Tag: Claudio Abbado

SACD

Claudio Abbado, Wiener Philharmoniker – Brahms: 21 Ungarische Tänze – Hungarian Dances (1983) [Japan 2019] [SACD / Esoteric Company – ESSG-90200]

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Claudio Abbado, Wiener Philharmoniker - Brahms: 21 Ungarische Tänze - Hungarian Dances (1983) [Japan 2019]

Title: Claudio Abbado, Wiener Philharmoniker – Brahms: 21 Ungarische Tänze – Hungarian Dances (1983) [Japan 2019]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

At their best, and especially on home ground in central European repertory, Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic could produce electrifying music-making, as on the present recording of Brahms’s Hungarian Dances made in Vienna’s Sofiensaal in 1982. The recording was commissioned as part of Deutsche Grammophon’s superb 8-volume, 62-LP “Brahms Edition”, a survey of the composer’s complete musical output which was released in 1983 to mark the 150th anniversary of Brahms’s birth. Gramophone magazine’s Robert Layton commended the warmth, eloquence and virtuosity of the Vienna Philharmonic’s playing, adding that, though Abbado was scrupulous in his observation of the letter of the score, “the spirit of what Brahms liked to refer to as his ‘genuine gypsy children’ is always in evidence”.

Johannes Brahms was 17 when he encountered the brilliant young Hungarian violinist Ede Reményi in Hamburg in 1850. Reményi was passing through the city to the United States after being deported from Hungary for his involvement in the 1848 uprising against the Austrians. Brahms was intoxicated by Reményi’s transcriptions of gypsy and Magyar folk songs and dan¬ces, a fascination that deepened in 1852 when the two men toured together. The two sets of Hungarian Dances which Brahms later published were not the only fruits of the experience. Throughout a composing career that spanned more then 40 years, Hungarian influences were never far from his music. Brahms wrote his Hungarian Dances for piano duet. Books 1 and 2 (nos. 1-10) were pub-lished in 1869, Books 3 and 4 in 1880. The 1880 set offers what might best be called original compositions in the Hungarian style rather than free arrangements of the kind of Reményi-derived material which Brahms had once taken to be authentic. The 1880 set was never quite as popular as the 1869, perhaps because Brahms was no longer interested in the previously all-pervasive csárdás. Yet such is the craftsmanship of the later dances, it is they, paradoxically, which have the stronger “gypsy” feel. The later set did have one admirer: Antonín Dvořák, who provided orchestrations of the last four dances, nos. 17-21.

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SACD

Claudio Abbado, Chamber Orchestra Of Europe – Mozart: Don Giovanni (1998) [Reissue 2004] [SACD / Deutsche Grammophon – 00289 474 9962 GSA3]

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Claudio Abbado, Chamber Orchestra Of Europe - Mozart: Don Giovanni (1998) [Reissue 2004]

Title: Claudio Abbado, Chamber Orchestra Of Europe – Mozart: Don Giovanni (1998) [Reissue 2004]
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Arguably the greatest opera ever written, the Mozart/Da Ponte depiction of the last twenty-four hours of the legendary libertine is performed here in the standard version combining the two versions Mozart prepared. Abbado offers modern instruments with certain nods to period performance practice–many appoggiaturas, comparatively fleet tempos, and some modest ornamentation.

This new Don Giovanni with Claudio Abbado conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe is Abbado’s second recording of a Mozart opera for Deutsche Grammophon. It was made in Ferrara in conjunction with performances of the opera early in 1997 with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The cast features Bryn Terfel in one of his most famous stage roles as Leporello, singing alongside the young British baritone Simon Keenlyside as Don Giovanni. Terfel made his role debut as Leporello in the Patrice Chereau production of the opera in Salzburg. The Welsh singer’s performances of Leporello, together with Figaro, have been repeated highlights of the Salzburg Festival since then. No single adjective can encapsulate the power of Terfel’s stage presence in these roles. In addition to perfect singing and impeccable Italian in the recitatives, he brings the role of Leporello an ambiguous and sometimes menacing energy which threatens to subvert the traditional presuppositions of the master-servant relation. The cast is stronger on the male side but there are no weak links. The three baritones are especially strong. Keenlyside offers a sexy, dangerous Don. Terfel, completing his traversal of the three baritone roles, is a saturnine, bitter Leporello while D’Arcangelo is a Masetto to be reckoned with. Heilmann offers a sweet-toned Ottavio who nevertheless cannot manage the famous run without a breath. Salminen is a cavernous Commendatore. The women reverse the usual casting of Anna and Elvira, with Anna possessing the lighter voice. Isokowski is a powerful Elvira, a woman to be taken very seriously. Once the ear adjusts to the lack of steel, Reminfio is a fine Anna, like Callas and Moser phrasing the reprise of “Non mi dir” in a single span. Pace is a conventional Zerlina countering the recent trend to cast her as a mezzo.

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SACD

Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker – Brahms: The 4 Symphonies (Esoteric Japan 2018) [SACD / Esoteric Company – ESSG-90192/4]

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Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker - Brahms: The 4 Symphonies (Esoteric Japan 2018)

Title: Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker – Brahms: The 4 Symphonies (Esoteric Japan 2018)
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

For collectors of Claudio Abbado’s recordings, the performances on this three-discs Japanese Esoteric label’s remastered release of the Italian conductor’s digital recordings of Brahms’ symphonies with the Berliner Philharmoniker may seem redundant, since the symphonies were previously released as single discs in the late ’80s and early ’90s on Deutsche Grammophon. But this box set marks the first hybrid SACD release of historical recording selections. These new audio versions feature Esoteric’s proprietary re-mastering process to achieve the highest level of sound quality.

These performances are technically impeccable; Abbado is a tremendously skillful conductor who knows these scores like the back of his hand, and the Berliner Philharmoniker is one of the two or three finest orchestras in Europe, with a collective virtuosity that no other orchestra on the planet can match. The performances are also interpretively irreproachable. Some might find Abbado a bit stiff – there’s no tempo bending here – but even they would have to admit that there is nothing in Abbado’s accounts that does not come directly out of the score: his First’s resolute heroism, his Second’s dappled lyricism, his Third’s sensual romanticism, and his Fourth’s unrelenting tragedy are all rooted in the music, not in Abbado’s personal psychology. This set is additionally worthwhile because the single-movement works are as well-played and interpreted as the symphonies, particularly the choral works Nänie and Gesang der Parzen. Deutsche Grammophon’s digital sound was crisp, clear, and vivid, and Musical Heritage Society’s reissues are identical. If you’re looking for a single set of digitally recorded Brahms orchestral works, this set cannot be bettered.

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SACD

Nathan Milstein, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado – Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn – Violin Concertos , Geminiani – Sonata in A major (1972-1975/2018) [SACD / Tower Universal Vintage – PROC-2145]

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Nathan Milstein, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado - Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn - Violin Concertos , Geminiani - Sonata in A major (1972-1975/2018)

Title: Nathan Milstein, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado – Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn – Violin Concertos , Geminiani – Sonata in A major (1972-1975/2018)
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO

This release combines all of Milstein’s concerto recordings left at DG with recital albums including “Paganiniana.” This is the world’s first SA-CD release. Newly mastered from the original analog masters in Russia. This two-disc set combines two concertos and one collection of short pieces recorded by the renowned Russian violinist Milstein (1903-92) for DG, and is the world’s first SA-CD hybrid release. His recording career began with SP records in 1932 and spanned over half a century, culminating in the CD of his “final recital” in June 1986. He recorded his favorite works multiple times. The recordings included in this two-disc set were made between 1972 and 1975, during his most mature period, and with the exception of Schubert’s “Rondo Brilliant,” which he recorded only once, and Liszt’s “Consolation No. 3,” which he performed at his “final recital,” all of the recordings are his last. Here, the stability of his youthful technique and his outstanding beautiful tone remain intact, while the addition of a profound flavor in his later years creates a beautiful culmination, like the twilight of a great artist. Among these, the deepening of his interpretation of Brahms’ Violin Concerto, which he recorded twice for EMI, is remarkable. He himself noted that it was “a more romantic interpretation” compared to his previous recording, “People progress in the direction that the music demands.” After the self-composed cadenza in the first movement, the violin sings the theme softly in the coda, and this recording has a beauty that is unmatched among CDs of the same piece. The 1972 recording of Tchaikovsky and the 1973 recording of Mendelssohn are also more relaxed than his previous recordings, with extremely supple and refined performances that are surprisingly noble. In Tchaikovsky, he plays his own version based on the Auer edition rather than the original edition, incorporating his own ideas. All three concertos feature the Vienna Philharmonic as the backing orchestra, but while Jochum emphasizes a rich, string-dominated sound, the younger Abbado highlights a bright sound and light rhythm with a focus on woodwinds, showcasing the distinct personalities of both conductors. The 1975 recording of “Violin Recital” is a collection of masterpieces that will leave you breathless. The tone, technique, and form are all polished to perfection, and the music is filled with an indomitable elegance, yet it also has a gentle, enveloping quality that wraps the listener in warmth. The improvement in sound quality is most notable in this album, with the piano and violin sounds and tones reproduced on stage with enhanced realism and a heightened sense of presence.

For this reissue, we went back to the original analog master tapes from the country of origin, remixed them, and digitized them in high quality. You will notice that the DSD conversion brings out the characteristics of the recording location and the conductor’s preferences in a surprising way. The central violins are reproduced with a realistic three-dimensional sound and a prominent resonance. The background orchestra spreads out before you with a rich, uncluttered sound, making it clear that this is a large-scale performance. For this release, we physically maintained and restored the original analog master tapes from the home country, then digitized them at high quality (192/24) using PCM. The home country’s label-dedicated engineer then spent considerable time meticulously mastering the recordings for this series. On the SA-CD layer, you can enjoy the high-resolution master sound. The CD layer has also been digitally remastered using the latest technology from 2018, resulting in a sound quality that stands apart from previous releases. This series features the original jacket design and includes a new introductory essay. The booklet includes color reproductions of the original jacket designs from each release. Additionally, this 11th installment of the “Vintage SA-CD Collection” will feature a total of three titles.

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