Legacy
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Constantin Silvestri: Shostakovich Symphony No. 8, Kabalevsky Colas Breugnon Overture
This recording is a rarity and belonged to Silvestri, only discovered after his death. The live performance from 1961 of Shostakovich Symphony No.8 is a new addition to Silvestri's discography, as is Kabalevsky’s Colas Breugnon Overture. The recording captures Silvestri’s electrifying performance of Shostakovich’s greatest symphony. During his early years in Moscow, Silvestri conducted Shostakovich and was praised by the composer. Silvestri’s only other Shostakovich recording was Symphony No.5 with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1960 -
Shura Cherkassky: Saint-Saëns & Liszt
Shura Cherkassky was born in Odessa, Ukraine in 1909 and died in London in 1995. He was initially taught by his mother who had played for Tchaikovsky, but when the family moved to the US in 1923, he studied with his long-time teacher and mentor, the legendary Josef Hofmann, before auditioning for Rachmaninov. Prior to World War II, he had made his name in the US but from 1945 he extensively toured Europe and settled in London in 1961. The last of the great Romantic tradition of pianists, Cherkassky was described by Bryce Morrison as a 'mercurial genius', a unique personality, blessed with an incredible technique, who delighted in defying convention as no performance was identical. For a musician reluctant to visit the studio, live performances were the showcase for his stunning virtuosity and creativity caught on the wing. -
Otto Klemperer (Richard Itter Collection Vol.2)
MP3 Album:This release has been sourced from the Richard Itter archive of ‘live’ recordings. The collection is very important for collectors because it has never been released before onto the market. Following the archive’s launch in October 2017 with releases featuring Beecham, Böhm, Cantelli, Karajan, du Pré, Klemperer and Rostropovich, it has received universal praise from both the classical media and record collectors for the excellent sound and performances. -
Otto Klemperer (Richard Itter Collection Vol.1)
MP3 Album:Despite there being a large number of Otto Klemperer recordings on the market, these Richard Itter tapes of live broadcasts from the Royal Festival Hall and the BBCs Studios in Maida Vale between 1955 and 1956 have never, as far as is known, been released before. Klemperer was always more exciting when caught live and had added urgency as compared to his studio accounts, particuarly at this time before his health deteriorated in later years. His Philharmonia concerts were hugely successful in the mid 1950s when Walter Legge was looking to replace Herbert von Karajan, who was in the process of leaving for the Berlin Philharmonic. As Richard Osborne states in his notes, The winter of 1955-56 marked a new dawn for Klemperer. -
Guido Cantelli (Richard Itter Collection)
MP3 Album:Guido Cantellis live recordings with the Philharmonia Orchestra are exceptionally rare because the BBC seldom broadcast any of his concerts. ICA Classics released Cantellis live concert from the Edinburgh Festival in September 1954 on ICAC 5081 but there has been nothing else. Toscanini was Cantellis mentor and there is no doubt that he would have continued in the great conductors footsteps had he not been tragically killed in an air accident in Paris on the 24th November 1956. He was 36 years old. The Royal Albert Hall recording made by Richard Itter in May 1953 is very well recorded for the period and preserves the palpable excitement of the whole concert. -
Great Symphonies
MP3 Album:Beethoven’s Ninth and Mendelssohn’s “Italian” are two of the great symphonies to appear in this collection, which also features works by Tchaikovsky, Schumann and Brahms, among others. With renowned conductors including Sir Adrian Boult and Gennadi Rozhdestvensky at the helm, these expertly remastered recordings represent an excellent addition to any symphony-lover’s collection. -
Otto Klemperer
MP3 Album:Bach: Suite No.3 BWV 1068/KRSO (Saal 1, Funkhaus, Koln, 17 October 1955) Mozart: Symphony No.29/KRSO (Saal 1, Funkhaus, Koln, 8 February 1954) Beethoven: Symphony No.1/KRSO (Saal 1, Funkhaus, Koln 21 February 1954) -
Great Pianists
MP3 Album:EMIL GILELS BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3 – 1967 ICAC 5000 CLAUDIO ARRAU CHOPIN Piano Concerto No.1 • BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.4 – 1954 & 1959 1954 (Chopin), 1959 (Beethoven) Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln. ICAC 5045 JULIUS KATCHEN BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.1* • CHOPIN Ballade No.3 • LISZT Mephisto Waltz No.1 SCHUMANN Vogel als Prophet (Waldszenen) • ALBÉNIZ Triana (Ibéria – Book 2) – 1958, 1965 & 1967* ICAC 5048 GEORGES CZIFFRA GRIEG Piano Concerto • LISZT Piano Concerto No.1 • Fantasy on Hungarian Folk Themes LULLY Gavotte en rondeau • D. SCARLATTI Sonata K96 ‘La Chasse’ – 1959 ICAC 5079 SHURA CHERKASSKY CHOPIN Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 – 1981 & 1983 ICAC 5085 -
Shura Cherkassky
MP3 Album:CHOPIN Piano Concerto No.1 Piano Concerto No.2 BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Christopher Adey BBC Symphony Orchestra Richard Hickox Recorded: Studio 1, Broadcasting House, Glasgow, 3 December 1981 (No.1) Royal Albert Hall, London, 30 August 1983 (No.2) -
Guido Cantelli
MP3 Album:SCHUMANN Symphony No.4 - DEBUSSY Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien – Suite La Mer Philharmonia Orchestra/Cantelli USHER HALL, EDINBURGH, 9 SEPTEMBER 1954 -
Hugo Wolf
MP3 Album:Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch Janet Baker John Shirley-Quirk Steuart Bedford Live from the 1977 Aldeburgh Festival -
Otto Klemperer
MP3 Album:MENDELSSOHN Midsummer Nights Dream – Incidental Music Käthe Möller-Siepermann (sop) Hanna Ludwig (mezzo) Kölner Rundfunkchor Chorus Master: Karl Kaufhold Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester SAAL 1, FUNKHAUS, COLOGNE, 9-11 JUNE 1955 - BEETHOVEN Symphony No.8 Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester SAAL 1, FUNKHAUS, COLOGNE, 28 MAY 1955 Rehearsal of Beethoven Symphony No. 4 SAAL 1, FUNKHAUS, COLOGNE, 25 OCTOBER 1954
MP3 releases from the Legacy Series