Word: lps
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Haydn: The Seasons (Soprano Ileana Cotrubas, Tenor Werner Krenn, Bass Hans Sotin, Brighton Festival Chorus, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Antal Dorati conductor, London; 3 LPs). This is Haydn's other major oratorio, structurally less cohesive and dramatically less powerful than The Creation, but a work in which the aging composer set out to demonstrate all that he could do in a wide range of styles and forms. In other words, a compendium of glories. The text, from James Thomson's panoramic poem written in 1730, inspires passages of musical landscape painting, evocations of the hunt, human scenes of yeomen...
Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, Tenor Nicolai Gedda, Bass Dimiter Petkov, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich conductor, Angel; 3 LPs). Soviet critics thought they heard a masterpiece when this, Shostakovich's second opera, was premiered in 1934. Then Stalin walked out of a performance and they listened again. This time they heard "din, gnash and screech" (Pravda). The work was withdrawn, and Shostakovich pursued more orthodox ways. A sanitized version, unveiled in 1963, found its way to the West on records, but this is the first recording of the original score. Harsh, erotic...
Such flexibility is part of the fun of their performances. A palpable joy in music making pervades everything they do and even comes through on their LPs. One of their best is the Schubert Symphony No. 5 (Sound 80). It is impeccable in its details, and yet it breathes with spontaneity and ardor. Another notable release, on Nonesuch, contains pieces by William Bolcom, including Commedia, one of many works commissioned by the orchestra...
Bravo Pavarotti! (London, 2 LPs). Unabashed grandstanding, but who can resist the voice...
Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas (Philips, 13 LPs); Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas (Deutsche Grammophon, 3 LPs). A connoisseur's choice: Alfred Brendel's fine detail or Maurizio Pollini's grand sonority...