Schumann – Alto CD

Dvořák & Schumann Cello Concertos

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:41:29 +0000

(Dvořák) “No praise can be too high for Rostropovich’s performance; not only for its actual playing, technically, but for the poetry, the true inwardness of his expressiveness … I may perhaps be allowed now to say that no performance I have ever heard has given me deeper enjoyment.” (Schumann) “nothing detached or remote about Rostropovich’s playing: indeed his is a reading that is totally committed. He plays with his usual authority and wealth of tone and with great expressive intensity.” (both: Gramophone)

Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104 (38:33)

- [1] I. Allegro 14:32
- [2] II. Adagio ma non troppo 11:38
- [3] III. Finale. Allegro moderato 12:22

Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op.129 (25:20)

[4] Nicht zu schnell 12:09
[5] Langsam 4:59
[6] Sehr Lebhaft 8:11

Schumann & Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:39:58 +0000

(Schumann): “lacks no style” (Tchaikovsky): “The element of struggle for which this work is famous is all too clear: these two musical giants did not always agree” (Penguin Guide)

Robert Schumann
PIANO CONCERTO in A minor, Op. 54

1. I. Allegro affettuoso 14:15
2. II. Intermezzo: Andantino grazioso 5:08
3. III. Allegro vivace 10:10

Pyotr Tchaikovsky
PIANO CONCERTO No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23

4. I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito 21:50
5. II. Andantino semplice – Prestissimo – Tempo I 6:44
6. III. Allegro con fuoco 7:01

Kathleen Ferrier sings Lieder

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:38:49 +0000

“In the Brahms and Mahler everything benefits from the loveliness of voice and sincerity of approach. Finest of all, I think, are the Vier ernste Gesänge, the voice at its most sumptuous and utterly right for the songs, the style having noble breadth and authority as well as keeping compassionate personal contact.” (© Gramophone). “I adore the Frauenliebe and I can see that girl growing up from a child to a woman – and these light songs are all the highlights of joy and sorrow” (Kathleen Ferrier)

Kindertotenlieder (Mahler / Rückert)

1. Nunn will die Sonn’ 4:49
2. Nun seh’ ich wohl 4:37
3. Wenn dein Mütterlein 4:31
4. Oft denk’ ich 2:56
5. In diesem Wetter 6:23

Frauenliebe und Leben Op.42 (song-cycle) (Schumann)

6. Seit ich ihn gesehen 2:40
7. Er der herrlichste von allen 3:19
8. Ich kann’s nicht fassen, nicht glauben 1:59
9. Du Ring an meinem Finger 3:00
10. Helft mir, ihr Schwestern 2:05
11. Süsser Freund 3:52
12. An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust 1:24
13. Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan 3:56

Vier Ernste Gesänge Op.121 (Brahms)

14. No.1: Denn es gehet dem Menschen 4:59
15. No.2: Ich wandte mich und sahe 4:22
16. No.3: O Tod, wie bitter 4:12
17. No.4: Wenn ich mit Menschen – und mit Engelszungen redete 4:53
18. Gestille Sehnsucht Op.91 No.1 (Brahms / Rückert) 5:10
19. Geistliches Wiegenlied Op.91 No.2 (Brahms / Geibel)
with Max Gilbert (viola) 5:10
20. Sappische Ode (Brahms / Schmidt) 2:48
21. Botschaft (Brahms / Daumer) 2:08

Schumann: Piano Works

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:37:19 +0000

“Sviatoslav Richter’s Schumann was always special – as this superlative compilation confirms: poetic, yet muscular, and with a vivace staccato in the Etudes as light as thistledown. Performance: 5 [out of 5], Sound: 4 [out of 5]”
— Paul Riley, BBC Music Magazine

Having learned the fundamentals of music from his father, Sviatoslav Richter taught himself the piano and had already given public concerts before entering the Moscow Conservatory in 1937. While still a student, Richter won first prize at the All-Union Contest of Performers of 1945. His playing earned him considerable renown, and by the time of his graduation in 1947 he had devoted fans. In 1949 he garnered the coveted Stalin Prize. Richter gave the 1942 premiere of Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 6 — the composer’s first work in that form for years, and the first one he did not premiere himself. This resulted in wild acclaim for both performer and composer. Thereafter, Richter was a great proponent of Prokofiev’s music, premiering also the Seventh and the Ninth Sonatas, the latter of which is dedicated to him. Though word of Richter’s excellence (and occasional poor-quality recordings) had spread outside of Russia, his foreign engagements were limited to Eastern Bloc countries (and, in one case, China) where Soviet officials felt there was reduced risk of defection. However, his 1958 performance of Prokofiev’s Fifth Piano Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra (on tour in Leningrad) generated such excitement that he was finally permitted to tour the United States, further bolstering his reputation as a virtuoso. Engagements in all of world’s musical centers followed. Richter was known as a pianist of transcendent abilities, particularly adept at highlighting the nuances of different styles. Though his interests focused primarily on music of Beethoven, and Prokofiev, he was also highly regarded for his Schubert, Schumann, Bach, Debussy, and Ravel; and in the early 1960s he made a memorable recording of Benjamin Britten’s Piano Concerto with the composer conducting. Richter did not favor studio recordings; therefore, most of his recordings are from live performances. Many of them, particularly those from Soviet concerts, suffer from indifferent sound quality and excessive audience noise, but his playing had an electric quality that transcended these handicaps. The pianist earned a reputation for being difficult and aloof. He was notoriously apt to cancel performances on whims, or arrive late without explanation or apology. However, those who heard him were rarely disappointed. He preferred intimate concert settings over big auditoriums, and thus returned many times to the Aldeburgh and Spoleto Festivals. He was the centerpiece of the Fètes Musicales, held annually beginning in 1964 at Grange de Meslay, near Tours.

Richter’s magnificent Melodiya/MK recording of favorite Schumann piano works, including the complete Symphonic Etudes, returns to the international catalogue on Alto — at an incredible bargain price!

Etudes Symphoniques, Op.13

I. Theme 1:32
II. No. 1, poco piu vivo 1:05
III. Etude No. 2 2:36
IV. No. 3, vivace 1:09
V. Etude No. 4 1:00
VI. Etude No. 5 1:04
VII. Variation I 1:37
VIII. Variation II 2:08
IX. Variation III 1:30
X. Variation IV 2:42
XI. Variation VI 2:39
XII. No. 6, agitato 0:53
XIII. No. 7, allegro molto 1:11
XIV. No. 8, andante 2:27
XV. No. 9, presto possibile 0:49
XVI. No. 10, allegro 1:09
XVII. No. 11, andante con espressione 2:21
XVIII. No.12, Finale. Allegro brillante 6:06

Bunte Blätter, Op. 99

I. Nicht schnell, mit Feurigkeit 1:51
II. Sehr rasch 0:49
III. Frisch 0:56
IV. Ziemlich langsam 2:11
V. Schnell 0:35
VI. Ziemlich langsam, sehr gesangvoll 2:11
VIII. Sehr langsam, sehr gesangvoll 2:04
IX. Langsam 1:26
X. Novelette (Lebhaft) 2:27
XI. Praeludium (Energisch) 1:10
XII. Marsch (sehr getragen) 8:53
XIII. Abendmusik (Menuett-Tempo) 3:41
XIV. Scherzo (Lebhaft) 4:11
XV. Geschwindmarsch (sehr markiert) 3:00

Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 (selections)

No.5: In der Nacht 4:06
No.7: Traumes-Wirren 2:38

Alfred Brendel Plays Schumann

amuletts — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 23:36:12 +0000

*** “Brendel’s opening phrase of the Symphonic Etudes is immediately individual, and yet in essence these 1960’s readings are not wayward, even though strongly personalised. There are other ways of approaching Schumann, but in Brendel’s hands the structure emerges anew, and has the emotional grip one associates with Beethoven. Excellent recordings to match the playing.”— Gramophone
Authoritative Schumann interpretations by the incomparable Alfred Brendel.

Fantasy in c minor, Op.17

[1] Durchaus phantastisch und leidenschäftlich vorzutragen (13:01)
[2] Mässig, durchaus energisch (8:15)
[3] Langsam getragen, durchweg leise zu halten (10:38)

Symphonic Studies , Op.13

[4] Theme (1:17)
[5] Etude No.1 (1:19)
[6] Etude No.2 (3:38)
[7] Etude No.3 (1:17)
[8] Etude No.4 (0:58)
[9] Etude No.5 (1 :23)
[10] Etude No.6 (0:54)
[11] Etude No.7 (1:16)
[12] Etude No.8 (2:03)
[13] Etude No.9 (0:38)
[14] Etude No.10 (1:18)
[15] Etude No.11 (3:06)
[16] Etude No.12 (6:49)

Total playing time — 58:04
Recorded 1966 in Vienna
Producer: Seymour Solomon
Released under license from Vanguard Classics