Stern 09.2015

Isaac Stern was among the most distinguished of the world's violinists. He achieved a strong rapport with his audience through his own personality and his visible love for the music, with an unerring command of the proper style for each work in his exceptionally wide repertoire. His technique was impeccable, his tone strong and warm, though not rich. He performed and recorded virtually the entire standard violin repertoire, including most of the many great violin concertos of the 1930s: those of Hindemith, Berg, Prokofiev (No. 2), Walton, Bartok (No. 2) and other works, some quite contemporary.

L’amor conjugale tells the same story as Beethoven’s Fidelio, but in a charmingly different adaptation of the original French text by the Italian librettist Gaetano Rossi. In Giovanni Simone Mayr’s hand, the conjugal love is not just between the two principal characters Amorveno and Zeliska, but also between two theatrical and musical traditions, a love affair between two styles developed north and south of the alps. While the orchestration is clearly influenced by Mozart and Haydn, the vocal writing is often purely bel canto, and this blending of styles is one of the most attractive and unique attributes of the opera.

L’amor conjugale tells the same story as Beethoven’s Fidelio, but in a charmingly different adaptation of the original French text by the Italian librettist Gaetano Rossi. In Giovanni Simone Mayr’s hand, the conjugal love is not just between the two principal characters Amorveno and Zeliska, but also between two theatrical and musical traditions, a love affair between two styles developed north and south of the alps. While the orchestration is clearly influenced by Mozart and Haydn, the vocal writing is often purely bel canto, and this blending of styles is one of the most attractive and unique attributes of the opera.

After a long war, Turkish emperor Soliman and Persian sophi Tamasse decide to seal the peace between their two countries and, to this end, exchange hostages. The preliminary treaty stipulates that, in order to make this alliance solid, Tamasse will wed Zanaida, Soliman s daughter. Meanwhile, the sophi falls in love with Osira, a Persian hostage sent by the emperor. This is where the action of this opera begins, the plot skillfully mixing Tamasse s infidelity, Zanaida s magnanimity, and Osira s ambition. It is a particularly appealing opera by the fourth and last of Johann Sebastian s sons, whose life was atypical for a Bach, for he carried out his career not in Germany but in Italy and England.

Antonin Dvorák's Piano Quartet No. 2 is one of the greatest chamber works of the 19th century (as are many of Dvorák's chamber compositions). Written in 1889 at the request of his publisher Simrock, it is a big, bold work filled with the Czech master's trademark melodic fecundity, harmonic richness, and rhythmic vitality. The first movement is a soaring, outdoor allegro with an assertively optimistic main theme accented by Czech contours and Dvorák's love of mixing major and minor modes. The Lento movement's wistful main theme is played with a perfect mixture of passion and poise by cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The music alternates between passages of drama and delicacy in this, one of Dvorák's finest slow movements in any medium. The Scherzo's stately waltz is contrasted by a lively, up-tempo Czech country dance. The finale is a high-stepping, high-spirited allegro with a strong rhythmic pulse that relaxes for the beautifully lyrical second subject.

Itzhak Perlman must surely be considered one of the most popular violinists currently performing and recording, perhaps even one of the most beloved. His triumph over polio, which he contracted at age four, his warmth and engaging personality, his constant emphasis on teaching, have all contributed to his popularity. In honor of his approaching 70th birthday (August 31, 1945), DGG is releasing this limited edition 25 CD box set: Itzhak Perlman Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon. Between 1968 and 2001, Perlman recorded 25 albums for DGG and Decca - many of them now considered to be classics.

'I am an EU singer', Hermann Prey always said about himself. However, by that he did not mean so much his citizenship of a European Union country as the fact that he felt at home in the fields of 'E' and 'U', i.e. in 'serious' and entertainment music alike. For Prey, this distinction never existed, but only the issue of the quality of music, and he found this not only in opera and Lied, but also in operetta, the musical and the well-made hit. For forty-six years Prey convinced audiences; this five-disc collection reveals his fascinatingly wide-ranging repertoire and interpretative skill.

With her marriage on the rocks and looking for a fresh start, Carole King moved to Los Angeles in 1967. More specifically, Laurel Canyon, where she fell in with the nascent singer/songwriter crowd. She and bassist/boyfriend Charles Larkey (formerly of the Myddle Class, a band she and then-husband Gerry Goffin had signed to their record label) soon formed a band, adding old friend from NYC, guitarist Danny Kortchmar. The trio spent time at King's house working on a batch of songs she had written with Goffin (some previously released by other acts, some not), plus some co-written by another member of Myddle Class, Don Palmer, and fellow Brill Building refugee Toni Stern. Thanks to their industry connections it wasn't long before they had a record deal.

UK four CD set. Fronted by Pauline Murray, Penetration debuted in late '77 with the seminal "Don't Dictate" 45 and over the next two years issued two albums and five singles all of which are included on this 62 track set. Disc 1 is the Moving Targets album which hit #22 in the UK National Charts. Disc 2 is the Coming Up For Air LP, a National Chart #36 hit. The third disc features the rare 16 track Race Against Time "Official Bootleg" of demos and live tracks recorded during their time with Virgin Records. Disc 4 contains two previously unissued studio sessions recorded for the John Peel Show as well as a superb "In Concert" recorded for Radio 1 in the spring of 1979. The "Don't Dictate", "Firing Squad", "Life's A Gamble", "Danger Signs" and "Come In To The Open" singles are all featured. Detailed 20 page booklet contains informative sleeve notes by Cindy Stern plus pictures of all relevant singles sleeves.