the full tone, though lighter than it was to become, but also for the sensuously moulded line and the patent sincerity of the readings, entirely free of artifice. Perhaps Au cimetiere is the finest of the set, with the resignation sadly expressed and the single climax achieved—of course—with a thrilling ease. Price's Poulenc is equally welcome with special praise for ''Tu vois le feu du soir'' (the second of the Miroirs brulants). Few non-French singers have in my experience come so close to the soul of this plangent piece. Not all the French vowels are correctly sounded but for once that seems hardly to matter.

Similarly, her German accent sometimes slips but that can be overlooked when, for instance, the mood of Strauss's Allerseelen is so unerringly caught, the phrasing expansive yet never cloying. That makes a somewhat cool account of Freund-liche Vision a surprising disappointment made up for by the uninhibited passion and generous tone accorded Wolf's Lebe wohl, which usually has to manage with less gorgeous voices. The same goes for Geh', Geliebter, geh' jetz. It's no exaggeration to say that this matches the eagerness and generosity of Rethberg's famous version in HMV's old Hugo Wolf Society recording (2/35—nla). Here, too, David Garvey confirms earlier impressions that he is worthy partner for his distinguished singer.

The recording is a shade confined but honest. The disc is enhanced by Irving Kolodin's perceptive notes and the inclusion of texts and translations. The short measure is hardly of consequence when the content is so desirable. The many addicts of Price's voice will surely want this addition to her British discography, but so will many who love this repertory.

-- Alan Blyth, Gramophone [5/1993]

LEVINE CONDUCTS MAHLER: SYMPHO

This release includes a disc with Leonard Slatkin discussing Mahler's 10th Symphony, and many musical examples.

Reiner's claims as a Mahler interpreter are rarely appreciated as they should be. His account of the Fourth Symphony— strikingly different from the conventional view in some ways—has always struck me as among the most convincing, and here he directs a superbly clean-edged account of what is for the interpreter the most problematic of Mahler's works.

Like Walter and Klemperer, Reiner was a Mahler pupil and disciple. Thanks to the violent contrasts between Walter and Klemperer we have now readily accepted that there is no one true way with Mahler, and Reiner provides a third 'authentic' way, equally distinct. Those used to the more affectionate treatment of Walter, or for that matter Bernstein, will initially find Reiner's straighter style disconcerting. Deliberately the tone of voice is cooler, but that brings many benefits. One could argue that the Chinese poems of their nature demand a certain detachment. What is more Reiner's comparative coolness allows him to observe Mahler's markings much more meticulously than Walter. The obvious and most striking example comes at the climactic point of the final "Abschied", where Mahler, knowing the fondness of performers to reserve a fruity fortissimo for the big tune at the end, puts "ppp!" (the exclamation mark is Mahler's) over the great passage "Die liebe Erde". Walter and Ferrier ignore it completely and carry one, heart-throbbing, eyes-welling, to the end—a marvellous moment in recording history. But Reiner with exquisite tenderness, persuades Maureen Forrester to attack her high Fs and Gs with a genuine half-tone. The whispered murmurs of "Ewig" at the end have no premonition of death about them as they have with Ferrier: the end brings instead the feeling of sinking back on the eternal feather-bed of ecstasy, and that, I assume, is closer to what the Chinese poet and Mahler intended.

Though precision is his keynote, and phrasing is never mannered, Reiner does secure very beautiful pointing from his Chicago players, whether in the yearning phrases of the slow songs or the chattering opening of "Von der Jugend" which is more beautifully 'sprung' than I ever remember before. In the fifth song, "Der Trunkene im Frithling", too, the sharp brightness of the opening gives way to the drowsiness of "Ein Vogel singt im Baum" with superb control of mood—matched by very understanding singing from Richard Lewis; a lovely moment achieved here more effectively even than in the Walter.

My direct comparisons tended to a surprising degree to favour the new Reiner against the Walter, but returning to a complete performance of the Reiner I saw more clearly what reservations will almost certainly strike Mahlerians. However free Walter is with some of the markings, his performance gets inside the music, wrings one's emotions, makes one feel the performance, recorded or not, as a great occasion. I shall not say that Reiner's is not a great performance, but in the last resort one remains detached to a degree that I do not experience with any of the other three versions in their different ways—Klemperer and Bernstein as well as Walter. As I say, there is a clear argument for suggesting that that is apt for the work. At one point I felt tempted to place this version, with its remarkably good stereo and bargain price, ahead of all three of its rivals, but the chances of disappointment are too high. The sound is a little harder than in the very latest recordings from Chicago, but unless the last degree of high fidelity is essential, it will be very acceptable—better than some recent issues. The clarity of texture and vividness of atmosphere are most impressive, and both the voices are very well caught. Maureen Forrester has rarely if ever sung more expressively on record, and though Richard Lewis's tone is not always as sweet as one would like, his musical precision and imagination are always most satisfying. Neither singer is immaculate in German, but one has rather less to put up with on that score than with, say, Ferrier, who for all her glorious projection of feeling was not always comfortable with the words. Another marvellous addition to the Reiner discography: I hope the RCA Victrola label will be providing still more.

-- Gramophone [10/1969]

In these days of wine lakes, beef mountains and deserts of dried milk, a double supply of navarraise is probably nothing to write to the Marketing Board about. Still, it is notable. No doubt everybody thought (if anybody gave it a thought at all) that Massenet's sorely tried heroine had gone to her eternal rest along with the age of melodrama which produced her. But who laughs last laughs longest, and she certainly does both of those. So here is RCA blazing away with the guns of Navarraise...and casting it with a generosity that could be mistaken for profligacy.

"Worth waiting for" said the advertisement. And indeed the opera itself...is worth the rediscovery. It opens and closes with, as well as offering several reminders of, a big bold tune in D minor, full orchestra fff, that nowadays would make a fortune for someone as the 'theme music' of an epic film. It continues (and here is an attraction to the makers of 'large-scale' stereo recordings) with tremendous noises of canons and rifles which on the first night, as Bernard Shaw put it, "did heavy execution among the ladies and gentlemen who cultivate their nerves on tea and alcohol"; and it has a grand part for the heroine, especially if she takes a pride in the "voix rauque", the "voix etranglee" and the "crise de nerfs supreme" culminating (though the score does not insist on this) in a peal of mad laughter. Attention is not allowed to wander, and although the tenor does have an aria it is only ninety seconds long, and not even Polonius could complain about that. There are also: Drinking Song (combined with Soldiers' Chorus), Love Duet, Mad Scene and Intermezzo (entitled Nocturne). I suppose that Shaw, who enjoyed himself hugely on that first night, was right when he said that Massenet "has not composed an opera; he has made up a prescription", especially when he adds "and his justification is that it has been perfectly efficacious". That means that, like its prototype Cavalleria Rusticana, it is strongly theatrical, melodious and emotional. The main trouble about the efficacy of the prescription is that Massenet has increased the dose.

The RCA recording does nothing to moderate it. If the CBS version opened fff; this one adds another f for good measure... Henry Lewis has drawn rather finer playing from the LSO than Antonio de Almeida did; the recorded sound has more depth and warmth, and important instrumental figures are given more prominence in relationship with the voices... With Marilyn Horne we know by the end of her first phrase, with its voluptuous chest notes, that (as Micaela sings of Carmen) "elle est dangereuse". Horne is much more in line with what we read of the great Emma Calve in the role, and what presumably Massenet had in mind when he wrote the part for her, filling the score with directions to sing "avec ivresse", "avec élan" and so forth, as well as the incitements to the "hoarse" and "strangled" mentioned earlier... Domingo's rich tone matches Horne's... Milnes has little to do, but is better than Sardinero; Zaccaria is better than Souzay...

"Worth waiting for" then? RCA's sound is rather richer, the conductor's reading rather more studied, the drama rather more vivid...[and] the general feeling is grander.

-- Gramophone [11/1975]

LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL CLEO LA