Ordered this morning, arriving tomorrow: I know next to nothing about Tchaikovsky's solo piano music, is anyone a fan? I DO know about Postnikova, having watched and listened to her playing with Menuhin, which I enjoyed.
I think it safe to say his best-known solo piano work, or at least his most-played, is a cycle usually called "The Seasons" but that more accurately would be "The Months." Either way, it's his op. 37a. On commission, over the course of a year he wrote a seasonal piece for publication in each monthly issue of some magazine or other. The November number, often given the name "Troika en traineaux," used to be an occasional encore piece type choice; Rachmaninoff recorded it, for example. I have the complete Tchaikowsky piano music on my "to play" list. The recordings are by Michael Ponti, I think from Vox (probably VoxBoxes). My copies are on undistinguished Murray Hill pressings, and playing them is part of a planned program to dub and dump all my Murray Hill sets to free up room for other fare. You likely know this already, but Postnikova's husband was the late conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky.
Continuing with thoughts about Tchaikowsky, I think his solo piano music, like that of Sibelius, is considered to be a relatively "minor" or "secondary" segment of his output (my wife once told me in music school they used to say of Sibelius, "The symphonies are elemental and the piano music is elementary"), but I can enthusiastically recommend one piece of Tchaikowsky chamber music with piano: the Trio in A Minor, op. 50 ("To the Memory of a Great Artist"). The "great artist" was the recently deceased Nikolai Rubinstein, to whom the trio was a tribute. As sometimes is the case with Tchaikowsky, it's unconventional in form, but in a good performance the trio is deeply moving, and it really should get far more outings than it does.
Thanks for the informative replies. I knew about Rozhdestvensky, having seen the couple on one of the Menuhin videos. But I was not familiar with the trio, though it seems I have it in my du Pre box, performed with Barenboim and Zukerman. I will keep it in mind for a listen sometime soon.
Glad I could offer some opinions, and I hope you enjoy your Postnikova set when it arrives. Please let us know your reactions as you play through it!
Further searching reveals another trio performance in my collection with Yehudi Menuhin, his sister Hephzibah and Maurice Gendron
One of the concerts at Boston Symphony Hall we attended featured Rozhdestvensky and Postnikova( his wife) on piano. Two of the Prokofiev piano concertos were performed.
My recent Mozart obsession led me to pull out Fischer's Mozart CDs on Pearl to listen to soon. This led to me putting this CD on, as it sits next to my Fischer Mozart CDs and I hadn't heard it in awhile. Their is some surface noise, but the sound is much clearer than the Testament CD that shares the same Impromptu performances.
Time for some Fischer Mozart. First, volume 2, then volume 1 from this two volume series. Fischer's playing and tone are absolutely lovely in the K. 331 sonata playing right now.
Just wondering how you organize your CDs on the shelf? My single CDs and small boxes are by composer, unless I have a box where the perfomer has works by multiple composers, which have a section of their own. So the Postnikova box I have on order will go under Tchaikovsky but my Menuhin boxes are in the performer section.
Within classical genre, I first have box sets by period, starting with Baroque, then by composer within each period. Then a non-historical performer section organized by instrument, for multi-composer boxes. Then a historical performer section, organized by earliest recordings first. Then a vocal/opera section. Then all my classical composer CDs, organized by period, starting with Baroque.
One of the highlights from today's couple of boxes of the collection I just picked up, here we have HMV DB4640/41, Brahms second violin sonata played by Emil Telmányi, violin; Georg Vásárhelyi, piano. Quite a rare one this! and in mint condition. I thought long and hard about removing the clicks but it did irritating things to the violin so left it as is. I may later upload a restored version. I adore this sort of stuff and should upload more of it than I do, at least the rarities. If any of you fancy having a go and want the 24bit flac files just ask! This came from an amazing collection, one original owner who owned an EMG handmade gramophone and only played his records with fibre needles, one of what I'd call the original record collectors. Most of his records are in like new condition and to be able to say that about something from the 1930s does amaze me.
Quite a lovely performance, leaning more to the "lyrical" than my own first choice, Sitkovetsky/Davidovich on Novalis. (A rare instance in which I prefer a modern performance of Romantic literature to those recorded in pre-LP days). The records do sound to be in good shape, without too much of the usual HMV crackle. Wasn't Telmanyi the gentleman who later on recorded with the so-called "Bach bow"? Congrats on what, if this is an example, must be an uncommonly nice collection!
That promises to be interesting; I'll need to come back to it when I have a couple of hours to invest. Too late tonight....
Today's uncommon classical set. HMV C3547/8. Not a mint copy but not bad either, probably E but there are loud passages, particularly at the end of the first side, that distort a little. A shame but I doubt there are many copies that don't have this. A very enjoyable sonata from a composer I knew little about. This isn't as rare as the Telmanyi playing Brahms that I posted yesterday but I haven't had it before. If you do have this set please say if yours doesn't distort! Caviat here is the great Pristine have issued this on cd, but I wanted to upload my crackly copy just because, well, I enjoy it. Rubbra: violin sonata no. 2 (Albert Sammons&Gerald Moore) (HMV, 1946)
Yes, that's him, and I've still not heard those Bach bow records and would very much like to hear them! I just posted another item from this collection. It really is wonderful to see so many nice, rare and interesting chamber music sets in one go. I have also just found all 7 discs of Beethoven's third by Furtwangler in 1947 as a manual set in mint condition.
I've been listening to Richard Goode's performances of Mozart's concertos with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra recently. Nos. 9 & 25 today:
By composer with bigger box sets separate from the main collection. I even have some box sets in my bedroom closet. WB Beethoven is currently perched atop its Ravelian cousin. To be honest, it's a mess right now. I'm looking forward to financially more felicitous times (i.e., not grad school!) to build some custom shelving.
Now enjoying the Rach 3 from this CD. It is the third of the pianist's 4 studio recordings of the work.
Really enjoying this set of Nocturnes tonight. Weissenberg's direct, no-nonsense approach makes for a nice contrast with my other sets of Nocturnes.
Here are scans of the album and notes to the 1929 set of Franck's violin sonata in A Major, played by Thibaud and Cortot. This album and it's contents are in astonishing condition! I just thought someone would like to see these. I can get my ocr software to write out the text if it would be of interest. I'm totally blind so I'm pleased to be able to read these, thanks to mum for the photos as I'm totally blind.