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Presto News - 21st June 2010Carlos Kleiber |
 I’ve been looking forward to writing an editorial on the legendary conductor Carlos Kleiber for many years, and finally the combination of what would have been his eightieth birthday and the appearance of two limited edition boxed sets of his complete recordings on Deutsche Grammophon has given me the perfect opportunity.  Carlos Kleiber Carlos Kleiber's life and career was something of an enigma. He started off building a conducting career like most other conductors but as he got more and more well known he conducted less and less. He started cancelling more performances than he gave and declined more work than he accepted. The strange thing was that every time he cancelled a performance his reputation increased. Even at the height of his activity (in the mid 1970s), he limited his repertoire to about eight operas and two dozen symphonies. And from then until his death in 2004 the performances became more and more sporadic and the range of repertoire decreased further. Apart from a brief spell at Stuttgart Opera in the 1960s he never accepted a Principal Conductor position and even declined the invitation to succeed Karajan in Berlin in 1989. He left very few official recordings and refused to sanction the release of many others. It is certainly true that this very limited activity helped give rise to the almost cult following his name still commands, but equally for someone to have achieved the international acclaim and worldwide adulation which he did from such a limited repertoire and career means that there must have been something very special about him. And, through the existence of the small number of recordings he did make, we have lasting evidence of his genius. His limited repertoire resulted in a meticulous approach to the scores he conducted. He had his own sets of highly detailed orchestral parts, which enabled him to use his rehearsal time to maximum effect. The results are remarkable - he makes even the most familiar works (such as Beethoven’s Fifth) sound new and fresh and, despite all the preparation, they display a spontaneity and inspired approach to the music which leaves rival recordings trailing a long way behind. He had a clear, elegant and descriptive baton technique and by all accounts musicians and singers loved working for him. We’ve secured special prices on both the new limited edition boxed sets and for what they contain they are both absolute bargains. The 12-disc CD set comprises three discs of orchestral works by Beethoven (Symphonies Nos. 5 and 7), Brahms (Symphony No. 4) and Schubert (Symphonies Nos. 3 and 8) and his four complete opera recordings (Der Freischütz, Die Fledermaus, La Traviata and Tristan und Isolde). The DVD set comprises his orchestral concerts of Beethoven (Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7), Brahms (Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4) and Mozart (Symphonies Nos. 33 and 36), two New Year’s Concerts (1989 and 1992), two productions of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier and Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus. A lot of these are classic recordings, many of them widely acknowledged as the finest on record, and there is so much enjoyment contained within - from the exciting Beethoven symphonies, to the wonderfully crafted Brahms 4, to the beautiful and youthful sounding Isolde of Margaret Price - I really can’t recommend these highly enough.
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 Carlos Kleiber - Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon80th Anniversary Limited Edition. |
 Carlos Kleiber - Complete Opera and Concert DVDs on DG80th Anniversary Limited Edition. |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases21st June 2010 |
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. |
 Salieri - Requiem in C minorGulbenkian Chorus & Orchestra, Lawrence FosterThe Salieri Requiem is a forgotten work which Salieri composed for his own funeral ceremony 20 years before he actually died. This is a world premiere recording. Beethoven and Schubert were students of Salieri and were present at his funeral where the Requiem was first performed. |
 Bach - Cantatas for the Liturgical Year Volume 10Siri Thornhill (soprano), Petra Noskaiova (alto), Christoph Genz (tenor) & Jan van der Crabben (bass), La Petite Bande, Sigiswald KuijkenLa Petite Bande continue their successful Bach Cantata Project. Their intention is to record one cantata for each Sunday and high feasts of the liturgical year. The project has been spread over several concert seasons during which the cantatas will be given concert performances, as well as being recorded for CD. |
 Zelenka: Missa Votiva in E minor, ZWV18Joanne Lunn (soprano), Daniel Taylor (alto), Johannes Kaleschke (tenor), Thomas E. Bauer (bass), Kammerchor Stuttgart & Barockorchester Stuttgart, Frieder BerniusZelenka’s music is always fresh and creative, often surprising in its sudden harmonic turns and demanding instrumentations. This CD features the hugely admired forces of Kammerchor Stuttgart conducted by Frieder Bernius. The mass is one of the most impressive and intellectually profound of his works. It is subdivided into sections, allowing for a wide variety of scoring. |
 Miaskovsky - String Quartets Nos. 1 & 13Renoir QuartetTogether with Prokofiev and Shostakovich, Miaskovsky made up the trinity of Soviet music in the first half of the 20th century. The 13th Quartet was his final masterpiece and in it he achieves a perfect balance of expression and rigour. The Renoir Quartet possesses all the necessary qualities for championing these luxuriant scores with brio and subtlety. |
 Hoddinott: Orchestral WorksLondon Symphony Orchestra, Norman Del Mar, David AthertonThis disc presents some key examples from the composer’s cogently argued, purely abstract works and from his series of pieces inspired by literary or visual images. All five pieces demonstrate his acute ear for orchestral and instrumental sonority, especially in their imaginative use of percussion; they also serve as a reminder of his love for Baroque forms such as passacaglia and ritornello and interest in contemporary procedures such as palindromic and aleatory methods. |
 Exsultate Jubilate - Mozart AriasLenneke Ruiten (soprano), Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, Ed SpanjaardThis is prize-winning Lenneke Ruitken’s recording debut. She has chosen arias that are all theatrical, but also very diverse. She is a new artist on PentaTone, but already has been invited by John Elliot Gardner for a series of concerts. |
 Richter plays ProkofievSvyatoslav Richter (piano)These are live recordings and this is the first time that they have been available on CD. Even in the early 1940s, Richter was acknowledged to be a unique interpreter of Prokofiev’s music. These recordings were made in 1961 and 1979. |
 Caccini: O Viva RosaShannon Mercer (soprano), Bergeron (guitar, theorbo), Keesmaat (cello) & Beaséjour (harpsichord, organ)Shannon Mercer’s voice has been described as luminous, dazzling and shining and her acting witty, delightful and feisty. Critically acclaimed by the international press for her musical artistry, she has been hailed as “one of Canada’s most promising young sopranos”. This is her sixth recording for Analekta. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 19th June 2010 |
Building a Library - Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 77 No. 2 in F major |
 First ChoiceAlban Berg Quartett |
Disc of the Week |
 Schubert - Symphonies Nos. 8 & 9Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard |
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