Riccardo Chailly, the great symphonist
This month also features recordings from behind the Iron Curtain
One of the world’s most successful conductors is celebrated in a new box set from Decca. Riccardo Chailly
– The Symphonies Edition (Decca 483 4266) charts some of Chailly’s finest moments. This is a high-quality box set and the selection is quite vast (55 discs), charting his readings of the great symphonies. His tenures at the RSO Berlin, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Gewandhausorchester provide the majority of the recordings here. The LPO gets a look in with a disc of Mendelssohn, and the Vienna Philharmonic performs Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony.
Eighteen years-worth of great archive recordings can be found in Kyrill Kondrashin Edition (Profil Hänssler PH18046). This 13-disc collection sees performances captured behind the iron curtain between 1945 and 1963, and features turns by some of the greatest Russian soloists, performing with some of the country’s top orchestras. From Oistrakh and Gilels to Richter, Kogan and Rostropovich, it really is a who’s who of Russian talent. A bonus disc features a rare 1937 recording of Smetana’s Overture from The Bartered Bride.
Another musician who successfully managed to work under Stalin’s gaze was the pianist Maria Yudina. In The Art of Maria Yudina (Scribendum SC 813) we find 26-discs of recordings spanning an almost identical period to that of Kondrashin (and with many of the same ensembles). Though the biographical detail about the artist included in the box is scant at best (one square of paper), the breadth of her repertoire says a lot.
An impressive ten members of the Bach clan are accounted for in
Bach Family – Complete Organ Music (Brilliant Classics 95803), and their immense catalogue of works for the instrument fills 24 discs. Organists Stefano Molardi, Luca Scandali and Filippo Turri do the honours on ten different organs – eight German, two Italian – so it’s not just a comprehensive selection, but also somewhat authentic. Of course, the lion’s share (15 discs) is taken up by the music of Johann Sebastian. If you’re in any doubt as to how each Bach is related, there’s a family tree on the back of the booklet, though – pretty as it is – you’ll need the booklet notes to decipher it.
Biographical detail is scant, but the breadth of repertoire says a lot