Manuel's Broadcasts corner.

[~George]

Wow! Last night I listened to the Schumann and was very much impressed with the performance. He handles the two main sides of Schumann incredibly well. 

 

[Samyucca]

Thanks for Manuel for the link to the Guardian's collection of Andras Schiff's lectures on the Beethoven sonatas, nicely conversational introductions - would never have found them otherwise.

[Manuel]

Thanks for Manuel for the link to the Guardian's collection of Andras Schiff's lectures on the Beethoven sonatas, nicely conversational introductions - would never have found them otherwise.

It's one of the few ocassions I have to hear what a great pianist thinks on this sonatas.
You can search on youtube the Masterclass Lang Lang attended with Barenboim, on the Apassionata. The later is very good (and exposes his ideas on the work, something I really enjoy); but Lang Lang is a tremendous disaster.

[Manuel]

BEETHOVEN
Violin concerto


Christian Tetzlaff
Met Orchestra
James Levine
January 14, 2007 - Carnegie Hall

Encore: Allegro assai from Bach's Solo Violin Sonata No.3.

Ripped at 258kbps.

Concerto

Encore

Read review here

I will post Wuorinen's ''Theologoumenon", played in the same concert, in a few hours, after I have lunch and take a siesta.

[Manuel]

CHARLES WUORINEN

Theologoumenon

Theologoumenon

This was the middle work at Levine's Carnegie Hall concert; and the world premiere also.

What follows is the Met programme notes explaining the piece:

Theologoumenon was composed in response to a commission from Ronald A.
Wilford, "in honor of James Levine on the occasion of his 60th
birthday" (June 24, 2003). Completed on January 29, 2005, it is
dedicated to Maestro Levine. The present performance is the work's
world premiere.

Scoring: piccolo, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3
bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba,
percussion (3 players: one on vibraphone, one on crotales [antique
cymbals], xylophone, and chimes, and one on Almglocken [cowbells]),
timpani, harp, and strings.

Charles Wuorinen is reported to have begun composing music at the age
of five, and seemingly has never stopped since—or so suggests his
prodigious catalogue, which now totals more than 200 works. In his
school years and then at Columbia University (where his composition
teachers were Otto Luening, Vladimir Ussachevsky, and Jack Beeson), he
walked off with pretty much every award in sight, also acquiring
credentials as a first-class pianist and conductor. While at Columbia,
he co-founded (with composer-flutist Harvey Sollberger) the Group for
Contemporary Music, a major presence in musical life for several
decades. In 1970 he became the youngest composer to receive a Pulitzer
Prize (for Time's Encomium, the first electronic work to be so
honored), and 1986 brought a MacArthur Foundation grant.

Wuorinen has been commissioned by institutions, ensembles, and
soloists running the gamut from A (the Adelaide Festival) to—well, if
not to Z, at least to W (Washington and Lee University). Along with
faculty positions at Columbia, the New England Conservatory, the
Manhattan School of Music, and Rutgers University, he has held
numerous visiting appointments and residencies, notably at the San
Francisco Symphony (1985–89), and has appeared as pianist and/or
conductor with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago
Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic. An association with the New
York City Ballet has produced several original scores, including a
Dante Trilogy.

In addition to Theologoumenon, other major new Wuorinen compositions
appearing this season include Flying to Kahani, a concert piece for
piano and chamber orchestra, played by Peter Serkin and the Orchestra
of St. Luke's under Roberto Abbado (Carnegie Hall, February 2), and
his Eighth Symphony, "Theologoumena" (Symphony Hall, Boston, February
15/17). As the titles suggest, Theologoumenon and the new Eighth
Symphony (Theologoumena) are related, and indeed can be combined (in
that sequence) to make a very substantial whole, running some 50 minutes.

Theologoumenon (the word indicates a private non-dogmatic theological
opinion) takes its inspiration from a text suggested by Ronald A.
Wilford, drawn from the works of Maximus Tyrius, a second- or
third-century neo-Platonist. The score includes the following excerpts:

God himself, the father and fashioner of all that is, older than the
sun or the sky, greater than time and eternity and all the flow of
being, is unnamable by any lawgiver, unutterable by any voice, not to
be seen by any eye.

But we, being unable to apprehend his essence, use the help of sounds
and names and pictures . . . yearning for the knowledge of him, and in
our weakness naming all that is beautiful in this world after his
nature . . .

Why should I further examine and pass judgment about images? Let men
know what is divine. Let them know: that is all . . .

I have no anger for their divergences; only let them know, let them
love, let them remember.

Although he considered the possibility of setting this as text,
Wuorinen opted instead to use it as a springboard for orchestral
music—a tone poem, in effect. Reluctant to discuss matters of
technique and structure in detail, he suggests that his response to
the ancient text "suffuses the composition—an atmospheric thing."
Despite the substantial orchestral forces and rich coloristic
resources at his disposal, and the large-scale waves of activity that
build up and recede during the work's course, he considers the overall
effect to be contemplative.

[Manuel]

JOSE VIANNA DA MOTTA

Complete recordings

http://rapidshare.com/files/12953826/Jose_Vianna_da_Motta.zip

01 Schubert: Minuetto from D. 894; Pathe X5454
02 Schubert/Liszt: Wohin? Pathe X5454
03 Chopin: Polonaise in A-flat, op. 53; Pathe X5452
04 Busoni: Turandots Frauengemach, Elegie No. 4 - Pathe X5451
05 Vianna da Motta, Mile de Castello Lopes / Mozart: Duetinno
Concertante - K. 459; Pathe X5453
06 da Motta: Cantiga d'amor, Op. 9#1, Cenas Purtuguesas, Pathe X5449
07 da Motta: Chula, Op. 9#2, Cenas Portuguesas, Pathe X5450
08 da Motta: Valsa caprichosa, Op. 9#3; Cenas Portuguesas, Pathe
X5450
09 Liszt: Epilogue, Annees de Pelerinage: Suisse; Pathe X5451 - all
rec. Paris, 1928
10 Vianna da Motta, cond. Pedros de Freitas Branco / 19 Jan 1945 -
Liszt: Totentanz; Orchestre Symphonique National du Portugal

The disc is OOP.

Check his bio here

Check attached file to preview sound quality. It's also an unusual way to start the Totentanz.

[Manuel]

HINDEMITH
Piano music for the left hand

The "Klaviermusik mit Orchester op. 29" was commissioned in 1923 by
Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein (brother of philosopher Ludwig) who
lost his right arm at World War I. So he asked many composers (Ravel,
Prokofiev, Strauss, Britten, Korngold) to write pieces for left hand
only, but often was not satisfied with what he got. But always wanting
also the exclusive rights of playing he didn't allow anyone else to do
it. So, being VERY unsatisfied with Hindemith he never played it. The
original score was found by chance among his papers long time after
his death (he died in 1961) and had its world premiere on 9 december
2004 at Berlin Philharmonie.
The pianist was Leon Fleisher, also handicaped by illness since many
years to play only pieces for left hand. Simon Rattle conducted the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

Broadcast ripped to 320 kbps

http://rapidshare.com/files/13920201/Hindemith_piano_music.mp3

[Manuel]

LEWENTHAL ON ALKAN


Raymond Lewenthal was an early force in bringing the fascinating
piano music of Alkan to greater attention. He did this through a two-
hour broadcast in 1963 for WBAI in New York, on which he played
Alkan's works and discussed his life. Here it is....

The response to this program was overwhelming and brought a request
from G. Schirmer to prepare an edition of Alkan's piano music.
Encouraged by the reception, Lewenthal played a recital including
Alkan's music in Town Hall, New York, in September 1964. Thanks to
Lewenthal's pioneering work Alkan gets plenty of attention these days
thanks to Hamelin and others.

During this talk Lewenthal plays the complete Symphony for piano, Le
Festin D'Aesop and several shorter pieces.

Part one

Part two

[Catison]

CHARLES WUORINEN

Theologoumenon

Theologoumenon

This was the middle work at Levine's Carnegie Hall concert; and the world premiere also.

THANK YOU THANK YOU!  This is awesome.

[sidoze]

Joining the party, here's a live performance of Richter playing Prokofiev's 8th sonata (Rome '74) that makes the DG recording totally worthless. You'll need RAR to unzip it.

http://rapidshare.com/files/15097279/Richter_Prokofiev_8_-_Rome_1974.rar.html

[Manuel]

Joining the party, here's a live performance of Richter playing Prokofiev's 8th sonata (Rome '74) that makes the DG recording totally worthless. You'll need RAR to unzip it.

http://rapidshare.com/files/15097279/Richter_Prokofiev_8_-_Rome_1974.rar.html

Thanks for this. Downloading now.

[Manuel]

In memoriam Gian Carlo Menotti


THE TELEPHONE


CAROLE FARLEY (LUCY)
RUSSEL SMYTHE (BEN)

TV FILM 1980-1990

http://rapidshare.com/files/4811236/TELPHONE.avi.001.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/4808084/TELPHONE.avi.002.html

[Manuel]

1900 born Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt became founder and first chief
conductor of the new created North German Radio Symphony Orchestra
(NDR-Sinfonieorchester) in 1945 and held that post until 1970.
So there are tons of concert performances and studio recordings at the
NDR archives. Of course I am far away from owing them all, but I think
there are a lot worth to share.

For the first upload I choose three concerts with French soloists, he
had ever a near connection to.

The first is Ginette Neveu who played the Brahms violin concerto at
Hamburg Musikhalle on 3 may 1948 together with the NDR-Sinfonieorchester.
In my opinion one of the great recordings of the work, besides all
technical limitations of the time.

The second is Mozart's piano concerto in c minor, KV 491, played by
Robert Casadesus and the NDR-Sinfonieorchester at Hamburg Musikhalle
on 22 march 1954 also with NDR-Sinfonieorchester

And the last one is Arthur Grumiaux playing the Tschaikowsky concerto,
a rare recording from French INA from a concert at Paris on 9 february
1960 with L'Orchestre de l'RTF.

http://rapidshare.com/files/15295988/Brahms_Neveu_Hamburg_1948.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/15293848/KV_491_Casadesus-Isserstedt.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/15291849/Tschaikowsky_Grumiaux_Paris_60.zip

(Thanks are to be given to Hartmut, the uploader. I'm just a link robber)

[Papageno]

Here's Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" and "Rosamunde" String Quartets by Quartetto Italiano

http://rapidshare.com/files/15571540/Schubert_

[Lilas Pastia]

Right now at his website, Rolf is offering LvB 4 and 5 by Herman Scherchen. Quite bracing interpretations.
http://homepages.ipact.nl/~otterhouse/

NB: Rolf changes the menu every Friday, so these should be replaced in a few days and will not be accessible anymore. Download while available!