Volume 23 Issue 5 - February 2018

intimate before becoming quite impassioned, leading to her spontaneous
response, Du bist der Lenz. Between them they now set in
motion fateful events that set up the rest of the cycle right to the very
end. One of the great scenes in opera. This disc displays and names
an abundance of access points so that any scene, vocal or orchestral
can be easily queued. If you wish you can start at the first note of
Rheingold and finish at the last note of Götterdämmerung. Already
very familiar with these performances, I am thrilled with the superiority
of this transparent new edition.
It was a sad time for the music world when
the Amadeus Quartet dissolved in 1987 after
40 years as one of, if not the world’s most
esteemed string quartets. Their history is
unique and is sure to remain so. Three of
the four came together in an internment
camp in Britain during WW2. Being Jewish,
violinists Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel
and Peter Schidlof left Vienna for England
after the Anschluss and, as aliens, were interned lastly on the Isle
of Man. After their release they studied, free of charge, with violin
teacher Max Rostal who introduced them to cellist Martin Lovett.
Schidlof changed his violin for a viola and in 1947 the Brainin Quartet
was formed. They changed their name to the Amadeus Quartet for
their premiere concert in London’s Wigmore Hall on January 10, 1948.
Upon the death of Schidlof in 1987, the surviving members simply
disbanded.
DG honours this 30-year anniversary with a complete edition
of all the recordings that they had made, plus all that Decca had,
together with the early recordings that the quartet had made for
Westminster: Amadeus Quartet – The Complete Recordings on
Deutsche Grammophon (DG4797589, 70 CDs with a 170-page fullcolour
book). As some works were recorded more than once over
the years, we can make comparisons for ourselves and look for any
changes in their overall interpretations or execution. For instance
there are three performances of Beethoven’s Third Razumovsky
Quartet, 1959 (Hanover), 1983 (Wigmore Hall) and 1987 (St. Barnabas,
for Decca): one work, three dates and venues, two recording philosophies.
How about four different Mozart Hunt Quartet recordings:
1951, 1956, 1963 and 1982. The quartet excelled in the Austro-German
repertoire so we find much Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and
Brahms. Favourites include works by Bruckner, Dvořák, Smetana
and Tchaikovsky. Guest luminaries heard with the group include
Cecil Aronowitz, Christoph Eschenbach, Karl Leister, William Pleeth,
Andreas Brau, Lothar Koch, Gervase de Peyer, Walter Klein, Rainer
Zepperitz, Gerd Seiffert, Clifford Curzon, Emil Gilels and Benjamin
Britten. Unexpected entries include Sir Ernest MacMillan’s String
Quartet in C Minor and Two Sketches on French Canadian Airs
recorded in Canada’s centennial year. The 70th disc contains some
surprises. If I tell you now they won’t be a surprise.
Vladimir Ashkenazy has been performing
for more than 65 years and is best known
as a pianist, but he is also a world-class
conductor. I recall around 1990 chatting
over dinner with a well-informed gentleman
from Decca and asking him when Decca
will finish their Ashkenazy/Shostakovich
symphony cycle. “Never,” he replied,
explaining that a soloist cannot become a
credible conductor to the record buying public. It just won’t happen.
Years later Decca issued a box set of the 15 Shostakovich symphonies
with Ashkenazy that is still an active title. Also an outstanding cycle
of the Rachmaninov symphonies with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Ashkenazy is much more than a pianist. He is a superb musician and
this shows in his playing.
Is there a pianist other than Ashkenazy on whom his or her
record company has expended the time and money to record four
complete versions of the Beethoven concertos? At this moment I
can’t think of one. All four, including a DVD cycle are included in
Ashkenazy The Complete Piano Concerto Recordings (Decca 4831752,
46 CDs, 2 DVDs, hardbound 115-page book). As with the Amadeus
set above, comparing versions is a collector’s pleasure. As well as
the Beethovens, this set is a music-lover’s treasure chest including,
in alphabetical order, the following concerti: Bach BWV1052,
Bartók complete, both Brahms, both Chopin, the 27 Mozart, the
five Prokofiev, the complete Rachmaninov twice, all Schumann’s
concerted works, both Scriabin and, of course, the Tchaikovsky
First. There are lots of orchestral fillers and some solo recordings.
On several of the concertos he also conducts from the keyboard.
Other conductors include Solti, Mehta, Haitink, Kertész, Previn,
Fistoulari, Maazel, Kondrashin, Zinman and Schmidt-Isserstedt.
The two DVDs contain concerts from the Royal Festival Hall during
March and April 1974 broadcast and recorded by the BBC. The London
Philharmonic is conducted by Bernard Haitink in inspired performances
of, you’ve guessed it, Beethoven’s five piano concertos together
with the overtures Leonore 2 and 3 and Egmont. Dated video but well
worth enjoying.
Doremi has, over recent years, issued an
impressive resurrection of live performances
of the young Martha Argerich from
her earliest years. The latest is the second
evening of a joint recital with the great
violinist Ruggiero Ricci presented in
Leningrad in 1961. The first from April 21
was issued by Doremi two years ago and
here (Leningrad Recital II, DHR-8053) we
have the following evening, April 22. Listening to this CD reminded
me of what collecting recordings is all about. It’s about the ability to,
at will, re-experience such sublime music-making as this that otherwise
can be remembered only by those present or hearing the broadcast.
Recordings such as this can resurrect, as they say, “immortal
performances.” Not virtual reality but the next best thing. At this time
Argerich was 19 years old, well before she won the Chopin competition
in Warsaw and became an international celebrity. Ricci, at 42,
was already well recognized as one of the leading violinists of the
century. The result of two compatible intellects at work – at play – is
evident. Their complete absorption into the music is profound. Quite
extraordinary. You would need to hear it to appreciate it. Here is the
repertoire with a comment or two. The Bach Chaconne BWV1004.
Beethoven’s First Violin Sonata Op12, No1; the Franck Sonata for
Violin and Piano in A Major; Bartók Six Romanian Folk Dances Sz56;
Paganini, Introduction and Variations for solo violin on Nel cor più
non mi sento from La bella molinara by Paisiello and finally Tartini
Devil’s Trill Sonata. The Bach Chaconne is astonishingly majestic
while the Paganini is humanly impossible to play… except that he does
so, easily and with style. There are delights in every track. The very
natural, textured recording was made by Leningrad Radio in the Great
Philharmonic Hall. There’s some audience shuffling but the performances,
all 82 minutes, shine through.
Many of us continue to be thrilled by the
Bolshoi Ballet DVDs and Blu-rays that have
arrived from their distributor over the last
couple of years. The latest is The Art of David
Hallberg at the Bolshoi (BelAir Classics
BAC617, 2 DVDs). A performance of Auber’s
Marco Spada choreographed by Pierre
Lacotte from 2014 is slip-cased with the now
ubiquitous Sleeping Beauty choreographed
by Yuri Grigorovich from 2011. Both ballets
are still available separately. Well worth
owning, Marco Spada is a dashing performance,
but you may not want another copy of Sleeping Beauty.
thewholenote.com February 2018 | 83