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ID: CC0028
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Subcollection: Music for Clarinet
An exciting historical recording featuring the playing of clarinettist Luigi Amodio.
Known principally for his playing in La Scala Opera Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini, Amodio produced nearly all his solo discs from just before the start of World War 2 until 1942 when his early death from cancer cut short his flourishing career. He travelled widely and played with all the major string quartets.
This valuable disc includes:
Beethoven's masterful Clarinet Trio Op. 11
Brahms Sonata No.1 Op.120. The first European recording
Mozart Quintet in A K.581
Luigi Amodio (clarinet) / La Scala Opera Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini |
| 15.00 eur Buy |
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ID: CC0041
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Instrumental
Subcollection: Clarinet
Born in 1913 in Vilna, Lithuania, Weber moved to the United States in 1921. At the age of eleven he took up the clarinet and went on to become one of the most distinguished players of his generation. He began his career in 1938 when his playing so impressed Toscanini, that he was hired on the spot to play in the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Later appointments included assistant principle in the New York Philharmonic, principle clarinet in the Metropolitan Opera and finally the New York City Ballet Orchestra.
The recordings on this disc date from 1946 through to 1978 and cover a very wide range of music.
Prokofiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes
Schumann's Fantasy Pieces Op. 73
Penderecki's Trois Miniatures
Also included on the disc are works by Poulenc, Spohr, McDowell, Cahuzac and Glazounov. Clarinet Classics is proud to present this CD which is a fitting tribute to a great clarinettist.
Poulenc Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
Spohr Six German Songs, Op. 103
Edward MacDowell From Uncle Remus from Woodland Sketches, Op, By Smouldering Embers, Op. 61, No. 6 (arranged for clarinet and piano by Nicolas Roussakis)
Cahuzac Arlequin, Character Piece for Solo Clarinet
Glazunov The Seasons, Op. 67 (fragment)
David Weber (clarinet), recorded 1946-1978 |
| 15.00 eur Buy |
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ID: CC2002
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Subcollection: Piano
The CD booklet contains an article by Keith Fraser (in English, French and German) on the relationship between Robert and Clara Schumann and a description of each piece, accompanied by session photographs.
How much do pictures reflect reality? The image on the front of this CD is an anonymous copy of a photograph taken of Robert and Clara Schumann in 1850, the year after most of the pieces here were written. Robert, standing soberly by the piano, was actually addicted to wine, women and song. His drinking was referred to by Clara's father Friedrich Wieck in his attempts to prevent their marriage, and Robert's affairs were a problem for Clara. Not so the songs, of which he wrote more than 100 in 1840, the year he married Clara. He was 40 years old in this picture, by this time a thoroughly respected composer, though more successful in some genres than others. His earlier intention, to be a concert pianist, had been thwarted by a (possibly self-inflicted) injury to his right hand. And what of Clara? She was 31 and an acclaimed pianist. She had already given birth to six of her eight children (of whom seven survived). At this period she was also performing, but her pregnancies (and Robert's encouragement) had led to a flowering of her compositional skills. Her face - in common with other photos of her - seems to express a kind of abstracted melancholy. But here the copyist has lied; in the original photograph she is almost smiling. Certainly the years from her marriage until Robert's physical and mental health began its final decline in 1852 contained much ecstatic happiness. As she wrote in her diary soon after their marriage: "I am supremely happy, and becoming more so all the time - if my Robert is as happy as I am, then I will wish for nothing further - because of my love I could sometimes hurt him with my kisses; instead of becoming quieter (as they say one gets to become in a marriage) I become more fiery! - my poor beloved husband! Their relationship was one of mutual love and mutual support, though perhaps Clara was able to support Robert more than the other way round. She encouraged him constantly, and by performing his works at her concerts brought them into the public domain. Robert sometimes described her as his own "right hand". She was sociable and outgoing, he more private and reserved outside his own circle of friends. He needed her support, and indeed sometimes felt inadequate and depressed on her concert tours when she was the star soloist and and he could no longer play the piano properly. Clara's encouragement of Robert was from a position of equality, and the anonymous illustrator has made a blatent distortion in the picture by moving the angle of her head from upright in the original photograph to a more submissive position - forward and down. Copyright Jeremy Polmear 2002 |
| 21.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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ID: CC2010
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Instrumental
Subcollection: Oboe
This CD is recorded by the Graduate Students of Trinity College of Music in London, who took their post-Graduate Diploma in performing in June 2004
In the CD booklet the oboists talk about how they got started on the oboe. It has 16 pages in full colour (English only), with more photos and information, and how to obtain the music.
The main purpose of this CD is to show that there is a wealth of good music, in many styles, available to the oboe beginner. These pieces are within the general Grade 3 level, and some of them can be played after just a few lessons, so that learning the oboe can be a musical experience right from the beginning. The tracks are marked 0 to 3, to indicate their general technical level, where 0 indicates a pre-Grade 1 piece.
There are two exceptions to the Grade 3 limit - Mozart's La ci Darem (Grade 4), because it points the way to a new world of musical expression, and Hedwig's Theme from Harry Potter, because, as one teacher put it, it is by far the nicest way to learn the bottom two notes on the oboe.
The selection was made in consultation with a number of teachers. I asked them which pieces their pupils responded to with enthusiasm. I soon noticed the same pieces being mentioned time and again. Some pieces were liked by some teachers and not by others, and I added in my own preferences, and take full responsibility for the final choice.
It was also necessary to stick to a smallish number of books or tutors, so that the pupil is not faced with a large music bill. Where only one piece has been included from a particular collection, it always means that there are other equally good pieces in that book. Exclusion of a book of pieces does not mean it is not good. Attention was also paid to the various exam syllabuses for Grades 1 to 3; some of these pieces appear there, some do not. |
| 21.00 eur Buy |
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ID: CC2012
CDs: 2
Type: CD
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Collection: Instrumental
Subcollection: Oboe
The 24-page CD booklet has a 6,000 word programme note in English by the compiler Geoffrey Burgess with a description of each performer, each track, and many unusual photographs.
Introduction by compiler Geoffrey Burgess: It would be hard to claim the oboe as a main player in the rise of the phonograph in the early years of the twentieth century. In both contemporary literature and retrospective histories, oboists barely rate a mention alongside the Carusos, Melbas, Elgars and Kreislers, and the lack of a comprehensive discography or historic anthology backs this up. But why have early oboe recordings been silent for so long? It is time to discredit the popular belief that of the few recordings of oboists that have survived, most are worthless from a musical standpoint. While not featured as frequently as most other instruments, the oboe was not entirely silent in the recording studio: however, the problem lies much more in how and where to retrieve those distant echoes. Catalogues, reviews and the like cite specific recordings, but this is only a beginning. The next and harder step is to track down serviceable copies of this material which in most instances was considered of merely ephemeral value. We have to consider ourselves lucky with what has survived. Contrary to what we might think, the scarcity of oboe recordings is not a reflection of the difficulties encountered in capturing its tone. Even the earliest acoustic recordings demonstrate that, with the player projecting directly into the recording horn, the oboe sounded better than many other instruments. The reason for the scant presence of the oboe on disc has to do more with its musical and cultural persona. Just as now, the recording industry in the early decades of the twentieth century was dictated by popular taste. Not only did the Classical selections in gramophone catalogues constitute a small percentage of the total offerings, but they were dominated by operatic excerpts and rousing tunes performed by bands. In such a climate the oboe was not exactly a winner, rather it was considered a novelty, of interest to the refined connoisseur. It’s not needles, but the records themselves that need hunting down in the haystacks of archival repositaries and collectors’ attics. Artists’ names and instruments were given only rarely on the discs. Manufacturers’ catalogues can help but it is often necessary to resort to intelligent guesswork. According to the renowned audiofile Melvin Harris, it was Louis Gaudard who made the earliest oboe recording in 1899, but this claim is still to be substantiated. The oldest surviving recordings date from the first decade of the 20th century, with showy solos of ephemeral appeal usually accompanied by band, orchestra or, more rarely, piano. Despite the scant examples, we are blessed with multiple recordings of some favorites such as Une Soirée prčs du lac and standard orchestral repertoire like the overture to Guillaume Tell. These multiple versions allow direct comparison between different oboists, although it should always be borne in mind that the different settings and the recording process contributed in no small measure to the total sonic record. This anthology spans the acoustic and electric eras and all recordings are monoaural. Léon Goossens was the most widely recorded oboist of the first half of the 20th century, but otherwise, all of the oboists featured in this anthology were active before the rise of the oboe “heroes” still familiar today - André Lardrot, Pierre Pierlot, Heinz Holliger, etc. Many were celebrated in their own day, but most are now forgotten. We have intentionally avoided duplicating the already copious quantity of re-released material. Oboists like Roger Lamorlette, who can be heard playing Poulenc’s trio for oboe, bassoon and piano with the composer, have been omitted, and well known players like Goossens and Tabuteau whose work is already widely available, are represented only by noteworthy selections hitherto unavailable. There is no natural terminus ad quem for this anthology. Stylistic changes in oboe playing tended to overlap advances in recording technology in complex ways. Still, it seems appropriate to draw the line at the mid century with the dawn of the LP era with the Viennese recording of Beethoven’s variations on La ci darem (CD II track 21). Direct contact with these remarkable performances from the past is still hampered by the limitations of the available recording technology and the state of preservation of this delicate material. Most of the original recordings used here are in an exceptionally fragile state and the audio quality of many is quite simply deplorable. Any wax cylinder or shellac disc that has miraculously survived the junk yard inevitably bears the signs of abuse - damaged through overuse, poor storage conditions, or the jostle of the flea market before falling into the hands of a responsible collector. Every effort has been made to locate clean copies, but in some cases there was simply no choice. To understand these vestiges of players from the past, we have to learn to listen “through” the recording technology. Most early recordings have what today would be an unacceptable signal-to-noise ratio. The distraction of surface noise and crackles and limited frequency response and can hinder drawing conclusions on individual players’ tone. Most acoustic recordings registered a relatively narrow band of frequencies from 1000-3000Hz. With the introduction of microphones this was expanded to 200-6000Hz, but this is still far short of present standards which were set in the stereo LP era at 20Hz-20KHz. To those used to digital stereo, the monoaural configuration of early recordings may seem one-dimensional and, particularly in the case of acoustic recordings, the insensitivity of the technology to dynamics often obliterated nuance, and can also give a false sense of balance. At the same time we must listen “with” the technology. That is, we must learn to respond to what the technology could register faithfully - tempo, intonation, vibrato and questions of ensemble - always mindful that, once in the recording studio, players may have had to make adjustments from their regular practices. Up to the use of magnetic tape in the recording process in the 1940s, all recordings were “live” in the sense that virtually no editing was possible. Realizing that durations of 2 to 4 minutes (the length of a side of a disc) were recorded as complete takes makes it easier to forgive occasional slips - indeed, it should enhance our admiration for these players. It is always dangerous to draw general conclusions from limited data, so rather than viewing these recordings as documents of the essential characteristics of each oboist, it is wiser to treat them as “snapshots” of unique performances. Out-of-focus or underdeveloped due to the shortcomings of the recording apparatus, these passing glimpses are the closest we can get to the artistry of these lost musicians. Despite this material’s limitations, it’s revelations are manifold. The recordings of Georges Gillet CD I track 2) and his pupils (Gaudard, CD 1 track7; Mercier, CD I track 8; Brun, CD I track 9; Longy, CD I track 11; and Bleuzet, CD II tracks 5-8) show that prior to World War II French players did not all cultivate the bright tone typical of the younger players of the Paris Conservatoire school. We can appreciate why Tabuteau praised Bruno Labate (CD I track 16), and why Goossens could not have failed to have been impressed by Henri de Busscher’s playing (CD II tracks 13-15). The different performances of the J.C. Bach Sinfonia, Brahms’ Violin Concerto and the Beethoven Variations provide invaluable comparisons of different schools of oboe playing. |
| 29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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ID: CC5005
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Instrumental
An Album of popular and not so well known romantic piano works.
Helen Reid makes her debut for Omnibus Classics
Helen Reid first came to public attention when she reached the Keyboard finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year. She has given recitals at venues including the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Fairfield Halls and Blackheath Halls, London, St. George's, Bristol, Cheltenham, the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and the Aldeburgh and Buxton Festivals. In 2006 she was named a 'rising star' in The Independent. Helen is professor of piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity College of Music Junior Department. |
| 15.00 eur Buy |
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ID: CDMAN112
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Instrumental
Subcollection: Piano
Robert Schumann
Carnival, Op.9
Preambule
Pierrot
Arlequin
Valse noble
Eusebius
Floreston
Coquette
Replique
Sphinxes
Papillons
A.S.C.H. - S.C.H.A. (Letters dansents)
Chiarina
Chopin
Estrella
Reconnaissance
Pantalon et Colombine
Valse allemande
Paganini. Intermezzo.
Aveu
Promenade
Pause
Parche des "Davidsbundler" contre les Philistins
Kinderszenen, Op.15 |
| 18.00 eur Buy |
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ID: CDMAN143
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Instrumental
Subcollection: Piano
Anna Mezhirova (1,8,13)
Valery Vishnevsky (2,7,9-12,14)
Igor Lebedev (3)
Pavel Egorov (4,5,15)
Tatiana Zagorovskaya (6) |
| 18.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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