Cross posting from "Purchases Today" as I think it's newsworthy:
I've been eyeing the tiny new archive-mining label Rhine Classics for a while. Based in Taiwan, Rhine Classics unearths and remasters previously unissued live tapes, often from artists who left virtually no recorded legacy. (To quote their site: " mostly never before released material | 24bit/96kHz | NO denoise | state of the art remastering ") But they're expensive, unavailable in conventional web stores, and until this week didn't have any sound clips available online.
Well, this week they finally uploaded some sample clips. They ALSO jacked up the prices and then announced a "sale" lowering prices back to normal. I strongly suspects this means a permanent price hike is coming very shortly. So I decided to take the plunge:
For Fiorentinophiles like me, this stuff just looks irresistible. The source is Fiorentino's own master tapes. Clips for the Taiwan recital and for the Rach solo cycle, which was performed and recorded live as a cycle over a series of concerts in September 1987.
My copies have arrived and I've started listening so thought I would set down a few thoughts.
First, as to the ordering. Rhine Classics CDs ship from Taiwan for free worldwide. The web shop told me that it would update the status page when my order shipped, and also told me there would be a tracking number on my PayPal invoice. Neither of these things were true, so I had no way of knowing when my box would arrive. It turned out to be 16 calendar days, including Sundays and the July 4 holiday. The box was sturdy and in immaculate condition; the inside was crammed to the last centimeter with Taiwanese newspapers. Interesting reading
The CD packaging is very professional. I haven't opened the Live in Taiwan recital yet, but I opened the Rachmaninov box - very sturdy again, and matte finish rather than shiny if that matters to you (I think shiny is a bit cheap-looking), with sleeves made from something a little more durable than paper. One of the CD sleeves spent a hot, hot Texas day in my car without getting all warped by the heat and humidity. There's a 32-page booklet all in English with a short biographical essay on Fiorentino, a longer reminiscence by the Italian guy who organized the Rachmaninov concert series, and a philosophical interview with Fiorentino as well. It's all actually pretty fascinating - I enjoyed reading about the artist's attitude toward concertizing and teaching. The Italian impresario's essay is quite amusing; there's a little bit where he says he was preparing to advertise the live Rach cycle as the first time a virtuoso had ever presented the complete solo works of Rachmaninov live. But then he realized that Howard Shelley had done it in London a few years prior. His judgment: "Shelley is a respected pianist, but
not a virtuoso." So he didn't change the ads.
The booklet also includes color photos of the original concert programs and the handwritten score of Fiorentino's own transcription of "Vocalise".
On to the listening. So far I've listened to the preludes Opp. 23 and 32 and one of the "bonuses" included, a live radio broadcast of the Paganini Rhapsody from 1991 (Santa Cecilia/Fedoseyev). The prelude performances are dazzling. They're much faster than the young Fiorentino's studio recording - totaling 65:30ish without the notorious C sharp minor. But really only Op. 32 No. 8 suffers from haste; it's a blur that tests the boundary of coherence. The rest is dazzlingly virtuosic from a pianist who didn't like to show off, with varied characterization given to each individual piece. After hearing a lot of studio-bound, overly cautious recordings in recent years that don't differentiate between the different moods of the different preludes, it's nice to hear somebody treat them all like separate creatures. The famous G minor march is some of the most exhilarating playing I've heard from this pianist. And the great B minor prelude Op. 32 No. 10 - in a reading much
slower than is traditional - is just enormously powerful.
There is one big, big caveat. For whatever reason, Fiorentino's own original master tapes for Op. 23 Nos 2-10 have shifted up a whole step. It doesn't really
sound warped. But the radiant prelude in D is absolutely, 100% in the key of E, and that march I mentioned is very definitely in A minor. This is confusing as hell, especially because the 32-page booklet does not discuss tape provenance or give any hint as to what was about to happen to my ears. But after a while, I was able to adjust, and when each prelude ended, my brain was able to transpose my mental expectation for the next piece. There is luckily no such problem with Op. 32.
And then we have the Paganini Rhapsody. It's that rarest of creatures, a 1991 mono recording, probably a private copy of a radio broadcast. (Again, an essay about provenance would have been nice.) True, the glockenspiel rings out across the whole soundstage, but actually the sound is very clear and decently balanced, and you can hear everybody. It's especially a pleasure to hear the piano and orchestra trade phrases back and forth like jazz musicians.
Oh: and the performance is a
knockout. Like "I forgot how good this piece is" good. It helps that Fiorentino and Fedoseyev don't bother with little pauses between variations; instead they let the music flow unceasingly, in a stream that only builds momentum until the big moments. It's truly
rhapsodic. And Variation 18 is no exception - instead of stopping the show and getting all Hollywoody, everybody enjoys the big moment, plays it to the hilt, and then jumps right on to the next thing. As with some of the preludes, I'm dazzled by how effortless our protagonist makes it sound.
Will definitely be spinning the Corelli and Chopin Variations later this week, and probably another CD on the weekend. So far, some critiques as to how this box was done, but good ol' Sergio is very much holding up his end of the bargain. And so far as I can tell without hearing more about it, the Rhine sound guy(s) did their best with the audio sources they had.
