There’s no question that the late Georg Tintner was a great Brucknerian, even if some of his textual decisions, such as his preference for the patently inferior first version of the Eighth Symphony, with its minimalistically repetitive scherzo (sound clip), necessarily make this set one to own alongside other, more traditional approaches. On the other hand, put this together with Skrowaczewski’s Oehms set, also at budget price, and you can have two superb, hugely different Bruckner cycles for a very reasonable outlay.

And whether or not you agree with all of Tintner’s decisions with respect to editions, there’s no question that he justifies his choices by delivering what are arguably the best performances available of the alternative in question. This is true of that Eighth, and even more so of his astonishing Third, one of the very greatest Bruckner performances ever committed to disc. Also noteworthy: superb versions of the Seventh, Fourth, and First. The two early works, “0? and “00?, need to be played as well as they are here. They are not great Bruckner, but Tintner’s commitment carries the day.

The orchestras involved aren’t traditional “Bruckner orchestras” either, and so lack that characteristic rich string sound and dark-toned brass–but even this contributes to rather than detracts from Tintner’s distinctive vision, and the playing is never less than up to Bruckner’s demands. You also get the 1878 “Volksfest” finale to the Fourth Symphony, plus a bonus CD containing a very personal discussion by Tintner of Bruckner’s music. Sonically, these are also some of Naxos’ finest efforts, making this box an essential purchase for anyone who loves Bruckner and who missed these performances the first time around.

– David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This 6 CD set contains a wealth of chamber music and songs. Bohemian composer Georg Benda achieved great fame in his time but is little remembered today, hence ripe for rediscovery. The booklet contains detailed notes, biographies and a full track list. The song texts are available via the Brilliant Classics website.

MOZART Symphonies Nos. 1, 4–31, 33–36, 39–41. Symphonies, K 19a, 42a, 45a–b, 73l–n, 73q, 111b • Ádám Fischer, cond; Danish Natl CO • DACAPO 8.201201 (12 CDs: 716:42)

I mentioned in my review of a single disc from this series, which included symphonies Nos. 28–30 (Fanfare 34:4), that I didn’t think that Ádám Fischer’s performances captured “Mozart’s drama as well as they capture his elegance,” but added the caveat that it’s difficult to gauge an entire series of symphonies by one CD. Alas, in later reviewing the disc including symphonies Nos. 31, 33, and 34, I had the opposite feeling, that Fischer was making a “race to the finish line” and playing the symphonies too quickly. Now, as it so happened, I reviewed those two discs about two years apart, and so did not have the first still on hand to compare to the second, or to think about the differences in approach. But now I have the full set of 45 symphonies to review, and my feelings have changed. Now I am inclined to agree with Patrick Rucker, who gave a rave review to the single disc of symphonies Nos. 15–18 in Fanfare 31:1 (a disc reviewed, I believe, before I joined the magazine staff), stating that he was “grasping for superlatives.”

The difference? Listening to the entire series in chronological sequence. By doing so, I noted that, despite an overall theatrical approach to these symphonies (in the liner notes, Fischer admits that he tends to think of orchestral music “operatically,” i.e., finding a dramatic theme or thread in the music that he then tries to bring out), he does make distinctions between the earlier and the later symphonies. Reducing his approach to a few basics, he plays the earlier symphonies with equal drama and electricity but with far fewer changes in dynamics and fewer rubato touches. In addition, I was able to download the scores of four of the symphonies—two of the most famous late works (40 and 41) and two early symphonies (Nos. 5 and 15, chosen pretty much at random)—and although these are not up-to-date, verified, Urtext scores like the ones Fischer worked from, they do include dynamics markings. And, as any number of conductors of the past have mentioned, they do not tell you what to do between the forte here and the piano four or six bars later (or vice versa). You are expected to follow your own good taste in approaching them.

Perhaps another deciding factor for me was in hearing Philippe Herreweghe’s more dynamic performances of symphonies Nos. 39 and 41 and, believe it or not, Bruno Walter’s historic performances of symphonies Nos. 39–41. Despite Walter’s slower tempos (and richer string sound), he actually elicited much more nuance and detail from those symphonies than did Jaap ter Linden, whose set I gave a good review to and suggested at the time that it was a fine historically-informed set of the Mozart symphonies. But, to be honest, what really sold me on Fischer’s approach were his performances of the early, lesser-known, oft-neglected, and unnumbered symphonies. Each and every one of them sounded as if it was just bursting with excitement, yet not too much that it overpowered the music on the printed page.

Moreover, what struck me in the single disc of symphonies 31, 33 and 34 as too fast now, suddenly, made sense in context. And, for the several Toscanini-bashers out there, I found it almost comical to note that Fischer takes the Finale of the “Jupiter” Symphony at virtually the same tempo that they consider “too fast.” The difference, of course, is that musicians of the 1940s and 50s weren’t used to playing Mozart this swiftly, and so they tended to sound pressed, whereas Fischer’s Danish National Chamber Orchestra skips through the music deftly and nimbly, like snow rabbits dashing across the landscape. It’s the comfort level of the executants that makes the difference, then, not the “wrong” tempo.

A good example of Fischer’s approach is CD 3, where he presents no less that four symphonies in a row that are all in the key of D Major (K 73l, m, n, and q). It would have been very easy for him, and the orchestra, to simply slip into an all-purpose style for these works, which of course would make them sound pretty much the same, yet he continually varies his approach from work to work. I do, however, caution the listener to approach this set one CD at a time. That is what I did, listening on consecutive nights to only one CD per evening, and it worked out pretty well. You get a better feel for the magnitude of Fischer’s achievement that way, and you are being fairer to both him and the Danish orchestra, whose players helped prod him on to take chances with the music and do things differently from the norm. After all, this was a seven-year project for them. These symphonies did not just get all rehearsed and recorded within a year or two.

I should also point out the work that went into Symphony No. 15, one of the four I obtained scores of. In the notes, Fischer asserts that if this work had not been by Mozart, who wrote so many symphonies and so many of good quality, it would probably be a much better known work, possibly a repertoire staple. Just reading the score, the music does look promising but certainly not brilliant. The first movement, for instance, is in a quick 3/4 time, featuring a jagged melody with the usual wide-ranging melodic leaps. From the first bar, the dynamics marking is forte, which changes to piano at bar 13, then back to forte at bar 22, piano again at bar 25, forte on the first beat of bar 30 with a sudden fp on the second beat (a half note played by the oboes, trumpets, and first violins, while the second violins play 16ths and the violas, cellos, and basses play eighth notes). It’s all pretty cut-and-dry, you might say, and this is how most conductors play it. Fischer adds a little burst of extra volume at the top of bar 5, when the agitated strings play against long-held notes by oboes and trumpets, and there are all sorts of little gradations of sound in various places, including slight crescendos to emphasize the musical drama. More interestingly, none of this sounds particularly fussy; if you didn’t have the score in front of you, or if you hadn’t heard any number of flat-response historically-informed performances, you’d think that this is simply the way the music goes. Toscanini once said it isn’t the f here or the p there that’s difficult to gauge, but what to do in between. Sadly, Toscanini paid little attention to most of Mozart’s symphonies because, except for the last three, he found most of them boring: “Is always beautiful, but always the same!” In Fischer’s performances, nothing is “always the same.” In the Andante of this Symphony, for instance, there are no dynamics markings at all, yet Fischer plays it at a moderate mp with further gradations down to p or pp and back again. By such means does he create and sustain interest.

The notes also explain the reason why the music sounds so vibrant and alive: His string players all use steel strings, which gives the music a consistently “edgy” quality that reveals, as Fischer put it, Mozart’s “earthily honest side.” The more you think about it, the more this makes sense, since Mozart was strongly influenced by both Haydn and C. P. E. Bach, both of whom exploited an earthy, dramatic quality in their symphonies.

Probably the most difficult aspect of the earlier symphonies to overcome was the monotony of orchestration. Clarinets, horns, and other instruments only begin to appear in Mozart’s symphonies later on; earlier, the composer had to rely on his ingenuity of counter-rhythms and occasional harmonic changes to sustain interest, and unlike Haydn, Mozart almost invariably sought the widest possible popularity for his music (perhaps one of the reasons why Toscanini found it “always the same”). Yet, as the notes also point out, in Mozart’s day no one bothered to listen to music more than three years old as a rule. It was all about what was new, not what had come before. No one gave a hoot back then about “historical performance practice” because they didn’t want it and wouldn’t have listened if you gave it to them.

I still feel that occasional movements, such as the Andantes of the “Paris” Symphony and No. 39, are a shade too fast for my taste, but in the context of Fischer’s overall musical conception what he plays works very well. I can now accept what I hear in those later symphonies because my tolerance was built up through what he did with the numerous early works. In short, I have taken this symphonic journey with Fischer, the only difference being that I did it in 12 nights rather than in seven years.

I have now replaced the Jaap ter Linden set of Mozart symphonies on my shelf with this one. I strongly urge you to give them a listen and see if you don’t agree.

FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

R E V I E W S of some of the recordings that make up this set:

It's always fascinating to go back to the early recordings of artists who are firmly ensconced in the classical music pantheon. Such is the case with this recording of the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius concertos made by Itzhak Perlman in the late 1960s.
The Tchaikovsky concerto was written for virtuoso violinist Leopold Auer who actually thought the work unplayable. The young Perlman brings passion and flash to the concerto; his playing is suitably poetic in its sentimental moments and fiery in its finale. Sibelius's concerto was written about the same time that he wrote his second symphony. Perlman grasps the concerto's romantic soul while standing up to its demanding modernist technical challenges. As an added bonus the recording includes Dvorák's Romance, a gentle idyll that displays Perlman's lovely legato playing. -- MUZE [review of RCA 63591]

This album continues the tribute to classic film music from John Williams and Itzhak Perlman's CINEMA SERENADE disc. It is an undeniably old-fashioned and romantic album, befitting the era the music is drawn from. On "As Time Goes By" from CASABLANCA, Perlman proves that he's still one of the world's premier concert violinists, playing the theme with palpable ache. Most of these compositions are by the classic film composers--Alfred Newman, Miklós Rózsa, Max Steiner--with one notable exception. William Walton's theme for HENRY V gets a suitably regal, yet restrained, treatment. Perlman sounds as if he's having a good time with the sprightly Irish motifs of "The Quiet Man." The orchestrations are rich and dramatic, and the recording quality is superb. This album is highly recommended to anyone who remembers when a soundtrack was more than just a bunch of flavor-of-the-month pop tunes. -- MUZE [review of SONY 60773]

Prokofiev's F minor Sonata—surely his greatest chamber work—opens bleakly, then flowers to harmonic richness before switching to a sharp-edged Allegro brusco, a deeply introspective Andante and a closing Allegrissimo that recalls (or anticipates, depending on its precise chronology in Prokofiev's thinking) the finale of the great Eighth Piano Sonata... Perlman's is an immensely assured, sweet-centred reading, delicate where needs be (the ''wind in a graveyard'' passages of the first movement, for example) and yet with a Heifetzian resilience that both sonatas willingly respond to... When it comes to the delightful Second Sonata—of rather less import, and a second-hand utterance (the original was for flute and piano)—Perlman and Ashkenazy play with astonishing virtuosity and here their visceral virtues win hands down, especially in the Scherzo... the playing has real class, the recording is clean and there's a substantial bonus in Perlman's accomplished 1966 version of the Second Violin Concerto, where Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony trace and characterize the score's every subtle detail—especially among the woodwind. That, for me, is the disc's most indelible interpretative feature. -- Gramophone [review of RCA 61454]

Reviews of some of the original recordings that make up this set:

Quintets K 174, K 516, K 593, K 406
"There is some pretty powerful playing here too, and though some listeners might prefer a more intimate approach to the quintets, I rather enjoyed the Guarneri's big, bold Mozart. In the comparatively small-scale K174 there is some restraint, with delicacy and charm in the Adagio, but it is still early Mozart without frills, directly and boldly presented. Steven Tenenbom seems to have a bigger tone as 'guest' viola than Ida Kavafian, which encourages the group to play Out more in K516. In this work there is warmth but a fairly tough, energetic response to the music: perhaps some of the accents in the Minuet and Trio are too brusque. The players attack the first note of K406 with some force too, and this movement's minor key drama is played to the full. But there is a degree of tenderness, if not any really soft playing in the Andante. In K593 the Adagio is nicely shaped, and there are some neatly phrased passages in the finale, but strength of attack is again very evident in the first movement and in the Minuet and Trio. Nowhere throughout all four works is there a dull movement, or even a dull moment."

-- A.S., Gramophone [9/1988]

Reviews of some of the earlier releases that make up this set:

Symphonia domestica, Le bourgeois gentilhomme
"Fritz Reiner’s 1956 performance of Richard Strauss’s Symphonia domestica was essentially its first recording in modern stereo sound. As such, it probably introduced the work to many American listeners. Prior to this, recordings conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Clemens Krauss and the composer himself with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra were undoubtedly authoritative, but hardly competitive from a sonic standpoint. Subsequently, fine stereo versions by Rudolf Kempe (EMI), Herbert von Karajan (Deutsche Grammophon), and Zubin Mehta (Decca-London) have been released, but none of them are superior to Reiner’s justly famous Living Stereo interpretation. This represents the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at its peak, and Reiner had no peer as a conductor of the orchestral music of Richard Strauss. If anything, Reiner’s no-nonsense style is even more suited to the charming, chamber-like Le bourgeois gentilhomme Suite."

-- Arthur Lintgen, Fanfare [1/2008]

Scenes From Salome And Elektra
"Solti's now-infamous comment that the Chicago Symphony was a provincial orchestra before he appeared is further discounted by the reissue of these unrivalled performances. None of Reiner's successors as a Strauss conductor, neither Solti himself, Kempe nor Sawallisch, seems quite to achieve the clarity of texture, mastery of line and intensity of feeling displayed in these recordings of 35 years and more ago, nor has any orchestra, certainly not the CSO of Solti's day, evinced the richness and brilliance of sound found here. Above all, Reiner brought to these scores, especially Elektra, a classic grandeur of utterance, a saturated sound that overwhelms the ear without ever deafening it. Perhaps these impressions are enhanced by the superb recording, preferable to so much that passes for good sound today. The fidelity, even balance and deep sonority of this early stereo in Chicago is truly amazing. Just as arresting is the perfect placing of the voices in relation to the orchestra."

-- A.B., Gramophone [5/1993]

Also sprach Zarathustra
"Reiner's 1954 Also sprach is arguably more characteristic than his 1962 RCA remake. That is to say, it is even more intense and extrovert. In his second year with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the conductor was already getting a thrilling response from the strings, although woodwind intonation could be a problem. Confident and well played as it is, the spectacular opening sunrise inevitably lacks the impact of, say, Preyin's Telarc recording (the organ is particularly disappointing). Nor is there the dark solemnity of and detail in the bass familiar from Karajan's DO versions. What we have instead is a measure of raw passion and forward thrust unequalled on disc. In reflective passages, conductor and/or engineers display some reluctance to achieve a real pianissimo, but as the tempo builds Reiner invariably creates great excitement and the orchestral playing is marvellous."

-- David Gutman, Gramophone [12/1992]

Don Quixote, Burleske
Throughout his career Fritz Reiner showed a particular affinity for the music of Richard Strauss. Here he delivers an exceptionally vivid account of Don Quixote – each bizarre episode from the eccentric knight’s adventures is portrayed with razor-sharp insight. One notices, in particular, Reiner’s miraculous attention to detail, his unfailing grip on the structural direction of the work and the superb response from both soloist and orchestra. With its flashes of sardonic wit, the earlier Burleske makes for an excellent coupling, and illustrates Reiner’s formidable prowess as a concerto accompanist. By any standards, a self-recommending issue.

-- Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine

Classical Music

Classical Music

LA TRAVIATA
Mireille Delunsch • Matthew Polenzani • Zeljko Lucic
Orchestre de Paris, Conducted by Yutaka Sado
staged by Peter Mussbach
Recorded at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (2003)

AIDA
Nina Stemme • Salvatore Licitra • Luciana D’Intino Juan Pons • Matti Salminen
Zurich Opera Orchestra, Conducted by Adam Fischer
staged by Nicolas Joel
Recorded at the Opernhaus Zürich (2006)
BBC Magazine DVD of the month (august 07)
Gramophone DVD of the month (august 07)

MACBETH
Dimitris Tiliakos • Violeta Urmana • Ferruccio Furlanetto • Stefano Secco
Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris, Conducted by Teodor Currentzis
staged by Dmitri Tcherniakov
Recorded at the Opéra national de Paris (2009)

Three masterpieces by Verdi in a limited edition 5-DVD box set: internationally acclaimed productions from Aix Festival, Zurich Opera House and paris Opera, by Peter Mussbach (Traviata), Nicolas Joel (Aida) and Dmitri Tcherniakov (Macbeth). Artists as Mireille Delunsch, Nina Stemme, salvatore Licitra, Violeta Urmana and world famous conductors as Yutaka Sado, Adam Fischer and Teodor Currentzis.

FINNISSY The History of Photography in Sound • Ian Pace (pn) • METIER 77501 (5 CDs: 326:48)


The music of English composer Michael Finnissy (b. 1946) is difficult to categorize. It is exceptionally multifaceted in both its surface and substance. It is music that is filled with its own original ideas (and textures that sound like nobody else), but at the same time it is constantly making explicit references to other music. His music’s difficulty ranges from nearly unplayable fiendish complexity to exceptional plainchant-like simplicity, frequently within the same piece. Finnissy’s notation is likewise extremely varied, and almost all his scores exist in his astounding calligraphy.


The History of Photography in Sound (1995–2001) is Finnissy’s largest piano work at nearly 5.5 hours in length. Any attempt to summarize the piece in a brief review will fall significantly short of pointing out even a fraction of its facets. The pianist Ian Pace has been associated with Finnissy’s music since he (Pace) was in school, and he recorded this work shortly after its complete premiere about decade ago. For whatever reason, it is only now appearing on CD, but its release is a major event for those interested in Finnissy’s work or significant piano literature. Many of the individual movements/sections were composed as separate projects/commissions and premiered by different pianists. This excellently-produced CD box set also includes an extensive set of booklet essays by Pace (who is also a musicologist), and an even more extended version filled with musical examples is available online. In addition to his concert career (as a new music specialist), Pace is a very outspoken and caustic critic of academic musicology, and in recent years has become a very public advocate for investigation into the many sexual abuse scandals in British music schools.


Finnissy is himself a pianist, and his large catalog is dominated by works for the instrument. For him it has clearly been a source of continual musical inspiration, and the role of the piano in even his non-solo works is also extremely significant, even including an opera where the “orchestra” is simply a single virtuoso pianist. Each of the 11 sections of The History bear a descriptive name, ranging from “North American Spirituals” to “My parents’ generation thought War meant something” to “Kapitalistisch Realisme (met Sizilianische Männerakte en Bachsche Nachdichtungen).” As is nearly always the case in Finnissy’s work, the piece abounds with references and quotations to other music: from Bach to 19th-century music hall songs, and from Berlioz to Inuit traditional music. Sometimes these references are very explicit, but often there is simply a fragment of a melody embedded within the “tenor line” of a larger texture; these would certainly go unnoticed were it not for the composer’s trademark arrows carefully identifying the sources in the score. One of the booklet essays specifically addresses the quotations, and it challenges—in a typically Pace-ian confrontational style—the general critical response to these myriad references as nothing more than a sort of “found object tourism.” Pace breaks down all the different types of quotations into various categories, examining how each category of material is “weighted” in different ways throughout the sections of the work. The external references made in The History are not purely musical, either; literature and philosophy also make appearances. The sixth section, “Seven Immortal Homosexual Poets,” is conceived as a musical version of a poetry anthology, and each poet is treated in turn, wordlessly.


The composer has given Pace’s performances and this recording his enthusiastic recommendation, so it is to be assumed that the performance is definitive. No other pianist (aside from the composer himself) has been more closely associated with Finnissy’s music, and thus Pace brings to the project a true mastery of the composer’s interpretative challenges. Like many of Finnissy’s pieces, there is enough content in The History to keep one engaged through a near lifetime of listens. Certainly there are precedents for large-scale piano works of this scope, or even significantly longer ones: including numerous work by Sorabji and Frederic Rzewski’s “novel for piano,” The Road. In most cases of such large scale works, the pieces end up being quite representative of their composer’s preoccupations and principal artistic concerns. The History is no exception, and thus stands as a major work of a major composer. For those who are completely unfamiliar with Finnissy, they may wish to start with shorter works, almost all of which have been recorded. However, for those who wish to take an unforgettable journey, this is a work, like much great art, that embraces everything and, in the process, tells us something about ourselves.


FANFARE: Carson Cooman

"Seculi sui Musicus excellentissimus" was the epitaph inscribed on his tombstone in the old Frauenkirche of Dresden -- to his contemporaries, the Saxon-born Heinrich Schütz was one of the most outstanding composers of the century, and even writers of music history today refer to him as 'Musicus poeticus ecclesiasticus', whose works were and are still the epitome of Protestant church music.

This collection is a tribute to the great Baroque composer, who received most of his training in Venice from the organist of St Mark's, Giovanni Gabrieli. The richness of colour and musical splendour of the Psalmen Davids, scored for several choruses and first to feature on the release, reflects the arts-minded Saxon court for which they were composed; next comes a collection of motets, which similarly follow in the footsteps of Venetian composition through 'painting in sound' the content of the text and dividing the choir into two or more tonal groups. The motet played a significant role in church service music, and Schütz also wrote a number of polychoral concertos for festive occasions, the affective Magnificat anima mea SWV468 for Christmas among them. Rounding off the compilation is the composer's Schwanengesang, literally meaning 'Swan Song' and deemed to be his parting gift to the world -- here Luther's version of the 'German Magnificat' at the end of the piece reveals Schütz's taking on the role of musical interpreter in the cause of Lutheran teaching.

The renowned Dresden Kreuzchor became closely associated with the works of Schütz under the directorship of Rudolf Mauersberger, who made the choir an instrument of singular appeal. Here they feature alongside a number of other distinguished German choral groups and ensembles, including the Berliner Solisten, to perform the works of a composer who represented an important transitional phase in sacred music.

Other information:
- Recordings made in 1965, 1970 and 1983--4.
- Heinrich Schütz was no doubt one of the most important composers from the period of transition from Renaissance to Baroque, a German who imbued the strict german polyphony with Italian melos of warmth and emotion. Johann Sebastian Bach considered him the greatest of his predecessors.
- Brilliant Classics has given Schütz ample due in its Schütz Edition volumes 1-4, and this new set presents some of his grandest works, the splendid Psalms of David, Polychoral Concertos and Motets and his moving Schwanengesang, music both magnificent and intimate.
- Performances in the best german choral tradition by the famous Dresdner Kreuzchor, Capella Fidicina and the Berliner Solisten.
- Booklet contains detailed notes on the composer and his music.

WAGNER Götterdämmerung • Marek Janowski, cond; Lance Ryan ( Siegfried ); Petra Lang ( Brünnhilde ); Matti Salminen ( Hagen ); Markus Brück ( Gunther ); Edith Haller ( Gutrune ); Jochen Schmeckenbecher ( Alberich ); Marina Prudenskaya ( Waltraute ); Julia Borchert ( Woglinde ); Katherine Kammerloher ( Wellgunde ); Kismara Pessatti ( Flosshilde ); Susanne Resmark ( First Norn ); Christa Mayer ( Second Norn ); Jacquelyn Wagner ( Third Norn ); Berlin R Ch & SO • PENTATONE 5186 409 (4 SACDs: 243:42 Text and Translation) Live: Berlin 3/15/2013


In the fall of 2010, PentaTone announced plans to release new concert recordings of Wagner’s 10 mature operas—all with the same conductor, orchestra, and chorus plus top Wagnerian singers—by the end of the composer’s 200th birthday year. A given was that, as with all PentaTone releases, these would be hybrid multichannel SACDs featuring the best possible sound that the Polyhymnia engineering team could muster. Well, they did it. My copy of Götterdämmerung , recorded in May of last year, arrived on my doorstep on December 11, 2013. Almost three weeks to spare. It’s a successful conclusion to an ambitious undertaking, even if a couple of key singers here were not in top form.


Marek Janowski, as usual, favors brisk tempos. He brings in this Götterdämmerung in about 4:04:00; a quick check of five other audio-only versions of the work, of various vintages, revealed a range of 4: 17:00 (Keilberth, 1955) to 4:34:00 (Thielemann, 2010). Sometimes, this penchant for speed is quite evident, as with a third act Funeral March that’s something other than a dirge. Mostly, Janowski’s tempo choices translate into an increased sense of dramatic urgency rather than seeming rushed or perfunctory.


As signaled above, two key performers were not at the top of their game. Lance Ryan sang Siegfried for Zubin Mehta in the Valencia Ring —my favored video version—and, as I noted there, while no Melchior, he gave a dramatically effective account of the misguided hero. Here, his voice seems closed-in, pinched, sometimes even a little nasal in character—though his softer singing, as when he remembers his history to Hagen’s men right before he’s murdered, is better. Petra Lang is a top-tier Wagnerian who always brings intelligence and strong sense of character to her portrayals. Best here is her scene with Waltraute (capably sung by Marina Prudenskaya) where she begins with the same aura of radiant happiness she manifested when she waved goodbye to Siegfried in the Prologue—and then evolves into defiant fury. Lang’s Brünnhilde is set up perfectly for the gigantic disappointment in the form of Siegfried-as-Gunther who is the next visitor to her rock. “Verrat!”—“Betrayed!”—she cries out, and really sounds like she means it. In the last act, though, Lang’s vocal instrument does show some wear in more demanding passages: The voice is a little rough on top with some imperfect intonation. Violeta Urmana was the Brünnhilde for PentaTone’s Siegfried and she’s more technically secure—but, of course, the role in Götterdämmerung makes very different and more extreme demands on a vocalist than does the earlier drama.


But then there’s Hagen. Give me a choice between a grade B-plus Brünnhilde/Siegfried combination with a grade B Hagen, and a B-minus Brünnhilde/Siegfried with an A Hagen, and I’ll take the latter deal every time. And Matti Salminen is an A-plus Hagen: As Peter Rabinowitz noted in a review of the Valencia Ring in Fanfare 34:2, “he virtually owns the part these days.” Salminen’s act I monolog “Hier Stiz’ ich zur Wacht” is darkly horrifying, dripping with contempt not just for Siegfried but for the rest of humanity as well. Janowski backs him up with tritone-laden brass declamations of crushing power.


Markus Brück and Edith Haller capably sing Gunther and Gutrune. At least vocally, there’s no obvious attempt to make the former into a puffed-up fop and the latter into a floozy, as is so often the case in staged productions. They are there to function mechanistically in the scheme Alberich and Hagen have devised to recover the ring and there’s really no need to vilify them further. The trios of Norns and Rhine Maidens are dramatically and musically effective as well.


The choral work in act II is thrilling—and the recording lets you hear everything. Orchestral sonorities are wonderfully warm and richly textured: Listen to the blend of the eight horns in the music between scenes 1 and 2 of the second act (after Alberich and Hagen’s exchange), or to the glowing majesty of the work’s closing pages. The packaging is in the same luxuriant mode as the preceding nine releases: PentaTone provides a 320-page bound booklet that holds the four hybrid multichannel SACDs as well as a German/English libretto, another lengthy essay from Steffen Georgi, and plenty of information on the cast. By the way, I did it. I managed to hang onto the vouchers that came with the nine earlier releases in the series, so I’m entitled to a “special CD collection box.”


As the final D? chord so handsomely recorded by the Polyhymnia engineering team fades away, one is left marveling at the achievement of Marek Janowski and the many top-notch singers who joined him for PentaTone’s project. But mostly, one is left in awe at the remarkable staying power of the music penned by one Wilhelm Richard Wagner.


FANFARE: Andrew Quint

This material represents some of the earliest televised concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and three of their eminent music directors, Charles Munch, Erich Leinsdorf and William Steinberg. This historical footage has been restored using the greatest care and state-of-the-art techniques. It is of exceptional musical interest and historical value, and has been described by critics as a "rare treat" (Gramophone) and "welcome documentations" (BBC Music Magazine).

Picture format: NTSC 4:3 Sound format: LPCM Mono (DVD 1) / LPCM Stereo (DVD 2) / Enhanced Mono (DVD 3, 4, 5) Region code: 0 (worldwide) Menu language: English Running time: 6 hours 14 mins No. of DVDs: 5

This set contains the following 5 DVDs:

CHARLES MUNCH
RAVEL Ma Mère l’Oye – Suite; DEBUSSY Ibéria, La Mer (1958 & 1961)

ERICH LEINSDORF
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9 "Great"; SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4; WAGNER Parsifal – Good Friday Music (1962, 1963 & 1964)

BEETHOVEN Egmont Overture; TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5; MOZART Serenade No.9 "Posthorn" – Minuet I (1963 & 1969)

WILLIAM STEINBERG
HAYDN Symphony No. 55; BEETHOVEN Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 (1962, 1969 & 1970)

BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8 (2nd revised edition) (1962)

These four Salzburg Festival Opening Concerts are now available in a hardcover slipcase for a very attractive price! Top casts with Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Wiener Philharmoniker, Dorothea Roschmann, Elina Garanca, Klaus Florian Vogt, Rene Pape, Anna Prohaska, Anna Larsson and Johan Botha.

The Baroque Ensemble of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra present six recordings produced at the Pilgrimage Church at Triberg.

“We are in the presence of one of the greatest virtuosos of our time. I do not see in her generation any other pianist who possesses an equal mastery of the keyboard, in the service of such a mature mind so rich in imagination.”
— Marc Pincherle Nouvelles Litteraires, France 1959

“No doubt remained as soon as the piano began to reverberate: on the stage was a first class musician and a maestro. A complete freedom went hand in hand with Idil Biret’s interpretations. One has the feeling that she plays as easily as she breathes. With an extraordinary plasticity, she moulds each musical phrase like wax with her fingers. But, the freedom in Miss Biret’s interpretation is not accidental. Her attitude towards the works she is playing is the result of meditation. The art of Idil Biret gives joy and emotion.”
– D. Blagoy SOVIETSKAIA KULTURA – USSR 1960

“All the works [on this LP] require a pianist of true class, because each of them presents challenges demanding something quite different from traditional technique. It has to be said that the young Idil Biret exceeds all expectations. This Turkish artist appeared in Brussels (1959) at the tender age of eighteen. Her virtuosity is astonishing, encompassing clarity, rhythmical rigour, precision and strength or delicacy, as required. She can play at great speed and maintain runs of impeccable luminosity. Her flexible touch conjures a thousand surprising effects; some notes and chords explode like whip-cracks, while others caress the keys, and there is an extraordinary purity to her polyphonic playing. In the hands of an artist of such superior qualities, the very particular characteristics of both Bartók’s and Prokofiev’s piano writing are brought out to the full. Taking into account her passionate vitality and lively musical intelligence as well, I believe her talent offers more than enough to be met not simply with satisfaction but with genuine enthusiasm.”
– Jacques Stehman, LA REVUE DES DISQUES (Belgium) 1962

“This is the most successful direct-to-disc piano recording I have heard. Having an artist as sensitive and accomplished as Idil Biret at the keyboard is an enormous help. Her fluency seems limitless and her ability to control, even at the softest dynamics, is all too rare these days…Hers is a bona fide virtuoso rendition.”
– HIGH FIDELITY – USA 1977

The brief and dazzling life of MCM Records was a labor of love that captured many treasured live performances from the last flowering of the classic Chicago Blues age. With this 8 CD box set you get a front seat to shows in the vibrant blues clubs of Chicago in the 70's. These energetic and raw live recordings capture both to-be-legendary performers and others, and were recorded by french blues afficionado Marcelle Morgantini on reel-to-reel. When Morgantini came into some money on her 50th birthday, her only wish was to go to Chicago and record the blues. To that end, she made live recordings of many blues greats including Magic Slim, Big Mojo Elem, Jimmy Dawkins, John Littlejohn, Eddie Clearwater, Eddie Taylor, Bobby King, Jimmy Johnson, Luther Johnson and many more, remastered for this special box set.

Sir Colin Davis leads the Staatskapelle Dresden in recordings from the 1988-2003 featuring music of Berlioz, Sibelius, Mendelssohn, and more.

Complete Symphonies and Selected Overtures, from the legendary October-December 1939 NBC cycle. CD 1: Symphony No 1 in C Major, Op. 21 & Symphony No 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica" (Studio 8H, 28 Oct. 1939. CD 2: Symphony No 2 in D Major, Op. 36; Symphony No 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60 & Leonore Overture No. 3 (Studio 8H, 4 Nov. 1939). CD 3: Symphony No 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale" & Symphony No 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 (Studio 8H, 11 Nov. 1939). CD 4: Egmont Overture & Symphony No 7 in A Major, Op. 92 (Studio 8H, 18 Nov. 1939); Leonore Overture No. 1 & Symphony No 8 in F Major, Op. 93 (Studio 8H, 25 Nov. 1939). CD 5: Leonore Overture No. 2 (Studio 8H, 25 Nov. 1939}; Symphony No 9 in D Minor, Op. 1(Jarmila Novotna, Kerstin Thorborg, Jan Peerce, Nicola Moscona, Westminster Choir, Carnegie Hall, 2 Dec. 1939). New 2013 digital transfers by Aaron Z. Snyder using the revolutionary harmonic balancing process. Notes: Christopher Dyment. Total time: 6 hrs 12 min. BUZZ: "With Chris Dyment's uncommonly informative notes, this release is essential for anyone who cares about Beethoven or Toscanini" --Mortimer H. Frank in Fanfare [on the previous edition] "a must for every experienced music lover... 5.0 out of 5 stars " --Peter Dietrich, amazon.com customer reviews [on the previous edition] "These are superb transfers... They give a great cycle its best sonic shout to date." --Rob Cowan, Gramophone [on the previous edition] "The NBC Orchestra is in fine form and the great conductor's sometimes controversial genius combines with that of Beethoven to produce dazzling and memorable performances." -- www.new-classics.co.uk [on the previous edition]

From time to time, the general idea gains currency that national anthems are nowadays an anachronism. According to the critics' arguments, these anthems were the product of a period of awakening nationalism. Today, however, there is wide endeavour to overcome narrow, national ways of thinking and acting, with the great aim of promoting the peaceful community and union of nations, to realize which should be the first principle for politicians all over the world. Criticism of this kind may surely be justified, considered from the standpoint of those seeking a United Europe. On the other hand we must not underestimate the sanctity accorded national anthems, carefully guarded symbols which enjoy the same respect and protection as national flags. They express love of the fatherland, pride in the native country, and trust in the nation. This is the reason for the sincerity with which people regard and sing their own national anthem, and the respect accorded to the anthems of other peoples. The solemn, dignified start and close of each official meeting between peoples divided by national borders is provided by national anthems. Yet when before have meetings between representatives of different nations been as frequent as today? Peoples meet at sporting events, at international youth gatherings, or at political conferences, heads of the states and delegations are received, cultural weeks and festivals are celebrated, and on such occasions the national anthems surely contribute to the understanding of other peoples, as well as offering the occasion for personal contact among individuals. Nothing, then, is more important in our time than mutual understanding, since misunderstandings and prejudices have in the past brought so much disaster to the nations of the world. Since publication of the CD-set Complete National Anthems of the World, Vols. 1-6 (Marco Polo 8.206001) in 1998, the following independent states have introduced new national anthems, restored from former anthems of the earlier history of their respective countries: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Congo-Kinshasa (formerly Zaire), Georgia, Iraq, Mozambique, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia and Turkmenistan. It has therefore been necessary to produce a complete new set to replace the previous series. In addition to the national anthem of the newly independent state of East Timor, the Grand Ducal Hymn of Luxembourg and the Swedish Royal Song, the previous set furthermore included many state hymns of autonomous dependencies, overseas territories, other regional administrative bodies and ethnic groups, as well as the hymns of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the United Nations Organization, the European Union and the International Olympic Committee. The anthems are performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava under the conductor Peter Breiner (born 1957), who has arranged and orchestrated all the anthems with great sensitivity. It is a highly successful undertaking which will arouse the enthusiasm of music collectors, ethnologists, heads of protocol and sports promoters.

One feels a very special emotion listening to the [violin] when it is not accompanied by others, which often adds to the emotion produced by the music itself. Though limited in size, this repertoire has no lack of masterpieces to offer, from Bach to Bartok, by way of Paganini, Ysaye and Scarlatti. -Tedi Papavrami.

Classical Music

The term "chamber music" broadly implies music on an intimate scale performed by a limited number of musicians. The heart of civilized 18th-century European musical culture is best represented by that most perfect of forms the string quartet, developed by Haydn and Mozart into models of elegance and expressive balance. Embracing instruments new for his time, Mozart’s chamber music also resulted in sublime masterpieces such as the Clarinet Quintet, but it was Beethoven who expanded the length and complexity of the string quartet to its limits. Beethoven left an indelible mark of progress and change on every genre of music, and both the ‘Archduke’ Trio and ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata are milestones in chamber music history.

Beethoven’s romantic independence of spirit and powerfully personal musical language was carried forward by Schubert and Mendelssohn, both of whom introduced emotion-enhancing literary sentiments into their expressive range. The symphonic proportions of Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet places it at the pinnacle of the classical line through Mozart and Beethoven, but romantic ideals in music were already being applied to the cause of national identity. Antonín Dvorák’s ‘Dumky’ Trio takes its name from a ballad of lament, integrating national dance elements to create a distinctive Czech and Bohemian flavor. The move away from German stylistic examples by the Russian ‘mighty handful’ can be heard in Borodin’s soulful String Quartet No 2. Innovation in chamber music can be found everywhere, but there are few such works as striking as César Franck’s Violin Sonata, a flawless synthesis of classical proportion and the spirit of romanticism in its cyclic development of a single theme.

This collection of great chamber music brings together nine giants of music in works which reveal their most immediate and individual expressive worlds: proof if ever any was needed that less can be much, much more.

Collectors and admirers of Dvorak’s music bearing the hallmark of the Czech performance tradition can now add another comprehensive album to put alongside the previous complete Supraphon CDs mapping his chamber, piano, and symphonic works. The acclaimed recording of the symphonies, conducted by Vaclav Neumann, is now followed by Supraphon’s 8-CD box set featuring Dvorak’s orchestral pieces and concertos. In addition to the celebrated Slavonic Dances, it contains a number of rarely recorded symphonic works (the Hussite Overture, My Home, A Hero’s Song), as well as splendid compositions for chamber and string orchestras. Besides recordings made under the baton of Neumann, it provides scope to other great Dvorak conductors – Mackerras, Belohlavek and the rising star Jakub Hruša. The set of orchestral works is rounded off by recordings of concertos, ranging from the virtually unknown Cello Concerto in A major, written by the young Dvorak, to the most frequently performed, the Cello Concerto in B minor. Supraphon has again carefully put together top-quality and time-honoured recordings of works performed by world-renowned soloists.

With keepsake ornament.