Menuhin recordings

[Barbirollians]

Thanks - the Mozart sounds interesting; may be something to add to the ever-growing wish list....

YM's Elgar symphonies are rather good.

I have just ordered the Elgar - the 2 CD set was so cheap .

[visualnickmos]

I have just ordered the Elgar - the 2 CD set was so cheap .

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Delius rarely did jokes, but the portentous brass "fanfares" which seem to lead up to some noble "grand statement", followed by this skippy little tune in the woodwinds, with the solo violin accompanying them - it's almost like Dohnannyi's Nursery Tune. Not alas here.

Whichever idiot wrote this needs to look more carefully at the score - the so-called "violin accompaniment" here is marked f, the pizzicato strings mf, and the woodwinds mp. Menuhin's balance with the orchestra is exactly right even if his intonation isn't.

Honestly - some people!

[french frank]

I imagine BBCMM referred to this, but I can't see a mention here, so for the benefit of those who didn't know (like me ):

BBC Four celebrates 100th anniversary of Yehudi Menuhin

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Why? The BaL Delius was about Sea Drift - the Violin Concerto is off-topic there. Discussing Menuhin's recording of the Delius Violin Concerto belongs here.

[PJPJ]

Am I right in thinking this is with Sinfonia Varszowia? (please forgive spelling!) Would it be more of a 'chamber ensemble' type of sound.....? Just curious, that's all....

The late Mozart symphonies with Menuhin and the Sinfonia Varsovia are excellent. YM was the orchestra's first guest conductor and it seems to me they had a wonderful rapport.

Well worth sampling this set if you are happy with a modern, compact orchestra.

http://www.sinfoniavarsovia.org/en/orchestra.html

Listen to snippets here:

http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/mozart-symphonies-n-38-a-41-yehudiu-menuhin-sinfonia-varsovia/0724356242852

[Gordon]

You mention the 'Boyling edition' of the Water Music... I wonder whether many or even any of our 'boarders' will know anything about 'Boyling'?
During the 20-odd years that I played the horn with the LSO and ECO I used to chat with one of the senior 'sound engineers' at the EMI Abbey Road studio: Neville Boyling, and I very soon realised that he was the editor of the 'Boyling edition'.
Additionally he wrote many 'sleeve notes' for EMI LPs and CDs. Since his initials were 'N.D.R.B.' his 'nom de plume' for these sleeve notes was 'Charles Enderby'.

NB also edited the set of organ concertos and Water music conducted by Menuhin with Simon Preston at the organ and the Menuhin/Bath Festival orchestra. The organ concertos were recorded in several different places including Great Packington. They were once issued in a box [7243 575 517 2 4] with his Op1 sonatas, the Op6 [some at Kingsway Hall] the Fireworks music and the due cori as well as some odds and sods. Not BAL first choices maybe being old school performances but very pleasant with few vices. NB was engineer on Water Music, most of the Op 6, all Op1 and all organ concertos.

[LeMartinPecheur]

NB also edited the set of organ concertos and Water music conducted by Menuhin with Simon Preston at the organ and the Menuhin/Bath Festival orchestra. The organ concertos were recorded in several different places including Great Packington. They were once issued in a box [7243 575 517 2 4] with his Op1 sonatas, the Op6 [some at Kingsway Hall] the Fireworks music and the due cori as well as some odds and sods. Not BAL first choices maybe being old school performances but very pleasant with few vices. NB was engineer on Water Music, most of the Op 6, all Op1 and all organ concertos.

Menuhin's HMV Fireworks Music was one of the first LPs I bought as a student (a cheapo ASD deletion!). Was a tad disappointed when I got it home to find that the Penguin Guide didn't rate it much, but I still love its pomp and swagger. Bought the Water Music on a charity shop CD just recently: perfectly decent but IMHO not quite the magic despite the PG liking it much better The Concerti a Due Cori could still tempt me though - do they have slightly slow tempi with loads of richness and grandeur to the sound, like the Fireworks??

[EdgeleyRob]

Elgar
Cello Concerto/Enigma Variations.
Julian Lloyd Webber,RPO,Menuhin
Apologies if this recording has already featured in the thread.
I listened to this today,what a fine disc it is too.
No less an authority than Jerrold Northrop Moore rated this as the best ever Elgar cello concerto recording back in the mid 80s

[Gordon]

...The Concerti a Due Cori could still tempt me though - do they have slightly slow tempi with loads of richness and grandeur to the sound, like the Fireworks??

Yes, rich and grand with stately tempi but the rhythms are alert; he uses an organ in this one with Leslie Pearson. The 8 CD set I mentioned only has 1 of the Due Cori [Bflat HWV332, the one with Messiah borrowings and one from Semele] recorded at Abbey Road in 1968, engineer Stuart Eltham. Whether they recorded all of them I don't know.

[Barbirollians]

Loved the extract from the incomplete Menuhin/Boult Tchaikovsky Concerto on the recent Gramophoen freebie - heavens knows why they abandoned it without recording the cadenza - Rob Cowan very complimentary too in Gramophone.

[Nick Armstrong]

Whichever idiot wrote this needs to look more carefully at the score - the so-called "violin accompaniment" here is marked f, the pizzicato strings mf, and the woodwinds mp. Menuhin's balance with the orchestra is exactly right even if his intonation isn't.

Honestly - some people!

[Nick Armstrong]

Just acquired and am listening to the FLAC downloads from Pristine Classical of the iconic Menuhin/Elgar recording of EE's concerto. I had it on cassette years ago, but never upgraded to CD. Having heard the extract on Record Review during the Menuhin review with Daniel Hope, I was immediately convinced of the merits of the amazing Pristine version. Astonishing quality of sound over the big hifi as I type. Magical to be able to sit here listening to that performance sounding like that...

[Barbirollians]

Ah yes the Menuhin/Elgar - a performance that is " not special " and "for the casual Elgar tourist" according to Simon Heffer .

[pastoralguy]

Loved the extract from the incomplete Menuhin/Boult Tchaikovsky Concerto on the recent Gramophoen freebie - heavens knows why they abandoned it without recording the cadenza - Rob Cowan very complimentary too in Gramophone.

Mrs. PG is sending that unissued set to Santa Claus for my Christmas!

I have grand dreams of making a mini-disc of the Tchaikovsky and editing in one of Mehunin's pupils cadenzas.