Beethoven Geza Anda

Anda retrospectives continue to prove salutary. Testament has devoted a number of important re-releases to him, and there is fortunately not much duplication between them and this DG boxed set of five discs – Kreisleriana and the later Symphonic Etudes. The kernel of this set is Schumann augmented by Bartók, though not one of the more well-known Anda recordings, and his famed Brahms B flat major Concerto, and a wartime record of which he was greatly proud, the Franck Symphonic Variations. There’s also the not inconsiderable pleasure of listening to him in Chopin, in the Diabelli variations, a Schubert sonata and in some Liszt recorded at various times during his career.

As part of DG’s celebrations of its incredible pianistic heritage both past and present, the Yellow Label presents within its PIANO MASTERS campaign 8 albums of outstanding performances from its unrivalled roster of pianists accompanied by the two pillars of German musical life: the Berlin Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Berlin. The witty and eye-catching artwork collects celebrated performances by Pollini, Gilels, Argerich, Barenboim, Géza Anda, Foldes, the Labèque sisters and Yundi.

As part of DG’s celebrations of its incredible pianistic heritage both past and present, the Yellow Label presents within its PIANO MASTERS campaign 8 albums of outstanding performances from its unrivalled roster of pianists accompanied by the two pillars of German musical life: the Berlin Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Berlin. The witty and eye-catching artwork collects celebrated performances by Pollini, Gilels, Argerich, Barenboim, Géza Anda, Foldes, the Labèque sisters and Yundi.

As part of DG’s celebrations of its incredible pianistic heritage both past and present, the Yellow Label presents within its PIANO MASTERS campaign 8 albums of outstanding performances from its unrivalled roster of pianists accompanied by the two pillars of German musical life: the Berlin Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Berlin. The witty and eye-catching artwork collects celebrated performances by Pollini, Gilels, Argerich, Barenboim, Géza Anda, Foldes, the Labèque sisters and Yundi.

The Brahms double concerto is simply in a class of its own with all musicians solely concerned with getting to the essence of the music and the way they play is simply sublime. I would also place this version of the Beethoven triple concerto above the celebrated EMI performance by Karajan, Oistrakh, Richter and Rostropovich which I also have. Fricsay and his soloists put the music first in a way true musicians know how to without having to resort to any gimmick of any kind . Here,tempi, orchestral dynamics and balance seem to happen in a most natural ,simple manner ,allowing the music to flow to the point of timelessness.

The core works include Beethoven's 4th piano concerto live with Karajan in 1952, Mozart's Double Piano concerto with Geza Anda, and Mozart's 19th piano concerto with Ferenc Fricsay in 1952, as well as Bach's toccata and Beethoven's 18th sonata, and piano works by Schubert and Mozart included in the 1952 live performance, making this the definitive album of Haskil's art! Above all, the Schumann piano concerto with Carl Schuricht in 1955 is a masterpiece among masterpieces in which everything Haskil has to offer.

The core works include Beethoven's 4th piano concerto live with Karajan in 1952, Mozart's Double Piano concerto with Geza Anda, and Mozart's 19th piano concerto with Ferenc Fricsay in 1952, as well as Bach's toccata and Beethoven's 18th sonata, and piano works by Schubert and Mozart included in the 1952 live performance, making this the definitive album of Haskil's art! Above all, the Schumann piano concerto with Carl Schuricht in 1955 is a masterpiece among masterpieces in which everything Haskil has to offer.

The young American pianist Claire Huangci, winner of the first prize and the Mozart prize at the 2018 Geza Anda Competition, continuously captivates audiences with her “radiant virtuosity, artistic sensitivity, keen interactive sense and subtle auditory dramaturgy” (Salzburger Nachrichten). With an irrepressible curiosity and penchant for unusual repertoire, she proves her versatility with a wide range in repertoire spanning from Bach and Scarlatti, to Bernstein, Gulda, and Corigliano.

Deutsche Grammophon unites all of its Fricsay recordings into 2 volumes, of which this is the first. FERENC FRICSAY – Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon Vol. 1 presents Fricsay's orchestral output in its entirety, covering symphonies, concertos, waltzes, overtures, ballets etc.

Ferenc Fricsay died at only 48 years of age – suffering a death from illness that was as tragic as it was untimely. Even though Fircsay’s career as a recording artist barely lasted 12 years, almost every connoisseur of Classical music considers him a legend, the epitome of the enlightened master conductor, who was good at everything he touched, a role model for figures like Abbado or Harnoncourt. The sleek and slender aspects of Ferenc Fricsay’s conductorial style paved the way for many facets of what we consider informed conducting today, especially in Mozart, and he still (almost) equalled Furtwängler in transcendental romanticism – when it suited the music.