Review

Rafael Kubelík in Lucerne  New Philharmonia Orchestra/ Rafael Kubelik Audite 95.745 [2 CDS: 84:30]Available on CD — click here to purchase.  Immediately after the Russian suppression of Czechoslovakia’s “Prague Spring” in the summer of 1968, Rafael Kubelík (1914-1996), now an émigré living in his adapted city of Lucerne in Switzerland, organized for 8 September 1968…

Jose Iturbi: Chopin Recital  Forgotten Records FR 2066 [42:09] Available on CD — click here to purchase.  Valencia-born pianist Jose Iturbi (1896-1980) will likely suffer permanent denigration for his Hollywood connection that began in 1943 and extended to 1949. But despite his concession to popular taste, Iturbi remained a formidable musician of power and persuasion,…

Lazar Berman, piano – Vol. 8  Yves St-Laurent YSL 1215T [60:55] Available on CD — click here to purchase.  Leningrad-born Lazar Berman (1930-2005) studied with Alexander Goldenweiser at the Moscow Conservatory; and long before his arrival In the West at venues like Carnegie Hall and 92 Street Y, he had been touted by luminaries Emil…

Charles Reiner, piano, Vol. 2  Yves St-Laurent YSL T-1230 (2 CDS 93:55) Available on CD — click here to purchase.  While Yves St-Laurent advertises discs devoted to the distinguished Canadian pianist and pedagogue Charles Reiner (1924-2006), it becomes obvious that the spotlight falls upon Polish-Mexican violin virtuoso Henryk Szeryng (1918-1988), with whom Reiner collaborated for many…

Rodzinski at the NBC – Volume 3  Pristine Audio PASC 669 (75:55)Available as download and CD — click here to purchase. Producer and Restoration Editor Andrew Rose continues his revival of conductor Artur Rodzinski (1892-1958) and his work with the NBC Symphony prior to Arturo Toscanini’s accession to the Music Directorship with the concert of…

Neveu: Sonatas and More (rec. 1939-1948)  1John Neveu, piano 2Gustaf Beck, piano Pristine Audio PACM 112 [78:54] Available as downloads or on CD — click here to purchase.  The recorded legacy of violin virtuoso Ginette Neveu (1919-1949) has been preserved by various record labels, not the least of which have been Tahra and Opus Kura. Neveu’s…

Adolf Busch ∙ Concertos in Wartime New York  Pristine Audio PASC 661 [73:08] Available as download and CD — click here to purchase.  In several respects, the impresario and inspiration for this Pristine issue of wartime, New York City performances by violinist Adolf Busch (1891-1952) is the writer of the program notes, Tully Potter, who in…

Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor New York Philharmonic Orchestra Robert and Gaby Casadesus, pianos  Forgotten Records FR 2038 [62:10] Available as a CD — click here to purchase.  Even with the Sony release of a major retrospective of the work on CBS and RCA by Dimitri Mitropoulos (1896-1960), the legacy to be found from live concert performances will continue…

Fritz Lehmann, conductor  Forgotten Records FR 2038 [62:10] Available as a CD — click here to purchase.  I first encountered the art of German conductor Fritz Lehmann (1904-1956) on a vinyl LP of the Brahms Third Symphony on American Decca, led by Eugen Jochum in Berlin, accompanied by the Tragic Overture by Lehmann. This and other…

St-Laurent Studio YSL T-1225 [72:42] Available as a CD — click here to purchase.  The Guarneri String Quartet (1964-2009) and I have a long prior history, commencing with their residency at Harpur College (later, SUNY Binghamton) in 1964-1968, exactly coinciding with my undergraduate years and with the beginning of my reviews in 1966 for the school’s…

Brendel: Early Concerto Recordings Pristine Audio PASC659 [74:54]  Born in Czechoslovakia, Viennese pianist-scholar Alfred Brendel (b. 1931) retains a cult following despite his retirement from the active concert stage in 2008, and he receives acclaim for his essays on music and the broad range of his recordings, which embraces the greater part of the Vienna-German-Hungarian…

Vaughan Williams: The Complete Symphonies, Vol. 1 Pristine Audio PASC658 [67:20]Available as download or on CD — click here to purchase.  Ralph Vaughn Williams, a late bloomer so far as composers go, led the first performance of his Symphony No. 1, “A Sea Symphony,” on the occasion of his 38th birthday, at the Leeds Festival.…

Mieczyslaw Weinberg – Sonatas for Violin Solo Available from most major online retailers and streaming services.  Violinist Gidon Kremer rewards himself on the occasion of his 75th birthday with his realization of the three solo sonatas composed by Polish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg, each of which pays homage to the mighty Chaconne in D Minor from…

Frederick Stock | Chicago Symphony, Vol. 1  Pristine Classical PASC657 [74:53 + 75:43]Available as downloads or on CD — click here to purchase.  Frederick Stock (1871-1942) receives from restoration editor and producer Mark Obert-Thorn a comprehensive, chronological survey of the recordings made in Chicago, the first by a credited American orchestra under its official music director.…

Artur Rodzinski at the NBC, Vol. 2 Restoration Editor Andrew Rose extends his presentations of the first season of the NBC Symphony broadcasts: this, from December 11, 1937, offers the second appearance of Polish music director Artur Rodzinski (1892-1958) before the orchestra in an all-Russian program. Recall that David Sarnoff, President of Radio Corporation of…