Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Pablo Casals. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Pablo Casals. Mostrar todas las entradas
martes, 8 de diciembre de 2020
domingo, 26 de abril de 2020
sábado, 2 de febrero de 2019
Taeguk Mun SONGS OF THE CELLO
This debut album opens with cellist Taeguk Mun – winner of the 2014 Pablo Casals International Cello Competition and the 2016 János Starker Foundation Award – playing Bach’s Suite for Solo Cello No 1. He is then joined by the pianist Chi Ho Han, another multi-award-winning musician
from South Korea, for Beethoven’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in A Major
and short pieces by Schumann, Schubert, Rubinstein and Pablo Casals.
martes, 7 de junio de 2016
Alfred Cortot / Jacques Thibaud / Pablo Casals BEETHOVEN - SCHUBERT - MENDELSSOHN - SCHUMANN - HAYDN Piano Trios BRAHMS Double Concerto
Unlike string quartets, which had behind them a tradition of stable
partnership, piano trios were mostly adventitious ensembles until in
1906, at Cortot's instigation, he, Thibaud and Casals got together,
rapidly acquiring a unique reputation and an enthusiastic following.
Each of the three had already made a name as a soloist but though their
characters and temperaments differed widely one from another, they fused
together in a way remarkable for the unanimity of their musical
thinking and their apparent spontaneity of expression. In the
quarter-century of the ensemble's existence, its repertoire, as Jean
Loubier's excellent detailed note here reveals, consisted of 30 works,
about a third of which however were played once only: the recordings
gathered here are of the works the team played most often.
The performance of Schubert's B flat Trio made in 1926 when none of the three artists had yet reached the age of 50, was one of the earliest great classics of the recorded chamber music catalogue (many of us treasured for years those four 78rpm discs), and its present transfer to CD serves to show that one's recollected admiration is not merely nostalgic. This is a vivid recording, with splendid drive in the first movement; and Casals opens the Andante with a beautiful cantabile tone yet avoids sentimentality. The recording, a bit shallow, is nevertheless astonishingly good, considering when it was made. Beethoven's Kakadu Variations, from the same sessions, have an extraordinarily wide dynamic range but there is some obtrusive noise at the start. Has any work except Dohnanyi's Variations on a Nursery Song ever contained such a misleadingly grave long introduction to an ingenuous theme? Thibaud's light, dancing solo variation is a delight.
From the technical point of view the 1927 recordings are much less good. No fewer than four engineers are jointly credited: did they disagree among themselves? At any rate, the Haydn G major Trio is much too closely miked, producing a thin whistle on the violin and edgy tone in the Poco Adagio (the second half of which is affected by scratchy surface noise). Performance-wise too this is disappointing: the famous 'Gipsy' Rondo starts untidily and there are several imperfections of ensemble later in the semiquavers. Mendelssohn's D minor Trio, recorded at the same time, is set a little more distantly, but the string tone in the Andante (which tends to plod) and the Scherzo is unpleasantly wiry. The best things here are the turbulence of the first movement, Casals's gentle calm in its second subject, and Cortot's sensitive shaping of the theme of the Andante. The Mozart/Beethoven variations for cello and piano are marred by gritty, crackly sound.
In 1928 the artists moved into London's Small Queen's Hall for the other two trios here. The sound produced, though variable, shows a distinct improvement; the piano tone is fresher in the Beethoven than the Schumann (where, probably because of the instrument's almost inevitable domination, the engineers seem to have distanced it more). The Schumann is notable for the warm, spaciously romantic reading of the first movement and the vitality of the finale (which should have followed the slow movement immediately, without the gap inserted here): Casals can be heard grunting from time to time. There is some surface noise in the last two movements of the Archduke Trio, and Cortot lets the team down with some wrong notes and untidy trills, but overall this is an impressive performance, particularly in the lightness of the Scherzo and the sense of mystery in its Trio.
Cortot's technical unreliability again becomes noticeable in the Kreutzer Sonata, recorded in Paris in 1929: he is fractionally behind Thibaud in places, and his left hand makes a bad boss-shot at the sonata's final bars. But there is a wonderful sense of urgency and forward impetus in the first movement, and Thibaud brings a gentle grace (despite some portamentos that in the present day may appear exaggerated) to the theme of the Andante's variations. A fortnight earlier the three colleagues had met in Barcelona to record the Brahms Double Concerto with Casals's own orchestra (which he had founded ten years earlier) conducted by Cortot. The start of the recording is dispiriting, with cramped orchestral sound and thin tone from the soloists, but the engineers somehow manage to adjust matters, and for the bulk of the work the sonority and presence worthily reflect Thibaud and Casals's intense fire and emotionalism. These three historically important and well-filled discs valuably document these great artists.' (Gramophone)
The performance of Schubert's B flat Trio made in 1926 when none of the three artists had yet reached the age of 50, was one of the earliest great classics of the recorded chamber music catalogue (many of us treasured for years those four 78rpm discs), and its present transfer to CD serves to show that one's recollected admiration is not merely nostalgic. This is a vivid recording, with splendid drive in the first movement; and Casals opens the Andante with a beautiful cantabile tone yet avoids sentimentality. The recording, a bit shallow, is nevertheless astonishingly good, considering when it was made. Beethoven's Kakadu Variations, from the same sessions, have an extraordinarily wide dynamic range but there is some obtrusive noise at the start. Has any work except Dohnanyi's Variations on a Nursery Song ever contained such a misleadingly grave long introduction to an ingenuous theme? Thibaud's light, dancing solo variation is a delight.
From the technical point of view the 1927 recordings are much less good. No fewer than four engineers are jointly credited: did they disagree among themselves? At any rate, the Haydn G major Trio is much too closely miked, producing a thin whistle on the violin and edgy tone in the Poco Adagio (the second half of which is affected by scratchy surface noise). Performance-wise too this is disappointing: the famous 'Gipsy' Rondo starts untidily and there are several imperfections of ensemble later in the semiquavers. Mendelssohn's D minor Trio, recorded at the same time, is set a little more distantly, but the string tone in the Andante (which tends to plod) and the Scherzo is unpleasantly wiry. The best things here are the turbulence of the first movement, Casals's gentle calm in its second subject, and Cortot's sensitive shaping of the theme of the Andante. The Mozart/Beethoven variations for cello and piano are marred by gritty, crackly sound.
In 1928 the artists moved into London's Small Queen's Hall for the other two trios here. The sound produced, though variable, shows a distinct improvement; the piano tone is fresher in the Beethoven than the Schumann (where, probably because of the instrument's almost inevitable domination, the engineers seem to have distanced it more). The Schumann is notable for the warm, spaciously romantic reading of the first movement and the vitality of the finale (which should have followed the slow movement immediately, without the gap inserted here): Casals can be heard grunting from time to time. There is some surface noise in the last two movements of the Archduke Trio, and Cortot lets the team down with some wrong notes and untidy trills, but overall this is an impressive performance, particularly in the lightness of the Scherzo and the sense of mystery in its Trio.
Cortot's technical unreliability again becomes noticeable in the Kreutzer Sonata, recorded in Paris in 1929: he is fractionally behind Thibaud in places, and his left hand makes a bad boss-shot at the sonata's final bars. But there is a wonderful sense of urgency and forward impetus in the first movement, and Thibaud brings a gentle grace (despite some portamentos that in the present day may appear exaggerated) to the theme of the Andante's variations. A fortnight earlier the three colleagues had met in Barcelona to record the Brahms Double Concerto with Casals's own orchestra (which he had founded ten years earlier) conducted by Cortot. The start of the recording is dispiriting, with cramped orchestral sound and thin tone from the soloists, but the engineers somehow manage to adjust matters, and for the bulk of the work the sonority and presence worthily reflect Thibaud and Casals's intense fire and emotionalism. These three historically important and well-filled discs valuably document these great artists.' (Gramophone)
viernes, 24 de octubre de 2014
Sol Gabetta PRAYER
On her new album "Prayer" Sol Gabetta takes the listener with her on a
meditative musical journey. Accompanied by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta
and the Orchestre National de Lyon, she has recorded a selection of
Classical music inspired by Jewish melodies. It was Ernest Bloch's
(1880-1959) piece "Prayer" that first gave Sol Gabetta the idea for this
album: "I often played 'Prayer' as an encore in concert, and could feel
that many people in the audience were greatly moved by it. This is
music that is both sensual and reflective." In addition to the
three-part cycle "From Jewish Life", of which "Prayer" is the first
movement, Gabetta's CD recital includes Bloch's "Meditation hebräique",
"Nigun", and the famous "Schelomo" for cello and orchestra. The
programme is delightfully rounded off by four songs Gabetta has chosen
from Dmitri Shostakovich's cycle "From Jewish Folk Poetry" and a Catalan
folk song full of yearning by the famous cellist Pablo Casals.
Sol Gabetta recorded "Prayer" together with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. In Bloch's "Schelomo" she is accompanied by the Orchestre National de Lyon under Leonard Slatkin; it was with this conductor that she originally played the work, which dates from 1916. Gabetta says: "This is a sweeping, large-scale cello concerto in which the cello takes the role of King Solomon".
The Jewish pieces by Bloch with their religious undertones contrast with folk songs from the pen of Shostakovich, which he published in 1948 under the title "From Jewish Folk Poetry". From the total of 11 songs, Sol Gabetta chose four for her recital which were then specially arranged for cello and string orchestra by Mikhail Bronner. The original poems that Shostakovich set to music tell of the hardships of Jewish life in tsarist Russian. The Catalan folk song "Song of the Birds" is a tale of human longing. The Spanish cellist Pablo Casals arranged it for his instrument, and from 1939 onwards he used it to open many of the concerts he gave in exile. Gabetta has recorded the piece together with the cello ensemble of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Sol Gabetta recorded "Prayer" together with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. In Bloch's "Schelomo" she is accompanied by the Orchestre National de Lyon under Leonard Slatkin; it was with this conductor that she originally played the work, which dates from 1916. Gabetta says: "This is a sweeping, large-scale cello concerto in which the cello takes the role of King Solomon".
The Jewish pieces by Bloch with their religious undertones contrast with folk songs from the pen of Shostakovich, which he published in 1948 under the title "From Jewish Folk Poetry". From the total of 11 songs, Sol Gabetta chose four for her recital which were then specially arranged for cello and string orchestra by Mikhail Bronner. The original poems that Shostakovich set to music tell of the hardships of Jewish life in tsarist Russian. The Catalan folk song "Song of the Birds" is a tale of human longing. The Spanish cellist Pablo Casals arranged it for his instrument, and from 1939 onwards he used it to open many of the concerts he gave in exile. Gabetta has recorded the piece together with the cello ensemble of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
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