Emil Gilels, along with fellow Russian artists, Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh and Mstislav Rostropovich represented four of the greatest artists of the 20th Century. These live performances from London's Royal Festival Hall in 1967 capture Gilels at his best playing in front of an audience away from the confines of the studio. William Mann in the Times wrote after the concert of Concerto No.3, "For all his truly Beethovian brio in the first movement, Gilels never allowed this to get the better of the clarity and firmness of his phraseology, indeed his opening was like chiselled stone. There was immense dignity in the Largo and in the Rondo, taken at what I thought to be exactly the right speed, came across with remarkable vivacity". These archive recordings in stereo are extremely rare and have never been issued before.

http://www.icartists.co.uk/classics/catalog/cds/emil-gilels

EMIL GILELS - Beethoven Piano Concerto No.3 - Rondo- Allegro scherzando

Arthur Rubinstein requires no introduction - he was one of the greatest and most distinguished pianists of the 20th century with a large discography. These rare performances have an historical importance in that after 1914, Rubinstein never played in Germany again and therefore to have him with a German orchestra (KRSO) in Zurich in 1966 was a very rare event. Rubinstein caught live in 1966 rather than in the studio brings a much greater spontaneity in the Brahms, which is beautifully and excitingly performed. These performances have never been issued before.

http://icartists.co.uk/classics/catalog/cds/arthur-rubinstein

ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN - BRAHMS - Piano Concerto No.2 2nd Movement

Sanderling enjoyed live performances far more than the studio, something he discusses in the interview about his career and his great admiration for Otto Klemperer, featured on this CD. This live concert performance in brilliant stereo in Newcastle proves the point. Sanderling's German tradition brings great insights to Bruckner's 3rd Symphony, though he conducted the composer infrequently (Symphony No.7 being the exception). It is a rare recording has never been issued before.

http://www.icartists.co.uk/classics/catalog/cds/kurt-sanderling

KURT SANDERLING - Bruckner Symphony No.3 - Scherzo

Steinberg was a frequent performer of Mahler's works in the US though he only recorded the composer's Symphony No.1 with Pittsburg in 1952 for Capitol Records. This blazing account from 1965 of Mahler's titanic 'Resurrection' Symphony in brilliant stereo sound confirms his authority as a great Mahlerian.  Dutch contralto Annie Delorie (1925-2009) gives a stunning rendition of the 'Urlicht' and is joined in the final movement by the radiant Polish soprano Stefania Woytowicz (1922-2005). This live studio recording is a rarity, having never been issued before.

http://www.icartists.co.uk/classics/catalog/cds/william-steinberg

WILLIAM STEINBERG - MAHLER - Symphony No.2 - 3rd Movement

The performance of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.1 in April 2002 with the BBCSO was the last concert he gave before his death two months later. Svetlanov's studio made Tchaikovsky recordings with the USSR Symphony Orchestra for Melodiya in the 1960's were the cornerstones of the catalogue at the time and he brings an unqualified authority to the Barbican concert recorded here. Svetlanov’s account of Stravinsky's Firebird is superbly detailed and imaginative with the Philharmonia in tremendous form. The digital sound recorded in the Barbican for both performances is totally natural and warm. These live recordings are issued for the first time on CD.

http://www.icartists.co.uk/classics/catalog/cds/evgeny-svetlanov

EVGENY SVETLANOV - Tchaikovsky Symphony No.1 - Scherzo

Mahler: Symphony No.3
-
Debussy: La Mer

Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester / Lucretia West

Dimitri Mitropoulos (1896-1960), a most distinguished Mahlerian, was one of the great conductors of his generation. This Cologne performance of Mahler’s Symphony No.3 from 1960 is the only complete performance of the work conducted by Mitropoulos. It is also the only officially released recording of his Cologne performance, and is coupled here with Debussy’s La Mer recorded just one week earlier. Both performances are worthy documents of a great conductor.

Dimitri Mitropoulos - Mahler- Symphony No.3 [1st movement]

Puccini: Tosca
Ferruccio Tagliavini / Tito Gobbi / The Covent Garden Opera Chorus / The Covent Garden Orchestra / Francesco Molinari-Pradelli

This June 1955 performance of Puccini’s Tosca marked Renata Tebaldi’s first appearance with the Covent Garden Company. The roles of Cavaradossi and Scarpia were filled by two of Italy’s finest singers, Ferruccio Tagliavini (Cavaradossi) and Tito Gobbi (Scarpia).  All three went on to make memorable studio recordings for Decca, Cetra and EMI. The Times wrote, ‘The performance was tremendous, not only in the singing, which was up to the heroic standards of the past, but in dramatic tension’.

Renata Tebaldi - Puccini- Tosca Act 2 'Vissi d'arte'

This rare June 1967 live broadcast recording makes it's first appearance on CD. The recital at the Royal Festival Hall very much reflects the pianist's personal taste containing the infrequently played Haydn Sonata No.62 and Weber's Sonata No.3 together with the Schumann Novelettes with the more popular additions of Chopin and Debussy. Richter declared 'my principle is to play only works that I really love and not just those that are currently accepted'. ICA's Ambient Mastering recreates the atmosphere in the Royal Festival Hall perfectly.

Sviatoslav Richter - Haydn: Piano Sonata No.62 in E flat major 1st Mov

These rare live broadcast recordings make their first appearance on CD. The Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 from the 1966 Edinburgh Festival together with the distinguished accompaniment of Sir John Barbirolli produce a performance of great poetry, imagination and power. The Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2 in the abridged version by Siloti from 1959 brings out Gilels' incredible technique and virtuosity (the New York Times dubbed him 'the little giant') with Kirill Kondrashin transforming the London Philharmonic into an authentic Russian sounding orchestra. ICA's Ambient Mastering recreates the atmosphere of both concerts perfectly.

Emil Gilels - Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4 3rd Mov

These rare live broadcast recording make it's first appearance on CD. The 1986 performance of Mahler's Symphony No.3 from London's Royal Festival Hall differs from the studio recording made in the late 70's. As Michael McManus states in his booklet notes, 'Fine though the studio recording from 1979 was and is, this live performance has an intensity and integrity that few, if any, recordings of this work can match' and 'Tennstedt in concert was a very different creature from Tennstedt in the studio. Mahler in particular was a life-and-death experience in the concert hall'. The sound captured by the BBC engineers is state of the art and easily captures Mahler's huge dynamic range. As a bonus, there is short interview from 1987 in which Tennstedt discusses Mahler interpretation.

Klaus Tennstedt - Mahler: Symphony No.3 - 5th Mov

These Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev recordings in stereo have never been issued before on CD while the Mussorgsky was released on the defunct BBC Radio Classics series over 15 years ago. Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.4 from the 1979 Leeds Music Festival is one of the conductor's most inspired performances treating the work as a broad tragedy of the highest order without sentimentalising it. The Mussorgsky is a rarity, taken from the 1981 Proms in stereo - the version of A Night on a Bare Mountain used in the composer's Sorochintsy Fair which includes a chorus and a bass-baritone (David Wilson- Johnson). Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges Suite was given on a Far East tour in Kurashiki, Japan in 1981 and benefits from Rozhedestvensky's acclaimed experience in ballet with a performance of wit and excitement.

Gennadi Rozhdestvensky - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.4 4th Mov

These performances have never been issued before on CD. Shostakovich's Symphony No.10 was given on 21 August 1968, the very night that Soviet tanks invaded Czechoslovakia in a concentrated effort to halt Dubcek's political reforms. The atmosphere in the Albert Hall, as can heard from the shouts of protest, was electric and very tense but after the first few bars, the disruption was finally drowned out and Svetlanov, according to those present, then went on to give the performance of his life. Svetlanov's widow, on hearing this CD, said that the performance brought tears to her eyes and the emotion of that evening came across vividly. Two short bonus titles have been added - Tchaikovsky's 'Melodrama' from The Snow Maiden and two excerpts from Rimsky-Korsakov's Invisible City of Kitezh reflecting the historic three concerts Svetlanov and his orchestra gave in London at the August 1968 Proms. ICA's Ambient Mastering recreates the atmosphere in the Royal Albert Hall perfectly.

Evgeny Svetlanov - Shostakovich: Symphony No.10 2nd Mov

Carlo Maria Giulini
ROSSINI Il barbiere di Siviglia 
Figaro Rolando Panerai 
Rosina Teresa Berganza 
Count Almaviva Luigi Alva 
Dr Bartolo Fernando Corena 
Don Basilio Ivo Vinco 
Fiorello Ronald Lewis 
Berta Josephine Veasey 
Un Ufficiale Robert Bowman 
The Covent Garden Chorus 
(Chorus Master: Douglas Robinson) 
The Covent Garden Orchestra 
Carlo Maria Giulini 
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, LONDON, 21 MAY 1960


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carlo Maria Giulini was without question, along with fellow Italians Arturo Toscanini, Victor de Sabata and Guido Cantelli, one of the greatest conductors of his generation. His opera performances at Covent Garden were landmarks for the Company. This 1960 performance of Rossini's sparkling Il barbiere di Siviglia features a stellar cast including a youthful Teresa Berganza as Rosina and Luigi Alva as The Count (who had been asked by Giulini immediately after his 1955 debut at La Scala, Milan, to sing the Count in a legendary La Scala production headed by Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi). This was his Covent Garden debut. The baritone Rolando Panerai as Figaro had been a stalwart of La Scala since 1951, while Fernando Corena as Dr Bartolo was making his Covent Garden debut but was already a major international figure. He had sung regularly at the Metropolitan Opera since 1954.

http://www.icartists.co.uk/classics

CARLO MARIA GIULINI - Rossini- II barbiere di Siviglia - Largo al factotum

Julius Katchen
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.1, Op.15 
Julius Katchen/BBC Symphony Orchestra/ 
Rudolf Kempe 
BBC MAIDA VALE STUDIOS, LONDON, 11 OCTOBER 1967 
- 
CHOPIN Ballade No.3, Op.47 
- 
LISZT Mephisto Waltz No.1 S.514 
BBC CONCERT HALL, BROADCASTING HOUSE, LONDON, 4 
OCTOBER 1965 
- 
SCHUMANN Prophet Bird Op.82, No.7 
(from Waldszenen) 
- 
ALBENIZ Triana (from Iberia Book 2) 
BBC MAIDA VALE STUDIOS, LONDON, 29 SEPTEMBER 1958 
- 
Julius Katchen discusses Mozart's Concerto K.466 
and Brahms’ Concerto No.1 with John Amis 
BBC STUDIOS, LONDON, 15 DECEMBER 1967


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The American pianist Julius Katchen was a child prodigy who at age 11 performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy. In 1946 Katchen toured Europe, settling in Paris in late 1947 and became a frequent performer on the European concert platform. Katchen made a major study of Brahms during his career and this 1967 live broadcast of Brahms Piano Concerto No.1, with the distinguished German conductor Rudolf Kempe, reflects his deep understanding of this composer. This recording gives the collector the rare opportunity of hearing Katchen ‘live’ in comparison to his studio account made much earlier in 1959.

http://www.icartists.co.uk/classics
 

JULIUS KATCHEN - Brahms- Piano Concerto No.1 Finale

Otto Klemperer
MENDELSSOHN 
Midsummer Nights Dream – Incidental Music 
Käthe Möller-Siepermann (sop) 
Hanna Ludwig (mezzo) 
Kölner Rundfunkchor Chorus Master: 
Karl Kaufhold 
Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester 
SAAL 1, FUNKHAUS, COLOGNE, 9-11 JUNE 1955 
- 
BEETHOVEN 
Symphony No.8 
Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester 
SAAL 1, FUNKHAUS, COLOGNE, 28 MAY 1955 
Rehearsal of Beethoven Symphony No. 4 
SAAL 1, FUNKHAUS, COLOGNE, 25 OCTOBER 1954


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Otto Klemperer was widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century along with his compatriots, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Bruno Walter. These performances date from 1955, a period when Klemperer was at his most authoritative, spending a number of seasons guest conducting in Cologne with great success. Both Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream and Beethoven Symphony No.8 are sourced from the original WDR tapes and have been superbly remastered. They appear for the first time on CD

http://www.icartists.co.uk/classics

OTTO KLEMPERER - Mendelssohn- Midsummer Night's Dream Incidental Music - Scherzo

William Steinberg’s recording of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis has never been issued before on CD and is in excellent stereo sound. Along with the superb Cologne Radio Choir, Steinberg used a superb quartet of soloists for this demanding work – Heather Harper (who sang on EMI’s Giulini recording), Julia Hamari, Sven Olof Eliasson and Peter Meven. Both Hamari and Meven were regular performers at all the European festivals, notably under Karajan. Steinberg’s interpretation is one of fiery intensity, majesty and utter fidelity to the score, which was one of his main characteristics as a conductor.

ICAD 5054 William Steinberg - Beethoven- Missa solemnis - Gloria

International Classical Artists is the first artist management agency to have launched its own audio and audio-visual label featuring both archive material from sources such as the BBC, WDR in Cologne and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (the LEGACY series), as well as performances from the agency’s own artists recorded in prestigious venues around the world (the LIVE series).

The new set of CDs and DVDs brings ICA Classics’ total to 52 titles, featuring material recorded between 1954 and 2009.

The ICA Classics team has been instrumental in the success of many audio and audiovisual productions over the years including the origination of the DVD series The Art of Conducting, The Art of Piano and The Art of Violin; the archive based DVD series Classic Archive; co-production documentaries featuring artists such as Richter, Fricsay, Mravinsky and Toscanini; the creation of the BBC Legends archive label, launched in 1998 (now comprising more than 250 CDs), and the audio series Great Conductors of the 20th Century produced for EMI Classics.

ICAClassics

Popular tracks