Joseph Szigeti - Beethoven / Berlioz / Berg&Afrs Recordings - Import CD

Credits:

Joseph Szigeti

Description:

AFRS Recordings / Berg: Violin Concerto, etc. The AFRS recordings of Szigeti, including Berg's concerto with the acclaimed Mitropoulos and with the young Bernstein, as well as rare recordings made during World War II, have been reissued. Szigeti immigrated to the US in 1939 and made many recordings for US Columbia, but during World War II, from August 1942 to November 1944, the American Federation of Musicians (AFRS) went on strike for commercial recordings, so Szigeti Szigeti also has no Columbia recordings. AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service) was a shortwave station established by the U.S. military in the early 1940s for Americans living abroad. Recordings for broadcast by the station were exempt from the strike mentioned above, so many musicians and groups of all genres participated. This disc contains all of Szigeti's recordings for AFRS. Among the AFRS recordings, the Berg with Mitropoulos has been released on CD and has been known as a great performance among fans.In 1945, the piece, now considered one of the masterpieces of the 20th century, was not well known, and Szigeti and Mitropoulos, who highly valued the piece, reportedly fought together to persuade the orchestra and its board of directors to include it in the concert program. This is a valuable record in that it is the first performance of the piece to be broadcast in the United States. Beethoven's Romance was conducted by the young Bernstein (then 26 years old). This is a valuable recording both in terms of the collaboration with Szigeti and the recording with the San Francisco Symphony. The first notable work outside of the AFRS sources is Bartók's "Two Portraits No. 1". Szigeti performed this piece in the presence of the composer at his last concert in his native Hungary before coming to the United States. Corelli's "La Follia" is a further orchestration of the violin and piano version by the Belgian-born violinist Hubert Leonard (1819-1890). It is more ethereal and solemn than a baroque dance, sometimes tragic, and with the addition of a cadenza reminiscent of a Romantic concerto, it seems to have been reborn as a different work. (Naxos Japan) Contents Franz Schubert(1797-1828):Rondo - Piano Sonata No.17 in D major (Friedberg arrangement) François Schubert(1808-1878):Bees Johannes Brahms(1833-1897):Hungarian Dance No.5 in G minor (arranged by Joachim) Antonin Dvorak(1841-1904):Slavonic Dances No.1 in G minor (arranged by Kreisler) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky(1840-1893):Sentimental Waltz, Op. 51 No. 6 (arr. Gruns) Igor Stravinsky(1882-1971):Russian Dance Petrushka (arr. Dushkin) 7. Jene Hubay(1858-1937):Zephyr, Op. 30 No. 5 The above,Recorded:1943/First published:AFRS C 35&C 44(Basic Musical Library) 8. ector Berlioz(1803-1869):Dreams and Caprices, Op. 8 Recorded: August 26, 1946/Published first: Columbia lX 946(matrices CAX 9678 & 9679) 9. béla Bartók(1881-1945):Two Portraits No. 1, Op. 5 Recorded: June 22, 1946 / First released: Columbia LX 1531 (matrices CaX 9568 & 9569) 10. arcangelo Corelli(1653-1713): Sonata in D minor "La Follia" (arr. Leonard) Recorded live at Private Recording, January 26, 1941 11. van Beethoven(1770-1827):Romance No.1No. 2 in G major, Op. 40 Recording: July 1, 1945 / First release: AFRS 22 (Semi-Classical Replacement) (live) 12-15. alban Berg(1885-1935):Violin Concerto "In memory of an angel Recorded: December 30, 1945 / Premiere: AFRS 85 (NBC Symphony)(live) Total recording time: 84 min. Performers Joseph Szigeti (Violin) Piano accompaniment (performer unknown).... .1-7 Philharmonia Orchestra .... .8-9 Constant Lambert(Conductor).... .8-9 WOR Symphony Orchestra.... .10 Alfred Wallenstein, conductor . .10 San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.... .11 Leonard Bernstein, conductor . .11 NBC Symphony Orchestra.... .12-15 Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor . .12-15 Reprint Producer:Eric Wen Reissue Engineer:David Hermann Mastering:Dennis Patterson