The two-disc set contains almost 2 1/2 hours of well-recorded music.
Purely by coincidence of the alphabet, my current listening choice Paul OâDette studied classical guitar with Christopher Parkening, who I posted about the other day. He also studied with noted American guitarist Michael Lorimer, all before he decided to devote himself entirely to the lute, and move to Switzerland to study with Thomas Binkley and Eugen Dombois. In 1977 he was appointed Director of Early Music at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, where he lives to this day.
This 1979 LP was his first on Nonesuch (H-71363), after numerous recordings for EMI, Telefunken and BASF, and consists of a program of works by English composers John Dowland and William Byrd. A lovely recording.
Carl Nielsenâs 4th Symphony, The Inextinguishable, performed here by Igor Markevitch and the Royal Danish Orchestra, in a 1966 recording on budget label Vox Recordsâ subsidiary Turnabout (TV 34050S) - one of many old Turnabout and Vox discs that had surprisingly great sound for the era. This one has great detail and clarity, wide frequency and dynamic ranges, with just a touch of glare in those passages where it really gets going.
The symphony was composed during WWI, taking Nielsen the whole of 1915 to complete, finishing in January of the following year. Markedly influenced by events of the time, Nielsen wrote that âthe whole world is disintegrating,â and that ânational feeling, which hitherto was regarded as something lofty and beautiful, has become like a spiritual syphilis that has devoured the brains, and it grins out through the empty eye-sockets with moronic hate.â Alrighty then. This work stands in contrast to that sentiment, projecting, in his words, âthe elementary will to life.â Hence the symphonyâs name.
At one time I had hoped to own the complete Mozart symphonies on LâOiseau-Lyre, but this 3-LP box, Volume 4 in the series, was as far as I got, at least before the CD era. I realized that the size of the catalog would have likely bankrupted me.
Like all LâOiseau-Lyre productions, these boxed presentations were just as elegant as the music they contained, in this case performed by the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (as a side note, this 1980 release also credits the concertmaster as Jaap Schröder, a musician who has gone on to conducting fame of his own). This set focuses on Mozartâs Salzburg years, from age 17 years, 8 months, to 19 years, 6 months, and covers his G Major K.173dB (25th), A minor K.186A(29th), D minor K.186B (30th), D minor K.189B, C minor K.189K, D minor K.207A, and the D minor K.213A symphonies. The recording is as polite as the music, with a slightly distant perspective and hall ambience.
Malcolm Bilson made a number of recordings for Pleiades, Titanic, Nonesuch and other labels, focusing on music from the 18th and 19th centuries, notably Haydn and, here, Mozart, all played on the fortepiano, his primary instrument. On this 1980 Nonesuch recording (N-78004) he plays a program of Mozart, Sonatas 12 and 13. Itâs a beautiful record, in terms of music, performance and sound.
For those unfamiliar with the fortepiano, itâs the predecessor to the modern piano (pianoforte), and was the primary keyboard instrument in the time of Haydn, Mozart, and even into Beethovenâs era. Itâs a slightly lighter sound - not as much iron fist and more velvet glove. Shorter decay and fewer overtones also give a faster feel to the sound on mordents and trills, very appropriate if you want to hear the music as it was heard at the time it was written. Bilson has been a major proponent of period performance for decades, and currently holds the Frederick Whiton Professorship of Music at Cornell University.
More Mozart - his Piano Concertos Nos. 12 and 26, on what may be the oldest Deutsche Grammophon LP in my library. Issued in 1966, the performance is excellent, and the recording decent. The works are performed by the Camerata Academica des Salzburg Mozarteums, directed by GĂ©za Anda, who also handles the piano chores.
My first listen for the day before getting on to other matters, and itâs a treat for anyone who loves classical music. A 1982 London/Decca release of a 1970 recording of Mozart piano concertos - nos. 20 and 27 - performed by noted English pianist Clifford Curzon and the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by none other than Benjamin Britten, just a few years before his death. The playing and recording are superb, as is the program - the 20th in particular is well known from the closing credits of the film Amadeus, which rolled over the sound of that concertoâs second movement, the Romance. For those inclined to check these performances out, theyâre available on Qobuz as part of a Decca collection that includes also concertos 23, 24, and 26: Open Qobuz
The incomparable Barry Tuckwell performing the Mozart horn concertos, including the incomplete No. 5, and the Concert Rondo in Eb, K.371, on a 1972 EMI/Angel release (S-36840). Heâs accompanied by the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields under the direction of Neville Marriner. The playing is great, and Tuckwellâs tone is like honey. The recording is pretty decent as well. Besides Concerto Nos. 1-4 (and the Concert Rondo in Eb, K.371), he also plays the incomplete No. 5, as it as written, ending on an unresolved note, which is frankly a little jarring to the ear.
Certainly one of the oldest records in my library, this London (Decca) LP of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto and Flute and Harp Concerto was released in 1963 (STS 15071). Lovely playing, and the recording is first-rate. It features Alfred Prinz on clarinet, Werner Tripp on flute, Hubert Jellinek on harp, with the Vienna Philharmonic under Karl MĂŒnchinger.
Mendelssohn this morning (or whatâs left of the morning). This is a recording of two piano trios - the D minor Op. 49, and the C minor Op. 66 - performed by the Beaux Arts Trio. The LP is from the mid-priced âUniverso Series,â an arm of Philips, that reissued earlier recordings from the mother label and its stable-mates. Excellent performances, and a reasonably good recording. Of note is the fact that the cover illustration is âView of Interlaken,â a watercolor painted by Mendelssohn himself.
Still in the Mendelssohn section, here are two symphonies, specifically the 4th (âItalianâ) and 5th (âReformationâ), performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under the redoubtable Herbert von Karajan. DGG 2530 416 from 1973. Great sound and performances. The 4th has been one of my all-time favorite pieces of classical music, ever since first seeing Peter Yatesâ 1979 classic Breaking Away, winner of the Oscar for Best Adapted Score.
A 1980 LP from the old Musical Heritage Society of Mendelssohn music for winds, performed by Dieter Klöcker, Waldemar Wandel, Werner Genuit, and the Wind Ensemble of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Album number is MHS 4327. Lovely music, played superbly, but my copy, at least, suffers from bad vinyl - crackles abound, and thereâs a curious occasional distortion in the left channel at high-amplitude passages. Be aware if you find a copy in a used record store or thrift shop.
The final Mendelssohn LP in my library, this is his Octet for Strings in Eb, Op. 20, and two String Symphonies - No. 10 in B minor, and No. 12 in G minor - performed by I Musici, and issued in 1974 on Philipsâ budget division, the âUniverso Series.â These last two pieces, while called âsymphonies,â are for small-scale string ensembles, and shouldnât be confused with his five numbered symphonies for large orchestras.
The noted ensemble I Musici dates back to 1952, when twelve students at the Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, who had often played together for their own pleasure, gave their first public concert together. They since went on to tour worldwide and enjoy a highly successful recording career, winning every major European record award multiple times.
