Another Milstein on the violin… Maria Milstein

This recital stupefied me. I started with the Saint-Saens sonata (track 5, try it yourself!) and immediately I wondered if this was an underrated masterpiece or that I witnessed a miraculous performance. After hearing the complete CD, I think it is the latter. Glorious tone, spectacular accuracy and thoughtful, electrifying performances. And no, she is NOT related to Nathan Milstein, but the granddaughter of Yakov (Yaakov) Milstein, musicologist, professor at the Moscow conservatory and lecturer of oa Bella Davidovich and Elisabeth Leonskaja…

The “theme” of recital CD seems to be music that is attached to Marcel Proust’s recherche du temps perdu, although it’s hard to find how and why that has been established. Nevermind, the playing is awesome, the program original. She is accompanied by her sister, Nathalia Milstein. 

As an extra, an older recording by Maria Milstein and cellist Noelle Weidmann in rarely performed 1910 work by Saint-Saens. 

Tracks 01-03 Gabriel Pierné - Sonate pour violon et piano en ré mineur opus 36 (1900)
Tracks 04 Reynaldo Hahn - À Chloris (1916)
Tracks 05-08 Camille Saint-Saëns - Sonate pour violon et piano n°1 en ré mineur opus 75 (1885)

Track 09 Reynaldo Hahn - 7 Chansons grises, no 5,  L’Heure Exquise (1887-90)
Tracks 10-12 Claude Debussy - Sonate pour violon et piano (1916-7)
Maria Milstein, violin

Nathalia Milstein, piano

Rec 2017 

Track 13 Camille Saint-Saëns: La muse et le poète violon, cello e Orchestre in mi minor, Op. 132 (1910)

Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège

Christian Arming

Noelle Weidmann (cello), Maria Milstein (violin)

Rec 2013

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/2Hrgs5MYMT25vQudRM558W (Webplayer link)

Nathalia and Maria Milstein

Quartetto Italiano early recordings 1946 1952 Italian quartet Debussy Boccherini Beethoven Mozart Haydn

Last year, in the same week as David Bowie, the last founder of the famous Italian Quartet “Quartetto Italiano” died; Elisa Pegreff, at the age of 93. Married to the first violinist (and rumored to have had an affair with all the other members) she stayed in the quartet from it’s formation in 1945 till disbandment in 1980. I was curious what the first recording of the quartet was and stumbled upon a box with the earliest recordings of the quartet. Even the 1946 78rpm set with “the reason” the quartet started in the first place, Debussy’s string quartet. 

The sound of the earliest recordings is a bit harsh, but just sample track 07, the 1948 slow movement of the Luigi Boccherini quartet in D; what a breathtaking beauty in that recording. The metadata was (of course) not there on Spotify, so I gathered the recording information from several websites with discographical information. Enjoy the exploration of the early recordings of the Quartetto Italiano…!

-Track 01-04: Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10

Conservatorio G.Verdi, Milano (Italia) - 14-20 march 1946

Issued on Telefunken 78rpm’s 1946

-Track 05: Leonardo Vinci: Gavotta da 6 Antiche Danze (from «12 Soli per Violino e Arpicordo»)

Conservatorio G.Verdi, Milano (Italia) 4 mai 1946

Issued on Telefunken 78rpm 1946

Lionello Forzanti plays the viola here, he was replaced by Piero Farulli in 1947

-Track 06-08: Luigi Boccherini: String Quartet in D major, Op. 8 No. 1, G 165

Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 11 & 20 november 1948

Issued on Decca LXT 2680 in 1952

-Track 09-12: Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 64 No. 6 (Hob. III:64)

Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 11 november 1948

Issued on Decca LXT 2680 in 1952

-Track 13-16: Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in C major, Op. 59 No. 3 «Rasumovsky No. 3»

West Hampstead Studios, London - 28 november 1949

Issued on Decca LXT 2679 in 1952

-Track 17: Franz Schubert: Quartettsatz in C minor, D 703

West Hampstead Studios, London - 28 e 29 november 1949

Issued on Decca LXT 2679 in 1952

-Track 18-21: Robert Schumann: String Quartet in F major, Op. 41 No. 2

West Hampstead Studios, London - 27-29 november 1950

Issued on Decca LXT 2691 in 1952

-Track 22-25: Giuseppe Verdi: String Quartet in E minor

West Hampstead Studios, London - 24, 27-29 november 1950

Issued on Decca LXT 2691 in 1952

-Track 26-28: Giuseppe Tartini: Sonata a quattro in G major

Recorded live, Teatro Eliseo, Roma (Italia) - 29 gennaio 1951

-Track 29-32: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A major, K 581

Antoine de Bavier, Clarinet

West Hampstead Studios, London - 8-20 & 22 February 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2698 in 1952

-Track 33-36: Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in G major, Op. 77 No. 1 (Hob. III:81)

Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 1-10 July 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2811 in 1954

-Track 37-39: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: - String Quartet in D major, K 155 

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 1-10 July 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2852 in 1954

-Track 40-41: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: - Adagio and Fugue in C minor for String Quartet, K 546

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 1-10 July 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2853 in 1954

-Track 42-45: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: - String Quartet in C major, K 465 

«Dissonances» 

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 1-10 July 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2853 in 1954

-Track 46-49: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: - String Quartet in F major, K 590

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 1-10 July 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2852 in 1954

-Track 50-53: Ludwig van Beethoven: - String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 18 No. 6 

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 1-10 July 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2811 in 1954

-Track 54-57: Ludwig van Beethoven: - String Quartet in F major, Op. 59 No. 1 «Rasumovsky No. 1»

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 20-30 July 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2856 in 1954

-Track 58-61: Franz Schubert: - String Quartet in B flat major, D 112 (Op. 168)

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 20-30 July 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2855 in 1954

-Track 62-65: Franz Schubert: - String Quartet in A minor, D 804 (Op. 29 No. 1) «Rosamunde»

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma (Italia) - 20-30 July 1952

Issued on Decca LXT 2854 in 1954

(Nuovo) Quartetto Italiano

Paolo Borciani, violino I

Elisa Pegreffi, violino II

Piero Faruli viola

Franco Rossi, violoncello

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/4wWSZQwN1kgmaR7YJEMnIw

(WEBPLAYER LINK)

Quartetto Italiano

The Orlando Quartet in Haydn, Mozart, Debussy, Ravel and Schubert. Unity!!

In days of nationalism and disunity, this playlist is an ode to global unity…

The Orlando Quartet was a string quartet with members from Hungary, Austria, Germany, Romania and later on Australia and Norway, playing with other musicians all over the world. Based in Amsterdam, the quartet started in 1976 and slowly gained recognition for being one of the finest chamber music ensembles of that period. The quartet was active till 1997.

recordings below give a nice overview of their interpretation skills. 

A quote from the Gramophone magazine, August 1983:

“Quite exceptional quality, distinguished by a marvellous rhythmic sense, an unusually wide dynamic range, and flawless ensemble and intonation. Their eloquence in the slow movements, which are among Haydn's finest, is matched by an exhilarating vitality in the quick ones. In short, this is magnificent playing and it is supported by an uncannily lifelike recording: an outstanding issue.’ (about the Haydn recordings) 

Hope you will enjoy this selection again! :-) 

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

String Quartet no 63 op 76 no 4 in Bb major, ‘Sunrise' (1795/97)

String Quartet no 65 op 76 no 6 in Eb major, ‘Fantasia' (1795/97)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

String Quintet no 6 in Eb major KV 614 (1791)

with Nobuko Imai (Japan) on viola

Claude Achille Debussy (1862-1918)

String Quartet in g minor op 10 (1893)

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

String Quartet in F major (1903)

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

String Quartet no 14 in d minor “Death and the Maiden” D 810 (1824)

1st violin on the Haydn, Debussy, Ravel and Schubert recording: István Párkányi (Hungary)

1st violin on the Mozart recording: John Harding (Australia)

2nd violin: Heinz Oberdorfer (Germany)

Viola: Ferdinand Erblich (Austria)

Cello Stefan Metz (Romania)

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/6HHF1gnqVki4UHFA5X5IJm

(Spotify Webplayer link)

Oralndo Quartet with Párkányi

Carl Schuricht part II - Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner ea on Spotify

April of this year, I posted the Spotify link to a 20 CD box with the German born conductor Carl Schuricht (1880-1967). Here is the follow up of that box, with more recordings from the archive of the South-German SWF radio. More about there recordings can be read here:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/July13/Schuricht_collectionII_CD93292.htm

Hope you will enjoy these performances as well!

Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Carl Schuricht, conductor

Tracks: 01 to 08 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 3/7/1961 (23:29). Symphony No. 3 2/29/1952 (45:56) 

Tracks: 09 to 16 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 4/8/1959 (33:47). Symphony No. 5 4/10/1953 (31:22) 

Tracks: 17 to 25 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 2/14/1957 (37:20). SCHUBERT Symphony No. 5 4/11/1960 (24:28) 

Tracks: 26 to 33 BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 9/18/1963 (42:55). Symphony No. 3 12/2/1954 (34:47) 

Tracks: 34 to 39 BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 3/6/1964 (43:46). Alto Rhapsody Lucretia West (alt); SWR Vocal Ensemble Stuttgart; 3/5/1964 (12:16). Tragic Overture 1/29/1954 (13:08) 

Tracks: 40 to 49 SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 9/15/1960 (29:44). R. STRAUSS Sinfonia domestica 12/14/1960 (42:05) 

Tracks: 50 to 55 WEBER Euryanthe: Overture 2/19/1962 (8:46). Oberon: Overture 4/10/1953 (9:32). WOLF Italian Serenade 2/14/1957 (7:17). TCHAIKOVSKY Hamlet Overture 10/24/1952 (19:05). VON REZNIEK Donna Diana: Overture 2/12/1960 (5:44). BLACHER Concertante Music for Orchestra 10/29/1951 (9:42) 

Tracks: 56 to 64 DEBUSSY La Mer 5/23/1952 (23:28). RAPHAEL Sinfonia breve 3/14/1952 (21:20). OBOUSSIER Violin Concerto Roman Schimmer (vn); 1/4/1955 (13:29) 

Tracks: 65 to 78 LISZT Ce qu’on entend sur la montagne 3/7/1961 (27:30). REGER Variations and Fugue on a Merry Theme by Johann Adam Hiller 1/10/1953 (39:54) 

Tracks: 79 to 82 Rehearsal Excerpts from: BRAHMS Symphony No. 2: Finale 3/15-16/1966 (17:48). WAGNER Parsifal: Act I Prelude, Act III Good Friday Music and Conclusion 3/15-16/1966 (32:20) 

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/0uupc6ECJ8sPfR6YhUf8Mn

(Spotify Webplayer link)

Noël Lee, connoisseurs pianist, in Faure, Franck and Debussy (on Spotify)

The American (Chinese born, French citizen, a real cosmopolitan!) Noël Lee (1924-2013) was a real connoisseurs pianist. He excelled in the French repertoire and was one of the finest accompanists in chamber music in that genre. With his musical partners Gérard Poulet and Bernard Kruysen, thirteen of the sixteen LP’s and CD’s they made received a French “Grand Prix du Disque” award. I’ve selected several works in this playlist that demonstrate the unique understanding and empathy of Noël Lee for French Chamber music. 

One remark, unfortunately the “tagging” of the works by Spotify is erratic, description below is the correct one. The Debussy sonata has a special particularity, as the composer dedicated (and played!) the sonata to Gérard Poulet’s father; the violinist Gaston Poulet. 

These are recordings I cherish very much; hope you will enjoy them as well!

The correct order of the playlist is:

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924):

1- Berceuse in D major op 16 (1878)

César Franck (1822-1890)

2-5 Violin sonata in A Major (1886)

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) 

6-9 Violin sonata no 1 in A major op 13 (1875)

Claude Debussy (1867-1918)

10-12 Violin sonata (1917)

Gérard Poulet, violin

Noël Lee, piano

Jules Massenet (1842-1912)

13-19 Poème d'avril, Op.14 (1866)

Bernard Kruysen, Baritone

Noël Lee, piano

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/3QLt6CdQSbmUOoCA9ea8uK

(link to Spotify Webplayer)

Noël Lee (1924-2013)