New Releases

[Que]

Request to Szell afficionados: anything of particular interest on this set, what are the highlights? 

Q

[Biffo]

Definitely not Columbia.

It's bizarre that Warner doesn't have the right to say "EMI" or "HMV", but Decca does have the rights to say "Philips". Must be something to do with the legal settlements.

No idea what the situation is regarding Warner but Philips and DG were merged into one company years ago but continued to be issue discs under the two labels. When the parent company of Decca went bust the record label was sold to the owners of DG/Philips. Eventually, the Philips name was phased out and the catalogue re-branded as Decca, don't ask me why. The ownership of DG/Philips has changed over the years, for a time it was jointly owned by Siemens and Philips. At some point the company was sold off. No idea who what or where Universal is but they own DG and Decca.

[The new erato]

Because Philips is a company not primarily into the record business and retained thje right to their name.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

This looks good!

I hadn't heard of this work by Martinu before now.  Has it been recorded before?

[Brian]

No idea what the situation is regarding Warner but Philips and DG were merged into one company years ago but continued to be issue discs under the two labels. When the parent company of Decca went bust the record label was sold to the owners of DG/Philips. Eventually, the Philips name was phased out and the catalogue re-branded as Decca, don't ask me why. The ownership of DG/Philips has changed over the years, for a time it was jointly owned by Siemens and Philips. At some point the company was sold off. No idea who what or where Universal is but they own DG and Decca.

Thanks, Biffo. EMI, meanwhile, went belly up and sold their back catalogue to Warner for cash. The sale must have excluded the rights to the names.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Hard to keep track of all of the changes!     Sad to see once great companies being bought out.

[Mirror Image]

This looks good!

It does, but I certainly won't be buying it as I own several performances of these works already and I don't really listen to them very often when I reach for something to listen to from Martinů.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I hadn't heard of this work by Martinu before now.  Has it been recorded before?

Sorry,  I should have said "these works" before now.     The only one which sounds familiar at all are the "Czech Nursery Rhymes".  I'll jot them down though and look around upstairs.

PD

[JBS]

Sorry,  I should have said "these works" before now.     The only one which sounds familiar at all are the "Czech Nursery Rhymes".  I'll jot them down though and look around upstairs.

PD

Opening of the Wells (that seems to be the more popular English title) has been recorded by Supraphon at least twice, the others at least once on Supraphon, and some of them on Naxos.  I have the recording of Primrose, but don't remember much. Opening of the Wells is a fantastic work, and The Smoke from the Potato Fires, which is similar in concept but not on this new CD, even better.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Opening of the Wells (that seems to be the more popular English title) has been recorded by Supraphon at least twice, the others at least once on Supraphon, and some of them on Naxos.  I have the recording of Primrose, but don't remember much. Opening of the Wells is a fantastic work, and The Smoke from the Potato Fires, which is similar in concept but not on this new CD, even better.

Did some digging upstairs.  In terms of vocal works by Martinu I have:  "Songs on two pages" sung by Magdalena Kozena; "The Epic of Gilgamesh" (an oratorio), and "Three Fragments from Juliette", and the opera Julietta.  That's all she wrote.

So, are the ones on that CD all choral works?  I must admit that I don't listen to choral works much...at least these days.     Are they early works of Martinu's?  Or from various points in his career?  I'll see if I can sample "The Opening of the Wells" online.

PD

[Mirror Image]

Did some digging upstairs.  In terms of vocal works by Martinu I have:  "Songs on two pages" sung by Magdalena Kozena; "The Epic of Gilgamesh" (an oratorio), and "Three Fragments from Juliette", and the opera Julietta.  That's all she wrote.

So, are the ones on that CD all choral works?  I must admit that I don't listen to choral works much...at least these days.     Are they early works of Martinu's?  Or from various points in his career?  I'll see if I can sample "The Opening of the Wells" online.

PD

Hey PD, check out this site when you have the chance:

https://database.martinu.cz/works/public_index/

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Hey PD, check out this site when you have the chance:

https://database.martinu.cz/works/public_index/

Thank you!  I've added it to my bookmarks.   

[Mirror Image]

Thank you!  I've added it to my bookmarks.   

My pleasure. Martinů is one of my favorite composers and if you need any help at all with his music whether it be recommendations or questions about his own style, then feel free to ask me.

[Mandryka]

]

Gorgeous in the first three tracks!

Theinterpretative research les Basses réunies have devoted to this repertoire goes hand in hand with the reconstruction of instruments long since vanished, but recreated for this occasion. Five viols (three bass and two treble) have been specially made by the string instrument craftsman Charles riché, inspired by the 16th-century viol makers Gasparo da salò and domenico russo; also by paintings by the spanish renaissance master El Greco (who, as a Cretan disciple of titian, journeyed in the opposite direction from ortiz, from italy to spain); by illustrative prints that appear in sylvestro Ganassi's regola rubertina of 1542; and by rare (but alas heavily restored) instruments found in the Musée de la musique in Paris, the ashmolean Museum in oxford, and the tiroler landeskundliches Museum in innsbruck. We have tried to decipher the essence of these instruments about which we know far too little, and the results of this research are presented in a spirit of creative conjecture, after many different trials and experiments: in the instruments' shapes, the construction of the plates of the body, and the choice of wood (cypress, walnut, thuja, maple, spruce, cedar, depending on the wood used on instruments of this region at that time), so that each of these newly-made viols has its own personality and its own sound. they join the collection of this maker's instruments that we already play: two tenor viols based on detailed still lifes by the italian Baroque painters Baschenis and Bettera, a tenor viol in the shape of a small bass violin after an instrument by Gasparo da salò, and a bass viol after amati. this plurality of instruments allows us to vary the colours as well as the instrumental groupings, and the different tunings we use – a key element in performing such diminutions or divisions. as ortiz writes: 'there are many ways of tuning the viol to match the tuning of the keyboard instrument: one can play in any key by tuning up or down one or several strings [...] which though difficult at first, becomes easy with constant practice.' however, in his wish to simplify, ortiz indicates the viol tuning that was to become universally adopted: d G C E a d (from bottom to top note). For this recording, we have explored every possible alternative tuning – for the bass viols, a d a d G d as well as G d G d a d, G d G d G d, d G C E a d, and C G d G d; for the tenor viols, F C G d and a d a d a; and for the treble viols, d a d G d and d G C E a d. these multiple options make for a closer alignment with the different keys, letting each instrument 'speak' more freely and resonantly.



The italian harpsichord by Philippe humeau is joined by a renaissance table organ whose four-foot pitch brings a special colouring to the polyphonic textures and dialogued improvisations, with their prescribed diminutions notated in detail by ortiz. Finally, two vihuelas da mano – forerunners of the spanish guitar – add their characteristic shafts of sunlight to the musical soundscape.

Sorry, the system seems to have an inconsistent respect for capital letters and I can't be bothered to correct it all!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

My pleasure. Martinů is one of my favorite composers and if you need any help at all with his music whether it be recommendations or questions about his own style, then feel free to ask me.

Thank you John!   

[Mirror Image]

Thank you John!   

You're welcome. What is your name by the way? I'm sorry if I've asked this before.

[Roy Bland]

[akebergv]

Request to Szell afficionados: anything of particular interest on this set, what are the highlights? 

I have boldfaced some of the highlights:

Beethoven: Klavierkonzerte Nr. 1-5 (Emil Gilels); Klavierkonzert Nr. 5 (Benno Moiseiwitsch); Violinkonzert op. 61
+Lalo: Symphonie espagnole op. 21
+Brahms: Klavierkonzert Nr. 1; Violinkonzert op. 77; Konzert op. 102 für Violine, Cello, Orchester
+Schubert: Symphonie Nr. 9 "Die Große"
+Dvorak: Symphonien Nr. 8 & 9; Cellokonzert op. 104; Slawische Tänze Nr. 2 & 10
+J. Strauss II: An der schönen blauen Donau; Frühlingsstimmen; Pizzicato Polka; Tritsch Tratsch Polka
+Strauss: 4 Letzte Lieder; Muttertändelei op. 43 Nr. 2; Waldseligkeit op. 49 Nr. 1; Zueignung op. 10 Nr. 1; Freundliche Vision op. 40 Nr. 1; Die heiligen drei Könige op. 56 Nr. 6; Ruhe, meine Seele op. 27 Nr. 1; Meinen Kinde op. 32 Nr. 3; Wiegenlied op. 41 Nr. 1; Morgen op. 27 Nr. 4; Das Bächlein op. 88; Das Rosenband op. 36 Nr. 1; Winterweihe op. 48 Nr. 4
+Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn
+Mozart: Konzertarien KV 383, 505, 578, 583
+Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg-Ouvertüre
+Weber: Oberon-Ouvertüre
+Audio-Dokument "George Szell - A Memoir" - Interviews & Proben 

[Que]

Thanks, much obliged! 

The "other" Strauss' walzes look good on paper too.
It is always surprising how limited repertoire was in the early days - apart from the Mahler, this is a whole stable full of old war horses...

Q

[Holden]

I have boldfaced some of the highlights:

Beethoven: Klavierkonzerte Nr. 1-5 (Emil Gilels); Klavierkonzert Nr. 5 (Benno Moiseiwitsch); Violinkonzert op. 61
+Lalo: Symphonie espagnole op. 21
+Brahms: Klavierkonzert Nr. 1; Violinkonzert op. 77; Konzert op. 102 für Violine, Cello, Orchester
+Schubert: Symphonie Nr. 9 "Die Große"
+Dvorak: Symphonien Nr. 8 & 9; Cellokonzert op. 104; Slawische Tänze Nr. 2 & 10
+J. Strauss II: An der schönen blauen Donau; Frühlingsstimmen; Pizzicato Polka; Tritsch Tratsch Polka
+Strauss: 4 Letzte Lieder; Muttertändelei op. 43 Nr. 2; Waldseligkeit op. 49 Nr. 1; Zueignung op. 10 Nr. 1; Freundliche Vision op. 40 Nr. 1; Die heiligen drei Könige op. 56 Nr. 6; Ruhe, meine Seele op. 27 Nr. 1; Meinen Kinde op. 32 Nr. 3; Wiegenlied op. 41 Nr. 1; Morgen op. 27 Nr. 4; Das Bächlein op. 88; Das Rosenband op. 36 Nr. 1; Winterweihe op. 48 Nr. 4
+Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn
+Mozart: Konzertarien KV 383, 505, 578, 583
+Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg-Ouvertüre
+Weber: Oberon-Ouvertüre
+Audio-Dokument "George Szell - A Memoir" - Interviews & Proben

Where did you get your track list from?

One recording that should be on there is the Tchaikovsky 4th with the LSO from 1962. It's a stunning performance, especially the last movement. Apparently, when Szell came into the sound room to listen to what he had recorded the producer, John Culshaw, wound back the dynamics. Why he would do that is beyond me but it's in his memoirs. Szell was incensed with what he heard and being the martinet that he was he got stuck into the LSO. The result is an absolutely astoundingly fiery last movement. The rest of the work is pretty damn good as well. Pne of my desert island discs.

The Slavonic Dances, already mentioned, are excellent.

Not sure if any of his LvB is on there but if so the Overtures are great.