Norbeck, Peters & Ford
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At long last,
the KOZLOVSKY Live Performance of
EUGEN ONEGIN has arrived . . .
Yves St Laurent presents
KOUSSEVITZKY, BRAILOWSKY,
CASADESUS, JOHANNESEN & BOULEZ . . .
Nicholas Limansky's new book
and our 50% SALE Continues
We fondly remember French Soprano GÉORI BOUÉ who died in Paris last week at age 98.
"French soprano Géori Boué was born on 16 October, 1918 in Toulouse and managed an exemplary career in her native country. She studied at the Music Conservatory in Toulouse, taking on voice with Claude Jean, piano and harp. She made her début in Toulouse in 1938 and rose to fame singing staples of the French repertoire that include Marguerite from FAUST, Juliette from ROMÉO ET JULIETTE and Manon from Massesent's opera of the same name. As her career progressed she expanded into other repertoire taking on Gilda in Verdi's RIGOLETTO, Violetta in LA TRAVIATA, Mimi in LA BOHEME, Cio Cio San in MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Tatiana in EUGEN ONÉGIN, Desdemona in OTELLO and Thaïs among other roles. In later years CARMEN, WERTHER and numerous operettas would enter her repertoire. She also appeared in a 1943 film entitled LA MALIBRAN.
She also managed an international career in Mexico, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro and at La Scala in Milan where she appeared as Mélisande in Debussy's PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE under the baton of Victor de Sabata. She appeared in that Debussy work alongside her husband Roger Bourdin. She died at age 98, 5 Jan., 2017."
- David Salazar, operawire.com, 6 Jan., 2017
Yves St Laurent is already at work on a GÉORI BOUÉ Memorial Recital from her wonderful 78s of mélodies and opera arias.
- EUGEN ONÉGIN, Live Performance, 8 May, 1951, w.Khaikin Cond. Leningrad Maly Opera Ensemble; Ivan Alekseyev, Ivan Kozlovsky, Olga Kashevarova, Lyudmila Grudina, Sofia Preobrazhenskaya, Nikolai Konstantinov, etc. (Russia) 2-Aquarius AQVR 398 [The audience's wildly enthusiastic response is quite palpable, especially with Kozlovsky's initial appearance, briefly interrupting the stage action - not unlike the exciting response to Lemeshev in his live performance, OP2892! This performance is clearly another such 'event'!] (OP3194)
"This performance of Tchaikovsky's EUGEN ONÉGIN was performed during Ivan Kozlovsky's tour of Leningrad and the surrounding area in May 1951. This recording is from the performance on May 8th (He performed Faust on May 10th). This recording offers the first opportunity of hearing Kozlovsky in a live opera performance; (it wasn't until the 1970s that his concerts would be regularly recorded, although earlier concerts do exist in the GTRF archive). Like Lemeshev, it is a Leningrad performance of ONÉGIN which offers us the chance of hearing the role of Lensky sung by one of the Bolshoi's greatest exponents of the role (Lemeshev's performance from the Maly theatre from 28th December 1954 was released by Aquarius in 2013 [OP2892]). It is, incidently, a role which they would both record twice in the studio. Unfortunately there is no recorded performance of Kozlovsky, singing the role from the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in the archives. The role of Onégin is taken by the Kirov's (now Mariinsky) star baritone, Ivan Alekseev who had joined the Kirov in 1945. The roles of Onégin, the Demon, Yeletsky and Mazeppa counted amongst his greatest achievements on that stage. His distinctive lyric baritone can be heard in extracts of many of these on LP as well as Songs , Romances, and live performances of WERTHER, BORIS GODUNOV and THE DESTINY OF A MAN, etc. which been broadcast). Olga Afanasevna Kashevarova (Tatiana) was a lead singer at that theatre between 1931 and 1959. Her most famous portrayals were Tatiana, Natasha in RUSALKA, Masha in DUBROVSKY and Nastasya in ENCHANTRESS (for her performance of this role she was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1942). She can be heard in full recordings of THE MAID OF ORLEANS (Agnes) and THE DEMON (with Georg Ots). Lyudmila Grudina (Olga) was an excellent mezzo-soprano with sonorous low notes, a clean and warm tone, sincerity and a simplicity of acting on stage. She became a soloist at the Kirov from 1944, and for many years she performed both the dramatic roles as well as the smaller character parts. One of her best roles was that of Duenna in Prokofiev's opera BETROTHAL IN THE MONASTERY. Anna Filatovna Mankovskaya (Larina) was one of the leading mezzo-sopranos, along with Preobrazhenskaya and Welter, who were performing at the Kirov during this period. In 1930 she sang in Kiev and Sverdlovsk. Among her best roles were Carmen, Joan (MAID OF ORLEANS), Amneris and Catherine II in the opera CHRISTMAS EVE. "
- Ned Ludd
"Ivan Kozlovsky was certainly one of the greatest tenors active in the USSR throughout the 1940s into the 1960s. Yet, despite his many performances at the Bolshoi, this is his only live performance to surface. His Lensky is a superb characterization, a personality of sensitivity and culture whose regret at the coming duel with Onégin is palpably and effectively communicated. Ivan Alexeyev's excellently characterized and beautifully-sung Onégin portrays the character's initial superficiality, which makes his remorse in the final scene all the more powerful....[Konstantinov's] performance [as Gremin] is one of the most enjoyable I have heard. His performance moves, musically and emotionally, to reflect the feelings of his character. Olga Kaskevarova's Tatiana reflects her years of experience with the role that is a richly-sung and intensely emotional performance. Her final duet with Alexeyev's Onégin is excellent.... Aquarius must have used master tapes or something close as the sound is clear and well-defined with no surface noise or distortion....Warmly recommended."
- William Russell,
THE RECORD COLLECTOR, 2016
- SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY Cond. Boston S.O., w. ALEXANDER BRAILOWSKY: Piano Concerto #2 in c (Rachmaninoff), Live Performance, 27 Oct., 1945; w.ROBERT CASADESUS: 'Coronation' Concerto #26 in D, K.537 (Mozart), Live Performance, 3 March, 1945 (both Symphony Hall). (Canada) St Laurent Studio YSL 78-395. Transfers by Yves St Laurent. (C1481)
"Critic Virgil Thomson once referred to Russian pianist Alexander Brailowsky (1896-1976) as 'an honest virtuoso'. Alexander Brailowsky, at the age of eight, became a student in the Conservatory of Kiev. Later, in 1911, he went to Vienna to study with Leschetizky, but the beginning of World War I caused him to reside in Switzerland. After the war, Brailowsky made his Paris début in 1924, playing a complete cycle of the works of Chopin. This series included two sonatas, eleven polonaises, four scherzi, three impromptus, nineteen nocturnes, twenty-five preludes, twenty-seven etudes, and fifty-one mazurkas. This performance was repeated three times in Brussels, Zürich, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and other principal cities. A successful tour of all the principal cities of the world was then made.
On 19 November, 1924, he made his American début in Aeolian Hall, New York. Brailowsky received an excellent review by the noted Olin Downes, music critic of The New York Times. On 31 October, 1938, he was soloist with the Pasdeloup Orchestra of Paris where he played the Chopin e minor Concerto and the Mendelssohn g minor Concerto, and he received a stupendous applause for his interpretation of the two concerti.
Appearances as soloist were made with major symphony orchestras and his interpretations of the works of Chopin brought him world-wide acclaim. Brailowsky was noted for his large repertory and he recorded for Victor the works of Chopin, Beethoven, Mendlessohn, Scarlatti, Schumann, and others. His recordings for Victor were numerous and used by students as examples of performances of the Chopin works. During a series of nineteen recitals in Buenos Aires, he never repeated a single work."
-Gary Lemco,
Audiophile Audition, 30 July, 2014
"Robert Casadesus was the quintessential French musician, a passionate perfectionist who carried the Gallic virtues of precision, clarity, and elegance into the mid-twentieth century as an embodiment of the living spirit of classicism -- precision animated by passion, clarity attained through sensuous scintillance, and elegance as the expression of the most lucidly aware animation. Born in Paris to a distinguished family of musicians - his father and three uncles enjoyed careers as performers and composers - Robert took first prize for piano at the Paris Conservatoire at age 14. Studies with Louis Diémer - early enthusiast of the French clavicenistes, premiere soloist and dedicatée of Franck's 'Variations symphoniques for piano and orchestra' -- graced Casadesus with the mantle of the inheritor. In 1921 he married fellow Diémer pupil Gabrielle (Gaby) L'Hōte. The following year he earned Ravel's friendship with his performance of 'Gaspard de la nuit', which led to European tours with the composer and legendary soprano Madeleine Grey. 'You are a composer', Ravel wrote, 'because you have the courage to play 'Gibet' as I imagined it, that is, as a slow piece...And virtuoso pianists do not want to play it like that. They double the tempo and make it much faster. That is why I think you are a composer'. Indeed, Casadesus' catalogue eventually embraced some 68 works, including seven symphonies, concerti for two and three pianos and orchestra, 27 chamber works, and 20 works for piano. It is music for connoisseurs, music of formal concision not devoid of passionate expression, but highly wrought, suggestive, and understated in, typically, lyrically attenuated slow movements, tender and strange, and conclusions of fastidious tumult. It is the antithesis of Mahler's confessional expansiveness, while Stravinsky's neo-Classical manner seems gimmicky and carnivalesque by comparison. Casadesus was a distinguished teacher, beginning his career as professor of piano at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau in 1921, and replacing Isidor Philipp as its head in 1935. But it is primarily as a touring pianist and recording artist that Casadesus is remembered, appearing throughout Europe and the United States over 2,000 times in a career spanning half a century, often in duo-piano recitals with his wife. His authoritative, exhilarating recordings of the Mozart piano concerti with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra, the Beethoven violin sonatas and the Franck Sonata with Zino Francescatti, Franck's 'Variations symphoniques'' and d'Indy's 'Symphonie cévenole' (Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français) with Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the piano works of Ravel - to name but the most prominent - are among the very greatest."
- Adrian Corleonis, allmusic.com
- PIERRE BOULEZ Cond. Cleveland S.O.: Petrouchka (Stravinsky); w. GRANT JOHANNESEN: Piano Concerto #3 in C (Beethoven), Live Performance, 18/19 July, 1970, Blossom Music Festival. (Canada) St Laurent Studio YSL T-377. Transfers by Yves St Laurent. (C1467)
"Grant Johannesen was a sensitive player who was more interested in exploring musical byways that fascinated him than in repeating the warhorses of the repertory, and as a teacher, he advised his students to follow a similar path. That is not to say that he ignored the standard works entirely: throughout his six-decade career, his recital programs often included music by Bach, Beethoven or Chopin amid contemporary American works and French scores, and he made superb recordings of Chopin in the 1950's and of Schubert in the late 70s. Mostly, though, his focus was on the music of Fauré, Poulenc, Milhaud, Dukas and Saint-Saëns, which he played with a graceful touch and an incomparable ear for coloration and nuance.
Mr. Johannesen championed American music, too. On his first tour of the Soviet Union, in 1962, his main showpiece was Wallingford Riegger's 'Variations for Piano and Orchestra', and he performed and recorded music by Copland, Mennin, Barber, Harris and Norman Dello Joio, as well as that of earlier American composers like Edward MacDowell and Louis Moreau Gottschalk. After a performance of Gershwin's Concerto in F that was broadcast on the radio early in his career, Mr. Johannesen received a telegram from Duke Ellington saying that Mr. Johannesen's performance was the best Gershwin playing he had heard. More recently, Mr. Johannesen performed works by Crawford Gates, and undertook a project to publish and record the works of his first wife, Helen Taylor, who died in an automobile accident in 1950.
When Robert Casadesus gave a recital in Salt Lake City in 1939, he listened to Mr. Johannesen play and invited him to study with him at Princeton. Mr. Johannesen also studied with the pianist Egon Petri and was a composition and music student of Roger Sessions in New York and of Nadia Boulanger at her conservatory at Fontainebleau, France. Mr. Johannesen made his New York début in 1944 and undertook his first tour of Europe in 1949 as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, having made his début with the orchestra two years earlier. Also in 1949, Mr. Johannesen won first prize at the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Music Competition. In the early 50's, he performed regularly on the 'Bell Telephone Hour' and other television and radio shows, and was at the top of his form as a recitalist.
Mr. Johannesen played frequently with the New York Philharmonic through the early 70s, but starting in the '50s devoted himself increasingly to touring South America, Europe and the Soviet Union, where he performed to great acclaim in 1962, as a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1965, and in 1970.
Mr. Johannesen taught for many years. As the director of the Cleveland Institute of Music from 1974 to 1985, he tried to persuade students to take time away from practicing to visit art museums and to rethink their ideas about musical careers. 'It's relatively easy to impress people with technique and virtuosity, but I don't believe that's the point of making music', he once told an interviewer. 'Music contains ideas, and it's the responsibility of the artist to communicate those ideas', he continued. 'Anything less than that doesn't interest me'."
- Allan Kozinn,
THE NEW YORK TIMES,
30 March, 2005
"This is genuinely valuable and thought-provoking writing....Large parts [of this book] are like a friendly, discursive chat to a youngster by a long-time collector in a reminiscent mood; others contain hard, detailed analysis which can be genuinely illuminating....but whichever aspect appeals to you most, you will find enjoyment and food for thought [in this], rather a curate's egg of a book."
- Paul Steinson,
THE RECORD COLLECTOR, 2016
. . . REPEATED FROM THE RECENT PAST . . .
- LA PRINCESSE DE TRÉZIBONDE, recorded 1966, w. Cariven Cond. Lina Dachary, Joseph Peyron, Nicole Briard, Gaston Rey, René Lenoty, Aimé Doniat, Raymond Amade, Robert Destain, Germaine Duclos, etc.; MONSIEUR CHOUFLEURI, recorded 8 March, 1963, w.Blareau Cond. Michel Sénéchal, André Balbon, Line Clément, Mathilde Casadesus, Renée Dennsy, Toinou Coste, Gérard Chapuis, etc. (both Offenbach). [Particularlty memorable are the performances of the exquisite and inimitable Aimé Doniat and the delightful Joseph Peyron! An irresistible offering!] (France) 2-Malibran 794. (OP3195)
"Jacques Offenbach's LA PRINCESSE DE TRÉBIZONDE premiered in 1869 in the fashionable spa town of Baden Baden in their wonderfully opulent glitter-and-gold theater that's like a miniature version of the Paris Opéra. The show set in a 19th century amusement park in Paris, where Zanetta, the daughter of an actor, turns herself into a wax figure and becomes the 'Princess of Trébizonde' who is lucky enough to win the heart of a real prince and a ticket to live in a real palace, was conducted by Offenbach himself at the world-premiere in the summer of 1869. In December of that year, Offenbach presented the work in a slightly adapted version at his theater, the Bouffes-Parisiens. There, it was seen again in 1871, 1875 and 1876. In 1888 it was also presented at the larger Théâtre des Variétés. And though reviews were excellent, the title disappeared from the operetta repertoire after that, though there had been international performances in Bruxelles, London, Madrid and Copenhagen in 1870. A year later, the work was seen in Naples, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Stockholm, Prague and Berlin."
- Kevin Clarke,
Operetta Research Center,
20 March, 2015
"M. CHOUFLEURI RESTERA CHEZ LUI LE... (Mr. Cauliflower will be at home on... ) is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, in one act by Jacques Offenbach. The plot provided many opportunities for Offenbach to indulge in his lighthearted musical parodies of well-known opera melodies and formulas, especially a grand trio in which Italian belcanto is imitated and a comic solo for the manservant. Also, the young lovers secretly communicate using musical quotes.
M. CHOUFLEURI was first performed privately at the Présidence du Corps Légistlatif, Palais Bourbon, Paris on 31 May 1861 in the presence of Napoléon III. The first public performance was given at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, Paris on 14 September 1861.
The one-hour work is still performed, especially by amateur companies, since it is not particularly challenging vocally. M. CHOUFLEURI RESTERA CHEZ LUI was performed as part of a triple bill entitled 'Vive Offenbach' with POMME D'API and MESDAMES DE LA HALLE at the Paris Opéra-Comique in December 1979, revived the following year and in 1983."
- LE TRILLE UN ART PERDU (The Lost Art of the Trill), incl. Plançon, Escalaïs, Devriès, Dalmorès, Jadlowker, Abendroth, Sembrich, Schumann-Heink, Onégin, Schumann, Siems, Kurz, Patti, Butt, Ponselle, Caruso, Willer, Abendroth, Lemnitz, Leider, Lubin, Ritter-Ciampi, Schmidt & Ludwig Weber. [A delightful treat for canary fanciers!] (France) Malibran AMR 123. (V2490)
"Lovers of opera of a certain age will always tend to lament 'One no longer sings as before', and they will always be right. The art of singing is constantly evolving. Now that we have a century of recording history, we are in a position to judge how techniques and styles have changed during this period, and how certain vocal skills have been lost or recovered.
The simple volume needed to be heard over the heavy orchestration of Wagner and his followers made it difficult for the singers to retain the vocal flexibility required by a good trill. But it was with the arrival of verismo at the end of the nineteenth century that the trill came to be regarded as artificial and anachronistic. Puccini in MANON LESCAUT and Strauss in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS use the trill as a form of local color to evoke the atmosphere of the eighteenth century precisely because of its archaic and artificial connotations. As composers' expectations decreased in trills, vocal skills also declined.
In the 1940s, the trillium had become the almost exclusive property of specialized coloratura sopranos. Now that so many other bel canto skills have been reconquered, it is time for modern singers to start listening to these old recordings and become seriously involved!"
- Patrick Bade
- VOCAL RECORD COLLECTORS' SOCIETY - 2016 Issue, incl. Jacques Urlus, Germaine Gallois, Franz Birrenkoven, Rosalia Chalia, Ernesto Badini, Rikárd Erdös, Marie Keldorfer, Erik Ole Bye, Friedel (Friedl) Böhm, Emil van Bosch, Emma Scheidl-Hausser, Max Hirzel, Florence Macbeth, Marcelle Denya, José Beckmans, Malcolm McEachern, Margarethe Heyne-Franke, Carolina White, Donald Dickson, Mildred Miller & Mario Binci. VRCS-2016, recorded 1904-46. Transfers by Seth B. Winner. (V2488)
"The annual VRCS CD is with us again, and the selection of records provides a fascinating selection of tracks of which few collectors will already posses even a single one....The presentation fully lives up to VRCS's expected excellence with the usual extensive biographies, photographs and discographical details for all tracks. The transfers are also of the state-of-the-art quality to which Seth Winner always treats us. Only Marston issues equal the VRCS in their technical and presentational quality. Thoroughly recommended."
- Paul Steinson,
THE RECORD COLLECTOR, 2015
(regarding the VRCS 2015 Issue)
- WILLIAM KAPELL: Broadcasts & Concert Performances, 1944-52, incl. Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Debussy, de Falla, Granados, Napolitano, Palmer, Chasins, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, & Strauss; Interviews with Kapell. 3-Marston 53021, recorded 1944-52. Transfers by Ward Marston, J. Richard Harris, Raymond J. Edwards & Seth B. Winner. Booklet features photos & extensive notes by Bradford Gowen & Raymond Lewenthal. (P1247)
"William Kapell was one of the most promising American pianists of the postwar generation, producing a few recordings that have attained legendary status after his untimely death. His recorded legacy shows that he performed in the appropriate style from graceful renditions of Mozart to powerful Prokofiev. After World War II, he expanded his touring to cover the world. It was on his return from a tour of Australia that his airplane crashed into King's Mountain near San Francisco."
- Joseph Stevenson, allmusic.com
- GARRICK OHLSSON: The Ten Piano Sonatas; Fantasy, Op.28 (all Scriabin). 2-Bridge 9468, recorded 2014-15 on a Bösendorfer Piano. [Exquisite pianism here in this glorious recital! Highly recommended!] (P1248)
"The progression of Scriabin's work as embodied in his ten piano sonatas chronicle the development and unfolding of a unique voice which to this day sings unlike any other in musical history. Garrick Ohlsson offers titanic readings of these ever-fascinating works. Since his triumph as winner of the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, Garrick Ohlsson has established himself worldwide as a musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess. Garrick Ohlsson commands an enormous repertoire, and this 'Complete Scriabin Sonatas' joins his 'Complete Beethoven Sonatas' and 'Complete Scriabin Etudes' on the BRIDGE label."
- Bridge
- IVAN KOZLOVSKY, w.Orlov Cond.; Sakharov, Naum Walter & Nikitin (Pfs.): Songs by Beethoven, Schubert & Liszt. (Russia) Aquarius AQVR 395, recorded 1945-59. [A jewel of a recital, beautifully sung and fabulously well-recorded!] (V2487)
"What an extraordinary disc! Kozlovsky's voice is for some listeners an acquired taste. I have acquired it, and find it beautiful. But reaction to voices is personal, and some listeners find it rather white in tone. What is inarguable is his remarkable control of dynamics, astonishing imagination in shaping phrases, and his innate feel for different musical styles. Even singing in Russian, his Verdi sounds exactly as Verdi should, his Faust [OP0164] is impeccably stylish, and for the most part his Lieder is sung with extraordinary sensitivity. He uses the whole dynamic range between the extremes of pianissimo and fortissimo with great subtlety. He could spin a cantabile line in a way equaled by few, his intonation was impeccable, and he could vary the color of his timbre to reflect the dramatic situation being depicted by the music. Nothing here is sung without thought or imagination, and throughout one is struck by the singer's tonal imagination. Anyone who is seriously interested in the vocal arts should have this quite extraordinary recording."
- Henry Fogel, FANFARE
- DAVID BADRIDZE: Russian Romances, Italian Songs & Operatic Arias - recorded 1930-50, plus LA TRAVIATA - Act III, 5 April, 1962, w.Azmayparashvili Cond. Tbilisi Ensemble, w.Gayane Dolidze, David Badridze & Peter Amiranashvili ; Viktor Dolidze's KETO AND KOTE, w.Galina Sakharova, David Badridze, David Gamrekeli, Sergey Gotsiridze, Zinaida Sokolovskaya, etc., 1948 performance; Shaverzashvili's MARINE, w.Gayane Dolidze, Claudia Konstantinova, David Badridze, Alexei Korolev, Olga Osipova, etc., 1955; plus a DVD of Fragments of the concert movie SHIELD DZHURGAYA, Tbilisi studio, 1944. GTRF, Russian State Archive of sound recording. Slipcase Edition, incl. 68pp booklet. Specially priced. (V2486)
"If you like the type of 'Russian' tenor voice that was Kozlovsky's, Lemeshev's or Orfenov's, you should certainly warm to that of the Georgian tenor David Badridze. His operatic repertoire encompassed a wide range...."
- John T. Hughes,
THE RECORD COLLECTOR, 2006
- GIUSEPPE di STEFANO: 'Pippo' - Le Jeune di Stefano, incl. Songs by Cioffi, Tosti, la Calle, Bixio, di Capua, Gastaldon, Folvo & Yradier; Arias from L'Amico Fritz, l'Arlesiana, Tosca, Werther, Les Pêcheurs de Perles & Manon; w.Luigi Marchià: Les Pêcheurs de Perles - Del Tempio al limitar (primarily with piano accompaniment). (France) Malibran AMR 113, recorded 1944-46. (V2491)
"Giuseppe di Stefano possessed an especially beautiful voice. It was impossible not to be moved; he truly had the sound of tears in his voice, without being over sentimental. His wonderful piano - and his stirring voice - moved his audience almost beyond endurance."
- Birgit Nilsson, LA NILSSON, p.116
- THE BOATSWAIN'S MATE (Ethel Smyth), recorded 2015-16 [First Complete Recording], w. Odaline de la Martinez Cond. Lontano Ensemble; Nadine Benjamin, Edward Lee, Jeremy Huw Williams, Simon Wilding, Ted Schmitz, Rebecca Louise Dale & Mark Nathan; THE BOATSWAIN'S MATE - Excerpts, recorded 1916, w.Rosina Buckman, Frederick Ranalow, Courtice Pounds, etc.; THE WRECKERS - Overture (Cond. by the Composer), recorded 1930. (England) 2-Retrospect Opera LC 52095, w.Libretto-Brochure. (OP3191)
"...this beautifully presented premiere recording of Smyth's fourth and most performed opera [is] conducted with infectious brio by her loyal champion Odaline de la Martinez....THE BOATSWAIN'S MATE (1916, based on a story by W. W. Jacobs) is a tight little rural comedy [in which] we find ourselves in a world close to Smetana or early Janįcek. Smyth's tuneful score is likewise soaked in folk idioms without being a slave to them; and though her Anglo-German style (ranging from Sullivan through to Richard Strauss) is very different, she shares the Czechs' mastery of dramatic effect.....Retrospect Opera is a new venture devoted to British lyric theatre pre-Britten; and invaluable filler, added to three authoritative essays, a complete libretto and high production values all round, enhances an auspicious debut."
- OPERA, October, 2016
"In January 1957 Poncet made his début at the Opéra-Comique and scored a triumph. A serious critic like Roland Mancini tells us that one of the two most intense ovations he ever heard at a début at the theatre belongs to Poncet (Robert Massard got the other one in IL BARBIERE). Philips France recorded him at the end of 1957 in a long French selection of Lehar's DAS LAND DES LÄCHELNS [above] together with soprano Renée Doria. The recording was a huge success. This is already vintage Poncet as we will get to know him in his subsequent recorded and some live performances. The voice sounds huge (and it was huge)....Poncet doesn't chop up his phrases; he has legato and can sing mezza-voce though piano is not his forte."
- Jan Neckers
"Renée Doria's official operatic début took place in 1942, in Marseille, as Rosina in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA. After singing Constance in THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO in Cannes under Reynaldo Hahn, and the three heroines (Olympia, Giulietta, Antonia) in LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN in Strasbourg, opposite baritone Vanni Marcoux, she made her Paris début at the Gaîté-Lyrique in 1943, as Lakmé, and the following year, made her début at the Opéra-Comique, in the same rôle. Her début at the Paris Opéra in 1947, as the Queen of the Night in THE MAGIC FLUTE, was highly successful. Other rôles at that house included Leila in LES PÊCHEURS DE PERLES, the title rôle in MIREILLE, Marguérite in FAUST, Juliette in ROMÉO ET JULIETTE, Ophélie in HAMLET, Manon, Thaïs, as well as Fiordiligi in COSÌ FAN TUTTE, Gilda in RIGOLETTO, and Violetta in LA TRAVIATA, etc.
Doria also sang in baroque music such as Rameau's LES INDES GALANTES, and contemporary works, such as Ravel's L'HEURE ESPAGNOLE, and Poulenc's DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES. In her thirty year career, Doria sang an estimated sixty rôles."
- Ned Ludd
- LES MAMELLES DE TIRESIAS (Poulenc), recorded 1953, w. Cluytens Cond. l'Opéra-Comique Ensemble; Denise Duval, Jean Giraudeau, Émile Rousseau, Robert Jeantet, Julien Thirache, Frédéric Leprin, Serge Rallier, Jacques Hivert, Gilbert Jullia & Marguerite Legouhy; PAILLE d'AVOINE (Planquette), broadcast performance, 21 Jan., 1957, w.Cariven Cond. Denise Duval, Jean Giraudeau & Joseph Peyron. (France) Malibran 796. (OP3193)
"Poulenc wrote all three of his operas - LES MAMELLES, DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES, and LA VOIX HUMAINE - for the remarkable Denise Duval, a singing actress of great range, who got her start at the Folies-Bergère. MAMELLES takes advantage of that aspect of her art. It's essentially a series of vaudeville comedy routines.
But there's a serious undercurrent to the music at odds with the slapstick of the text, just as Apollinaire, apart from his joking, has some serious points to make. Poulenc ends his opera with a grand chorus, which alternates between a sultry waltz and a kick of satyr's heels, a hymn to 'make babies!', incidentally, one of Poulenc's favorite songs. Why it appears in such a sunny work I leave to better guessers. The cantata finale comes loaded with a funny surprise."
- Steve Schwartz, Classical.Net
- ARTUR RODZINSKI Cond. NYPO: Symphony #1 in f (Shostakovitch); w. ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN: Piano Concerto #2 in B-flat (complete, as broadcast, with a brief interruption) (Brahms). (Canada) St Laurent Studio YSL 78-404, Live Performance, 7 Dec., 1941, Carnegie Hall. [Also includes the abrupt interruption of this concert with live coverage of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor as it was happening. After the intermission's continuing announcement, there is a further very brief announcement in the middle of the Brahms Concerto which then continues afterward. A unique document!] Transfers by Yves St Laurent. (C1476)
- NIKOLAI MALKO Cond. Philharmonia Orch.: Glinka, Ippolitov-Ivanov & Mussorgsky (the latter's 'Night on Bald Mountain'). (Canada) St Laurent Studio YSL 78-399, recorded 1948-52. Transfers by Yves St Laurent. (C1486)
"It is exceptional to be treated to Ippolitov-Ivanov's 'Caucasian Sketches' in Malko's deliciously exotic treatment, as well as Glinka's delightful Valse-Fantaisie - these alone are worth the price of this CD!"
- J.R.P.
- NIKOLAI MALKO Cond. Grant Park Orch., Danish State Broadcast Orch. & Philharmonia Orch.: Glinka, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Tschaikowsky & Sister M. Bernarda. (Canada) St Laurent Studio YSL 78-378, recorded 1948-52. Transfers by Yves St Laurent. (C1471)
- WILLIAM STEINBERG Cond. Pittsburgh S.O.: Symphony #2 in B-flat (Schubert); Scherzo capriccioso, Op.66 (Dvorák); Mazeppa; w.ANDRE WATTS (Pf.): Totentanz (both Liszt). (Canada) St Laurent Studio YSL T-406, Live Performance, 1 Nov., 1972, Carnegie Hall. Transfers by Yves St Laurent. [Obviously recorded from the right side of Carnegie Hall, this recording uniquely captures the Carnegie Hall acoustic from an unusual perspective!] (C1484)
"Toscanini and Klemperer were Steinberg's two mentors. He adopted their clear, faithful approach to the classic scores and, like Klemperer, lost much of his early interest in modern music. Steinberg guest conducted regularly during his tenure with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1945 he became Music Director of the Buffalo (New York) Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1952 he obtained the major appointment of his career, as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He restored that orchestra to an artistic high point. Concurrently, he was musical director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1958 - 1960). In 1960 he scored a great success guest conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was the preferred choice of its board for their next music director, as Charles Münch was stepping down from the position. However, RCA, the orchestra's record company, successfully pressured them to appoint Erich Leinsdorf, already on their roster of conductors."
- Joseph Stevenson, allmusic.com
- DIMITRI MITROPOULOS Cond. NYPO: Faust - Overture (Ginastera); Symphony #5 in B-flat (Schubert), Live Performance, 24 Feb., 1957, Carnegie Hall; DIMITRI MITROPOULOS Playing & Cond. NBC S.O.: Piano Concerto #3 in C (Prokofiev), Live Performance, 16 Dec., 1945, w. NBC Concert Hall broadcast announcer Lionel Barrymore's commentary before and after performance. (Canada) St Laurent Studio YSL 33-386. Transfers by Yves St Laurent. (C1468)
- LEONARD ROSE, w.Eugene Istomin, Nadia Reisenberg, Louis de Froment & Charles Dutoit. (Canada) 2-Doremi 8038/39, recorded 1961-73, Paris, Luxembourg, Stratford Summer Festival & WQXR,New York. (S0701)
- DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN, Live Performance, 1961, w.Kempe Cond. Bayreuth Festival Ensemble; Jerome Hines (Wotan), Birgit Nilsson (Brünnhilde), Hans Hopf (Siegfried), Regine Crespin (Sieglinde / Third Norn), Fritz Uhl (Siegmund), Otakar Kraus (Alberich), James Milligan (Der Wanderer), Regina Resnik (Fricka), Gottlob Frick (Hagen/Hunding), Gerhard Stolze (Loge), Thomas Stewart (Donner/Gunther), David Ward (Fasolt), Peter Roth-Ehrang (Fafner), Herold Kraus (Mime), Wilma Schmidt (Freia/Ortlinde/Gutrune), Marga Höffgen (Erda), Ingeborg Felderer (Woglinde/Helmwige/Waldvogel), Elisabeth Steiner (Wellgunde/Grimgerde), Elisabeth Schärtel (Flosshilde / Waltraute), Lilo Brockhaus (Schwertleite), Ruth Hesse (Rossweisse) & Gertraud Hopf (Gerhilde). (Germany) 13-Orfeo C 928 613Y. (OP3190)
"Richard Wagner's RING was performed in the highly reduced version by Wieland Wagner at the eight Bayreuth festivals since the re-opening of the theatre in 1951. However, by 1960 it seemed that the time had come for a new production, a task placed in the hands of Wieland's brother Wolfgang, whilst direction of the production was given to the then 48-year-old conductor Rudolf Kempe. The reaction to the refreshingly new musical portrayal of the Bayreuth debutant from Saxony was unanimously positive and remained so for the five years that Kempe conducted the orchestra; indeed, the impression was retrospectively reinforced (one critic many years later compiled a now famous, comprehensive and comparative discography, citing a recording of Kempe's Bayreuth RING as the best recording ever). Originally trained as an oboist, the Dresden-born Kempe began conducting in the 1930s and after the war became director of the Dresden, and then of the Bavarian state opera companies. In the course of the 1950s he enjoyed great success as a guest conductor at London's Covent Garden (including Wagner's RING), and in 1961, the second year he conducted the RING in Bayreuth, he assumed direction of the Royal Philharmonic. This recording, available for the first time, has been remastered from the original tapes of the Bavarian Broadcasting Company. What makes this release so unique is its cast, many of whom can be heard giving their débuts at Bayreuth."
- Orfeo
- DIE MEISTERSINGER - Act III, excerpts (in Russian) (Wagner), w. Samosud Cond. All-Union Radio Ensemble; Boris Dobrin, Meczyslaw Schavinsky, Vladimir Zahkarov, Vladimir Tarsky, Nadezhda Sukhoitsynva, etc.; NADEZHDA SUKHOITSYNVA: Nozze - Voi che sapete; PANTELEIMON NORTSOV: Don Giovanni - Deh, vieni alla finesta; Finch' han dal vino; NATALIA ROZHDESTVENSKAYA: Der Erlkönig; Gretchen am spinnrade (both Schubert) (all in Russian). (Russia) Aquarius AQVR 397, Live Performance, 3 Dec., 1952, Moscow Conservatory (recorded in brilliant, clear sound!). (OP3189)
"Note that this is not the complete act but, rather, scenes often without connecting music....The soloists in MEISTERSINGER appear to be largely unknown in the West but deserve to be heard and enjoyed. Boris Dobrin's Hans Sachs is smoothly sung and well-characterized in a rich, dark baritone on a par with the best. The Walther, Meczyslaw Schavinsky, caresses the notes of the 'Preislied' with no trace of the 'Bayreuth Bark' that has often robbed the aria of its beauty. Vladimir Zakharov's Beckmesser may miss the comic spirit of Kunz, but rarely has the role been better sung....The Eva, Nadezhda Sukhoitsynva, is obviously a Slavic soprano with a slightly brittle tone and 'bite', but aquits herself beautifully in the quintet and then in her lines to Walther...with a nice trill...Aquarius must have used master tapes or something close as the sound is clear and well-defined with no surface noise or distortion....Warmly recommended."
- William Russell,
THE RECORD COLLECTOR, 2016
"This concert also includes very rare recordings of the baritone Panteleimon Nortsov performing Don Giovani's Serenade and Aria. Nortsov despised singing in the studio and apart from early recordings of EUGEN ONÉGIN and THE QUEEN OF SPADES he left only a handful of recorded arias and songs. The concert also includes Natalia Rozhdesvenskaya (the mother of conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky) in performances of 2 Schubert lieder."
- Ned Ludd
- DIE MEISTERSINGER, recorded 1951, w.Kempe Cond. Dresden Staatsoper Ensemble; Ferdinand Frantz, Bernd Aldenhoff, Tiana Lemnitz, Heinrich Pflanzl, Gerhard Unger, Kurt Bohme, Gerhard Stolze, Theo Adam, etc. (Germany) 4-Hanssler Profil PH13006. (OP3186)
"That remarkable musician Rudolf Kempe made two recordings [of MEISTERSINGER]. The first [above] had a short catalogue life complete....It originated in a wartime broadcast from Dresden....worth having for the dulcet Eva of Tiana Lemnitz and for Ferdinand Frantz, a favourite singer of Kempe's, in fresher voice than in Kempe's 1957 set....there is a total inevitability, a sort of splendid rightness, that is striking....Frantz...makes a commanding figure, admitably clear, and catches [Sachs'] humour perhaps better than any other recorded Sachs except Paul Schöffler....for David there is an automatic first choice: Gerhard Unger.... Gerhard Unger had few equals as David...."
- Richard Law, OPERA ON RECORD, Vol. I
- DIE MEISTERSINGER, Live Performance, 23 Aug., 1937, Salzburg, w.Toscanini Cond. Vienna Staatsoper Ensemble; Henk Noort, Hans Hermann Nissen, Herbert Alsen, Maria Reining, Kerstin Thorborg, Hermann Wiedemann, Viktor Madin, Eduard Fritsch, Georg Maikl, Hermann Gallos, Richard Sallaba, Erich Majkut, Hans Rosenberg, Josef Fruchter, etc.; DIE MEISTERSINGER - Scenes, Live Performance, 8 Aug., 1936, Salzburg, w.Toscanini Cond. Vienna Staatsoper Ensemble; Charles Kullman, Hans Hermann Nissen, Lotte Lehmann, Herbert Alsen, Richard Sallaba, etc.; DIE MEISTERSINGER: Act III Quintet, with Felix Weingartner Cond. Lehmann, Thorborg, Laholm, Werning & Hofmann - Live Performance, 20 Sept., 1935, Vienna. (Canada) 5-Immortal Performances IPCD 1069, w. Elaborate 58pp Booklet, w.Notes & Audio restoration by Richard Caniell. Specially priced at Five discs for the price of Four. (OP3185)
- BRIC-À-BRAC (Lionel Monckton & Herman Finck), recorded 1915, w. Herman Finck Cond. Palace Theatre Ensemble; Walter Jeffries, Teddy Gerard, Murray Johnson, Gertie Millar, Gwendoline Brogden, Nelson Keys & Simon Girard; Extras by Arthur Playfair, Nelson Keys, Murray's Savoy Quartet, etc. (England) Palaeophonics 123, w.Elaborate 'The Play' 20pp. Brochure replete with numerous photos of the Palace Theatre 1915 production & biographies. Excellently transferred from the legendary Acoustic 78rpm HMV rarities. (PE0279)
"The most successful revue of 1915 was BRIC-À-BRAC. It opened at the Palace Theatre on 18 September and ran for 385 performances. The revue was originally set to star American Elsie Janis but she had returned to New York and instead it brought from the world of Musical Comedy its biggest star, the enchanting Gertie Millar. She had a strong team with her in Gwendoline Brogdon, Teddie Gerard, Nelson Keys, Arthur Playfair, Lauri Wylie and French light comedian newcomer, Simon Girard. Miss Millar's husband, Lionel Monckton, wrote much of the music with Herman Finck and the book and lyrics were by Arthur Wimperis and Basil Hood.
BRIC-À-BRAC was the most successful of the Palace revues; it would take Danny La Rue to break its record fifty-five years later. It had taken a British star of the magnitude of Gertie Millar to replace the leading spot so associated at the time with American ladies. True, Teddie Gerard who was American was still in evidence and had scored well, but for the rest, with one notable exception, they were home grown."
- phayward, OVERTURES, 16 Sept., 2015
. . numerous out-of-print CDs and LPs, [many sealed copies
of numerous out-of-print additions: Issues of Symposium's
Harold Wayne series, Romophone, The Record Collector,
VRCS, GOP & many Met Opera broadcasts,
plus Operas by
Handel, Mercadante, Marais, Cavalli, Rameau, Lully,
Monteverdi, Charpentier, Gluck, Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Rossini,
Meyerbeer, Weckerlin, Nicolai, Schreker, Marschner & Gurlitt]
have been added throughout our listings, in appropriate
categories . . . out-of-print books many biographies,
Record
Catalogue-
Discographies . . .
more are added each week . . .
our 50% Discount Sale continues,
with numerous additions . . .
----------------- ANNOUNCEMENT ------------------
with revised closing date of
Saturday, 21 May
!
At a total of 118 pages, this is the largest auction we've ever produced, filled with many rarities, plus MINT copies of 'Society' recordings (all pressed from original masters), now at closeout prices.
It will come as no surprise that Norbeck, Peters & Ford have been concentrating our efforts in locating and promoting thousands of historical-interest CDs during the past quarter century, often at the expense of the somewhat rarified collector of the original 78rpm issues. Now, the long wait is over as we have spent much of the past year organizing, researching and listing many 78s in our vast inventory, many of them with appropriate critical and biographical quotes. This auction features a large assortment of instrumental- , vocal and historically important records, the vast majority being in truly spectacular condition.
As our little urchin stares into the recording horn, you can now view our current AUCTION whose revised closing date is Saturday, 21 May
!
For the recently-offered Archipel, Myto, Gebhardt, Walhall, Melodiya, Vista Vera & Living Stage titles on sale, simply visit our
sale section of our website). This is the ideal opportunity at bargain prices to fill in gaps in one's collection.
. . . For the Melodiya, Vista Vera, Archipel, Myto,
Walhall, Gebhardt & Living Stage titles on sale,
Once again . . .
Welcome to our new bookshop & list of Original Cast LPs, www.norpete.com where you will see a vast array of excellent, used out-of-print books. You're sure to find many books of interest which may have long eluded you, so now is your opportunity to fill in missing gaps. Our online bookshop includes composer and performer autobiographies and biographies. Soon we will include musical criticism, theory and history, plus histories of symphony orchestras, opera houses and festivals. In addition, we shall offer quite
an array of vocal scores, many of which are most rare and unusual.
Take a look at our exciting array of Broadway & Off-Broadway Original Cast and London Original Cast LPs, all in superb condition.
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OP3194. EUGEN ONÉGIN, Live Performance, 8 May, 1951, w.Khaikin Cond. Leningrad Maly Opera Ensemble; Ivan Alekseyev, Ivan Kozlovsky, Olga Kashevarova, Lyudmila Grudina, Sofia Preobrazhenskaya, Nikolai Konstantinov, etc. (Russia) 2-Aquarius AQVR 398 [The audience's wildly enthusiastic response is quite palpable, especially with Kozlovsky's initial appearance, briefly interrupting the stage action - not unlike the exciting response to Lemeshev in his live performance, OP2892! This performance is clearly another such 'event'!] - 4607123631782
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C1481. SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY Cond. Boston S.O., w. ALEXANDER BRAILOWSKY: Piano Concerto #2 in c (Rachmaninoff), Live Performance, 27 Oct., 1945; w.ROBERT CASADESUS: 'Coronation' Concerto #26 in D, K.537 (Mozart), Live Performance, 3 March, 1945 (both Symphony Hall). (Canada) St Laurent Studio YSL 78-395. Transfers by Yves St Laurent.
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C1467. PIERRE BOULEZ Cond. Cleveland S.O.: Petrouchka (Stravinsky); w. GRANT JOHANNESEN: Piano Concerto #3 in C (Beethoven), Live Performance, 18/19 July, 1970, Blossom Music Festival. (Canada) St Laurent Studio YSL T-377. Transfers by Yves St Laurent.0
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B1864. Nicholas E. Limansky. EARLY 20th CENTURY SINGERS. New York, YBK Publishers, 2016. 284pp. (Pictorial thick paper covers) - 9781936411436
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