Ros 2023

In contrast to the grand scale and public profile of his orchestral and choral works, Johannes Brahms saw the organ as an instrument ‘for home use’, and one in which he confided his most intimate feelings. The earlier pieces were exercises in counterpoint inspired by Brahms’ friendship with Clara Schumann and, despite their academic titles, they are infused with distinctive musical ideas and lyrical expressiveness. The later Chorale Preludes with their themes of suffering and death can be seen as autobiographical, the elder Brahms seeking spiritual strength in the ‘pure style’ of the Protestant tradition.

The story of the liberation of the Israelites from their enslavement in Egypt, as told in the Book of Exodus, has often been set to music. The works by Telemann and Rolle recorded here are based on this subject and partly even on the same libretto. And yet these two composers, separated by only one generation, handle this topic in remarkably different ways.

Wilhelm Furtwangler's only live opera house recording of the complete Ring is indispensable for serious Wagnerians. (A 1953 broadcast concert series from Rome had an inferior orchestra and lesser singers.) This 1950 La Scala Ring with the house band and chorus and a stellar cast of mostly German Wagnerians sports crude recorded sound, but the Music & Arts transfer is far superior to its previous incarnations. Furtwangler's conducting is incandescent. His command of structure is awesome; you sense the long, overarching lines of each of the operas even as you revel in telling details.

Wilhelm Furtwangler's only live opera house recording of the complete Ring is indispensable for serious Wagnerians. (A 1953 broadcast concert series from Rome had an inferior orchestra and lesser singers.) This 1950 La Scala Ring with the house band and chorus and a stellar cast of mostly German Wagnerians sports crude recorded sound, but the Music & Arts transfer is far superior to its previous incarnations. Furtwangler's conducting is incandescent. His command of structure is awesome; you sense the long, overarching lines of each of the operas even as you revel in telling details.