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Volume 16 Issue 2 - October 2010

  • Text
  • Choir
  • Toronto
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Fassbaender, Benno

Fassbaender, Benno Kusche, Lucia Popp andothers. This was 1979 and the voices werein their prime. A second production fromMarch 1994 with The Vienna State Operawas based on Schenk’s Munich production.Here are Felicity Lott, Kurt Moll, Anne Sophievon Otter, Gottfried Hornik, BarbaraBonney and others. Same conductor, differ-have a great time rating the singers. Finallywe head back to Munich for Die Fledermausin a sparkling, high spirited, irresistibleproduction with sets by Günter Schneider-Siemssen, perfectly cast with EberhardWächter, Pamela Coburn, Benno Kusche,Brigitte Fassbaender (Orlofsky), WolfgangBrendel and others. This is an irresistibleViennese pastry to close out the programme.I was somewhat familiar with some of thesevideos but I had not anticipated being so captivatedby them to the extent that to start anyone meant to watch it through. Time consumingbut rewarding.About 20 yearsago I was in theaudience in MasseyHall when violinistIvry Gitlisplayed the Tchaikovskywith the TorontoPhilharmonic.This was a specialoccasion, an opportunityto hear one of the very last survivorsof the school, or era, of creative, subjectiveperformers whose performances were alwaysa personal statement, revealing new aspectsof the score. I have enjoyed Gitlis’ recordingssince the 1950s, especially his SibeliusConcerto with Jascha Horenstein which remainsa favourite version. At about the sametime he played that concerto with the NewYork Philharmonic under George Szell andthat performance has just been released byDOREMI on a rather impressive collection oflive performances (DRH-7981-3, 2 CDs plus1 DVD). The set features Gitlis in virtuosoworks from the late romantics plus 20th centuryrepertoire. There is a Brahms Doublefeaturing the impeccable artistry of the highlyesteemed French cellist Maurice Gendron.Also the Paganini #2, Hindemith’s concertoand the violin concerto by René Liebowitz.The DVD is a treasure chest of eclectic selectionsfrom the concerto and sonata reper-and virtuosity effecting a silvery, sensuoussound with new insights into the scores.Drawn from French and German television1966-1992 colour.In the good olddays of the late1950s and 1960swhen we were ravenous(well, some ofLondon FFSS LPs,the name of pianistJulius Katchenemerged as one ofthe elite of the classical repertoire with acomplete Beethoven Concertos, completeBrahms piano music, a multitude of worksfrom Mozart to Bartok and Gershwin, plustrios with Joseph Suk and Janos Starker. Hadhe lived beyond his 42 years we might haveheard his Bach. Now DOREMI has released alive performance of Bach’s second PartitaBWV826 (DHR-7936), a magical performanceby virtue of transparency and a beautifulsinging style, arguing an excellentcase for Bach on piano. Also heard are theBeethoven 43 Variations in C minor and anewly discovered performance from 1960 ofsals.Then in his eighties, Casals was notas technically perfect as before but offers adeeply moving performance, supported byKatchen as an equal partner.EDITOR’S CORNER continued from page 61Michael Haydn, Papa Joseph’s youngerbrother, that we have the legacy of thesix string quintets. Drawn to the dark sonorityof the viola, Mozart was inspired byHaydn’s Notturno for two violins, two violasand cello - previous string quintets, notablythose of Boccherini, had employed a secondayinto the form was the spacious, diverti-1773. It was more than a dozen years beforehe would return to the genre with the contrastingK515 and K516 in C major and Gminor respectively. Composed after the six“Haydn” string quartets and Figaro, these arefully developed mature works. A transcriptionof the C minor wind serenade originallyfor pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoonsand horns, and two original works in D ma-months of his life, complete the set.A new recording of the complete MozartString Quintets features members of the renownedNash Ensemble with violist PhilipDukes (Hyperion CDA67861/3). These sensitiveperformances bring out the contrastingmoods of the quintets from the playfulnessthe minor key offerings. It was a treat to revisitthese works in this new recording fromthe lush acoustic of St. Paul’s Church, Depford,London.We welcome your feedback and invite submissions.CDs should be sent to The Whole-Note, 503–720 Bathurst St. Toronto ONM5S 2R4. We also encourage you to visitour website, www.thewholenote.com, wherelinks, and additional, expanded and archivalreviews.David Olds can be reached at discoveries@thewholenote.comMembersof theRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestramusical luminaries are excited aboutthis eclectic Canadian recording. . .& other“Spell-bindingproduction.”Sir George Martin CBE, Beatles producer“Wonderfully passionate!”George Meanwell, Quartetto Gelatoflutists Leslie Huggett & Flora Lim... Irresistible !”Brian Pollard FRCM, Royal Concertgebouw OrchestraNot just another flute album !Discover the music at www.theflutestudio.ca68 thewholenote.comOctober 1 - November 7, 2010

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