Brahms - 21 Hungarian Dances

Hungarian Dance No.1 in G minor
1 Orchestrated by Brahms [2:53]
Hungarian Dance No.2 in D minor
2 Orchestrated by Johan Andreas Hallén (1846-1925) [2:35]
Hungarian Dance No.3 in F
3 Orchestrated by Brahms [2:18]
Hungarian Dance No.4 in F sharp minor
4 Orchestrated by Paul Juon (1872-1940) [4:08]
Hungarian Dance No.5 in G minor
5 Orchestrated by Martin Schmeling (?-1943) [2:16]
Hungarian Dance No.6 in D flat
6 Orchestrated by Martin Schmeling (?-1943) [3:04]
Hungarian Dance No.7 in F Hungarian Dance No. 7 in A
7 Orchestrated by Martin Schmeling (?-1943) [1:33]
Hungarian Dance No.8 in A minor
8 Orchestrated by Hans Gál (1890-1987) [2:48]
Hungarian Dance No.9 in E minor
9 Orchestrated by Hans Gál (1890-1987) [1:36]
Hungarian Dance No.10 in F
10 Orchestrated by Brahms [1:36]
Hungarian Dance No.11 in D minor
11 Orchestrated by Albert Parlow (?-1888) [2:25]
Hungarian Dance No.12 in D minor
12 Orchestrated by Albert Parlow (?-1888) [2:17]
Hungarian Dance No.13 in D
13 Orchestrated by Albert Parlow (?-1888) [1:35]
Hungarian Dance No.14 in D minor
14 Orchestrated by Albert Parlow (?-1888) [1:32]
Hungarian Dance No.15 in B flat
15 Orchestrated by Albert Parlow (?-1888) [2:40]
Hungarian Dance No.16 in F minor / major
16 Orchestrated by Albert Parlow [2:16]
Hungarian Dance No.17 in F sharp minor
17 Orchestrated by A. Dvorák (1841-1904) [2:45]
Hungarian Dance No.18 in D
18 Orchestrated by A. Dvorák (1841-1904) [1:22]
Hungarian Dance No.19 in B minor
19 Orchestrated by Antonín Dvorák [1:56]
Hungarian Dance No.20 in E minor
20 Orchestrated by Antonín Dvorák [2:25]
Hungarian Dance No.21 in E minor
21 Orchestrated by Antonín Dvorák [1:16]

Wiener Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado – conductor

The Hungarian Dances (German: Ungarische Tänze) by Johannes Brahms (WoO 1), are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1869.

They vary from about a minute to four minutes in length. They are among Brahms' most popular works, and were certainly the most profitable for him. Each dance has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles. Brahms originally wrote the version for piano four-hands and later arranged the first 10 dances for solo piano.

Only numbers 11, 14 and 16 are entirely original compositions. The most famous Hungarian Dance is No. 5 in F♯ minor (G minor in the orchestral version)[citation needed], but even this dance was based on the csárdás by Kéler Béla titled "Bártfai emlék" which Brahms mistakenly thought was a traditional folksong.

Brahms wrote orchestral arrangements for No. 1, No. 3 and No. 10. Other composers have orchestrated the other dances. These composers include Antonín Dvořák, Andreas Hallén (No. 2), Paul Juon (No. 4), Martin Schmeling (Nos. 5 to 7), Hans Gál (Nos. 8 and 9), Albert Parlow (Nos. 11 to 16). Dvořák orchestrated the last numbers. More recently, Iván Fischer has orchestrated the complete set.

Brahms's Hungarian Dances were influential in the development of ragtime. See, for example, the role of German-American piano teacher Julius Weiss in ragtime composer Scott Joplin's early life and career.

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Opera Gala

Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848)
L'elisir d'amore
Act 2
1 "Una furtiva lagrima" [4:41]

Lucia di Lammermoor
Act 3
2 "Tombe degl'avi miei" - "Fra poco a me ricovero" [7:21]

Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)
Ernani
Part 1
3 Mercé, diletti amici ...Come rugiada al cespite [5:33]

Il Trovatore
Act 3
4 "Ah sì, ben mio...l'onda de'suoni mistici...Di quella [5:44]

Aida
Act 1
5 "Se quel guerrier io fossi!" - "Celeste Aida" [5:01]

Jacques Halévy (1799 - 1862)
La Juive
Act 4
6 "Rachel, quand du Seigneur la grâce tutélaire" [5:41]

Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791 - 1864)
L'Africaine
Act 4
7 "Pays merveilleux ... O paradis" (sung in French) (Vasco) [3:37]

Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875)
Les pêcheurs de perles
Act 1
8 No.4 b) Romance: "Je crois entendre encore" [3:46]

Carmen
Act 2
9 "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" [4:00]

Plácido Domingo - tenor 
Roger Wagner Chorale
Los Angeles Philharmonic 
Carlo Maria Giulini – conductor

Plácido Domingo's parents were both singers of zarzuela, Spain's distinctive national form of musical theater. They founded their own zarzuela troupe in Mexico, where Plácido appeared with them in child roles. He studied voice with Carlo Morelli at Mexico's National Conservatory (1955-1957), and took the small role of Borsa in Verdi's Rigoletto with the National Opera in Mexico City in 1959. His first appearance in a leading tenor role was as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1961, and he made his U.S. debut the same year as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Dallas Civic Opera.

Domingo's New York debut was as Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly at the New York City Opera, October 17, 1965. After a 1966 stadium performance, his debut on the Metropolitan Opera stage occurred on September 28, 1968, as Maurice de Saxe in Adriana Lecouvreur. His first appearances at major houses such as Milan's La Scala (1968), the Vienna State Opera (1967), and London's Covent Garden (1971) established him as one of the greatest lyric tenors of his time, and, remarkably, as a formidable dramatic tenor besides. He has a bright, forceful voice, excellent stage presence, and superb musicianship, studying his parts from full orchestral score when possible. Commanding one of the largest active repertories among his contemporaries, he is often called upon as an emergency substitute. In one memorable case he flew from Europe to San Francisco, studying his part while in the air. He was met by a limousine and changed into his costume while traveling to the opera house by police escort.

Domingo is noted for his musical interests beyond singing. He began conducting, making his debut with La Traviata at the New York City Opera in 1973. He conducted La Bohème at the Met, and commissioned the opera Goya, on the life of the great Spanish painter, from Gian-Carlo Menotti, appearing as the painter in the work's premiere in Washington, D.C. If he had taken up conducting as a hedge against vocal decline, the measure proved unnecessary. Little diminishment is evident in his singing; he has used the darkening of his voice to his advantage, moving further into the dramatic tenor repertoire and even taking on Wagnerian roles such as Lohengrin, Parsifal, and Tristan. He has been especially identified with Verdi's Otello, and appeared in the work's official 100th anniversary performance at La Scala in 1987.

For much of his career he was put forward as a rival with his near-contemporaries, the Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti and fellow Spaniard José Carreras. When Carreras was hospitalized for leukemia in the 1980s, Pavarotti and Domingo both visited him, and the three brought to an end whatever rivalry might actually have existed. After Carreras' recovery, the three operatic stars formed an unprecedented partnership founded on their common love of soccer. They united every four years at the World Cup tournament for a monster gala concert called "The Three Tenors." The compact discs and video releases of these events then went on to become immense best sellers.

In later years Domingo appeared in concerts for Mexican earthquake relief and AIDS benefits, and has sung and conducted increasingly in zarzuela presentations, on stage and in recordings. In 1993, he founded the "Operalia" competition for young singers. He also turned to administration, becoming artistic director for the Washington National Opera (1996) and the Los Angeles Opera (2000). Ever seeking new challenges, since 2010 Domingo added the title roles in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra and Rigoletto to his repertoire, as well as the role of Pablo Neruda in Daniel Catán's Il Postino. He has remained active as a conductor in performances at the Metropolitan Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, and the Washington National Opera. ---Joseph Stevenson, allmusic.com

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Mahler: Symphony No.5

Symphony No.5 in C sharp minor
1 1. Trauermarsch (In gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie ein Kondukt - Plötzlich schneller. Leidenschaftlich. Wild - Tempo I) [12:42]
	
2 2. Stürmisch bewegt. Mit größter Vehemenz - Bedeutend langsamer - Tempo I subito
[14:27]
	
3 3. Scherzo (Kräftig, nicht zu schnell) [17:21]
	
4 4. Adagietto (Sehr langsam) [10:46]
	
5 5. Rondo-Finale (Allegro) [14:09]

Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela
Gustavo Dudamel – conductor

The Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor by Gustav Mahler was composed in 1901 and 1902, mostly during the summer months at Mahler's cottage at Maiernigg. Among its most distinctive features are the funereal trumpet solo that opens the work and the frequently performed Adagietto.

The musical canvas and emotional scope of the work, which lasts over an hour, are huge. After its premiere, Mahler is reported to have said, “Nobody understood it. I wish I could conduct the first performance fifty years after my death.”[cite this quote] Conductor Herbert von Karajan said that when one hears Mahler's Fifth, “you forget that time has passed. A great performance of the Fifth is a transforming experience. The fantastic finale almost forces you to hold your breath.”

The symphony is sometimes described as being in the key of C♯ minor since the first movement is in this key (the finale, however, is in D). Mahler objected to the label: "From the order of the movements (where the usual first movement now comes second) it is difficult to speak of a key for the 'whole Symphony', and to avoid misunderstandings the key should best be omitted."

The piece is generally regarded as Mahler's most conventional symphony up to that point, but from such an unconventional composer it still had many peculiarities. It almost has a four movement structure, as the first two can easily be viewed as essentially a whole. The symphony also ends with a Rondo, in the classical style. Some peculiarities are the funeral march that opens the piece (starting with a rhythmic figure that unmistakably references the opening notes of Beethoven's 5th symphony), and the Adagietto for harp and strings that interrupts the booming score.

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Bach, J.S.: The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080

Version for String Quartet

1 Contrapunctus I [3:04]
2 Contrapunctus  [2:44]
3 Contrapunctus 3 [2:31]
4 Contrapunctus 4 [3:30]
5 Contrapunctus 5 [2:32]
6 Contrapunctus 6 [4:10]
7 Contrapunctus 7 [3:07]
	
Emerson String Quartet

8 Contrapunctus 8 [4:54]
	
Eugene Drucker, Lawrence Dutton, David Finckel

9 Contrapunctus 9 [2:14]
10 Contrapunctus 10 [3:02]
11 Contrapunctus 11 [4:43]
	
Emerson String Quartet

12 Contrapunctus 14a: Canon per Augmentationem in contrario motu [5:18]

Eugene Drucker, David Finckel

13 Contrapunctus 12a [1:50]
14 Contrapunctus 12b [1:53]

Emerson String Quartet

15 Canon alla Ottava [4:02]

Lawrence Dutton, David Finckel

16 Canona alla Decima, in Contrapunto alla Terza [3:42]
	
Eugene Drucker, Lawrence Dutton

17 Canon alla Duodecima in Contrapunto alla Quinta [4:13]

Philip Setzer, David Finckel

18 Contrapunctus 13a [2:06]

Philip Setzer, Lawrence Dutton, David Finckel

19 Contrapunctus 13b [2:09]

Eugene Drucker, Lawrence Dutton, David Finckel

20 Contrapunctus 14: Canon per Augmentationem in contrario motu [6:53]

Philip Setzer, David Finckel

21 Contrapunctus 14(18): Fuga a 3 Soggetti [8:06]
22 Chorale: Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein [3:16]

Emerson String Quartet

The Art of Fugue (or The Art of the Fugue, original German: Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV 1080, is an incomplete work by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). It was most likely started at the beginning of the 1740s, if not earlier. The first known surviving version, which contained 12 fugues and 2 canons, was copied by the composer in 1745. This manuscript has a slightly different title, added afterwards by his son-in-law Johann Christoph Altnickol: Die Kunst der Fuga. Bach's second version was published in 1751 after his death. It contains 14 fugues and 4 canons. "The governing idea of the work", as the eminent Bach specialist Christoph Wolff put it, is "an exploration in depth of the contrapuntal possibilities inherent in a single musical subject."

The order of the fugues and canons has been debated, especially as there are differences between the manuscript and the printed editions appearing immediately after Bach's death. Also musical reasons have been invoked to propose different orders for later publications and/or the execution of the work, e.g. by Wolfgang Graeser in 1927, who also published his own "completion" of the final Contrapunctus XIV.

The 1751 printed edition contained — apart from a high number of errors and other flaws — a four-part version of Contrapunctus XIII, arranged to be played on two keyboards (rectus BWV 1080/18,1 and inversus BWV 1080/18,2). It is however doubtful whether the printed indication "a 2 Clav.", and the fourth added voice, that is not mirrored according to Bach's usual practice, derive from him, or from his son(s) that supervised this first edition.

The engraving of the copper plates for the printed edition would however have started shortly before the composer's death, according to contemporary sources, but it is unlikely that Bach had any real supervision in that preparation of the printed edition, due to his illness at the time.

The first printed edition also includes an unrelated work as a kind of "encore", the chorale prelude Vor deinen Thron tret Ich hiermit (Herewith I come before Thy Throne), BWV 668a, which Bach is said to have dictated on his deathbed.

A 1742 fair copy manuscript contains Contrapuncti I–III, V–IX, and XI–XIII, plus the octave and augmented canons and an earlier version of Contrapunctus X.

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Schubert: Winterreise

1 1. Gute Nacht [5:22]
2 2. Die Wetterfahne [1:47]
3 3. Gefrorne Tränen [2:18]
4 4. Erstarrung [3:00]
5 5. Der Lindenbaum [4:37]
6 6. Wasserflut [4:14]
7 7. Auf dem Flusse [3:27]
8 8. Rückblick [2:19]
9 9. Irrlicht [2:31]
10 10. Rast [2:54]
11 11. Frühlingstraum [3:52]
12 12. Einsamkeit [2:38]
13 13. Die Post [2:17]
14 14. Der greise Kopf [2:56]
15 15. Die Krähe [2:01]
16 16. Letzte Hoffnung [2:13]
17 17. Im Dorfe  [3:38]
18 18. Der stürmische Morgen [0:53]
19 19. Täuschung [1:31]
20 20. Der Wegweiser [3:55]
21 21. Das Wirtshaus [4:08]
22 22. Mut [1:24]
23 23. Die Nebensonnen [2:43]
24 24. Der Leiermann [3:33]

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau - baritone
Gerald Moore – piano

Winterreise (Winter Journey) is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert (D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller.

Winterreise was composed in two parts, each containing twelve songs, the first part in February 1827 and the second in October 1827. The two parts were also published separately, by Tobias Haslinger, the first on 14 January 1828, and the second (the proofs of which Schubert was still correcting days before his death on 19 November) on 30 December 1828. Müller, a poet, soldier, and Imperial Librarian at Dessau in Prussia (present-day east-central Germany), died in 1827 aged 33, and probably never heard the first setting of his poems in Die schöne Müllerin (1823), let alone Winterreise. Vogl, a literary and philosophical man accomplished in the classics and the English language, came to regard Schubert's songs as 'truly divine inspirations, the utterance of a musical clairvoyance.' Schubert found the first twelve poems under the title Wanderlieder von Wilhelm Müller. Die Winterreise. In 12 Liedern in an almanack (Urania. Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1823) published in Leipzig in 1823. It was after he had set these, in February 1827, that he discovered the full series of poems in Müller's book of 1824 entitled Poems from the posthumous papers of a travelling horn-player, dedicated to the composer Carl Maria von Weber (godfather of Müller's son F. Max Müller), 'as a pledge of his friendship and admiration'. Weber had died in 1826. On 4 March 1827, Schubert invited a group of friends to his lodgings intending to sing the first group of songs, but he was out when they arrived, and the event was postponed until later in the year, when the full performance was given.

Between the 1823 and 1824 editions Müller varied the texts slightly, but also (with the addition of the further 12 poems) altered the order in which they were presented. Owing to the two stages of composition, Schubert's order in the song-cycle preserves the integrity of the cycle of the first twelve poems published and appends the twelve new poems as a Fortsetzung (Continuation), following Müller's order (if one excludes the poems already set) with the one exception of switching "Die Nebensonnen" and "Mut!". In the complete book edition Müller's final running-order was as follows: Gute Nacht; Die Wetterfahne; Gefror'ne Thränen; Erstarrung; Der Lindenbaum; Die Post; Wasserfluth; Auf dem Flusse; Rückblick; Der greise Kopf; Die Krähe; Letzte Hoffnung; Im Dorfe; Der stürmische Morgen ; Täuschung; Der Wegweiser; Das Wirthshaus; [Das] Irrlicht; Rast; Die Nebensonnen; Frühlingstraum; Einsamkeit; Mut!; Der Leiermann. Thus Schubert's numbers would run 1-5, 13, 6-8, 14-21, 9-10, 23, 11-12, 22, 24, a sequence occasionally attempted by Hans Joachim Moser and Günther Baum.

Schubert's original group of settings therefore closed with the dramatic cadence of "Irrlicht", "Rast", "Frühlingstraum" and "Einsamkeit", and his second sequence begins with "Die Post". Dramatically the first half is the sequence from the leaving of the beloved's house, and the second half the torments of reawakening hope and the path to resignation.

In Winterreise Schubert raises the importance of the pianist to a role equal to that of the singer. In particular the piano's rhythms constantly express the moods of the poet, like the distinctive rhythm of "Auf dem Flusse", the restless syncopated figures in "Rückblick", the dramatic tremolos in "Einsamkeit", the glimmering clusters of notes in "Irrlicht", or the sharp accents in "Der stürmische Morgen". The piano supplies rich effects in the Nature imagery of the poems, the voices of the elements, the creatures and active objects, the rushing storm, the crying wind, the water under the ice, birds singing, ravens croaking, dogs baying, the rusty weathervane grating, the posthorn calling, and the drone and repeated melody of the hurdy-gurdy.

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Schubert: Winterreise

1 1. Gute Nacht [5:22]
2 2. Die Wetterfahne [1:47]
3 3. Gefrorne Tränen [2:18]
4 4. Erstarrung [3:00]
5 5. Der Lindenbaum [4:37]
6 6. Wasserflut [4:14]
7 7. Auf dem Flusse [3:27]
8 8. Rückblick [2:19]
9 9. Irrlicht [2:31]
10 10. Rast [2:54]
11 11. Frühlingstraum [3:52]
12 12. Einsamkeit [2:38]
13 13. Die Post [2:17]
14 14. Der greise Kopf [2:56]
15 15. Die Krähe [2:01]
16 16. Letzte Hoffnung [2:13]
17 17. Im Dorfe  [3:38]
18 18. Der stürmische Morgen [0:53]
19 19. Täuschung [1:31]
20 20. Der Wegweiser [3:55]
21 21. Das Wirtshaus [4:08]
22 22. Mut [1:24]
23 23. Die Nebensonnen [2:43]
24 24. Der Leiermann [3:33]

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau - baritone
Gerald Moore – piano

Winterreise (Winter Journey) is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert (D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller.

Winterreise was composed in two parts, each containing twelve songs, the first part in February 1827 and the second in October 1827. The two parts were also published separately, by Tobias Haslinger, the first on 14 January 1828, and the second (the proofs of which Schubert was still correcting days before his death on 19 November) on 30 December 1828. Müller, a poet, soldier, and Imperial Librarian at Dessau in Prussia (present-day east-central Germany), died in 1827 aged 33, and probably never heard the first setting of his poems in Die schöne Müllerin (1823), let alone Winterreise. Vogl, a literary and philosophical man accomplished in the classics and the English language, came to regard Schubert's songs as 'truly divine inspirations, the utterance of a musical clairvoyance.' Schubert found the first twelve poems under the title Wanderlieder von Wilhelm Müller. Die Winterreise. In 12 Liedern in an almanack (Urania. Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1823) published in Leipzig in 1823. It was after he had set these, in February 1827, that he discovered the full series of poems in Müller's book of 1824 entitled Poems from the posthumous papers of a travelling horn-player, dedicated to the composer Carl Maria von Weber (godfather of Müller's son F. Max Müller), 'as a pledge of his friendship and admiration'. Weber had died in 1826. On 4 March 1827, Schubert invited a group of friends to his lodgings intending to sing the first group of songs, but he was out when they arrived, and the event was postponed until later in the year, when the full performance was given.

Between the 1823 and 1824 editions Müller varied the texts slightly, but also (with the addition of the further 12 poems) altered the order in which they were presented. Owing to the two stages of composition, Schubert's order in the song-cycle preserves the integrity of the cycle of the first twelve poems published and appends the twelve new poems as a Fortsetzung (Continuation), following Müller's order (if one excludes the poems already set) with the one exception of switching "Die Nebensonnen" and "Mut!". In the complete book edition Müller's final running-order was as follows: Gute Nacht; Die Wetterfahne; Gefror'ne Thränen; Erstarrung; Der Lindenbaum; Die Post; Wasserfluth; Auf dem Flusse; Rückblick; Der greise Kopf; Die Krähe; Letzte Hoffnung; Im Dorfe; Der stürmische Morgen ; Täuschung; Der Wegweiser; Das Wirthshaus; [Das] Irrlicht; Rast; Die Nebensonnen; Frühlingstraum; Einsamkeit; Mut!; Der Leiermann. Thus Schubert's numbers would run 1-5, 13, 6-8, 14-21, 9-10, 23, 11-12, 22, 24, a sequence occasionally attempted by Hans Joachim Moser and Günther Baum.

Schubert's original group of settings therefore closed with the dramatic cadence of "Irrlicht", "Rast", "Frühlingstraum" and "Einsamkeit", and his second sequence begins with "Die Post". Dramatically the first half is the sequence from the leaving of the beloved's house, and the second half the torments of reawakening hope and the path to resignation.

In Winterreise Schubert raises the importance of the pianist to a role equal to that of the singer. In particular the piano's rhythms constantly express the moods of the poet, like the distinctive rhythm of "Auf dem Flusse", the restless syncopated figures in "Rückblick", the dramatic tremolos in "Einsamkeit", the glimmering clusters of notes in "Irrlicht", or the sharp accents in "Der stürmische Morgen". The piano supplies rich effects in the Nature imagery of the poems, the voices of the elements, the creatures and active objects, the rushing storm, the crying wind, the water under the ice, birds singing, ravens croaking, dogs baying, the rusty weathervane grating, the posthorn calling, and the drone and repeated melody of the hurdy-gurdy.

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Bach, J.S.: Cello Suites Nos.1 - 3, BWV 1007 - 1009

Suite for Cello Solo No.1 in G, BWV 1007
1 1. Prélude [2:50]
2 2. Allemande [4:18]
3 3. Courante [2:45]
4 4. Sarabande [3:21]
5 5. Menuet I-II [3:28]
6 6. Gigue [2:03]

Suite for Cello Solo No.2 in D minor, BWV 1008
7 1. Prélude [3:26]
8 2. Allemande [3:26]
9 3. Courante [2:06]
10 4. Sarabande [4:18]
11 5. Menuet I-II [3:17]
12 6. Gigue [2:31]

Suite for Cello Solo No.3 in C, BWV 1009
13 1. Prélude [3:43]
14 2. Allemande [3:59]
15 3. Courante [3:11]
16 4. Sarabande [5:00]
17 5. Bourrée I-II [3:55]
18 6. Gigue [3:16]

Pierre Fournier – cello

The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach are some of the most frequently performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello. They were most likely composed during the period 1717–1723, when Bach served as a Kapellmeister in Cöthen.

The suites contain a great variety of technical devices, a wide emotional range, and some of Bach's most compelling voice interactions and conversations. It is their intimacy, however, that has made the suites amongst Bach's most popular works today, resulting in their different recorded interpretations being fiercely defended by their respective advocates.

The suites were not widely known before the 1900s, and for a long time it was generally thought that the pieces were intended to be études. However, after discovering Grützmacher's edition in a thrift shop in Barcelona, Spain at age 13, Pablo Casals began studying them. Although he would later perform the works publicly, it was not until 1925, when he was 48, that he agreed to record the pieces, becoming the first to record all six suites. Their popularity soared soon after, and Casals' original recording is still widely available today.

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Bach, J.S.: Cello Suites Nos.4 - 6, BWV 1010 – 1012

Suite for Cello Solo No.4 in E flat, BWV 1010
1 1. Prélude [4:16]
2 2. Allemande [4:32]
3 3. Courante [3:46]
4 4. Sarabande [5:07]
5 5. Bourrée I-II [5:06]
6 6. Gigue [2:41]

Suite for Cello Solo No.5 in C minor, BWV 1011
7 1. Prélude [7:01]
8 2. Allemande [4:35]
9 3. Courante [2:06]
10 4. Sarabande [3:29]
11 5. Gavotte I-II [5:05]
12 6. Gigue [2:35]

Suite for Cello Solo No.6 in D, BWV 1012
13 1. Prélude [5:01]
14 2. Allemande [5:43]
15 3. Courante [3:49]
16 4. Sarabande [3:47]
17 5. Gavotte I-II [4:38]
18 6. Gigue [4:05]

Pierre Fournier - cello

This is deservedly regarded as a classic recording of the Bach Cello Suites. Fournier was one of the very greatest of 20th Century cellists, and this recording is among his finest. It is thoughtful and deeply felt, with generally measured tempi and enough rubato (speeding up and slowing down) to allow the music really to speak to us without becoming swamped in the cellist's own personality or swept away in Romantic fervour. It is marvellous playing in which Fournier's virtuosity is put entirely to the service of Bach, and the result is something really special. The great sweeping arpeggios of the Prelude to Suite No. 3 are resonant and deeply moving, for example, and the magical, numinous Sarabande from Suite No. 5 is simply spellbinding.

The recording quality (from 1961) is very good and the digital transfer seems to have preserved the fabulous sound of Fournier's cello beautifully. The notes are a little sketchy, but the music's the really important thing.

I have loved the Bach Cello Suites since I was a hopelessly bad teenage cellist (a long time ago now). Of all the recordings I have heard this stands with the very best. I couldn't possibly pick a single favourite, but if you want just one for your collection, this will do you very well indeed. Even if, like me, you already own more than one recording I would urge you to try Fournier. There is insight and beauty in abundance here, and I recommend this set without any reservation whatever. --- Sid Nuncius (London)

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Verdi: Requiem

Messa da Requiem

1 1. Requiem [8:22]
2 2. Dies irae [2:05]
3 2. Tuba mirum [2:44]
4 2. Liber scriptus [4:54]
5 2. Quid sum miser [3:36]
6 2. Rex tremendae [3:40]
7 2. Recordare [3:39]
8 2. Ingemisco [3:14]
9 2. Confutatis [4:34]
10 2. Lacrymosa [5:22]
11 3. Offertorium [8:53]
12 4. Sanctus [2:28]
13 5. Agnus Dei [4:22]
14 6. Lux aeterna [5:26]
15 7. Libera me [12:08]
	
Maria Stader – soprano
Marianna Radev -  mezzo-soprano
Helmut Krebs – tenor
Kim Borg – bass

RIAS Kammerchor, St. Hedwig's Cathedral Choir, Berlin
RIAS Symphony Orchestra Berlin
Ferenc Fricsay – conductor

The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass (Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi. The first performance in San Marco in Milan on 22 May 1874 marked the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. The work was at one time called the Manzoni Requiem. It is typically not performed in the liturgy, but in a concert of around 85–90 minutes.

Throughout the work, Verdi uses vigorous rhythms, sublime melodies, and dramatic contrasts—much as he did in his operas—to express the powerful emotions engendered by the text. The terrifying (and instantly recognizable) Dies irae that introduces the traditional sequence of the Latin funeral rite is repeated throughout for a sense of unity, which allows Verdi to explore the feelings of loss and sorrow as well as the human desire for forgiveness and mercy found in the intervening movements of the Requiem. Trumpets surround the stage to produce an inescapable call to judgement in the Tuba mirum (the resulting combination of brass and choral quadruple-fortissimo markings resulting in some of the loudest unamplified music ever written), and the almost oppressive atmosphere of the Rex tremendae creates a sense of unworthiness before the King of Tremendous Majesty. Yet the well-known tenor solo Ingemisco radiates hope for the sinner who asks for the Lord's mercy. Verdi also recycles and reworks the duet Qui me rendra ce mort? Ô funèbres abîmes!, from Act IV of Don Carlos, in the beautiful Lacrimosa which ends this sequence.

The joyful Sanctus (a complicated eight-part fugue scored for double chorus) begins with a brassy fanfare to announce him "who comes in the name of the Lord" and leads into an angelic Agnus Dei sung by the female soloists with the chorus. Finally the Libera me, the oldest music by Verdi in the Requiem, interrupts. Here the soprano cries out, begging, "Deliver me, Lord, from eternal death ... when you will come to judge the world by fire."

The Requiem was first performed in the church of San Marco in Milan on 22 May 1874, the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. Verdi himself conducted, and the four soloists were Teresa Stolz (soprano), Maria Waldmann (mezzo-soprano), Giuseppe Capponi (tenor) and Ormondo Maini (bass).

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Schumann: Symphony No.4 / Haydn: Symphony No.88

Robert Schumann
Symphony No.4 in D minor, Op.120
1 1. Ziemlich langsam – Lebhaft [11:52]
2 2. Romanze (Ziemlich langsam) [5:21]
3 3. Scherzo [5:56]
4 4. Langsam - Lebhaft - Schneller – Presto [7:50]

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)
Symphony in G, H.I No.88
5 1. Adagio – Allegro [6:52]
6 2. Largo 6:19]
7 3. Menuetto (Allegretto) [4:25]
8 4. Finale (Allegro con spirito) [3:40]

Berliner Philharmoniker
Wilhelm Furtwängler – conductor

The Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120, composed by Robert Schumann, was completed in 1841 (first version). Schumann heavily revised the symphony in 1851, and it was this version that reached publication. Clara Schumann, Robert's widow, later claimed on the first page of the score to the symphony—as published in 1882 as part of her husband's complete works (Robert Schumanns Werke, Herausgegeben von Clara Schumann, published by Breitkopf und Härtel) — that the symphony had merely been sketched in 1841 but was only fully orchestrated ("vollständig instrumentiert") in 1851. However, this was untrue, and Johannes Brahms, who greatly preferred the earlier version of the symphony, published that version in 1891 despite Clara's strenuous objections.

The Symphony No. 88 in G major (Hoboken 1/88) was written by Joseph Haydn. It is occasionally referred to as The Letter V referring to an older method of cataloguing Haydn's symphonic output. The symphony was completed in 1787. It is one of Haydn's best-known works, even though it is not one of the Paris or London Symphonies and does not have a descriptive nickname.

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