EMI Archive
MENDELSSOHN: Syms. Nos. 1 & 4 – London Sym./Gardiner – LSO Live
A vigorous and incisive Italian, with a fresh and even more exhilarating “First”. MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 1 in c, Op. 11; No. 4 in A, Op. 90 “Italian” (1833 version) – London Sym. Orch./ John Eliot Gardiner – LSO Live multichannel Pure Audio Blu-ray & SACD LSO0765 (2 discs, on audio-only Blu-ray), 62:11 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: Mendelssohn’s tour of Europe from 1829-31 ended with a sojourn in Italy, where the 22-year-old immediately began writing a symphony that would reflect his experiences. It is easily the sunniest of all his compositions, though it did cause him heartache, so much so that he decided to revise it in 1834. But since it was never published in his lifetime, it is the earlier version commonly played today, and so Gardiner offers it here. I expected something rather on the quick side, and he does not disappoint. What is most surprising is the ability of the LSO to articulate some of the fast triplet passages in the first and last movements as clearly and cleanly as they do, a real tribute to the virtuosity of the orchestra. This is an exciting if predictable performance (there have been others in this mold as […]
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 24 in c; BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 3 in c – Yevgeny Sudbin, p./ Minnesota Orch./ Osmo Vanska – BIS
Sudbin and Vanska collaborate in music that shares common dramatic impulses. MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 24 in c, K. 491; BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 3 in c, Op. 37 – Yevgeny Sudbin, p./ Minnesota Orch./ Osmo Vanska – BIS multichannel SACD-1978 (2/25/14), 66:16 [Distr. by Naxos ] ****: Music historians consistently point out the tremendous influence of Mozart’s 1786 c minor Piano Concerto upon Beethoven’s 1804 c minor Concerto, so it seems somewhat inevitable that two collaborators and a responsive orchestra should combine them in the same program, recorded 2011 and 2012. Perhaps the social history of the recording itself warrants some comment, since the Minnesota Orchestra came close to dissolution, but conductor Osmo Vanska – having resigned as Musical Director – graciously stepped back to the podium for this project. Pianist Yevgeny Sudbin supplies his own (romantic) cadenzas for the Mozart, and they will provoke ears and eyebrows, much in the same way some two generations ago Artur Schnabel’s post-Modernist cadenzas raised hackles among the very musicians who participated in the recording for EMI. The emotional furor of the Mozart opening movement – utilizing the largest of Mozart’s orchestras – Allegro well captures its intensely furious and often […]
ELGAR: Symphony No. 1 in A-flat Major – Staatskapelle Berlin/ Daniel Barenboim – Decca
Daniel Barenboim revisits the Elgar Symphony No. 1 with fertile and heroic results. ELGAR: Symphony No. 1 in A-flat Major, Op. 55 – Staatskapelle Berlin/ Daniel Barenboim – Decca 478 9353, 51:26 (3/11/16) [Distr. by Universal] ****: Sometimes lauded as “England’s first symphony,” the 1908 Symphony No. 1 in A-flat Major of Sir Edward Elgar found an early acolyte in conductor Hans Richter, who saw in the music a more cosmopolitan voice than had been the wont of similar efforts from Stanford, Sullivan and Parry. For Elgar himself, the model of Brahms – especially his F Major Symphony – stood as a pinnacle of excellence in ‘absolute music,’ a genre specifically avoiding any sense of a ‘program’ in the manner of Richard Strauss. It seems small wonder that for Barenboim – who has traversed this music prior with different orchestras – should have been influenced by his own Brahms experience – having collaborated with that other Elgar maestro, Sir John Barbirolli, in their Brahms concertos inscribed for EMI. The present recording of the Elgar First Symphony (19-21 September 2015) finds Barenboim and ensemble in an expansive, luxurious mode, opening the famous “noble and simple” motto theme – the germ cell […]
The Animals – Animal Tracks – EMI (10″ vinyl)
The Animals – Animal Tracks – EMI (1965)/ Abkco (2016) 8499-1 mono 10” 45 rpm vinyl, ***1/2: Special vinyl EP reissue shows off The Animals’ blues prowess. (Eric Burdon – vocals; Alan Price – piano, organ; Chas Chandler – bass, vocals; Hilton Valentine – guitar; John Steel – drums) The British rock scene was formed by American blues. Most (if not all) of these bands began their careers with covers of blues music. The Rolling Stones took their band moniker from a song by the immortal Muddy Waters. Along with The Yardbirds, The Animals were among the finest purveyors of British blues. Formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s, the group was initially known as Alan Price Rhythm And Blues Combo. The original lineup featured Price (piano and organ), Eric Burdon (vocals), Chas Chandler (bass), Hilton Valentine (guitar) and John Steel (drums). The Animals became a renowned act when their organ-laced version of “House Of The Rising Sun” hit No. 1 in the U.S. Burdon’s gritty vocals complemented Price’s musicality. Like their counterparts, the band continued to record American blues (“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, “Bring It On Home To Me”) and eventually created their own pop-based alchemy […]
STRAVINSKY conducts STRAVINSKY: L’Histoire du Soldat; Dumbarton Oaks & others – Pristine Audio
For Stravinsky enthusiasts, this disc fills an essential gap otherwise omitted in the recorded legacies accumulated over the years. STRAVINSKY conducts STRAVINSKY: L’Histoire du Soldat Suite; Violin Concerto in D Major; Jeu de Cartes; Dumbarton Oaks Concerto for Chamber Orchestra in E-flat Major – Marcel Darrieux, violin/ Emil Godeau, clarinet/ Gustave Dherin, bassoon/ Eugene Foveau, cornet/ Raphael Delbos, trombone/ Alphonse-Joseph Delmas, doublebass/ Jean-Paul Morel, percussion (L’Histoire)/ Samuel Dushkin, violin/Lamoureux Orch. (Concerto)/ Berlin Philharmonic Orch. (Jeu de Cartes)/ Dumbarton Oaks Festival Orch./ Igor Stravinsky – Pristine Audio PASC 462, 79:20 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] *****: Producer and Restoration Engineer Mark Obert-Thorn provides the rationale for this collection of Stravinsky’s rare recordings: The present program might be called “The Uncollected Stravinsky,” as it brings together several items which have been left out of recent reissues of the composer’s recordings, mainly because they were done as “one-offs” for labels with which the composer did not usually record. We hear here his only recordings for Polydor, Telefunken and Keynote, as well as a French Columbia recording omitted in EMI’s “Composers in Person” series set of CDs devoted to Stravinsky. If you have this CD and the Mozart download on this [Pristine] webpage, […]
SIBELIUS: Historic Recordings and Rarities, 1928-1945 – feat. Boult, Beecham, Koussevitzky etc. – Warner Classics (7 CDs)
For his 150th birthday, Sibelius has his classic inscriptions restored for a grand pageant by many of his favored interpreters. SIBELIUS: Historic Recordings and Rarities, 1928-1945 = The Seven Symphonies; Karelia Suite; Andante festive; Pohjola’s Daughter; Belshazzar’s Feast; Tapiola; Night Ride and Sunrise; The Oceanides; Romance in C Major; The Bard; The Tempest; Pelleas and Melisande; In Memoriam; Violin Concerto in d minor; Luonnotar; King Christian II; En Saga; The Return of Lemminkainen; Scenes historiques – Festivo; Finlandia; Valse triste; String Quartet in d minor; Romance in F; Danses champetres; Mazurka; Auf dem Herde; Malincolia; Romance in D-flat Major; Songs – Helmi Liukkonen, soprano/ Marian Anderson, contralto/ Anja Ignatius, violin/ Jascha Heifetz, violin/ Emil Telmanyi, violin/ Louis Jensen, cello/ Budapest String Quartet/ Gerald Moore, piano/ Eileen Joyce, piano/ Kosti Vehanen, piano/ Tino Makkila, piano/ G. v. Vasarhelyi, piano / BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/ Finnish Radio Orchestra/ London Philharmonic Orchestra/ London Symphony Orchestra/ Stockholm Opera House Orchestra/ Jean Sibelius/ Robert Kajanus/ Sir Adrian Boult/ Sir Thomas Beecham/ Armas Jarnefelt/ Georg Schneevoigt/ Serge Koussevitzky – Warner Classics 0825646053179 (7 CDs) 74:22, 77:08, 73:21, 79:07, 67:44, 75:39, 67:05 (10/7/15) ****: Much of this collation – celebrating the 150th anniversary of the […]
Audio News for December 1, 2015
American Musician Allen Toussaint Dies; Onkyo – AV Electronics on a Budget; Pickwick Group Hit by Huge Court Costs; Brief Profile of EMI
HAYDN: String Quartets = 6 Quartets; String Quartet in G Major; String Quartet in F Major; String Quartet in C Major, No. 3 “Bird”; HOFFSTETTER: Serenade, Op. 3, No. 5 – Alban Berg Q. – Warner Classics (3 CDs)
Warner reinstates the exquisitely tailored Haydn performances inscribed by the Alban Berg Quartett.
MOZART: Piano Concertos – The Complete Studio Recordings, 1933-1947; Sel. Piano Sonatas, Rondos, and Fantasias; HAYDN: Piano Concerto in D – Edwin Fischer, p. and cond./ London Philharmonic Orch./ Edwin Fischer Ch. Orch./ Lawrance Collingwood (K. 491)/ John Barbirolli (K. 482)/ Philharmonia Orch./ Josef Krips (K. 503)/ Vienna Philharmonic Orch. (Haydn) – APR (3 CDs)
Mozart advocate and brilliant keyboardist Edwin Fischer and a compendium of his commercial inscriptions.
The Beatles – The Beatles in Mono LP Box Set – Parlophone/EMI/ Universal (14 LPs + extras)
From near-perfect pressings to fabulous packaging, The Beatles In Mono LP Box Set is an audiophile dream come true!
Kreisleriana; Carnaval; Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp Minor; Davidsbuendlertaenze; Fantasie in C Major; Kinderszenen: Traeumerei – Walter Gieseking, p. – Andromeda (2 CDs)
Another attempt to “codify” the collected Schumann that Walter Gieseking recorded, 1938-1947.
Karajan and His Soloists I = Works of Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven, Franck, Brahms, Leimer – Warner Classics set (8 CDs)
Warner revives a major portion of the Herbert von Karajan EMI legacy in vivid, remastered sound.
JEAN SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2 – Philharmonia Orch./ Paul Kletzki (1955) – EMI/Warner Classics/ Resonance/ Hi-Q Records xrcd24
Magnificent performance and sonics, but is it worth $50?
CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor; Piano Sonata No. 3 in B Minor – Dinu Lipatti, p./ Tonhalle Orch. Zurich/ Otto Ackermann – Pristine Audio
Andrew Rose grants a new and powerfully refreshed sound to Dinu Lipatti’s Chopin, a colossal meeting of musical sympathies.
Walter Gieseking – The Complete Homocord Recordings and Rarities = Works of BACH, CHOPIN, LISZT, DEBUSSY, D. SCARLATTI, POULENC, MOZART ETC. – APR (2 CDs)
This historical assemblage of Walter Gieseking’s early recordings should prove seminal in any discussion of his monumental contribution to the art of the keyboard.
BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique – Orch. National de France/ Leonard Bernstein (1976) – EMI/Hi-Q xrcd
An audiophile xrcd24 reissue of a 1976 Bernstein performance of the Berlioz work.
TCHAIKOVSKY: 1812 Overture; Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture; Marche Slave – London Sym. Orch./ André Previn – EMI/ Hi-Q vinyl
Get this for the Romeo and Juliet Overture, not the 1812.
MAHLER: Symphony No. 9 – Vienna Philharmonic Orch./ Bruno Walter – Pristine Audio
Andrew Rose breathes even another life into the classic 1938 Bruno Walter performance of Mahler’s last-completed symphony, itself a paean to dying man and a beleaguered vision of civilization.
Feuermann = BEETHOVEN: Cello Sonata No. 3 in A Major; SCHUBERT: Arpeggione Sonata in A Minor; BRAHMS: Cello Sonata No. 1 in E Minor; REGER: Suite for Unaccompanied Cello in G Major – Emanuel Feuermann, c./ Myra Hess, p. (Beethoven)/ Gerald Moore, p. (Schubert) – Pristine Audio
Pristine and Mark Obert-Thorn assemble a broad chamber music program by the inimitable master cellist Emanuel Feuermann, whose premature death Toscanini called “murder.”
BEETHOVEN: Concerto for Violin/Cello/Piano in C “Triple Concerto” – David Oistrakh, v./ Mstislav Rostropovich, cello/ Sviatoslav Richter, piano/ Berlin Philharmonic Orch./ Herbert von Karajan – EMI/Resonance Recordings Ltd./Hi-Q Records
A super-classic recording from 1969 with four of the biggest names in classical music at the time, now in super-fidelity (for a price).
Audio News for June 14, 2013
French Music Provider Offers Hi-Res for Both Downloads and Streaming; Digitize Your LPs the Right Way; Sony Press Event Proves It’s Serious About Sound; DTS-HD Audio on Streaming HD Movies
DEBUSSY: Preludes, Books I – II – Walter Gieseking, piano – Pristine Audio (plus comparison of CD, SACD & 48/24 FLAC files)
The classic EMI 1953-1954 Debussy Preludes with Walter Gieseking assume an added luster in this Pristine revival. [CD, SACD & 48/24 FLAC versions compared]