A waltzmeister and a piano grand dame
This month’s round-up also features John Field and the Juilliard Quartet
Willi Boskovsky cut such a fine figure when he stepped in to lead the New Year’s Day Concert in 1955 that he took charge of it for the next 24 years. His glittering tenure as concert master of the Vienna Philharmonic is celebrated in Willi
Boskovsky – Waltzmeister (Decca 483 2517) and it’s a chocolate box of performances on 50 CDS and two DVDS. Present and correct are ten New Year’s recordings, plus a wealth recordings made with the Vienna Octet and the Vienna Mozart Ensemble.
It’s fascinating to hear what an artist has to say about their own career, and in the booklet for Anne Queffélec – The Complete Erato Recordings (Erato 9029554278) the pianist herself introduces the selection. She says reassessing her back catalogue was ‘disturbing’, which says more about her than the music, a 21-disc collection of rich performances and repertoire. From her 1970s Scarlatti sonatas to a 1996 recording of Dutilleux’s solo piano works, it’s a riveting selection. Along the way there’s Chopin, Ravel, Debussy and Satie, highlighting her position at the top of French music-making over 26 years.
At the piano here in the UK, Benjamin Frith has been recording works by the Irish pianist-composer John Field and Frith’s six recordings have now been brought together in a new box (Naxos 8.506033). Largely recorded from 1995-7, the set takes in two volumes of Nocturnes and Sonatas and three volumes of Concertos (plus other works recorded in 2013-14). It’s a fine account of the Dublinborn prodigy’s remarkable output, which was celebrated by the cream of Europe’s musical elite in his own lifetime. Juilliard String Quartet – The Complete RCA Recordings 1957-60 (Sony 19075863412) follows a previous release of earlier recordings on the Columbia/epic label, with this set taking in those made for RCA Victor. The quartet were a class act who flew the flag for both new music and cherished repertoire. On these discs, recorded under RCA’S famous ‘Living Stereo’ banner, the quartet mostly perform classics. Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Dvoˇrák, Ravel and Debussy make up the majority of the set, with two recordings taking in works by Berg, Webern, William Schuman and Elliott Carter.
A chocolate box of performances on 50 CDS and two DVDS