RECORDING OF THE MONTH RECORDING OF THE MONTH BARGAIN OF THE MONTH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony Oboe Concerto £11 post free World-wide RACHMANINOV Elegy, Preludes, Piano concerto 3 £12 post free World-wide CHAUSSON, DEBUSSY RACHMANINOV TRios 2CDs £16 post free World-wide

AVAILABILITY www.branarecords.com

Felicja Blumental (piano) Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat Op.73 Emperor (1811) Vienna Symphony Orchestra/Robert Wagner, recorded Innsbruck, 1967 Romance Cantabile in E minor H13 Prague Symphony Orchestra/Alberto Zedda, recorded Teatro Angelicum, Milan, 1963 Anton RUBINSTEIN (1829-1894) Konzertstücke for Piano and Orchestra Op.113 (c.1889) Vienna Symphony Orchestra/Helmut Froschauer, recorded Vienna, 1969 Felicja Blumental (piano) with accompaniments as above BRANA BR 0023 [69.08]

Brana continues its good work on behalf of Felicja Blumental with these recordings taped between 1963 and 1969. Two were with the Vienna Symphony and one with the very characterful Prague Symphony; the latter with larger than life woodwind principals. None is without interest, of course, though the Romance Cantabile is really a historical footnote and whilst the Emperor shows powerful signs of her command it’s the Rubinstein that makes the greatest impression, not least by virtue of her splendidly conceived pianism and control of architecture. The Emperor has the drawback of an empty hall acoustic which can deaden the sound. The recording isn’t subtle with the piano balanced too far forward and thus obliterating some string lines. I’m sure there was nothing Brana could do much to mitigate this so one has to grin and bear it. Her playing is metrically quite slow though there’s a gruff, hectoring quality that some may find convincingly Beethovenian – as opposed to the small scale Concerto playing one sometimes finds. She cultivates a battery of intriguing right hand voicings in the finale and rhythmic nuances, which create an individual perspective. But unfortunately runs aren’t climactic enough, especially in the first movement, and there’s a fatal lack of orchestral heft at tuttis throughout, which I put down to recording limitations. It was the Rubinstein that grabbed me most. The fine winds of the Vienna Symphony, are heard in better perspective here. Also notable is the fusion of Saint-Saëns’ airiness and Romantic effusion, laced with Blumental’s splendid sense of logic and development. The tempo is a good, firm and forward-looking one. The bravura is unimpeded by technical considerations. The binding of what can in other hands sprawl is a testament to the collaborative excellence on display. I believe the Rubinstein was last available on Ars Classicum which only enjoyed limited circulation. In fact I’ve never seen a copy. It sounds excellent here. It’s for the Rubinstein really that I’d recommend this latest souvenir of Blumental’s art. Jonathan Woolf Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

Return to Index

Reviews from previous months Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.