Tags
Language
Tags
March 2024
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
25 26 27 28 29 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 1 2 3 4 5 6

Sviatoslav Richter & VA - Music Festival 'December Nights', Moscow 1985: Schumann, Schubert, Chopin (2014) 2CDs

Posted By: Designol
Sviatoslav Richter & VA - Music Festival 'December Nights', Moscow 1985: Schumann, Schubert, Chopin (2014) 2CDs

Music Festival 'December Nights', Moscow 1985: Schumann, Schubert, Chopin (2014) 2 CDs
Sviatoslav Richter, piano; Anatoly Kamyshev, clarinet; Oleg Kagan, violin;
Natalia Gutman, cello; Yuri Bashmet, viola

EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 610 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 341 Mb | Scans included
Genre: Classical | Label: Melodiya | # MEL CD 10 02204 | Time: 02:29:03

Firma Melodiya continues the series of compact discs dedicated to December Evenings Festival that takes place at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. This album, like the previous one, is dedicated to the 1985 festival World of Romanticism and includes recordings featuring Sviatoslav Richter.

The atmosphere of December Evenings, an event initiated by the great pianist, differed from usual philharmonic concerts. The spirit of music as an inseparable part of "fusion of arts" the romanticists dreamt of was invisibly felt in each number; a sensitive listener can catch it in these, perhaps technically imperfect, concert recordings from thirty years ago.

The works by Schubert, Schumann and Chopin were performed by Sviatoslav Richter in ensemble with his outstanding contemporaries, violinist and David Oistrakh's student Oleg Kogan who passed away prematurely, violist Yuri Bashmet, cellist Natalia Gutman and clarinettist Anatoly Kamyshov. Along with popular compositions (Chopin's Polonaise-fantaisie, ballade and cello suite, and Schubert's sonata for violin and piano), the programme featured works which were less known to the audience – Schumann's Piano Trio, his late opuses Fairy Tale Pictures, Op. 113 for viola and piano, and Fantasy Pieces, Op. 73, in their original version for clarinet and piano.

This is the second volume in Melodiya’s ‘December Nights’ series, dedicated to the December Evenings Festival that takes place annually at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow. As with the previous volume devoted to Robert Schumann, Sviatoslav Richter, the co-founder, features prominently. It was in 1981 that the Russian pianist, together with Irina Antonova the director of the Pushkin Museum, initiated these concerts. Since that time they have been an eagerly anticipated annual event. Richter’s concept was a series of chamber music concerts organized around a theme such as ‘Mozart’s Times’, ‘Rembrandt and Beethoven’ and ‘Russian Art and Music’, to name just a few. He assembled distinguished friends and musicians to perform chamber music, and he himself would give solo recitals and accompany lieder. In 1983 he staged two Britten chamber operas in a festival which took the theme of English music and painters. Richter died in 1997, yet these concerts continue to thrive to this day.

Unfortunately, the Schubert ‘Duo’ Sonata is the bad apple here, and fails to win me over. I’ve no issue with the sound quality, but interpretively this performance doesn’t work for me. Kagan says a few words by way of introduction before the sonata begins. Several months ago I reviewed a disc of piano and violin works by Schubert and Brahms, in which this sonata featured. The label was again Melodiya and the violinist was David Oistrakh, who was, incidentally Oleg Kagan’s teacher. The pianist in my nominated ‘Recording of the Month’ was Frida Bauer, and the year was 1970. Comparing the two readings side by side, the first movement of the Kagan/Richter is too slow and hesitant and doesn’t flow. The Scherzo is marred by Richter’s heavy-handed approach to the piano part, which should be light. He throws in a few declamatory and heavily accentuated chords which have no place. Unlike the Oistrakh/Bauer performance, this 1985 reading doesn’t smile and there is no joy to be found. Maybe they were having an off-night. All of these performances, we are told, are first time on CD. There is another performance with Kagan/Richter from three weeks later (31 December 1985), again live from the Pushkin Museum on Live Classics (LC 5954). I haven’t heard it but it would be interesting to compare the two to find out if the same problems beset this later airing.

Richter and Natalia Gutman enjoyed a close personal friendship, indeed he was once heard to remark that she was the greatest cellist in the world. I have always enjoyed her playing, and a rare live recording I have of her playing the Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme, with the Moscow Philharmonic conducted by David Oistrakh, is the finest performance of this work I have ever heard. The Chopin Sonata, one of the composer’s rare forays into something other than solo piano music, is an unmitigated success, with this performance having much to recommend it. The ardent passion in the first movement is delivered with spontaneity and eloquence. Gutman’s rich and burnished tone is well-suited to this score. There is a great sense of understanding and unity between the two players. The eloquent and soulful account of the Largo movement cannot fail to move the listener. It’s disappointing that they rather unimaginatively choose the last two movements to repeat as an encore. I find this a rather strange practice. I’m sure the audience would have appreciated something different. The two players later took the sonata to Tours, France in June 1986.

As for the Schumann Trio here it must surely receive one of the most dramatic and exhilarating performances ever recorded. The players seem to be inspired by the presence of an audience to produce something truly memorable. Kagan achieves a wonderful beauty of tone in the opening of the first movement. It’s all well-rehearsed with detailed matching phrases and superb control of dynamics. The slow movement is the centre of gravity, with the players bringing out all the score's desolation, isolation, loneliness and vulnerability. The work ends with an energized romp of a finale.

Richter joins Anatoly Kamyshev for the Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 73 and Yuri Bashmet for the Fairy Tale Pictures, for Viola and Piano, Op. 113. The pianist had had the Op. 73 in his repertoire since 1969, when he partnered Pierre Fournier in the more well-known cello and piano version at the Summer Festival in Tours. Both works make pleasing additions, with memorable performances in first-rate sound quality. The set ends with two of Chopin’s larger solo piano works, which Richter frequently programmed throughout his career. The Polonaise-Fantaisie is a little ragged, with several finger-slips.

It is very apt that I am reviewing this release at this time, approaching Christmas. What better way to spend a December evening.

Review by Stephen Greenbank, MusicWeb-International.com

Sviatoslav Richter & VA - Music Festival 'December Nights', Moscow 1985: Schumann, Schubert, Chopin (2014) 2CDs



Tracklist:

CD1:

Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op.73
01. I. Zart und mit Ausdruck (03:19)
02. II. Lebhaft, leicht (03:27)
03. III. Rasch und mit Feuer (04:24)

Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Violin Sonata in A major, D.574
04. I. Allegro moderato (10:26)
05. II. Scherzo. Presto (04:06)
06. III. Andantino (04:05)
07. IV. Allegro vivace (05:40)

Frédéric CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Cello Sonata in G minor, Op.65
08. I. Allegro moderato (15:52)
09. II. Scherzo (04:34)
10. III. Largo (03:09)
11. IV. Finale. Allegro (06:10)
12. Encore: III. Largo (03:08)
13. Encore: IV. Finale. Allegro (06:16)

CD2:

Robert SCHUMANN
Piano Trio No.1, Op.63
01. I. Mit Energie und Leidenschaft (12:37)
02. II. Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch (05:30)
03. III. Langsam, mit inniger Empfindung - Bewegter – Tempo I – attacca (06:48)
04. IV. Mit Feuer - Nach und nach schneller (08:41)

Robert SCHUMANN
Marchenbilder, Op.113
05. I. Nicht schnell (03:18)
06. II. Lebhaft (03:50)
07. III. Rasch (02:40)
08. IV. Langsam, mit melancholischen Ausdruck (05:59)

Frédéric CHOPIN (1810-1849)
09. Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op.61 (13:20)
10. Ballade No.4, Op.52 (11:34)


Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 9. May 2015, 17:00

Sviatoslav Richter / December Nights - Moscow, 1985 - CD1

Used drive : HL-DT-STDVDRAM GU70N Adapter: 0 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "Date=%year%" -T "Genre=%genre%" %source%


TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 3:19.07 | 0 | 14931
2 | 3:19.07 | 3:27.73 | 14932 | 30529
3 | 6:47.05 | 4:24.13 | 30530 | 50342
4 | 11:11.18 | 10:26.63 | 50343 | 97355
5 | 21:38.06 | 4:06.28 | 97356 | 115833
6 | 25:44.34 | 4:05.08 | 115834 | 134216
7 | 29:49.42 | 5:40.04 | 134217 | 159720
8 | 35:29.46 | 15:52.01 | 159721 | 231121
9 | 51:21.47 | 4:34.35 | 231122 | 251706
10 | 55:56.07 | 3:09.66 | 251707 | 265947
11 | 59:05.73 | 6:10.47 | 265948 | 293744
12 | 65:16.45 | 3:08.34 | 293745 | 307878
13 | 68:25.04 | 6:16.56 | 307879 | 336134


Range status and errors

Selected range

Filename C:\temp\December Nights - Moscow, 1985\CD1\December Nights - Moscow, 1985 - CD1.wav

Peak level 99.9 %
Extraction speed 2.2 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC A21A6706
Copy CRC A21A6706
Copy OK

No errors occurred


AccurateRip summary

Track 1 not present in database
Track 2 not present in database
Track 3 not present in database
Track 4 not present in database
Track 5 not present in database
Track 6 not present in database
Track 7 not present in database
Track 8 not present in database
Track 9 not present in database
Track 10 not present in database
Track 11 not present in database
Track 12 not present in database
Track 13 not present in database

None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

End of status report

==== Log checksum 13DA80A6CB8F71E551016241633940280E411D7742BB090982945809DBCC0300 ====

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-04-17 15:24:04

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Anatoly Kamyshev, Sviatoslav Richter / December Nights - Moscow, 1985 - CD1 (1-3)
Natalia Gutman, Sviatoslav Richter / December Nights - Moscow, 1985 - CD1 (4-9)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR14 -3.50 dB -25.61 dB 3:19 01-Schumann: Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op.73 - I. Zart und mit Ausd…
DR13 -3.60 dB -22.73 dB 3:28 02-Schumann: Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op.73 - II. Lebhaft, leicht
DR14 -1.74 dB -19.11 dB 4:24 03-Schumann: Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op.73 - III. Rasch und mit F…
DR15 -0.71 dB -21.56 dB 15:52 08-Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op.65 - I. Allegro moderato
DR14 -3.88 dB -22.07 dB 4:34 09-Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op.65 - II. Scherzo
DR13 -11.33 dB -29.38 dB 3:10 10-Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op.65 - III. Largo
DR16 -0.53 dB -20.52 dB 6:11 11-Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op.65 - IV. Finale. Allegro
DR13 -11.73 dB -29.84 dB 3:08 12-Encore: III. Largo
DR17 -0.08 dB -20.76 dB 6:17 13-Encore: IV. Finale. Allegro
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 9
Official DR value: DR14

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 568 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Oleg Kagan, Sviatoslav Richter / December Nights - Moscow, 1985 - CD1
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR17 0.00 dB -23.94 dB 10:27 04-Schubert: Violin Sonata in A major, D.574 - I. Allegro moderato
DR15 -0.10 dB -21.39 dB 4:06 05-Schubert: Violin Sonata in A major, D.574 - II. Scherzo. Presto
DR15 -4.52 dB -26.38 dB 4:05 06-Schubert: Violin Sonata in A major, D.574 - III. Andantino
DR16 -0.04 dB -21.90 dB 5:40 07-Schubert: Violin Sonata in A major, D.574 - IV. Allegro vivace
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 4
Official DR value: DR16

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 568 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================


Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 9. May 2015, 17:55

Sviatoslav Richter / December Nights - Moscow, 1985 - CD2

Used drive : HL-DT-STDVDRAM GU70N Adapter: 0 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "Date=%year%" -T "Genre=%genre%" %source%


TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 12:37.17 | 0 | 56791
2 | 12:37.17 | 5:30.18 | 56792 | 81559
3 | 18:07.35 | 6:48.42 | 81560 | 112201
4 | 24:56.02 | 8:41.10 | 112202 | 151286
5 | 33:37.12 | 3:18.73 | 151287 | 166209
6 | 36:56.10 | 3:50.60 | 166210 | 183519
7 | 40:46.70 | 2:40.53 | 183520 | 195572
8 | 43:27.48 | 5:59.12 | 195573 | 222509
9 | 49:26.60 | 13:20.64 | 222510 | 282573
10 | 62:47.49 | 11:34.17 | 282574 | 334640


Range status and errors

Selected range

Filename C:\temp\December Nights - Moscow, 1985\CD2\December Nights - Moscow, 1985 - CD2.wav

Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 5.2 X
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 73E8A890
Copy CRC 73E8A890
Copy OK

No errors occurred


AccurateRip summary

Track 1 not present in database
Track 2 not present in database
Track 3 not present in database
Track 4 not present in database
Track 5 not present in database
Track 6 not present in database
Track 7 not present in database
Track 8 not present in database
Track 9 not present in database
Track 10 not present in database

None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

End of status report

==== Log checksum C5B321D25A5FC10461342A1AE4FE804F7AB70A9A19304E7D8D051522BE55BCE1 ====

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-04-17 15:24:26

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Oleg Kagan, Natalia Gutman, Sviatoslav Richter / December Nights - Moscow, 1985 - CD2 (1-4)
Sviatoslav Richter / December Nights - Moscow, 1985 - CD2 (5-6)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR15 -0.10 dB -19.77 dB 12:37 01-Schumann: Piano Trio No.1, Op.63 - I. Mit Energie und Leidenschaft
DR15 -2.15 dB -20.83 dB 5:30 02-Schumann: Piano Trio No.1, Op.63 - II. Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch
DR13 -6.97 dB -29.08 dB 6:49 03-Schumann: Piano Trio No.1, Op.63 - III. Langsam, mit inniger Empfindung - Bew…
DR13 -0.12 dB -18.33 dB 8:41 04-Schumann: Piano Trio No.1, Op.63 - IV. Mit Feuer - Nach und nach schneller
DR14 -0.36 dB -20.92 dB 13:21 09-Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op.61
DR13 -0.13 dB -19.16 dB 11:34 10-Chopin: Ballade No.4, Op.52
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 6
Official DR value: DR14

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 575 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Yuri Bashmet, Sviatoslav Richter / December Nights - Moscow, 1985 - CD2
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR12 -5.10 dB -22.12 dB 3:19 05-Schumann: Marchenbilder, Op.113 - I. Nicht schnell
DR12 -4.32 dB -20.01 dB 3:51 06-Schumann: Marchenbilder, Op.113 - II. Lebhaft
DR11 -4.98 dB -19.93 dB 2:41 07-Schumann: Marchenbilder, Op.113 - III. Rasch
DR15 -2.94 dB -25.17 dB 5:59 08-Schumann: Marchenbilder, Op.113 - IV. Langsam, mit melancholischen Ausdruck
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 4
Official DR value: DR12

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 575 kbps
Codec: FLAC
================================================================================

Sviatoslav Richter & VA - Music Festival 'December Nights', Moscow 1985: Schumann, Schubert, Chopin (2014) 2CDs

All thanks to original releaser

More interesting music in My Blog