Verdi: Requiem

Never before reissued on commercial CD: a live 1980 performance of the Verdi Requiem with Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic and soloists including Plácido Domingo and Montserrat Caballé, who “surpasses even her studio recording of 12 years earlier” (Gramophone).

Originally released in 1986, this set was one of our classical best sellers for well over a decade, and was reissued in improved sound in 2003 due to popular demand. Harvey Sachs writes in his liner notes “Performances of the Verdi Requiem often emphasize the work’s dramatic aspects to the detriment of its lyricism, or vice-versa. Here, Toscanini balances these elements completely convincingly…we are unlikely to hear a more overwhelming performance of the work than this.

This is the first release of an amazing performance.

It was recorded at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh on 21st August 1960.

The great Russian conductor Igor Markevitch (1912–1983) was born in Kiev and spent his formative years in Switzerland. He studied piano with Cortot and composition with Boulanger, and from the late 1920s until 1939 he enjoyed a successful career as a composer. However, after this period he concentrated on conducting, making a sensational debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1955. He recorded with all the major orchestras, notably the Berlin Philharmonic, Philharmonia, London Symphony Orchestra and Lamoureux, and guest conducted in all the main international centres until the mid-1970s. Markevitch left a very large discography on EMI, DG and Philips.

At the height of his powers in 1960, Markevitch returned to Russia and made a great impact with his concerts with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, resulting in this vibrant live and rare recording of the Verdi Requiem which preceded the studio version (no longer available). The spontaneity of the live recording is very evident in terms of both the extremely wide dynamic range of the recording and Markevitch’s fiery conducting, which never lets up.

David Patmore has written, ‘Markevitch’s repertoire during this visit included the Verdi Requiem, then a most unusual work to encounter in Russia because of its overt religious purpose and meaning. Possibly as a result, Markevitch and his Russian forces held no inhibitions in their performance, emphasising the operatic quality of the work, and performing it more as a drama than a liturgical rite.’

The recording features a young Galina Vishnevskaya, in her prime as an outstanding dramatic soprano. The bass, Ivan Petrov (of German origin), was born in Irkutsk in 1920, becoming a stalwart of the Bolshoi company – he was considered to be one of their finest basses. The mezzo-soprano and tenor of Markevitch’s quartet, Nina Isakova and Vladimir Ivanovsky, did not achieve international fame, but their contributions on this occasion were certainly whole-hearted. Markevitch’s rapport with both chorus and orchestra was clearly close, with strong attack matched by great sensitivity from both.

The Rossini Overtures, all brilliantly played, have been sourced from a mint LP to give extra bloom to the sound.

The recording features the Ambient Mastering process to widen the sound stage and create more depth.

The legendary Toscanini performance of the Verdi Requiem from 1951 is currently available only as part of a large box set. Regis presents this electrifying performance as a single, super budget CD.

‘Toscanini’s account of the Requiem brings a supreme performance, searingly intense. The opening of the Dies Irae has never been so hair-raising ................. And rarely has the chorus shone so brightly in this work on record, while the soloists are near-ideal, a vintage team.’ Penguin Guide

200 young musicians from 28 nations united in the language of music! Under the direction of Plácido Domingo their interpretation of the Verdi Requiem has become a hymn to life and a stellar moment of classical music. This live recording is available on CD and DVD video.