Royal Philharmonic Archive
Bruno Walter – The Complete Columbia Acoustic Recordings – Works of MENDELSSOHN, BERLIOZ, WEBER, WAGNER, & R. STRAUSS – Pristine Audio
The earliest Bruno Walter records reveal a committed Romantic conductor in music in the German tradition. Bruno Walter – The Complete Columbia Acoustic Recordings – WEBER: Overture to Der Freischuetz; MENDELSSOHN: Nocturne from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61; BERLIOZ: Menuet of the Will-o’-the-Wisps from La Damnation de Faust, Op. 24; WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde: Liebestod; Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg: Prelude, Act III; Goetterdaemmerung: Siegfried’s Rhine Journey; A Siegfried Idyll; R. STRAUSS: Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24 – Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Bruno Walter – Pristine Audio PASC 482, 76:50 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: Producer and Recording Engineer Mark Obert-Thorn provides the following remarks concerning Bruno Walter’s first efforts for gramophone recordings: “Although Bruno Walter (1876-1962) claimed late in life that he had made his first recordings around 1900, his earliest documented discs date from 1923 when he began a series for Grammophon/Polydor in Berlin, most of which have been reissued on Pristine PASC 142 and PASC 322. In May 1924, Walter was in London for the first presentation of a German opera season at Covent Garden since the end of the Great War. That month, he conducted Wagner’s Ring cycle, Tristan und Isolde, and Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier […]
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Sym. No. 2, “A London Symphony”; Sym. No. 8 ‒ Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orch. / Andrew Manze ‒ Onyx
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Symphony No. 2 in G, “A London Symphony”; Symphony No. 8 in d‒ Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orch. / Andrew Manze ‒ Onyx 4115, 75:33 (4/29/16) ****: Symphonies from the opposite ends of Vaughan Williams’ symphonic career. Interesting programming choice and fine performances. It’s interesting to note that Ralph Vaughan Williams’ first two symphonies started life as something other than symphonies. Symphony No. 1 is a reworking of movements intended as a cantata about the sea based on the poetry of Walt Whitman, a favorite author among English composers at the turn of the century. The result: a vast choral symphony that was really something new, especially in English music. A hit at the 1910 Leeds Festival and critically acclaimed as well, The Sea Symphony would seem to have immediately precipitated Vaughan Williams’ long and successful career as a symphonist. Not so, apparently. For some reason Vaughan Williams had misgivings about writing a symphony thereafter and had to be persuaded by his friend the English composer George Butterworth to consider a new symphonic project. So Vaughan Williams converted a work in progress, a tone poem about the city of London, into his Symphony No. 2, which was premiered in […]
“Collage” – The Last Work of JAMES HORNER – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/ David Arnold & Royal Philharmonic/James Martin – Mercury Classics
“Collage” – The Last Work of JAMES HORNER [TrackList Follows] – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/ David Arnold & Royal Philharmonic/James Martin – Mercury Classics 481, 64:00 (9/23/16), 64:00 ****: A lovely tribute to the music of the late film composer James Horner. If you see any films you’ve doubtless heard the music of James Horner. He wrote the music for Titanic and Avatar, two of the top- grossing films in history. He had written for another 130 or so films, before he tragically died in a small plane accident last year. Some of his other notable works include Star Trek II, 48 Hours, Cocoon, Glory, Field of Dreams, Braveheart and Apollo 13. He had an academic life before entering the world of film scoring, teaching at UCLA. I didn’t consider him a first-tier composer, the equal of say Miklos Rozsa or Alex North, but he had an excellent sense of matching the music to picture, and the films he scored were helped immensely by his good musical taste. This disc contains some symphonic arrangements from some of his films, including First in Flight and Aliens. It concludes with Horner’s last work, a concert piece called Collage, written in 6 movements. It’s […]
Rostropovich – A Romantic Portrait – DVORAK/ SCHUMANN/ TCHAIKOVSKY – Mstislav Rostropovich, cello – Royal Philharmonic / Sir Adrian Boult/ Leningrad Philharmonic / Gennady Rozhdestvensky – Praga Digitals
Archival performances lovingly remastered and beautifully played.
“On With the Dance” = J. STRAUSS II: Artist’s Life Waltz, Op. 316; Wine, Women, and Song, Op. 333; CHOPIN (arr. Sargent): Les Sylphides; ROSSINI (arr. Respighi and Sargent): La Boutique Fantasque – Concert Suite; William Tell: Ballet Music: Passo a tre e Coro Tirolese; SCHUBERT: Rosamunde – Ballet Music No. 2 in G Major – Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Royal Opera House Orch., Covent Garden/ Sir Malcolm Sargent – Guild
A program of gracious light music, mostly from the ballet and the world of dance, led by Sir Malcolm Sargent.
Jascha Horenstein – RATHAUS: Symphony No. 3; KORNGOLD: Prelude and Carnival Music; SCHREKER: Prelude to a Drama – Royal Philharmonic Orch. (Korngold)/ London Sym. Orch. (Rathaus)/ BBC Sym. Orch. (Schreker)/ Jascha Horenstein – Pristine Audio
Jascha Horenstein pays tribute to his contemporaries of pre-WW I Vienna and Germany in three works.
ADAM: Giselle – Ballet Suite, ed. BUESSER; TCHAIKOVSKY: Nutcracker ballet Suite – Orch. du Theatre National De L’Opera Paris/ Richard Blareau/ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ George Weldon – Guild
Congenial performances of 1953 and 1960, of two ballet staples make a pleasant hour of listening, but visceral music these are not.
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7 in A Major; Symphony No. 8 in F Major; Coriolan & Egmont Overtures; Symphony No. 8: Andante molto moto – cond. by Weingartner – Pristine Audio
Pristine issues the fourth installment of the 1927 Beethoven Centennial series, with Felix Weingartner.
Beecham conducts Mozart Symphonies, Vol. 2 = MOZART: Symphony No. 38 in D Major, “Prague”; Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major; Divertimento No. 2 in D Major – Royal Philharmonic Orch. – Pristine Audio
Vigor of style and athletic, tasteful exuberance mark the Beecham Mozart recordings expertly restored by Andrew Rose.
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1; RACHMANINOV: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – Natasha Paremski, p./ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Fabien Gabel/ Royal Philharmonic Orch. – RPO
Affectionate and thoughtfully lyrical renderings of two Russian staples mark Paremski’s appearances in Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov.
PETER MAXWELL DAVIES: Symphony No. 6 – Time and the Raven – An Orkney Wedding with Sunrise – Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Sir Peter Maxwell Davies – Naxos
Two out of the three works here are terrific!
KHACHATURIAN: Concerto-Rhapsody in B-flat minor; Sonata-Monologue; LYAPUNOV: Violin Concerto in D minor – Hideko Udagawa, v./ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Alan Buribayev – Signum Classics
Violinist Hideko Udagawa has built an enviable reputation, with some specialization in the Russian romantics.
DOHNANYI plays DOHNANYI = Sonata in C-sharp Minor for Violin and Piano; Four Rhapsodies; Piano Concerto No. 2 – Albert Spalding, violin/ Erno von Dohnanyi, p./ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Sir Adrian Boult – Pristine Audio
The long-defunct Remington label delivered some rare Erno von Dohnanyi inscriptions, along with the vintage EMI recording of the Piano Concerto No. 2 , faithfully restored by Pristine Audio.
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 in E Minor; MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 4, “Italian” – BBC Symphony Orch./ Royal Philharmonic Orch. (Mendelssohn)/ Sir Adrian Boult – ICA Classics
The veteran conductor Sir Adrian Boult delivers two high-powered readings of familiar classics that well attest to the security of his artistic discipline.
Kajanus conducts SIBELIUS, Vol. 2 = Belshazzar’s Feast; Karelia Suite: Intermezzo and Alla marcia; Symphony No. 2 – London Sym. Orch. (Belshazzar)/ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Robert Kajanus – Naxos Historical
The second installment of the Kajanus Sibelius Edition proves as virtuosic and splendidly taut as the first, including a gripping account of the D Major Symphony from 1930.
GRIEG: Music for Peer Gynt – Ilse Hollweg, sop./ Beecham Choral Society/ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Sir Thomas Beecham (1957) – EMI/Hi-Q Records
Another exceptional xrcd24, this time from a 1957 early stereo Abbey Road master.
The Columbia BEETHOVEN Centennial Symphony Series, Vol. 1 = Symphony No. 1 in C Major; Symphony No. 2 in D Major; Leonore Overture No. 3 in C Major – Sir Thomas Beecham & Sir Henry J. Wood, cond. – Pristine Audio
Pristine begins its cycle of the 1927 Beethoven Centennial recordings, featuring a manic interpretation of the D Major Symphony under Sir Thomas Beecham.
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 1 in E Minor; Pohjola's Daughter; Tapiola – Royal Philharmonic Orch./ London Sym. Orch./ Robert Kajanus – Naxos Historical
Kajanus set the gold standard for Sibelius symphony interpretation, and these restorations show us how.
Anatole Fistoulari Conducts Russian Concert Favorites = Works of GLINKA, TCHAIKOVSKY, BORODIN, GLAZUNOV, PROKOFIEV, RIMSKY-KORSAKOV – Guild
Émigré Fistoulari leads two crack British ensembles in music of his native Russia, popular favorites rendered with sonic audacity and verve.
ELGAR: Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85; Sea Pictures Op. 37; DELIUS: Songs of Farewell; A Song Before Sunrise; Cello Concerto – Jacqueline Du Pré, cello/other performers – EMI Classics Signature Series (2 discs)
A sonic updating of the gorgeous De Pré recording of the Elgar Concerto, as well as the Delius Cello Concerto.
MOZART: Requiem in D Minor; SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 5 – soloists/ BBC Chorus/ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Sir Thomas Beecham – Pristine
Beecham’s Mozart Requiem may not be that of Bruno Walter, but it revives our sense of a unique personal statement of faith.
ROBIN GIBB, RJ GIBB: Titanic Requiem – Rsvp Voices/ Royal Philharmonic Orch./ Cliff Masterson – Redbreast Records
Looks rather sensationalist and sounds rather beautiful—don’t pass this one by.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
