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ID: MELCD1001820
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Sacred Music
Subcollection: ChoirThe first official release on the Melodiya label included the first Sticheron by Tsar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) and both Stichera have not been presented on CD until now. Both the works are vespers and matins canticles, and are wonderful explorations of Russia’s renowned choral history.
Ivan the Terrible. Frightening and discrepant figure of the Russian Tsar always attracted attention of the historians, artists, filmmakers, musicians and poets. Interest in him is due not only to bloody halo, but to a deeply creative essence of the Tsar Ivan - a person. “Firma Melodiya” issued an album, which presents two pieces for the authorship of Ivan the Terrible - Stichira for the Death of Pyotr, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia and the Stichira To the Meeting of the Icon of Our Lady of Vladimir. Besides them, as a bonus-tracks the are two fragments from the letter of Ivan the IV to the Prince Andrew Kurbsky.
(1, 2) - Men’s Vocal Quartet
(3, 4) - Alexander Kulinich (narrator)
Men’s Vocal Quartet - Igor Voronov, conductor
Igor Voronov, tenor I.
Sergei Sermyagin, tenor II.
Peter Deryugin, baritone
Eugene Chepikov, bass |
| 16.00 eur Buy |
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ID: MELCD1001748
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Violin Concerto
Subcollection: Violin(1 - 7) - Boris Goldstein, violin
(1 - 3) - Chamber Orchestra of Moscow State Conservatory - M. Terian, conductor
( 4) - Symphony Orchestra of Moscow State Philharmonic Society - Gennady Rozhdestvensky, conductor
(5 - 7) - USSR State Symphony Orchestra - Nathan Rakhlin, conductor |
| 16.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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ID: MELCD1001994
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Piano Concerto
Subcollection: Piano and OrchestraThese recordings were made in the Moscow Conservatory in 1984, when Evgeny Kissin was only 13 years old.
The young artist demonstrates remarkable proficiency.
This will be of interest to all admirers of this outstanding musician.
Chopin:
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Kitayenko
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Kitayenko
Mazurka No. 40 in F minor, Op. 63 No. 2
Mazurka No. 49 in F minor, Op. 68 No. 4
Waltz No. 14 in E minor, Op. post., KKIVa:15, B 56
Evgeny Kissin (piano) |
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ID: MELCD1002108
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Instrumental
Subcollection: PianoRecorded in 1959 and 1960.
Frédéric Chopin’s etudes are a unique combination of virtuoso technique and artistic supertasks. It is not without reason that no compulsory programme of any international competition can do without them. Each of the etudes is an ‘exercise’ in one of the types of piano technique, while sounding like a bright and image-bearing piece.
The twelve etudes of Op.10 were composed during 1828-1832 and dedicated to Franz Liszt. The twelve etudes of Op.25 were published in 1836. Nearly all pianists of the world have Chopin’s etudes in their repertoire, but only a few of them have the courage to play both of the opuses in their entirety.
Firma Melodiya presents twenty-four etudes by Chopin performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy, one of the greatest pianists of modern times. What makes these recordings especially interesting is that they were made in 1959 by the then 22-year-old pianist. With his world triumphs still ahead (although Ashkenazy had received a second prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and won the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels), Ashkenazy’s pianism already appears in full possession of virtuosic and artistic mastery.
“The young pianist is not just an owner of phenomenally deft, strong and superbly trained fingers, he also proficiently wields a diverse and beautiful palette of piano sounds”, wrote one of the reviewers in those days.
Chopin:
Etudes (12), Op. 10
Etudes (12), Op. 25
Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) |
| 16.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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ID: MELCD1002099
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Chamber Music
ReviewsFirma Melodiya presents the first disc from the series 'Russian Chamber Music for Wind Instruments' which includes recordings of rarely performed quintets for piano and wind instruments by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Anton Rubinstein.
Despite the identical line-ups (the quintets were composed for flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn and piano), each of the quintets reflects individual styles of their creators. Rubinstein’s work (1855) belongs to the early period of the prominent Russian pianist, composer, conductor and future founder of the first Russian conservatory. It is distinguished with the brightly virtuosic, concert and at the same time orchestral nature of the piano part.
Rimsky-Korsakov’s quintet was composed in 1876 for a chamber music competition of the Russian Music Society. Its poor premiere was a cause of the long and unjust oblivion of this interesting piece. Rimsky-Korsakov, who thoroughly mastered all the wind instruments, felt the individual nature and capabilities of each timbre.
The chamber works by Rimsky-Korsakov and Rubinstein are performed by outstanding representatives of the 20th century Russian performing school.
Rimsky Korsakov:
Quintet in B flat major for piano, flute, clarinet, horn & bassoon
Alexander Korneev (flute), Vladimir Zverev (clarinet), Boris Afanasyev (horn), Vladimir Vlasenko (bassoon) & Alexander Bakhchiev (piano)
Rubinstein:
Quintet in F major for Piano & Winds, Op. 55
Valentin Zverev (flute), Vladimir Sokolov (clarinet), Anatoly Demin (horn), Sergei Krasavin (bassoon) & Aleksey Nasedkin (piano) |
| 16.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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ID: MELCD1002098
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Baroque
Subcollection: BassonFirma Melodiya is happy to present a rare gem of Baroque music - concertos for bassoon and strings by Vivaldi.
Mostly known for his violin compositions, Vivaldi paid homage to virtually all musical instruments that existed in Italy’s everyday music life of the time. Five bassoon pieces stand out among his numerous concertos for wind instruments.
An unusual combination of bassoon and strings inspired Vivaldi to create amazingly plastic and picturesque works. Composed in virtuoso concerto traditions, they demand supreme mastery from a performer. The finesse and elegance of their melodic patterns rooted in Italian bel canto, their strongly pronounced concerto element with a multitude of solo and tutti, forte and piano shades so typical of Vivaldi won’t leave a responsive listener indifferent. Vivaldi’s concertos are performed by Valery Popov, a brilliant virtuoso bassoonist, one of the best representatives of Russian performing school of wind instruments. Coming of a family of musicians, a prize winner of international competitions, a long-standing soloist of the USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra, and a professor of the Moscow Conservatory, he has made more than a hundred recordings of Baroque, classical and contemporary music. This recording made at the music festival in Polotsk, Belarus, in 1989 also features the Minsk Chamber Orchestra led by Valery Polyansky.
Vivaldi:
Bassoon Concerto, RV 496 in G minor
Bassoon Concerto, RV 475 in C major
Bassoon Concerto, RV 500 in A minor
Bassoon Concerto, RV 486 in F major
Bassoon Concerto, RV 484 in E minor
Valery Popov (bassoon)
The State Chamber Orchestra of the Belorussian SSR, Valery Polyansky |
| 16.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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ID: MELCD1002197
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Instrumental
Subcollection: PianoFirma Melodiya presents the first part of the anthology 'Piano Duet' featuring Elena Sorokina and Alexander Bakhchiyev.
The ensemble of two remarkable musicians, professors of the Moscow Conservatory - Honoured Art Worker of Russia Elena Sorokina and People’s Artist of Russia Alexander Bakhchiyev - was formed in 1968. For more than thirty years they jointly performed in Russia and around the world. In fact, the duet of Sorokina and Bakhchiyev revived the culture of piano duet which used to be so popular in Russia. They have performed more than a hundred compositions of the genre (many of them were premieres in this country) and been recognized as a 'Golden duet of Russia'.
“Their emergence on stage is always a feast of music, joy and beauty”, wrote Leonid Zhivov, a pianist and professor of the Moscow Conservatory.
This disc is dedicated to four hand piano compositions from the period of German romanticism and, along with unpretentious pieces 'for home playing', includes deeply dramatic ones. So, you will hear Schubert’s virtuosic and romantic Fantasia along with his Waltzes and Polonaises, Brahms’ Hungarian Dances, Schumann’s very distinctive Gespenstermarchen and waltzes by Joseph Lanner, a very popular Austrian composer in his time who initiated the era of Viennese waltz - his music very much anticipated the Strauss dynasty.
The recordings were made between 1974 and 1990.
Brahms:
Hungarian Dances (excerpts)
Waltzes (16), Op. 39, extracts
Five Waltzes
Lanner:
Waltzes Hymens Feierklänge, Op. 115
Schubert:
Fantasie in F minor for piano duet, D940
4 Polonaises, Op. 75, D. 599
12 Waltzes, D145 arr. Georg Kremser for piano four hand
Schumann:
Fantastic Fairy Tale from the cycle12 Piano Pieces for Small and Large Children, Op. 85, No. 11
Alexander Bakhchiev (piano) & Elena Sorokina (piano) |
| 16.00 eur Buy |
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ID: MELCD1002192
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Mazurkas
Subcollection: PianoFirma Melodiya presents an album of mazurkas composed by Alexander Scriabin and performed by Samuil Feinberg.
Samuil Feinberg’s artistic career was a remarkable phenomenon of 20th century domestic music life. A pianist, distinctive composer and educator who created his own performing school, he showed his worth in each of these roles, being notable for the integrity of his personality and creative aspirations. In 1911, when he was about to graduate from the Moscow Conservatory, he struck the examination board with the scope of his repertoire and depth of his interpretations. Samuil Feinberg made his last recordings not long before his death in the early 1960s.
The musician’s performing interests were truly grandiose, but as a composer and performer, Feinberg was close to Scriabin and to the feel of his music. When the author of 'The Poem of Ecstasy' heard young Feinberg play, he fully appreciated his pianistic art.
The pianist’s peculiar techniques of phonation noted by his contemporaries - “the way he moves his fingers, never striking, as if fondling the keys, a transparent and at times velvety tone of his instrument, contrasting sounds, finesse of his rhythmic patterns” - were to a degree an extension of Scriabin’s tradition. Samuil Feinberg’s repertoire included all piano sonatas and most of the small scale compositions by Scriabin.
These recordings of nineteen mazurkas, Op.3 and Op.25, from Scriabin’s early period were made in the 1950s.
Scriabin:
Ten Mazurkas, Op. 3
Nine Mazurkas, Op. 25
Samuel Feinberg (piano) |
| 16.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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ID: MELCD1002191
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Baroque
Subcollection: Chamber OrchestraFirma Melodiya presents recordings of baroque music performed by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra lead by Rudolf Barshai.
The name of this musician emerged in the Soviet concert life in the early 1990’s. He quickly became successful as a solo violist and ensemble player. However, his thirst for something new and his strive for breaking stereotypes, which were the way of many cultural figures of the Thaw period led him to creating the first ever Soviet chamber orchestra. An exceptionally talented conductor and organizer, Rudolf Barshai won many well-known musicians over to joint playing, including those who had promising solo careers (violinist and conductor Lev Markiz, cellist Alla Vassilieva, harpsichordist and pianist Mikhail Muntian, oboist Evgeny Nepalo, bassoonist Vladimir Bogorad and others). The performances of the new orchestra surprised and admired the listeners. Its repertoire included compositions, which were previously little known to the domestic listeners, and on the contrary some well know, even “outworn” music, which sounded in a totally new way.
The compositions featured on this album are instrumental concertos by Tomaso Albinoni and Antonio Vivaldi, the concerto grosso by George Friedrich Handel and a suite by “Bach’s fortunate rival” Georg Philipp Telemann became a discovery to the Soviet audience of the years. Even today, when we have so many alternative versions to choose from and when “authenticity” is in fashion, these recordings from fifty years ago have not lost their originality. We still feel that peculiar freshness, audacity of the pioneers who discovered a new and at the same time so contemporary world of baroque music for themselves and their listeners.
Albinoni:
Concerto Op. 7 No. 3 for oboe & strings in B flat major
Eugene Nepalo (oboe)
Concerto for strings and harpsichord No. 3 in D major, Op. 5, No. 3
Handel:
Concerto grosso, Op. 6 No. 12 in B minor, HWV330
Telemann:
Overture (Suite) TWV 55:C3 in C major for wind, strings & b.c. 'Hamburger Ebb und Fluth' ('Wassermusik')
Vivaldi:
Concerto in G minor, RV 103
Eugene Nepalo (oboe), Mikhail Muntian (basso continuo)
The Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Rudolf Barshai |
| 16.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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ID: MELCD1002241
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection:
Violin Concerto
Subcollection: Violin and OrchestraFirma Melodiya presents another album dedicated to one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, Leonid Kogan.
An unusual pairing of recordings realized in the late 1960s and early 1970s makes this release particularly attractive. Two concertos by J S Bach, a composer whose music played a significant part in the violinist’s repertoire (the concerto for two violins and orchestra was recorded together with Pavel Kogan, Leonid’s son and a talented violinist ad conductor), are here along with a piece from a different era.
The violin concerto by Alban Berg, a representative of the Second Viennese School, is one of the best creations of the composer of Wozzeck. The concerto, which became the composer’s last work, was dedicated “To the memory of an angel” (Alma Mahler’s daughter who died at an early age), combined the expression of the musical language with poignant lyrical parts and ended in the sounds of Bach’s chorale.
Leonid Kogan was the only performer of Berg’s concerto in the former USSR. The complexity of the piece was an obstacle for many celebrated violinists. His interpretation still captivates with its emotional expressiveness and in-depth comprehension of the concept and form of the concerto.
(1 - 8) - Leonid Kogan, violin
(4 - 6) Pavel Kogan, violin
(1 - 6) Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra (Soloists Ensemble)
(7 - 8) - Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra - Gennady Rozhdestvensky |
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