Melodiya Madness!

[Renfield]

I went for my biweekly visit to the music stores I usually "frequent", and (although the other one was closed) in one of them, I came before the amazing spectacle of more Melodiya reissues than I have ever seen gathered in one spot.

Mravinsky's Shostakovich, Bruckner, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Richter's Beethoven, Chopin, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, The Borodin Quartet's Shostakovich SQ's, and so on...


My question is, to the more knowledgeable patrons of this forum concerning Melodiya's catalogue: what should I look for? I've already bought the aforementioned complete String Quartets, and I also have the (superb!) Kondrashin Shostakovich symphony cycle.

And I'm unlikely to buy every single reissue (quite a lot of discs) for the purpose of experimentally ascertaining whether, say, Mravinsky's Bruckner 8th is as good as it could be.

So what I'm really asking is: "do you have specific Melodiya Richter/Mravinksy/Other recorded performance to recommend me, now that such a lot of them are so available?" I'd appreciate even general imput, as I'm anyway going to take my own pick, out of them.

[Drasko]

And I'm unlikely to buy every single reissue (quite a lot of discs) for the purpose of experimentally ascertaining whether, say, Mravinsky's Bruckner 8th is as good as it could be.

It is.

[Que]

You could try one/some of the Furtwängler war-time recordings.

I also like:




Q

[Drasko]

Mravinsky's Shostakovich - if there is box, buy it - if singles, get double with 11, 12, 15, skip 8th the one on BBC is better, get 7th, on 5 and 6 & 10 you chose.

Richter - Vol2 that is Beethoven Pathetique and Appassionata

Kondrashin's Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances and Bells, Prokofiev Cantata 20th anniversary Revolution, Vainberg disc

Svetlanov in pretty much any Russian Romantic rep - Borodin, Balakirev, Rimsky, Scriabin....don't miss his Tchaikovsky Swan Lake.

Mravinsky - Schubert 8th coupled with Sibelius 7th (actually get that Sibelius from '65 however is coupled), second on Que's choices for Nutcracker excerpts (that is not ordinary suite and is amazing), Honegger 3rd, Hindemith, Bartok Music for Strings Percussion & Celesta....basically anything from February 1965 Moscow Concerts. Before mentioned Bruckner 8th.

Sofronitsky - Russian Piano School (double disc)

ALso second on Que's Evgeni Onegin with Vishnevskaya and Lemeshev

who knows what else....

[Mark]

What should you look for? Sveshnikov's benchmark 1965 recording of Rachmaninov's All-night Vigil. Find it, then buy two copies: one for you, one for me.

[Renfield]

Thank you, Drasko, Que. I admit I was hoping to see a response from either of you, but both of you, so fast! I am more than grateful.

And I am also looking forward to revisiting the store and seeing how much of all this is (still) there. The Richter definitely is/was there, as were most of the Mravinsky discs; perhaps all of them. The rest I'll make a point of keeping an eye out for, including those Furtwängler war-time recordings, which I had forgotten were also Melodiya releases!

Edit: Mark, somehow, I'm not surprised by your recommendation! If you seriously do want it, however, (and I find it) let me know.

[mahlertitan]

Is the Rozhdestvensky Bruckner cycle there? I would trying to get my hands on those ASAP! It's quite interesting to see how Roz approached the other symphonies. I have the "explosive" "0" symphony from him, their sound is so unique it makes me want to get the rest of them bad!

[Renfield]

Is the Rozhdestvensky Bruckner cycle there? I would trying to get my hands on those ASAP! It's quite interesting to see how Roz approached the other symphonies. I have the "explosive" "0" symphony from him, their sound is so unique it makes me want to get the rest of them bad!

Will check if it's there.

[Mark]

Edit: Mark, somehow, I'm not surprised by your recommendation! If you seriously do want it, however, (and I find it) let me know.

I never joke where this work is concerned.

[Peregrine]

So c'mon then Renfield, care to tell us where the shop is? Spread the love...please

[Renfield]

So c'mon then Renfield, care to tell us where the shop is? Spread the love...please

Athens, Greece. For all its faults, this city can be a surprisingly good source of hard-to-find recordings!

[Peregrine]

Athens, Greece. For all its faults, this city can be a surprisingly good source of hard-to-find recordings!

And there's me thinking it might be Harold Moores, just of Oxford St or maybe a sale on at HMV. Oh well!

P.S. As well as Mravinsky records mentioned:



And any Borodin quartet discs and Gilels recordings would be at the top of my list

[Renfield]

And there's me thinking it might be Harold Moores, just of Oxford St or maybe a sale on at HMV. Oh well!

P.S. As well as Mravinsky records mentioned:



And any Borodin quartet discs and Gilels recordings would be at the top of my list

I bought that one today, as well as the Borodin SQ's I mentioned above. And Gilels I'm keeping an eye out for, anyway.

(Incidentally, I would very much love to have found them where you mentioned, just off Oxford Street, but you'll have to give me a little time for that. As soon as I've a good excuse to leave here, for "there", of I'll go! )

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I certainly wouldn't overlook Shostakovich's opera The Nose. One of his very finest works, contemporaneous with the fourth symphony and other early "pre-crackdown" works.

Between the Rozhdestvensky recording below and an already OOP Armin Jordan recording (on Cascavelle - from 2004!!) we find the only two commercial recordings of this work on disc.

And I have them both (well, I have the Rozhdestvensky on LP).

Chances to get this work on disc are few and far between. This Rozhdestvensky recording has been OOP for years now and may disappear again without notice.

I say snap up this work this instant! It's a fabulous piece and its neglect on disc in no way reflects its quality. It's just one of those 'unknown' works that gets lost in the shuffle...falls through the cracks...whatever...

[Daverz]

Kondrashin's Kalinnikov Symphony No. 1.  Also, any Weinberg (Vainberg) CDs.

[Lilas Pastia]

Contrary to my friend Drasko, I'm not enthusiastic about his Bruckner or Shostakovich. Far from that, actually. I think he gets the sound (Bruckner) and pace (DSCH) of these two composers quite wrong. But do hurry to buy his Hindemith, Sibelius, Honegger and Bartok !

Among the lp Melodya I recall fondly are many by Kondrashin (DSCH symphonies, Rach 3), Svetlanov (DSCH 7) and others by Blazhkov, Khaikin...

[Drasko]

Contrary to my friend Drasko, I'm not enthusiastic about his Bruckner or Shostakovich. Far from that, actually. I think he gets the sound (Bruckner) and pace (DSCH) of these two composers quite wrong. But do hurry to buy his Hindemith, Sibelius, Honegger and Bartok !

Among the lp Melodya I recall fondly are many by Kondrashin (DSCH symphonies, Rach 3), Svetlanov (DSCH 7) and others by Blazhkov, Khaikin...

As you already know (and said) I completely disagree on both accounts.

Mravinsky Bruckner 8th is fantastic performance, structurally tight and logical, extremely focused, boldly etched in some strong colors, excellently paced, exhibiting some impressive orchestral playing without any weird orchestral balances (in decent studio mono recording) and with no obvious interpretative faults to my recollection and IIRC some of our discussions from ages ago you basically agree so far (or used to agree). Your main objection is then (as you stated) that you find orchestral sound of Leningrad Philharmonic wrong in Bruckner. So, you'd prefer it if they sounded like orchestra out of Austro-German orchestral tradition? I surely wouldn't. There are bucketloads of german orchestras who can play Bruckner like that. What you find wrong I find refreshing, especially if other aspects of performance are as good as they are in this case.
It definitely shouldn't be Renfield's first or only recording of Bruckner 8th but to dismiss it as plain wrong?

Must say that I have problems with point of view that you seem to be adopting more and more (correct me if I'm wrong) - that Austro-German orchestral sound is almost conditio sine qua non for successful Bruckner performance. I'm afraid there we take part.

As for 'wrong pacing' in Shostakovich I'd put that down more to ones preference, though exhibiting fondness for Kondrashin and at the same time dismissing Mravinsky as wrongly paced is definitely not an everyday taste.

Sorry if I'm coming across as too harsh on this but I do think you're plain wrong    

[dirkronk]

Mravinsky - Schubert 8th coupled with Sibelius 7th (actually get that Sibelius from '65 however is coupled), second on Que's choices for Nutcracker excerpts (that is not ordinary suite and is amazing), Honegger 3rd, Hindemith, Bartok Music for Strings Percussion & Celesta....basically anything from February 1965 Moscow Concerts.

All of Drasko's recommendations are good ones, and the last phrase is one I particularly urge you to notice...the "anything from 1965 Concerts." (I edited slightly on purpose.) There are several short works--Mozart Figaro o'ture, Mussorgsky Khovanshchina prelude, etc.--that are astonishing in interp and presentation. These, along with the Hindemith, Honegger, Bartok and a number of others from '65, were originally put out on LP in a clothbound box that is a treasure (a friend owned it and I've been looking for my own copy for at least two decades). Do NOT miss these.

Most important beyond these, IMO, would be Mravinsky in Shostakovich. I have no reservations recommending his work with this composer. I also like the Bruckner already mentioned, but as the conversation above demonstrates, YMMV.

In addition, I'd look for Rozhdestvensky's Sibelius cycle (the ONLY complete cycle I bother to keep, if that tells you anything; individual symphonies have come out but I haven't seen the entire set on CD). Also, just about anything by the Beethoven Quartet of Moscow (you already have a Shosty SQ cycle so you may not want to duplicate there--though I would     --but also look for their Beethoven quartets and the group or its members doing assorted Brahms and other works). Kondrashin's earliest stereo Shostakovich 9th is still my all-time favorite performance and a very fine recording of its period; don't know if this was included in his later integral set or if he redid the work, but grab it if you see it.

Richter? Absolutely...he did a ton of stuff on Melodiya that's worth hearing and many items have already been discussed. Of course, quite a number of the best pieces have been released in sets (on BMG/Melodiya, Brilliant, etc.), as have many good early recordings of the other Russian biggies: Oistrakh, Gilels, Kogan. So those might not be urgent purchases, unless they're exceptionally cheap in their Melodiya re-release form.

Me, I'd probably look for everything I could find by Sofronitzky, Yudina, Feinberg, also Neuhaus and Goldenweiser (if they have older piano material), Shafran. I don't recall how much might be on Melodiya by Wirssaladze and Natalia Gutman, but if you see these names, consider giving them a try.

Just my two cents. Happy hunting!

Dirk

[George]

I went for my biweekly visit to the music stores I usually "frequent", and (although the other one was closed) in one of them, I came before the amazing spectacle of more Melodiya reissues than I have ever seen gathered in one spot.

Where do you live?

I wonder if these titles will be released in the states....

[Lilas Pastia]

I don't have any problem in recognizing my strong preference for the austro german sound in Bruckner performances, although there are some notable exceptions. And I don't have any problem in anyone not taking that into account in their enjoyment of Bruckner performances. You're right to detect that my tastes have changed in that regard. It's not something I really cared for a few years ago, but I do now more than previously.

The Rozhdestvensky cycle is another instance of the 'wrong' sound, and to my ears it's sufficient to significantly reduce my appreciation of his conducting. Not that I rule it out totally, that would be plain idiotic. I'm not dismissing Mravinsky or Rozhdestvensky as Bruckner conductors, but again, I can't enjoy it as much as you do on account of the orchestral playing. Just another instance of de gustibus  , and I certainy don't want to press my own tastes on anyone. It's a purely subjective matter.

Speaking of a Rozhdestvenski cycle, Dirk rightly mentions his Sibelius and here is one instance where I hear orchestral playing and conducting that just sound perfect to my ears for this composer. I know some people who positively hate it, so there you have it.

I mentioned Mrawinsky's pacing in Shostakovich, and I suppose I should have been more explicit. I haven't heard it all, but in those I did (6, 8 and 12) I find the tempi too fast and rigid, lacking expressivity (though certainly not drama, excitement, anger, bitterness or despair). The effect is glacial and rather forbidding, and it's just not what I'm looking for in these particular works. I'm not a fan of all Kondrashin's DSCH either, except for 4, 5, 8 and 9. He, too rushes some moments (as in 6 and 11) and it just doesn't work for me.

In that 'sound character' area, I generally find German orchestras not very successful in Shostakovich (or Tchaikovsky, or Prokofiev). The language is spoken with a foreign accent. Nothing wrong in itself, but sometimes it just doesn't work as well as when it's played by russian orchestras - mind you, that 'national' character is something that is fast becoming rather blurred, as orchestras tend to evolve toward a sameness of sound.