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Presto News - 23rd November 2009Kirsten Flagstad |
 Kirsten Flagstad was one of the greatest dramatic sopranos of the twentieth century. Born in Norway in 1895 she spent nearly half her singing career performing only in Scandinavia, and she was nearly forty when she first achieved world fame following her debut performances at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, where she was immediately hailed as one of the ‘supreme singers of the century’.  Kirsten Flagstad She was signed immediately to HMV and Victor and proceeded to make a number of recordings, but it was only songs and arias, and the quality of recording available at the time did her magnificently expansive and majestic voice scant justice. She remained in America until 1941 when her return to Nazi-occupied Norway and her husband (who was by then a member of the Norwegian Nazi Party) could have easily signalled the end of her international career. After the war she was fifty, which for most singers may be a good time to call it a day, and the Nazi connection did her reputation in some countries - particularly America - no favours at all. However, her voice was still in outstanding form and she quickly won over any doubters. Her recording contract was renewed, and with the coming of LPs she was at last able to record some complete operas, including the now famous Tristan und Isolde with Wilhelm Furtwangler in 1952. She finally officially retired from the operatic stage in 1953 at the age of fifty-eight. In practice she remained active in Scandinavia for the next few years and contributed a final Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung for a Norwegian broadcast and recording in 1956. This you’d have thought had to be the very end, but in fact it was just the beginning of a remarkable final chapter in her life, as soon afterwards she met the influential Decca producer John Culshaw and soon became a Decca artist! Culshaw was of course the engineer behind Georg Solti’s pioneering Ring Cycle which began in 1958, and Flagstad was engaged to sing the role of Fricka. As Culshaw describes in his subsequent book ‘Ring Resounding’ the sixty-three year old Flagstad made quite an impression: “At about 16.20 that afternoon we made our first test of the opening of the second scene and when Flagstad sang her fist line – ‘Wotan ! Gemahl! erwache!’ – the entire orchestra turned round to gape in amazement, so extraordinary was the authority and power of her voice” During these final years she also recorded Gluck’s Alceste, the first and third acts of Die Walküre (in stereo) and a number of songs, scenes and arias. These recordings have just been re-issued by Australian Eloquence and show that her voice was still firm and as miraculous as ever. You can view all these fascinating late Decca recordings here.
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Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases23rd November 2009 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Maxwell Davies: TavernerFretwork, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta Voices, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts & New London Children’s Choir, Oliver KnussenTo mark Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’s 75th birthday NMC issue the long-awaited release of his seminal opera, Taverner. This release is of the landmark 1997 BBC recording featuring an astonishing line up of the cream of British contemporary music interpreters, alongside specialist period instrument ensembles Fretwork and His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, conducted by Oliver Knussen. Although what is now known about the 16th-century English composer John Taverner differs considerably from the plot of this opera, the piece is both a fascinating study of an artist as a man for all seasons and an extraordinary indictment of the horrors inflicted on humanity by religion, or religious zealotry. This is Peter Maxwell Davies’ first release on the NMC label. |
 Brian: Symphony No. 1 'Gothic'BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Chorus, BBC Choral Society, City of London Choir, Hampstead Choral Society, Emanuel School Choir & Orpington Junior Singers, Sir Adrian BoultIt was the composer and BBC producer Dr. Robert Simpson who took up the cause of Brian’s music in the early 1950s, starting with Brian’s Eighth Symphony – the first of his symphonies that the composer had ever heard – which Sir Adrian Boult conducted for a BBC broadcast in February 1954. Over the years Simpson worked towards a performance of The Gothic, the ultimate goal by reason of its huge dimensions and the forces involved. The symphony’s world première was a semi-amateur performance at Central Hall, Westminster on 24 June 1961 conducted by Bryan Fairfax. But its first fully professional rendition was the performance captured on these discs, mounted by the BBC Third Programme, broadcast live and – accompanied by a considerable fanfare of publicity including a short film about Havergal Brian shown on BBC2 – given in the Royal Albert Hall under Sir Adrian Boult on 30 October 1966, in the presence of the 90-year-old composer. |
 Dvorak - Symphony No. 9Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Roger NorringtonRoger Norrington and his historically sensitive orchestra turn to the music of Dvorak, beginning with the composer’s most famous symphony. Norrington and company provide a performance as exciting as discovering a New World. The programme is completed by a surprising performance of Dvorak’s popular “Carnival” Overture. |
 Bach Complete Cantatas Vol 1-22 (Complete)Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton KoopmanBetween 1999 and 2006, the legendary baroque music specialist Ton Koopman brought together a stunning array of singers to record the complete cantatas of J S Bach alongside his own Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir. Released originally mostly in 3CD sets, this wonderful cycle is now being made available by Challenge Classics in its entirety. The 67 separate CDs have now been gathered together in a box with a booklet that includes a complete tracklisting and information about each recording. |
 Van Cliburn in MoscowVan Cliburn (piano), Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kyrill KondrashinMany of these recordings have never been available on CD. Melodiya’s aim is to demonstrate the panorama and range of Cliburn’s performances. They have selected from their archive, those recordings with the best technical and artistic merit. Included are works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Grieg and Debussy. |
 A Festival of BalletThis magnificent 50CD box set of ballet recordings from the catalogue of EMI Classics is the most extensive collection of its kind ever assembled. The booklet contains a new 2000 word note written by esteemed ballet critic of the Financial Times, Clement Crisp, as well as a complete index for over 150 ballets that are included in this 50CD set. |
 I Love BalletThese two richly-filled CDs provide a perfect introduction to the joys of ballet music. Many of ballet's greatest hits and favourites are included: highlights from Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Romeo & Juliet, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Sylvia , Cinderella, La Fille mal gardée, Gayaneh (the soaring theme from the BBC TV drama The Onedin Line) and the charming Tales of Beatrix Potter. |
 Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - DVDFalk Struckmann (Hans Sachs), Ain Anger (Veit Pogner), Adrian Eröd (Sixtus Beckmesser), Johan Botha (Walther von Stolzing), Michael Schade (David) & Ricarda Merbeth (Eva), Orchestra & Chorus of the Vienna State Opera, Christian ThielemannThe 2008 reprise of the evergreen Otto Schenk staging with an overwhelming cast, perfect for all Wagner traditionalists. Conductor Christian Thielemann deserves a great deal of the credit for fashioning a multi-faceted drama that is anything but black-and-white in its musical depiction of the characters. Since his Bayreuth Festival debut in 2000,Thielemann has established himself as one of the world's leading Wagner conductors. Among the vocal surprises of this live recording is Adrian Eröd as Beckmesser. Eröd is on a par with the great Wagner baritone Falk Struckmann as Hans Sachs, who injects earthy humour into his role while building a tender rapport with Ricarda Merbeth's Eva. As Walther von Stolzing, Johan Botha is pure tenor gold. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 21st November 2009 |
Building a Library - Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 in B flat major |
 First ChoiceBerlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim |
 First Choice(as part of the complete symphonies)Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim |
Disc of the Week |
 Simon Keenlyside & Malcolm MartineauSongs by Schubert, Wolf, Fauré and RavelLive recording from the Wigmore Hall. |
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