斯義桂

斯義桂為中國第一個國際級的名男低音。 這裡是一點有關他的資訊。

Rudolf Kempe

Rudolf Kempe: Master Conductor

A few days ago I picked up second-hand this bargain 2-CD set of Kempe, and the subtitle "Master Conductor" IMHO cannot be more befitting of this greatly neglected conductor.

Kempe was always the second-line conductor of EMI, one of those lesser known central-European super musicians who seemed to have found the UK congenial to their temperaments. Others like Jascha Horenstein and Klaus Tennstedt come readily to mind.

Kempe Biography(wikipedia)

Rudolf Kempe Society (Biography and more)


EMI has surprisingly recorded quite a bit of Kempe but, aside from some operas (little rivalled Wagner for example), has shamefully not kept them in circulation. One indispensible set that is likely still available is the super-bargain set of the complete (or nearly so) Strauss orchestral works, with the resplendent Dresden Staatskapelle. Just this set is enough to immortalize Kempe's name. The performances are fully all top-drawer, and yield nothing to more famous recordings of Reiner or certain Karajan and Bohm. There is opulence, drama, as well as tight control in all these works, never once lapsing into vulgarity. e.g. I have never heard a better Also Sprach Zarathustra. EMI has several incarnations for this set. It is also now avilable on Brilliant Classics. For a glimpse into Kempe as accompanist, ther is the super-bargain Encore issue of Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 with Bruno-Leonardo Gelber, one of the best versions ever. What about all the other great recordings? It is left to specialty labels to re-dress the problem.



No Kempe fan would want to be without his magnificent Bruckner and Brahms. Scribendum has issued quite a few of these. The Brahms 4 Symphonies and Bruckner Symphonies 4 and 5 are all with the Munich PO. These again show Kempe's control of architecture and the way he patiently builds climaxes of considerable power. He is not a flashy conductor, but the more you listen to him the more you like the sound of the orchestra. Great attention paid to chording (like Karl Bohm's VPO Beethoven).



Testament has issued quite a few of Kempe's recordings. Quite a few are available in the library and they are superb in musicianship as well as sound. One of the very best is a tightly controlled Scheherazade, with the RPO, thrilling down to the last bar. this is the same performance that is in the much cheaper Disky issue (oop) pictured at top. This performance joins Reiner at the very top. I also like very much hid Brahms 4 with the BBCSO on BBC Legends.

There are much much more. These are just some personal favorites. For a great discography:

Kempe Discography (Part I), Kempe Discography (Part II)

Ruth Slenczynska

Ruth Slenczynska

Click here for info on the little known but amazing Ruth Slenzynska

Dinu Lipatti

Dinu Lipatti

wikipedia entry

The Roumanian pianist died young and all of his recordings are in mono, though some are in very good sound. This bargain 7-CD set is mandatory purchase for those who like pianism at its loftiest height but who do not mind sometimes compromised sound.

Almost all the content have been issued in single CDs, many deservedly in EMI's "Great Recordings of the Century".

One of my favorites here is the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21. I recently picked up an EMI LP of this and inside is a note by the producer Walter Legge. Apparently, this 1950 recording was made for Swiss Radio. Listening to the incisive, all-encompassing playing, you'll never realize this was played by a literally dying man. This was the last concerto he played and at the recording session only the pianist's wife, Artur Schnabel, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf (Legge's wife) and Legge were among the audience. Due to Swiss union rules, the tape was destroyed after broadcast and it took Legge/EMI 7 years to find an amateur recorded copy. Although the sound is not good, Lipatti's playing virtually leapt at you; and Karajan got incredibly expressive playing out of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. This is now my favorite version.

But my favorite Lipatti is the Bach Jesus, Joy of man's Desirings (from Cantata 147; youtube clip embedded below). I have never heard these played better and this is my all time favorite piano Bach (eclipsing Glenn Gould, yes). No one has come close.

Lipatti plays a Chopin Nocturne.
More Chopin

Alban Berg Quartet

The mighty Alban Berg Quartet

The Alban Berg Quartet disbanded soon after the death of their last violist, Thomas Kakusa, but not before visiting HK. Those who were present shall remember the perfectionism they had even if they might not have warmed to their somewhat icy interpretations.

I have followed this quartet since they first burst on the international scene. I have at least half of their early recordings on TELEFUNKEN LPs with fantatstic covers of the string instruments. The LPs now are worth some money. These recordings are now issued in a bargain TELDEC box that is almost mandatory purchase to string quartet lovers.

Some say the early ABQ have a warmer tone. I am not so sure. In a revealing system, the ABQ on Teldec and EMI sound very very similar. I recently compared their Haydn Op 76 quartets on both Teldec and EMI and found little difference in interpretation or tonal splendor. The reason for comments like this may have as much to do with the difference between analogue recordings and digital ones.

The TELDEC box contains the Haydn Op 76, Mozart "Haydn" quartets, some Dvorak, Berg, Schubert etc. All were immaculately played and most emotionally more generous than in their later EMI recordings.

The ABQ made integral recordings of Mozart and Beethoven for EMI, and they are available in bargain boxes. Some of the readings are rather mannered here, and the recordings are not always as fine as in the Teldec issues. Nonetheless, they are desirable.

The ABQ recxorded a large number of composers (like the excellent Wolfgang Rihm), and many CDs are sadly oop. For me, the best place to start with the EMI ABQ would be in the bargain Gemini issue of the most important piano quintets, played by 4 pianists, all with the ABQ.

For those more adventurous. Their Bartok series is worth explosring. With minimal duplication, I'd also recommend their Schubert box.

But the TELDEC box is the place to start.

Glenn Gould

Glenn Gould

Goldberg Variations
I do not need to tell anyone about Glenn Gould. His Bach Goldberg Variations are legendary and almost every classical listener has a copy of either his mono or stereo version. You can easily compare now that they have issued both in a convenient set (right pic). There is little question that Gould probes the MUSIC a lot deeper in the stereo remake, which is the one I prefer (original cover in left pic). Gould has recorded almost all of Bach's keyboard music, all in his inimitable fashion, but none to me reaches the profundity of the stereo Goldberg.

Do you really need Gould's Beethoven and Mozart sonatas? IMHO not really. For his idiosyncracies, they are as much pain as joy to listen to!

As an eccentric, Gould took pleasure in trashing classics and promoting little known music. Hence, he was a formidable exponent of little known piano literature. Berg, Hindemeth, Gibbons, Sibelius, etc. Aside from Bach, these are the composers Gould played the best.

To me, there is one composer that Gould plays without peer, and surprise, he's Brahms! This is really little known. Many years ago, when I bought a copy of his Brahms Intermezzi I was astounded by the delicate sentiments Gould brought to these pieces, and I played the LP (original cover shown) many times in one go. To me these miniatures are Gould's finest achievements. He later recorded digitally the Ballades and all the Brahms are grouped together in various releases. However, these miniatures are the ones you should really listen to. Gould as romantic? You bet! I am not a great fan of Brahms' piano music, but THIS performance is supreme; I have not heard anything that can replace it. Desert island selection.

After playing the immem clip above, if you like to hear more intermezzi,
click here

Mark Elder

Mark Elder

Ever since I heard the enigmatic Conductor Mark Elder live with the HKPO (review here), I have become a die-hard fan and read everything I could find on the internet about him. The quintessential English gentleman with a patrician manner and a "Masterpiece Theater" voice, Elder has an understated charm in person and on record you can hear him recite poems (splendidly) relevant to the music works and play the piano beautifully in an Elgar song! His interviews on the net make an excellent read; I particularly like the one where he talks about his London house. Apparently, the Halle did the complete Shostakovich cycle and he had a real liking to the composer. No wonder his concert in HK was so accomplished. You can read about his feelings about Shostakovich.

But it's his superb musicianship that's the focus here.




Mark Elder on Record

I have not really listened to too many Elder CDs, which covers a hugh range. A good idea can be had on the cduniverse site. Elder is really not a household name, not even in the UK. Hoi said to me after his concert: "How come is not as famous as Simon Rattle?" Good question, I'd love to know the answer. From this discography you can see he is an experienced opera conductor and many records have him in supporting role.

It is with the Halle Orchestra's own CD label that you shall find Elder in greatest substance. Those not familiar with the Halle Orchstra should note that it was the orchestra of none other than the great John Babirolli, and if you like English music you likely know them.

I find the cover art of the CDs to prefectly reflect Mark Elder's style: Under-stated, clean, in-control, but with a sunstantial, colorful element. It is my fortune that some of these CDs, hard to find in HK, are available from the library! Over the holidays I listened to 4 of them and came away with heightened admiration for the man, and the orchestra.

I am a big Elgar fan and Elder is a noted Elgar specialist (they share the same birthday) and the 3 Elgar CDs I heard were all wonderful in content, performance and, most importantly, in superlative sound. Elder's Elgar is not overtly "emotional", nor "sensuous", but it is structurally sound and revealing of a myriad of fine emotions, all patiently built-up. For me this means the second symphony is the greater achievement. But the greatest surprise was the Enigma Variations, a work I never really dug. I have to say Elder's version finally conveyed the emotion behind each episode, and I like his version even more than those by Babirolli and Monteux, and that's remarkable! The discs also contain interesting small works as well as very very exciting accounts of the masterpieces In the South and Cockaigne Overture. Finally, there is an excellent account of the Nielsen 5th. Throughout, the playing of the Halle is first-class.

There are a few amazing things that should be noted. First, the sound Elder gets from the Halle is not that different from what he got from the HKPO! It is a very clean sound with a feeling of a very silent background, or shall we say repose and concentration? With lesser conductors, you always feel an impatient edge, some kind of nervousness extraneous to the music, not with Elder. And the way he builds a crescendo is just the way it should be, patiently, a moment-by-moment increase that conveys power and grandeur. Lesser conductors' crescendoes sound impatient, a sort of "premature ejaculation", or at least "much ado about nothing" (you can guess one of the conductors I am referring to here). Elder's recordings has the power of making me go back and see if I get more out of it a second time, and I did.

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.