Beethoven (1770-1827) - Complete Beethoven Violin Sonata Recordings : Zino Francescatti(Vn)Robert Casadesus(P)(7CD) - Import 7 CD Box

Credits:

Takacs Quartet

Description:

Beethoven's 250th anniversary release. Includes two previously unreleased recordings made in New York in 1957. Gino Francescatti and Robert Casadoche - these two French virtuosos were each one of the most popular classical artists on Columbia Records in the U.S. from the 1940s to the 1960s, and their duo is also one of the most highly acclaimed combinations in 20th century performance history. Although they had met through Ravel early in their performing careers, they did not begin performing as a duo until much later, during World War II. Since both musicians lived in the U.S., they began recording Debussy's sonatas and Ravel's "Lullabies in Faure's Name" for Columbia in 1946, shortly after the war, and recorded a number of masterful performances until 1961.Being French musicians, it is in a sense natural that their recordings of Franck, Debussy, Chausson, and others still hold historical value, but it was Beethoven's ten sonatas that the duo devoted most of their recording efforts to. The first Beethoven violin sonata recorded by Francescatti and Czadosz was No. 9, "Kreutzer," in 1949, followed by mono recordings of Nos. 3 and 4 in 1950, Nos. 7 and 8 in 1953, and Nos. 5 and 6 in 1957, all in New York. In May 1958 and October 1961, the ten sonatas were re-recorded in stereo, this time in Paris, with Nos. 1, 9, and 10, and Nos. 2 to 8, respectively. This complete stereo collection is "Francescatti's cool, relaxed, sweet tone, and the phenomenal Czadosz piano. It is a truly chamber music performance, with a relaxed shoulder. A clear, poetic and classical interpretation, with every detail presented as it should be. This is the result of the life experiences behind the two musicians.The performers are oriented toward objective clarity, lively rhythms, overwhelming instrumental sophistication, and flawless articulation with no gaps" (High Fidelity magazine, USA). The Oistrakh + Oborin disc is a masterpiece which, along with the Oistrakh + Oborin disc, marked the definitive interpretation of the complete Beethoven sonatas in the early stereo era. (1/2) Sony Music

Beethoven Collection List