Substantial sets celebrate great careers
This month’s round-up also features a late conductor and a fine quartet
On first look at its size, you’d think Natalie Dessay – The Opera
Singer (Erato 9029516313) was the representation of a life’s work. In some respects it is, though for the 56-year-old French soprano it represents a life from which she has since moved on. Across a whopping 33 CDS and 19 DVDS we have song recitals and a plethora of memorable opera performances, from Handel to Offenbach. Dessay’s opera career saw an early rise to prominence, much adulation and some notoriey; this is a performer unafraid to push boundaries. Unforgettable.
Another massive collection is Mischa
Maisky – Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon (DG 486 0305). The cellist is also known for going his own way when it comes to interpretations and, at 73 years old, has quite the catalogue of recordings. This 44-disc set takes in concerto, chamber and solo works by an astonishing 64 different composers. Saintsaëns, Ravel, Messiaen, Grieg, Vivaldi and Bach – you name them, they’re here. Two sets of Bach’s Cello Suites, from 1958 and ’99, offer the chance to compare and contrast.
Some 25 years of recordings make up Rafael Kubelik – Complete Decca Recordings (Eloquence 484 1452). The 12-disc collection takes in the Czech conductor’s discs made for the label from 1954-79, largely with the Vienna Philharmonic but also featuring the Israel Philharmonic and Bavarian Radio Symphony orchestras. Kubelik’s calling card was, perhaps, Smetana’s Má vlast, and that piece is present and correct alongside works by Dvoˇrák, Janáˇcek, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Mahler, among others.
Quartetto Italiano was something of a shot in the arm for Italian chamber music when it appeared on the scene in the mid-1940s, and the group soon flew the flag way beyond the borders of its homeland. In Prima la musica (Warner Classics 9029673920), the quartet’s panache and perfectionism is marked with its entire catalogue of Warner recordings, made from 1953-59. The 14-disc collection offers a varied programme of Italian and Austro-german works, spanning centuries from Marini to Milhaud plus – as a bonus – the quartet’s very first recording, made in 1946.
The 52-disc collection represents a life from which she has moved on