Majestic maestros and violin greats
Our round-up covers legends from the US, France, Belgium and Russia
With Eileen Farrell – The Complete Columbia Album Collection (Sony Classical 19075991902) we’re treated to 16 discs of recordings by the American dramatic soprano made from 1946-63. Farrell was badly underestimated as a performer but proved her critics wrong time and again in a career that started on the radio and took her from opera to popular song. This wide-ranging collection includes operas in concert, aria collections, a Messiah, Christmas carols and a recording of the inaugural concert at what was Lincoln Center’s Philharmonic Hall.
Covering a similar period is Pierre Monteux – Complete Decca Recordings (Decca 483 4711), a handsomely packaged set of 24 discs taking in the great conductor’s recordings from 1956-64. The box houses beloved staples of orchestral repertoire, including all nine Beethoven symphonies, highlights from Tchaikovsky’s
Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, Ravel’s Boléro and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Petrushka
– the premieres of which Monteux himself conducted. Orchestras featured include the LSO, Royal Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic,
Concertgebouw and Paris Conservatoire Orchestra.
Born 17 years before Monteux, Eugène Ysaÿe would establish himself at the forefront of new French music-making. A Tribute to Ysaÿe (Fuga Libera FUG758) is a celebration of the Belgian-born violinist and composer who counted the likes of Debussy, Franck and Chausson as friends and mentors. Alongside his own concertos and chamber works, this fivedisc collection includes works by them dedicated to or composed for Ysaÿe. French violinist Renaud Capuçon is among the impressive list of performers.
Russian Chamber Works (Brilliant Classics 95953) is a typically jam-packed selection from the budget label. Across 25 discs, we find trios, quartets and sonatas by great and lesserknown Russian composers – Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Glinka and Prokofiev rub shoulders with Arensky, Taneyev, Myaskovsky, Roslavets and Catoire. The Moscow Trio has, perhaps, the lion’s share of the performing duties, alongside the Endellion String Quartet and Bolshoi Theatre Soloists.
Eileen Farrell proved her critics wrong time and time again