Sibelius: Violin Concerto; Sinding: Suite – Itzhak Perlman, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96Hz]

Sibelius: Violin Concerto; Sinding: Suite – Itzhak Perlman, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96kHz  | Time – 00:45:03 minutes | 830 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0vuz | Front Cover | © Warner Classics
Recorded: Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, USA, 23 & 24 February 1979

Jascha Heifetz (1901–1987), whose style and repertoire exerted a decisive influence on most twentieth-century violinists, had an insatiable curiosity for discovering and rehabilitating long-forgotten works. We have Heifetz to thank for having dusted off, and made the first recordings of, Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy and Second Violin Concerto (see volumes 14 and 40), the concertos by Korngold and Conus (volume 27), and the two works featured here. He was also a key source of inspiration to the young Itzhak Perlman, who had not even turned twenty when he made his first recording of Sibelius’s Concerto in D minor (1966, RCA). Thirteen years later, he returned to the work for EMI, this time coupling it to great effect with the Suite in A minor by Christian Sinding, thereby paying tribute to a little-known composer who, alongside Grieg and Sibelius, was in fact one of the most authentic Scandinavian composers of his day.

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Paganini- Violin Concerto No.1; Sarasate- Carmen Fantasy – Itzhak Perlman, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Lawrence Foster (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Paganini- Violin Concerto No.1; Sarasate- Carmen Fantasy – Itzhak Perlman, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Lawrence Foster (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96kHz | Time – 00:46:05 minutes | 913 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | Digital Booklet | ©  Warner Classics
Recorded: Kingsway Hall, London, 9 & 10 August 1971

This flamboyant disc marked the beginning of what was to be a thirty-year partnership between Itzhak Perlman and EMI. The company’s decision to present their new signing as a virtuoso paid off, for the twenty-six-year-old violinist immediately stunned the music world with these exceptionally assured and accomplished performances. Perlman’s recording career had begun back in 1964 with a version of the Tchaikovsky Concerto conducted by Alfred Wallenstein. He had then signed a contract with RCA that gave him the opportunity not only to make a second recording of that particular warhorse, but also to display his full range in the Sibelius Concerto, Prokofiev’s No.2, Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, and a number of chamber works (the sonatas by Prokofiev and Franck, Brahms’s Horn Trio).

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Niccolo Paganini – 24 Caprices, Op.1 – Itzhak Perlman (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Niccolo Paganini – 24 Caprices, Op.1 – Itzhak Perlman (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96kHz | Time – 01:12:24 minutes | 1,42 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | Digital Booklet | ©  Warner Classics
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 10 January 1972; Brent Town Hall, London, 11 & 12 January 1972

Along with Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, Paganini’s Caprices represent the ultimate solo challenge to any violinist. Itzhak Perlman is one of those who has taken on both, beginning with the Paganini, very early on in his recording career. In 1965 he set down three of the Caprices for RCA, but it was in January 1972 that he cemented his place in this tradition with a complete set that would make recording history. By strange coincidence, that same year saw the death of his illustrious predecessor Michael Rabin, whose own complete Paganini, made in 1958 for Capitol, was a permanent source of inspiration for the young Perlman. The miracle achieved by the Caprices is that rather than being banal studies in virtuosity, they are a series of genuine masterpieces – a distillation of the composer’s prodigious technical abilities and an endless source of melodic invention. Caprice No.24 is the perfect illustration, its themes having inspired so many other composers: Brahms (the Variations, Op.35), Rachmaninov (the Rhapsody, Op.43), Liszt, Szymanowski, Lutosławski, Rochberg, Schnittke and David Baker, among others. Rarely in the history of music has a so-called “minor” composer had such a significant influence on so many of his major colleagues. Mastering the Caprices is a little like climbing Everest. Yet it requires more than technical mastery — a sense of theatricality and imagination is just as necessary when it comes to doing full justice to the melodic invention and fantastical spirit of the writing. The challenges are never-ending — the range of timbres, complex bowing techniques and the need for clear articulation and a purity of intonation and projection. As for risk-taking, it’s the only way to get under the skin of the Caprices’ creator. Perlman’s performance is astonishing for its apparent effortlessness, revealing the charismatic and assured style for which he was to become known. His innate feeling for song and a zest for fun do the rest, giving his interpretation an irresistible charm undimmed by the passing years. –Jean-Michel Molkhou

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Mendelssohn & Bruch – Violin Concertos – Itzhak Perlman, London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Mendelssohn & Bruch – Violin Concertos – Itzhak Perlman, London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96kHz | Time – 00:53:58 minutes | 1,05 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | Digital Booklet | ©  Warner Classics
Recorded: Studio No.1, Abbey Road, London, 27 & 28 November 1972

Itzhak Perlman and André Previn have worked together in the recording studio on many occasions and on a wide-ranging repertoire. The latter has conducted the former in eleven works, their first joint production (Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole and Ravel’s Tzigane for RCA) dating back as far as 1968. All the albums that followed were made for EMI, beginning with this one, which they recorded in 1972. After that, they appeared together in orchestral works by Bartók (see volume 6), Goldmark and Sarasate (volume 17), Sibelius and Sinding (volume 21) and Conus and Korngold (volume 27). In addition, Previn moved to the keyboard to accompany Perlman on a number of rag and jazz albums (volumes 10 and 24) although, unlike Anne-Sophie Mutter and Gil Shaham (on DG), Perlman has never recorded Previn’s own sonatas or concertos.

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Itzhak Perlman – Encores: virtuoso perfomances of works by Paganini, Wieniawski, Sarasate, Rachmaninov, Kreisler (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Itzhak Perlman – Encores: virtuoso perfomances of works by Paganini, Wieniawski, Sarasate, Rachmaninov, Kreisler (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:38:08 minutes | 1,81 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | Artwork: Digital Booklet | © Parlophone Records/Warner Classics
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, London, 5–7 November 1972 (tracks 1–13); Kingsway Hall, London, 23–24 February 1978 (tracks 14–18, 20–26); Philadelphia, 10 November 1978 (track 19)

Although “encores” were very fashionable between the wars, they later began to be seen as perhaps less worthy than other, more substantial works. It was Itzhak Perlman, whose repertoire of these charming or virtuosic miniatures is more extensive than that of any other violinist of his generation, who did the most to restore their former prestige. There was even a time when, to his audiences’ delight, he would fill the entire second half of a recital with them, picking pieces at random (or at least giving the impression of doing so!) from a pile of scores on the piano and announcing the titles himself from the stage. No one could resist the kind of firework display that he would crown with a fiery performance of Bazzini’s Ronde des lutins, tearing through the music with disconcerting ease, communicating with the audience with his facial expressions as much as his playing. Unlike some of his predecessors — chief among them Kreisler and Heifetz — he has not written any encores himself, or made many arrangements, with the exception of Scott Joplin’s Ragtimes (see volume 10), and yet as a performer he has explored every corner of this particular musical universe. As early as 1965, a very young Perlman recorded a selection of pieces by Bloch, Paganini, Sarasate and Bazzini for RCA, although for some reason they were only released in 2004. Then, in 1972 and 1978, he recorded the two complete albums of encores for EMI that appear on this reissue. In the meantime he had added three Kreisler LPs to his incredible collection of miniatures (volume 12), establishing the foundations of a repertoire on which he continued to build over the years as he discovered new gems of the genre (volumes 23, 39, 43, 50 & 53). As well as works by the most eminent virtuoso-composers in the history of the violin, men such as Paganini, Sarasate, Vieuxtemps and Wieniawski, all suitably represented here, Perlman has also enthusiastically plundered the most diverse sources in search of new inspiration. From Debussy to Ben-Haim, via Novácˇek, Rachmaninov, Foster and Godowsky, every piece is a delight, and a reminder that alongside the grand concertos and sonatas of the core repertoire there exist a myriad of little marvels, all competing with one another for charm, skill and inventiveness, representing an indispensable and wonderfully mouthwatering side to the violin literature. In this anthology of pieces by turns gentle, funny, heart-rending, straightforwardly mischievous or resolutely diabolical, Perlman reveals his innermost soul and a thousand-faceted talent. With such a display of matchless generosity, assurance, humour and sheer joie de vivre, it is perhaps in such music that he appears most radically different from the other violinists of his time. –Jean-Michel Molkhou

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Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons – Itzhak Perlman, London Philharmonic Orchestra (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons – Itzhak Perlman, London Philharmonic Orchestra (2015)
qFLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 00:44:14 minutes | 817 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | Digital booklet | © Warner Classics
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, 18–20 May 1976

These days, who would ever imagine that the first commercial recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, one of the most popular classical works in the world, had been released as late as 1947? And how many of us would be able to name the soloist on this pioneering release (on the Concert Hall label)? It was in fact American violinist Louis Kaufman (1905–1994) who was the first to unearth, in its entirety, Il Cimento dell’Armonia e dell’Inventione, the set of twelve violin concertos of which the Four Seasons makes up the first four. Since Kaufman, countless other violinists have left their mark on this masterpiece of the Italian Baroque, developing its treasure trove of invention in line with the trends of the day. Itzhak Perlman himself has made two recordings of it, on both occasions directing from the violin. His first version, featured here, was made with the London Philharmonic in 1976, while the second, with the Israel Philharmonic, dates from seven years later (see volume 32).
Everything there is to say or write has already been said and written about these four concertos, whose main tunes we can all hum, so omnipresent are they in our everyday lives. And yet, generation after generation, virtuosos the world over continue to delve into the poetic and harmonic substance of these phenomenal works. Technically extremely demanding, they showcase not only a soloist’s musicianship, but also his or her taste — and that of the orchestra — with regard to colour and pulse. For rarely has a fully composed work allowed its performers so much freedom of expression. It’s worth remembering that Baroque composers often used a kind of shorthand, understood by contemporary instrumentalists, and expected performers to improvise and incorporate their own ornamentations. As always, it’s the actor that brings the printed page to life, whether in a Shakespeare play or a Vivaldi concerto.

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Igor Stravinsky – Divertimento, Suite italienne, Duo concertant – Itzhak Perlman, Bruno Canino (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Igor Stravinsky – Divertimento, Suite italienne, Duo concertant – Itzhak Perlman, Bruno Canino (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 53:11 minutes | 1,0 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | Digital booklet | © Warner Classics
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, London, 8–10 June 1974

Although Itzhak Perlman has appeared live with the Italian pianist and composer Bruno Canino on many occasions over the years, this Stravinsky recital is the only album they have ever made together — a unique and treasured record of their work together. Five years after setting down the Prokofiev sonatas for RCA (1969), and while he was still putting together his complete set of the Beethoven sonatas for Decca (1973–75), Perlman recorded this repertoire for EMI in what is one of the finest gems of his discography, and one of his own favourite albums.

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Moszkowski, Shostakovich, Prokofiev: Duets for two violins / Bartok: 44 Duos for two violins – Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Moszkowski, Shostakovich, Prokofiev: Duets for two violins / Bartok: 44 Duos for two violins – Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:32:11 minutes | 1,64 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | Digital booklet | © Parlophone Records/Warner Classics
Recorded: Temple Church, London, 26 October 1976 (Prokofiev); CBS Studios, New York, 23–25 January 1978 (Bartók) & 1–2 June 1978 (Moszkowski, Shostakovich)

Not long after recording their first album of violin duets (volume 16), Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman decided to repeat the experience and explore this little-known repertoire in greater depth. Whereas all the music on the first disc was by brilliant violinistcomposers (Leclair, Spohr, Wieniawski and Halvorsen), the composers featured here — Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Moszkowski and Bartók — were all piano virtuosos. Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) set himself a challenge in broaching a genre that he thought of as “limited and difficult” but met it in full, dreaming up all kinds of rhythmic and colour combinations that enable the two players of his Sonata, Op.56, to express both the lyricism and the exuberance of their instrument. Written in 1932 and given its premiere that same year in Moscow by the two violinists of the Beethoven Quartet, the Sonata is Classical in appearance but fits more neatly into the general move towards simplification that was part of the neo-Classical trend of the early 1930s. The Suite for two violins and piano by Moritz Moszkowski (1854–1925) was a later work by the composer-pianist. Hugely popular in its day, it was written as a preparatory work for the 15 Études de virtuosité, which remain a pianist’s worst nightmare today. The three piano-accompanied duets by Shostakovich (1906–1975), meanwhile, illustrate yet another side to this rare instrumental pairing, these light and carefree Viennese-style salon pieces also showing us a very different side to the Soviet composer. Composed a year before Prokofiev’s Sonata, the 44 Duos by Bartók (1881–1945) draw on the vast realm of folk music that he studied and remained fascinated by throughout his life. With the exception of Nos.35 and 36, all are based on original folk melodies — explaining the frequent changes of metre — and make only limited technical demands on the performers. Their main attraction lies in Bartók’s ability to turn such tiny pieces into a challenge to the performers’ ear rather than a test of their technical skills. The Duos were written primarily as didactic works but the extraordinary wealth of variety they display has elevated them far beyond that original purpose. Worthy successors to David and Igor Oistrakh, Perlman and Zukerman on this second album of duets highlight once again the inventiveness of a repertoire that deserves to be better known. –Jean-Michel Molkhou

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Leclair, Spohr, Wieniawski – Duets for Two Violins – Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Leclair, Spohr, Wieniawski – Duets for Two Violins – Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 46:38 minutes | 942 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Q0buz | Digital booklet | © Parlophone Records/Warner Classics
Recorded: Temple Church, London, 25 & 26 October 1976

The violin duet repertoire remains somewhat marginal, which explains the rarity of recitals such as this one, in which two star violinists appear opposite one another. Most works in the genre were written by virtuosos such as Leclair, Viotti, Spohr, Wieniawski and Ysaÿe, but composers of the calibre of Telemann, Michael Haydn, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Honegger and Bartók also took up the challenge. Given the restrictions imposed by having to combine the sound of two identical instruments whose primary role is more melodic than polyphonic, composers have tended to focus on thematic development, harmony and rhythm, resulting in highly imaginative explorations of the instrument’s technical potential.

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Itzhak Perlman plays Fritz Kreisler (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Itzhak Perlman plays Fritz Kreisler (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 02:23:27 minutes | 2,6 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | Digital Booklet | © Warner Classics
Recorded: Abbey Road Studios, London, 27–29 August 1975 (tracks 1–14), 20–21 May 1976 (tracks 15–24); CBS Studios, New York, 24–26 May 1978 (tracks 25–39)

“Fritz Kreisler’s music was the essence of Fritz Kreisler,” Perlman has said of the legendary Viennese violinist. “All that wonderful feeling of what he was came out in his composing. In short works for the violin, nobody surpassed him.” This album irresistibly proves Perlman’s point.

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