New releases

[HighlandDougie]

For anyone who liked his recent Proms performance of the 6th:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prokofiev-Symphonies-Finnish-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B008DWG0LK/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1344693255&sr=1-1

I've just downloaded it from Qobuz - too early to have come to a considered opinion, other than that the recording of the 5th (Helsinki Music Centre) is a bit warmer than that of the 6th (Finlandia Hall). The latter recording sounds a bit flat to me but as my usual 'listen' in this symphony (a favourite of mine) is Kitaenko - see JLW's various comments elsewhere about the very fine quality of the recording - my ears may be a bit skewed.

[Petrushka]

Thanks PJ

Slightly dissapointed with the contents. Was hoping for Rach symphonies, Sibelius and his famous Mahler 2 (currently £40 for a second hand copy on Marketplace) or perhaps Mahler 10

Scope for a second box there I would think. There may be one at some stage perhaps. Would like to see Szell recordings on these Sony boxes (Haydn only so far).

[Bryn]

Thanks PJ

Slightly [disappointed] with the contents. Was hoping for Rach symphonies, Sibelius and his famous Mahler 2 (currently £40 for a second hand copy on Marketplace) or perhaps Mahler 10

I got the Ormandy Mahler 2 from Japan a around the time of its release there. I forget what I paid but it was a lot less than £40. Fortunately the CD issue was not plagued by a non-mains related hum, as my LPs of the recording were.

[lazinov]

I imagine that the following review quotations will inspire interest in the work of the wonderful Polish violinist Wanda Wiłkomirska.

“Climbing a few rungs up the sonic ladder finds us in the company of the fine Polish violinist Wanda Wiłkomirska with the Warsaw Philharmonic under a favourite conductor of mine, Witold Rowicki, for a brightly lit presentation of Britten’s Violin Concerto.”
“…stereo results […] rival those that the ‘majors’ were achieving with a budget of thousands! This particular concert also includes a highly combustible Tchaikovsky Fourth and the thrilling ‘Mazur’ from The Haunted Manor by Moniuszko.”
—Rob Cowan, Gramophone, July 2012

“Wiłkomirska remains sweet, and focused, of tone throughout … her assurance is perhaps at its zenith in her playing of the Passacaglia, which is powerful, virtuosic, expressively cogent, and where we find she retains virtuosity and tonal vibrance to the very end. This joins the admittedly small discography of the work, and does so on sheer merit.”
“Rowicki directs a compelling, dramatic Tchaikovsky Four … With a sweeping battalion of strings at his disposal, punctuating brass and amazingly vivid percussion definition, courtesy of another of [OCCDs’] top class microphone placements, this is a seismic rendition of the symphony.”
“Hair-shirt production values from this company ensure that terrific concerts such as this have a continuing and richly deserved afterlife.”
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International, December 2011

“Really, your recording is of demonstration quality, with all the clarity one could ask for. The balance between soloists and orchestra, the dynamic range and the stereo separation are excellent. Well done!”
—Graham B. Slater, former BBC engineer, private correspondence, 5th February 2012

“This is a breathtaking performance of the Britten […] Musicianship of the highest order from soloist, conductor, and orchestra IMHO. And a simply stunning live performance exquisitely recorded. Nothing is lost. Quite outstanding, and one of my ‘best buys’ this year.”
—Andrew Magnay, UK on the Violinist.com forum, 22nd May 2012

“Wiłkomirska’s radiant performance is typical of her supremely agile, subtly inflected and lyrical playing style, and Rowicki accompanies with his characteristic skill. This disc is well worth acquiring for the Britten alone, but Rowicki’s account of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony is remarkable too. This is no routine outing for a familiar warhorse but a thrilling performance that seems to relish living dangerously and that bristles with dark, propulsive energy from start to finish. The impact of the playing is helped by the superb sound of the recording – [… this disc is] an extraordinary success from a technical point of view as well.”
—Nigel Simeone, International Record Review, June 2012

OCCDs CD12/2011 (www.occds.org)

[Dave2002]

http://sigridharris.wordpress.com/2007/11/25/interview-with-a-famous-violinist-wanda-wilkomirska/

When was this recording made? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Violin-Conce.../dp/B007L35LZ8

[Bryn]

http://sigridharris.wordpress.com/20...a-wilkomirska/

When was this recording made? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Violin-Conce.../dp/B007L35LZ8

RFH April 7th 1967, according to the site originally linked to.

[lazinov]

Madam Wilkomirska is now 82 years old and teaches in Sydney. She plays as beautifully as ever and tells me that she is still able to wear clothes she had when she was 30, although, unfortunately, promoters are obliged to search for young, sexy violinists as a priority, rather than concentrating on ability, which makes this recording even more attractive.
The web site offers an extended, high quality, sound sample taken from the first movement. Here is a direct link to the respective page: http://www.occds.org/cd/cd012.html

[amateur51]

Many thanks to all for the Wanda Wilkomirska links. This extract from sigrid's blog is fascinating to me ...

"How was it working with such great conductors as Paul Hindemith, Leonard Bernstein, Otto Klemperer, Zubin Mehta, and Sir John Barbirolli? Were they easy to cooperate with?

It was exhilarating…and how it started, sometimes it started with…I would say, with quarrel. I was young, and full of…respect and I felt so humble, when I start with a Klemperer, who says, “Very good, my child.” – In German of course. I was then…nineteen. But with Bernstein, we started, and it was only once. And it was because I already had some self-confidence, self-confidence that I want it so or not so. It was after my debut, and he wanted me for some television concert. We played the last movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, and they took a tempo which was faster than the police allowed. Of course, I managed to play it…but I wandered through this big hall to Maestro Bernstein. I said, “Excuse me, isn’t it too fast? Because it is a kopak, it is a Russian dance.” He looked at me and said, “What do you mean, ‘too fast’? Is it too fast for you?” I said, “No, no, no, Maestro! It is too fast for Tchaikovsky!” …I tell you one thing, it was the last time I ever played with Bernstein.

But Sir John Barbirolli, he wanted me to play with him in Edinburgh Festival, very famous festival, and he wanted me to learn Britten Concerto. I remember first rehearsal. He stopped me after two pages, maybe, and said, “No, no, don’t do this ritenuto, it’s not good.” I say, “Yes, sir.” Then we go on and he stops me again, and says, “I would not do it…leave it, leave it.” And I say, “Yes…yes, Sir John.” But the third time, when he told me again, “My child, no, we will do big ritenuto,” I said, “No, Sir John, I wouldn’t like it, there is not…composer didn’t write ritenuto.” And he said, “Don’t quarrel with me!” Then I said, “Sir John, I’m awfully sorry, of course you are a great musician, and I am a young violinist, and you probably have the right…picture…of this concerto. But I have a picture of this concerto, and I cannot just give everything up. Sir John, would you like to have a soloist who always says, ‘yes, yes, yes’?” He said, “My child, you have something here [indicates head]. We don’t do it [the ritenuto]…” And since then, there was not a season I had no concert with Sir John. And he invited me when the Barbican was opened, to be a soloist. So you understand. Two different reactions from two different people."

Too true! Very revealing

[Dave2002]

Madam Wilkomirska is now 82 years old and teaches in Sydney. She plays as beautifully as ever and tells me that she is still able to wear clothes she had when she was 30, although, unfortunately, promoters are obliged to search for young, sexy violinists as a priority, rather than concentrating on ability, which makes this recording even more attractive.

So she'd have been 37 or thereabouts when the recording was made!

[Petrushka]

Madam Wilkomirska is now 82 years old and teaches in Sydney. She plays as beautifully as ever and tells me that she is still able to wear clothes she had when she was 30, although, unfortunately, promoters are obliged to search for young, sexy violinists as a priority, rather than concentrating on ability, which makes this recording even more attractive.
The web site offers an extended, high quality, sound sample taken from the first movement. Here is a direct link to the respective page: http://www.occds.org/cd/cd012.html

Wanda Wilkomirska was the soloist in the second concert I ever attended. She played the Mendelssohn concerto with Sir John Pritchard and the Halle Orchestra, March 7 1975 in the Victoria Hall, Stoke on Trent. What memories her name brings back!

[Dave2002]

Some may like Annie Fischer and Boult in Mozart concertos 20 and 23 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...5631_nrn_image

[Ferretfancy]

Wanda Wilkomirska was the soloist in the second concert I ever attended. She played the Mendelssohn concerto with Sir John Pritchard and the Halle Orchestra, March 7 1975 in the Victoria Hall, Stoke on Trent. What memories her name brings back!

I regret never seeing her. I treasure a Connoisseur Society LP of her playing the Cesar Franck Sonata and a stunning performance of Szymanowski's Mythes with Antonio Barbosa at the piano, a candidate for CD reissue if ever there was one.

[Ferretfancy]

I've just finished listening to the Dutton issue of first recordings entitled Vaughan Williams Early and Late Works with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates. It's a fascinating disc. Two of the works date from the 1940s. Folk Songs of the Four Seasons dates from 1949, and is an orchestration by Roy Douglas of a choral work for women's voices. Douglas made the orchestration with RVW's approval. It isn't a million miles away from the familiar English Folk Song Suite in style.

The other late work is the Dark Pastoral for Cello and Orchestra. This was originally intended to be the slow movement of a cello concerto that sadly he never completed. David Mathews has taken on the task by adding about six minutes to the four or so finished by the composer. Not real RVW perhaps, but the voice is there, and it's warmly played byGuy Johnston.

The other two items are very early works realised from the original manuscripts by Julian Rushton, with no additions needed. The Bucolic Suite dates from 1900/01, and is not very distinctive, apart from a few early flashes of that style of English bouncy "jollity" that can be a bit wearing. The real find is Vaughan Williams first orchestral work, the Serenade in A minor
dating from 1898. This is a real find, five movements with real character, especially in the longest movement, the Romance, which really looks forward to his later style.

I enjoyed this disc very much, and the recording is spacious and clear, it's well worth the investment, not yet our much loved composer but getting there!

[Barbirollians]

I remember seeing a film in which her recording of the Szymanowski 1 was used . Cannot remember much about the film ! The playing was just stunning . It appears that she like Ida Haendel and to a lesser extent Miriam Fried ( as she is a bit younger ) is a victim of the sexism and ageism that seems to affect violinists like no other soloists .

[HighlandDougie]

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Decca/4783527

bank manager

Having finally found a website from which I could download this in France in 24/96 format (having been sent an e-mail by Linn alerting me to its existence at this quality) - Highres Audio in Germany - I've been greatly enjoying this release, especially the Gershwin. I'm going to see/hear BG later this week so I might be shouting for his version of, "Love Walked In", which is, well, rather lovely. As one would expect, great sound quality.