Emi References

Heitor Villa-Lobos - par lui-même (1991) {6CD Box Set EMI Classics CDZF 7672292 rec 1954-1958}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.36 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 0.98 Gb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 81 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954-58, 1991 EMI France / EMI Classics | CDZF 7 67229 2
Classical / Orchestral / Early 20th Century / Contemporary Classical

This 6-CD set of "Villa-Lobos par lui-même" ("Villa Lobos performed by himself") presents the complete recordings made for Pathé between 1954 and 1958 and conducted by, or (in the case of the occasional Bachianas Brasileiras or Chôros scored for piano or duet) made under the supervision of the composer. As many of his contemporaries who made Paris their second home (Enescu comes to mind), Villa-Lobos shared his life between his native Brazil and Paris. Thus it has an important historical value.

The French pianist Marcelle Meyer made these recordings of music by Francois Couperin, Rameau, Domenico Scarlatti and Rossini in Paris between 1946 and 1955. Celebrated for her performances of French piano music, notably perhaps that of Chabrier, Debussy and Ravel, Meyer was none the less a zealous champion of the eighteenth-century harpsichordists. Bach's keyboard music played an important part in her daily studies and, together with Couperin, Rameau and Scarlatti, occupied a significant place in her public recital programmes.

During the four years that separated Alexander Zemlinsky's Symphony in D minor and the premiere of the Symphony in B flat major (his first two efforts in the genre, aside from an incomplete work penned during his student years), the young composer had caught the eye and the fancy of the Viennese musical world. "The work's fresh, original ideas and genuinely exalted, youthful fire made a great impression on the audience and unleashed an intense salvo of applause," wrote one critic in response to the 1896 premiere of Zemlinsky's Waldegespräch (for soprano and chamber ensemble). These years also saw Zemlinsky winning two prestigious awards, the Luitpold Prize and the Beethoven Prize. His compositional skills had been refined during the mid 1890s as well. The Suite for Orchestra from 1895, for example, gave Zemlinsky an opportunity to create more adventurous orchestral colors than had been found in the admirable but conservative D minor Symphony. Thus, when one compares the B flat Symphony to his earlier symphonic effort, one notices that, while the same amalgamation of influences and styles is represented, more of the composer's own voice comes through – prompting one observer to suggest two different ways of looking at the work: "either as Zemlinsky's last early work or his first mature one."