Naxos 2019

Boris Giltburg’s Rachmaninov recordings for Naxos have received numerous praises and awards. Recently he won Best Soloist Recording (20th/21st century) at the inaugural Opus Klassik Awards for his recording of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto coupled with the Études-tableaux, Op. 33 (8.573629). In May 2018 Naxos released his recording of the Third Piano Concerto and Corelli Variations has already garnered spectacular reviews including a Gramophone Choice award. His recording of the Études-tableaux, Op. 39 and Moments musicaux was a Gramophone ‘Recording of the Month’ (June 2016). In January 2019 Naxos released Boris’ recording of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes (8.573981), which was praised by The Sunday Times (London) as ‘a Liszt disc of the most compelling brilliance.’ Written over a period of 18 years, Rachmaninov’s sets of Préludes are a mirror and a record of his compositional development. With so rich a variety of character, colour, texture and mood, no two préludes are fully alike. Whether evoking ballad or bell toll, the exotic or folk influences, the Préludes stand in the great tradition of works by Bach and Chopin written in all 24 major and minor keys.

This final recital has been previously released on Naxos Historical (review) and elsewhere, but the edition presented here uses tape from the original 1950 French Radio Broadcasting (R.T.F.). At this time of the performance Dinu Lipatti was very ill with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma from which he had been suffering since 1943, but cortisone treatment provided temporary relief, during which he was able to give two public performances: Mozart’s Concerto in C Major K.467 with Herbert von Karajan at the Lucerne Festival on August 23, and this solo recital at the 3rd Besançon International Music Festival on September 16.

Ottorino Respighi - Concerto all'antica, Ancient Airs & Dances Suites Nos. 1-3 (2021) {Naxos NX3901, Salvatore Di Vittorio}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Official Digital Download -> 377 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 195 Mb
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© 2021 Naxos Records | NX 3901
Classical / Orchestral / Concerto / Early 20th Century

The major news from this release by the Chamber Orchestra of New York under Salvatore Di Vittorio is the Respighi Concerto all'Antica for violin and orchestra, which here receives its world premiere. The work has an interesting history, presented here in a note co-authored by one Norberto Cordisco Respighi, perhaps the composer's nephew. Somewhat resembling the phony Baroque violin works of Fritz Kreisler stylistically, it was presented in 1909 by Respighi as a "Concerto in an Ancient Style by an Anonymous Composer, revised and orchestrated by Ottorino Respighi," who later fessed up to being the anonymous composer and said that he was having a bit of fun at the expense of German critics.