Vegh Quartet Early 1950s Recordings 14 Cd Reviews

April 18, 2022 Post a Comment

The Decca Sound: Mono Years 1944-1956. Express Edition. Decca 478 7946 (53 CDs)

What can the Decca people be thinking? Who on earth would buy a boxed set of 53 CDs? Who would want such a huge box of old recordings – in mono audio? At a time when sales of classical CDs are at an all-time low, the release of such a product would seem to be foolish, if not downright insane. Plain, there will exist a few collectors out in that location who will purchase virtually anything just to say they have it, merely for music-lovers, does it make whatever sense?

Perhaps, yep. In terms of cost, the set is remarkably inexpensive; one can buy it online for something like $3.00 (CAD) per CD. Another attractive feature is the kickoff-time release on CD of many of these recordings. And then at that place is the nostalgia element. Many listeners similar myself will accept hung on to the LP versions of some of these recordings, finding that as the years went by, CDs started taking over the shelf space, and some of those beloved LPs just wore out later on repeated playings and (possibly?) careless handling. Now nosotros have these recordings back once more, not every bit bulky LPs, just every bit CDs, in their original covers, much easier to store and sounding a lot ameliorate than they e'er did earlier.

CD1 in this box is Stravinsky's Petrouchka conducted by Ansermet with his Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Released in 1950, it was Decca'southward very first LP. Information technology was likewise one of my first LP acquisitions, and I treasured it for years. "Why," many asked at the time, "did Decca chose Ansermet and his second tier orchestra for many of the company's virtually important recordings when they could have used the Vienna Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw or the London Symphony?" On the basis of Raymond McGill's notes for this box, the answer seems to be that, at the time, Decca was being financed by the Swiss man of affairs Maurice Rosengarten, and he wanted to support a 'local' band. On the whole, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande recordings are more than satisfactory, and Victoria Hall in Geneva proved to be an excellent recording venue.

In such an enormous compilation, it is hard to choose only a few highlights; almost everything included – Decca's Raymond McGill was the mastermind – features world-course artists in pinnacle form.

Among the orchestral recordings, those featuring Eduard van Beinum (1901-1959) with the Concertgebouw Orchestra are of special interest. Van Beinum, who died before receiving the international recognition that he deserved, was a worthy successor to Mengelberg and could galvanize an orchestra in a very wide repertoire. In this set, nosotros have wonderful performances of works past Britten, Bartók, Diepenbrock, Pijper – his superb Symphony No. 3 – and Brahms. The immature Georg Solti is featured in high-energy performances of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Bartók and Kodály. Erich Kleiber leads the Vienna Philharmonic in Beethoven's Symphonies 6 (London Philharmonic) and ix (Vienna Philharmonic), and Knappertsbusch reminds us what a commanding usher he could be in Bruckner'southward Symphony No. three, also with the Vienna Philharmonic. Jean Martinon gets the London Philharmonic into high gear in Lalo'south Namouna Suite No. 1.

For Canadian music-lovers, no fewer than three CDs are devoted to the Boyd Neel Orchestra playing Handel'south Concerti Grossi Op. half dozen and the Water Music. Boyd Neel (1905-1981) singlehandedly spearheaded a revival of involvement in Baroque music for string orchestra in the 1930s and past the time of these recordings in the early 1950s, his orchestra featured some of London'southward finest cord players. Simply a few years later Neel came to Toronto to accept up the post of Dean of the Regal Conservatory. He as well created the Hart House Orchestra to bear on what he had started in England.

Different Boyd Neel, cellist Zara Nelsova (1918-2002) was Canadian-born (Winnipeg), and she is well-represented in this box gear up, playing the Rachmaninov Sonata Op. 19 with Artur Balsam, as well as unaccompanied works past Kodály, Reger, and Bach.

Chamber music is given due recognition in this set with the Amadeus Quartet and Clifford Curzon playing Mozart, the Quartetto Italiano offering some very cute Schumann and Verdi, and the Vegh Quartet providing unique insight into music by Schubert and Smetana. I was bewildered, however, to observe two entire CDs devoted to all four Ernest Bloch quartets played by the Griller Quartet; these are pretty tedious pieces, no matter who plays them.

Violinist Alfredo Campoli, one of Decca'south foremost artists in the 1950s, and all but forgotten today, is superb in the Elgar Violin Concerto (Boult conducting) and alternatively charming and virtuosic in smaller pieces by Kreisler, Wieniawski and others.

I accept fond memories of cutting classes in loftier school to hear the Vienna Octet under the auspices of the Women's Musical Club at Eaton Auditorium. This ensemble, led by the legendary Willy Boskovsky, is featured playing Mozart, Mendelssohn and Brahms on 2 CDs in the set.

Information technology is surely fair to ask is why it makes sense to invest in a boxed ready of this size – even at this decent price – when some of the artists represented here went on to brand new recordings of the same repertoire with much better sound later in their careers. Sir Georg Solti, for example, made afterwards recordings of all the repertoire independent in this ready. Sir Clifford Curzon, who is heard in this set playing the Brahms Piano Concerto No. i with van Beinum and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, made a superb recording of the piece several years afterwards with Szell and the London Symphony. Christian Ferras, who plays the Brahms Violin Concerto with Carl Schuricht and the Vienna Philharmonic here, recorded the piece afterwards with Karajan and the Berlin Combo.

Perhaps for collectors, simply stating the facts, as I have done here, provides the answer. One of the neat joys of collecting is to hear the same artists at unlike stages of their career. Slap-up artists change over time as they study and restudy the repertoire. Sometimes the changes are for the better; sometimes the later recordings are disappointing every bit age begins to have its toll, but following the career of an creative person of the stature of a Solti, a Curzon, a Ferras or of an ensemble such equally the Amadeus Quartet is to exist enriched and aware on many levels. Many of these recordings are 'one-of-a-kind' treasures, never to exist equaled, let alone surpassed, no affair how avant-garde the technology.

#LUDWIGVAN

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Over the grade of his career, Paul Evans Robinson has caused a formidable reputation as a broadcaster, author, conductor, and teacher. He has communicated the joy of music to more than a generation of musicians and music lovers in Canada and elsewhere.