Enescu plays Bach and Beethoven (1949)

Also available on YT, but this is the complete concert in a better source 

(very good for a live recording of the late 40s).

Beethoven's Concerto, performed with extreme freedom and intensity, 

not only highlights the musicality but also the humanity and even the fragility 

of an immense musician perhaps still underestimated as a composer.

Maybe it helps us understand why Menuhin, despite his relationships 

with Elgar, Bartók (!), Furtwängler - and many others - considered Enescu 

to be the greatest musician he ever met.

BACH Violin concerto n. 2, BWV 1042

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto op.61 (cadenzas by Joseph Joachim)

BACH Fugue from Violin Sonata n. 1 BWV 1001

George Enescu, violin

University of Illinois Orchestra

John Kuypers

 

Live - Smith Music Hall, University of Illinois

February 16, 1949

FLAC - 7 Separated tracks

 

Mengelberg - Strauss & Wagenaar

 

I've always appreciated this particular restoration 

of the famous Mengelberg 1928 recording: 

undoubtedly one of the best and most important of that period. 

I've been listening to it again these days 

and since this Pearl CD is now very difficut to find...

Well, here it is.

FLAC with complete scans & details

Webern, Mahler, Brahms - Giulini, RCO

 

As in the previous Szell post, two works (Webern and Mahler, of course) absent from the conductor's "official" discography.

Anton Webern - Five Pieces for Orchestra, op. 10 

Gustav Mahler - Adagio from Symphony no. 10

Johannes Brahms - Symphony no. 4, op.98  

Royal Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam

CARLO MARIA GIULINI

Live, 9 June 1979 - Amsterdam, Concertgebouw  

FLAC - 6 separated files

Kubelik live in Amsterdam

 

A complete concert in great sound, 

with the best performance of this Martinu's Concerto that I have heard so far.

Bohuslav Martinu

Concerto for piano, timpani and string orchestra, H.271  

Hölzl, Hans (timpani), Kahl, Gernot (piano)

Leos Janácek

Taras Bulba  

Johannes Brahms

Symphony No. 1, Op. 68 in C minor  

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

RAFAEL KUBELIK

Live recording - October 24, 1970

Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

FLAC

Prokofiev, Mozart, Franck - Szell 1969

 

A concert of great interest to all admirers of Szell, as he has left us no studio recordings of Prokofiev's First and Franck's Symphony.

 

PROKOFIEV

Symphony no. 1 "Classical"

MOZART

Piano Concerto n. 27, KV. 595

Robert Casadesus, pf

FRANCK

Symphony in D minor

Blossom Summer Music Festival

August 14, 1969  

FLAC

Dorati conducts Bartók - Live in Paris

 

Béla Bartók

Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz. 106, BB 114 

The Miraculous Mandarin

Orchestre National de France

ANTAL DORATI

(Live, Paris - Salle Pleyel, 29 november 1980) 

About The Miraculous Mandarin, I don't remember who said that listening to the suite one misses the excluded parts, listening to the complete work one misses the incandescent closure of the suite. 

Well, here The Mandarin is presented in a version (prepared by Dorati himself?) that I have never heard before. A sort of hybrid between the complete score and the suite, with the presence of the choir but the closure of the suite. All in very good sound.

FLAC

Britten - War Requiem - Haitink 1964

 

The Dutch premiere of Britten’s War Requiem in 1964, 

with the composer himself conducting the additional chamber orchestra

and the three singers for whom this great work was conceived.

BENJAMIN BRITTEN

War Requiem, Op. 66

Galina Vishnevskaya, Soprano

Peter Pears, Tenor

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Baritone

Groot Omroepkoor

Jongenskoor van de St. Willibrorduskerk buiten de Veste

NCRV Vocaal Ensemble

Chamber Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Britten

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Bernard Haitink, conductor

Holland Festival 1964 - Friday, 3 July 1964

Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal - Amsterdam

 

FLAC - separated files

Prokofiev 5 - David Oistrakh

 

Another recording by Oistrakh as conductor: never available on CD, as far as I know. It goes without saying that from Koussevitzky and Szell to Celibidache, Bernstein, Jansons etcetera there are sharper, virtuoso or monumental interpretations of it, but this remains a very well shaped and authoritative reading.

To complement it I have added one of his lesser known recordings of the Violin Concerto No. 1

Prokofiev

Symphony no. 5 

Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra

DAVID OISTRAKH

Studio recording, 1967

 

Prokofiev

Violin concerto n°1 op.19

 

DAVID OISTRAKH, vl

Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra

RAFAEL KUBELIK 

Prague - May 15, 1947

FLAC

Mahler 7 - Bernstein ODP 1981

 

Every Mahlerian recording by Bernstein is important, but in this case we add the interest of the unusual French timbre for a Mahlerian conductor that we know above all in American, Dutch and Viennese interpretations: the result is very particular and suggestive, especially in the three central movements.

GUSTAV MAHLER

Symphony no. 7

Orchestre de Paris

LEONARD BERNSTEIN

Live - Paris, Palais des congrès - 13 may 1981

FLAC - Separated tracks

Bruckner 4 - Sawallisch - live 1975

 

Not always considered among the great Brucknerians, but his Orfeo recordings and some live documents say otherwise. 

BRUCKNER

Symphony n. 4 in E-flat major “Romantic” 

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

WOLFGANG SAWALLISCH

Live recording - Genève 

December 3, 1975

FLAC - Separated tracks

Brahms - Ein Deutsches Requiem, op. 45 - BSO, Munch - Tanglewood 1958

 

BRAHMS

Ein Deutsches Requiem, op. 45

Hilde Gueden, sp

Donald Gramm, br

Tanglewood Festival Chorus

Boston Symphony Orchestra

CHARLES MUNCH

July 19, 1958

Live - Tanglewood 

FLAC - Separated tracks

Strauss - Norman & Tennstedt, LPO

 

Hard to imagine anything more gorgeous than Jessye Norman's singing alongside Tennstedt's conducting: a great all-Strauss concert indeed.

Have a Good Year!

See you here in 2023.

STRAUSS

Der Bürger als Edelmann, Suite op. 60

5 Orchesterlieder

(Cäcilie, Zueignung, Wiegenlied, 

Ruhe meine Seele, Meinem Kinde)

Salomes Tanz & Final Scene

Jessye Norman

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Klaus Tennstedt

London, Royal Festival Hall

Live - May 4, 1986

FLAC

Mahler 5 - Leinsdorf, CSO - Live

 

Very different from the more sober Mahler-Leinsdorf studio recordings (I like his Boston Third, but meh... not so much nn. 1, 5 & 6). This Fifth is more intense and rich of contrasts; the CSO offers great moments. Fast tempos (the total duration is 65 minutes) and an extremely exciting finale.

Mahler

Symphony no. 5

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

ERICH LEINSDORF 

Orchestra Hall, Chicago

January 19, 1978

FLAC

Bernstein conducts Bernstein & Bach

 

Bernstein had already performed his Chicester Psalms in Rome with the same orchestra (1967, recording previously posted here); he also presented his work many years later, conducting the Santa Cecilia Orchestra. The curious fact is that at the opening of this 1973 concert - in the presence of Pope Paul VI - for the first time a musical page with a Hebrew text was performed in Vatican City!

BERNSTEIN

Chichester Psalms

BACH

Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243

soprano I, soprano II, elements of the children's choir

controtenore, William Zukof

tenore, Eberhard Buchner

basso, Kurt Moll

Harvard Glee Club and Newark Boys Chorus

choir masters: James Mc Carthy, F. John Adams, Gianni Lazzari

Orchestra e Coro di Roma della Rai

LEONARD BERNSTEIN

Live - June 23, 1973

Sala Nervi, Città del Vaticano

FLAC

Schubert / Szell - Octet - George Szell

SCHUBERT

Octet in F major, D. 803 (arr. Szell)

Members of the Cleveland Orchestra

GEORGE SZELL

December 16, 1965 - Severance Hall, Cleveland

The work is performed in a "enlarged" version prepared by Szell: 

Horn, clarinet, bassoon and a small string orchestra (17 players, 4-4-4-3-2).

FLAC (separated files)

Leinsdorf & NBC Orchestra

 

Gluck

Iphigénie en Aulide, Overture 

Rimskij-Korsakov

Sheherazade, Op. 35

(Mischa Mischakoff, violin)

NBC Symphony Orchestra 

ERICH LEINSDORF 

17 april 1948 - NY, studio 8H

 FLAC (commentary included)

Igor Markevitch in Bucharest - 1965

 

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony no. 6 in B Minor, op. 74

STRAVINSKY: Le Sacre du Printemps

Romanian National Radio Orchestra

IGOR MARKEVITCH

Mihail Jora Concert Hall

Bucharest - November 5, 1965

In very good sound quality, a concert recorded for the Romanian Radio.

FLAC

Ansermet & NBC Orchestra

 

Béla Bartók

Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz. 106

Igor Stravinsky

The Firebird, suite

NBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

ERNEST ANSERMET

New York  - NBC - Studio 8H 

January 8, 1949

(announcements included)

FLAC 

Webern, Berg, Schönberg - Karl Böhm WP live 1969

 

Webern: Passacaglia op. 1

Berg: Der Wein (*)

Schoenberg: Pelleas und Melisande

Dorothy Dorow, soprano (*)

Wiener Philharmoniker

Karl Böhm

Wiener Konzerthaus - Live, 1 June 1969

FLAC (separated files, with commentary)

Mahler 2 - Ormandy, Cleveland

 

MAHLER

Symphony no. 2

Veronica Tyler, soprano

Helen Watts, contralto

Cleveland Orchestra & Chours

Eugene Ormandy

Cleveland, 2 november 1972

FLAC (Separated files)

Boulez in Amsterdam, 1967

 

Arnold Schönberg: Variations for Orchestra, op.31

Béla Bartók: Piano Concerto no.2, Sz.95  (Theo Bruins, pf)

Claude Debussy: Jeux

Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam 

Pierre Boulez

Amsterdam, Concertgebouw - February 5, 1967

FLAC

Schubert - Symphony no. 9 (8) "The Great" - Jochum live

One last post before some weeks of vacation. Have a good August!

SCHUBERT

Symphony no. 9 (8) "The Great"

RSO Berlin

EUGEN JOCHUM

Live - Berlin, Philharmonie

May 19, 1986

FLAC

 

All Beethoven Concert in Montreux - Backhaus & Böhm (1959)

BEETHOVEN

Egmont, overture op. 84

Piano Concerto no. 4, op. 58 (*)

Symphony no. 7, op. 92

Wilhelm Backhaus, pf (*)

Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam

Karl Böhm

Live in Montreux - 11 September 1959

 

FLAC

Alban Berg op. 6 - Three Live Performances - Claudio Abbado

 

ALBAN BERG

Three Orchestral Pieces, op. 6

Philharmonia Orchestra

Luzern, 4 september 1968

Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra

Budapest, 30 september 1969

London Symphony Orchestra

London, 6 december 1983

CLAUDIO ABBADO

Three unpublished live recordings. In addition to the rarity of the material, the evolution of the conductor is very impressive: the London performance shows a true "possession" of the complex score, certainly not achieved in the previous two.

FLAC

Mozart, Strauss - WP, Karl Böhm - Live 1975

MOZART

Symphony no. 34

STRAUSS

Ein Heldenleben (*)

Gerhart Hetzel, vl (*)

Wiener Philharmoniker

Karl Böhm

Live - Wien - May 4, 1975

FLAC

 

The Young Glenn Gould (1947-53)

 

Berg - Sonata op, 1

Bach - Concerto Italiano

Mozart - Fantasy In F Minor, K.594 

etc.

Material published for the first time in the second half of the '80s and reprinted in the early '90.

Detailed tracklist & recording infos included

FLAC + Scans

Mahler 8 - Georges Sébastian ORTF 1964

MAHLER

Symphony No. 8 

Liane Synek, soprano drammatico

Colette Herzog, soprano

Ruth Hesse, mezzosoprano

Helga Jenckel, mezzosoprano

William Blankenship, tenore

Hans Otto Kloose, baritono 

Gerd Nienstedt, basso

Maîtrise de l'ORTF, Orchestre National de l'ORTF, Choeurs de l'ORTF

Georges Sébastian

November 26, 1964

First Performance in France

FLAC

Bruckner 7 - Böhm, BP Live 77

BRUCKNER

Symphony no. 7

Berliner Philharmoniker

Karl Böhm

March 24, 1977

FLAC

I don't know if it's the same for you ... anyway, Böhm for me is sometimes the most boring, other times the most sensational. In particular with Mozart and Bruckner. 

For example, the 4th Decca is one of my ten favorite studio symphonic recordings ever (and maybe number 1 for recording quality). At the same time, listening to his Bruckner 7&8 DG I almost fall asleep. 

BUT in my humble opinion this Berlin 7th is REALLY good :)

Let me know, if you like. :)

Mozart - Requiem - Celibidache 1972

 

MOZART

Requiem KV. 626

Margareta Hallin, sopran.

Gurli Plesner, alt.

Claes-Hakan Ahnsjö, tenor. 

Ulrik Cold, bass.

DR Symphony Orchestra & Concert Choir

Sergiu Celibidache 

Copenhagen - Radiohusets Concert Hall, 9 novembre 1972)

Barbirolli conducts Two WP in New York (1939-41)

 

MARIO CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO

Piano Concerto n.2

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, pf

Live - November 2, 1939 - World Premiere

MISCHA PORTNOFF

Piano Concerto

Nadia Reisenberg, pf

Live - February 23, 1941 - World Premiere

NYPO - John Barbirolli

FLAC