The great Russian pianist Emil Gilels was universally acclaimed for his breathtaking performances of the most demanding concertos and most challenging piano pieces of piano literature. But he was also a master of the miniature form, and his interpretations of the “Songs Without Words” and other little pieces by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Grieg and others were nothing short of mesmerizing. A specialist of the German repertoire, Gilels gave an all German-Austrian program at the 1971 Carinthian Summer Festival in Austria, where Mozart’s d-minor Fantasy was recorded.
Strauss, Don Juan, op.20
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. Here Böhm works with the Vienna Philharmonic, which premiered Strauss’s “Don Juan” in Vienna in 1892.
Eaters of Darkness
Percussion for Six
Händel, Concerto for Organ in G minor, op.4/1
Born in Saxony in 1926, Karl Richter discovered his true musical vocation in Leipzig, where he studied under the great Karl Straube and Günther Ramin. The organ and the harpsichord were at the origin of his career, and his first performances were devoted to serving Bach through these keyboard instruments on which he was a virtuoso and a poet. Soon, however, Richter was swept up by a passion for the orchestra and the choral masses. He founded the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra in the 1950s, toured with his ensembles all over the world and made about 150 recordings. Richter was perhaps at his most compelling when interpreting his two great fellow countrymen Bach and Handel. He was superb at translating Handel’s monumental rhythms and vast soundscapes, the dynamic writing and sanguine spirit of his music. Although Richter saw several dramatic shifts in Baroque performance practice during his lifetime, he remained true to his own style, which was considered revolutionary in the 1950s and 60s. This was a “de-romanticized” approach to the Baroque which was characterized, among other things, by a reduced body of performers more in keeping with the original forces. Richter’s style also accented a cool, brisk, almost abstract attitude toward the music, which eschewed exaggerated dynamics and rubato.
Händel, Concerto for Organ in B flat minor, op.4/2
Born in Saxony in 1926, Karl Richter discovered his true musical vocation in Leipzig, where he studied under the great Karl Straube and Günther Ramin. The organ and the harpsichord were at the origin of his career, and his first performances were devoted to serving Bach through these keyboard instruments on which he was a virtuoso and a poet. Soon, however, Richter was swept up by a passion for the orchestra and the choral masses. He founded the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra in the 1950s, toured with his ensembles all over the world and made about 150 recordings. Richter was perhaps at his most compelling when interpreting his two great fellow countrymen Bach and Handel. He was superb at translating Handel’s monumental rhythms and vast soundscapes, the dynamic writing and sanguine spirit of his music. Although Richter saw several dramatic shifts in Baroque performance practice during his lifetime, he remained true to his own style, which was considered revolutionary in the 1950s and 60s. This was a “de-romanticized” approach to the Baroque which was characterized, among other things, by a reduced body of performers more in keeping with the original forces. Richter’s style also accented a cool, brisk, almost abstract attitude toward the music, which eschewed exaggerated dynamics and rubato.
Händel, Concerto for Organ in G minor, op.4/3
Born in Saxony in 1926, Karl Richter discovered his true musical vocation in Leipzig, where he studied under the great Karl Straube and Günther Ramin. The organ and the harpsichord were at the origin of his career, and his first performances were devoted to serving Bach through these keyboard instruments on which he was a virtuoso and a poet. Soon, however, Richter was swept up by a passion for the orchestra and the choral masses. He founded the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra in the 1950s, toured with his ensembles all over the world and made about 150 recordings. Richter was perhaps at his most compelling when interpreting his two great fellow countrymen Bach and Handel. He was superb at translating Handel’s monumental rhythms and vast soundscapes, the dynamic writing and sanguine spirit of his music. Although Richter saw several dramatic shifts in Baroque performance practice during his lifetime, he remained true to his own style, which was considered revolutionary in the 1950s and 60s. This was a “de-romanticized” approach to the Baroque which was characterized, among other things, by a reduced body of performers more in keeping with the original forces. Richter’s style also accented a cool, brisk, almost abstract attitude toward the music, which eschewed exaggerated dynamics and rubato.
Händel, Concerto for Organ in F major, op.4/4
Born in Saxony in 1926, Karl Richter discovered his true musical vocation in Leipzig, where he studied under the great Karl Straube and Günther Ramin. The organ and the harpsichord were at the origin of his career, and his first performances were devoted to serving Bach through these keyboard instruments on which he was a virtuoso and a poet. Soon, however, Richter was swept up by a passion for the orchestra and the choral masses. He founded the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra in the 1950s, toured with his ensembles all over the world and made about 150 recordings. Richter was perhaps at his most compelling when interpreting his two great fellow countrymen Bach and Handel. He was superb at translating Handel’s monumental rhythms and vast soundscapes, the dynamic writing and sanguine spirit of his music. Although Richter saw several dramatic shifts in Baroque performance practice during his lifetime, he remained true to his own style, which was considered revolutionary in the 1950s and 60s. This was a “de-romanticized” approach to the Baroque which was characterized, among other things, by a reduced body of performers more in keeping with the original forces. Richter’s style also accented a cool, brisk, almost abstract attitude toward the music, which eschewed exaggerated dynamics and rubato.
Händel, Concerto for Organ in F major, op.4/5
Born in Saxony in 1926, Karl Richter discovered his true musical vocation in Leipzig, where he studied under the great Karl Straube and Günther Ramin. The organ and the harpsichord were at the origin of his career, and his first performances were devoted to serving Bach through these keyboard instruments on which he was a virtuoso and a poet. Soon, however, Richter was swept up by a passion for the orchestra and the choral masses. He founded the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra in the 1950s, toured with his ensembles all over the world and made about 150 recordings. Richter was perhaps at his most compelling when interpreting his two great fellow countrymen Bach and Handel. He was superb at translating Handel’s monumental rhythms and vast soundscapes, the dynamic writing and sanguine spirit of his music. Although Richter saw several dramatic shifts in Baroque performance practice during his lifetime, he remained true to his own style, which was considered revolutionary in the 1950s and 60s. This was a “de-romanticized” approach to the Baroque which was characterized, among other things, by a reduced body of performers more in keeping with the original forces. Richter’s style also accented a cool, brisk, almost abstract attitude toward the music, which eschewed exaggerated dynamics and rubato.
Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049
For Johann Sebastian Bach, February 15, 1981 was no doubt one of the darkest days of his afterlife: on this day he lost one of his greatest champions in the 20th century, Karl Richter. Over the course of his long career as conductor, organist and harpsichordist, Richter had become synonymous with Bach. He founded the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra. He helped trigger the Bach revival in the 1950s. He was the spirit behind the Ansbach Bach Festival. He turned his adopted city of Munich into a Bach center. And he recorded all the major choral and orchestral works of Bach, including more than 100 cantatas.