The Paris Wife

Jose Iturbi’s father built and tuned pianos as a hobby so the young José had access to an instrument from a very early age. He was one of four children and his sister Amparo (1899–1969) also had a career as a pianist. At the age of eleven Iturbi was studying piano at the Valencia Conservatory with Joaquín Malats, a friend of Albéniz. The Spanish composer heard Iturbi and gave him part of his new work Iberia to play. When Iturbi was fifteen, the people of his home-town collected money to send him to study at the Paris Conservatoire with Victor Staub. He obtained a premier prix in 1913 and after World War I received a professorship at the Geneva Conservatory. During the 1920s he led the life of a touring virtuoso, travelling across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Far East, Russia and South America.

Jose Iturbi’s father built and tuned pianos as a hobby so the young José had access to an instrument from a very early age. He was one of four children and his sister Amparo (1899–1969) also had a career as a pianist. At the age of eleven Iturbi was studying piano at the Valencia Conservatory with Joaquín Malats, a friend of Albéniz. The Spanish composer heard Iturbi and gave him part of his new work Iberia to play. When Iturbi was fifteen, the people of his home-town collected money to send him to study at the Paris Conservatoire with Victor Staub.

Coming in at a tidy three hours and eight minutes, Donizetti’s huge Les Martyrs, composed (or adapted) for Paris in 1840, is here presented in its fullest conceivable form, including ballet and many passages cut right after the first performances. The opera was a reworking of his 1838 Poliuto, composed for the San Carlo in Naples, which had been banned by the king himself, since Christian martyrdom under the Romans was found unpleasant by the censors and the king was devoutly religious.

Matthijs Vermeulen - The Complete Matthijs Vermeulen Edition - Chamber Music (1994) {3CD Set Composers' Voice CV39~41}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 806 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 451 Mb
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© 1994 Composers' Voice | CV 39 / 40 / 41
Classical / Modern / Contemporary Classical / Chamber Music

Born: February 8, 1888; Helmond Died: July 26, 1967; Laren, The Netherlands. Matthijs Vermeulen was born the son of a blacksmith in the Noord-Brabant province of the Netherlands. At age 14 he entered the Abbey of Berne at Heeswijk with the intention of becoming a priest; there he received thorough instruction in sixteenth century harmony. In 1907, Vermeulen left the monastery and enrolled into the Amsterdam Conservatory. After two years' study, Vermeulen took his first job as music critic on the Amsterdam daily De Tijd; his work as a perceptive and provocative writer placed his name in circulation long before his compositions were known.