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Mussorgsky:
Boris Godunov / Abbado, Kotcherga, Lipovsek, etc |
Composer:
Modest
Mussorgsky
Conductor: Claudio
Abbado
Performer: Wojciech
Drabowicz, Alexander
Fedin, et al.
Ensemble: Berlin
Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin
Radio Chorus, et al.
Sony Classics - #58977 / May 3, 1994
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here for more info
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| Claudio Abbado uses Mussorgsky's text in a condition
almost as complete as Mstislav Rostropovich's but avoiding
some overlap from variant readings. He brings to his conducting
the same vitality and scrupulous attention to small details
that are familiar from his work in Italian opera. His cast
is...
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Great
Pianists of the 20th Century - Sviatoslav Richter I
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Composer:
Frederic
Chopin, Franz
Liszt, et al.
Performer: Sviatoslav
Richter
Uni/Philips - #456946 / November 10, 1998
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here for more information |
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Sviatoslav Richter's 1958 recital recording here of Pictures
at an Exhibition is worth the price of admission alone:
simply put, it's a classic that has all too often fallen out
of print. The performance makes this double-CD volume in Philips's
Great Pianists of the 20th Century series one of the most
enthralling in the catalogue. The Russian's power throughout
the Pictures is truly infectious. "The Market-Place
at Limoges" tickles the listener with bustling energy, while
"The Great Gate of...Read
more
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Mussorgsky:
Pictures at an Exhibition / Szell, Cleveland |
Composer:
Modest
Mussorgsky, Zolt‡n
Kod‡ly, et al.
Conductor: George
Szell
Performer: Toni
Koves-Steiner, David
Perlman, et al.
Ensemble: Cleveland
Orchestra
Sony Classics - #48162 / June 2, 1992
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here for more information |
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How do you describe perfection? George Szell's legacy in Cleveland
emphasized the great classical and Romantic symphonic repertoire,
with relatively few forays into more modern music. But no
orchestra ever played these 20th-century masterpieces with
more glitter and precision, and the Prokofiev/Kodaly works,
when first issued together on LP, immediately became the standard
by which all other performances are measured. In fact they
still are, and at budget price, not only do they cost less
than...Read
more
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Mussorgsky:
Pictures at an Exhibition / Maazel, Cleveland
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Composer:
Modest
Mussorgsky
Conductor: Lorin
Maazel
Ensemble: Cleveland
Orchestra
Telarc - #80042 / January 1, 1987
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here for more information |
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This was one of the recordings that put Telarc on the musical
map, and first revealed the potential of digital recording
technology to millions of music lovers and stereo buffs. It's
still one of the very finest recordings of "Pictures" around,
both as sound and performance. Lorin Maazel maintained the
high standards of execution that George Szell inculcated during
his quarter century in Cleveland, and for sheer hair-trigger
precision, the playing is simply unbeatable. In addition,
Telarc...Read
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Songs
and Dances of Death / Hvorostovsky, Gergiev |
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Composer:
Modest
Mussorgsky, Nikolai
Rimsky-Korsakov, et al.
Conductor: Valery
Gergiev
Performer: Dmitri
Hvorostovsky
Ensemble: Kirov
Theater Orchestra
Uni/Philips - #38872 / March 15, 1994
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here for more information
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Mussorgsky's four songs known collectively as Songs and
Dances of Death make up 20 minutes of the most intense
storytelling in 19th-century song. At first, Hvorostovsky's
voice seems almost too beautiful, his sound almost too youthful
to fill out these narratives, but his concentration and breath
control are so sensational that we realize what he's up to.
He's spinning us seductively into the spooky world of these
songs, where Death converses in turn with the mother of a
dying child, a...Read
more
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Mussorgsky:
Night on Bare Mountain, etc / Abbado, Berlin PO
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Composer:
Modest
Mussorgsky
Conductor: Claudio
Abbado
Performer: Anatoly
Kotcherga, Marianna
Tarasova
Ensemble: Berlin
Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin
Radio Chorus, et al.
Sony Classics - #62034 / September 2, 1997
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here for more information
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| In one word--spectacular! Abbado is in my mind
the greatest conductor of Mussorgsky alive (as odd as the
notion of an Italian conducting the most Russian of Russian
music might initially seem), and this disc is no exception.
Everything is simply flawless, and if you are looking for
Mussorgsky pieces this disc is a must buy. As well you should
look into Abbado's recording of the original version of "Night
on Bald Mountain" on RCA--it's priceless. |
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