Sir Georg Solti was an exclusive artist of Unitel for many years, and during this time the larger part of his abundant repertoire was recorded for television, predominantly with his orchestra, the Chicago Symphony. To honor the great maestro, Unitel got together with him once again in 1995 to record a concert with the Vienna Philharmonic, in which Solti paid homage to his Hungarian homeland, his roots and his teachers, the Hungarians Kodály, Bartók and Weiner. It is only natural that Berlioz’s Rakoczy March could not be absent from such a dazzling Austro-Hungarian concert. The second part of the concert is devoted to Beethoven, who was not Hungarian but was adopted by Hungary’s Austrian neighbors. The concert is Unitel’s last recording with the great artist, who passed away on 5 September 1997. Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday.
Sir Georg Solti practises with the Wiener Philharmoniker
Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday.
Mozart, Sinfonia Concertante in E flat major, K.364
Playing the ex-Roederer Stradivarius of 1710, Solo violinist David Grimal teams up with his teacher Régis Pasquier on the Mantegazza viola. Mozart composed this work, his last concerto for string instruments, in 1779, shortly before he left Salzburg for Vienna. Its urbane elegance seems to anticipate the style that was to characterize Mozart’s first Viennese symphonies. Pasquier, who masters both the violin and viola, is a world-renowned soloist who has been called “le star du violon français” by the Paris daily Le Monde and was appointed an “Officier des Arts et des Lettres” by the President of France. David Grimal, who graduated from Paris’ Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique with the First Prize in violin and chamber music, has gone on to win several other prestigious awards as well, including the European Cultural Award. His active international career has taken him to most of the world’s great musical venues, where he has concertized with ensembles such as the English Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Lyon and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo. The French music magazine Diapason wrote of Grimal: “A truly inspired musician, a stylist conscious of his artistry, has risen to take his place in the otherwise empty firmament of French violin playing of the nineties.”
Bach, Concerto for three violins in D major, BWV 1064
The French violinist David Grimal plays the ex-Roederer Stradivarius of 1710. He performs here together with his former teacher Régis Pasquier, in whose class at the Paris Conservatoire he was accepted at the age of 16. Pasquier plays the Helvetika Stradivarius of 1686. The Italian violinist Federico Agostini is known as the long-standing concertmaster and soloist of the ensemble “I Musici di Roma.” He plays the ex-Busch-Guadagnini of 1783.
Sharing – Leonard Bernstein’s last video recording
After his unforgettable work with young musicians in Tanglewood and Salzau, Leonard Bernstein was invited to conduct a similar summer academy in Asia. His enthusiastic acceptance led to the founding of the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. Rigorous auditions were held, and young musicians brought together to form an orchestra. They were chosen from all the nations bordering on the Pacific: the U.S., Canada, the South American countries, China, Japan ,Taiwan, Korea, etc. Just before the Pacific Music Festival was inaugurated in June 1990, Leonard Bernstein fell ill. But despite his doctors’ warnings, and marked by his serious illness, he refused to let his “kids” down and flew to Japan. With unbelievable intensity, passion, wit and charm, Bernstein worked with the youths on Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, one of the Maestro’s favorite orchestral pieces. This production is the last visual record of the Maestro at work.
“I Remember…” Dr. Karl Böhm. His Life – His Music
To honor Karl Böhm on the 100th anniversary of his birth, Unitel put together a one-hour portrait of the great conductor, who was an exclusive artist of Unitel from 1966 until his death on 14 August 1981. Karl Böhm was born in Graz, Austria, on 28 August 1894. He made his conducting debut in his hometown in 1917 before going on to Munich in 1921, where he was hired by Bruno Walter. He made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1933 and was appointed general manager of the Dresden State Opera the same year. This marked the beginning of an intensive and fruitful collaboration with Richard Strauss (Böhm conducted the world premieres of Die schweigsame Frau and Daphne). He died in Salzburg on 14 August 1981. One of the hallmarks of Böhm’s conducting was its perennially youthful vigor and directness, its lack of pathos and sentimentality. Dramatic climaxes and full sonorities grew out of almost imperceptible accents, out of the natural rhythm of the human breath. His gestures were minimalistic, his baton suggested movement more than it described it. Böhm set standards with his interpretations of the works of his long-time friend Richard Strauss. The unofficial curator of Strauss’ musical legacy, Böhm knew his friend’s music inside and out – and he knew just how Strauss wanted his works to sound. Böhm’s Mozart interpretations reflect the naturalness and clarity of his conducting. Although Wagner was one of his first loves, Böhm soon discovered Mozart’s operas thanks to Bruno Walter. Later, Böhm’s friendship with Richard Strauss led to a still deeper knowledge and appreciation of Mozart. In his autobiography, Böhm wrote that “Richard Strauss revealed to me the ultimate secrets of this – in my opinion – greatest of all musical geniuses [Mozart].” Böhm’s discovery of these secrets transformed his Mozart interpretations into unforgettable events.
Schönberg, A Survivor from Warsaw, op.46
Brahms, Ein deutsches Requiem, op.45
Kodály, Háry János Suite
Sir Georg Solti was an exclusive artist of Unitel for many years, and during this time a large part of his vast repertoire was recorded for television with “his” orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. With great awe and respect, Unitel joined forces with the maestro once again in 1995 to record a concert with the Vienna Philharmonic in which Solti paid homage to his native Hungary, to his roots and his teachers, the Hungarians Kodály, Bartók and Weiner. Of course, in a concert featuring dazzling music from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Rakoczy March in Berlioz’s arrangement could not be omitted. The second part of the concert is devoted to Beethoven, who was not Hungarian but had been adopted by Hungary’s Austrian neighbors. The concert is Unitel’s last recording with the great artist, who died on 5 September 1997.
Leonard Bernstein: The Gift of Music
This 90-minute special tribute was produced to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth on 25 August 1993. Narrated by legendary screen star Lauren Bacall, it also relies extensively on Bernstein’s own words to provide the counterpoint to the abundant visual material. The special draws on the nearly 120 hours of programming with Leonard Bernstein produced exclusively by Unitel, as well as on material from the extensive Bernstein archives and earlier television ventures. Highlights include excerpts of Bernstein conducting masterworks by Beethoven and Mahler, as well as of the maestro with the New York Philharmonic in Moscow in 1959 before an audience which included composer Dmitri Shostakovich and the dissident poet Boris Pasternak. It also contains never-before-seen footage, such as outtakes from televised concerts and interviews. Among these special treats: the dashing 28-year-old maestro representing the U.S. at the 1947 Prague Spring Festival – possibly the earliest extant film of Leonard Bernstein.