Overshadowed by his father, Michael Haydn penned some delectable music and here are father and son on a single disc of Violin Concertos, completed with two Mozart ‘movements’.
Brahms’ Violin Concerto comes from the same period as his Second Symphony, with which, in sprit, it has much in common. A similar serenity and insistence on carefully balanced form pervades both works. The first performance of the work was given in Leipzig on New Year’s Day 1879. The concerto is in three movements and, […]
Eduard van Beinum was quite a Sibelius pioneer and collected here are his complete Sibelius recordings for Decca and Philips. The set also marks the first appearance on CD of his Violin Concerto in a 1952 performance by Jan Damen (a former leader of the Concertgebouw) and the London Philharmonic. A collector’s haven, this 2CD […]
Grumiaux’s wonderful 1957 performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Concertgebouw and Eduard van Beinum, coupled with the first release on CD of Van Beinum’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2. Two radiant works in glorious performances coupled on Eloquence.
All of the few Britten recordings made by Eugene Goosse in 1953, have now been released on Decca Eloquence. Remodelled on themes he wrote as a boy, the ‘Simple Symphony’s’ undeniable charm and charisma have ensured it a constant place in repertoire enjoyed not only by children but by adults too. Much the same goes […]
Born in Vienna in April 1902, the cheery-looking Josef Krips seems to have been pre-destined to achieve eminence in the Viennese classics. He recorded with both, the Wiener Philharmoniker and the key London orchestras for Decca in the 1940s, 50s and 60s and the interpretations have genuine expressive power while remaining devoid of exaggeration or […]
The name of Pierre Monteux inevitably brings Stravinsky’s ‘Le sacre du printemps’ to mind; he conducted the notorious first performance in Paris in 1913 which degenerated into a brawl broken up by the police. This historic event has slightly overshadowed other Ballets Russes commissions, such as Ravel’s ‘Daphnis et Chloé’ and Debussy’s ‘Jeux’ which were first […]
