Beveridge Webster plays Rachmaninoff

Someone was looking for Beveridge Webster playing just about anything and well, they are in luck. Webster hypnotically guides the listener through the Etudes Tableaux of the great Rachmaninoff on this mid 60's Dover issue.

From Wikipedia:

Rachmaninoff composed the Op. 33 Études-tableaux at the Ivanovka estate between August and September 1911, the year after completing his second set of preludes, Op. 32. While the Op. 33 Études-tableaux share some stylistic points with the preludes, they are actually very unlike them. Rachmaninoff concentrates in the preludes on establishing well-defined moods and developing musical themes. There is also an academic facet to the preludes, as he wrote 24 of them, one in each of the 24 major and minor keys. Rachmaninoff biographer Max Harrison calls the études-tableaux "studies in [musical] composition"; while they explore a variety of themes, they "investigate the transformation of rather specific climates of feeling via piano textures and sonorities. They are thus less predictable than the preludes and compositionally mark an advance" in technique. Like the piano études of Claude Debussy, Alexander Scriabin, Olivier Messiaen and György Ligeti, the Études-tableaux "summarize their composers' discoveries about the piano and how music for it should be written." Rachmaninoff initially wrote nine pieces for Op. 33 but published only six in 1914. One étude was subsequently revised and used in the Op. 39 set; the other two appeared posthumously and are now usually played with the other six. Performing these eight études together could be considered to run against the composer's intent, as the six originally published are unified through "melodic-cellular connections" in much the same way as in Robert Schumann's Études Symphoniques.

The Op. 39 set of Études-tableaux, written between 1916 and 1917 and published in 1917, was the last substantial composition written by Rachmaninoff while still in Russia, and it shows a marked departure from his previous work. Rachmaninoff had been listening keenly to his contemporaries Scriabin and Sergei Prokofiev, and had studied Scriabin's works to prepare a memorial recital in which Rachmaninoff himself played in Scriabin's honor. Though he was roundly criticized for his overly-analytical approach in his playing and overall lack of capturing the free-flying spirit that Scriabin had summoned so well in his own pianism, the compositional seeds resulting from his studying Scriabin's work had been planted. A melodic angularity and harmonic pungency appeared in these études as well as in his Op. 38 songs, which were written concurrently. The Op. 39 set is considered much more demanding technically than the Op. 33 set, and has been described as extremely virtuosic in its approach to keyboard writing, calling for unconventional hand positions, wide leaps for the fingers and considerable technical strength from the performer. Also, "the individual mood and passionate character of each piece" pose musical problems that preclude performance from those not possessing a tremendous physical technique.

Indeed, one must be a confident and technically assured musician to tacke these pieces and we need not worry where Beveridge Webster is concerned. His stylistic playing is beyond reproach and on display is the most tasteful of musicianship.

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More from Luboshutz and Nemenoff plus....

 

Hambro and Zayde! More music for piano four hands. Yes, you all know how much I this stuff and well, I cannot resist. Luboshutz and Nemenoff on a mono Remington and Hambro and Zayde on an Enoch Light stereo special.

What I enjoy about these two records is that the artists play with the utmost taste and discretion. Nothing is thrown off slapdash for pure effect and every piece receives the serious attention to the proper style that it justly deserves. There is a little of everything here and together, a fine 75+ minutes of satisfying music making is offered.

Details in the downloads. I think there is about 10 -12 years between both these recordings.

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Leopold Stokowski conducts Rachmaninoff's Symphony No 2

Discocorp LSSA-228 is the transfer of the day. On this Leopold Stokowski Society issue, we have the maestro conducting Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony with the Hollywood Bowl Symphony (from 1946) and his arrangement of the Prelude in C# (rom 1960) with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Apparently, this was the first issue from the LS Society and it is an absolutely thrilling record. Though critics were tepid about the sound, I have no qualms whatsoever. Damn, this is from a live radio broadcast of 1946 so how could it be state of the art?! Stoky makes the typical cuts in the score, but who cares? His commitment to this unwieldy masterpiece is total, that's TOTAL, and the enthusiastic playing he coaxes from the Hollywood Bowl musicians is truly mesmerizing. Recordings of this musical quality do not come around every day and quite simply, it is something to savor. The Prelude makes a nice little coda though but, after the whirlwind last movement of the 2nd, you might want to leave it at that.

Music making like this makes me so thankful that my hearing loss is not worse than it is.

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Simon Barere "Farewell" Recital from Carnegie Hall

Here is a special and rather unique find performed by a truly gifted artist. Simon Barere was coming into his own when fate struck him down at age 54. Born and raised in Russia, a pupil of Glazunov and Blumenfeld, Barere's career was in part hampered by developments in Soviet Russia and the tumult of the war years. As the 1950's dawned, a promising future held forth for this somewhat reserved, serious, and modest artist.

Barere was quite a coup for the new Remington label and its ambitious founder Don Gabor. The latter had snagged the talented Edward Kilyeni and the pianist Kilyeni had a friendship with Barere which lead to a recording contract with Remington. A number of discs were made, both live and in the studio, and this one from Carmegie Hall (199-141) was billed as the "Farewell Recital." The disc features brilliant performances of music by Schumann, Balakirev, Liszt, Blumenfeld, and Rachmaninoff. I will point out that the highlight of this disc is the stunning, quite idiomatic, traversal of Liszt's Rhapsodie Espagnole.

As my friend Buster at Big Ten Inch has pointed out, the Remington pressings are quite a challenge to deal with. However, this particular record was very clean and the results are good. I have another Remington with Alexander Jenner playing a wonderful Moonlight Sonata but there are defects that mar the first movement terribly. Oh well...

Enjoy the artistry of Simon Barere, a man of incomparable stature at the keyboard.

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"Hurricane" Earl Wild cuts loose on Liszt

Ok....maybe its not that funny.."Hurricane" Earl Wild. However, the great pianist will surely put a smile on your face with these Liszt arrangements from various operas.  A while back, I had posted a recording with Brendel playing a similar program, though, for my taste Wild is the more expressive and liquid player.

This particular recording was a Book of the Month club special and I've not seen a reissue on CD. As I mentioned previously, the genre of opera transcriptions seems to have fallen out of favor and its really too bad. Composers like Liszt not only whetted people's tastes for the whole opera but in addition, encapsulated the choicest melodies into a digestible morsal for the novice. These are wonderful recital encores! Wild's playing here is exceptional, good taste balanced with formidable, yet flexible technique. Especially lovely is the paraphrase on Belllini's Norma.

As a filler, I have included Rachmaninoff's transcription of his Symphonic Dances for two pianists. The exceptional team of Babin and Vronsky provide a vivid and faithful account of the score though someone like Argerich tears into the piece with greater gusto (she tears into everything with elan!).  Still, there aren't many recordings of the two piano arrangement so this, for me, is most welcome.

The Wild RCA disc is mono and the Seraphim Babin & Vronsky is stereo. FLAC files.

 

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Kurt Sanderling, Rachmaninoff and the Great Leningrad PO

I saw this electronically re-recorded in stereo LP by Everest and had to have it. Though Rachmaninoff's first symphony has gotten an unnecessarily bad wrap over the years, I still like it warts and all. This is not the Rachmaninoff of the 2nd piano concerto but rather, a composition by a talented, intelligent, young composer struggling to find his voice amongst an environment that was severe, conforming, and decidedly conservative. An interesting piece that surely doesn't deserve to be neglected.

Ok...and of course, the Leningrad Philharmonic and its SPECIAL sound. During the Soviet heyday, this was THE celebrated orchestra in the East. Drilled as the epitome of precision by Mravinsky, the special sound quality had much to do with the distinctive Soviet made instruments. Sadly, much of that sound has been lost today as borders have fallen and musicians from the East now choose the best quality instruments from the West. But, we still have these historic documents in the archives and its great to have that occasional listen!

Sanderling was for years the second conductor of the Leningrad orchestra, usually handling the repertoire that Mravinsky had little sympathy towards. A lifelong socialist, Sanderling fled East before the second world war, made a career in the Soviet Union, finally returning to Berlin to head the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. East German authorities had high hopes that he could go toe to toe with Karajan however the latter had, of course, the much finer orchestra. Here though, Sanderling proves a strong advocate of Rachmaninoff's youthful work and it is great to hear it performed in the sound world that the composer had in mind. This work was composed in Russia for a Russian orchestra  unlike, say the Third Symphony which was composed with a very different ensemble in mind; in that case the great Philadelphia Orchestra.

Enjoy Sanderling, Rachmaninoff and those fabulous Leningraders!

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Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 2 with Kjell Baekkelund and Oivin Fjeldstad

Here's the other National Record Academy Club  (NRS-1) posting from me: Kjell Baekkelund performing the fabled Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto with Maestro Fjeldstad and the Oslo Philharmonic.

I must confess to knowing next to nothing about this pianist. Here's what I got off of Wikipedia:

"Kjell Bækkelund (May 6, 1930 – May 13, 2004) was a Norwegian classical pianist, born in Oslo. He was known as a child prodigy. Bækkelund made his debut with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eight. His final years of study took place at Stockholm, with Professor Boon, and at Vienna, with Professor Seidlhofer. In 1953 Bækkelund won first prize in the first Scandinavian Musicians' Festival held at Trondheim; and in London the same year, he was awarded the Harriet Cohen Medal as "the finest pianist of the year"."  Impressive!

I'm not quite sure if Baekkelund had an international career but what I can say is that this performance is no-nonsense with two musicians who had apparently worked quite a bit together and artistically were "in sync." I would call this a rather straightfaced, honest performance, and probably as good an introduction to this masterpiece as there is out there. At some point I should transfer my RCA record of Baekkelund performing the Grieg Concerto with Odd Gruner Hegge conducting. Side two on that LP features music from Peer Gynt. Surprisingly, I've not listened to that record...with an all Norwegian cast, its probably as definitive as it gets!

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