Complete Klemperer

This set of Annie Fischer’s complete EMI recordings represent her during a particular decade, when she had made her European reputation. These recordings helped spread that reputation and increased her prominence among pianists. As studio recordings, they form an unusual part of Fischer’s legacy – during most of her time as a performer, she avoided recording studios as she did not believe in playing in a studio without the presence of an audience. She shared this view with her eminent colleague Sviatoslav Richter, who said of her, ‘Annie Fischer is a great artist, imbued with a spirit of greatness and genuine profundity.

This is the latest and, they tell us, the last of EMI’s Simon Rattle Edition, gathering together the conductor’s complete forays into certain composers and repertoire. As with any such project the sets hitherto released have contained both treasures and duds. Even though not everything here is perfect, this set sends the series out on a high with his complete Vienna recording of the Beethoven symphonies.

Kathleen Ferrier (22 April 1912–8 October 1953) remains one of the best-loved British singers of our time. The eminent vocal expert Alan Blyth wrote of her in 1998: ‘Kathleen Ferrier, a legend in her own lifetime, has certainly become one since her untimely death in 1953. Her professional life, lasting little more than a decade, saw her rise from the obscurity of appearing with choirs in the north of England to the eminence of an international career in the company of such conductors as Barbirolli, Walter and Klemperer. It was an extraordinary transformation in every respect, but one wholly justified by the dignity and conviction of her singing and the commitment of her interpretations.’

This is a superb collection! It contains first-class performances by first-class artists of the complete works of Beethoven. That's a tall order, but it's fulfilled. CD's appear to lend themselves to complete editions, such as this. Ready for your MP3 player!

Ilse Fromm-Michaels - Babette Dorn - Complete Piano Works
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 209 MB | Full Artwork: 67 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Tacet # TACET 96 | Country/Year: Germany 1999
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Piano

Ilse Fromm-Michaels (1888 - 1986) was a famous female pianist and composer at the beginning of the 20th century. 1933 she was completely banned from pursuing her career, because she refused to abandon her jewish husband. She was not allowed to perform in public. None of her works could be played or published. The results of this discrimination can be felt up to the present day. (…) Babette Dorn’s solid pianism and excellent musicianship make a convincing case for the revival of Fromm-Michaels’ essentially derivative yet ultimately rewarding keyboard output. Should an enterprising label undertake her 1938 Symphony or Music Larga for clarinet and string quartet, I’ll be there to listen.

Ilse Fromm-Michaels - Babette Dorn - Complete Piano Works
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 209 MB | Full Artwork: 67 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Tacet # TACET 96 | Country/Year: Germany 1999
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Piano

Ilse Fromm-Michaels (1888 - 1986) was a famous female pianist and composer at the beginning of the 20th century. 1933 she was completely banned from pursuing her career, because she refused to abandon her jewish husband. She was not allowed to perform in public. None of her works could be played or published. The results of this discrimination can be felt up to the present day. (…) Babette Dorn’s solid pianism and excellent musicianship make a convincing case for the revival of Fromm-Michaels’ essentially derivative yet ultimately rewarding keyboard output. Should an enterprising label undertake her 1938 Symphony or Music Larga for clarinet and string quartet, I’ll be there to listen.

Nobody is better suited to undertake such a challenge than Valery Gergiev and his Mariinsky Orchestra. Over a period of a year all 15 Symphonies and 6 Concertos have been recorded at Salle Pleyel in Paris. What an adventure for the artists and the big production team! Never before in the history of television has something like this been undertaken including the very first "Ring" for television at Bayreuth.

Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom set in a German prisoner of war (POW) camp during World War II. Colonel Hogan leads a ragtag band of POW's caught behind German lines in this popular television comedy. The bumbling Germans give Hogan and his crew plenty of opportunities to sabotage their war efforts. Colonel Klink is more concerned with having everything run smoothly and avoiding any trouble with his superiors (especially anything that might result in his being reassigned and sent to the front) than with being tough on Hogan and his fellow prisoners.