MAHLER: SYMPHONY NO 1, ETC ME

ROSSINI: L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI

OBRAS MAESTRAS DEL CANTO ANDAL

MAHLER: SYMPHONIES NO 9 & 10 (

This recording is also available on MiniDisc.

Tracks:
1. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO CONCERTO NO.12 IN LA MAJOR I. ALLEGRO
2. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO CONCERTO NO.12 IN LA MAJOR -II. ANDNATE
3. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO CONCERTO NO.12 IN LA MAJOR II. ALLEGRETTO
4. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO CONCERTO NO.15 IN SI BEMOL MAJEUR - I. ALLEGRO
5. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO CONCERTO NO.15 IN SI BEMOL MAJEUR- II. ANDANTE
6. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO CONCERTO NO.15 IN SI BEMOL MAJERU- III. ALLEGRO
7. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO CONCERTO NO.17 IN SOL MAJEUR - I. ALLEGRO
8. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO CONCERTO NO.17 IN SOL MAJEUR- II. ANDANTE
9. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO CONCERTO NO.17 IN SOL MAJEUR- III. ALLEGRETTO
10. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO ET ORCHESTRE NO. 18 EN SI BEMO MAJEUR- I. ALLEGRO VIVACE
11. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO ET ORCHESTRE NO. 18 EN SI BEMO MAJEUR- II. ANDANTE UN POCO SOSTENUTO
12. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO ET ORCHESTRE NO. 18 EN SI BEMO MAJEUR- III. ALLEGRO VIVACE
13. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO ET ORCHESTRE NO. 20 EN RE MINEUR- I. ALLEGRO
14. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO ET ORCHESTRE NO. 20 EN RE MINEUR- II. ROMANZE
15. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - PIANO ET ORCHESTRE NO. 20 EN RE MINEUR- III. RONDO- ALLEGRO ASSAI
16. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - 2 PIANOS ET ORCHESTRE NO. 10 IN MI BEMOL MAJEUR- I. ALLEGRO
17. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - 2 PIANOS ET ORCHESTRE NO. 10 IN MI BEMOL MAJEUR- II. ANDNATE
18. SZELL, GEORGE- CASADEUS - 2 PIANOS ET ORCHESTRE NO. 10 IN MI BEMOL MAJEUR- III. RONDO. ALLEGRO

"In the Symphonic Variations, Crossley avoids Lisztian flamboyance and generalized 'romantic' inflexion and yet there is plenty that is individually and imaginatively shaped (not least the finale's 'cadenza'); and both he and Giulini maintain a sense of flow and direction. I particularly liked the way Crossley gently accelerates out of the mists of the last variation into the spirited finale..." -- John Steane, Gramophone [3/1995]

Strong and compelling performances with plenty of momentum, yet bringing out the 'smiles through tears' aspect of the more lyrical music.

The alternative (ultimately) complete account of Schubert's keyboard duets is that by Isabel Beyer and Harvey Dagul for Four Hands Music; JM-C reviewed their first volume some time ago (10/89) and the next two issues came my way more recently (7/93 and 6/94). JM-C found ''taste and musicality'' in their performances, although he queried some vigorous attack, while I was even more enthusiastic, referring to ''perceptive refinement'' and ''splendid unanimity''. The first thing one notices about this new issue is the very clear and firm sound; Tal and Groethuysen explain that they have used a Fazioli Model 308 piano and thank their recording team for its ''exceptional abilities''. Indeed, an impressive sound comes from this big instrument, which the artists consider necessary to re-create the ''symphonic ambitions'' and ''extremes'' of the music, although it is unlike anything Schubert could have heard, and they play with a fine tonal and dynamic range which allows intimacy as well as power. The treble is bright yet not glaring, as we hear in the closing page of the Overture. The recording is fairly reverberant but produces a satisfying aural picture.

The performances are strong and compelling, with plenty of momentum, yet flexible enough to avoid the slightly military effect that Beyer and Dagul occasionally impart. I like the simplicity that Tal and Groethuysen bring to the little theme of the Herold Variations, and indeed the whole piece is less clouded than we might anticipate in view of its late date of 1827, having Schwung and playfulness. This performance presents a very Viennese side of the composer that the music warrants. The Rondo also has a winning galanterie, and the players know that Allegretto here applies to style as well as tempo. Indeed, they do full justice to these two pieces and others like them. Incidentally, the Six Polonaises are not otherwise currently available on disc.

The Fantasie is Schubert's best-known keyboard duet and, of course, inhabits a more private world in which despair features strongly. I wondered what Tal and Groethuysen would do with this great work and was not disappointed. Their basic tempo is a genuine Allegro molto moderato, and they know how to make transitions from one mood to the next, as when approaching the doom-laden F sharp minor section at 4'55''. Furthermore, they rightly bring out the 'smiles through tears' aspect of the more lyrical music, do not hurry the scherzo (which is consequently all the stronger) and shape the fugue finely. In other words, they are very impressive, and as I listened to their performance I was reminded of the one by Louis Lortie and Helene Mercier which I reviewed last year, and called magisterial. Strongly recommended

-- Christopher Headington, Gramophone [9/1994]

SCHUBERT: WANDERER FANTASY, ET

TCHAIKOVSKY: SYMPHONY NO 6, ET

MOZART: VIOLIN CONCERTOS YUZU

R. STRAUSS: ALSO SPRACH ZARATH

THE ROYAL EDITION - R. STRAUSS

MOZART: OBOE CONCERTOS MIYAMO

Of the many new friendships enjoyed by the 21 year-old Chopin on his arrival in Paris, none proved more lasting than that with the distinguished cellist, August Franchomme (just two years his senior), for whom he eventually wrote his one and only cello sonata. It could well have been their first early collaboration in a commission for a Grand Duo on themes from Meyerbeer's Roberto le diable—so rightfully serving here, in a richly relished interpretation from Bylsma and Orkis, as centrepiece—that set the Frenchman atingle to provide his cello with more.

Not too many tears need be shed that all his other works included here have long disappeared from the repertory. Alone, on his own two feet, he was certainly no Chopin (who, incidentally, must have truly loved him to sanction the merging of two of his own truncated Nocturnes in the transcription for cello and piano in track 3). But there are attractive touches of local colour in the opening and closing sets of French and Russian variations, while the Grande va/se, Op. 34, shows how willingly Franchomme was prepared to let his cello just dance and sing. Enough enjoyment, in fact, for every collector to rejoice at such rarity enterprise.

I suspect that this music might have won Franchomme even more immediate friends if coming from a team less dedicated to matters of 'period' sonority and style than Bylsma and his colleagues have always been—and, incidentally, the Erard piano from which Orkis conjures so many arresting things was a present from Queen Victoria to her dear Albert, housed at Balmoral from 1855-1977. But don't be put off, as in this context I was, initially. Your ear soon tunes in. The recording itself very closely and vividly conveys these players' wide range of dynamics and colour as well as such extraneous proofs of musical involvement as Bylsma's gasping intakes of breath. The all-embracing insert-notes of the supporting cellist, Kenneth Slowik, are a true bonus.

-- JOC, Gramophone [4/1995]