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L. Desyatnikov: The Children of Rosenthal

L. Desyatnikov: The Children of Rosenthal
ID: MELCD1002432
CDs: 2
Type: CD
Collection: Opera & Vocal Collection
Subcollection: Opera

Recorded in 2015
Firma Melodiya presents a recording of Leonid Desyatnikov’s opera The Children of Rosenthal.
It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that the premiere of the opera (2005, staged by Eimuntas Nekrošius) became one of the most significant events of Russian musical culture of the 21st century. It was the first time when the Bolshoi Theatre commissioned a new opera from a contemporary composer. The “experiment,” a result of collaboration between Leonid Desyatnikov and writer Vladimir Sorokin, left a bright footmark in the history of the country’s major music theatre.
The composer has showed his worth in very different academic genres - opera, ballet, symphony, concerto and chamber music, and yet his style can hardly be defined and arbitrarily forced into a Procrustean bed of stylistic designations unless the composer doesn’t mind the term “post-modernism.”
The renowned music critic Alexander Matusevich named the opera a “musical and stage realization of the ideas of modern culture.” It’s a story of five great composers (Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky) cloned by German scientist Rosenthal who fled to the USSR. The composers find themselves amidst the social landscape of post-Soviet Russia. It’s a story that gives birth to a peculiar play upon styles without any direct citations and adoptions, but with numerous musical, dramatic and other analogies that are unmistakably recognizable by the listener and create a fanciful mosaic of senses with a pseudoironic implication.
The opera was recorded in 2015 by the soloists, choir and orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia led by Alexander Vedernikov, a chief conductor of the theatre in 2001 to 2009.
29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock

András Schiff, piano - From the V International Tchaikovsky Competition (Live)

András Schiff, piano - From the V International Tchaikovsky Competition (Live)
ID: MELCD1002386
CDs: 2
Type: CD
Collection: Piano Concerto
Subcollection: Piano and Orchestra

CD1 - András Schiff, piano
CD2 - A. Schiff, piano / Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra - D. Kitayenko

Firma Melodiya presents never-before-released recordings of András Schiff made at the V Tchaikovsky International Competition in 1974.

One of the most prominent pianists of modern times, András Schiff is nevertheless does not belong to the so-called competition format. The musician who earned the pedestal of philosopher pianist, “a representative of intellectual musical tradition in its high apprehension,” has never had virtuosity, sonic lustre and visual artistry in his sphere of interests.

However, the live recordings of the then 21-year-old Hungarian are of unquestionable interest. Soviet music critic Leonid Gakkel described his impressions of Schiff’s performance in the following way: “From his very first note at the competition Schiff struck me with the vigour of his performance, and that was vigour of the highest festivity… What a touch on the piano, what a charge of energy, what burning fingers! Ultimate activity of a creating spirit at each moment of playing…”

At the competition, Schiff played piano works by Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, variation cycles and concertos by Tchaikovsky and Brahms. In the opinion of Yevgeny Malinin, a competent judge and professor of the Moscow Conservatory, Schiff “read music without a drop of wilfulness: he lived in and with it.” The panel gave him only the fourth prize (“incomplete correspondence” with general virtuosity and competition standards had an impact). However, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that it was the Tchaikovsky Competition that brought the first significant success and international repute to the outstanding pianist.
29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock

S. Taneyev - Oresteia. A music trilogy

S. Taneyev -  Oresteia. A music trilogy
ID: MELCD1002277
CDs: 2
Type: CD
Collection: Choral Collection
Subcollection: Choir and Orchestra

Recorded: 1965

Firma Melodiya presents a recording of Sergei Taneyev’s opera Oresteia, a revived masterpiece of Russian music.

The author worked on the opera for twelve years (1882-1894), in a period when Prince Igor, the Queen of Spades, Iolanta and Mlada were created. However, Oresteia remained a unique phenomenon in history of Russian opera. Sergei Taneyev was the best and favourite pupil of Tchaikovsky and Nikolai Rubinstein, a prominent educator and music theorist who brought up Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and many other famous pupils. Unexpectedly for his friends and peers, he was inspired with the ancient story (Aeschylus’s tetralogy) which met his aesthetic ideals of harmony and perfection.

Taneyev masterfully used a broad arsenal of music and dramatic techniques of the late 19th century - an intricate system of leitmotifs, evolving dramaturgy of operatic scenes, and a combination of freely recitative and arioso fragments. The special part of the chorus reflects the spirit of ancient theatre with bright orchestral bits frequently becoming culminations (the famous entr’acte The Temple of Apollo at Delphi). The opera is full of tragic anticipation of Fate, which makes it close to Tchaikovsky’s symphonism, but a heartwarming finale resolving the conflict is typical for Taneyev’s views thus deviating from Aeschylus’s fatalism. Wisdom and Love conquer the dark forces of revenge, insidiousness and malice - that is the bottom line of this monumental operatic interpretation.

Oresteia did not have a lucky stage life - it has been staged on a small number of occasions. The version of the State Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus realized and recorded in the 1960’s is one of the best productions of the opera. That recording is featured in this set. The main parts are performed by the soloists of the Belorussian theatre V. Chernobayev, L. Galushkina, A. Bokov, T. Shimko, I. Dubrovkin and N. Tkachenko. The choir and orchestra are conducted by the People’s Artist of the Belorussian SSR Tatiana Kolomiytseva.
29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock

Giacomo Puccini - Tosca - Opera in three acts

Giacomo Puccini - Tosca - Opera in three acts
ID: MELCD1002359
CDs: 2
Type: CD
Collection: Opera Collection
Subcollection: Opera

Opera in three acts - Libretto by Luigi Illica, Giuseppe Giacosa


One of the most popular operas of the world repertoire, Tosca was finished in the last year of the 19th century. It was based on the French playwright Victorien Sardou’s drama written for Sarah Bernhardt. The premiere of the opera that took place in 1900 in Rome was not accepted with much enthusiasm, and only the performance at La Scala under Arturo Toscanini became a true triumph. The story of singer Floria Tosca and her beloved painter Mario Cavaradossi who fell victim to bloody despot Baron Scarpia on the background of the revolutionary events in Italy of the early 19th century is still able to move to the innermost of one’s heart as the heat of dramatic fervour is masterfully captured in the music. Numerous audio and video recordings of the opera featuring the world’s best singers and conductors were made in the previous century.
This recording was realized by the USSR Bolshoi Theatre in 1974. The celebrated internationally recognized soloists of the opera company of the 1970s Tamara Milashkina, Vladimir Atlantov, Yuri Mazurok and others perform the opera in the original language under the prominent conductor Mark Ermler.


Characters and performers:
Floria Tosca, a celebrated singer -Tamara Milashkina, soprano
Mario Cavaradossi, a painter -Vladimir Atlantov, tenor
Baron Scarpia, chief of police -Yuri Mazurok, baritone
Cesare Angelotti, former Consul of the Roman Republic - Valeri Yaroslavtsev, bass
Sacristan - Vitali Nartov, baritone
Spoletta, a police agent - Andrei Sokolov, tenor
Sciarrone, another agent - Vladimir Filippov, bass
A Jailer - Мikhail Shkaptsov, bass
A Shepherd boy - Alexander Pavlov, alto
Cardinal, scribe, soldiers, police agents, altar boys, noblemen and women, townsfolk, artisans

Choir and orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre - Conductor - Mark Ermler
Recorded in 1974.
29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock

K. Molchanov - The Dawns Are Quiet Here (An Opera two parts)

K. Molchanov - The Dawns Are Quiet Here (An Opera two parts)
ID: MELCD1002247
CDs: 2
Type: CD
Collection: Opera Collection
Subcollection: Opera

Artur Eisen (Vaskov), Nina Grigorieva (Kirianova), Galina Borisova (Ovsyanina Rita), Olga Teryushnova (Komelkova Zhenya), Galina Kalinina (Brichkina Liza), Klara Kadinskaya (Gurvich Sonya), Lidiya Kovalyova (Yolkina), Kira Leonova (Maria), Eleonora Andreyeva (Polina), Vladimir Malchenko (Guitarist), Kirill Molchanov (piano), I. Orlova (organ)

Orchestra and Choir of the USSR Bolshoi Theatre, Alexander Lazarev


Firma Melodiya presents a recording of Kirill Molchanov’s opera The Dawns Here Are Quiet.

The composer of the opera attained his nationwide fame thanks to, first of all, his lyrical songs, which are now considered a golden repertoire for academic and popular singers alike (There Are So Many Golden Lights, No Hiding from People in the Village, Here Come the Soldiers, Heart, Be Quiet and many others).

Meanwhile, Kirill Molchanov wrote eight operas to his own librettos, ballets Macbeth and Three Cards, and music for theatre productions and motion pictures, including true gems of the domestic cinematograph (It Happened in Penkovo, On Seven Winds, We’ll Live Till Monday).

The opera is based on Boris Vasiliev’s short novel of the same name. It is a stirring story of a tragic demise of young female anti-aircraft gunners first published in 1969, which is still one of the most widely read books about the Great Patriotic War. In 1972, Stanislav Rostotsky’s famous film with music by Kirill Molchanov premiered in cinemas across the country.

The opera is composed in a simple and accessible language. However, Zhenya’s romance to the poem 'Wait for Me' by Konstantin Simonov is the most popular piece from the opera - without any direct link to the plot, this fragment is a generalized symbol of millions of people whose lives and feelings were cut short by the war.

This recording of the opera was made in 1976 by the artists, choir and orchestra of the USSR Bolshoi Theatre featuring leading soloists of the opera company - Galina Kalinina, Galina Borisova, Klara Kadinskaya, Artur Eisen and others. Conducted by Alexander Lazarev.

CD1 1. Here Comes the Night Over Sleepy Fields 2. Don't Feel Sorry for Us, for We Didn't Feel Sorry for Anyone 3. Day Was Breaking, Day Was Breaking in the Sky 4. O Warrior, You Live By Your Service... 5. My Loved One, My Prince, My Fiancé 6. Rita's Reminiscence 7. Ah, Crush My Immortality 8. The Girls Got Polina's Gramophone 9. Zhenya, Sing for Us 10. Wait for Me, and I'll Return 11. It's So Good, Isn't It, Girls? 12. Zhenya's Reminiscence 13. Sit Down, Comrade Sergeant Major 14. War, War, War, I'm Beaten By You 15. Watch Out, Take Care! 16. I Can't Make Contact With Them 17. I Married Exactly Before the Finnish War 18. Rita's Entrance 19. Alert 20. Assembly 21. Seeing the Girls Off CD 2 1. Introduction 2. On the Lake Shore 3. Scene of Vaskov and Liza 4. Liza's Reminiscence 5. Scene of Vaskov and Sonya 6. Sonya's Reminiscence 7. Germans Are Coming 8. Scene of the Girls and Vaskov and Liza's Departure 9. Liza's Demise 10. Chorus and Scene of the Girls and Vaskov 11. Sonya's Demise 12. Before the Fight 13. The Fight 14. Epilogue
29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock

A. Rubinstein - The Demon - Opera in Three Acts

A. Rubinstein - The Demon - Opera in Three Acts
ID: MELCD1002102
CDs: 2
Type: CD
Collection: Opera Collection
Subcollection: Choir and Orchestra

Firma Melodiya presents a recording of Anton Rubinstein’s opera The Demon. This wonderful work, which was inspired with the poem of the same name by Mikhail Lermontov and then inspired the likes of Mikhail Vrubel and Feodor Chaliapin, became a milestone in the history of music theatre. Unfortunately, the opera was almost forgotten by the public and musicians, and only a few of its fragments were widely known. It is only lately that Russian and foreign opera houses have been showing a new interest in it.

Rubinstein finished the opera in 1871. One of the greatest pianists of the 19th century nicknamed “tsar of the stage”, a composer and conductor, the founder of the first ever Russian conservatory in St Petersburg, he stood at the summit of glory and in full possession of his composing mastery.

The Demon combined traditions of Russian and West European music art and did justice to the colour of Caucasus. The opera was a great success with the public and accepted enthusiastically even by the composers of The Five, Rubinstein’s ideological 'opponents'. “A superb artist”, wrote Modest Mussorgsky in a letter to Vladimir Stasov.

Of all recorded versions of The Demon, we offer the one realized in 1974 by the soloists, choir and orchestra of the All-Union Radio lead by the outstanding maestro Boris Khaikin. Alexander Polyakov, a young bass-baritone and future soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre performed the main part. Nina Lebedeva, a Bolshoi soloist and remarkable performer of Russian and foreign operatic repertoire sang the part of Tamara. Alexei Usmanov (tenor), a soloist of the All-Union Radio, performed the part of Sinodal.


Alexander Polyakov (Demon), Nina Lebedeva (Tamara), Evgeny Vladimirov (Gudal), Alexey Usmanov (Sinodal), Nina Grigorieva (Nanny), Nina Derbina (Angel), Yury Elnikov (Messenger), Boris Morozov (Old Servant)

Academic Choir of the USSR All-Union Radio, USSR State Radio Symphony Orchestra, Boris Khaikin
29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock

December Nights, Music Festival Moscow, 1985 - Richter - Bashmet - Kamyshev - Kagan - Gutman

December Nights, Music Festival Moscow, 1985 - Richter - Bashmet - Kamyshev - Kagan - Gutman
ID: MELCD1002204
CDs: 2
Type: CD
Collection: Chamber Music
Subcollection: Piano and Violin

Firma Melodiya continues the series of compact discs dedicated to the 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 the '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 Sonata, 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.


Chopin:
Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65
Natalia Gutman (cello)

Polonaise No. 7 in A flat major, Op. 61 'Polonaise-fantaisie'
Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52

Schubert:
Grand Duo for Violin and Piano in A Major, D574

Oleg Kagan (violin)

Schumann:
Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
Anatoly Kamyshev (clarinet)

Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 63
Oleg Kagan (violin), Natalia Gutman (cello),

Märchenbilder (4), Op. 113
Yuri Bashmet (viola)

CD1 and CD 2 - Sviatoslav Richter (piano)
29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock

Mahler - Symphony No. 2 - 'Resurrection'

Mahler - Symphony No. 2 - 'Resurrection'
ID: MELCD1002253
CDs: 2
Type: CD
Collection: Vocal Collection
Subcollection: Voice and Choir

Evgenia Gorokhovskaya (mezzo-soprano) & Galina Kovalyova (soprano)

Choir of the Leningrad State Academic, Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre, The Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad State Academic Kirov Opera & Ballet Theatre, Yuri Temirkanov
29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock

P.I. Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker, Ballet two acts Op. 71

P.I. Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker, Ballet two acts Op. 71
ID: MELCD1000665
CDs: 2
Type: CD
Collection: Ballet Music
Subcollection: Choir and Orchestra

29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock

Concerts of Herbert von Karajan in Moscow - Mozart - Strauss - Orchestral Works - Vol. 3

Concerts of Herbert von Karajan in Moscow - Mozart - Strauss - Orchestral Works - Vol. 3
ID: MELCD1001514
CDs: 2
Type: CD
Collection: Orchestral Works
Subcollection: Orchestra

Live recording of a concert given on 30th May 1969 in The Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
29.00 eur Temporarily out of stock

 
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