Henryk Szeryng

Terms such as “fastidious”, “intimate” and “quietly nuanced” have long been applied to the immensely respected Ingrid Haebler’s interpretations. She was a “purist” in the best sense of the word and has often said that she always sought to convey the essence of the music and the structure and the message of the work, without anything to disrupt it. With an imposing discography, Haebler was regarded by many as Philips’ “house pianist”. Decca now proudly presents her Complete Philips Recordings on 58CDs in tribute to this rare and special artist.

Various Artist - Violin Adagios (2CDs) (2001)
Classical | Easy CD-DA / Flac & Cue, No Log | Cover included | 680 MB | RS
Audio CD: March 20, 2001 | Label: Decca

Continuing their Adagios series, the folks at Decca have combed the archives once again and assembled another soothing collection of beautiful melodies, Violin Adagios. This time the soulful sound of the violin takes center stage in a program of the most memorable slow-paced music written for the instrument. Opening with Kennedy's rendition of Massenet's mournful "Meditation" from Thaïs, the double-disc set continues with performances by legends like Arthur Grumiaux and Henryk Szeryng, along with newly minted stars such as Joshua Bell, Kyung-Wha Chung, and Leila Josefowicz. And all the essential composers – from Bach to Beethoven to Brahms – are represented, too, on this album in celebration of the violin, that most lyrical of instruments.

Barnes & Noble

Mercury Living Presence is special in many ways - an American company, from the heyday of classical recording in the U.S. that reproduced some of the most sonically realistic recordings at the dawn of the stereo era. Precious few stereo LPs were pressed when these recordings were issued, and they became some of the rarest, most collectible classical discs ever. Mercury Living Presence continues to enjoy a special reputation as one of the most enterprising, prestigious and sonically-spectacular labels in the history of classical recording.

Ludwig van Beethoven's Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C major, Op. 56, commonly known as the Triple Concerto, was composed in 1803 and published in 1804 by Breitkopf & Härtel. The choice of the three solo instruments effectively makes this a concerto for piano trio, and it is the only concerto Beethoven ever completed for more than one solo instrument, also being the only concerto he wrote for cello. A typical performance takes approximately thirty-seven minutes.

In 1956, Bernard Haitink conducted the Concertgebouworkest for the first time and together they would play more than 1,500 concerts across the globe. Besides his modesty, his humanity, his musical taste, and his honesty to the music, three words come to mind when one thinks of Haitink and his orchestra: Sound, Trust and Magic. Jörgen van Rijen, Principal trombone of the Concertgebouworkest, said at a memorial concert in February this year, “Every time with him [Haitink] the orchestra sounded warmer, deeper and richer, from the first moment he started to rehearse. How he did that is difficult to tell … he always gave us musicians the feeling he trusted you, that he was there to help, not to interfere.”