Solti – The First Recordings As Pianist and Conductor 1947-1958 (4 CD box set, APE)

Audio CD
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 4 CD box set
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Decca
Size: 876 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no

CD 01
Brahms – The 3 violin sonatas
01. Violin Sonata in G Major, op.78 – 1 Vivace ma non troppo
02. Violin Sonata in G Major, op.78 – 2 Adagio
03. Violin Sonata in G Major, op.78 – 3 Allegro molto moderato

04. Violin Sonata in A Major, op.100 – 1 Allegro amabile
05. Violin Sonata in A Major, op.100 – 2 Andante tranquillo – Vivace – Andante – Vivace di più – Andante vivace
06. Violin Sonata in A Major, op.100 – 3 Allegretto grazioso

07. Violin Sonata in D Minor, op.108 – 1 Allegro
08. Violin Sonata in D Minor, op.108 – 2 Adagio
09. Violin Sonata in D Minor, op.108 – 3 Un poco presto e con sentimento
10. Violin Sonata in D Minor, op.108 – 4 Presto agitato

Georg Kulenkampff
Georg Solti

CD 02
Beethoven – Kreutzer violin sonata
01. 1 Adagio Sostenuto-Presto-Adagio
02. 2 Andante Con Variazioni
03. 3 Finale: Presto

Georg Kulenkampff
Georg Solti

Beethoven – Concerto violino
04. 1 Allegro ma non troppo
05. 2 Larghetto
06. 3 Rondo: Allegro

Misha Elman – violin
London Philharmonic Orchestra

CD 03
Schubert – Sinfonia no.5
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Andante con moto
03. III. Menuetto (Allegro Molto)
04. IV. Allegro vivace

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

Bartok – Dance suite
05. I. Moderato
06. II. Allegro molto
07. III. Allegro vicace
08. IV. Molto tranquillo
09. V. Comodo
10. VI. Finale (Allegro)

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Bartok – Musica archi percussioni e celesta
11 I. Finale (Allegro)
12 II. Allegro
13 III. Adagio
14 IV. Allegro molto

London Philharmonic Orchestra

CD 04
Kodaly: Hary Janos suite
01. 1 Prelude: The fairy tale begins
02. 2 Viennese musical clock
03. 3 Song
04. 4 The battle and defeat of Napoleon
05. 5 Intermezzo
06. 6 Entrance of the emperor and his court

Strauss – Elektra
07. Allein! Weh, ganz allein
08. Ich will nichts horent
09. Was willst Du, fremder Mensch?

Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Christel Goltz
Elisabeth Hongen
Ferdinand Frantz

Brilliant Recordings Rescued From The Vaults

Now that Decca and Deutsche Grammophon, among others, are all part of Universal, we have seen some interesting things happen, and not all of them bad. What I’m referring to in this case is the new “Original Masters” Limited Edition Box Set series. Finally, the classical music world has taken a page out of the jazz reissue handbook — put out a quality product featuring rare recordings but make its availability limited, and people will snatch it up. In the “Original Masters” series, first DG and now Decca have each reissued five box sets, of 4 to 7 CDs each, in distinguished, space-saving slim paper boxes, though the style of packaging is different. The DG sets feature 50s style graphics design on their covers, while the Decca ones have a distinctive rainbow/spectrum pattern on the spines and banners, and a black-and-white photo of the artist in question on the face of the box.

This particular set brings back Sir Georg Solti’s first recordings as a pianist and conductor, from 1947-1958, for Decca. The first two discs are mostly Solti on piano with violinist Georg Kulenkampff on the three Brahms Violin Sonatas and Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” Sonata, recorded in 1947-48. Rounding out disc two is Violinist Mischa Elman performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Solti conducting the London Philharmonic from 1955. Disc three features Solti conducting the Israel Philharmonic in Schubert’s 5th Symphony from 1958 (the collection’s only stereo recording), and Bartok’s Dance Suite (1952) and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1955) again with the LPO. The final disc showcases Solti with the Bayerisches Staatsorcheter in Kodaly’s Hary Janos Suite and excerpts from Richard Strauss’ “Elektra.” While clearly not as essential as Solti’s Beethoven or Brahms Cycles, or his great “Decca Legends” offerings like his Mahler 8th and “Romantic Russia,” this box set is a great introduction to this artist and something Solti fans will certainly not want to miss. Well, I guess the consolidation of the music industry isn’t so bad after all, as long as I can look forward to more reissues like this.