I've liked what I've heard of Cimarosa. In addition to his operas, which were his main area of activity, he wrote a series of little keyboard sonatas not unlike Scarlatti's in scale, although I don't know that I'd put them quite in the same league musically. Arthur Benjamin adapted four of them into an oboe concerto; one of the various ways in which my local NPR affiliate's harpsichordophobic programming department bugs the heck out of me is by regularly playing the "Cimarosa oboe concerto" but never, ever, not once playing any of the sonatas as Cimarosa actually wrote them. Cimarosa did write a concerto, one for two flutes, that has received the occasional outing over the years, although I don't recall hearing it on said NPR affiliate (odd, considering that it features flute music in its programming generally a lot more than I would--but enough carping for one day!). As to the sonatas, Robert Veyron-Lacroix recorded (at least a bunch of) them on harpsichord for Westminster aeons ago, and one Roberte Mamou did the same on modern piano for Pavane. An alternative recording on harpsichord is by Robert Gotthard Schneider, issued by MHS, I assume under license from somewhere. I don't know if any of these recordings has made it to CD. Recordings that have been on CD are by Andrea Coen on Stradivarius and David Boldrini on Brilliant; both play period instrument pianos. Back to the operas, no less than Arturo Toscanini recorded a couple of the overtures: the ones for Il Matrimonio Per Raggiro and Cimarosa's Greatest Hit, Il Matrimonio Segreto. Worth a listen if you like historical recordings. Both Cetra and Angel issued complete recordings of the latter work during the LP era.
I was wondering about that. Their cover and spine styles are remarkably similar. Now enjoying CD 01 from this wonderful new 5 CD set:
We see things the same way! And I agree, you don't often get all of the pieces at the same time. Remember back when RCA had both the best artists and the best engineers and recordings? I digress. I tried the Salonen Firebird two nights ago, and it was just ok, to me. My attention was drifting, I think partially due to how muted it sounded, like I was in balcony seating. I'll be visiting other Firebird performances soon.
I only have eight of them, but they are all superb! Backhaus - Beethoven Piano Sonatas Grumiaux - 2 sets - Various Trio Ditrieste - Various Beaux Arts Trio - Various Kempff mono - 2 sets - Various Askenase - Chopin
Two other labels from the same stable (HNH International) are Lydian and Donau. I don't know much about how either is positioned, although I have the unscientific impression Lydian may be a "budget" Naxos, if you can imagine such a thing. Neither seems to turn up all that often, but I have at least one or two CDs on both. For example, somebody named Istvan Szekely recorded the Chopin etudes on Donau DCD-8064. Hmmm...I just went looking, unsuccessfully, for an image of the etudes disc on Donau, and I find that the same recording also has been on Lydian, Amadis, and the flagship Naxos labels. (Look at the image for the last-named quickly; it's from an eBay listing and doubtless will go away in due course.)
Thanks for that, David. Never heard of the pianist or those two labels. I'd say that I'd keep an eye out for the recording, but I am already drowning in etude recordings.
Gotcha! I'm not quite sure how I came to have that recording. If I remember correctly, it's one of those "respectable performances but in an overcrowded field" affairs, if you catch my drift.
I do. I find that there are those who wow with their technical prowess in these works (Pollini, Gavrilov), others who succeed in making them sound more like music and less like etudes (Anievas, Wild) and others still who manage to play them in a unique manner (Kemal Gekic.)
More images Anna Netrebko, Orchestra Del Teatro Alla Scala, Riccardo Chailly – Amata Dalle Tenebre Label: Deutsche Grammophon – 486 0532 Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album Country: Europe Released: Nov 12, 2021 Genre: Classical Style: Opera, Modern, Romantic, Baroque
And in a class by himself, of course, Friedrich Wuhrer. Too bad we have him only in op. 25. Kidding aside, he did produce a set of 18 studies on the etudes (score); a discussion is here: The Wuhrer-Chopin Etudes .
Regarding the Alexander box. It's biggest claim to fame is the viola is louder than any version on the market. I had the pleasure of meeting these musicians after a performance and the violaist was aware of this quirky achievement.
I have the Lydian version. Whatever the label, these are very enjoyable recordings of Chopin's Etudes in very pleasing sound.
Some excellent Mozart and Schubert by Trio Zimmerman Mozart: Divertimento in E flat Major Schubert: String Trio in B flat Major Trio Zimmerman Bis, 2010 CD/SACD
Sorry, I had to share. My New Grove Dictionary of Opera has landed in Sydney after having apparently spent 19 days in the air
After some further local delivery drama, the New Grove Dictionary of Opera has arrived from the UK and joined it's larger sibling on the shelf
Now listening to Alexandre Tharaud play Schubert on Erato, 2021. Schubert Impromptus D899 Moments Musicaux D780 Plus excerpts from the incidental music Rosamunde D797, transcribed by Alexandre Tharaud.
