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CD-1209(5) FURTWÄNGLER CONDUCTS BRUCKNER: SYMPHONIES 4~5~6~7~8~9 IN NEW DIGITAL RESTORATIONS. CD 1 of 5 (65:55) Symphony No. 4 in E-flat, "Romantic" (65:55) 1888 Gutmann Edition ~ Wiener Philharmoniker, 22, October 1951, Stuttgart. CD 2 of 5 (68:50) Symphony No. 5 in B-flat (68:50) 1878 Haas Edition ~ Berliner Philharmoniker, 28, October 1942. CD 3 of 5 (79:50) Symphony No. 7 in E (63:11) 1884~85 Gutmann Edition ~ Berliner Philharmoniker, 23, April 1951. Symphony No. 6 in A (beginning) (Mov't 2; Mov't 1 no longer extant) 1881 Haas Edition ~ Berliner Philharmoniker, 13-16, November 1943. CD 4 of 5 (79:09) Symphony No. 6 in A (conclusion) 1881 Haas Edition ~ Berliner Philharmoniker, 13-16, November 1943. Symphony No. 9 in d (58:49) 1932 Orel Edition ~ Berliner Philharmoniker, 7, October 1944. CD 5 of 5 (79:11) Symphony No. 8 in c (79:11) 1887/90 Haas Edition ~ Modified by Furtwängler using the1892 Lienau Edition for guidance Wiener Philharmoniker. 17 October 1944. Digitally remastered in 2008 by Aaron Z. Snyder, using the revolutionary new harmonic balancing technique. Notes excerpted with the kind permission of the late John Ardoin, from his book The Furtwängler Record. UPC# 017685 - 12092 3 BUZZ: "The sheer expanse of Bruckner's music, with its serious sense of mission, the way in which it reaffirms mainline Germanic formal structures, its elevated and frequently religious character, and its childlike sense of wonderment, was tailor-made for Furtwängler's imagination and personality", wrote the late John Ardoin in his book on the conductor. Music & Arts has carefully re-engineered its best Bruckner Symphony performances with Furtwängler, using the revolutionary new harmonic balancing process, and has reissued them in a low-priced box set. |
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CD-1008(2) [Reissue] GIESEKING PLAYS MOZART. CD No. 1 (69:33): Piano Concerto No. 9, K271 in E-flat, ORTF, Igor Markevitch, 11, September 1955 (Montreux). Piano Concerto No. 21, K467 in C, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Guido Cantelli, 26 March 1955 (New York). Piano Sonata, K545 in C, NDR, 10, November 1954 (Hamburg). CD No. 2 (65:01): Piano Concerto No. 27, K595 in B-flat, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Victor Desarzens, 17 December 1948 (Lausanne). Piano Concerto No. 23, K488 in A, Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra. Volkmar Andreae, June 1949 (Zürich). Piano Sonata, K576 in D, 17 August 1944. Walter Gieseking, piano. (AAD) UPC# 017685-10082-6. BUZZ: A phenomenal technician and colorist who made melody communicate to a unique degree and played with great stylistic differentiation, Walter Gieseking was one of the most individual and consistently inspired pianists of our time. Although his commercial recordings encompass some of the great recordings ever made, he didn't live to record under ideal circumstances even a small part of his vast repertoire. The present disc of broadcast performances is therefore of especial importance not only in increasing the Gieseking legacy but in chronicling the history of great pianism. The Concerto K488 and the Sonata K545 appear on CD for the first time in this collection, while the Concerto K467 and the Sonata K576 are issued here in considerably improved sound over prior editions. "Going from excellence to excellence, a 1955 live performance by Walter Gieseking contains the most thrilling orchestral performance of the work committed to disc." |
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CD-1058(4) [Reissue] WAGNER'S GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG—FROM THE 1942 BAYREUTH FESTIVAL. Richard Wagner: Götterdämmerung, with Set Svanholm as Siegfried, Egmont Koch as Gunther, Friedrich Dalberg as Hagen, Marta Fuchs as Brünnhilde, Elsa Fischer as Gutrune; Cond. Karl Elmendorff. A coproduction with Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv, Frankfurt—Berlin. [AAD] UPC #0-17685-10582-1. BUZZ: Karl Elmendorff (1891-1962) was a stalwart of Bayreuth for fifteen years, from 1927; this was his last year on the Green hill. His reading of Götterdämmerung proves to be full of the wisdom of experience. As critic Alan Blyth puts it in his program notes: "He evinces a grand overview of the Ring's overwhelming conclusion, also a mastery in the important Wagnerian attribute of managing transformations, and he never lingers unnecessarily in the manner of some Wagner conductors today." Marta Fuchs was one of the ranking Brünnhildes of this era, and Set Svanhold, her Siegfried, became a regular Siegfried and Tristan at Covent Garden and also appeared at the Metropolitan in New York. His 1942 Siegfried was his only appearance at Bayreuth. "...a profoundly sad and moving interpretation of an opera that deals precisely with the end of the world....the depth of feeling that drenches [Elmendorff's] reading of Siegfried's funeral march alone would be worth the price of this set...." "This is not only a fascinating document, it can be listened to from beginning to end with largely unmitigated enjoyment." "Wagner mavens surely will appreciate Friedrich Dalberg's imposing and rich-toned Hagen, partnered by Egmont Koch as a rewarding Gunther. Apparently mezzo-soprano Camilla Kallab made no recordings. That's a shame, for her Waltraute simply dominates the stage during the Act One Narrative. Set Svanholm's only Bayreuth Siegfried is preserved here. Although his voice is a bit dry, his easy command of registral shifts and solid musicianship unfailingly project through the strident sonics. Marta Fuchs is an intelligent but vocally taxed Brünnhilde, whose leathery Immolation Scene is worth it primarily for Karl Elmendorff's bedrock conducting." |
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