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KABALEVSKY : Complete Piano Concertos • Fantasy • Rhapsody (Michael Korstick • Alun Francis) 2CD (2012) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Dmitri Kabalevsky (1904-1987)
CD1
1-3 Piano Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 9
4-6 Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 23 (original version)
CD2
1 Piano Concerto No. 3 in D major, Op. 50
4 Fantasy in F minor after Schubert D 940
7 Rhapsody, Op.75
8 Piano Concerto No. 4 in C major for piano & strings, Op. 99
Piano - Michael Korstick
Orchestra - NDR Radiophilharmonie
Conductor - Alun Francis
3.4.22
DMITRI KABALEVSKY : Symphonies 1-4 (Eiji Oue) 2xCD (2008) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
To
the extent that Dmitry Kabalevsky has been viewed as the Soviet
composer par excellence, his reputation has suffered in the west,
especially since the end of the Cold War. Certainly, some of his less
politically rewarded contemporaries have risen to greater prominence in
the same period, and this demonstrates a shift in public opinion, from
favoring the tuneful and conservative music of Kabalevsky to exploring
the deeper, agonized expressions of such artists as Dmitry Shostakovich
and Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Particularly in the realm of the symphony,
Kabalevsky's four symphonies are far less significant than
Shostakovich's fifteen or Weinberg's twenty five, which reflect in their
troubled music much of what was wrong in the Soviet Union, while
Kabalevsky's adhere to the party line and portray a heroic Russian
populism that rings false today. This is not to say that Kabalevsky's
symphonies are bad music, for they are constructed quite well in the
expansive, late Romantic style, and anyone who appreciates highly
melodic music in the tradition of Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov will find
these works easy to appreciate. Indeed, the lively performances of Eiji
Oue and the NDR Radio Philharmonic convey their excitement over these
rarely recorded works, and their muscular energy makes them worth
hearing, even though they are among the shallowest of twentieth century
symphonies and of primary interest to students of Russian history. CPO's
sound quality is excellent, so the performances come across with
natural orchestral colors and resonance. by Blair Sanderson
Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904-1987)
CD1
1-2 Symphony No. 1 Op. 18 In C Sharp Minor (19:35)
3-5 Symphony No. 2 Op. 19 In C Minor (1934) (25:37)
CD2
1-2 Symphony No. 3 Op. 32 In B Flat Minor For Orchestra And Mixed Chorus »Requiem Für Lenin« (1933) (19:07)
3-7 Symphony No. 4 Op. 54 In C (1955-56) (41:12)
Chorus – The Choir Of Hungarian Radio (2-1 to 2-2), NDR Chor
Orchestra – NDR Radiophilharmonie
Conductor – Eiji Oue 
21.3.22
ARAM KHACHATURIAN : Piano Concerto • Concerto-Rhapsody (Stepan Simonian, Daniel Raiskin) (2018) FLAC (tracks), lossless
Piano Concerto In D Flat Major (34:18)
Concerto-Rhapsody For Piano & Orchestra 20:36
Conductor – Daniel Raiskin
Orchestra – Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie
Piano – Stepan Simonian
19.3.22
MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG : String Quartets, Vol. 1 (Quatuor Danel) (2007) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Even though the dominant figures of Soviet music were Dmitry Shostakovich and Sergey Prokofiev, it has become clear that the work of a third composer, Polish-born Mieczyslaw Weinberg, should be ranked as equally significant. His reputation has rapidly increased in the west due to a growing number of major recordings that confirm his standing, and his impressive compositions are valued by some critics as every bit the equal of any of the better-known modernist masterpieces. In light of the renascence of Weinberg's music, CPO has begun a project with the Quatuor Danel to record the 17 string quartets, and this first volume shows promising signs that the whole series will be required listening. The String Quartet No. 4, Op. 20 (1945), was a product of World War II and it reflects the turmoil of the time, while the String Quartet No. 16, Op. 130 (1981), is a brooding, introspective work of Weinberg's late period, comparable in its fatalistic mood to some of Shostakovich's dark explorations. The Quatuor Danel plays with taut muscularity, and the tension of Weinberg's fiercely dissonant counterpoint is sustained in each quartet through the group's controlled energy and penetrating tone. The close miking may make listening a little disagreeable -- especially when the players' breathing is audible -- but the musical value of these performances is high and listeners should be prepared to concentrate on this album without distractions and to face it without concern for comfort: this is bracing music, indeed, but well worth the effort. by Blair Sanderson
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)
String Quartet No. 4 Op. 20 In E Flat Major (34:52)
String Quartet No. 16 Op. 130 In A Flat Major (30:18)
Ensemble – Quatuor Danel
MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG : String Quartets, Vol. 2 (Quatuor Danel) (2008) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)
String Quartet No. 7 Op. 59 In C (28:10)
String Quartet No. 11 Op. 89 In F (21:26)
String Quartet No. 13 Op. 118, In One Movement 14:07
Ensemble – Quatuor Danel
MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG : String Quartets, Vol. 3 (Quatuor Danel) (2009) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)
String Quartet No. 6 Op. 35 In E Minor (33:22)
String Quartet No. 8 Op. 66 17:15
String Quartet No. 15 Op. 124 (21:26)
Ensemble – Quatuor Danel
MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG : String Quartets, Vol. 4 (Quatuor Danel) (2010) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
This release is the fourth in a series devoted to the complete string quartets of Mieczyslaw Weinberg, a Polish-born Jew who fled the Nazis in 1939. He landed in Minsk, then in Tashkent, then finally in Moscow, where he found himself in danger once again from the aging Stalin's anti-Jewish purges. His life was probably saved by an appeal from Shostakovich, who had become his mentor. Weinberg is usually classed as a follower of Shostakovich, and his music was until recently little heard in the West; it has now been championed by the Quatuor Danel, a Russian group resident in Britain. Annotator David Fanning (the notes are given in German, English, and French) makes a good case that the influence, in the realm of the string quartet at least, went from Weinberg to Shostakovich rather than the other way around, and Shostakovich's attitude toward Weinberg seems to have been one of genuine admiration. At any rate, as the music of Eastern Europe and Russia is recognized for its engagement with the currents of world history rather than suffering devaluation from self-serving modernism, Weinberg deserves another look. These quartets do inhabit the same stylistic universe as those of Shostakovich, but Weinberg was no clone. The most immediately attractive work is the String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 27, composed in 1945. By that time Shostakovich had already begun to back off from his edgily humorous early idiom, but Weinberg apparently absorbed it during his first years in the Soviet Union; at the center of the work lies a blistering scherzo that could have come out of one of Shostakovich's stage works of the 1920s. The outer movements are melodic and a bit less dissonant than those of Shostakovich. The String Quartet No. 9 in F sharp minor, Op. 80, is from 1963, with structures that resemble the tight sonata forms of Shostakovich's works of the period. The final String Quartet No. 14, Op. 122, was written after Shostakovich's death. It lacks a key designation and has only metronome markings for tempo indications. It's a gloomy work, tightly constructed, with the dark tone of late Shostakovich much in evidence; one might do better with the range of emotions and literary reference in the works of the master himself here, but there's a lot to chew on in this late quartet. With enthusiastic and plainly lovingly rehearsed performances from the Quatuor Danel and fine sound from Cologne's Studio Stolbergerstraßse, this can be recommended to anyone who likes Shostakovich's quartets or is interested in the general Russian scene. by James Manheim
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)
String Quartet No. 5 Op. 27 In B Flat Major (25:37)
String Quartet No. 9 Op. 80 In F Sharp Minor (28:31)
String Quartet No. 14 Op. 122 (23:22)
Ensemble – Quatuor Danel 
MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG : String Quartets, Vol. 5 (Quatuor Danel) (2011) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)
1-3 String Quartet No. 1 Op. 2/141 In C Major (20:56)
4-6 String Quartet No. 3 Op. 14 In D Minor (20:42)
7-10 String Quartet No. 10 Op. 85 In A Minor (24:07)
11 Capriccio Op. 11 6:24
12 Aria Op. 9 4:25
Ensemble – Quatuor Danel
MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG : String Quartets, Vol. 6 (Quatuor Danel) (2012) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
The music of Mieczyslaw Weinberg, who fled the Nazis and endured persecution from Stalin (although, as annotator David Fanning points out here, he regarded the Red Army as his savior), has increased sharply in popularity. Weinberg is part of Shostakovich's stylistic universe and, although the relationship was never a formal one, said that he regarded himself as Shostakovich's pupil. Yet he was no clone. Jewish motifs play a role in some of his music, and in the string quartets here, especially the String Quartet No. 12, Op. 103, Bartók is as important a model as Shostakovich. Hear the Presto movement of that symphony (track 7), with its motivic cells closely packed around a central note, interspersed with hammered repetitions of a single tone. It's an extraordinary piece, and the multinational Quatuor Danel brings the requisite taut intensity. The other two works are lighter in tone, with the String Quartet No. 17, Op. 146 (composed in 1986), diverging quite a bit from the hopeless jocularity of many of Shostakovich's late pieces. It matches up quite well to the String Quartet No. 2, Op. 3, written in the early months of World War II but seemingly oblivious to the chaos that had erupted all around the composer (by the time he wrote it, he had fled his native Warsaw for Minsk). Weinberg himself seems to have recognized the connection, for he revised the quartet heavily near the end of his life. It begins in an almost neo-classic manner before becoming submerged in contrapuntal complications. Different as they are in mood, all three works are immediately recognizable as the work of the same creative figure, making this a reasonable first pick for those interested in Weinberg's music. Another major plus is the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (West German Radio) engineering for the CPO label, accomplished at the Stolbergstrasse Studio in Cologne, and capturing the physicality of the string quartet without overdoing the non-musical sounds in the least. An excellent conclusion to the Quatuor Danel's Weinberg cycle. by James Manheim
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)
String Quartet No. 2 Op. 3/145 (26:30)
String Quartet No. 12 Op. 103 (31:28)
String Quartet No. 17 Op. 146 (16:30)
Ensemble – Quatuor Danel
18.3.22
WEINBERG : Violin Sonatas 4 & 5 (Stefan & Andreas Kirpal) (2009) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Sonata for violin & piano No. 4, Op. 39
Sonata for violin & piano No. 5 in G minor, Op. 53
Pieces (3), for violin & piano
Stefan Kirpal - Violin
Andreas Kirpal - Piano
WEINBERG : Piano Trio • Violin Sonatina • Double Bass Sonata (Elisaveta Blumina) (2014) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Sonatina Op. 46 For Violin & Piano + (16:57)
Sonata Op. 108 For Double Bass Solo (20:37)
Cello – Johannes Moser *
Double Bass – Nabil Shehata
Piano and Artist director – Elisaveta Blumina
Violin – Erez Ofer +, Kolja Blacher *
26.2.22
GEORGE ANTHEIL : Symphonies 1 & 6 (Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, Hugh Wolff) (2000) APE (image+.cue), lossless
The work is interesting, to be sure, but for all its seeming maturity does not rise to the level of his later symphonies. At least its colors and changing moods point the way to his career as a successful film composer in Hollywood a couple of decades later.
The Sixth (1947-48) is the more substantial work here and not only shows the influence of Shostakovich but of Prokofiev as well, especially in the second movement. The excellent notes, by Eckhardt van den Hoogen, point out these musical ties. This is a powerful work that seethes with tension throughout, even in the haunting Larghetto central panel. The finale is pure energy and color. The symphony sounds little like the American music from the time, but instead divulges Antheil's rather cosmopolitan nature. He was not afraid to associate his style with that of other composers, and was apparently content to go against the grain in a variety of ways.
Archipelago is a rumba that was later reworked into the composer's Second Symphony as its third movement. It's clever and colorful, and makes a decent filler, not least because it showcases the Gershwinian side of Antheil.
The performances here are excellent and young Hugh Wolff demonstrates a firm grasp on Antheil's music. Does he offer a better Sixth than Kuchar on Naxos? That's the burning question, especially amid the irony that Naxos now distributes cpo discs. Both conductors share overall timings that are close (26:04 for Kuchar and 25:48 for Wolff), but their individual movements vary considerably. I would say Wolff is more fluent and smoother, but that Kuchar, rawer and more intense, is in the end the better choice. Besides, his couplings are far better.
Still, for those interested in Antheil, this CD is well worth knowing. The performances by the Frankfurt players are excellent and Wolff's readings are convincing. The sound is vivid and, as suggested above, the copious notes are most informative. by Robert Cummings
GEORGE ANTHEIL (1900-1959)
Symphony No 1 »Zingareska« (1923) (30:57)
Symphony No 6 »After Delacroix« (1947-48) (25:48)
Conductor – Hugh Wolff
Orchestra – Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt
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e.s.t. — Retrospective 'The Very Best Of e.s.t. (2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
"Retrospective - The Very Best Of e.s.t." is a retrospective of the unique work of e.s.t. and a tribute to the late mastermind Esb...
