Horst J. Klepp

Poro, re dell'Indie ("Porus, King of the Pakistani region", HWV 28) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Alessandro nell'Indie by Metastasio, and based on Alexander the Great's encounter with King Porus in 326 BC. The libretto had already been set to music by Leonardo Vinci in 1729 and by Antonio Vivaldi among others and was used as the text for more than sixty operas throughout the 18th century.

'Radamisto' was the first opera Handel composed for the Royal Academy, his first operatic venture in London, being produced for the first time in 1719; it was revived and revised in 1720, 1721 and 1728. This Berlin Classics recording, dating from 1962, presents an adaptation of the 1721 version, which drops a minor character, Fraarte. More importantly, in addition to the use of modern instruments and a chorus (in general Handel's chorus was assembled from the soloists–opera in eighteenth century London was a commercial venture so personnel was kept to a minimum), the libretto is translated into German and all the castrato roles are transposed down into either tenor or bass registers.

Horst-Tanu Margraf (26 October 1903 − 1978) was a German conductor, Generalmusikdirektor of Halle (Saale) from 1950 to 1969. Margraf was music director in Lemberg during World War II. In Halle he was one of the founders of the Handel Festival. He conducted the Staatskapelle Halle in several operas of George Frideric Handel, some in their first modern production, such as Rinaldo in 1954. He conducted for the festival Radamisto (1955), Poro (1956), Admetos (1958), Giulio Cesare (1959) and Imeneo (1960). In 1966 he conducted a recording of a shortened version of Imeneo with Günther Leib in the title role, Hans-Joachim Rotzsch as Tirinto, and Sylvia Geszty as Rosmene.

Staged and directed by Richard Wagner's grandson Wolfgang at the Bayreuther Festspiele in 1984, this production of Wagner's only comedy dispenses with the common cliches to reveal the humanity of each character. Here, Beckmesser is no longer a foolish caricature but a cultivated intellectual; Stolzing emerges as a thoughtful individual rather than aggressive aristocret; and Hans Sachs sheds his solemn patriarchal veneer to become a likeable middle-aged man. “Hermann Prey´s interpretation of Beckmesser as a cultivated intellectual is a triumph of dramatic and vocal artistry: a stunning performance . . . Brilliant . . . Bernd Weikl as Sachs – an almost unique combination of musical refinement and expressive power.” (Abendzeitung, Munich)

For anyone who is a devotee of Otto Klemperer’s readings of the Beethoven Symphonies, they will not be disappointed with much of what is on offer here. In the main, these are weighty and highly-charged performances, with a certain grandeur…Horst gives us monumental, full-blooded and noble readings of these symphonies.

This 1971 film version of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Magic Flute is based on a production at Hamburg State Opera staged by the multi-talented stage, television and film author, director and actor Sir Peter Ustinov, with decor and costumes by Jens-Denis Malclès. The cast brought together by Rolf Liebermann for this film version of the Magic Flute consists of stars with established international careers but also of singers who were just on the point of breaking through to international fame at the time.

Wolfgang Wagner’s arrestingly beautiful production, filmed live at Bayreuth in 1981 and directed by Brian Large, features a stellar cast led by Eva Randova, Bernd Weikl and Siegfried Jerusalem. “A production and performance that showed the festival at its finest… Wolfgang Wagner’s Bayreuth production of his grandfather’s “farewell to the world” has “an unusual beauty and logic of its own… There is an air of magic and mystery about the staging… The performance was excellent… Horst Stein [conducted] a beautifully proportioned Parsifal.” (The New York Times)

Of the rarities presented in this unusual Russian music collection, the most tantalizing is Gliére’s Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra. Judging by the slight surface noise, it sounds as if this transfer could have been made from an LP. No matter, the sound is fine, and Joan Sutherland sings radiantly, pouring out beguiling tone throughout her range, while her trademark trills are put to good use by Gliére’s vocal writing, which isn’t particularly original, especially considering it was composed in 1943. The same can be said for Gliére’s 1938 Harp Concerto: beguiling solo writing set against standard-fare 19th-century orchestral accompaniment.

J.J. Light is better known as Jim Stallings, sometime bassist with the Sir Douglas Quintet. In the summer of 1969, "Heya" - a hypnotic song with a distinctive Native American flavor - took much of Europe by storm, reaching audiences as far afield as Japan, South America and New Zealand. Yet, despite being the work of an American living in Los Angeles and signed to a major U.S. label, neither the 45 nor its attendant album would ever be released in America. They make their long-awaited CD debut here, complete with copious bonus tracks including foreign B-sides and his long-lost, never-released second LP, also from 1969. Featuring contributions from members of The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, The Electric Prunes, Derek & The Dominos and Love, and assembled with Stallings' close involvement, the package comes complete with detailed liner notes and many rare photos.