Weber Archive
Weber & Schubert: Piano Sonatas – Paul Lewis – Harmonia mundi
Two divergent visions of Romantic Piano Music, through Paul Lewis’ gifted hands…
Albert Markov, Vol. 1 – The Melodiya Recordings, 1956-1963 = Works for Violin by PAGANINI; KREISLER, CORELLI, FALLA and more – DOREMI
Albert Markov’s stellar rendering of classics of the violin literature… Paganini, Kreisler, Brahms, Khatchturian…
“How I Met Mozart” = MOZART, WEBER Clarinet Quintets ‒ Pierre Génisson, clarinet / Aparté
Génisson and his American colleague catch the spirit of these contrasting works.
Hans Rosbaud conducts MENDELSSOHN; WEBER – Southwest Radio Orchestra, Baden-Baden/ Hans Rosbaud – SWR Classics
SWR Classic issues a series of Hans Rosbaud vintage recordings, 1955-1962, of Romantic staples. Hans Rosbaud conducts = MENDELSSOHN: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Overture, Scherzo and Notturno; Capriccio brillante in B minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 22; WEBER: Overtures: Preziosa, Op. 78; Der Freischuetz, Op. 77; Der Beherrscher der Geister, Op. 27; Konzartstueck in F minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 79 – Yvonne Loriod, piano (Mendelssohn)/ Robert Casadesus, piano (Weber)/ Southwest Radio Orchestra, Baden-Baden/ Hans Rosbaud – SWR Classics SWR19040CD, 79:40 (8/4/18) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Those who lament the passing of Wilhelm Furtwaengler in 1954 as Germany’s great interpreter of the Romantic tradition—that is, who do not particularly relish the legacy of Herbert von Karajan—may recall the Austrian conductor Hans Rosbaud (1895-1962) continued both that tradition and a strong commitment to modernism in Baden-Baden by tirelessly working with his chosen SouthWest Radio Orchestra. My late colleague from my “First Hearing” days at WQXR-FM in New York City, Richard Kapp, had been a Rosbaud pupil, and he would harp perpetually on the limited scope of those few recordings that failed to represent the extraordinary range of Rosbaud’s musical acumen. Now, SWR Classic issues previously unpublished documents (rec. […]
The Music Treasury, 25 March 2018
This week, The Music Treasury is focusing on the performances by conductor Willem van Otterloo. Talented in many areas, Otterloo opted to study music, where he excelled in both cello performance as well as composition. Though his activity as a conductor was launched in the Netherlands, his career ultimately landed in Australia, where he conceited the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, after wending through concert halls in Berlin and Vienna. In particular, he was noted for his performances of 19th and 20th century music. This show can be heard broadcast from its host station at Stanford University, kzsulive.stanford.edu, as well as simultaneously being available on the ‘Net. Hosted by Gary Lemco, the show runs from 19:00 to 21:00 PDT Sunday evening, 25 March 2018. The music will include works by Beethoven, Franck, Grieg, Brahms, and Weber.
Leopold STOKOWSKI conducts BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1; WEBER: Invitaton to the Dance; STRAUSS: Blue Danube and Vienna Woods Waltzes; LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 – Philadelphia Orch./ Leopold Stokowski – PASC
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in c minor, Op. 68; WEBER: Invitaton to the Dance, Op. 65 (arr. Berlioz/Stokowski); J. STRAUSS: On the Beautiful Blue Danube Waltz, Op. 314; Tales from the Vienna Woods Waltz, Op. 325; LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (orch. Mueller-Berghaus) – Philadelphia Orchestra/ Leopold Stokowski – Pristine Audio PASC 500, 70:01 [www.pristineclassical.com] ****: Mark Obert-Thorn initiates an integral survey of the Brahms symphonies by Stokowski, buttressed by virtuoso supporting recordings. Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977) receives from Mark Obert-Thorn tribute upon the advent of Stokowski’s 135th year of his birth (on 18 April 1882), here in the first electrical recording of any Brahms symphony (25-27 April 1927), the first installment of the complete cycle that Stokowski left for posterity 1927-1933. Stokowski would record the Brahms First Symphony five times, each a reminder of Stokowski’s penchant for imposing a distinct organ sonority on the work’s massive melodic structure. The tendency to “layer” the various orchestral voices in the manner of the organ’s diapason seems to thicken an already generous texture, especially when the Philadelphia strings engage in their monumental capacity. On 30 April 1927 Stokowski lectured from the keyboard his “Outline of Themes,” whereby he provides an enthusiastic bit of […]
STRAVINSKY: Violin Concerto in D – David Oistrakh(v)/Lamoreux Orch./Bernard Haitink; Pulcinella Suite – Philharmonia Orch./Otto Klemperer; Jeu de Cartes – Bavarian Radio Symph. Orch./Bernard Haitink; Movements for Piano and Orch. – Margret Weber(p)/Berlin Radio Symph. Och/Ferenc Fricsay
The cover photo of Stravinsky’s impish grin is a perfect advertisement for this collection of three neoclassical pieces, plus a serial-period “fourth deal”–the album title is a reference to the Jeu de Cartes (Card Game), a “ballet in three deals.” STRAVINSKY: Igor Stravinsky in Four Deals – Violin Concerto in D Major/David Oistrakh, Violin/Concerts Lamoureux/Bernard Haitink; Pulcinella, ballet suite/ The Philharmonia, London/Otto Klemperer; Jeu de Cartes (The Card Game)/Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Igor Stravinsky; Movements for Piano and Orchestra/Margrit Weber, Piano/Radio Symphonie Orchester, Berlin/Ferenc Fricsay – Praga Digitalis 250 329 78:37 (8/12/16) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****1/2: The Violin Concerto in D was written in 1931 as a commission for Polish violinist Samuel Dushkin. Stravinsky did not feel that he was familiar enough with the instrument, but Dushkin reassured him that he would consult on technical matters, and Paul Hindemith encouraged him to take on the project, suggesting that Stravinsky’s unfamiliarity with the time-worn tropes of virtuoso violin writing would probably yield a more original result. He was right; the concerto, while not a soloist’s showpiece in the traditional sense, is a sensory delight with the intimacy of chamber music, every phrase etched with Stravinsky’s filigree wit. David Oistrakh’s characteristic intelligence […]
Bruno Walter Rarities, Vol. 2 = Works of BERLIOZ, HANDEL, WAGNER, MOZART, WEBER – Pristine Audio
Mark Obert-Thorn adds more rare Bruno Walter recordings to supplement his three earlier installments. Bruno Walter Rarities, Vol. 2 = BERLIOZ: Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9; HANDEL: Concerto Grosso in b, Op. 6, No. 12; WAGNER: Parsifal: Act I Transformation Music; A Siegfried Idyll; MOZART: Le Nozze di Figaro, K. 492 – Overture; Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K. 525 “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”; WEBER: Der Freischuetz, Op. 77 Ov. – Berlin Philharmonic Orch. (Berlioz)/ Royal Philharmonic Orch. (Wagner)/ Mozart Festival Orch. (K. 492)/ British Sym. Orch. (K. 525)/ Paris Conservatory Orch. (Handel, Weber)/ Bruno Walter – Pristine Audio PASC 492, 72:28 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: The recorded legacy (1923-1938) of Bruno Walter (1876-1962) enjoys further expansion in the CD format via the painstaking efforts of Mark Obert-Thorn, who restores several items – the Handel Concerto Grosso, in particular – once available through the Bruno Walter Society on LP, and the frisky 1928 Le Nozze di Figaro Overture, which makes its debut here. Essentially, Obert-Thorn’s tour takes us from Walter’s work in Berlin to his excursions to Britain and then flight to Paris, France to escape the Anschluss in Austria. Walter’s musical style maintains strong ties a […]
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 […]
Mordecai Shehori, p.: Learning by Example Series, Vol. 4 = Pieces by BEETHOVEN, SCHUMANN, DUSSEK, DIABELLI, MASSENET & Others – Mordecai Shehori, p. – Cembal d’amour
Listen and learn’ serves as the satisfying rubric for this diverse excursion into the music of many styles. Mordecai Shehori: Learning by Example Series, Vol. 4 = DUSSEK: Allegro in G Major; DIABELLI: Bagatelle in C Major; HAYDN: “Gypsy” Rondo; BEETHOVEN: Gertrude’s Dream Waltz; “Rage Over a Lost Penny,” Op. 129; SCHUMANN: Traeumerei, Op. 15, No. 7; The Prophet Bird; GRIEG: Papillon; WALDTEUFEL: The Skaters Waltz; FIELD: Nocturne in B-flat Major; FAURE: Romance sans Paroles; MASSENET: Melodie; DEBUSSY: Clair de Lune; Deux Arabesques; Reverie; A. RUBINSTEIN: Romance in E-flat Major; ALBENIZ: Malaguena; SCRIABIN: Album Leaf; KABALEVSKY: Having Fun; JOPLIN: The Cascades – Mordecai Shehori, piano – Cembal d’amour 184, 70:33 (8/1/16) *****: The first piece I sought out on Mordecai Shehori’s latest “Learning by Example” disc (rec. 6/16) was Beethoven’s 1795 “gypsy” rondo in G Major, his “Rage over a Lost Penny.” Ever deceptive in its innocent lightness and charm, this work establishes a pattern – 56 measures long – of repeats in the left hand with an ascent in the right that move from G Major to e minor and then back to g minor. Beethoven exploits this “ternary” pattern throughout, with modulations to A-flat Major and E Major […]
“STRAVINSKY in 4 Deals” = Violin Con.; Jeu de cartes; Movements – Soloists/Stravinsky – Praga Digitals
This album serves as a microcosm of Stravinsky’s evolving musical styles, in four performances expertly restored. “STRAVINSKY in 4 Deals” = Violin Concerto in D; Pulcinella – Suite; Jeu de cartes; Movements for Piano and Orchestra – David Oistrakh, violin/ Concerts Lamoureux/ Bernard Haitink/ Philharmonia Orch./ Otto Klemperer/ Bavarian Radio-Sym. Orch./ Igor Stravinsky/ Margrit Weber, p./ Radio-Sym. Berlin/ Ferenc Fricsay – Praga Digitals PRD 250 329, 78:37 (8/12/16) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: Praga assembles four distinct Stravinsky performances, 1937-1963, that realize the mercurial nature of the composer’s style, especially after his departure from Romanticism and the throes of Le Sacre du Printemps. Both the Pulcinella Suite (1922; rev. 1947) after Pergolesi and the Violin Concerto (1931) embrace neo-Classical ambitions, while Jeu de cartes (1936) – a ballet in “three deals” – ironically adopts both Classical and Expressionist modes. The late Movements for Piano and Orchestra of 1959 proffers Stravinsky’s version of pulverized materials in the style of Webern and serial technique. Of the four performances, three derive from studio recordings, while the Stravinsky reading of his own card game comes to us live – and in brash, exemplary mono sound – from Munich, 4 October 1957. The Violin […]
“Arturo Toscanini, The Final New York Philharmonic Concert” = Works of HAYDN, RESPIGHI, SIBELIUS, WAGNER & WEBER – NY Philharmonic – Pristine Audio
The rare inscription of this 1945 pension-fund concert makes a potent impression.
“BEETHOVEN, BRAHMS, WEBER” = BEETHOVEN: Clarinet Trio; BRAHMS: Clarinet Trio; WEBER: Grand Duo Concertant – Jon Manasse, clar./ Jon Nakamatsu, p./ Clive Greensmith, cello – Harmonia mundi
I would give this one six stars if we ever did that.
Rosl Schmid, piano = BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19; WEBER: Konzertstueck in F Minor, Op. 79; R. STRAUSS: Burleske in D Minor – with various German orch. – MeloClassic
Long-forgotten Rosl Schmid emerges with blistering intensity in three staples from the grand German repertory.
Brailowsky Rarities on CD: NYC, 1940-1955 = CHOPIN, MUSSORGSKY, SCHUMANN, WEBER, LISZT, BACH, LIADOV, SCRIABIN & FRANCK – Fondazione Stauffer (2 CDs)
Almost 40 years since the passing of Alexander Brailowsky, an enterprising French label resurrects some of his finest recorded efforts.
Pierre Dervaux Conducts = Short works of HEROLD, SUPPER, GLINKA, BRAHMS, WEBER, WAGNER, ROSSINI, NICOLAI, WEBER, DUKAS, ETC. [TrackList follows)- Guild
Make the pleasurable discovery yourself of these resurrected orchestral favorites from the much-overlooked French maestro Pierre Dervaux.
An Die Geliebte = Lieder of BEETHOVEN, R. STRAUSS, WEBER & WOLF – Julian Pregardien – Myrios
Julian Pregardien’s ease of delivery and unaffected performances win the day in this broad-spectrum Romantic soiree.
WEBER: Der Freischütz (complete opera) – Soloists/ London Sym. Orch. and Chorus/ Colin Davis – LSO Live (2 discs)
Colin Davis’ last considerable thoughts on a work that he loved dearly.
CARL PHILIPP STAMITZ: Clarinet Quartets Nos. 1 – 4 – Audite
Terrific recording of some lesser heard masterworks!
WEBER: Piano Quartet in B-flat Major; 6 Sonatas – Isabelle Faust, violin/Boris Faust, viola/ Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, cello/ Alexander Melnikov, fortepiano – Harmonia mundi
Violin virtuoso Isabelle Faust and her devoted coterie explore that “wayward” Romantic Carl Maria von Weber with suave aplomb, introducing to Weber’s neglected Piano Quartet.
SPOHR: Piano Sonata in A-flat Major; Rondoletto in G Major; ONSLOW: Piano Sonata in C Minor; Six Pieces; Toccata in C Major – Howard Shelley, p. – Hyperion
Howard Shelley explores the infrequent keyboard works of Louis Spohr and Georges Onslow, pieces that lie between the salon and the concert hall.
WEBER: Concerto for Clarinet and Orch. No. 1 in F Minor; Ov. to “Oberon”; Ov. “Beherrscher der Geister,”; Concertino for Clarinet and Orch. – Martin Spangenberg, clar. and cond. / Orchester M18 – MD&G WEBER Wind Concertos = Concerto for Clarinet and Orch. No. 1; Bassoon Concerto; Horn Concertino in E Minor; Concertino for Clarinet and Orch. in C Minor – Maximiliano Martín, clarinet/ Peter Whelen, bassoon/ Alec Frank-Gemmill, horn/ Scottish Ch. Orch. / Alexander Janiczek – Linn
Fine performances all, but I’m giving the edge of these two to Spanenberg, who’s a kinder, gentler performer in the clarinet concerti.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
