#37: Rossini: The Barber of Seville

#37: Rossini: The Barber of Seville. Decca,  1964 (CD 1999). Total time (2 discs): 144:52.

#33: Rachmaninov: The Piano Concertos; Paganini Rhapsody

Details: Rachmaninov: The Piano Concertos; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Stephen Hough and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, conductor A. Litton. Hyperion, 2004. Total time: 145:35. 

Personal. Emotional. Romantic.  These words can be used to describe Rachmaninov's music especially these pieces. Also he is a bridge between 19th and 20th centuries: perhaps more accurately his music sounds more 1800s than 1900s.

Ultimately it is musical and melodious--so much so that Eric Carmen lifted much of the 2nd movement of the 2nd concerto for his 1970s pop hit, "All By Myself," and parts of the soundtrack to the hit movie "Home Alone" sound inspired by Rhapsody on a Theme By Paganini  (which itself was inspired by someone else).

My favorite is the 2nd concerto which is full of reflection and sounds very personal which it is. Rachmaninov reportedly struggled to compose it during a time of personal difficulty in his life and overcame creative challenges with the help of a therapist and wrote the beautiful opening chords of the 2nd concerto's first movement. This is a crowdpleasing, iconic piece of music and was featured in an iconic Marilyn Monroe movie, The Seven Year Itch.

The 3rd concerto is known as one of the most challenging accomplishments for any pianist to achieve and Stephen Hough is up to the challenge.  The Dallas Symphony does a great job throughout.  The 4 concerti were all recorded live while the Paganini variations apparently were not.  

#32: Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto -- Mutter/Vienna/Karajan

Details: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto,  Anne-Sophie Mutter and Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, conductor. Deutsche Grammophon,  1988. Total time: 38:34.

#24: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: Claude Debussy -- Preludes Vol. 2

Details: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995): Claude Debussy -- Preludes Vol. 2.  Deutsche Grammophon, 1988. Total time: 39:09.

As good as the first disc of Debussy piano works by Michelangeli that I previously wrote about (#23), this one is perhaps even better. 

What a wonderful exhibition of thoughtful virtuosic playing here. It seems a little dismissive to refer to the Debussy pieces here as mere "preludes" (vol. 2) as they are very complex, developed compositions. For example one of my favorites, "Bruyeres" (v.), sounds more like a nocturne or ballade a la Chopin. 

The piece de resistance, of course, is the final work, Feux d'artifice (Fireworks), a brilliant piece that could be called a nocturnal etude. Having seen this piece played up close and personal (in the home,  as a child) and hearing Michelangeli's recording of it gives an interesting sensation of the visual along with the aural. 

As mentioned in #23, very few people have achieved the level of artistic quality with these Debussy compositions as Michelangeli did on these recordings (this one from 1988 and the prior ones from 1971 and 1978).

#23: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: Claude Debussy -- Preludes, Vol. 1; Images I & II

Details: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995): Claude Debussy -- Preludes Vol. 1; Images I & II. Deutsche Grammophon, 1971/1978. Total time: 72:48.

Michelangeli was a true virtuoso of the piano and his recordings of Debussy here are for the ages -- really brilliant stuff.  It's remarkable to hear him conquer this material when more often I associate him with Beethoven, for example.  

The Italian Michelangeli was legendary for his precision, even perfection. On recordings and in recitals he is known to have made perhaps two audible mistakes...In total. Which makes it all the more remarkable to hear his technical expertise at the keyboard matched by a subtle, thoughtful interpretation of the French composer's musical paintings.

Debussy creates illusions in a way, including the illusion of improvisation when in fact his composition is precise and intricate. Debussy's magical music seems to blend Oriental sounds with Western, visual with sonic art forms, melody and chords into sound effects, and seems to have predicted jazz before it was invented.

Of course once again here is a parental influence.  I heard several of these preludes played on the family piano by my mother,  most memorably the Feux d'artifice (Fireworks) from Preludes Vol. 2 (subject of the next blog entry) and I can still see my mother's hands flying up and down the keyboard playing arpeggios, scales and chords.

My mother's three favorite composers were (in order) Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. Debussy might've been #4. This music is hardly ever played in live recitals anymore, and hasn't been for a long time.   I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's just a phase and the pendulum will come back at some point?

#22: Joan Sutherland: The Art of the Prima Donna

Details: Joan Sutherland (1926-2010): The Art of the Prima Donna. Decca, 1960 (CD: 2000). Total time (2 discs): 108:32.

Another parental influence I suppose. Joan Sutherland was far and away one of my mother's favorite singers and the near-unanimous assessment of 20th century sopranos is that she is second only to Maria Callas.

One of my mother's favorite habits was cooking and baking on Saturday afternoons while listening to the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. Undoubtedly Sutherland was a frequent performer on these broadcasts and was one of the first singing voices I think I learned to recognize.

Sutherland, an Australian, had an incredibly advanced vocal gift--superb technical skills and the ability to convey emotion and drama while hitting every note perfectly and delivering a dazzling array of trills and runs.

This album is an intentional collection of well-known arias and from what I have heard has been used by many sopranos over the years as a learning tool.

It was recorded in Aug. 1960 in London, and the second track on disc 1 (Let the bright seraphim, by Handel) was the song that made her famous in 1958, also in London. Then, after her performance of this aria, the audience gave her a sustained 10-minute standing ovation.

The album includes her brilliant renditions of Bellini's Casta diva and Verdi's Sempre libera as well as 14 other arias from Rossini, Bellini, Gounod, Mozart and Verdi among others. 

Listening to this album left me with a taste for lasagna, salad, garlic bread and cannoli.

#12: Cecilia Bartoli: Mozart Arias

Details: Cecilia Bartoli (b. 1966), Mozart Arias.  Decca, 1991. Total time: 58:01. 

Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli started on the road to superstardom in the late 1980s when she was in her early 20s. The daughter of two professional singers, and graduate of the historic Academy of Santa Cecilia in her native Rome, Bartoli began by singing roles in Mozart and Rossini operas before later moving on to a wide range of projects including Baroque research and revivals, and her current successful leadership and management of an annual music festival in Salzburg, Austria.

This album of Mozart arias shows off Bartoli early in her career in her mid-20s.  She delivers flawless and electrifying versions of arias from several of Mozart's operas including La Nozze di Figaro, Cossi fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, and La Clemenza di Tito. If Mozart were alive to hear Bartoli sing these arias, I have to believe he would be pleased.

As with anything by Mozart, "it's all good" as the saying goes. Having said that, the real gems on this album are "Non so piu," "Alma grande e nobil core," "Parto, parto," and "Ch'io mi scordi di te?" In addition to all of her other talents, it helps to have an Italian native sing these songs, all of which are in Italian.

Bartoli's voice here is clear and clean, displaying amazing vocal technique while also being pleasing to listen to. In addition to her academy training, one of her longtime primary vocal teachers was her own mother. Her parents obviously made a wise choice when they named their daughter Cecilia, after the patron saint of music.

#8: Glenn Gould: A State of Wonder - The Complete Goldberg Variations 1955 & 1981

Details: Glenn Gould (1932-1982): A State of Wonder - The Complete Goldberg Variations 1955 & 1981. Sony, 2002. Total time (3 discs): 153:07.

It is Epic Friday!  The Canadian pianist Glenn Gould announced himself to the world with his debut recording of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations which were first published in 1741 and originally played on harpsichord as the piano was not widely available at the time.  

Recorded in four days in New York City in June 1955, when Gould was just 22 years old, the album was released shortly after New Year's Day 1956 to great acclaim.  Both the musician and the formerly obscure musical composition he recorded became international sensations virtually overnight.

The piece consists of a lyrical aria theme and 30 variations thereof and finally the main aria theme again. In each part of this work -- no matter how intricate, complex, simple, fast or slow -- Gould makes the piano practically sing. Over the years I have heard stories of countless people who claim that this recording had a miraculous effect in their lives when they first heard it, even some folks saying it saved them from despair and hopelessness.

I frequently exclaim,  ARE YOU KIDDING ME,  when listening to the 1955 recording which is just stunning. Almost still a kid at age 22, Gould put this out as his first offering to the world.  Here I am! he seems to be declaring with certainty. It ain't bragging when you can do it, as the saying goes.

Disc 2, his 1981 recording of the same work, also recorded in NYC at the same studio as the original, is remarkable to listen to especially right after the 1955 debut. He is 48 here not 22 and the recording is considerably quieter, certainly nothing like the brashness of 1955. He plays the piece more slowly, intentionally and in places more contemplatively and with his staccato much more distinct. He includes repeats here unlike the shorter, faster 1955 version. The 1981 version was released in 1982, the same year of Gould's death from stroke at just age 50.

Both recordings are historic interpretations of a thoroughly complex set of Bach variations which richly explore keyboard possibilities through counterpoint, fugue and dance.

The third disc in this 2002 collection includes his final radio interview in Toronto in August 1982 just a few weeks before his death,  and outtakes from the 1955 original recording session. The radio interview with Tim Page is eerie to listen to knowing Gould had his fatal stroke a month later. Gould sounds so relaxed,  intelligent, authoritative, and energetic here.  He was known as a great conversationalist and displays an engaged interactive style with his interviewer along with a hilarious sense of humor and that trademark singing. 

The radio interview is nearly an hour long. He talks about growing older and his lifelong love for counterpoint, and discusses piano technique and favorite composers as well as comparing and critiquing his own 1955 and 1981 Goldberg recordings. Fascinating to hear this interview.

As for the music, along with the opening/closing aria theme I think my favorites are Variations 1, 5, 7, 19, 28 and 29. This album is likely in my top 5...just for the 1955 recording alone. The radio interview is a real bonus to have in addition.

"The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline but rather the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity." 

- Glenn Gould

#6: John Browning: Chopin Etudes

 

Details: John Browning (1933-2003),  Chopin Etudes. RCA Victrola, 1969. Total time: 56:29.

Before I knew what they were called I heard -- and saw -- Chopin études played on the piano at home. My mother was a classically trained pianist with a conservatory master's degree who performed and taught piano.  I remember hearing and watching her play several of these études especially Op. 25 No.1 and Op. 25 No. 8 which are both so familiar.

John Browning recorded all 24 of these études in 1968 and in my book this is THE definitive version. Maurizio Pollini comes close but that's about it.  Browning delivers a superb, nearly perfect recording -- no idiosyncratic interpretations,  just straight up virtuoso in his prime,  faithful to the complicated brilliance of these pieces. Browning gives these works the kind of clarity (thin-slicing they call it these days) and majestic playing they deserve. All are fantastic but Op. 10 No. 8 really stands out along with the two openers (Op. 10 No. 1 and Op. 25 No. 1) and Op. 25 No. 7.

If I was forced to select only 12 albums I could keep,  this one probably makes the cut. Browning passed away last decade at his home in Sister Bay, Door County, Wisconsin.  He should have gotten more acclaim in his lifetime as this recording, I feel, does for the Chopin études what Glenn Gould did for Bach's Goldberg Variations. It's a shame the recording is not more widely known or available. But now you know about it.

#1: The Magic Flute by Mozart

"If I were a dictator, I should make it compulsory for every member of the population between the ages of four and eighty to listen to Mozart for at least one-quarter of an hour daily for the coming five years."
-Sir Thomas Beecham, Daily Telegraph (London), 4 Sept 1937

Details: W.A. Mozart (1756-1791), "Die Zauberflote" (The Magic Flute), composed in 1791. Opera in two acts, in German. Recorded in Berlin, Germany in 1937, by Beecham and Berlin Philharmonic. Total time (2 discs): 131:40. Produced by Nimbus Records (U.K.) in 1991, with note that the two CDs are "digital transfers from 78 rpm discs."

This may be the oldest recording I own, in terms of when it was originally made. I'll find out at the end of the project if that is really the case but I think it is. It's also one of the longest at more than 2 hours.

What first struck me sonically was that this 1937 recording (that's 78 years ago this year) sounds a bit like the stereotypical sound from an old Victrola. And in some places I heard what sounded like a needle on a record. 78 years and 78 rpms...nice bookends. Also of immediate interest is the conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, an Englishman, venturing into Nazi Germany to lead this performance by the Berlin Philarmonic. Although none of the names of the cast sound familiar to me, they all appear to be German names. Makes me wonder what became of the musicians and singers on this recording a few years later during WWII...

Anyway, as with most operas, the recording begins with a lively overture previewing musical themes for the work. And there are some classic "Mozart moments" including the repeated pattern of 4 notes over several measures that creates motion and a build-up of drama.

Is this one of the only operas in which an instrument in the orchestra is a "character" in the story? The flute whistles its presence throughout the opera, occasionally echoed by the singers. There are great Mozart melodies throughout along with great humor (the "humming" scene as well as the Papageno duet). The celeste solos are a great touch too. All in all, as with so many Mozart compositions, the entire ensemble of instruments and voices work together to create a rich, seamless whole.

This is an opera to see in person as the staging, visuals, props, costumes, lighting and background -- and particularly the translation of the lyrics -- obviously enhance one's understanding of the storyline. The Magic Flute is rich with symbolism (the number three, and Masonic imagery) and themes of heroism, myth, enlightenment, and the triumph of humanity -- ironic considering the era in which this recording was made. All in all, a high-quality performance of a classic Mozart work of art.

"Germany can never pay enough tribute to this work. Before it German opera hardly existed: this was its moment of creation."
-Richard Wagner