Pierne Archive
Nikolai Sokoloff and the Cleveland Orchestra: Complete Recordings, 1924-28 – The Cleveland Orchestra. Nikolai Sokoloff – Pristine Audio
Recording and audio restoration engineer Mark Obert-Thorn has a coup in the form of the complete recordings (for the Brunswick label) of Russian-born conductor Nikolai Sokoloff (1886-1965), the first leader of the Cleveland Orchestra. Nikolai Sokoloff and the Cleveland Orchestra: Complete Recordings, 1924-28 = BORODIN: Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor; BRAHMS: Hungarian Dance No. 5 in g minor; Symphony No. 2: Allegretto; DELIBES: Coppelia: Entr’acte and Valse; DVORAK: Slavonic Dance in D, Op. 46, No. 3; GRAINGER: Shepherd’s Hey; HALVORSEN: Entry March of the Boyars; NICOLAI: The Merry Wives of Windsor – Overture; PIERNE: Cydalise et le Chevre-Pied: Entrance of the Little Fauns; RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 2 in e minor, Op. 27; Prelude in c-sharp minor; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Song of India; SAINT-SAENS: Danse Macabre, Op. 40; SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 8 in b minor, D. 759 “Unfinished”; SCHUMANN: Trauemerei, Op. 15, No. 7; SIBELIUS: Valse Triste, Op. 44; Finlandia, Op. 26; J. STRAUSS: On the Beautiful Blue Danube; Tales from the Vienna Woods; TCHAIKOVSKY: 1812 Overture, Op. 49; Sleeping Beauty – Waltz, Op. 66; WAGNER: Lohengrin: Prelude to Act 3; Bridal Chorus – The Cleveland Orchestra. Nikolai Sokoloff – Pristine Audio PASC 524 (3 CDs) TT: 3 hrs 20 secs [www.pristineclassical.com] ****: […]
“Belle Epoque” French music for harp and orchestra – Emmanuel Ceysson, harp/ Orch. Régional Avignon Provence – Naïve
Soothing music for harp and orchestra from French composers, performed by Emmanuel Ceysson. “Belle Epoque” French music for harp and orchestra – Emmanuel Ceysson, harp/ Orchestre Régional Avignon Provence – Naïve V5419, 65:54 [7/31/15] (Distr. by Naxos) *****: The turn of the last century truly was a “beautiful era” for music in France. So this disc of harp music composed around that time is appropriately named. The Paris Conservatoire was the focal point for much of the musical pedagogy and creativity. It was there that the harp prodigy Henriette Renié (1875 – 1956) enrolled at ten years of age, and began lessons with the man, Alphonse Hasselmans, of whom she had said after hearing him play a concert of harp music, “That man is going to be my harp teacher.” She was five years old at the time! She became a legendary performer, composer and teacher on her instrument. Her Concerto in C minor (1901) opens this disc. The first movement Allegro risoluto shows the harp in full partnership with the orchestra. The second movement is a hymn-like Adagio, and the third, a Scherzo, is a delightful frolic with a pastoral interlude. The last movement Final continues Renié’s penchant for […]
PIERNE: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 = BBC Philharmonic – Chandos
Pianist Bavouzet and conductor Mena revisit the music of Pierne with effective results. PIERNE: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 = Paysages franciscains, Op. 43; Les Cathedrales; Scherzo-Caprice, Op. 25; Poeme symphonique, Op. 37; Fantasie-Ballet, Op. 6; Nocturne en forme de valse, Op. 40, No. 2; Etude de concert, Op. 13 – Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, p./ BBC Philharmonic/ Juanjo Mena – Chandos CHAN 10871, 72:58 (9/25/15) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: A celebrated pupil of Cesar Franck and Jules Massenet, Gabriel Pierne (1863-1937) established himself early, winning first prize for piano performance (1879) and later, in 1882, the coveted Prix de Rome. Pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, as a complement to his having recorded the Pierne Piano Concerto in c minor (CHAN 10633), decided to explore the Pierne oeuvre further with conductor Juanjo Mena, inscribing (17-19 July 2014) another series of works meant to expand our general familiarity with his legacy. Though immersed in his duties as conductor of the Colonne Orchestra, Pierne had found time for composition, having written an oratorio on the life of St. Francis of Assisi, even as the clouds of WW I had begun to form over Europe’s skies. The Paysages franciscains (1919) reflect much of the Debussy syntax, set […]
Felix Salmond, Volume 2 = Cello works of BEETHOVEN, CHOPIN, BIZET, PIANELLI, PIERNE – Pristine Audio
The second installment dedicated to cello virtuoso Felix Salmond features him in fine sound from Juilliard in three of the Beethoven sonatas.
“La Clarinette Française” = Works for clarinet and piano by POULENCE, DEBUSSY, SAINT-SAENS, BLOCH, PIERNE & MILHAUD – Zig-Zag
Very good performances with a bit of novelty.
“Dances for Piano and Orchestra” = CADMAN: Dark Dances of the Mardi Gras; CASTRO: Vals Capricho; CHOPIN: KRAKOWIAK: Concert Rondo in F; GOTTSCHALK: Grand Tarantelle; LISZT: Polonaise brillante; PIERNE: Fantaisie-Ballet; SAINT-SAENS: Valse-Caprice, “Wedding Cake” – Joel Fan, p./ Northwest Sinfonietta/ Christophe Chagnard – Reference Recordings
Don’t let the title throw you off—this is riveting stuff!
PIERNE: Piano Trio in C Minor; Faure: Piano Trio in D Minor – Trio Wanderer – Harmonia mundi
Trio Wanderer brilliantly realize two piano trios from the late French Romantic period, contemporaries in the best sense.
PIERNE: Piano Quintet in E Minor; VIERNE: String Quartet in D Minor – Piers Lane, piano/ Goldner String Q. – Hyperion
Late French Romantics Pierne and Vierne in their chamber music idiom; only the Pierne compels our sustained interest despite exemplary performances.
Walter Damrosch = GLUCK: Airs de Ballet; BACH: Gavotte in D; SAINT-SAENS: Ballet Divertissement from “Henry VIII”; FAURE: Pavane; MOSZKOWSKI: Perpetual Motion; PIERNE: Entrance of the Little Fauns; RAVEL: Mother Goose Suite; BEETHOVEN: Funeral March from “Eroica” Sym. – Walter Damrosch, piano & cond. – Pristine Audio
Musician and educator Walter Damrosch has the majority of his electrical recordings from 1927 and 1930 restored masterfully in this Pristine collection.
“Fantasies & Impromptus” – Music of PIERNE; SPOHR; SAINT-SAENS; FAURE; VERDALLE; SNOER; ROUSSEL & GLIERE – Lavina Meijer, harp – Channel Cl.
This includes the world premiere recordings of two totally forgotten composers for the harp – Snoer and Verdalle.
“Sonates romantiques: Violin Sonatas transcribed for flute” = FAURÉ: Sonata No. 1; GABRIEL PIERNÉ: Sonata; FRANCK: Sonata in A Major – Robert Langevin, flute / Jonathan Feldman, p. – Avie
Robert Langevin’s playing is cool—too cool for these Romantic masterworks.
French Flute Chamber Music = MARCEL TOURNIER: Suite, Op. 34; FLORENT SCHMITT: Suite en rocaille, Op. 84; GABRIEL PIERNE: Variations libres et finale; JEAN FRANCAIX: Quintet; ALBERT ROUSSEL: Serenade, Op. 30 – Mirage Quintet – Naxos
Though falling under impressionist influence, the composers on this album prove quite divergent in style and intent—and a joy to hear.