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Brahms – Violin Concerto; Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 8

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, In D Major, Opus 77

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770 -1827)

Sonata for Violin and Piano No 8, in G Major, Opus 30 / 3

Performed by:

Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Gennadij Roshdestvensku

David Oistrakh (Violin)

Lev Oborin (Piano)

Historical Recording dates: 1972 (Brahms) and 1960 (Beethoven)

ONE-SENTENCE REVIEW:

I mean, I don’t know, these are fine historical Soviet recordings but seem pretty cold (war) – maybe it’s because of the time – Leningrad Orchestra in the 1960s and 1970s.

ORIGINAL LINER NOTES:

The brilliant violinist David Oistrakh, born in Odessa on September 30, 1908, and died in Amsterdam on October 24, 1974, was a pupil of the teacher Stoliarski, who also contributed to the training of Nathan Milstein.

In 1926, Oistrakh gave his first performance in Odessa and in 1937 was awarded first prize at the Eugene Ysa of Belgium Competition.

He achieved success at a very early age. The international public was overwhelmed by this young man who possessed such skill that he was able to overcome every technical difficulty with the greatest east by conveying the violin’s melody in a beautiful and profound way.

The nobility, sincerity and fidelity of the style of ‘King David’ (as he was soon called) were outstanding from an early age. Oistrakh played a violin made by Stradivarious in 1706. He was the person to whom the two Violin Concertos by Dmitri Shostakovich, Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano by Sergey Prokofiev and the respective Concertos by Khachaturian and Kabalevsky, were dedicated.

The pianist Lev Oborin was born in Moscow on September 11, 1907, and died in Moscow on January 5, 1974. His teachers were Elena Gnesina and Konstantin Igumnov.

In 1927, he was awarded the Chopin Prize at the first Warsaw Competition and the following year, he took up the post of Professor of Piano at the Moscow Conservatoire. There he taught, amongst others, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Ekaterina Noitskaya. Under Oborin they extended the analytical restraint of their expression and exquisite legato.

Both instrumentalists play together frequently and, accompanied by the violinist Svjatoslav Knuschevitsky (Petrovsk, 1908 – Moscow, 1963), they form a wonderful trio which will always remain in the annals of Russian musical history.

TRACK LISTING:

Johannes Brahms – Concerto For Violin And Orchestra, in D Major, Opus 77

  1. Allegro non troppo – 22:37
  2. Adagio – 9:19
  3. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace – 8:29

Ludwig Van Beethoven – Sonata For Violin And Piano No. 8, in G Major, Opus 30 / 3

  1. Allegro assai – 6:41
  2. Tempo di menuetto, ma molto moderato e grazioso – 8:46
  3. Allegro vivace – 3:37

FINAL THOUGHT:

This Leningrad Masters disc issued in the early-1990s from the Soviet Archives is not very well mastered and is definitely not the cleanest recording – but the performers are in top form – even though, as I said up top, it left me a little cold.

Emily Sachs – President – Manka Music Group (A division of Manka Bros. Studios – The World’s Largest Media Company)

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Beethoven – Piano Sonatas 3, 7 and 19

Manka Bros., Khan Manka, Emily Sachs, Emily's Music Dump, Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Sviatoslav Richter, Leningrad Master, Sonata No 3, Sonata No 7, Sonata No 19, Heinrich Neuhaus, Emil Gilels, Sergei Prokofiev, Mstislav Rostropovitch, USSR Piano Competition, JS Bach, Dmitri Shostakovich, A Montferrand, Leningrad MastersLudwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Sonata for Piano No. 3 in C Major, Opus 2/3

Sonata for Piano No. 7 in D Major, Opus 10/3

Sonata for Piano No. 19 in G Minor, Opus 49/1

Sviatoslav Richter, Piano

Sonatas 3 and 7 Recorded Live in 1960 and Sonata 19 Recorded Live in 1965 (Reissued by Leningrad Masters – 1995)

ONE-SENTENCE REVIEW:

One of those amazing historical recordings pulled from the abundant but badly preserved Soviet vaults, Sviatoslav Richter rips into these sonatas like a great pianist in his prime – if only the recording quality were as perfect as these performances.

ORIGINAL LINER NOTES (typos included from the original horrible translation):

Born in Zhytomyr on March 20, 1915 during his life, Sviatoslav Richter has been one of the most brilliant pianists in history.

After receiving general musical tuition, the Ukrainian musical completed his training with Heinrich Neuhaus.

Manka Bros., Khan Manka, Emily Sachs, Emily's Music Dump, Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Sviatoslav Richter, Leningrad Master, Sonata No 3, Sonata No 7, Sonata No 19, Heinrich Neuhaus, Emil Gilels, Sergei Prokofiev, Mstislav Rostropovitch, USSR Piano Competition, JS Bach, Dmitri Shostakovich, A Montferrand, Leningrad MastersHe worked for seven years under this great pianist and teacher, his classroom companion being the equally gifted Emil Gilels and he soon made friends with Mstislav Rostropovitch and Sergei Prokofiev.

It has been said that Richter possesses an amazing capacity for improvisation and memory, but the real secret of his success is to be found in his powerful personality, which emerges in a revealing manner in each of his passionate interpretations.

Richter is an artist totally consumed by music. He was awarded first prize at the 1935 USSR Piano Competition.

Always seen as controversial at the time, today the pianist is considered a “megastar” who keeps record companies at a distance and shies away from the concert circuit.

Each time he sits down at the piano, Richter reflects, with a sublime capacity for philosophy, on the fundamental questions and messages which surround the works he confronts in a repertoire which ranges from Bach to Shostakovich.

In this live recording, we encounter one of the cornerstones of Richter’s art: “his” Beethoven.

There are very few opportunities for the record lover to preserve Richter in the music of Beethoven and consequently this record has value as a rarity.

Richter has been captured live in his creative work – an immense, metaphysical and exclusive creation – of Piano Sonatas Nos. 3, 7 and 19 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

TRACK LISTING:

  • 1-4: Beethoven Sonata for Piano No. 3 in C Major, Opus 2/3
  • 5-8: Beethoven Sonata for Piano No. 7 in D Major, Opus 10/3
  • 9-10: Beethoven Sonata for Piano No. 19 in G Minor, Opus 49/1

FINAL THOUGHT:

I remember being so excited after the fall of the Soviet Union when they opened the previously closed vaults of Soviet recordings. There was so much there. I only wish there was a company that remastered and took care of these precious moments in time. I love the great musicians from the 20th century Soviet Union. Like ballet, music composition, art and opera, they were really in a class by themselves.

Manka Bros., Khan Manka, Emily Sachs, Emily's Music Dump, Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Sviatoslav Richter, Leningrad Master, Sonata No 3, Sonata No 7, Sonata No 19, Heinrich Neuhaus, Emil Gilels, Sergei Prokofiev, Mstislav Rostropovitch, USSR Piano Competition, JS Bach, Dmitri Shostakovich, A Montferrand, Leningrad Masters

Emily Sachs – President – Manka Music Group (A division of Manka Bros. Studios – The World’s Largest Media Company)