Listening to Géza Anda, playing such a widely contrasting range of composers (including Mozart in the May issue and Bartók in August), has been a source of almost undiluted enjoyment. There appears to be a vast archive of recordings in Cologne of concerts he gave for the radio, mainly without an audience. Although the discs to hand were recorded in the 1950s, and are in mono, the sound is rich and on occasion plummy. It sounds as if Anda favoured a Steinway or comparably velvety instrument. That works better for some of these composers than others, though we are now used to hearing the Viennese classics played on an instrument with a more incisive upper register.

The Beethoven Concerto, numbered as '1' but second in order of composition, is conducted by Anda, and the orchestra proves highly responsive. This radiant and exhilarating work gets as lively a performance as it deserves, and could easily be a first choice for anyone who isn't addicted to state-of-the-art sound. It's followed by a straightforward rendition of Beethoven's first large-scale piano sonata, which Anda is careful not to over-dramatise; and then he plays the elusive, ground-breaking Op. 101, which, thanks to its seemingly improvisatory character, gets mauled by many pianists. Anda plays it spontaneously, but without searching for effect.

The directness of his playing is one of its most attractive features, and is as rewarding in Chopin and Schumann as in classical repertoire. The extraordinary freshness of both these composers, in their approach to form, signalled by the capricious titles that Schumann often gave his works, and the very general ones which Chopin awarded his, comes across quite marvellously in all these performances. Anda wasn't an exploiter of extremes, so if you want the unbridled fury of the last of Chopin's Op. 28 Preludes go to Argerich; or to Richter to unleash a volcano in the penultimate Etude Op. 25. But listened to as whole sets, Anda offers unfailing insights, gives new life to numbers that can sound tired, and left me purring with satisfaction at such lack of ostentation. Anyone who thinks Romantic music has to be played with flamboyance should listen to the Liszt and Brahms here and will soon develop quite different priorities.

Geza Anda war einer der bedeutenden Pianisten des 20. Jahrhunderts – und wohl...

Wenn in der Musik der Name Franck fällt, muss nicht immer César gemeint sein...

Die Liveaufnahme der Eroica stammt aus Karajans erstem Konzert mit den Berliner Philharmonikern nach dem Krieg, im Jahre 1953. Sie ist kontrastreich, hier schon bereinigt, dort noch von Pathos geprägt, durchgehend aber von größter musikalischer Intensität. Der Mitschnitt der Neunten entstand 1957, zum 75. Geburtstag der Berliner Philharmoniker. Hier ist Karajan deutlicher auf dem Weg zu 'seinem' Beethoven, wenn er auch noch viel stärker differenziert und betont als in dem flüssigeren Beethoven der Sechziger- und Siebzigerjahre. Dem Spirituellen und Erhabenen von Beethovens Musik begegnet er hier noch emphatischer als in späteren Interpretationen. Herausragend ist das Solistenquartett!

Karajan und Mozart, beide Salzburger, hatten gemeinsame Sternstunden, vor allem in der Oper, aber je älter Karajan wurde, desto mehr schien er sich vom Geiste Mozarts zu entfernen. Umso wichtiger ist dieses Tondokument, das anlässlich von Konzerten zum 200. Geburtstag Mozarts in Berlin entstand. Karajan dirigiert einen leichten und dennoch rhetorisch durchgeformten Mozart. Formsinn, kammermusikalische Feinheit, viel Kantabilität und innere Wärme prägen diese inspirierten und farbenreichen Interpretationen, in denen Karajan auch damals schon viel Wert auf Klangschönheit legte.
Im dämonisch düsteren Klavierkonzert Nr. 20 spielt Wilhelm souverän, im Klang aber recht weich und mit vornehmer Zurückhaltung.

Protagonizado por dos viejos amigos y sensacionales músicos, el presente disco...

This program opens and closes with big organ works arranged for brass quintet and organ. It is the kind of recording where the organist shows he can overwhelm any competition, and where the brasses play as loudly as they can in an effort to be heard at all.

The middle of the program – three pieces by Vierne, an Offertory by Lefebure-Wely, and three more pieces by Vierne – is for brass alone. The International Brass Quintet, composed of players from various European countries, does well with them.

For the aficionado, complete specifications for the Seifert organ of the cavernous Papal Basilica of Our Lady at Kevelaer, Germany are included.

Immer wieder dürfen wir Audite dankbar sein für die nimmermüde Schatzsuche,...

Si el lector es uno de esos melómanos sibaríticos y exigentes, que está...

Si el lector es uno de esos melómanos sibaríticos y exigentes, que está...