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Music and Arts Programs of America

Lost Feuermann - The Japanese Recordings 1934 & 1936

$19.99 Only 3 left

Details

Composer
YAMADA, KOSAKU
Artist
Emanuel, Feuermann
Format
CD
Label
Music and Arts Programs of America
Released
Oct 01, 2009
Catalog #
MUA1075
UPC
017685107528

About

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

Tracklist 18 tracks

  1. 1 6 Morceaux, Op. 51: No. 6. Valse sentimentale (arr. for cello and piano) 02:19
    Track
    1
    Title
    6 Morceaux, Op. 51: No. 6. Valse sentimentale (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    02:19
    Composer
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  2. 2 Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words), Book 5, Op. 62: No. 30 in A Major, "Fruhlingslied" (Spring Song) (arr. for cello and piano) 02:19
    Track
    2
    Title
    Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words), Book 5, Op. 62: No. 30 in A Major, "Fruhlingslied" (Spring Song) (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    02:19
    Composer
    Felix Mendelssohn
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  3. 3 From Jewish Life: I. Prayer 03:28
    Track
    3
    Title
    From Jewish Life: I. Prayer
    Duration
    03:28
    Composer
    Ernest Bloch
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  4. 4 Jocelyn, Op. 100, Act I: Berceuse (arr. for cello and piano) 03:23
    Track
    4
    Title
    Jocelyn, Op. 100, Act I: Berceuse (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:23
    Composer
    Benjamin Godard
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  5. 5 3 Gedichte, Op. 29: No. 3. Zigeunerleben (arr. for cello and piano) 03:13
    Track
    5
    Title
    3 Gedichte, Op. 29: No. 3. Zigeunerleben (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:13
    Composer
    Robert Schumann
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  6. 6 Schwanengesang, D. 957: No. 4. Standchen (Leise flehen meine Lieder) (arr. for cello and piano) 03:25
    Track
    6
    Title
    Schwanengesang, D. 957: No. 4. Standchen (Leise flehen meine Lieder) (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:25
    Composer
    Franz Schubert
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  7. 7 Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still (arr. for cello and piano) 03:00
    Track
    7
    Title
    Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:00
    Composer
    William Thomas Wrighton
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  8. 8 Carnival of the Animals: XII. Le Cygne (The Swan) (version for cello and piano) 01:58
    Track
    8
    Title
    Carnival of the Animals: XII. Le Cygne (The Swan) (version for cello and piano)
    Duration
    01:58
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  9. 9 Sonata No. 10 in E Major, Op. 8: II. Allegro, tempo di gavotta (version for cello and piano) 03:00
    Track
    9
    Title
    Sonata No. 10 in E Major, Op. 8: II. Allegro, tempo di gavotta (version for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:00
    Composer
    Giuseppe Valentini
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  10. 10 2 Melodies, Op. 3: No. 1 in F Major (arr. for cello and piano) 08:29
    Track
    10
    Title
    2 Melodies, Op. 3: No. 1 in F Major (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    08:29
    Composer
    Anton Rubinstein
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  11. 11 Nocturne No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 (arr. for cello and piano) 04:10
    Track
    11
    Title
    Nocturne No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    04:10
    Composer
    Frédéric Chopin
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Wolfgang Rebner
  12. 12 Kojo No Tsuki (Moon of the Deserted Castle) (arr. for cello and piano) 03:06
    Track
    12
    Title
    Kojo No Tsuki (Moon of the Deserted Castle) (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Rentaro Taki
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Fritz Kitzinger
  13. 13 Karatachi no hana (Trifoliate Orange Flowers) (arr. for cello and piano) 03:28
    Track
    13
    Title
    Karatachi no hana (Trifoliate Orange Flowers) (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:28
    Composer
    Kōsaku Yamada
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Fritz Kitzinger
  14. 14 Nabora (arr. for cello and piano) 03:08
    Track
    14
    Title
    Nabora (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Kōsaku Yamada
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Fritz Kitzinger
  15. 15 Ojoro Takashima (arr. for cello and piano) 03:20
    Track
    15
    Title
    Ojoro Takashima (arr. for cello and piano)
    Duration
    03:20
    Composer
    Kōsaku Yamada
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann, Fritz Kitzinger
  16. 16 Ave Maria (arr. for cello, piano and organ) 03:50
    Track
    16
    Title
    Ave Maria (arr. for cello, piano and organ)
    Duration
    03:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach, Charles Gounod
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann
  17. 17 Kol nidrei, Op. 47 08:26
    Track
    17
    Title
    Kol nidrei, Op. 47
    Duration
    08:26
    Composer
    Max Bruch
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann
    Ensemble
    Staatskapelle Berlin
    Conductor
    Frieder Weissmann
  18. 18 Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major, Hob.VIIb:2: II. Adagio. III. Rondo: Allegro 06:50
    Track
    18
    Title
    Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major, Hob.VIIb:2: II. Adagio. III. Rondo: Allegro
    Duration
    06:50
    Composer
    Franz Joseph Haydn
    Performer
    Emanuel Feuermann
    Ensemble
    Staatskapelle Berlin
    Conductor
    Frieder Weissmann