Ages 509-005-2, 72:38 (Distrib. Silver Oak) ****:
Restored from original Concert Hall LPs, these performances feature Russian pianist Nikita Malakoff (1912-1992), a pupil of Isidor Philipp and Alexander Siloti who gained reputation similar to that of Claudio Arrau, especially in the music of Chopin. Magaloff became the son-in-law of violinist Joseph Szigeti, with whom Magaloff made some inscriptions in the 1930s. Magaloff succeeded his friend Dinu Lipatti in providing master classes in Geneva, where one of his students was Ingrid Haebler. A possessor of a big technique and an aristocratic poise, Magaloff commanded a sizable repertory that included a fondness for Prokofiev and Stravinsky, the latter of whom performed with Magaloff in concert many times. A fine, natural Liszt player, Magaloff made a specialty of the Paganini Etudes, which he programmed regularly.
Since the original Concert Hall masters suffered problems from pitch variation and imbalances from attempts at fake stereo, Ages has cleaned out the glitches with some smooth edits. Nothing can help a late entry of the triangle in the Liszt E-flat Concerto (and stringent sonics), but the A Major Concerto with Baudo (1966) remains elegant, almost over-polished. Willem van Otterloo, an underrated Dutch conductor who led a moving performance of the Mahler Fourth on Epic (Dutch Philips) with Teresa Stich-Randall, along with some heady Bruckner on the same label, provides solid leadership for the Tchaikovsky. I find the 1964 the acoustic at the Hague lacking reverberation and the woodwinds thin, but Magaloff’s tone is luscious, the colors and spaciousness bold a la Horowitz. Distant and uneven microphone placement for the first of Magaloff’s two cadenzas. Magaloff’s pearly play and expansive sense of line make for some majestic passages as he moves to the big cadenza, played where appropriate, alla musette. Otterloo brings the orchestra back for the coda with some studied marcato filigree worth a listen. The Andantino semplice has a bit more expanse than some interpreters give it, and Magaloff’s detached chords have a twentieth century sensibility. Solo flute and cello are prominent, then the oboe. The trio section moves plastically, a real tour de finesse. Strings and trill for the da capo tender and less harsh in timbre than some of this restoration. The Allegro con fuoco proves fast but not so furious that Magaloff drops notes; he seems content to shape the rondo and imbue it with playful poise. Intimations of the ballet as we sweep to the final peroration; then Magaloff rockets over the tympani in no uncertain terms for the Wow Finish (as Rick put it in Casablanca).
–Gary Lemco
