Your dreamed recordings
Sometimes I´m wondering about violinists from the past who never performed or recorded famous compositions, so I´m trying to imagine how could it have sounded.
In my desires, I would like to have known this performances:
- Bartok Concerto No.2 by Ferras. Too by Heifetz and Szigeti.
- Sibelius Concerto by Milstein. Too by Grumiaux.
- Glazunov Concerto by Francescatti.
- Goldmark Concerto by Heifetz (he recorded only 2nd movement).
- Brahms Concerto by Hassid (He performed it in London before his illness. Possibly BBC Radio Archives contain it, but, if it´s true, it´s not issued).
- Elgar Concerto by Kreisler (he never recorded it).
- Wieniawski Concerto No.2 by Szymon Goldberg.
- Walton Concerto by Isaac Stern.
- Bruch Scottish Fantasy by Szeryng.
And so on...
Replies (60)
Raphael,
Grumiaux recorded Debussy Sonata, in an 1962 enregistrement included in a 5-CD box dedicated to his historical Philips recordings. A sensational performance, with richness of color and tone. Very sensual and sensitive. Istvan Hajdu plays the piano.
Greetings,
Manuel.
Kreisler playing his own "Praeludium and Allegro".
Also, I agree with Kreisler playing the Elgar. That would have been a nice recording to have.
Wow. In addition to all of the above:
- Paganini playing his own music (or anyone else's).
- Wieniewski playing anything.
- Heifetz playing the Paganini Concertos 1 & 2.
- Oistrakh (David), Kogan, Francescatti, and Hubermann playing the Bartok Concerto (separately, of course).
- Grumiaux playing all of the Brahms chamber music (his recording of the Horn Trio is spectacular).
Good to hear about Grumiaux and the Debussy!
Just thought of a couple more:
I'd also like to have heard Heifetz doing more Paganini. In the few caprices that he did record (with piano accompaniment, which I could just as well do without) he displayed a brilliance, laser-like clarity, intensity and style that leaves many a Pag. specialist in the dust!
I'd love to hear both Rosand and Dicterow doing the Elgar.
And yes, it would be fascinating to hear many of the lagends of the pre-recorded eras!
I would love to have heard Kogan play Ginastera´s Violin concerto.
Did Kogan perform any atonal music at all by the way?
I know that the Schoenberg concerto basicly was the first atonal piece that Hahn played in public.
That's an interesting choice with Goldberg and Wieniawski 2. He was known to shun virtuosity and was mostly a "thinking man" violinist a la Adolf Busch. I don't feel that he would feel at home with this piece.
Kogan was the first Russian violinist to record the Berg concerto.
Adding to the list-Heifetz playing Dvorak Concerto and Saint-Saens # 3, which I understand he did not care for though he recorded brilliantly the Havanaise and the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.
Also, because it would have surely been musically interesting, Stern playing Glazounov Concerto.
Michael Rabin and Itzhak Perlman performing the Concerto in d minor for Two Violins by J.S. Bach.
Eugene Ysaye playing the Sonata in A Major by Cesar Franck. Also Ysaye playing his Six Sonatas for Solo Violin.
Hilary Hahn playing the Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor Op. 14 by Henryk Wieniawski as well as the Concerto No. 5 in a minor Op. 37 by Henri Vieuxtemps.
There will be more coming from me as I give the question more thought.
There has always been a lot of academic speculation about how good a violinist Bach was, so I'd want to hear him in his Sonatas and Partitas.
"There has always been a lot of academic speculation about how good a violinist Bach was, so I'd want to hear him in his Sonatas and Partitas."
Propable not good enough to be able to play them uptempo and accurate
Many great violinist can play the piano (or cembalo) pretty good but only a few pianists can play the violin well.
Manuel:
Great question! Here's my take:
1.Paganini playing the Berg
2.Joachim playing the Brahms
3.Mozart playing the Prokoviev#1
4.Oistrakh playing the unaccompanied Bach, the Berg,etc.
5.Szeryng playing Prokoviev #1
6.Heifitz playing " "
7.Jack Bennie playing the unacompanied Bach on electric guitar, the Sibelius on double bass and "Stranger on the Shore" with Acker Bill and the Lawrence Welk Orchestra
Only a couple
Kreisler playing the Elgar Concerto
Oistrakh playing more Bach
Josef Hassid playing the Brahams Concerto
Andreas - most of the expert speculation on Bach's talents as a violinist is favorable, that he was probably quite good. His son CPE described him as being very good and playing "strongly and cleanly" into old age.
Having studied with Mr. Goldberg (after all these years that's still how I think of him!) I agree that he probably wouldn't have enjoyed Wieniawski so much. He did, however, perform the Glazunov with the composer conducting the Warsaw Philharmonic - I could see that as a dream recording.
Elizabeth, I agree with you. Szymon Goldberg was an atypical Polish violinist, so he preferred playing Bach or Mozart much more than virtuoso repertory. My suggestion was only by curiosity about his approach to the mentioned national Polish composer-violinist. Perhaps it could be more desirable for him to have recorded the complete set from Bach´s Sonatas and Partitas (I think he never recorded them, if I´m not wrong).
Greetings,
Manuel.
Oistrakh doing the complete solo Bach.
Greetings,
I wa slucky enough to be in an orchestra when I wa sa kid that accompanied Symon Goldberg in the Bach e major. That wa sextraordinary.
The recoridng I wnat that ha sbeen made I think, is the Guarneri playing the Bartok quartets. I think I read somewhere they wher never released because Elvis was making a comeback. Or was he releasing a fad diet?
Cheers,
Buri
I wish Barnabás Kelemen would record Bartók 2...(*wink wink, nudge nudge*...are you reading this Barnabás?!)...
In keeping with my lingering Takács Quartet madness, I'd like to hear András Fejér on the Bach cello suites and Károly Schranz on absolutely anything...
Szigeti on the Janácek sonata and Dvorak concerto, and obviously Bartók 2.
Josef Hassid on Brahms d minor sonata.
Joachim on anything by Brahms.
Ysaye playing Chausson Poeme
Ysaye playing the Debussy Sonata
Kreisler, Ysaye, Thibaud and Casals playing anything in a string quartet (my teacher's teacher heard them play together in a private performance).
Kreisler playing the rest of the Bach G minor Sonata.
Mozart and Bach playing anything.
Kreisler playing the Bach Chaconne
Mara, late Joachim recorded one of Brahms´s Hungarian Dances, No.2 in D minor.
Greetings,
Manuel.
I would like to hear Kreisler playing Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso and Zigeunerweisen.
Amongst present day violinists, I would love to hear Roby Lakatos play Mendelssohn Concerto and other great pieces of the classical repertory. His playing of Gypsy repertory is so sensitive and refined, imaginative, firey, yet restrained by exquisite taste (a *very rare commodity amongst today's players), and touching. For me, he seems to have every quality to be one of the truly great classical violinist soloists.
Thank you Manuel for encouraging our imaginations to run amok. To start with I really like your suggestions:
Ferras Bartok Cto. 2 (I believe he hoped to record it with Karajan but when his alcoholism became obvious the conductor turned his back on him); Hassid Brahms - we have so little from him anything would be fantastic. There were plans of him recording the Elgar and Walton. Kreisler Elgar, Francescatti Glazunov.
To echo other suggestions Ysaye playing Poeme, Debussy, Franck and his own sonatas (I'd add the Lekeu Sonata); Szigeti Janacek and Bartok 2nd Concerto; Oistrakh solo Bach (besides the G minor that does exist)
The ones that immediately sprung to my mind:
- Enescu playing his own "Impressions d'enfance" (in fact apparently he did record this with Lipatti but the recording has been lost), and any of the Franco-Belgian sonatas
- Camilla Wicks playing Shostakovich Cto.1 and Britten
- Toscha Seidel in his prime playing the Korngold Cto.(even though by the time that was composed he was probably past his prime, but what the heck...)
-Heifetz Barber
-Myron Polyakin playing Tchaikovsky Cto.
-Joachim's Beethoven Cto.
- anything with Beethoven himself, though it would probably sound dire.
Of current players: Julian Rachlin in Prihoda's arrangement of the Rosenkavalier Waltzes
My dream recordings are in the queue!
I'm excited that many old faces and many new faces will have the opportunity to record some of this wonderful music!
Zukerman: Wieniawski 1, Ysaye sonatas, Shostakovich #1 (really wish that existed.)
James Ehnes: Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Goldmark, Prokofiev 1+2, Ysaye Sonatas, complete Beethoven and Brahms sonatas and basically everything else.
Leonidas Kavakos: Same as above except for the few he's done already.
Ilya Gringolts: Bartok 2, Shostakovich 2. Bartok solo sonatas. Brahms concerto. Complete Bach Sonatas/Partitas in a few years time.
Frank Peter Zimmerman: A faster Mendelssohn E-.
Augustine Hadelich: Anything...
Haydn will be out soon with Hadelich, good stuff.
*US release early 2008
I'd like to see Tetzlaff record Bartok VC 2. He has a fantastic recording of the violin sonatas.
I'd like to see Daniel Hope record the Walton VC. He did a real nice job with the Walton sonata.
Also I noticed that Kavakos played the Nielsen VC in London this week. Hopefully he'll record it soon.
Just reminded myself of another old favorite of mine - Toscha Seidel. I would love to have heard him the Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Zigeunerweisen, Ravel's Tziganne, the Brahms concerto, and Hungarian dances. Also, the Bloch Nigun, the Korngold and Roza concertos.
Buri wrote: "That wa sextraordinary."
I think that you have coined a new adjective.
My parents worshipped Goldberg and his accompanist, Lili Kraus. I only wish they had recorded all of the Beethoven and Mozart violin/piano sonatas. I have a Music & Arts CD of some, but there are others they never seem to have recorded.
Manuel - part of why Goldberg may have been atypical for a Polish violinist was that the primary center of his career, prior to Hitler's rise to power, was Germany, where he was concertmaster of the Berlin Phil. Orch.
Gingold playing Ballade when he was studying with Ysaye.
Rabin playing mature repertoire if he still lived to be at least 50.
Latest flights of fancy: Heifetz "Last Rose of Summer", Ferras "Erlkonig" (a possessed violinist for possessed music; Huberman also springs to mind), Neveu playing Franck, and pushing the boat even further Grappelli in Milhaud's "Boeuf sur le Toit".
Szigeti playing solo Bartok sonata.
Szekeley playing solo Bach
How's about Mr. Kaler and the Erlkonig?
Jacqueline du Pre- If only she lived longer and did a string of Baroque work with period cellos!
Hilary Hahn playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Major; Op: 61!!!
Hey Royce,
Hilary Hahn has a recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with Kreisler cadenzas. It was put out by Sony together with the Bernstein Serenade (based on Plato's Symposium).
To all,
Here's another contribution to this dream thread:
Hilary Hahn playing the Solo Sonatas of Eugene Ysaye.
And Pablo de Sarasate playing his Spanish dances, Zigeunerweisen, Introduction and Tarantelle, and Carmen Fantasy.
She played the second movement of the second sonata as an encore when she was in SF for the Korngold not so long ago...it was beautiful!
Rev. Ed;
Thanks a Jillion! I'll Look for it!
Hey Jonathan,
I heard Ms. Hahn perform Ysaye's First Sonata at a recital in late 2005 in DC. It was breathtaking. I remember the recital as if it were yesterday. She opened with the Ysaye.
Hey Royce,
Enjoy it! It's very fine.
Rev. Edwin Perez,
Pablo de Sarasate actually DID record a few of the pieces you mentioned. He recorded Zigeuenerweisen, the Tarantella half of Introduction and Tarantella, Zapateado, and Habanera. He recorded a few other pieces as well, but I'm too tired to list them all right now. You can google it and find it in seconds.
George
Anything by Stephen Brivati.
Del Monte has the contract, and 'I' am the arbitrator--ching ching.
Pieter, you dream of Stephen Brivati, too?
I want to hear the robot play something with the Detroit Symphony, Alan Turing conducting. I'd buy that for a dollar.
George,
Thanks :) I'll search for the recordings later.
Royce - Hahn has recorded the Beethoven concerto.
Jim, I have another idea for the robot. I would take the Ligeti "Poeme Symphonique" (the piece for 100 metronomes) and convert it to a violin concerto with the robot playing the violin part.
aw c`mon guys. I came on in my robot costume and all I got was flak.;)
Tom- Rev. Edwin Perez posted a note too me earlier about Hilary having recorded the Beethoven. He says that it's an excellent recording and I'm looking forwards to hearing it. Thanks Anyway.
Greetings,
yep, it`s pared with the Bernstein Serenade. Imaginative choice. Makes a nice change from the two romances...
Cheers,
Buri
Here goes...
Hennie Youngman and the Robot in the pit with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra (vintage 1960s) playing the Bach Double Violin Concerto, while, onstage, the New York City Ballet is dancing Ballanchine's Concerto Baroquo dressed in gorilla costumes and diamond tiaras.
I actually remember as a very young man, seeing a comedy special on tv that had a string quartet segment with Jack Benny on 1st, Henny Youngman on 2nd, and Maury Amsterdam on cello. Can't remember the violist. Maybe all the viola jokes coalesced into some kind of viola golem!
Once upon a time there was a string quartet on the Beethoven London Society, who played the LvB s.q.:
Joachim-Ernst-Wieniawsky (yes,viola)and Piatti.
It would be nice to listen to them!
Ferras playing all Bach Sonatas and Partitas. Some months ago I read he recorded all them, but the set is not published. Why?
Yes it is, available here in France.
Oistrakh playing all 24 Paganini Caprices, the Ernst Last rose of summer, and the Paganini 1st Concerto.
Daniel, Do you know which record label has edited Ferras recording from Bach´s Sonatas and Partitas? So I´m very interested in purchase it.
Greetings!
Manuel.
Manuel, it's on the "concert hall" label, you can get it at fnac.fr or amazon.fr. Good luck!!
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December 12, 2007 at 01:29 PM · Both in recording and live, I'd love to have heard Heifetz and Horowitz perform such intense sonatas as the Kreutzer, the Brahms #3, and the Saint-Saens #1. Had they gotten along, and had the chemistry worked, their collective electricity would have been off the charts!
Stern was underrated as a Bach player. I wish he would have recorded the whole set. Except that Columbia records, to whom he was loyal, tended to be scratchy, and lacking in color.
Solo virtuosos, when they played chamber music, ususally avoided string quartets, leaving that repertoire to full-time groups. But it might have been very interesting to hear Heifetz, Israel Baker - or Erick Friedman - Primrose, and Piatigorsky in some string quartets. Or the Grumiaux trio, plus a particularly fine violinist who would fit in well - Christian Ferras, perhaps?
Andre Watts, Rosand, and Rostropovitch - in the Tchaikovsky piano trio.
Did Grumiaux ever record the Debussy sonata? I haven't come across it. I'd certainly like to hear that.
David Nadien in the Conus concerto and Bruch Scottish Fantasy.
More in the category of a spectacle, I'd like to see a live performance or DVD of Nadia S. Sonnenberg, and Nigel Kennedy in the Bach double!