Bernstein String Quartets

Beethoven: (orch. Mitropoulos/Bernstein). String Quartets in C sharp minor, Op. 131; and in F major, Op. 135,
Wiener Philharmoniker; Leonard Bernstein conductor
Classical | 1 CD | EAC Rip | 347 Mb | FLAC+LOG+M3U+Cue | Full scans | 4 RS links
Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon

The CD has the enormous advantage of prefacing Op. 131 with Beethoven's last Quartet, Op. 135 in F, recorded in what were presumably comparable circumstances in the Musikverein in Vienna in September 1989, less than a year before Bernstein's death. Although Toscanini recorded the second and third movements of Op. 135 with the strings of the NBC Symphony in 1938 it could be argued that this in many ways more intimate music responds less well to performance by an orchestral string section; but listen to the VPO playing the scherzo and the Lento which follows it and see if you are not persuaded otherwise. This is a fabulous disc.
R.G. Gramophone, November 1992

Recorded in Budapest between 1993 and 2006, this complete set of the Haydn String Quartets performed by the Festetics Quartet represents the most challenging project accomplished by Michel Bernstein, the mythical founder of Arcana who died a few months after the recording of the very last volume. For the first time in a boxed set, this monumental achievement is the first and only complete on period instruments and features the complete 58 string quartets authenticated by the composer for the great Artaria edition, making a total of 19 CDs put in chronological order. A reference edition, enriched by the detailed essay signed by the Hungarian musicologist László Somfai, one of the most eminent Haydn scholars. The Festetics have extensively studied Haydn’s original quartet manuscripts, and have relied heavily on László Somfai.

The Danish composer Anders Koppel (b. 1947) has one foot firmly planted in the European classical music tradition, and the other in world music, rock and jazz. On this album the two worlds meet when the Sjælland String Quartet are joined by Koppel’s son, the jazz icon Benjamin Koppel. The composer has tailored his quintet to the distinctive mixture of the classical string quartet and the custom-built mezzo saxophone, which with this recording can be heard for the first time ever on CD.

Leonard Bernstein bestrode the musical scene in the second half of the 20th century like few others. For the last decade of his life he recorded exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon, having also made several recordings for the label in the 1970s, starting with his celebrated Carmen in 1973.
VOLUME ONE comprises Bernstein's complete recordings of composers from Beethoven to Liszt, and includes all of Bernstein's recordings of his own works, those of Brahms and Haydn, and individual CDs of Bruckner, Debussy, Dvorak, Elgar, Franck, Hindemith and many American composers.

The Masterworks Heritage series, issued in the Mid 90's, received outstanding critical acclaim for the choice of repertoire and recordings, for the editorial /packaging and the splendid remastering of early mono and stereo tape masters. This excellent value, budget-priced, 28-CD-box set contains 20 of the best Masterworks Heritage releases. The CDs are in paper-sleeves with the original artwork of the former CD/LP. The booklet with tracklisting and the original liner notes in in English, all presented in special 2-part-box with slider. Featured artists: Claudio Arrau, Gregor Piatigorsky, Eugène Ysaÿe, Budapest String Quartet, Mstislav Rostropovich, Robert Casadesus, Leon Fleisher, Martina Arroyo, Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowski, Bruno Walter, George Szell, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Thomas Schippers, Fritz Reiner, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

MOZART 111 combines the best of the Austrian master's music with the best of Deutsche Grammophon's Mozart recordings, bringing together a total of 111 works, while retaining, as far as possible, the original album releases with their cover art. There's enough of everything here to stock a shop, as they say, in performances that have stood the test of time and performances that make you sit up and listen to Mozart afresh the perfect way to discover, rediscover and savor the incomparable genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.