Melodiya Madness!

[Renfield]

The cream of the crop. 

It is superb.

But the rest of them ain't all that bad, either.

Many, many thanks for the recommendations once again: especially Drasko and Que, but also everyone who's had something to recommend. Though remember, "it's not over yet", this Melodiya Madness of a torrent of reissues!

(So far, everything I've listened to from today's Melodiya purchases has more than satisfied me, at the very least; if not "enthused me", really! )

[Que]

Update

So the "Melodiya raid" was performed today, albeit later than it perhaps should have been...

Hefty!
So far, I've refrained from the Mravrinsky Box sets because I just can't picture him excelling in Germanic repertoire and so I've sticked with the Russian repertoire. Would be interested your impressions on that point!

Q

[Renfield]

Hefty!
So far, I've refrained from the Mravrinsky Box sets because I just can't picture him excelling in Germanic repertoire and so I've sticked with the Russian repertoire. Would be interested your impressions on that point!

Q

And I was literally just thinking how impressive his Brahms is, from the 2nd Symphony I'm currently listening to! In other words, it would seem Mravinsky's footing is firm in that repertoire, as well; but I'll make a more comprehensive "assessment" once I've gone through more of the discs.

In fact, I spent all night listening, and I'm still not very far into the Melodiya purchases, given their adding up with my other "purchases today". But it's been a night most enjoyably spent.

[mahlertitan]

Hefty!
So far, I've refrained from the Mravrinsky Box sets because I just can't picture him excelling in Germanic repertoire and so I've sticked with the Russian repertoire. Would be interested your impressions on that point!

Q

why not? Have you by any chance heard his Bruckner 9th?

[Drasko]

Yeah, I am not spending a penny on the Rozhdestvensky due to all the negative feedback...

Do spend a penny or two on that Bruckner 4th in Mahler edition if you stumble upon it (it's on Icone).
Those are not few subtle easy-to-miss changes. It is quite sufficiently interesting to overlook the sonics.

[Drasko]

Thanks for the link...and now you have me VERY curious. I know that the LP set I referred to contained all 1965 performances, but I've never delved into the venue...I always figured they were done IN Leningrad. Also, there are a number of 1965 performances in the BMG/Melodiya "Mravinsky Edition" set #1 that I figured were lifted from the LP box (I also have single LP copies of all but a couple of records that were in that box--just not the box set itself). IIRC, the notes were sparse, but surely they'll tell me where the recordings were done. In any case, now I have to see whether the Moscow recordings ARE the 1965 recordings I know and love...or whether there are OTHER 1965 recordings of the same repertoire that may offer even more impressive performances. Aaaarrghh!



Dirk

Not sure if I follow you on aaaarrghh bit but let me try to clear up what I know

In February 1965 Leningrad Philharmonic under Mravinsky gave a series of concerts at Great Hal of Moscow Conservatory. Four concerts were taped (21st, 23rd, 26th, 28th of February) and subsequently released by Melodiya. Don't know if these four were the whole deal (think they were) or the tour itself was bigger. Anyhow at these four they played:

Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz. 106
Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Glazunov: Raymonda Entr'acte Act 3
Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmilla Overture
Hindemith: Die Harmonie der Welt
Honegger: Symphony No. 3, H186 'Liturgique'
Lyadov: Baba-Yaga, Op. 56
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, K492 - Overture, Symphony No.39 in E flat, K543
Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina: Dawn on the Moscow River
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54
Sibelius: The Swan of Tuonela, Op. 22 No. 2, Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105
Stravinsky: Apollon musagète
Wagner: Lohengrin - Prelude to Acts 1 & 3, Die Walküre - Ride of the Valkyries

It is bit difficult to discern what was exactly played on which day since some pieces were played more than once (Scribendum box for instance has two Baba-Yagas and two Mussorgsky Dawns, from different days). All of this was released on Melodiya LPs, I personally don't know how was it boxed or whether all was included, all I had is single LP with all of the short pieces.
In CD era some of it was released on Melodiya and Olympia but never collected together as "Moscow Concerts" or something like that (that was what I was referring to previously).
But then most of it was released in BMG/Melodiya series, so if you have Mravinsky Edition box1 you are missing just few pieces:

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6 (they opted for 1972 recording, from another series of Moscow cocerts, as did Melodiya for all later releases)
Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmilla Overture
Glazunov: Raymonda Entr'acte Act 3
Lyadov: Baba-Yaga, Op. 56 (two of those)
Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina: Dawn on the Moscow River (second recording)

Now we come to the part were I don't really get you, which other '65 recordings? For most of those pieces these are the only recordings they made for Melodiya (Debussy, Hindemith, Honegger, Sibelius) and most certainly there are no 'other '65 recordings' of these.
There are alternate recordings for some of these from different years (Bartok from Prague '70, Sibelius from Japan, Russian pieces from 80s on Erato) but if it is '65 then it is Moscow.
They made only three other recordings during 1965 unrelated to these (according to discography I have), back in Leningrad they recorded Shostakovich 5th, Haydn's 104th and Stravinsky's Agon that same year.

Lots of stuff is coming from Japan lately, particularly videos, so it's becoming hard to follow. But it's generally the same pieces, his repertoire was pretty minuscule.

Hope this helps a bit.

[sidoze]

second on Que's choices for Nutcracker excerpts (that is not ordinary suite and is amazing),

are those recordings from the '65 concerts? The only Nutracker excerpts I have are on the Altus disc with the Sibelius 7 in Tokyo, 1977. I haven't listened yet but have every motivation to do so now.

edit: or were you talking about Svetlanov's? haven't heard those.

[Que]

are those recordings from the '65 concerts? The only Nutracker excerpts I have are on the Altus disc with the Sibelius 7 in Tokyo, 1977. I haven't listened yet but have every motivation to do so now.

edit: or were you talking about Svetlanov's? haven't heard those.

The Nutcracker excerpts by Mravinsky - pictured above below and coupled with excerpts from "Romeo and Juliet" - are indicated to have been recorded live with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra on December 31th, 1981. The Prokofiev the day before.

Q

EDIT - this is it:

[Drasko]

Yes, I was seconding on Que's choice of 1981 Mravinsky's Nutcracker excerpts (Melodiya, Philips, Icone), don't know what they played in Japan but it's probably the same selection:

1. Scene 6 - Departure Of The Guests. Night
2. Scene 7 - The Battle
3. Scene 8 - Pine Wood At Winter
4. Scene 9 - Waltz Of The Snow Flakes
5. Scene 14 - Pas De Deux (Fairy Dragee And Prince Orchade)
6. Scene 15 - Final Waltz and apotheosis

[tab]

Another vote for Rozdestvensky's performance of "Семеро их" (Seven. They're Seven!). I once heard him live with it and it was shocking start of the concert. Get it if you can.

[Lilas Pastia]

Khaikin's Ilya Murometz is quite amazing, typical russian product (raucous brass and cavernous recording), a truly engulfing musical experience. Not to be missed either (going by memory, I haven't heard it in ages) is the Mogilevsky-Kondrashin Rach 3.

[sidoze]

1. Scene 6 - Departure Of The Guests. Night
2. Scene 7 - The Battle
3. Scene 8 - Pine Wood At Winter
4. Scene 9 - Waltz Of The Snow Flakes
5. Scene 14 - Pas De Deux (Fairy Dragee And Prince Orchade)
6. Scene 15 - Final Waltz and apotheosis

yeah it's the same. i liked it and at over 30 minutes it's no small selection. Tokyo Bunka Kaikan hall doesn't exactly have the warmest acoustics though (think blackhole). Not going to complain too much though as some of my favourite recordings came from there (Kondrashin and Mravinsky Tchaikvosky 6s, Kondrashin's Shostakovich 8 ).

[mahlertitan]

Yeah, I am not spending a penny on the Rozhdestvensky due to all the negative feedback on the recording balance (especially from M). Compared to those reports, the Mravinskys sound great.

hmm, I must confess that i have no idea what Drasko is talking about, but, just to make sure, i'll upload a clip (later today) of Rozhdestvensky's Bruckner symphony No. 0, so people can hear it and decide whether to buy it or not for themselves.

[Drasko]

hmm, I must confess that i have no idea what Drasko is talking about

Thankfully I do have the idea what am I talking about and that would be several Rozhdestvensky Bruckner recordings that I've heard on Russian Revelation and Icone which suffer from very bad engineering.

But he recorded most of Bruckner symphonies multiple times, so apparently there is another bunch of his Bruckner (different recordings) on Venezia and those are supposedly in better sound. Maybe those are what you have?

Here is some discussion on that:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.classical.recordings/browse_thread/thread/866dca5704e6ff2c/a2b5dc852fc20fb1?lnk=gst&q=venezia#   

[mahlertitan]

Thank you for the link, that was very helpful!

Well, here is the link I promised,

Symphony in D minor, Rozhdestvensky,USSR Ministry of Culture Orchestra

[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://xuwubao.googlepages.com/03-Track-03.mp3[/mp3]

[Drasko]

i'll upload a clip (later today) of Rozhdestvensky's Bruckner symphony No. 0, so people can hear it and decide whether to buy it or not for themselves.

Clip is pointless, none is going to run to the store to buy it since Venezia box has gone out of print, Chant du Mond double (with F minor) is out of print for decades and Japanese BMG was available, logically, just in Japan but is out of print as well.

So why don't you upload the whole thing?

[mahlertitan]

Clip is pointless, none is going to run to the store to buy it since Venezia box has gone out of print, Chant du Mond double (with F minor) is out of print for decades and Japanese BMG was available, logically, just in Japan but is out of print as well.

So why don't you upload the whole thing?

because nobody has asked me politely.

[sidoze]

because nobody has asked me politely.

lol! You have to understand that we're used to downloading whole works without having to ask for them

[mahlertitan]

lol! You have to understand that we're used to downloading whole works without having to ask for them

oh, it that case, it's my fault, sure, i'll upload the "0" and "00" symphonies in a short while.

[dirkronk]

Not sure if I follow you on aaaarrghh bit

Oh, I was just afraid that my pocketbook would be further drained beyond comfort if there were additional Mravinsky performances (1965 or otherwise) that I obviously would lust after if you told me they were better than the performances I already knew.

Anyway, no problem, since your post explained things nicely AND I came home and discovered that the 1965 performances that I have on LP are in fact from the Moscow series. I have breathed a sigh of relief and so has my bank balance.


Dirk