The Vox classical years.

In the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, Vox classical was a famous budget classical label. The label kickstarted the career of Alfred Brendel and attracted well known artists as Otto Klemperer, Lili Krauss and Riccardo Ricci. This violinist recorded in 1977 with harpist Susanna Mildonian the concertante For harp, violin and orchestra by Louis Spohr. 

Mozart, Haydn and Salieri pupil Johann Nepomuk Hummel had more succes with his earlier works that with his later works, still this charming rondo form June 1831 deserves to be better known. 

In 1909 Guiomar Novaes was one of the two foreign students that were atmitted to the Paris conservatory. Out of 387 applicants she played for a jury that included Debussy, Fauré, Moszkowski and Widor. At the age of 57 she recorded Beethoven’s 4th piano concerto with 

the Vienna symphony orchestra under Otto Klemperer. 

The spouses Mary Louise Boehm and Kees Kooper recorded in July 1974 the piano and violin concerto by Johann Peter Pixis. (No, not Pixies, alas ;-)) I could not find much info about when this concerto was composed, but it seems to be a reworking of Pixis 6th piano trio from 1839, dedicated to Clara Wieck. 

I hope you will enjoy this playlist! 

Louis Spohr (1784-1859)

Tracks 01-03     Concertante For harp, violin and orchestra (1806)

Riccardo Ricci, violin

Susanna Mildonian, harp

Orchestra of radio Luxembourg

Louis De Froment, conductor

Recorded 1977

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) 

Track 04-05     "La Galante" (Rondeau), For Piano, Op.120 (1831)

Martin Galling, piano

Recorded 1969

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) 

Tracks 06-08     Concerto No. 4 For Piano And Orchestra In G Major, op 58 (1805-1806)

Guiomar Novaes, piano 

Vienna symphony orchestra,

Otto Klemperer, conductor

Recorded 1952

Johann Peter Pixis 1788-1874)

Tracks 09-11     Double concerto for violin & piano in F# minor (1839)

Mary Louise Boehm, piano

Kees Kooper, violin

Westphalian Symphony Orchestra

Siegfried Landau, conductor

Recorded 1974

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2GCrxVu4BTS0ZtjBN2GKR3?si=2330fbe2619b400e(HTTP link)

Young, snobbish classical loiterers

Found this cartoon and had a good laugh…

(Click for larger image)

Well, it is horrible to hear Beethoven over a pair of crappy Tanoy speakers outside, but what do young snobbish classical loiterers listen to? To op 101, the sophisticated A-Major sonate by Richard Goode? The highlight of his complete sonatas set! 

Or the ultimate vintage vinyl of the 1944 Furtwangler Eroica on Urania? One of the holy grails for classical collectors. Issued in 1953, but drawn from the market when Furtwangler found out this radio recording was issued without his consent. One of the most intense Eroica’s ever produced. 

Maybe they go for one of the finest recent Beethoven 4th piano concerto recordings, Pierre-Laurent Aimard with “the father of all Hipsters” Nikolaus Harnoncourt? 

You tell me! :-)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1828)

Tracks 01-03 Piano sonata no 28 in A-Major op 101. 

Richard Goode, piano

Tracks 04-07 Symphony No.3 E-flat major

Wilhelm Furtwängler and Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra

December 1944, Musikverin Saal, Vienna

Tracks 08-10 Concerto for Piano no 4 in G major, Op. 58 

Pierre-Laurent Aimard 

Chamber Orchestra of Europe,

Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/1negIwqm45IBAbIfR5mwhz?si=fVW7q3y0QYWTik_hkihcfQ (Webplayer link)

Anja Harteros in Strauss, Brahms and Beethoven

Sometimes you have these CD’s that are only half successful. When soprano Anja Harteros started a 2009 recital with Haydn (too big), Beethoven (ok), Schubert (slow and unimpressive), and Schumann (missing the mark) I thought this was a wasted opportunity. But then, the night, a Richard Strauss song from 1885 and everything fell in to place… The voice fitted, the interpretation was spot on and the remainder of the CD glued me to the loudspeakers. I combined the successful part of the recital with a glorious 2009 recording of Strauss four last songs, live, with Mariss Jansons as conductor. The bonus is the two Beethoven songs from the recital, more opera arias than songs here, but a fine finish to this vocal playlist. 

Hope you will enjoy it a well…!

Richard Strauss

Track 01 Lieder, Op. 10: no 3, Die Nacht (1885)

Track 02 Lieder, Op. 37: no 3, Meinem Kinde (1897) 

Track 03 Lieder, Op. 39: no 4, Befreit (1897-8)

Track 04 Lieder, Op. 10: no 8, Allerseelen (1885)

Johannes Brahms 

Track 05 Lieder, Op. 59: no 8, Dein blaues Auge (1873)

Track 06 Lieder, Op.  3: no 1, Liebestreu (1853)

Track 07 Lieder, Op. 57: no 2, Wenn du nur zuweilen lächelst (1871)

Track 08 Lieder, Op. 96: no 1, Der Tod, das ist die kühle Nacht (1884)

Track 09 Lieder, Op. 49: no 2, An ein Veilchen (1868)

Track 10 Lieder, Op. 43: no 1, Von ewiger Liebe (1864)

Wolfram Rieger, Piano, 

Anja Harteros, Soprano

Rec 2009

Richard Strauss

Tracks 11-14 Vier letzte Lieder (1949)

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

Mariss Jansons

Anja Harteros, soprano

Rec Philharmonie im Gasteig, Munich 25-27 March 2009

Ludwig van Beethoven

Track 15 An die Hoffnung, Op. 94 (ca 1815)

Track 16 Zärtliche Liebe, WoO 123 "Ich liebe dich" (1794-5)

Wolfram Rieger, Piano, 

Anja Harteros, Soprano

Rec 2009

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/1PKdmB3n1BefD2wIeEKQW1?si=Qt_2h2cZSB2rtBYMGltClQ (Webplayer link)

Beethoven Between the Boobs, the infamous Daniel Barenboim Westminister gold series LP

Dutch NPR radio 4 initiated a “vinylweek” november 25th till december 1st 2017. Classical music recordings, not yet on Spotify or CD, bargain finds for an euro and of course the cover art of classical LP’s. 

One of the most (in)famous classical music covers -and therefore very much sought after!!- is the 1970 re-issue of Daniel Barenboim’s performance of Beethoven’s 3rd piano concerto. The cover is known as the “Beethoven between the boobs” cover (see below the Spotify widget on this page)

The cover was designed by Christopher Whorf for the Westminister Gold series. Originally, the cover of the 1965 Lp was quite traditional, as can be seen here. Whorf managed to make it one of the most whimsical and silly coves ever to be produced on the classical market…

Interesting to know that Christopher Whorf actually did make magnificent record covers, as he has been nominated four times for a Grammy award for best sleeve design, and won the Grammy in 1974, for his design of Mason Proffit’s “Come and gone”. 

But, most interestingly, almost no one seem to know the music on this LP, a 22 year old Daniel Barenboim on the brink of an international break-trough. So, here is the chance, thanks to a fine transfer by Deutsche Grammophon (who bought te tapes of the Westminister label), to hear the performance on of the most infamous LP’s in classical music history. 

Enjoy! 

Ludwig van Beethoven 

Track 01-03 Concerto For Piano And Orchestra In no 3 C Minor, Op. 37

Track 04 Fantasia For Piano, Chorus And Orchestra, Op. 80

Daniel Barenboim, Piano

Vienna State opera orchestra

Laszlo Somogyi, conductor

Vienna Academy Chamber Choir

Recorded in Mozart Hall, Vienna, May 1964

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/62j3Y1NQGGSm0RhApHdsrW

(Spotify Webplayer link)

The Christoper Whorf design...

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

Bernard Haitink's Indian Summer...

This week, the 88 year old conductor Bernard Haitink returns to the Concertgebouw to conduct his 1500th live concert with the Concertgebouworchestra. Haitink and the Concertgebouw have a long history. In 1939 he was present when Willem Mengelberg conducted his famed St Matthew passion. If you hear Bernard cough, you might hear the first recording of him in the Concertgebouw :-) Read more about this concert, -> here <-

Since 1956 he was a guest conductor. Around that time he was the principle conductor of the Dutch radio philharmonic. A 1956 recording of Haitink with that orchestra can be heard -> here <-.

After becoming principle conductor of the Concertgebouw orchestra in 1961, he stayed there till 1988. The Royal opera house in London, the Chicago Symphony orchestra and the Staatskapelle Dresden were his next focus. About 10 years ago, Haitink surprised with a series of concerts and recordings that seems to “re-spark” and re-juvinate his conducting style. Beethoven and Shostakovich with fresh tempi, yet insightful and layered performances. The cycle of Beethoven symphonies that he conducted with the London Symphony Orchestra is a fine example of his Indian summer. As a bonus, an also fine version of Beethoven’s violin concerto with Frank Peter Zimmermann as soloist. Mind you, that season at the Staatskapelle Dresden was a last minute substitute for Haitink, as he replaced the then just deceased Giuseppe Sinopoli… 

Hope you will enjoy this playlist again! 

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1828)

Track 01-04 Symphony No 1 recorded live on 29 and 30 April 2006,         

Track 05-08 Symphony No 2 recorded live on 26 and 27 November 2005,        

Track 09-12 Symphony No 3 recorded live on 21 and 22 November 2005,        

Track 13-16 Symphony No 4 recorded live on 19 and 20 April 2006,      

Track 17-20 Symphony No 5 recorded live on 24 and 25 April 2006,      

Track 21-25 Symphony No 6 recorded live on 21 and 22 November 2005,        

Track 26-29 Symphony No 7 recorded live on 16 and 17 November 2005,        

Track 30-33 Symphony No 8 recorded live on 24 and 25 April 2006,        

Track 34-37 Symphony No 9 recorded live on 29 and 30 April 2006,  

All at the Barbican concert hall, London.

London Symphony Orchestra

Bonus:

Track 38-40 Violin concerto in D major recorded live on 29-30 sept. & 2 okt. 2002, Kulturpalast, Dresden

Frank Peter Zimmermann (viool), Staatskapelle Dresden o.l.v. Bernard Haitink

https://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/153tVZSck5ZwdQRcxmkc6a

(Spotify webplayer link)

Haitink in 2016 interview