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William Kapell, p. – Broadcasts and Concert Performances, 1944-1952 = Works of BACH, BRAHMS, CHOPIN, DEBUSSY, GRANADOS, LISZT, MENDELSSOHN, RACHMANINOV, SCHUBERT, R. STRAUSS & others – Marston (3 discs)

William Kapell, p. – Broadcasts and Concert Performances, 1944-1952 = Works of BACH, BRAHMS, CHOPIN, DEBUSSY, GRANADOS, LISZT, MENDELSSOHN, RACHMANINOV, SCHUBERT, R. STRAUSS & others – Marston (3 discs)

by | Dec 31, 2016 | Classical Reissue Reviews

Marston Records bestows a glorious boon on those who revere the great American virtuoso, William Kapell. William Kapell – Broadcasts and Concert Performances, 1944-1952 = BACH: Suite in a minor, BWV 818; Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (arr. Busoni); Concerto in a minor for Four Klaviers (after Vivaldi); BRAHMS: Intermezzo in A-flat, Op. 76, No. 3; CHASINS: Tricky Trumpet No. 6; CHOPIN: Nocturne in b-flat minor, Op. 9, No. 1; Sonata No. 3 in b: Largo – excerpt; Mazurka in f minor, Op. 63, No. 2;  Mazurka in c-sharp minor, Op. 6, No. 2; DEBUSSY: Children’s Corner Suite; Suite bergamasque; La Soiree dans Granade; FALLA: Miller’s Dance; GRANADOS: The Maiden and the Nightingale; LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in a minor; MENDELSSOHN: Song Without Words in f-sharp minor, Op. 67, No. 2; MOZART: Sonata in C Major, K. 330; Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 570; NAPOLITANO: El gato; PALMER: Toccata ostinato; RACHMANINOV: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43; SCHUBERT: 2 Laendler from D. 783; SCHUMANN: Romance in F-sharp Major, Op. 28, No. 2; Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44; SHOSTAKOVICH: 3 Preludes from Op. 34; R. STRAUSS: Burleske in d minor – William Kapell, piano/ Rosalyn Tureck, […]

D. SCARLATTI: Complete Keyboard Sonatas Vol. IV [Books 9, 10 & 11 – 1754] – Carlo Grante, p. – Music&Arts (5 CDs)

D. SCARLATTI: Complete Keyboard Sonatas Vol. IV [Books 9, 10 & 11 – 1754] – Carlo Grante, p. – Music&Arts (5 CDs)

by | Jun 27, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

One of the best of the piano versions of the Domenico Scarlatti Sonatas. DOMENICO SCARLATTI: Complete Keyboard Sonatas Vol. IV [Books 9, 10 & 11 – all 1754] – Carlo Grante, playing a historic Bosendorfer Imperial piano – Music & Arts CD-1293 (5 CDs) [Distr. by Naxos] [7/8/16] ****: This is a continuation of the acclaimed series of the complete keyboard works of Scarlatti, and the only one ever recorded with the same pianist playing all of these works. As a harpsichordist myself, I naturally lean toward recordings of these 555-odd amazing little sonatas on the harpsichord, but the only complete set is the one recorded by the late Scott Ross on Erato/Warner Classics. Wanda Landowska recorded some of them with the Scarlatti Society in the 1930s. However, about half of them were recorded for the Westminster label by the equally amazing Fernando Valenti and six are available in greatly-improved sonic condition from Pristine Audio. He was the definitive exponent of Scarlatti of the time and his personality mirrored Scarlatti’s. Ottavio Dantone is also up to Vol. IV of his series of the planned complete Scarlatti Sontatas on harpsichord for the Stradivarius label, but they don’t equal the facilities of […]

BACH: Six Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051 – Wiener Soloists/ Jascha Horenstein – Pristine Audio (2)

BACH: Six Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051 – Wiener Soloists/ Jascha Horenstein – Pristine Audio (2)

by | May 25, 2016 | Classical Reissue Reviews

Horenstein’s 1954 survey of the Bach Brandenburgs proves compelling and musically intelligent. BACH: Six Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051 – Wiener Soloists/ Jascha Horenstein – Pristine Audio PASC 468 (2 CDs), TT: 1 hour 40 minutes [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: Horenstein spent much time and effort searching for the right combination of original instruments, not as easy to find then as now, and auditioning the musicians to play them. In the end he settled for a twenty-two piece orchestra that featured a harpsichord, a violino piccolo, two recorders, two viole da gamba, two natural horns and a clarino trumpet in addition to modern instruments. This formation (rec. 21-25 September 1954) represented a revolutionary new approach to these masterpieces, which until then were usually performed in a romantic style, mostly by large orchestras with modern instruments – Horenstein’s tutti utilizes modern stringed instruments – often with the keyboard part taken by a piano. The players were drawn mainly from members of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra that included, most notably, the young Nikolaus Harnoncourt (viola da gamba) and Paul Angerer (viola, violin piccolo, harpsichord, second recorder), both of whom later became important figures in the development of authentic performances of […]

Home Page for October 2014

Home Page for October 2014

by | Oct 1, 2014 | Home Page

Our October drawing is for six collector edition sets of the complete Harmonia mundi 8-SACD set of the Complete Beethoven String Quartets performed by the world-famous Tokyo String Quartet. This quartet existed from 1969 to 2013 and has 40 landmark recordings in their discography. Their version of this cycle of the Beethoven String Quartets (Nos. 1-16 + the Grosse Fuge) is elegantly packaged as a set of eight multichannel hybrid SACDs which will go to six AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers who this month register using our simple form.  Here is our review of the set. (Those who don’t completely fill out the form will not be eligible for the drawing, including those who registered in previous months.) The six lucky winners will be listed on our Editorial Page next month, where this month you’ll find more details on the drawing and the winners of last month’s drawing.