JULIAN SITKOVETSKY

Julian Sitkovetsky (1925-58)

My first encounter with Julian (Yulian) Sitkovetsky was the CD I picked up in a clearance sale, volume 3 in (now defunct) Arlecchino's survey of this sadly neglected violinist. Obviously a big talent, I kept his name in mind. Just the other day, I was delighted to find in the library 5 CDs on the obscure ARTEK label (previously issued on the equally obscure SYD label) and reacquainted myself with this remarkable violinist. I have been listening to nothing but him yesterday, except for the time spent listening to RTHK4's live broadcast of HKPO/EdW's Mahler 9th (a mostly pedestrian performance devoid of momentum, fortunately rescued a little by a finale that has some excellent playing).

As for Julian Sitkovetsky's playing, I cannot say it better than Joseph Magil, critic (himself a violinist and violist) of my favorite music magazine, the AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE: "...David Oistrakh said that, had he lived, Sitkovetsky would have eclipsed him and Kogan….He had a broad, firm, focused tone in all registers; flawless intonation; a rapid, even trill; a swift, perfectly controlled staccato; strong, immaculate harmonics; an even, clear sautillé..."(July/Aug., 2006)

There is surprisingly not much on Julian Sitkovetsky on the internet; a few words here and there; a brief mention in a violinist list; not infrequently briefly mentioned in association with his son, the most interesting of which is here.

(Not) surpisingly, the few Blog articles that I can find are from Asia. Research has its own rewards: I discovered the highly useful, and delightful Blog by Taiwanese 陳 昭佺 Chau-Chuan Chen, aka milsteinheifetz , who seems to specialize in violin playing, with a definite leaning towards the Russian school (as it should be). His Blog on Julian Sitkovetsky has a useful CD discography (bio though seems to be translated from notes in the Artek CDs)

BIOGRAPHY below excerpted from the notes by Mark Malkovich on Artek, with some addition of my own:

• Started violin lesson at age 4, first with father, then David Bertie at the Central School in Kiev.
• At age 8, chosen to play for Jacques Thibaud; at age 9, played Mendelssohn concerto with the Kiev Symphony.
• 1939: enrolled in the Moscow Central Music School, class of Abram Yampolsky, whose students include Leonid Kogan, Igor Besrodny and Rotislav Dubinsky (first violinist of Borodin quartet; then of Borodin Trio after defecting to the West).
• 1945: Winner of All Soviet Union Young Performers Competition of piano, cello and violin (the other 2 winners are Richter and Rostropovich!)
• 1947: First Prize, Prague festival (shared with Kogan and Besrodny)
• 1950: married pianist Bella Davidovich.
  
• 1952: Second prize, Wieniewaski Competition (first prize was Igor Oistrakh, who is definitely a lesser violinist; sharing second was the excellent Wanda Wilkomirska, another sadly neglected violinist whose many excellent reccordings on Connoiseur Society and Polskie Nagrania have shamefully been out of print).
• 1955: Second Prize, Queen Elizabeth Competition, (Of which Menuhin said: "...David Oistrakh and I were on the jury...he should have had First Prize...")
• 1956: Diagnosed with lung cancer; never toured the west, not even much of Europe.
• 1958: Died at age 32.

The Artek series does not include Julian Sitkovetsky's famous recordings of Sibelius and Tchaikovsky.

Volume I:
Volume II:
Volume III:
Volume IV:
Volume V:
--Khachaturian concerto (USSR SRSO/Khachaturian, 1956): This is likely the best ever, a remarkable blend of fire and lyricism. Sound is very good too.
--Shostakovich 1st (USSR SRSO/Gauk, 1956): Excellent, though sound of this live feed is not too good.

p.s. I put together the info and made an entry in wikipedia. I am glad to see it's still not removed (done if deemed insufficiently referenced) and someone has done some editing too!

CARL SEEMANN

CARL SEEMANN
(Last amended 19/01/2009)

Carl Seemann was the house pianist of DG in its early days, and straddles the mono/stereo divide. He is also better known as the piano partner of violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan, both on DG as well as in recitals (much documented on ORFEO).

This unusual CD has a somewhat misleading title, for it includes a previously never released (not even on LP) Debussy sonata with Schneiderhan (the only item in stereo), one of the reason why I bought it.

The performance of the Debussy is fluent and better than most. Some may like a little more flight but I appreciate the classicism. One wonders why it was never released (booklet has no info). The duo's Stravinsky Duo Concertant is equally impressive, not as sinewy as Szigeti/Stravinsky but it has a momentum all its own.

Opening the CD was a beautiful performance of the Concertino for piano and winds, more classical than Stravinsky's more outgoing version with Entremont, but equally valid with its fine sentiment. The ensuing Serenade in A also compares favorably with Stravinsky's own ancient version.

I played this CD twice using different equpiment and was startled by the different feelings I get. That's sign of a good CD. The mono sound is excellent. Comparison with performances from the Stravinsky edition was interesting. This one is for the collector of Wolfgang Schneiderhan as well as follower of a whole generation of under-rated German pianists (think also of stablemate Stefan Ashkenaze).

After the excellent Stravinsky I grabbed its companion release, the Bach recital. I was not disappointed.

The performances are wholesome, at once both spirited and reflective. The performances don't have Gould's flight nor his extremism; neither do they smother the music to death in beauty (like Schiff and Perahia sometimes do). The classicism, for lack of a proper word, is impressive. Sound is very good and mostly stereo.



I am not so thrilled by his Mozart.

I got this 6-CD Mozart sonata set from the library. Just went through it. The playing is nice and objective but some more flavor is needed, particularly as a cycle. I doubt I shall return to this cycle instead of Ingrid Haebler and Reine Gianoli.

KARAJAN

KARAJAＮ Symphony Edition

Karajan 的 Bruckner 交响曲全集 绝对是最佳版本之一，从来不便宜，最近才变了平价版，本已划算之极...昨天在 Pro Sound, 见到朱先生因即将来临的 DG/Decca/Philips 盒装圣诞大减价提早亏大本把价折了，就 买了才去饮茶。

饭后在 波斯富 赫然见到这盒 38 只 CD 的盒装， 只售 ￥6xx, 遂折回 Pro Sound 定了一套。

Karajan 的 Bruckner, Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms 都是顶尖的; Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Haydn 就很难说了， 但无论如何，还用想吗？买来听听吧！

I haven't received my box yet. Mr Chu of pro Sound doesn't stock it yet as he thinks most people will find too much duplication.

In my case, I only truly need the Bruckner symphonies, as I only have 3 of them on LP. I have the complete Schumann, Mendelssohn, 1964 and 1977 Beethoven and 60's Brahms on LP, the 1977 Brahms and Tchaikovsky 4-6 on CD.

Nonetheless, for the small price differential (just acquiring the Bruckner set shall cost you half the price of this box) I'll take this box. A brief note about the content:

Bruckner - Second to none, if not first among equals.

1977 Beethoven - Excellent. Some prefer the 1964. Even so, comparing the 2 versions shall let you see how Karajan strives to evolve (unlike many conductors).

1977 Brahms - Excellent. Again some prefer the 60's.

Schumann - I have not heard a better cycle, and I am a Schumann symphony fan (another favorite is Bernstein)! Among Karajan's best recordings.

Mendelssohn - Excellent.

Tchaikovsky 4-6 - They are very different from our usual Tchaikovsky. Many do not like them, but it's worth listening at least once. Some prefer his 4-6 from EMI.

Tchaikovsky 1-3 - These are nice, and Karajan's only recordings of these.

Mozart - Rather too slick, and not as good as the ones on EMI.

Haydn - Haven't heard them.