Newly compiled for the first time, the Decca career of a pre-eminent Mozart conductor, complemented by his recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and Westminster. Peter Maag began his career as a pianist, but turned to conducting with the encouragement of Wilhelm Furtwangler. He made his first Decca recording having lately turned 30, with the Suisse Romande Orchestra whose founder-director, Ernest Ansermet, also gave his fellow Swiss conductor much early encouragement. Critics recognized Maag as a natural Mozartian, and his first seven Decca recordings were exclusively dedicated to the composer's serenades, symphonies and arias (accompanying Jennifer Vyvyan and Fernando Corena). In the late 1950s, Maag embarked on a fruitful relationship with the LSO, which yielded more Mozart and then classic accounts of Mendelssohn - the Scottish Symphony and music for A Midsummer Night's Dream - for which the conductor's lightness of touch and firm rhythmic hand were ideally suited. These qualities also found him at home in ballet - there are beautifully sprung accounts here of Les Sylphides and La Source - and the Italian operatic repertoire. As well as a long-prized disc of Rossini overtures, this box gathers up Maag's pioneering recording of a forerunner to Fidelio, Paer's Leonora, and Verdi's Schiller-rarity, Luisa Miller, with a cast led by Luciano Pavarotti (who had already worked on the piece with the conductor for Italian radio). Maag brought the best out of both vocal and instrumental soloists, and many of his records find him in the role of accompanist, to Julius Katchen near the start of his career and Barry Tuckwell for his first Decca recording, with the late Fou Ts'ong in 1962, and to Peter Jablonski and Joshua Bell near the end. In between he made a trio of less-familar albums for Deutsche Grammophon, a suave foil to Heinz Holliger in Baroque oboe concertos, to Edith Peinemann in Dvorak's Violin Concerto and Ravel's Tzigane, and to the Danish Heldentenor Ticho Parly for a Wagner recital. Jablonski and Tuckwell contribute personal reminiscences of working with Maag for the booklet notes.
“Altfrentsch” is a rarely used concept in Appenzell dialect that has its origins in the German expression “altfrankisch” (“old Franconian”), which itself derives from the Middle High German “altvrenkisch”, thus “in the manner of the old Franks.” It means roughly “old fashioned” or “in the old manner.” “Altfrentsch” is also used to denote the original forms of Appenzell string music. “Altfrentsch” is thus the name given to the oldest collection of dances from Canton Appelzell. The dances in this collection, dating from the late 18th century, were only discovered in Gonten in 1998, and have thus not been frequently recorded or performed.
In Switzerland, 1915, as WWI raged beyond its borders, Igor Stravinsky, unfit to fight, and the writer Charles Ferdinand Ramuz created the basis for their future joint works, first and foremost A soldier’s tale, an early example of a multifaceted, highly vital music culture that knows no borders. The works on this Grammont Sélection, 12 world premières from 2013, offer contemporary examples of these open boundaries. Featuring composers born between 1931-79 and a slew of artists and ensembles, the diversity of works, sounds and styles makes for a most enticing 2 ½ hours of listening.
Ernest Ansermet conducts L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande for this 1954 recording of Borodin's Second & Third Symphonies. Symphony No. 2 in B minor by Alexander Borodin was composed intermittently between 1869 and 1876. It consists of four movements and is considered the most important large-scale work completed by the composer himself. It has many melodic resemblances to both Prince Igor and Mlada, two theatre works that diverted Borodin's attention on and off during the six years of composition. Numbered, Limited Edition 180g 45rpm 2 LP! Mastered by Bernie Grundman from the Original Analog Master Tapes and Pressed at RTI! Deluxe Laminated Gatefold Jackets! Only 2500 Numbered, Limited Edition Copies Worldwide!
