Fischer Brahms

Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dances Nos. 1-21 – Budapest Festival Orchestra; Ivan Fischer
Classical | 1 CD | EAC Rip | 280 MB (3% recovery) | FLAC+LOG+Cue | Complete scans
Publisher: Hungaroton | Recorded: 1985 | Published: 1994

Ivan Fischer's version of these ever-popular classics is as valid an essay in stylistic restoration as the most scholarly period-instrument performance of Bach or Handel… The transcriptions have been reworked and in one or two movements an improvised cimbalom part has been added, played by a well-known Hungarian musician, Kalman Balogh. Not a record for purists perhaps, but I found the results invigorating and thought-provoking.- S.J. Gramophone, March 1987.

Born in Basel but trained in Berlin, Edwin Fischer earned his fame as one of the great piano masters of pieces by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. Five full CDs here are devoted to Fischer's brilliant Bach interpretations including Keyboard Concerto in A; Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D; Concerto in C for 3 Keyboards; Harpsichord Concerto; Fantasia in C Minor , and Fantasia and Fugue in D Minor . Those join selections from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor; Piano Concerto No. 25 in C; Rondo in D , and Minuet in G ; from Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 and Piano Sonata No. 23 ; from Schubert's 4 Impromptus and 6 Moments Musicaux ; from Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Flat ; from Furtwangler's Symphonic Concerto in B Minor , and more!

Is violinist Julia Fischer in the same league as David Oistrakh in her recording of Brahms' Violin Concerto? Are Fischer and cellist Daniel Müller-Schott in the same league as Oistrakh and Mstislav Rostropovich in their recording of Brahms' Double Concerto? No: Oistrakh and Rostropovich are playing big, muscular, and heroic music while Fischer and Müller-Schott are playing intimate, sensuous, and lyrical music. Fischer's tone is lovely, her technique is impeccable, but best of all his interpretation of the Violin Concerto is sweet, smiling, and joy-filled. Müller-Schott's tone is warm, his technique is impressive, but best of all his interpretation of the Double Concerto with Fischer sounds like a love duet from an Othello written by a German.

Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) - Complete Violoncello Sonatas
Manuel Fischer-Diskau, violoncello / Connie Shih, piano
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 204 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Scene" # 603 1661-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

This CD is an exhilarating and important new contribution to the romantic cello literature. Manuel Fischer-Dieskau is the son of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and the cellist Irmgard Poppen and has made a genuine rediscovery here. These works were only found recently.

Franz Schubert: «Schwanengesang» / Johannes Brahms: «Vier ernste Gesänge»
Thomas Quasthoff (Bariton) • Justus Zeyen (Klavier)
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC (tracks): 235 MB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Deutsche Grammophon # 471 030-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2001
Genre: Classical | Style: Classical Period, Romantic, Vocal

…I studied the Brahms songs in college and found them a bear to sing, particularly the final one, "Wenn ich mit Menschen- und mit Engelszungen redete" ("though I speak with the tongues of men and angels"), with its call for rich, mellow tone at the upper end of the baritone range. So Quasthoff's apparent ease in the most difficult passages impressed me no end, as did, of course, his ability to convey the beauty and power of the texts. In short, at full price, this CD's a bargain.

During a career that spanned nearly five decades, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau established himself as one of the most accomplished performing artists of the twentieth century. He is widely considered to have been the finest modern interpreter of German lieder, and his extensive operatic career was noted for fine musicianship and powerful characterization. He has also made important contributions as an author, conductor, and teacher.