Vittorio Rieti Historical Recordings Premier Recordings PRCD 1033 1994 |
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Sinfonia Tripartita (Symphony No.4) NBC Symphony Orchestra Arturo Toscanini Nov. 25, 1945 |
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1. Poco Sostenuto / Allegro Moderato | 6:04 |
2. Allegretto Vivace Alla Marcia | 4:25 |
3. Poco Sostenuto / Allegro Con Brio | 4:50 |
Second Avenue Walzes for 4 hands Robert Fizdale, Arthur Gold, pianos 1950's |
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4. Innocent | 1:35 |
5. Elaborate | 1:58 |
6. Feminine | 2:14 |
7. Masculine | 1:42 |
8. Romantic | 2:22 |
9. Episodic And Brilliant | 3:26 |
Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano The Beaux Arts Trio Isidore Cohen, Violin Bernard Greenhouse, Cello Menahem Pressler, Piano |
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10. Allegro Con Fuoco | 4:15 |
11. Adagio Cantabile | 5:35 |
12. Allegro | 3:20 |
Concerto for 2 Pianos & orchestra Robert Fizdale, Arthur Gold, pianos Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Ernest Ansermet |
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13. Allegro Moderato | 5:16 |
14. Tema Con Vars | 3:02 |
15. Adagio Molto | 3:47 |
16. Allegro Fugato | 7:13 |
Rieti's Sinfonia Tripartita is a good-natured neoclassical work, deeply
influenced by mid-period Stravinsky, which is not otherwise available in
a modern interpretation. The Nov. 25, 1945 Toscanini broadcast is also
available in a wretchedly produced British CD set of Toscanini Italian
music renditions, but in this outstanding and well-documented Premier
release, original archival sources were used to prepare a tape for
Rieti's own library: we are as close to hearing the sound the engineers
audited in the Studio 8-H control room as we are ever going to
experience! The dry and clinical pickup is not inappropriate for such
elegant, chamber-like scoring; there is full and rich bass; and highs
extend nicely up to about 8,000 Hertz: almost state of the art for 1945.
The result is not significantly inferior to the finest commercial
recordings of the era: audio quality is comparable to the wonderful 1945
Bruno Walter NYP Mahler 4th, as heard in the recent Sony "Bruno Walter
Edition" CD transfer by Seth Winner. The Rieti symphony seems to this
auditor to be the finest of his works thus encountered: a strong,
interesting, charming, and engaging piece. Why do the critics constantly
harp that Toscanini was not interested in modern music? We have plenty
of examples -- such as this work -- that give the lie to this
shortsighted notion.
The Gold & Fizdale monaural 1950s recording of the Second Avenue Waltzes is not as transparent as the Toscanini broadcast; nor are the works as interesting as the symphony. But the sparse duo-piano repertoire certainly benefits from the existence of the music. The same distinguished pair are accompanied by Ansermet and the OSR in a live concert reading (also mono) of the Concerto for Two Pianos, which -- like the waltzes -- does not make the powerful and positive impression of the Sinfonia. Finally, there is a seventies stereo recording of the interesting, neo-classical Trio, by the Beaux Arts ensemble, in very good two-channel sound. The annotations are to be commended: this production is obviously a fine work of love and respect for Rieti's artistry. |