Yudina's Mozart PC K488, for Stalin's ears only

[matti]

You know the story: Yudina and the orchestra were dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night, because Stalin had one of his whims. Well, here it is (or at least the site claims so...). And loads of other works as well.

http://www.mariayudina.com/

[lukeottevanger]

Thanks for that - what a fantastic lot of recordings! I've downloaded the lot and have started working my way through them. The 488 is a very interesting, individual reading, with an extraordinarily slow second movement that suits my tastes well,, and glaring interpretative twists that keep this version of one of my favourite concertos fresh-sounding; likewise what I've heard so far of her Schubert B flat. 

[matti]

Yudina was an odd bird, she sticked to her Greek Orthodox religion stubbornly and openly (yet Stalin chose her...) , in her older days she seldom washed herself and had very few teeth left, she looked like a bag-lady. I wonder what made the openly anti-communist oddball record the Mozart concerto exclusively to Stalin in the middle of night! Did they threaten her life? Did she get an extra liter of vodka as a reward?

I also like the interpretation quite a bit, nothing suave about it.

[Bach Man]

Sounds like she was in a rush to get back to bed.

[lukeottevanger]

Sounds like she was in a rush to get back to bed.

Not at the speed of that slow movement...or perhaps she was struggling to stay awake! Though as I say, I find lots to like here.

Amongst the rest, the two viola sonatas are striking works indeed. The arrangement of the Mozart Lacrimosa, recorded somewhere cavernously resonant, is another ultra-slow thing, where Mozart's massed choral lamenting is turned into a solitary sob. And for all the flaws in the orchestral playing and the sound quality, I found myself being very taken with certain aspects of her Beethoven concerti.

[ezodisy]

The arrangement of the Mozart Lacrimosa, recorded somewhere cavernously resonant...

That my friend would be from her famous 1954 recital in Kiev. It used to be one of my party disks as her interpretation of the Tempest sonata would always shock first-time hearers. A great set with wonderfully idiosyncratic Moonlight and Schubert D960 readings.

http://www.tncmusic.net/product_info.php?products_id=118

[lukeottevanger]

Ah, OK, thanks for that extra information.